Martial Soul Awakening

The orphanage children beside Shang An looked enviously at the children being led by their parents. If they could, they too wanted to be children cherished by their parents.

Shang An did not feel much about it. Although he had taken a master and cultivated the Dao in his previous life, he had often returned home to serve his parents.

He also had several older brothers to look after the family. He had been his parents' youngest son; his father had already been fifty-eight when he was born, while his mother had been in her forties.

His parents had likely passed away when Shang An was twenty-six or twenty-seven. At the time, they had been considered long-lived.

It was only after seeing his parents off that he had decided to secretly learn forbidden arts, eventually becoming what people called an "Evil Path" cultivator.

Over the past few centuries, he had come to terms with such things. Faced with this scene, he naturally just smiled and let it pass.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and those who had come for Martial Soul Awakening had mostly arrived. The Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony officially began.

A Temple Bishop in a platinum robe emerged from the main hall, followed by several Black-Robed Bishops and more than a dozen armored Temple Guards.

He called for everyone to line up and enter the Holy Temple for their Martial Soul Awakening.

The children gradually formed lines and entered one after another, while the adults waited outside.

According to the rules, adults were not allowed to accompany them during Martial Soul Awakening.

Temple Guards blocked the entrance. The adults could only stare anxiously at the doorway, waiting in worry. Some even craned their necks, hoping to glimpse what was happening inside.

They looked just like the parents Shang An had seen in his previous life, waiting outside college entrance examination halls.

And Martial Soul Awakening was even more important than the college entrance examination in his previous life, because one's Martial Soul and Innate Soul Power would determine one's entire life.

Once the tested children came out, their parents immediately pulled them aside to ask questions or directly checked their Spirit Master certificates. Parents whose children had high Innate Soul Power naturally wept with joy.

Those with poor results might be dejected, but they would still softly comfort their children. There were also those who got angry, though they were only a few.

Half an hour passed in a blur, and it was finally Shang An's group's turn.

Before they entered, Dean Grandma repeatedly reminded them:

"Children, don't panic after you go inside. Listen to the bishop's arrangements in everything."

Then Shang An followed the group into the Spirit Temple. The Holy Temple was primarily white, its walls carved with Angel Statues. It was magnificent and grand, yet solemn and imposing.

The bishop in the platinum robe stood in the center of the hall. He was also the Platinum Bishop of Spirit City's eastern district.

Before him stood a Hexagram Array formed from six glittering gems. This was the Martial Soul Awakening Array, the gentlest method of assisting Martial Soul Awakening that generations of Spirit Masters had explored and developed.

A Blue Crystal Ball stood off to one side, used to test Innate Soul Power.

The Platinum Bishop nodded.

"Line up. One at a time. First, Xu Wu."

Xu Wu was a dark-skinned boy with a sturdy build unlike that of a six-year-old. He strode forward and entered the Hexagram Array. Following the guidance of the assisting Instructor beside him, Xu Wu released his Martial Soul.

"Martial Soul: Blazing Berserk Ape. Not bad. Now let's test your Innate Soul Power."

The Soul Power Crystal Ball lit up.

"Innate Level Seven Soul Power. Not bad, not bad. Cultivate diligently, and you may have a chance of becoming a Spirit Douluo."

Joy appeared on Xu Wu's face. Clearly, he was very satisfied with himself.

Shang An could not help glancing at him. It was not envy, but surprise at Spirit City's strength. He had run into someone with Innate Level Seven Soul Power so casually.

In other villages and towns across Douluo Continent, having even one child with Soul Power was considered a joyous occasion, let alone someone with Innate Level Seven Soul Power.

Even Zhu Zhuqing of the Shrek Seven Devils only had Innate Level Seven Soul Power.

"Next, Li Zhi. Martial Soul: Variegated Cat. Innate Level Four Soul Power."

The bishop continued.

"Chang Qi. Moon Shadow Wolf. Innate Level Five Soul Power."

"Song Yi. Bloodthirsty Vine. Innate Level Five Soul Power."

"Gu Chensha. Big Watermelon. Innate Level Three Soul Power."

The next few were not as good as Xu Wu, but most had Innate Soul Power between Level Three and Level Six. Their futures could be considered bright.

Very soon, it was Shang An's turn. Shang An quickly walked into the Hexagram Array and stood still, beginning to sense his Martial Soul under the Instructor's guidance.

Before long, his body was enveloped in the radiance of the Hexagram Array. A gentle energy spread through his entire body, while an invisible force within him was about to burst forth.

Seeing that Shang An's hands were still empty, the bishop continued increasing his Soul Power output.

This had previously only happened when awakening truly exceptional geniuses. Could this boy be one as well?

The bishop rejoiced inwardly. A faint smile could not help appearing on his numb face. Perhaps another genius would emerge under his watch today. That would be his achievement.

The bishop continued increasing his Soul Power output. One minute, two minutes—then suddenly, the force within Shang An seemed to find an opening.

A bead wrapped in Chaos-colored currents appeared in his right hand. At the same time, an aura of the beginning of all phenomena and the origin of all things emerged from the bead.

Within a Different Dimension beneath the Star Dou Great Forest, a Silver Dragon with beautiful bright silver scales quietly awoke.

"What was that?"

But that familiar aura quickly vanished. She did not dare investigate further, because the gods in the heavens had always been watching below. She closed her eyes again.

"Such a familiar aura. It was..."

Inside the main hall.

The bead still radiated an overwhelming pressure, and even the bishop's Martial Soul began to tremble. He possessed a high-grade Martial Soul and was an eight-ring Spirit Douluo, yet today, he was trembling because of a single bead. It even conveyed a sense of fear.

"A super Martial Soul. At the very least, it's a super Martial Soul."

The bishop roared inwardly, while the smile on his face grew even brighter. He said gently to Shang An:

"Come, child. Let's test your Innate Soul Power again."

Shang An nodded and placed his hand on the Soul Power Crystal. A blinding light erupted, dazzling the eyes of several people nearby. The bishop's mouth fell open.

Spirit City's Soul Power Crystal Ball differed from the crystal balls carried by ordinary deacons. It was an advanced crystal ball capable of measuring up to fifty levels of Soul Power.

Yet the light emitted by this Soul Power Crystal had already far exceeded the radiance that Innate Full Soul Power could produce.

"This is... Innate Level Twenty. Innate Level Twenty Soul Power!"

The bishop suddenly calmed down and looked at the people around him.

"You stay here and guard the place. No one is allowed to leave. I'm going to meet His Holiness the Pope."

Then he smiled at Shang An.

"Child, your name is Shang An, right? Wait here for a moment. I'll be back soon."

Shang An nodded obediently. Given his talent, this matter would probably be reported directly upward. Still, it did not matter; he had never intended to hide it.

Then he looked at the Martial Soul in his right hand. The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed. Wasn't this the bead he had refined in the past to store magical power?

How had it become like this? Had it absorbed something and mutated during the spacetime upheaval?

He was certain that this bead was not some Chaos Bead. It was the Taiyi Bead. Though its name sounded imposing, it had merely been an ordinary magical artifact bead he had refined in his previous life to store magical power.

As he carefully sensed his Martial Soul, it transmitted some information to him. The Taiyi Bead contained the power of origin within its body, possessing the ability to evolve all things and shape heaven and earth. It also had an extremely high degree of Martial Soul compatibility.

Perhaps the bead had absorbed a wisp of origin power during the spacetime upheaval, greatly raising its quality.

It had even become his Martial Soul, and judging by the situation, an extraordinarily powerful one. Innate Level Twenty—Qian Renxue was probably the only person in this world with Innate Level Twenty Soul Power.

After arriving in this world, he had begun cultivating the Great Freedom True Scripture. But he knew that the Great Freedom True Scripture could not possibly help him break through the ten-level Soul Power limit. It seemed this was also the credit of this Martial Soul.

And he felt that he had another Martial Soul, one transformed from his Great Freedom Formless Heavenly Demon Primordial Spirit. It should count as a Body Martial Soul.

Shang An named it the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Lord. This Martial Soul was even stranger. It could not be fitted with Spirit Rings, but it would grow alongside Shang An.

At present, it only possessed the most basic ability, Heart Demon Seed Dao. It could use Psychic Power to actively or passively influence others.

It could even condense Demon Seeds and plant them within others. Inner Demons would be born from another person's thoughts or obsessions combined with Shang An's aura. As long as the obsession remained, they could not be destroyed. They could influence a person's will, equivalent to placing an Intelligence-Reducing Aura on an enemy.

Shang An could also use Psychic Power to subtly alter others. This was not control; rather, it guided them by magnifying or diminishing certain flaws, regrets, and emotions within their hearts.

Compared to crudely controlling people, this subtle influence was far more terrifying.

This was also one of the abilities he had developed in his previous life. He had thought he would need to cultivate his Primordial Spirit anew, but it had unexpectedly become his Martial Soul.

Unfortunately, his current spiritual power was too low. Though he had cultivated to an extremely profound realm in his previous life, he still had to start over after passing through a spacetime upheaval.

Still, it could be considered a blessing in disguise. Not only had he arrived in a world with little threat and abundant spiritual energy.

The compression and tempering of the spacetime upheaval had also made his already exceptional aptitude even more outstanding, allowing him to easily cultivate to the Dao Entry realm.

If not for the Spirit Ring restriction, he might have already reached Spirit Movement.

Based on his knowledge of Douluo Continent from both his past and present lives, as well as his grasp of his own cultivation realm, he had made a comparison between the realms of the two worlds.

Foundation Establishment — Spirit Scholar (1–10)

Dao Entry — Spirit Master (11–20)

Spirit Movement — Soul Grandmaster (21–30)

Embryonic Breathing — Soul Elder, Soul Ancestor (31–50)

Purple Mansion — Spirit King, Spirit Emperor (51–70)

Life Pill — Spirit Saint, Spirit Douluo (71–90)

Pure Yang — Title Douluo (91–99)

Primordial Spirit — Quasi-God, God Official

This comparison of levels might not be entirely accurate, but it should not be too far off.

Although Douluo was jokingly called the bottom tier of fantasy by online readers, now that he was in this real world, it did not seem that weak.

Many books recorded that some Title Douluo could destroy a city with a full-power strike.

As for the combat strength of Qian Renxue, Tang San, and the others after becoming gods in the later stages, he guessed they had only just become gods and had not reached the full peak of the divine positions they inherited. At most, they possessed the strength of Level One Hundred God Officials.

After all, the novels written by a certain Douluo author had far too many plot holes. Now that this was a real world, such plot holes clearly would not exist.

Naturally, he could not completely follow the novels. The original work's settings could only serve as reference.

Moreover, what had been written down was merely the tip of the iceberg of this continent.