Martial Soul Awakening (Part 2)

At the crucial moment of Martial Soul Awakening, Tie Xiong did not overthink it and continued following his father to Spirit Hall.

Suotuo City's Spirit Hall was a Martial Soul Main Hall found only in large cities. It was exceptionally grand, over 150 meters tall, and shaped like an oval.

After the group entered, they were led directly to a side hall.

Many parents and children were already waiting in the side hall. They were all six-year-olds waiting for their Martial Souls to awaken.

Before long, a handsome young man in his twenties entered. He wore Spirit Hall's standard uniform: a fitted white outfit and a black cloak.

He looked pretty dashing!

After arriving, the young man said nothing and began arranging the tools for Martial Soul Awakening.

He set up the hexagonal awakening stone and took out a blue crystal ball.

"My name is Dugu Feng, a level 29 Soul Grandmaster. I will now awaken each of your Martial Souls one by one. Let us begin!"

Once he had finished setting up, Dugu Feng spoke to the people below.

"Black Bear! Possession!"

Dugu Feng's body visibly swelled, his eyes turned yellow, black fur grew all over him, and his nails sharpened into claws.

Two yellow halos lit up beneath his feet. They were Dugu Feng's Soul Rings, yellow hundred-year Soul Rings.

The moment Dugu Feng revealed his appearance, not a single child below dared step forward.

Some of the children even wanted to turn around and run.

Tie Xiong strode forward. He had no intention of wasting time here.

When Dugu Feng saw Tie Xiong approach, a flash of approval passed through his eyes.

Unlike other awakening Soul Masters, he did not have the children line up.

Whoever came first could go first.

He believed courage was also one of a Soul Master's most important qualities.

As Dugu Feng operated the apparatus, pale golden light shot out from the stone and enveloped Tie Xiong.

Tie Xiong watched as specks of golden light drifted into his body.

He felt warm all over, as if he were soaking in a hot spring. It was indescribably comfortable.

At the same time, he keenly sensed that those golden specks were searching for something within his body.

"Hold out your right hand!" Dugu Feng said at that moment.

Tie Xiong instinctively extended his right hand.

He felt all the warm specks rush toward it, and a pitch-black object appeared before his eyes: the Forging Hammer.

It was no different from the Forging Hammers of his father and two older brothers.

It weighed ten jin and eight liang in his hand, but would strike an enemy with the force of one hundred and eight jin—a one-to-ten ratio.

"A tool Martial Soul, Forging Hammer. Good. Use your mind to retract your Martial Soul, then place your right hand on the crystal ball!"

Hearing Dugu Feng's voice, Tie Xiong focused on the Forging Hammer. With a thought, the hammer returned to his body.

He then placed his right hand on the crystal ball.

The crystal ball immediately lit up, but it stopped halfway.

"Level five Innate Soul Power. Next!" Dugu Feng said directly.

He did not want to waste any time.

Forging Hammer, level five Innate Soul Power—average talent.

But it was not enough for Spirit Hall to insist on recruiting him. Of course, if he wished to join Spirit Hall, he could still do so.

That would depend on his choice.

Tie Xiong smiled.

He smiled happily. Then, as he continued smiling, Tie Xiong burst into loud laughter.

He had been in this world for six years. He had spent five years preparing and five years practicing hammer techniques, all for this hammer Martial Soul.

At last, it was confirmed.

Tie Xiong was truly happy.

Dugu Feng and the other parents could not understand it.

They all wondered whether this child thought his awakened Martial Soul and Innate Soul Power were too useless and had gone mad.

Just as Dugu Feng was beginning to grow impatient, Tie Xiong stopped laughing.

"Thank you, Uncle!" Tie Xiong flashed his white teeth, bowed to Dugu Feng, then turned and walked back toward Tie Xin and his two older brothers.

Tie Xin knew why his son had laughed.

But honestly, Tie Xin was somewhat disappointed. His youngest son's usual performance had subconsciously led him to believe the boy was a genius whose Martial Soul would be different.

But at this moment, that dream began to fade.

Like his eldest and second sons, his youngest had level five Innate Soul Power and a Forging Hammer.

There was no change whatsoever in his Martial Soul, and his Innate Soul Power was only level five.

According to their ancestors' experience, no matter how gifted his son was, he would encounter a bottleneck at level forty-nine.

Of course, one ancestor had broken through that bottleneck and ultimately cultivated to Soul Emperor. But each successive generation had been worse than the last, and few had cultivated beyond Soul Ancestor.

Take himself, for example. He had possessed only level three Innate Soul Power. This year, at thirty-four, his Soul Power was level twenty-four. Moreover, twenty-two of those levels had been cultivated before he turned thirty. After passing the best age for cultivation at thirty, he had advanced only two levels in four years. He knew he could never become a Soul Elder in this lifetime.

Still, his son had level five Innate Soul Power and was stronger than him. He should be able to cultivate to Soul Ancestor.

But once he reached Soul Ancestor, the bottleneck would come. Tie Xin did not know whether his son would be able to break through it in the future.

Sigh! Tie Xin let out a sigh.

Looking at his happy son, Tie Xin said nothing.

"Let's go home. Tell your mother whatever you want to eat!" Tie Xin said with a smile.

"Braised Bear Paw!" Tie Xiong answered without the slightest courtesy. He knew his family had money.

Tie Xin's mouth twitched. Son, you really were not holding back.

"Fine! To celebrate Little Xiong's Martial Soul Awakening, we'll buy five big bear paws today!" Tie Xin said with a hearty laugh.

Tie Long and Tie Hu beside him were both grinning from ear to ear.

Even for their family, which owned the largest Blacksmith Shop in Suotuo City, a luxury item like bear paw could only be eaten at most once a year.

In fact, Tie Xiong's arrival had already changed the Blacksmith Shop's profits.

Naturally, the most profitable things blacksmiths could make were weapons for Soul Masters.

Having thoroughly read Douluo, how could Tie Xiong not know that Tang San had made a fortune through Hidden Weapons alone?

Tie Xiong could not make Hidden Weapons himself, but he could offer simple ideas.

As for more difficult items like the Godly Zhuge Crossbow and Pear Blossom Needle in Rainstorm, Tie Xiong would not even mention them. His father definitely could not make them.

But Tie Xiong truly felt that the Sleeve Arrow, Back-Mounted Decorative Crossbow, Willow Leaf Blade, and Coin Dart did not require much technical skill.

Moreover, Dragon and Snake of Peerless's granddaughter, Meng Yiran, also used Hidden Weapons, which showed that people in this world had researched them too.

When he was three years old, he had offered these suggestions to his father.

After studying them, his father had forged all of them.

That was why the Blacksmith Shop had expanded by more than double. It now had over a hundred blacksmiths and brought in considerable profits.

Ever since they began producing these Hidden Weapons for Soul Masters, they had become very popular among Soul Masters below the Soul Elder rank.

Last year, the Blacksmith Shop's revenue had already reached eleven thousand Gold Soul Coins, with profits totaling four thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Their family's circumstances had changed dramatically.

Gold Soul Coins were very valuable in this world. The value of a single Gold Soul Coin was enough to cover a family of three's expenses for several months.

But his father was a man with firm ideas and never spent recklessly.

He only spent money on the cultivation of his three sons. The most expensive item was Bone Refining Medicinal Mud. In the past, they had only been willing to use it on their hands, but now his father had become more generous. Every few days, Tie Xiong would soak his entire body in it.

Tie Xin spared no effort in raising his three sons, but he was unwilling to spend even a little on unnecessary luxuries.

PS: The contract was signed yesterday, so readers can rest assured and continue reading. Everyone is welcome to revisit the world of Douluo with the author and watch how the protagonist becomes a Hammer King.