Martial Soul Awakening

Family ties were something that should have been severed the moment he exchanged conditions with R'lyeh at the cost of the Abyssal Rift. He never expected that after descending into the Douluo Continent, he would actually come to possess such a precious emotion.

"Linyuan, you must be turning six soon, right?" The Molong Duke, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

Before Xia Linyuan could answer, the Duchess glared at the Molong Duke first. "You don't even know how old your own child is? Are you going to wait until he's grown up, married, and has children of his own before you realize he's only six?"

"Uh..." The Molong Duke rubbed his nose in embarrassment.

Xia Linyuan swallowed the food in his mouth. "Yes, Father, I am already six years old."

"In that case, get some rest early tonight. Tomorrow, Father will personally conduct your Martial Soul awakening."

Martial Soul awakening?

A glimmer of sharp light flashed in the depths of Xia Linyuan's golden eyes.

He was a half-Abyssal being, not a native of the Douluo Continent. He could use his Abyssal Power to disguise the lack of spirit power, but whether he possessed a Martial Soul was another matter entirely.

Whatever, he would just use his Abyssal Power to fake one when the time came.

After finishing dinner, Xia Linyuan returned to his courtyard. Carlos immediately flew down from the eaves, landing in his master's designated spot, and let out a series of harsh, grating cries.

He knew that Carlos wanted to go hunting again.

"Carlos, don't just focus on hunting. Don't forget the task I entrusted to you."

Receiving permission, Carlos let out a piercing dragon roar before spreading his wings and taking flight.

Xia Linyuan watched as Carlos's retreating figure gradually turned into a small black dot, his golden eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm looking forward to the future more and more. Tang San, you're looking forward to it too, aren't you?"

At this moment, inside the Molong Duke's room.

"Qing, are you still worried?" the Duchess asked with concern. "For the past six years, apart from that companion spirit beast, Linyuan hasn't shown any abnormalities!"

"Sigh." The Molong Duke let out a long sigh. "My dear, although I don't want to treat Linyuan with such suspicion, after all, he was brought back from near that place. You know this as well, so I..."

A look of pity appeared on the Duchess's gentle face. "I understand, Qing."

The Molong Duke pulled the Duchess into his arms. "Don't worry, my dear. Aside from his innate malevolence, Linyuan has shown no other irregularities over these six years. You must trust him; nothing will happen."

Hearing this, the Duchess, who had been silently shedding tears in the Molong Duke's embrace, nodded.

The next morning, Xia Linyuan was summoned by the Molong Duke to the ancestral hall where the tablets of the Molong Duke Mansion's ancestors were kept.

Before even stepping into the courtyard, Xia Linyuan sensed no fewer than dozens of weak auras.

Although these people would be considered top-tier experts on the Douluo Continent, they were nothing in the eyes of Xia Linyuan, who hailed from the abyss.

The power that the Douluo World could withstand was too small—so small that it couldn't even bear one ten-millionth of R'lyeh's power. It was no wonder R'lyeh had no interest in destroying the Douluo World.

Not to mention the immense power of R'lyeh, the creator of the abyss, even Xia Linyuan, as a half-Abyssal being, had to split off one hundred-thousandth of his power to descend into the Douluo Continent in the form of an avatar.

It was no exaggeration to say that even the current Xia Linyuan could wipe out this group of people with a single finger.

Xia Linyuan knew what they were wary of, but he didn't care.

After all, he had descended near that place and been picked up and adopted by the Molong Duke; it would be strange if they weren't wary.

Normally, regardless of how long it had been since one turned six, one had to wait for the Duke Mansion's designated awakening day to have a professional conduct the Martial Soul awakening.

Yet, Xia Linyuan had become the exception. Because he had descended near that place, he was being "treated specially."

Walking into the ancestral hall, the usual items had been cleared away, leaving only six black Awakening Stones placed on the clean, polished floor.

Xia Linyuan examined the six Awakening Stones with interest.

He was quite curious about what mysteries were contained within these stones that could help people awaken their Martial Souls and draw out the spirit power within their bodies.

"Linyuan, stand in the middle." The Molong Duke pointed to the six Awakening Stones on the ground.

Xia Linyuan followed instructions and stepped inside.

"Close your eyes and feel the changes in your body with your heart."

The Molong Duke looked solemn, staring intently at Xia Linyuan, who had his eyes tightly shut. He took a deep breath and channeled his spirit power into the Awakening Stones.

A layer of golden radiance emerged from the stones, forming a pale golden barrier that enveloped Xia Linyuan.

Individual golden light particles entered his body and gradually gathered toward the top.

He immediately felt a force, completely different from the Abyssal Power within him, attempting to invade his body. However, before it could even enter, it was effortlessly destroyed by a wisp of his Abyssal Power lingering on the surface of his skin.

Xia Linyuan couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl upward.

I want to see what exactly you are.

Thinking this, Xia Linyuan released all the barriers in his body, allowing that force to charge straight in.

The Molong Duke on the side felt a bit strange. He could sense that the power of the awakening ritual was like a stone thrown into the sea the moment it entered Xia Linyuan's body—not a single ripple was stirred.

What, what is going on?

At this moment, inside the small world within Xia Linyuan's body, apart from a cluster of golden light at the center, the surroundings were pitch black, devoid of any light.

Suddenly, a pair of golden eyes, as brilliant as the golden sun, snapped open.

In the boundless Abyssal Rift, An indescribable pitch-black entity was peering down.

In the name of Nyarlathotep!

By the supreme existence!

By absolute reason!

I shall discern the finest detail of your being!

A low, chanting sound erupted in the darkness without warning, as if echoing from every direction, reverberating through the endless void.

Accompanying the chanting, hexagram arrays, each centered with a bizarre vertical pupil pattern, began to light up incessantly within the darkness.

Hundreds of them!

Thousands of them!

Densely packed!

All of them were those eerie vertical pupils!

The vertical pupil patterns within the hexagrams seemed to come alive, each bewitching eye staring with keen interest at the golden light in the center.

Under the gaze of hundreds and thousands of bewitching eyes, that golden light gradually dimmed, revealing a pale golden rune hidden within.

"Found you, little thing."

From within the darkness, a fair, slender hand suddenly reached out and gently grasped the fist-sized rune, crushing the pale golden sigil with a slight, effortless squeeze.