Is This Martial Soul Really So Half-Baked?

Some rejoiced while others worried, and the Old Butler, who had spent many years in the manor, had not been wrong in the slightest.

Inside the secret chamber behind the peephole, the Duchess was already trembling with rage.

Watching the mother and daughter embrace, she wished she could devour their flesh and drink their blood.

Qian Chaoguang, who was also happy for Huo Yutong, did not know that his attempt to raise her Innate Soul Power had instead backfired despite his good intentions.

The Duchess, who had received little attention in the Original Work and existed only in the background, was extremely jealous and suspicious. Any hidden danger that might threaten Dai Huabin and Dai Yueheng, she would eradicate.

A Body Martial Soul with Innate Soul Power as high as Level Nine—so what if she had not inherited the White Tiger Martial Soul of the White Tiger Duke's line?

It was still an exceptionally outstanding talent.

As the Duchess watched the Huo Mother and Daughter leave, she nearly ground her silver teeth to pieces, becoming even more determined to suppress them.

If Dai Hao returned and discovered such a genius, then given how much he doted on that bitch Huo Yun'er, he would never spare her after all the years she had spent oppressing them.

Damn it!

Fine, then. New grudges and old debts, she would settle them all at once!

Before she killed those two bitches, Dai Hao had better stay obediently in the Borderlands!

None of the three people present knew any of this.

After their excitement subsided, Huo Yutong and Huo Yun'er had already left, eagerly planning their wonderful future.

Now, it was Qian Chaoguang's turn to undergo Martial Soul Awakening.

"Come, child. You're the last one today."

The middle-aged man had already adjusted his mindset.

When speaking to him, In Her Words, he was clearly much gentler than he had been with Huo Yutong.

Qian Chaoguang nodded calmly and stepped into the center of the Awakening Stone on his own.

As six streams of Soul Power entered it, pale golden light lit up once more.

Warmth—this was his first sensation.

It felt as though his entire body had been enveloped in gentle sunlight, indescribably comfortable.

The warm aura seeped inward, and Qian Chaoguang could clearly feel his body undergoing some unknown changes.

Most noticeably, the tiny remaining wisp of Innate Soul Power in his Dantian had been stirred and flowed upward through his body.

Qian Chaoguang subconsciously extended his right hand. To everyone's disbelief, the exact same thing that had happened during Huo Yutong's awakening occurred again.

No Martial Soul appeared in his right palm.

Nor did any phantom emerge behind him, as would happen with the awakening of a Beast Martial Soul.

Suddenly, an icy aura spread throughout the room, dropping the overall temperature by several degrees.

The middle-aged man shuddered and stared at the boy before him in astonishment.

This...

What kind of Martial Soul was this?

Not only was he, a mere Soul Ancestor, baffled—even the Soul Saint-level Old Butler had a blank look on his face.

What the hell had awakened?

As the awakening ceremony ended, Qian Chaoguang looked up and down at himself in confusion.

He also wanted to know what Martial Soul he had awakened.

Why was there nothing at all?

He only felt a chilly sensation on his chest.

The Old Butler stepped forward and carefully examined him several times. At last, he discovered something unusual around Qian Chaoguang's chest.

"Chaoguang, lift your shirt and let Grandpa take a look."

"Okay."

Qian Chaoguang did as he was told.

This time, both the middle-aged man and the Old Butler saw it clearly.

On his chest was a cluster of clear, cold light.

The Old Butler reached out and touched it, feeling a faint chill.

Qian Chaoguang realized it as well. This seemed to be his Martial Soul.

"My Martial Soul... is light? But why is it cold? Don't Light Martial Souls usually contain either a fire attribute or a holy attribute?"

The Old Butler Didn't Know Whether to Laugh or Cry. "Goodness, I named you Chaoguang, and you really awakened a Light Martial Soul? If I'd known, I should've named you Qian Extreme. Then you'd definitely have awakened an Extreme Martial Soul, hahaha..."

The middle-aged man cut in from the side. "Old Zhu, what exactly is your grandson's Martial Soul? I've seen Light Martial Souls before, but they weren't like this. And look, this light carries a bone-piercing chill. It's truly strange."

The Old Butler shrugged.

"Who cares? There are countless strange Martial Souls in the world. Who knows what it really is? Hurry up and test his Innate Soul Power. Judging from the fluctuations during his awakening, I reckon it shouldn't be low. It could very well be Innate Full Soul Power. At worst, it should be Level Eight or Nine."

The middle-aged man brought out the crystal ball from before.

Qian Chaoguang placed his hand on it and felt the wisp of Soul Power in his Dantian stir once more.

The crystal ball released a faint glow.

"Innate Soul Power... Level One?"

The middle-aged man's expression was strange, and even his words carried hesitation.

The Old Butler's earlier smile vanished completely.

He frowned deeply, the wrinkles on his forehead twisting into a character for river.

"Level One? This lousy thing isn't broken, is it? How could Xiao Guang's Martial Soul be only Level One when it's so unusual? Judging from the fluctuations during his awakening, it should at least be above Level Eight."

"Old Zhu, this Soul Power crystal ball was newly taken from the storeroom. It was unsealed today. There can't be any mistake."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man infused it with his own Soul Power.

"Look, I'm Level Forty-Five. There's really nothing wrong with it."

The Old Butler tried it himself as well. The crystal ball displayed a Soul Power Level of seventy-nine.

"This is truly bizarre. How could it be Level One?"

On the way back, the Old Butler was still muttering about what had just happened, his face full of Worried Expression.

Knowing exactly what was going on with himself, Qian Chaoguang comforted him. "Grandpa, it's fine. My Innate Soul Power Level is just low. If I cultivate diligently in the future, I'll still have a chance to become a top-tier powerhouse."

Innate Soul Power was a reflection of talent for Soul Masters.

Soul Masters could not cultivate before awakening at the age of six. Therefore, talented Soul Masters could awaken more Innate Soul Power before they officially began cultivating.

But for Qian Chaoguang, his low Innate Soul Power was simply because he had used up the Soul Power he had accumulated ahead of time.

It was like using a bottle to collect rainwater by chance.

The larger the bottle, the more water it could collect.

The water collected was what was known as Innate Soul Power.

The more water collected, the higher one's Innate Soul Power.

Thus, a Soul Master's talent truly was linked to Innate Soul Power. There was nothing wrong with that.

But Qian Chaoguang was not an ordinary Soul Master.

He had merely drunk the water before the test. The bottle itself had not become any smaller because of it.

"But... sigh..."

The Old Butler wanted to say something, but stopped himself.

As a former graduate of Shrek, how could he not know how important Innate Soul Power was to one's future achievements?

Other than those pill-popping types from the Sun Moon Empire, someone with Innate Level One Soul Power would need their ancestors to have accumulated great virtue just to cultivate to Soul Elder.

"Grandpa, don't worry. Tomorrow, I'll learn a trade. At least I won't starve in the future, and I still have to support you in your old age and see you off! How about I learn forging? If I strive to become a Soul Engineer in the future, that's also a decent path."

Qian Chaoguang had long since planned out his future path of cultivation.

There were two benefits to learning forging now. First, he could try to replicate the Spiritual Forging Method of later generations, preparing for his future attempts to create Battle Armor.

Second, even if he failed to develop the Spiritual Forging Method, simply using forging to temper his body would still be a good choice.

Seeing how sensible and obedient his grandson was, how could the Old Butler bear to say no?

He sighed deeply.

"Since you want to learn forging, Grandpa will take you there this afternoon. The Duke's Mansion has its own blacksmiths. Grandpa will definitely find you the most skilled master."

"Mm, thank you, Grandpa."

Author's Note

Please keep reading, brothers! Only with enough follow-up readers can this get recommended. Douluo fanfics need even more follow-up readers than books in other genres to get recommendations. Please, please, don't stockpile chapters before it goes premium—it's easy for a book to die that way!