Martial Soul Awakening

Aolai City was a small city on the eastern coast of the Sun Moon Federation. It was no different from the other small cities in this world, and there were no nearby Flower-Fruit Mountains or Water Curtain Caves.

Early that morning, the scent of fried eggs wafted from a household in Aolai City's commoner district. A small figure stood on a chair in the kitchen, carefully placing the cooked eggs onto a plate.

He set the plate aside, jumped down from the chair, kicked it farther inward, and carried the plate toward the living room.

The child was named An Ping, an utterly ordinary transmigrator who had been in this world for six years.

He had originally depended on each other with the old man who had taken him in. Since the old man passed away half a year ago, he could only live by himself.

The old man had been a Soul Master in his lifetime. After getting injured and being unable to roam outside anymore, he simply returned to his hometown of Aolai City, bought a house, and settled into retirement. Since he had no children or relatives, he left all his assets to An Ping after his death. It was not much, but enough for An Ping's daily expenses. With the neighbors looking after him as well, he had no worries in life.

After quickly finishing breakfast and washing the dishes, he headed out.

Today was the annual Awakening Day, as the name suggested, the day of Martial Soul Awakening. This was Douluo Continent, after all—a world where Martial Souls determined one's future.

"I wonder what kind of Martial Soul I'll awaken. I don't need Twin Martial Souls or Innate Full Soul Power. I'd be happy just to awaken a Martial Soul with Innate Soul Power," An Ping muttered as his thoughts ran wild.

Even while he was still quite a distance from Red Mountain Academy, he could already see streams of people, all leading children toward the academy.

By the time he reached the street where Red Mountain Academy was located, it had become somewhat overcrowded. An Ping first registered, then obediently joined the queue.

"Father, what do you think my Martial Soul will be?"

"You'll definitely awaken something powerful."

"Mother, I have to awaken a powerful Martial Soul so I can protect you and Father in the future."

"Alright, alright. We'll be counting on you to protect us from now on."

Similar conversations came one after another.

Seconds ticked by. As the awakening ceremony continued, parents led children out one after another. Most wore expressions as though they wanted to sigh at the sky. There was no need to ask; their awakened Martial Souls clearly lacked Innate Soul Power. An Ping began to worry that he might fail to awaken any Innate Soul Power as well.

"An Ping." A teacher from the academy came out holding a form and called a name.

"I'm here." Hearing his name, An Ping calmed his slightly uneasy emotions and raised a hand.

"Come with me. On such an important day, why are you here alone? Didn't your parents come with you? How could they be such irresponsible parents?" The teacher looked somewhat puzzled at the solitary An Ping.

"I don't have parents. I came alone." An Ping did not mind the flicker of pity in the teacher's eyes before he turned away, and followed him inside.

An Ping followed the teacher all the way to the awakening room. They stopped on the fourth floor, and the teacher said nothing more before turning and leaving. There were still many people waiting outside.

"Greetings, Spirit Receiver." An Ping bowed respectfully to the Spirit Receiver before him.

Seeing the well-behaved and polite child, the Spirit Receiver smiled gently. He gestured as he spoke, "What a polite little fellow. Come, stand in the middle."

An Ping did as instructed and stood at the center of the awakening room. Once he was in place, the Spirit Receiver said, "Calm your mind and focus."

A white light lit up in the Spirit Receiver's hand. It had finally begun.

As the white light was cast out, patterns throughout the awakening room lit up one after another. The radiance converged toward where An Ping stood, and unease rose in his heart.

He felt an inexplicable force surge into his body through the soles of his feet, then spread through his limbs and bones. As An Ping sensed the power circulate through his body, an indescribably mysterious feeling rose in his heart. He unconsciously closed his eyes, wanting to comprehend it more carefully.

As time slowly passed, an almost imperceptible glow began flickering around An Ping's body. It flashed several times before retracting into him. As if struck by sudden inspiration, An Ping raised his right hand. Light flashed, and an ordinary-looking book appeared in his hand.

The strange patterns on its cover resembled some kind of writing. It did not look old or worn, yet the faint energy it gave off carried an ancient, weathered feeling.

Along with the appearance of the book, a ripple of energy spread from An Ping's body. The Spirit Receiver's face filled with delight. This was clearly the rare Innate Soul Power, and An Ping was the first person he had encountered today with it.

Feeling a weight in his right hand, An Ping opened his eyes. Seeing the book that had appeared out of thin air, he showed a trace of curiosity and murmured, "Sky of Truth? So this is a Martial Soul. It's pretty amazing."

"Yes, this is your Martial Soul—a book. Is Sky of Truth its name?" the Spirit Receiver asked.

After considering his words, An Ping replied, "I think so. The moment I saw it, those words appeared in my mind."

"Alright, there are still many people waiting behind you. I've already tested your Innate Soul Power level. It's level six. While it isn't the best, it isn't low either. I'll fill out a form for you. When school begins, you can come study here." As he spoke, he took out two forms.

After asking a few simple questions, he filled them out, handed one to An Ping as proof of enrollment, and kept the other for the Spirit Pagoda's records.

An Ping put away the form, thanked him, and left the awakening room. Though he still had many questions about his Martial Soul, he vaguely sensed that the book contained something. He knew this was not the time to investigate, so he buried everything in his heart and decided to wait until he returned home. After steadying himself slightly, he began walking outside.

He continuously brushed past people entering and leaving along the way. By the time An Ping reached the academy gates, the sun was already high overhead.

"Tang Wulin."

"I'm here."

Hearing the question and answer, An Ping abruptly paused and looked toward the voices. A beautiful little boy, led by his parents, was walking this way, waving excitedly.

Tang Wulin. So this was the original protagonist. He was the same age as me. With that thought in mind, An Ping kept walking, and they passed each other.

An Ping rubbed his already growling stomach and stopped thinking about protagonists or anything else. Eating was more important.

After returning home, he first made himself a simple lunch. Once he finished eating, he did not even bother washing the dishes before eagerly summoning his Martial Soul.

Rather than opening it immediately, he studied the rune-like markings on the cover. Though he had never seen anything like them even in his previous life, the meaning represented by the runes surfaced in his mind: Sky of Truth.

"Looks like these runes are a kind of writing. Or maybe not. I should see whether there is anything inside first. If there is, and it's written in the same runes, then I'll know for sure." Lost in thought, he carefully tried to open the book.