Martial Soul: Seven-Orifice Lotus Seed

The closest Lin Feng had ever come to being a winner in life was the day the compensation for the demolition of his old home hit his account.

There were a full eight million in his bank card, two million more than the amount originally negotiated.

He sat on the stone steps outside the demolition office with his phone in hand, watching bulldozers crush the gray bricks and black tiles of his old house in the distance. He felt no attachment to his former home. His mind was filled with only one thought:

"Finally, I can buy a place in the city with floor-to-ceiling windows."

"Finally, I won't have to cram into that ten-square-meter rental anymore."

"Finally, I can take my Parents out for a proper meal."

Excitement went to his head, and Lin Feng forgot to check the traffic lights even when crossing the street.

Clutching the freshly printed demolition agreement, he headed briskly toward his usual restaurant, thinking of treating himself for all the hard work he had put into handling the demolition paperwork these past few years.

But just as he turned the corner, a construction truck hauling demolition debris suddenly charged in from the side.

The driver was too busy checking his rearview mirror while backing up to notice Lin Feng running the red light.

Bang—

The violent impact tore through his entire body. Lin Feng felt like a kite with its string snapped, sent flying through the air. In the last hazy moment before he lost consciousness, he saw the bank card slip from his pocket and get crushed beneath the wheels, the numbers on it shattered beyond recognition.

"Damn... I just got rich, and now it's gone..."

That was Lin Feng's final unwilling thought before he blacked out.

Who knew how long had passed before Lin Feng regained consciousness amid a gentle rocking motion.

He wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as if they had been glued shut. A woman's tender coaxing voice reached his ears:

"Good baby, you're awake? Are you hungry? Shall Mother make you some rice cereal?"

When he finally managed to see his surroundings clearly, he was completely dumbfounded.

He was lying in an old cradle lined with a coarse cloth mattress, wrapped in a faded swaddle. One tiny hand was even clutching a wooden spoon he had gnawed full of dents.

Even more absurdly, when he tried to curse, only infantile babbling came from his throat.

He had actually been reborn—and as a newborn baby!

Before he could process that ridiculous fact, suppressed sobbing suddenly came from inside the room.

A woman in coarse clothes sat beside the bed, wiping away tears. The midwife beside her sighed and said:

"Sister Li, don't be too sad. It's good enough that you gave birth safely. It's just... your body has been weakened too badly. I'm afraid it'll be difficult for you to conceive again in the future."

Only then did Lin Feng learn that the woman who had given birth to him was named Li Xiulian, an ordinary villager of Willow Creek Village. His "father," Lin Gensheng, was an honest farmer.

But before he had the chance to feel the warmth of having both Parents, Li Xiulian succumbed to postpartum weakness half a year later, unable to survive a bout of cold.

He had barely drunk any mother's milk after being born, yet he had already gained the reputation of being cursed against his mother. Lin Feng could only feel helpless.

Fortunately, Lin Gensheng treated him very well. No matter how hard life became, he never let him go hungry. He even scrimped and saved to send him to the village school to learn to read, hoping that one day he could escape a life with his face to the soil and his back to the sky.

Life passed blandly like that until he turned six.

One day, Lin Feng returned home from school. The moment he pushed open the creaking wooden door, he saw Lin Gensheng lying on the muddy ground in the courtyard, still clutching unfinished rice seedlings in his hand. His face was terrifyingly pale.

He had suddenly fallen ill while working in the fields. By the time the neighbors found him, he had already stopped breathing.

While the neighbors helped arrange the funeral, Lin Feng crouched in a corner and heard them whisper, "Gensheng must have felt at ease leaving once he raised the boy until he could take care of himself." It felt as though needles were stabbing his heart.

It was as if his Parents had completed some predetermined "mission." One had brought him into this world, and the other had raised him to the age of six. Then they had both hurriedly exited, leaving behind not even a single word of advice.

When your family is sacrificed to the heavens, your power knows no bounds.

That joking phrase inexplicably popped into Lin Feng's mind. But when he heard the words "Douluo Continent" from his schoolteacher, all his fantasies about being the chosen protagonist shattered instantly.

The hell with being the chosen protagonist!

The Son of Fortune of this world had long since been reserved for someone named Tang San!

And he had also figured out the timeline of his transmigration. In the year he turned six, Tang San had only just been born in Holy Soul Village. There were still at least six years before the plotlines he knew involving Nuoding Academy and the Shrek Seven Devils.

But upon closer thought, this point in time was not too bad. Spirit Hall had not yet been overthrown, the continent had not yet been monopolized by the Tang Family, commoners could still awaken their Martial Souls for free, Soul Master subsidies had not been canceled, and Evil Soul Masters had yet to stir up turmoil across the continent... It was just that he was a six-year-old child with no background and no cheat. Even if he knew the future plot, he had no way to interfere.

Grandpa Zhao, the old village chief, helped arrange Lin Gensheng's funeral.

Grandpa Zhao's name was Zhao Shouyi. He was Willow Creek Village's old village chief, an honest and warmhearted man who had helped their family plenty over the years.

That day, Lin Feng was curled up in the empty house, staring blankly at his father's memorial portrait on the wall as he pondered how he would survive from now on.

He had no special talents. In his Previous Life, he had merely been an ordinary office worker. After transmigrating, he had not unlocked any system or acquired some old master in a ring. Was he really going to spend the rest of his life farming and herding cattle?

"Xiao Feng, are you home?"

Zhao Shouyi's somewhat weathered voice came from outside the door, carrying a hint of caution, as though he feared touching on Lin Feng's pain.

Lin Feng hurriedly wiped the red traces from the corners of his eyes and got up to open the door. Zhao Shouyi leaned on a jujube-wood cane, his face full of heartache.

"Xiao Feng, your father is gone. What will you do from now on? Why don't you come live with this old man? I've still got an empty room at home."

Lin Feng shook his head—he did not want to burden anyone else, and he wanted to hold on to this only remaining "home." Zhao Shouyi did not force him. He sighed, then changed the subject.

"In a few days, it'll be the annual Martial Soul Awakening Day. All the children of the right age in the village have to go. Your Parents weren't Soul Masters, but maybe you've got talent?

"Go give it a try. If you awaken a powerful Martial Soul and become a Soul Master in the future, you won't have to struggle away farming anymore."

Martial Soul Awakening!

Lin Feng suddenly came to his senses—how had he forgotten about that?

Wasn't the core of Douluo Continent Martial Souls and Soul Masters?

If he could awaken a Martial Soul from the Power Attack System or the Control System, along with Innate Soul Power, then even if he could not become a cheater like Tang San, he should at least be able to become a Spirit Emperor or Soul Saint and live a respectable life, right?

Moreover, he vaguely remembered hearing an indistinct voice say, "The system will awaken in ten years," when he transmigrated. Yet over the past six years, that so-called system had never made another sound, as though it had gone completely dormant.

"Yes, awaken my Martial Soul! I have to awaken a powerful Martial Soul!"

Lin Feng clenched his tiny fists, and light finally returned to his eyes. This was his only chance to establish himself on Douluo Continent.

Martial Soul Awakening Day arrived soon after. Willow Creek Village was not large, and there were only around a dozen children of the right age. Led by Zhao Shouyi, they gathered outside the ancestral hall at the entrance to the village, waiting for Spirit Hall's deacon to arrive.

After waiting for about two hours, a man in a white robe finally appeared in the distance.

The man was expressionless. He introduced himself as a deacon of Spirit Hall, his voice cold as ice, then led the children into the ancestral hall.

The awakening formation had already been arranged inside. The deacon took out six pitch-black stones and placed them in specific positions, then pulled a blue crystal ball from his robes.

It was a tool for testing Soul Power, glowing faintly in the dim ancestral hall.

"One at a time. Stand in the middle of the formation, relax your mind, and don't be nervous." The deacon's tone remained cold, with no unnecessary words.

The first child timidly entered the formation. Pale golden light instantly enveloped him, and the next moment, a rusty sickle appeared in his hand.

"Sickle Martial Soul. No Soul Power. Next."

The deacon recorded it expressionlessly, not even sparing him an extra glance.

The second child entered, and a shriveled wheat stalk appeared in his hand. He also had no Soul Power.

The third, the fourth... They had either hoes and iron pots, or cloth and needles. They were all useless Martial Souls without Soul Power.

The deacon's expression grew increasingly unpleasant. He even muttered under his breath, "Again? What a wasted trip." Clearly, he had long since given up hope for this village's "talent."

Standing at the back of the line, Lin Feng grew more and more nervous. Both his Parents had been ordinary people. If he awakened a useless Martial Soul too, then he would probably be trapped in this mountain village for the rest of his life, farming until he died.

Finally, it was Lin Feng's turn. He took a deep breath, clenched his palms, and stepped into the center of the formation. Pale golden light instantly shrouded him. A warm sensation suddenly came from his palm. Looking down, he saw a Lotus Seed slowly floating above it.

The Lotus Seed was entirely jade-white, as though carved from mutton-fat jade. Seven faint, colorful patterns could be seen upon it, like seven tiny gemstones embedded in its surface. It looked exquisite and strange, carrying an indescribable spiritual aura.

"Hm?"

The deacon, who had shown almost no expression until then, finally had a flicker of surprise in his eyes when he saw the Lotus Seed.

But once he saw clearly that the Martial Soul was a "Lotus Seed," he habitually shook his head again, his face filled with an expression that said, "So it's still a useless Martial Soul after all."

"What kind of Martial Soul is this? I've awakened Martial Souls for so many years, yet I've never seen a Lotus Seed like this."

Lin Feng was also stunned—Seven-Orifice Lotus Seed?

He had searched through all the information related to Douluo Continent in his Previous Life, yet he had never heard even the slightest mention of such a Martial Soul!

And this Lotus Seed looked harmless and fragile. No matter how he looked at it, it did not seem capable of fighting. Could it really be a useless Martial Soul?

"Kid, what is your Martial Soul called?" The deacon frowned as he pressed for an answer. He prided himself on being well-informed, yet a single Lotus Seed had stumped him, leaving him somewhat displeased.

Just as panic filled Lin Feng's heart, he suddenly felt a faint warmth from the Lotus Seed in his palm. A clear name surfaced In Mind. He quickly raised his head. His voice still trembled slightly, but it carried a trace of certainty.

"Lord Soul Master, my Martial Soul is called the Seven-Orifice Lotus Seed."