"Useless" Dai Yuhao

After Dai Yuhao fused with the Spirit Soul, the Spirit Soul's refusal to cooperate troubled him for several days.

He tried every method of communication Han Tianyi had suggested, but Big Eye gave no response whatsoever.

He never expected that after traveling back to Ten Thousand Years Ago, this thorny problem would be resolved so easily.

The next day, at the first light of dawn, the White Tiger Duke Mansion's annual Martial Soul Awakening Day began.

All children who had reached Six Years Old, regardless of their background, would undergo Martial Soul Awakening together today.

Dai Yuhao was brought to a secluded Small Courtyard. It was not large, with packed dirt underfoot and mottled old walls surrounding it. It seemed utterly out of place amid the grandeur and refinement of the rest of the Duke Mansion.

When Dai Yuhao arrived, several children were already standing in the courtyard.

He silently scanned around. Including himself, there were only eleven in total.

Most of these children wore plain clothes, their eyes filled with timidity and unease.

Clearly, they were the children of low-ranking guards, laborers, or bottom-tier servants in the mansion.

The Duke's direct descendants and noble children naturally had better places and resources for awakening. They would never appear here.

A Middle-aged Man with a steady aura stood in the center of the courtyard. He was a Soul Elder guard from the Duke Mansion, specially assigned to oversee this awakening ceremony.

Dai Yuhao stood quietly among the children, doing his best to make himself inconspicuous.

He lowered his head and discreetly observed everything around him from the corner of his eye.

Before long, his sharp gaze caught sight of a familiar figure.

Beneath the shadow of an unremarkable corridor pillar some distance away, a woman in a Maid's uniform leaned casually against the wall, her gaze seemingly drifting over the Small Courtyard.

It was her!

Dai Yuhao's heart tightened. Though three years had passed, there was no way he could mistake her!

She was the Maid beside Duchess Zhu Yunqing—the one who had suddenly appeared during the ceremony welcoming White Tiger Duke Dai Hao three years ago, covered his mother's mouth, and forcibly took them away!

Without a doubt, the only person here worth her attention was him!

Most likely, the moment his awakening result came out, whether good or bad, it would be reported to Zhu Yunqing immediately!

"Next, Dai Yuhao!"

The Middle-aged Man guard's booming voice interrupted Dai Yuhao's thoughts.

The other ten children in the courtyard had already completed their awakenings. Only one possessed Soul Power, and it was merely Level 3.

Dai Yuhao slowly stepped forward and stopped before the Soul Elder guard.

The other man glanced at him indifferently. Six Awakening Stones flew from his hand, forming a pale golden barrier that enveloped Dai Yuhao!

A weak foreign force of Soul Power slowly entered Dai Yuhao's body, beginning to awaken the Martial Soul power dormant in his bloodline.

Dai Yuhao could clearly feel the Spirit Eyes Martial Soul almost manifesting on its own, while the Soul Power within him stirred restlessly.

His fists silently clenched at his sides. He lowered his gaze, and his eyes suddenly became incomparably focused.

At that moment, his powerful spiritual power became an invisible dam, instantly blocking the impulse toward Martial Soul Possession while tightly sealing away the pure Soul Power Level 11 within his body.

In terms of spiritual power, this Soul Elder conducting the awakening ceremony was not even a match for Dai Yuhao, a six-year-old child.

The light of the Awakening Array continued flickering as the Soul Elder guard constantly poured in Soul Power.

Yet the expected Martial Soul did not appear on Dai Yuhao's body, nor did any sign of Soul Power fluctuations emerge from him.

"Huh?"

A puzzled murmur escaped the Middle-aged Man guard's lips. He had presided over awakening ceremonies for many years. He had seen poor talent and weak Martial Souls, but he had never seen... someone with absolutely no reaction!

Common knowledge on Douluo Continent was that everyone possessed a Martial Soul. The only differences were its strength and whether one possessed Soul Power.

How could the boy before him fail to draw out even a Martial Soul?

Unwilling to believe it, he furrowed his eyebrows and increased his output of Soul Power.

Yet no matter how hard he urged it, there was still no change in Dai Yuhao.

In the end, the Soul Elder guard had no choice but to give up.

He slowly withdrew his Soul Power, and the light of the Magic Circle went out with it.

He shook his head, his voice returning to official calm as he announced, "Dai Yuhao, no Martial Soul, and no Soul Power."

Under the corridor pillar's shadow, Zhu Yunqing's Maid seemed to relax the moment she heard the result. The tension in her gaze vanished, and the corner of her mouth even curled downward almost imperceptibly, revealing undisguised contempt.

She cast one final glance at Dai Yuhao, who seemed too devastated by the result to Lift Head, then silently turned and left.

Dai Yuhao remained where he was. Only after he sensed that piercing gaze disappear completely did he slowly Lift Head.

There was no despair or sorrow on his face. Instead, he looked calm, and deep in his eyes flashed a cool glint of satisfaction at his plan's success.

Dai Yuhao had deliberately concealed his Martial Soul because of Leng Yaozhu's warning.

In her analysis, Duchess Zhu Yunqing had been paying far too much attention to him and his mother.

If Dai Yuhao were a genius with Innate Full Soul Power, it was uncertain whether he would ever get to see his father, Dai Hao. More likely, he would provoke Zhu Yunqing's wariness and bring disaster upon himself and his mother!

Thus, Dai Yuhao ultimately chose to hide his "talent" and disguise himself as a "useless" person without a Martial Soul!

That afternoon, Dai Yuhao was sitting cross-legged and cultivating on the Hard Bed in his shabby Small House.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed slightly as a violent kick against the gate rang out from outside the courtyard!

His spiritual power silently spread out like spilled mercury, and the intruder's identity instantly entered his perception.

"Dai Huabin..."

Dai Yuhao murmured inwardly, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his plain cloth clothes, then pushed open the equally dilapidated door and walked into the Small Courtyard outside.

Sure enough, the wooden gate to the Small Courtyard, which had already been on the verge of collapse, had been kicked open from outside. It hung crookedly from the frame, creaking miserably.

Five figures stood at the entrance, with Dai Huabin at their head.

Three years had passed, and he had grown taller and sturdier than before. He wore luxurious brocade robes, and the arrogance between his brows had only grown stronger.

At that moment, he stood with his arms folded and chin raised, looking down at Dai Yuhao as he emerged from the house.

When he saw Dai Yuhao, Dai Huabin curled his lips into an undisguised sneer, his voice filled with superiority.

"I heard... you went to awaken your Martial Soul today too?"

He deliberately drew out his words, his eyes sweeping back and forth over Dai Yuhao. "So, how did it go? Did you awaken nothing at all? Not even a useless Martial Soul?"

Dai Yuhao did not answer. He merely stood there quietly, looking at him calmly, unsure of what he wanted.

Seeing Dai Yuhao remain silent, Dai Huabin assumed he had struck a sore point and that he did not dare retort. He became even more smug.

He took a small step forward, lifted his chin higher, and spoke even louder, his voice full of boasting.

"Hmph! So you really are useless!"

"When I awakened last year, I got the White Tiger Martial Soul, the Dai Clan's inherited top-tier Martial Soul, with Innate Soul Power Level 8!"

"Now, my Soul Power has already reached Soul Power Level 10!"

"I'll soon obtain my first Soul Ring and become a true Soul Master!"

"Trash like you, without even a Martial Soul, can only rot in a place like this for the rest of your life. Just like that lowly mother of yours, you'll be a servant forever!"

As he listened to Dai Huabin's grating words, especially that final insult toward his mother, Dai Yuhao's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

His hands at his sides silently clenched into fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

A freezing fury, mixed with memories of past humiliation, suddenly surged through his heart like a venomous snake!

White Tiger Martial Soul?

Innate Level 8?

Soul Power Level 10?

Dai Yuhao sneered inwardly. These things that Dai Huabin considered worthy of boasting about were not worth mentioning before him—a One-Ring Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power who had already successfully fused with the Millennium Indomitable Soul Spirit!

If he wanted, he could release that purple Millennium Soul Ring right now!

With his spiritual power at the High-level Spirit Connection Realm, a single Soul Lash would be enough to severely damage Dai Huabin and his lackeys mentally, turning them into idiots!

This tempting thought of revenge rose and spread wildly through his mind like a wildfire!

Three years of endurance and all the wrongs his mother had suffered transformed into this violent urge!

Power surged at his fingertips, Soul Power rushed through his meridians, and spiritual power boiled in his mind!

However, Dai Yuhao's tightly clenched fists suddenly loosened.

He let out a long breath, as though expelling all the raging fury and killing intent from his chest with it.

The icy light that had nearly burst from his eyes swiftly receded and settled, becoming calm once more like a deep pool.

Exposing his strength here would feel satisfying, but the consequences would be unimaginable.

A lack of patience in small matters would ruin great plans!