Detached Martial Soul, Lei Yi.

Su Yuntao nodded and continued recording.

"Martial spirit name: Lei Yi. Innate Soul Power: Level one."

At a blacksmith's shop in Holy Soul Village, as the phenomenon from Lin Ming's martial spirit awakening unfolded, a middle-aged man lying in bed and snoring loudly paused mid-snore, opened his eyes, and stared toward the village's awakening site.

After a few breaths, he closed his eyes and turned over, his snoring resuming.

Inside the room, Tang San, tucked away in a corner, was now staring intently at Lin Ming.

More precisely, he was staring at Lei Yi.

His Purple Demon Eyes operated at full capacity, allowing him to see what ordinary people could not.

Within that humanoid figure of lightning lay something that instinctively made him uneasy.

Yet the surface-level test showed only level one soul power.

Contradictory.

Extremely contradictory.

"Next, Tang San."

Su Yuntao's voice interrupted Tang San's thoughts.

Tang San stepped forward and calmly completed his awakening.

Blue Silver Grass. Innate Full Soul Power.

"Another waste martial spirit?"

Su Yuntao looked at Lin Ming, then at Tang San, scratching his head.

What kind of cursed place was Holy Soul Village?

How could the awakening be so impressive, yet the soul power only level one?

And this little scrap of Blue Silver Grass turned out to be Innate Full Soul Power.

"What a shame..."

"At least Tang San has higher soul power."

"All that commotion, and he only got level one innate soul power."

"With level one innate, the best he'll ever be is a Soul Master."

"With soul power that low, he might as well just farm in the village."

A few kids huddled together, whispering among themselves.

Though level one innate soul power could still be cultivated, it at least gave those without any soul power a shred of comfort.

At least they dared not say a word about Tang San's Innate Full Soul Power.

That was just human nature.

Compared to Tang San's Innate Full Soul Power, they preferred Lin Ming's level one innate soul power.

Able to cultivate, yet forever only slightly stronger than an ordinary person.

Tang San's face remained expressionless, but inside he was overjoyed.

So what if there was a phenomenon during awakening? It was still just level one innate soul power.

He, on the other hand, was the impressive Innate Full Soul Power.

In his view, the gap between them had already shown itself from the start.

"Don't compare me to him. You might hurt his feelings."

Tang San joined the children's conversation for the first time, speaking words of comfort, but the corners of his mouth refused to stay down.

After all, the comparison between the two children had existed in Holy Soul Village since they were young.

One was an orphan who could rely on his own wits to live and take decent care of himself.

The other had a father but no mother, surviving day to day on thin broth, unable to do much else, and always running off somewhere.

"It's fine. Even a waste martial spirit can cultivate. At least you can claim the Gold Soul Coins."

Su Yuntao patted Lin Ming's arm in consolation, sighed, and turned to leave.

After all, the last master of a Detached Martial Spirit was nowhere to be found now—maybe the weeds on his grave were already three meters tall.

Waste martial spirit?

Lin Qiu almost laughed out loud.

With Su Yuntao's words, even if he truly had a waste martial spirit, he was already set.

He turned and left, Lei Yi floating behind him. As they passed through the doorway, Lei Yi glanced back at the crowd inside.

Outside, Old Jack the village chief was waiting.

He saw Lin Ming, opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end only patted him on the shoulder.

"Child, even with first-level soul power, it doesn't matter. Our village..."

Clearly, he already knew about Lin Ming's situation from Su Yuntao.

"Village chief." Lin Ming cut him off. "Can I get the work-study student spot at Nuoding Academy?"

Old Jack was taken aback. "Don't worry, I'll find a way."

"Thank you, village chief."

Lin Ming didn't say much more. He walked back to his simple, crude little hut.

He was a transmigrator himself, and in this world, he was also an orphan. The house held only him.

Closing the door, Little Lei Yi floated to the center of the room and, for the first time, actively initiated communication.

It wasn't sound. It was a mental image that surfaced directly in Lin Ming's consciousness.

First image: three phantom figures. Sacred Thunder Lei Yi, King Lei Yi, and Thunder God Lei Yi appeared in sequence.

Second image: inside Lei Yi's body, nine dim nodes, with lines connecting between the nodes.

Third image: a sword, or perhaps a spear, formed entirely of golden thunder.

Lin Ming closed his eyes, digesting this information.

"Soul rings are needed to activate true power?"

"This spear... Wrathful Thunder God's Judgment?"

Lin Ming forcibly suppressed the golden thunder surging in his left hand, murmuring to himself.

Beside him, Lei Yi seemed to echo his words, a spark of electricity arcing across its form.

Martial Soul Hall, Worship Hall.

Qian Daoliu slowly opened his eyes. He maintained a kneeling posture, but his gaze had already turned toward the distant sky.

"This aura..." he murmured softly, his voice echoing through the empty hall.

"It's not the divinity of the Angel God, nor the Sea God, nor the Rakshasa... It's a brand new presence, yet with a trace of familiarity."

Qian Daoliu stood up. The Six-winged Angel martial soul behind him trembled involuntarily.

"When did such an existence appear on the continent?"

As the high priest of the Angel God, his perception of divine power far surpassed ordinary people.

The Angel God Statue emitted a faint glow, drawing Qian Daoliu's attention.

"Lord Angel God, are you... guiding me?"

Qian Daoliu stared at the faintly glowing Angel God Statue.

The light on the statue flowed like streams, gradually coalescing into a bead between its brows.

The bead was entirely golden, quietly suspended between the statue's brows.

"This is... a God-Bestowed Soul Ring!"

Qian Daoliu recognized the bead and immediately sucked in a sharp breath.

The divine nature he had sensed earlier had actually caused the Angel God Statue to condense a God-Bestowed Soul Ring.

Such a situation was unheard of.

Even his granddaughter, Qian Renxue, had never received such treatment.

Could it be that...

A martial soul had appeared in the world even more suited to the Angel God's divine seat than the Six-winged Angel?

No.

Only the Six-winged Angel was the martial soul most fitting for the Angel God's divine seat.

"Ah."

After a long moment, Qian Daoliu sighed and knelt again before the Angel God Statue.

He firmly believed that the Angel God would not abandon them.

Moreover, his granddaughter Qian Renxue possessed the talent to become the Angel God.

He trusted the Angel God, and he trusted Qian Renxue.

A blacksmith's shop in Holy Soul Village.

Tang Hao was hugging Tang San, weeping bitterly.

"Xiao San, use the Clear Sky Hammer in your left hand to protect the Blue Silver Grass in your right."

Tang San was held tightly in Tang Hao's arms, his small face flushed red. He nodded with difficulty.

He felt like he was about to be suffocated, but the long-lost paternal affection made him completely unwilling to leave Tang Hao's smelly, yet sturdy, embrace.

"By the way, Xiao San, did anything unusual happen when your martial spirit awakened?"

Tang Hao, completely unaware of Tang San's condition, grabbed Tang San's arms with both hands and spoke seriously.

The physical strength of a Titled Douluo and Tang San's current body were on completely different levels.

Feeling the hands on his shoulders like two iron claws, Tang San dared not show any sign of pain on his face. His mind was dizzy, completely abandoning thought, as a strange sense of happiness rose in his heart.

Was this fatherly love?

It felt amazing.

After a long moment, Tang Hao frowned as he watched Tang San, whose head seemed to be bubbling with happiness.

Was this kid deaf?