Facing the villagers' bows, Shen Rui and Ling Na smiled and nodded in response.
As for greeting them, well, after six years, they only recognized the villagers of Shuiyun Village by sight. They had no idea what any of them were called.
They passed through the crowd and came to the Spirit Hall. Shen Rui and Ling Na gave Shen Feng a few simple instructions, then let him enter the Spirit Hall alone.
When he stepped inside, Shen Feng saw ten children, both boys and girls, as well as a middle-aged man who looked to be around forty.
The man looked rather distinctive. He was tall and skinny, with a long, shovel-shaped face, a slightly jutting chin, wide cheekbones, a flat face, and a bit of a hooked nose.
A pair of black-framed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. The lenses were rigid squares. His eyes were closed, but the look between his brows still revealed a hint of the cunning carved into his very bones.
His appearance immediately brought a character from the original story to Shen Feng's mind: Shrek Academy's dean, Flender.
"Boy, hurry up and get in line now that you're here. You're the only one we're waiting for."
Just then, the middle-aged man who looked so much like Flender opened his eyes.
Hearing him speak, Shen Feng stopped guessing who he was and took a few quick steps to the far right end of the line.
Once Shen Feng was in place, the middle-aged man who looked like Flender gave him a thoughtful glance, then stepped forward to stand in front of the children lined up in a row.
"My name is Flender. I'm an inspection deacon officially certified by Spirit Hall, and I'll be guiding you through your Martial Soul awakenings shortly."
Hearing the man introduce himself, Shen Feng realized that he really was the Flender from the original story.
Flender had probably come out to do this himself for two reasons. First, to ease the burden on Spirit Hall in Suotuo City and give Spirit Hall a chance to promote his Shrek Academy to the public.
Second, perhaps he wanted to scout for hidden talent—to see if he could find any gifted Soul Master seedlings to bring back and add to Shrek Academy.
Oscar, the Innate Full Soul Power Food-Type Soul Master with the Sausage Martial Soul, seemed to have been one of the promising youngsters Flender had personally brought back from outside.
While Shen Feng was thinking, Flender had already begun awakening the Martial Soul of the first little boy on the left.
Flender casually tossed out six black, round stones and arranged them on the ground in a hexagram formation. Then he gestured for the child to stand in its center.
"Don't be afraid. Close your eyes and focus on what you feel."
After giving the instruction, Flender casually sent six streams of Soul Power into the six black stones on the ground.
The hexagram formation immediately activated, and a layer of pale golden light enveloped the little boy.
Golden specks began to drift out of the black stones on the ground, then slowly flew into the boy's body.
The boy's body began to tremble slightly. His expression looked a little pained, but also somewhat comfortable. His mouth hung open as if he wanted to cry out, yet couldn't make a sound.
"Hold out your right hand." A glint flashed in Flender's eyes as he stared intently at the little boy and gave the command in a voice that brooked no refusal.
The boy held out his right hand without thinking. All the specks of light surged out at once, and in an instant, a steel fork more than two meters long materialized in his palm.
Flender furrowed his brows slightly. "A Tool Martial Soul, a Three-Pronged Fish Fork. It can just about serve as a weapon, I suppose."
After muttering softly, Flender took out a small crystal ball and held it out to the boy.
"Your Martial Soul is a Three-Pronged Fish Fork, a Tool Martial Soul."
"Here, let's test whether you have Innate Soul Power. If you do, you can become a Power Attack System Battle Soul Master."
"M-Master, what should I do with my Martial Soul?" the boy asked timidly.
Flender answered calmly, "Recall it with your mind. You can call it out the same way whenever you want to use it."
The boy tried for quite a while before finally recalling the two-meter-long steel fork into his body.
"Come, put your right hand on the crystal ball and let's test your Soul Power."
At Flender's instruction, the boy carefully placed his hand on the crystal ball in Flender's palm.
The next moment, a gentle light began to shine from the crystal ball.
"Not bad. Innate Soul Power, level four. If you work hard, you should have no trouble reaching the Four-Ring Soul Ancestor level."
Hearing this, the boy immediately jumped up in excitement. "Haha! I can become a Soul Master! I can become a Soul Master!"
It was truly difficult for ordinary people to become Soul Masters. Saying that one in ten thousand managed it would not be an exaggeration. The population of the Douluo Continent numbered well over a billion, yet the number of Soul Masters had never even reached six figures.
And Soul Ancestors were already considered backbone powerhouses on the continent.
Even in the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, the two great empires, a Soul Ancestor could be granted a baron's title and appointed lord of a city.
It took a while before Flender finally frowned and spoke sternly. "All right, that's enough excitement. Go stand over there, and don't disturb me."
To Flender, level-four Innate Soul Power was nothing special. It was decent, but still not enough to catch his eye.
By the standards of Shrek Academy, someone with level-six Innate Soul Power might only pass the preliminary assessment. Whether they could enroll would depend on how hard they worked.
Only geniuses with level-seven Innate Soul Power or higher were Flender's real targets on this trip.
"Tool Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass. No Soul Power. Stand to the side."
"Tool Martial Soul, a woodcutter's axe. No Soul Power."
"Beast Martial Soul, a piglet. Innate Soul Power, level 0.5. You—you can become a Soul Master. Stand to the side for now."
"..."
Soon, all ten children ahead of Shen Feng had completed their awakenings. Apart from the boy with level-four Innate Soul Power, only the child with the Piglet Martial Soul and level 0.5 Soul Power could cultivate.
Whether someone with 0.5 Innate Soul Power bothered to cultivate hardly made a difference. With talent like that, even reaching level ten and becoming a One-Ring Soul Master would take an incredible stroke of luck.
But the child's piglet was a familiar purple. The sight made Flender think of someone he had lost, so he decided to give the child a chance.
At last, it was Shen Feng's turn. He stepped into the hexagram formation without waiting for Flender to tell him to.
"Boy, are both your parents Soul Masters?"
Seeing Shen Feng, Flender couldn't help asking him directly.
Shen Feng nodded, a little puzzled. "How did you know, Master?"
Flender smiled. "The village chief of Shuiyun Village told me. If I weren't waiting for you, I'd have finished awakening their Martial Souls already."
Shen Feng paused, then realized that the village chief of Shuiyun Village had been thoughtful enough to figure out that his own awakening was due soon. Otherwise, he might really have had to make a trip to Suotuo City.
Shen Feng chuckled. "Sorry for making you wait, Master."
Flender waved his hand, unconcerned. "Never mind. Let's get your Martial Soul awakened. I hope you can give me a pleasant surprise."
When Flender had first arrived in the village, he had heard the loud boom from the back mountain. The sound had carried for hundreds of meters, so whoever caused it had to be a Soul Master of considerable strength.
That was why he had agreed to wait after asking the village chief of Shuiyun Village about it.
As Flender sent six streams of Soul Power into the formation, the hexagram lit up again. A great many golden specks rose into the air and flowed into Shen Feng as if returning to their nest.
Flender's heart jolted, and he was delighted. "Good, good! I've found a treasure!"
At the same time, Shen Feng felt as though he had merged into a warm world. It was cozy and comforting.
The warmth seeped into his body. Shen Feng clearly felt something inside him being drawn out. One force spread throughout his limbs and body, while another surged toward his right hand.
Outside, a faint golden light shone over Shen Feng's body, while purple-black lightning flickered in his right hand.
The next moment, a black longsword appeared in his right hand. Its blade was one meter long and two and a half fingers wide, its hilt thirty centimeters long, and a ring hung from its pommel.
The strangest thing was the unusual purple-black markings carved into the sword's black blade. Threads of lightning arced out from the markings, enveloping the entire blade.
"Quick, quick! Test his Soul Power! Test his Soul Power!"
A proper longsword with a lightning attribute—such a high-grade Martial Soul had Flender excited too.
Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent could generally be divided into five grades.
Low-grade Martial Souls were the most common.
Flowers, birds, insects, fish, sickles, hoes, shovels, clubs, pots, bowls, plates, basins, tables, chairs, stools, and the like all belonged to the low-grade category.
These Martial Souls were not only common, but usually awakened with no Innate Soul Power. Naturally, they had little potential for development and were the kind of Martial Souls most easily awakened among the masses.
The second grade was the mid-grade Martial Soul.
The chance of awakening one of these Martial Souls was already much lower. They were usually fierce beasts, birds of prey, swords, spears, sabers, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, and the like.
In most cases, these Martial Souls awakened with some amount of Soul Power, allowing their owners to become Soul Masters.
Nearly ninety percent of Soul Masters in the world had this kind of Martial Soul. They could be considered the backbone of the Martial Soul world.
The third grade was the high-grade Martial Soul.
As long as it was a Beast Martial Soul, it was generally a Soul Beast beyond the ordinary. As long as it was a Tool Martial Soul, it usually came with some elemental power or special trait.
Unless something went wrong, those who awakened these Martial Souls would have at least level-five Innate Soul Power.
If they could grow up safely, they would reach at least the Four-Ring Soul Ancestor level, putting them in the Soul Master World's second tier.
Flender's own Cat Eagle Martial Soul and Shen Feng's lightning-attribute longsword Martial Soul both belonged to the high-grade category.
That was why Flender was so excited: Shen Feng's talent might well be better than his own.
The fourth grade was the top-grade Martial Soul, which was rather special.
What mattered with this category was not the Martial Soul's grade, but how powerful the Soul Master who awakened it became.
If the Soul Master who awakened one of these Martial Souls could cultivate to the nine-ring Titled Douluo level, then the type of Martial Soul they had awakened could be called a top-grade Martial Soul.
In other words, with these Martial Souls, it was the Soul Master who elevated the Martial Soul, rather than the Martial Soul elevating the Soul Master.
As for the fifth grade, god-grade Martial Souls, there was no need to say much.
As the name suggested, god-grade Martial Souls belonged to those who had become gods, or were created by deities.
Even Shen Feng, who knew some of the original story, only knew of two god-grade Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent at present.
One was the Angel Martial Soul of Spirit Hall's Angel Clan, and the other was the Sea God Martial Soul, reserved for the high priest of Sea God Island.
The owners of these Martial Souls were certain to reach the Titled Douluo level. As for their strength, that was a matter of perspective—or, more precisely, depended on the person.
Understanding why Flender had been so overwhelmed, Shen Feng smiled faintly. With a thought, he recalled the longsword in his right hand, then placed his hand over the crystal ball Flender had passed to him.
The next moment, Shen Feng's body shuddered violently. The crystal ball for testing Innate Soul Power seemed to possess a tremendous suction force, furiously drawing out every trace of energy in his body.
Shen Feng furrowed his brows, but no matter what he did, he couldn't break free of the powerful pull.
As the crystal ball gradually lit up, the corners of Flender's mouth stretched almost to his ears.
"Haha, boy, don't panic."
"Testing your Innate Soul Power just lets the Soul Power in your body flow through the crystal ball once. Once the test is over, it'll flow back into your body."
"Didn't your Soul Master parents tell you something this basic?"
Shen Feng shook his head slightly. "No. Maybe it was so basic that my unreliable parents forgot to tell me."
After Flender's reminder, Shen Feng stopped suppressing the Soul Power in his body. It immediately seemed to find an outlet, surging wildly into the crystal ball.
A dazzling light began to shine from the crystal ball, illuminating the dim stone-built Spirit Hall with its brilliant colors.
"Hahaha! Hahaha! Innate Full Soul Power! It's actually Innate Full Soul Power! I've found a treasure!"
"This trip was worth it, worth it!"
Shen Feng was the one who had awakened with Innate Full Soul Power, but Flender seemed a hundred times more excited than he was.
Seeing how excited Flender was, Shen Feng felt too embarrassed to get excited himself.
He shook his head helplessly and slowly pulled his hand away from the crystal ball. The room dimmed instantly.
"Boy, what's your name? Would you be willing to study at my Shrek Academy?"
Even in his excitement, Flender didn't forget his ultimate goal: finding promising youngsters, then luring them back and stamping them with his academy's mark.
And Shen Feng, with his Innate Full Soul Power, was naturally the best prospect in his eyes.
Shen Feng curled his lip. "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Master, but I haven't decided where to study yet."
Shen Feng knew perfectly well what Shrek Academy was. Its teachers had plenty of Soul Power, but its teaching methods were... truly hard to put into words.
If Shen Feng had to assign Shrek Academy an alignment, he would call it chaotic neutral.
It didn't do good deeds, but it wasn't all that evil either. It acted on a whim and was also somewhat prone to bullying the weak.
Shen Feng didn't care much for a faction like that, since his own nature leaned more toward lawful neutral.
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