Contract Shackles

After the pale golden runes shattered, the pale golden starlight, which had been falling like a light drizzle, gradually extinguished into the boundless darkness.

"Oh? So that's how it is." A low voice murmured, "So the so-called awakening is nothing more than a shackle in the form of a contract, placed upon living beings by the consciousness of this world."

"Interesting, how interesting."

Returning to reality.

Duke Molong's expression was somewhat grave.

He could clearly feel that at this moment, Xia Linyuan seemed to have transformed into a bottomless vortex of energy, constantly absorbing the surrounding heaven and earth energy.

He wanted to terminate the awakening ceremony, but he simply could not cut off the spirit power connection with the Awakening Stone!

This caused Duke Molong's face to turn pale; under these circumstances, if Xia Linyuan showed even the slightest sign of abnormal behavior, the various elders and guest ministers lurking in this ancestral hall would strike to kill at the first opportunity!

At the thought of Xia Linyuan dying miserably at the hands of the elders, Duke Molong closed his eyes helplessly.

Linyuan, my child...

Suddenly, an icy, despair-filled aura permeated every corner of the ancestral hall, causing the overall temperature to drop by several degrees.

Such an icy, despairing aura made even a Spirit Douluo powerhouse like Duke Molong shudder involuntarily.

Duke Molong opened his eyes abruptly and looked at Xia Linyuan in front of him in disbelief.

Behind Xia Linyuan, a massive black shadow was suspended, its outline vaguely suggesting something that was neither quite human nor quite beast.

Xia Linyuan looked left and right, smiling, "Is this my Martial Soul? It seems quite decent."

Although his tone sounded very interested, his cold, indifferent face showed no sign of anything related to "interest."

Seeing that Xia Linyuan showed no abnormal behavior, Duke Molong breathed a sigh of relief, but in the next second, as if he had sensed something, he suddenly roared, "Retreat!"

Following this angry command to "retreat," countless wriggling pitch-black things in the shadows of the corners quietly withdrew.

Glancing left and right without leaving a trace, Xia Linyuan let out a cold snort inwardly; they knew when to back down.

If these people had truly attacked him, he wouldn't have minded destroying them all; at worst, he would simply erase their existence from the Douluo World entirely.

"Linyuan, how do you feel? Is there anything that feels uncomfortable?" Duke Molong asked worriedly, not even having time to carefully study what Martial Soul Xia Linyuan had awakened.

Xia Linyuan shook his head, "There is no particular feeling."

So the so-called Martial Soul was merely a contract signed with a "spirit" through the so-called awakening ceremony; once a contract with a "spirit" was signed, the contractor would be bound by it.

Those bound by the contract would be subject to restrictions similar to how a spirit master needs to absorb a spirit ring every ten levels to continue breaking through, and their own room for growth would be greatly limited.

He had just shattered the contract, so naturally, he could not sign a contract with a "spirit."

The reason he had a Martial Soul was that he had created a similar contract himself, reversing it to "Martial Soul-ize" a portion of his own power.

This was his own power, so naturally, he would not feel any discomfort.

It was just that because his existence power was insufficient, his power had not yet been fully "Martial Soul-ized."

Hearing Xia Linyuan say he felt no discomfort, Duke Molong remained uneasy, turning him around to check him thoroughly before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Linyuan, if you ever feel any discomfort, you must, must tell Father, do you understand?"

"I understand."

After confirming repeatedly that there was nothing wrong with Xia Linyuan, Duke Molong finally remembered the matter regarding his Martial Soul.

The characteristics of that group of creatures were destruction and devouring, like locusts; where they passed, not a blade of grass would grow. However, the feeling Xia Linyuan's Martial Soul gave him was one of destruction and nothingness, so he could finally be certain that Xia Linyuan was not a creature from that place.

Although Xia Linyuan's Martial Soul was filled with coldness and despair, it lacked the bloody aura unique to Evil Spirit Masters; it should be a dark-type Martial Soul, so there was no need to worry about him becoming an Evil Spirit Master.

Duke Molong took out a crystal ball and handed it to Xia Linyuan, "Linyuan, put your hands on it, Father will test your Innate Soul Power."

Xia Linyuan placed his hands on the crystal ball.

One second, two seconds...

There was no movement at all.

Was there no spirit power awakened?

Just as Duke Molong was feeling somewhat disappointed.

Oh?

Xia Linyuan's slightly upturned eyes flicked, and after lowering the radiating fluctuations of his Abyssal Power to a level similar to spirit power, he injected it into the crystal ball.

The dazzling blue light was like the stars at night, brilliant and eye-catching.

"Crack—"

A crisp sound reached Duke Molong's ears with absolute clarity.

Looking at the out-of-place crack on the smooth crystal ball, Duke Molong widened his eyes in disbelief.

Wasn't there no movement just a moment ago? How could it be now? This was a spirit power testing crystal capable of measuring up to level thirty! It, it actually just cracked like that!

Could it be the legendary God-bestowed spirit power—Innate level twenty spirit power? But, it shouldn't be enough to damage the spirit power testing crystal!

It wasn't just Duke Molong; even the elders and guest ministers lurking in the surroundings felt their heads spinning.

What on earth was going on?

This is truly bizarre.

The Duchess, who had been pacing back and forth in front of the courtyard gate, nearly fainted from relief when she saw Xia Linyuan walk out unscathed.

"Linyuan!"

The Duchess pulled Xia Linyuan into her arms and began to sob uncontrollably.

Knowing exactly why the Duchess was crying, Xia Linyuan patted her shoulder and comforted her in a soft voice, "Don't cry, Mother. It was just a small Martial Soul awakening ceremony. Linyuan is a man now, so I wasn't afraid at all."

The Duchess, assuming that Xia Linyuan was unaware he had just walked through the gates of hell, hurriedly wiped away her tears, not wanting him to notice anything amiss.

"What Martial Soul did you awaken, Linyuan?" the Duchess asked.

"It's a black shadow," Xia Linyuan said with a faint smile.

A black shadow? The Duchess looked at Duke Molong with a hint of confusion, "Qing, what kind of Martial Soul is this?"

Duke Molong gave a bitter smile and said, "It should be a shadow-type Martial Soul with a dark attribute, but I can't tell exactly what it is."

"Then..." the Duchess asked with a trembling voice, "what about that matter?"

Duke Molong affectionately stroked his wife's silky hair and said softly, "Rest assured, my lady. Linyuan has nothing to do with the things from that place."