The next morning.
After a dreamless night, Zhao Xuanzhen finished washing up, changed into clean, fresh clothes, and nearly slammed headfirst into a chest bigger than his head when he opened the door.
Looking up at the two burly, bearded men completely blocking the doorway, Zhao Xuanzhen teased, "Why are your heads pointy?"
"Your head is pointy! We came all this way early in the morning!"
The Bai Sisters retorted in unison. With a pop like bursting balloons, they returned to their original lovely appearances.
"Sky Phoenix is back. She's waiting for you."
Bai Zhicen said irritably as she reached into storage space and produced a cup of milk as if performing a magic trick. Bai Haoze activated his Bright Unicorn Martial Soul to heat it before handing it to Zhao Xuanzhen.
Taking the steaming milk, Zhao Xuanzhen gulped it all down. It came from a thousand-year snow mountain yak, rich in nutrients and thick with mellow fragrance. He could not help but sigh inwardly.
Starting out at the Spirit Pagoda—did they know what kind of life he had lived these past six years? It was simply...
A heavenly life!
His teacher favored him, his pocket money had seven figures, and two saintess-system older sisters with loyal-dog traits cared for him and fulfilled all his requests anytime, anywhere!
He was so happy here that he had forgotten all else!
"Let's go. Don't keep Teacher waiting too long."
Times had changed. The Douluo Continent was no longer the Tang San era from twenty thousand years ago, when Spirit Hall deacons traveled the world helping soul masters awaken their Martial Souls, nor was it the Huo Yuhao era of ten thousand years ago, when even Martial Soul awakening had been difficult.
Nowadays, free Martial Soul awakening sites had been built throughout the continent. As one of the superpowers, the Spirit Pagoda naturally had its own exclusive place for Martial Soul awakening.
The three entered a high-level elevator and went straight to the awakening room on the ninth floor of the Spirit Pagoda.
When the elevator doors opened, Zhao Xuanzhen discovered that the entire awakening room had been cleared out. Not a single Spirit Pagoda member was in sight. The hall was silent as water, crystal chandeliers reflected a warm white glow, and the marble floor shone brightly enough to serve as a mirror.
Without question, the place had been reserved today. No unrelated personnel were allowed inside.
Some powerful noble had taken a liking to Zhao Xuanzhen and provided him with a relaxed, quiet environment.
"Xuanzhen."
A voice suddenly called out. A figure emerged from the depths of the awakening room, sunlight shining from beside her. Her picturesque features and exquisite, curvaceous figure were bathed in a captivating halo that made it impossible to look away.
Her green hair cascaded like a waterfall and mist, light and silky. Her phoenix eyes, like red gemstones, held a frosty chill. Her slender, crescent-moon brows added a touch of tenderness to her cold beauty.
"Greetings, Sky Phoenix."
At the sight of the woman, reverence immediately appeared in the Bai Sisters' eyes. They bowed properly. There was no other reason—her status and strength were both heights they could only look up to.
The Spirit Pagoda Deputy Tower Master, a Four-Word Battle Armor Master, Sky Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu.
"Teacher."
Zhao Xuanzhen hurried toward Leng Yaozhu. She bent down and immediately cupped his face, kneading it vigorously as she smiled. "Your Martial Soul is about to awaken. Are you nervous?"
"There's no need to be nervous. Martial Soul awakening cannot determine a soul master's long life. There are too many treasures on the Douluo Continent that can make up for Congenital Insufficiency.
To quote a famous saying: Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never bully a young man because he is poor."
Zhao Xuanzhen let Leng Yaozhu enjoy the springy feel of his cheeks, making the Bai Sisters look on enviously. Yesterday, they had not even been allowed to pat his head. A teacher's privilege was indeed greater.
"You're rather carefree for someone so young." Leng Yaozhu withdrew her hand, her gaze gentle. "Still, Teacher hopes you inherit your mother's Spirit Phoenix Martial Soul. A rare Phoenix Bloodline with a Mental Attribute. That would allow me to pass down my abilities to you to the greatest extent."
"Teacher, Teacher, the Spirit Phoenix is indeed powerful, but it demands too much control. Do you have any recommendations for a Martial Soul that's simpler and stronger?"
"Yes." Leng Yaozhu nodded. "Your father's Silver Giant. Combined with ancient martial arts fist techniques, it is simple and powerful."
The Leng Family was one of the ruling families of the Spirit Pagoda. Its inherited Martial Soul was Tianfeng, and it was also known as the Phoenix Family.
Zhao Xuanzhen's mother, Ye Ling, came from the collateral Spirit Phoenix branch. Fifteen years ago, she was recommended by the Spirit Pagoda to join the military and guard an important location, where she met and fell in love with Zhao Xuanzhen's father, Zhao Liuyun.
On the day Zhao Xuanzhen was born, the evil creatures held back at the legion's strategic location suddenly rioted. The scale was the greatest seen in a century. The couple tragically perished, leaving behind only their infant son, Zhao Xuanzhen.
After the war ended, the legion achieved a narrow victory. A high-level officer originally proposed adopting Zhao Xuanzhen, but Leng Yaozhu intervened.
The two beauties of the Leng Family, once renowned across the continent for both their might and beauty, had both remained alone. With the main Leng Family line left without descendants, collateral branches became all the more important. Thus, Leng Yaozhu took Zhao Xuanzhen away and accepted him as her disciple, hoping that one day he would become the family's leader after her.
Six years had passed. At last, it was time to scratch off the lottery ticket. Better luck next time or a hidden grand prize—the answer would soon be revealed.
"Xuanzhen, Teacher will help awaken your Martial Soul. Big White, Little White, come along too."
Leng Yaozhu rose and walked inward. Her every step was gentle and dignified, brimming with feminine charm. Zhao Xuanzhen and the Bai Sisters followed close behind.
At the center of the awakening room, Zhao Xuanzhen stood still. Leng Yaozhu extended a slender jade finger and slowly poured Soul Power into the surroundings.
The awakening method was exceedingly simple. Even if a Soul Grandmaster performed it, there would not be the slightest danger, much less with Sky Phoenix Douluo personally handling it.
Throughout the process, Leng Yaozhu kept watching Zhao Xuanzhen. Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen also locked their attention tightly on him. They were his teacher and older sisters, having watched him grow from a child into a young man bit by bit. They feared something might happen to him.
As the Martial Soul awakening began, Zhao Xuanzhen felt a warm aura continually seep into him. A power gradually awakened within his body, developing from faint fluctuations into violent boiling.
Guided by that warm aura, it felt as though something had shattered. All the energy surged through his entire body!
In an instant, black and white two-colored mist billowed out. The ninth floor of the entire Spirit Pagoda shone brilliantly, like a fantastical dream.
Zhao Xuanzhen stood silently in place with his eyes tightly shut. Invisible power spilled out, and his body was enveloped in a mysterious black-and-white halo.
The mist spread through the room. The three women seemed to float amid black-and-white clouds. People who had been right before their eyes suddenly felt distant, as though they were high above the clouds and beyond reach.
The Bai Sisters' composure was far inferior to Leng Yaozhu's. They could not help opening their mouths wide. Bai Haoze muttered, "Xuanzhen's Martial Soul awakening is far more dramatic than ours was!"
Bai Zhicen deeply agreed. The sisters possessed top-tier Unicorn Martial Souls, yet when they awakened at six years old, there had only been slight anomalies.
Judging by the principle that the greater the awakening spectacle, the fiercer the Martial Soul, their past worries...
Had all been unnecessary!
Light also filled Leng Yaozhu's phoenix eyes. Though she had prepared the Mystic Water Pill, Whale Glue, Shark Pearl, and a series of supplements in advance, even mentally preparing herself to spend a great price at the Tang Sect for an Immortal Herb, not needing them was naturally best. Every teacher hoped for her disciple to possess greater talent!
Within the three women's sight, Zhao Xuanzhen's body was completely dyed by the black-and-white halo, radiating brilliance. Under the effect of the ancient traditional ritual, his dormant Martial Soul was about to awaken.
Leng Yaozhu had the highest cultivation and stood closest to Zhao Xuanzhen. She saw what seemed to be a black-and-white texture flash between his brows, then rapidly spread like a net through his limbs and bones, clearly outlining every vein and channel in his body.
"Not the Spirit Phoenix..."
As the patriarch of the Phoenix Family, Leng Yaozhu was incomparably familiar with Phoenix Martial Souls. In an instant, she judged that this was definitely not the Spirit Phoenix!
"Could it be the Silver Giant?"
As Leng Yaozhu pondered deeply, Zhao Xuanzhen suddenly opened his eyes. Soul Power Fluctuation erupted with a boom, accompanied by a clear mental fluctuation spreading outward!
Three pairs of beautiful eyes immediately scanned Zhao Xuanzhen from head to toe like searchlights, trying to determine what kind of Martial Soul it was.
Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent were broadly divided into two categories: Tool Martial Souls and Beast Martial Souls. Without exception, both brought tremendous changes to soul masters. Yet Zhao Xuanzhen had gained no weapon, and his body showed no Soul Beast traits. Only a lock of black hair had quietly turned pale white.
"Hair?"
Bai Haoze blinked.
"An Original Martial Soul..."
Bai Zhicen scratched the white hair beside her ear.
"It is an Original Martial Soul, but it isn't hair."
Leng Yaozhu spoke softly, then added, "Or rather, it isn't only hair!"
As if confirming Leng Yaozhu's words, the black-and-white mist emanating from Zhao Xuanzhen condensed behind him. A figure slowly took shape. It was clearly an enlarged Zhao Xuanzhen, his eyes shining like brilliant stars, a Taiji Yin Yang diagram rotating steadily beneath his feet!
"Himself!"
The Bai Sisters' pupils widened slightly. Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent were inherited through bloodlines, but there was one type of Martial Soul that any soul master could awaken—the human body itself, also known as an Original Martial Soul!
Among Original Martial Souls, the more important the body part, the greater the Martial Soul's potential!
The self was undoubtedly the most top-tier Original Martial Soul!
"The self... not bad."
Zhao Xuanzhen chuckled as he experienced the power surging through his body. Honestly, it was much stronger than he had expected.
The Spirit Phoenix and Silver Giant were both high-level Martial Souls, but the issue was that this was the Legend of the Dragon King Era.
Against the two Dragon King ancestors, Beast Martial Souls had no way to survive. Original Martial Souls, however, were entirely different. Their strength depended only on Zhao Xuanzhen himself. They feared no caste-like Bloodline Suppression and were truly the Martial Soul best suited for him to integrate the Daoist arts of his previous life!
"Xuanzhen, test your mental strength and Innate Soul Power."
Leng Yaozhu could not suppress the excitement in her expression. A Super Douluo with an Original Martial Soul resided at the Spirit Transmission Tower Headquarters. During her exchanges with that person, she had learned quite a few secrets regarding Original Martial Souls.
She had a feeling that Zhao Xuanzhen's self matched that description!
Taking a blue crystal ball from her Storage Soul Tool, Leng Yaozhu indicated for Zhao Xuanzhen to place his right hand on it. The next second, a metal helmet for testing mental strength descended from the ceiling and covered Zhao Xuanzhen's head.
The moment Zhao Xuanzhen touched the crystal ball, it lit up. Dazzling blue light rapidly spread from a single point, rich blue halos overflowing as the entire crystal ball gleamed like a radiant gemstone.
The change did not stop there. A faint buzzing sound rang out, and the helmet flashed with a soft white light. The three women looked at the connected Soul Guidance Screen, where data began to jump.
The value began at zero and soared upward. In the blink of an eye, it broke through three digits, then slowly stabilized at one hundred and eighty-eight.
"Innate Full Soul Power!"
"Innate Spirit Connection Realm?"
The Bai Sisters were utterly dumbfounded, their lovely features twisted together in shock.
The slightest reaction from the Soul Power crystal ball would prove that Soul Power had been born in the tester's body. At that moment, the crystal ball in Zhao Xuanzhen's hand shone with dazzling brilliance, so the answer was obvious.
Innate Full Soul Power.
After a human's Martial Soul awakened, the type of Martial Soul determined whether a soul master's combat ability would be strong, but Innate Soul Power was equally crucial. Innate Full Soul Power was the highest Soul Power a normal soul master could possess at birth, granting immense advantages in future cultivation.
Though Innate Full Soul Power was rare, it was not enough to make Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen lose their composure like this. The truly outrageous thing was the one hundred and eighty-eight points of mental strength!
On the present-day Douluo Continent, Soul Spirits had nearly replaced Soul Beasts. Powerful Soul Spirits required sufficiently profound mental strength to communicate with, so mental strength was no less important than Soul Spirits. There were six major realms in total.
Spirit Origin Realm, Spirit Connection Realm, Spirit Sea Realm, Spirit Abyss Realm, Spirit Domain Realm, and the legendary God Origin Realm.
The Spirit Origin Realm represented the beginning of all things and renewal of all phenomena. At 1–100 points, it was the most basic mental level and allowed one to contract two ten-year Soul Spirits or one hundred-year Soul Spirit.
The Spirit Connection Realm meant that one's mind connected with the spirit, with thoughts reaching wherever intent went. At 100–500 points, one could contract two hundred-year Soul Spirits or one Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
Upon reaching the Spirit Connection Realm, mental strength control had officially entered the beginner stage. One could wield mental strength for one's own use. Zhao Xuanzhen's Innate Spirit Connection Realm meant his first Soul Spirit could directly contract a Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
"Sis, do you know what Martial Soul possesses both Innate Full Soul Power and Innate Spirit Connection Realm mental strength?"
Bai Zhicen looked as if she doubted her entire life. Yesterday, she seemed to have unknowingly made a fool of herself.
"Me? I've never heard of one!"
Bai Haoze shook her head like a rattle drum.
Hearing their conversation, Zhao Xuanzhen could not help smiling. Huohuo next door had crossed over with a mutated soul and possessed extraordinary alchemy talent. Was it too much for him to have a little presence in mental strength?
"A perfect self... So Phantom Brain wasn't merely boasting back then..."
Her crimson eyes stared deeply at Zhao Xuanzhen. Leng Yaozhu's gaze contained gratification, contemplation, hesitation, and...
Ambition!
After a long while, her complicated expression transformed into a single emotion—determination!
"Xuanzhen, your Martial Soul is not the self."
At Leng Yaozhu's words, Zhao Xuanzhen and the Bai Sisters froze for a moment, looking at her in confusion. She did not keep them in suspense and slowly explained:
"You should know that there is an Ancient Sect of Ten Thousand Years on the Douluo Continent: the Body Sect.
"All Body Sect disciples possess Original Martial Souls. They understand Original Martial Souls better than anyone.
"Original Martial Souls correspond to many parts of the human body. Just as the Douluo Continent divides traditional Martial Souls into Tool Martial Souls and Beast Martial Souls, the Body Sect divides Original Martial Souls into Two Branches: the physical body and the spirit.
"In the Body Sect's definition, the self refers to the entire flesh-and-blood body, encompassing the limbs, torso, skin, and so on... It is the pinnacle of the physical branch.
"You have all heard of the pinnacle of the spiritual branch. It is the Asura's Eye of Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao, the founder of our Spirit Pagoda—a Mental Attribute Martial Soul encompassing the eyes and brain."
"Body and spirit..." Zhao Xuanzhen narrowed his eyes. "That sounds familiar. It is somewhat like how the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King each occupied half the Dragon God's power."
"You're right." Leng Yaozhu nodded lightly. "For tens of thousands of years, the Body Sect has continuously pursued the perfect form of the Original Martial Soul. It should be like the Dragon God, fusing the Golden Dragon King's ultimate physique with the Silver Dragon King's world-shaking wisdom to give birth to the supreme Original Martial Soul.
"Xuanzhen, your self, which possesses a Mental Attribute, is precisely the God-level Original Martial Soul that the Body Sect has dreamed of...
"True Self!"
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