Reform

Six years passed like a galloping white horse, gone in the blink of an eye.

During that time, undercurrents swirled within Spirit Hall. The faction led by Qian Daoliu of the Worship Hall fully supported Ye Su, the "Lord," while Bibi Dong secretly amassed her strength.

Qian Daoliu arranged for Ye Lingtong to live in a separate courtyard near the Angel Sanctuary, where she could see the sanctuary's spires from afar every day. She often stood by the window in a daze, missing the child she had held only once.

Yet for most of the time, Qian Daoliu had arranged the finest teachers for her, and her strength improved at an astonishing pace. In only six short years, she had risen from a three-ring Soul Elder to an eight-ring Soul Douluo! Moreover, she did not need to carefully select each Soul Ring herself. As long as her Soul Power reached a certain level, a Soul Ring would form on its own.

At the same time, Ye Lingtong had also thrown herself onto the front lines of combating Evil Spirit Masters, often aiding impoverished commoners. She had already gained a certain degree of prestige among the people.

Meanwhile, the soul beasts of Star Dou Forest grew restless. Di Tian infiltrated Spirit City several times to investigate, but Qian Daoliu's tight defenses left him empty-handed each time.

Envoys from Sea God Island arrived on the continent, yet failed to find the source of the world's changes. They were still wandering across the continent.

Deep within the Angel Sanctuary, Ye Su slept peacefully in the Crystal Cradle.

His system faithfully recorded every change in the outside world, waiting for the moment its master awoke.

It could not be helped. Their fates were bound together; they would prosper together and suffer together. Though the system felt that Ye Su's actions had been too radical, it had no other choice now that things had come this far.

Every day, Qian Daoliu personally recited scripture for the Holy Son, nourishing his body with the purest power of light.

Fanatical faith shone in the aged Peerless Douluo's eyes. He firmly believed that this child would lead Spirit Hall to unprecedented glory.

"Soon, very soon..." Qian Daoliu gazed at the child in the cradle, who was beginning to show signs of waking. His voice trembled faintly with excitement. "The Lord may be about to return. When that time comes, the entire world will witness a true miracle!"

Ye Su's system silently observed everything over those six years. It recorded all that happened around Ye Su. Its intelligence level was not high enough to observe anywhere beyond the Angel Sanctuary.

Host, oh Host, the system sighed inwardly. Your little nap has caused no small trouble. The whole world is in chaos. Once you wake up, you'll have plenty to deal with.

It watched the countdown constantly flickering across the panel. Only three days remained until Ye Su awoke.

Meanwhile, in Holy Soul Village of Nuoding City, a thousand miles away.

Village Chief Old Jack was organizing the village children to undergo their martial soul awakening.

Martial souls were something everyone on Douluo Continent awakened. If someone awakened a high-quality martial soul along with Innate Soul Power, the course of their life would be completely changed. They would thoroughly escape the ranks of the poor and enter the world of Soul Masters. They might even become nobles within their lifetime!

The thin and frail Tang San followed among the children, quietly looking forward to today's martial soul awakening.

The group soon arrived at the village church, which had only been built a few years earlier. It was said that the Holy Mother of Spirit Hall had taken pity on the suffering of commoners, so she had ordered Spirit Hall members to build a church in every village. Every evening, the churches distributed food and clothing to poor people who could not afford enough to eat or decent clothes to wear.

There were also priests and nuns dispatched by Spirit Hall within the churches. Nearly every priest and nun possessed the cultivation of a Second Ring Soul Grandmaster. Whenever there were children of the proper age in a village, they would awaken their martial souls free of charge. They would also intervene when villages came under attack and save people when appropriate...

In any case, Spirit Hall had changed greatly in recent years. It had already enjoyed a good reputation among commoners, and now it had even produced quite a number of fanatical believers!

Even Tang San held a rather favorable impression of Spirit Hall.

After all, once he had learned to walk and cook for himself, his father had practically stopped caring for him. Not only did Tang Hao neglect him, he even made Tang San cook for him.

Tang San's family was poor as well, and he often did not have enough to eat or warm clothes to wear. He could only collect free food and clothing from the church.

But he could not let his father discover it, because whenever Tang Hao did, it usually earned Tang San a vicious beating, furious scolding, and cold stares.

At times like that, the kind Sister Eliza would come with the old village chief to stop Tang Hao. After Tang San was driven out of the house, she would even take him to the church and secretly prepare extra food for him.

As for Father Su, the village priest, he sometimes pretended not to see such behavior. In theory, it was forbidden to secretly use church food to prepare extra meals for a child. But the boy was so pitiful. It was simply an act of kindness.

That was right. The entire course of events no longer followed its original path. Su Yuntao had now become the resident priest of Holy Soul Village, a rank above the deacon he had originally been.

"Old Jack, are all the children here?" Su Yuntao wore a solemn black priest's robe and held the Bible that Spirit Hall had recently compiled. The youthful impatience was gone from his face, as was the aloofness typical of wolf-type Soul Masters. In its place was a gentleness nurtured by Holy Light.

Old Jack was clearly already familiar with him. He straightened his back, a smile appearing on his face.

"They're all here. Sorry for the trouble, Father Su. Please awaken the children's martial souls."

"Of course..."

Tang San stood at the very back of the line. At that moment, the plump Sister Eliza pretended to hurry past him. As she brushed by, she slipped a large white steamed bun into his hand.

Tang San gave Sister Eliza a grateful look, then quickly wolfed down the bun while no one was paying attention. Only then did his stomach feel a little more settled.

This differed slightly from the original course of events. Tang Hao's temper was now even worse than before. Ever since Spirit Hall had grown increasingly powerful, Tang Hao would disappear every few days, or return dead drunk and beat or berate Tang San.

Tang San had once felt some filial affection for his father, but after countless beatings and curses, that affection had nearly been worn away completely.

The warmth that had once existed between father and son was gone, replaced by coldness and hardness. Tang Hao no longer gave Tang San any money at all, and even the money Tang San earned through hard work would be taken away by him.

In the end, things had developed into their current state.

Old Jack, who stood to one side watching the ceremony, spotted Tang San at the end of the line. A trace of pity flashed through his eyes.

"This child... he's truly pitiful."

The awakening ceremony continued in an orderly fashion. For some reason, far more children had awakened Innate Soul Power in recent years than before.

And this had begun six years ago.

"...A hoe martial soul. Innate Soul Power Rank 1, not bad." Su Yuntao patted the boy on the shoulder and said kindly, "Later, I'll fill out your certificate. Remember to attend Spirit Academy afterward."

"Come, next!"

At last, it was Tang San's turn!