Cheat, Maybe?

Cheat, Maybe?

"Now that your Martial Soul has awakened, move aside."

Watching the uncle and nephew clown around, Yan Jun's expression was none too pleasant. Still, he did not want to sound too severe, so he could only clear his throat twice before reminding them.

He was practically retired now and did not want to concern himself with anything. He did not ask for good things to happen anymore; he only hoped that when bad things happened nearby, no blood would splash onto him.

"Yes, Senior. We'll move aside right away."

Chen Ming's second uncle respectfully cupped his fist toward Yan Jun in salute, then grabbed Chen Ming by the shoulder, lifted him up, and carried him off to the side.

Biluo City's rule was that no matter what Martial Soul you awakened—whether you had no Soul Power or awakened Old Wang next door's inherited family Martial Soul—you had to wait here until the awakening ceremony ended before going home to settle matters. It was a rule that had stood for several centuries. The Chen Family could not break it either; no matter how anxious they were, they could only wait at the side.

After Chen Ming was carried aside, the nearby spectators all silently took a step back. Biluo City was a place littered with poisons. Anyone with a functioning brain knew to avoid danger when it was time to do so, rather than crowd forward at every opportunity.

People could not teach people, but one lesson from experience was enough. In this place, those with too much curiosity either gave up their curiosity or gave up their lives. People who loved courting death did not live long.

Had they not seen that even that level-forty Soul Ancestor had turned green from the poison with one careless mistake? If they got hit by it even once, they would truly be out of luck.

Even if the poison could be cured, they would still suffer for nothing.

Observe. Observe from afar first, then observe carefully.

Watching his nephew's tail swaying back and forth behind him, the thin man coughed twice, made a grasping motion over his chest, then pressed downward.

"Focus your mind and calm your breathing. Feel your heartbeat. Feel the power flowing through your body like blood with every breath and heartbeat—that is Soul Power. Then imagine yourself relaxing, sinking into a soft bed. Feel the extra weight on your chest, then stuff it back into your body."

Soul Master families taught children how to sense Soul Power in greater detail than the Spirit Hall Soul Masters conducting awakenings did, but this explanation still carried a somewhat mystical air. Things like an extra weight on the chest were too abstract for children of ordinary mental maturity. Sometimes, overthinking it would instead keep their Soul Power from returning for ages.

Fortunately, Chen Ming had been an adult with mature thinking abilities in his previous life. After pondering it for a moment, he entered the right state.

The process of retracting his Martial Soul and Soul Power went smoothly. Yet during it, Chen Ming seemed to sense something strange.

It was a power that seemed abstract, impossible to describe simply with words, yet somehow existed everywhere and could be touched by anyone at any time.

It felt incomparably familiar, yet could not be described through any concrete words or thoughts.

If he had to describe it... it was probably some kind of spiritual or conceptual power?

Did Soul Masters on Douluo Continent all feel this way when releasing and retracting their Martial Souls? Or was he an exception because he was a transmigrator, with some special trait in his soul? Or did he actually possess some cheat that he had never discovered?

Chen Ming silently pondered this, then raised his right hand and touched his left arm, which was exposed outside his clothes. Though his skin was somewhat tough and his muscles bulged, there was little difference from before his Martial Soul awakened. There was none of the exaggerated transformation from when he had undergone Martial Soul Possession, and not the slightest trace of a carapace could be seen.

Because his body had swelled dramatically after Martial Soul Possession and a layer of carapace had appeared over both arms, Chen Ming's clothes were somewhat tattered now, with his arms exposed to the air.

Soul Master families had naturally considered the issue of children's changing physiques tearing their clothes after awakening their Martial Souls. Chen Ming's clothes had good elasticity as well, but his body had not merely expanded just now. A layer of distinctly corrosive poison had also covered his skin, directly damaging the fabric and leaving him in this sorry state.

Chen Ming did not care about that, though. He merely looked a little disheveled; it was not as if he were running around naked. If becoming disheveled during a Martial Soul awakening could be exchanged for a higher-quality Martial Soul, then everyone on Douluo Continent would probably choose to go naked during this ceremony.

The ceremony continued, but none of the children afterward were particularly noteworthy.

Among the children awakened this year, Chen Ming had the highest Soul Power Level: level-five Innate Soul Power. Of the fifteen children, only one had no Soul Power, but most hovered around levels two and three. The second-highest child had only level-four Soul Power, and his Martial Soul was merely an ordinary venomous snake, not especially powerful.

Once the ceremony was over, Chen Ming's second uncle immediately scooped him up, circulated his Soul Power, and disregarding the looks of those around him, sprinted wildly toward the Chen Family.

When they were still several hundred meters from home, a powerful surge of Soul Power rushed out from the direction of the Chen Family. An agile old man charged toward them aggressively.

"Are there pursuers behind you? I'd like to see who has the nerve to cause trouble before my Chen Family!"

Gloomy Soul Power shrouded the old man's body. Behind his aged figure, the phantom of an emerald-green poisonous scorpion could vaguely be seen. Two yellow, two purple, and one black Soul Rings—the optimal configuration—encircled him. His hawk-like gaze swept across the seemingly quiet street, and his voice was as cold as the frigid wind of deep winter.

"Father, there are no pursuers. It's something else. Let's go home first."

Seeing his father like this, how could Chen Ming's second uncle not realize that the old man had mistaken his mad dash for being chased home by enemies?

Looking at the ground corroded by the Soul Power leaking from him, he did not need to think to know just how irritable the old man was. If he did not explain himself, he would probably be hung from a beam and spanked when they got home.

"Seriously, it's been a long time since I caused enough trouble to be hunted through the city..." the middle-aged man muttered with a curl of his lips.

"You'd better have a good reason..."

Upon hearing that there were no pursuers, the old man's rising aura stiffened slightly. Feeling Chen Ming's gaze on him, his expression turned awkward for a moment. He could only snort coldly, flick his sleeve, and turn away.

He knew that although his second son was a little unruly, he would not make any major blunders. If he said something was wrong, then something had to be wrong. Still, making such a blunder in front of his only grandson was rather embarrassing for the old man.

Fortunately, Chen Ming's second uncle had gone all out in bringing Chen Ming back to the Chen Family, so people from the other factions had not yet returned to report. There were not many spies watching the Chen Family's entrance, and the vendors and passersby had long since been frightened away by the two men's auras. Thus, not many people saw this scene.