Douluo Continent, Spirit City.
Spirit City Junior Orphanage.
Four crude wooden beds stood in the narrow room. Moonlight slipped through the worn wooden window lattice, spilling across the rough floor.
A six-year-old boy sleeping by the window suddenly opened his eyes. He sat bolt upright, gasping for breath, a fine sheen of sweat beading on his forehead.
The boy was named Su Chen.
In just the past few minutes, his soul had undergone a complete reconstruction.
A flood of memories had poured into his mind, making him understand his current situation completely.
He had transmigrated.
This was Douluo Continent, a world without magic or battle energy, where only Martial Souls existed.
Su Chen climbed out of bed and walked barefoot to the window.
He pushed open the wooden window, and the night breeze swept over him.
In the distance, a magnificent building soared into the clouds, radiating a faint golden glow in the darkness.
That was the Pope Palace, the absolute heart of Spirit City and a sacred place for ordinary Soul Masters across the continent.
According to the original owner's memories, he was an orphan abandoned in a war-torn village on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Half a year ago, a low-ranking Deacon of Spirit Hall had passed through the ruined village, bringing him—barely clinging to life—back to Spirit City and placing him in this institution, established especially for orphans from commoner families.
Spirit Hall provided free food, clothing, and shelter.
Tomorrow was the annual Martial Soul Awakening ceremony. Spirit Hall would send someone to awaken their Martial Souls for free.
Su Chen gripped the window frame with both hands.
In his previous life, he had been a webnovel reader, and he had never liked Tang San, the protagonist who looked down from on high while mouthing platitudes about benevolence and righteousness.
Spirit Hall awakened the Martial Souls of commoners across the continent for free and gave low-ranked Soul Masters a monthly stipend of one Gold Soul Coin.
For ordinary people with no connections, Spirit Hall was the only path for the commoner class to break through barriers and change their fate.
Tang San had been born into the Clear Sky Sect and enjoyed the hidden advantages of the Upper Three Sects, yet he kept claiming to be a commoner.
In his previous life, he had secretly learned the Tang Sect's inner cultivation techniques, then leaped off a cliff to prove his resolve.
After being reincarnated on Douluo Continent, he had immediately knelt down and become Yu Xiaogang's disciple upon meeting him—a man with connections.
For the so-called revival of the Tang Sect, he sold highly destructive Hidden Weapons at exorbitant prices to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire, making a fortune from war.
Such extreme double standards and selfishness had filled Su Chen with disgust.
Yu Xiaogang, who was called Grandmaster, was even more hypocritical.
Yu Xiaogang came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. After his Martial Soul Mutation failed, he became a cripple, yet he used Spirit Hall's secret, closely guarded records to compile the riddled-with-flaws Ten Core Competencies and pass them off as his own academic work, swaggering around and deceiving people.
Yu Xiaogang claimed that there were no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters.
That was pure let-them-eat-cake nonsense. With an agricultural-tool Martial Soul and zero Innate Soul Power, no amount of training over an entire lifetime could get someone past level ten.
Such poisonous feel-good drivel not only deceived the world, it was the greatest mockery of commoner Soul Masters.
In the original story's ending, Tang San allied with the two great empires and Sea God Island to completely wipe out Spirit Hall.
After Spirit Hall fell, there was no longer any institution on the continent that awakened commoners' Martial Souls for free.
Soul Masters became an exclusive profession monopolized by the nobility and sects.
The commoners lost their path to advancement, condemned to be exploited generation after generation.
Moreover, Bibi Dong had once been a dazzlingly gifted Saintess, but Qian Xunji had used despicable means to keep her, leaving her physically and emotionally scarred.
She could have become a great ruler, but Yu Xiaogang's cowardice and Tang San's persecution drove her down an extreme path.
Qian Renxue had spent twenty years infiltrating the Heaven Dou Empire, only to end with her Divine Seat shattered.
Su Chen took a deep breath, calming his turbulent emotions.
Since he had lived again in the body of a Spirit Hall orphan and owed Spirit Hall his life, he would never stand by and watch it march toward destruction.
He would change everything.
He would stop Bibi Dong from walking the path of destruction that led her to extremity in her despair.
He would help Qian Renxue complete her infiltration of the Heaven Dou Empire.
He would trample Tang San and Yu Xiaogang beneath his feet.
But reality was brutally harsh.
Right now, he was just an orphan who was about to turn six.
In this world of the survival of the fittest, without a powerful Martial Soul or sufficiently high Innate Soul Power, he couldn't even get close to the steps of the Pope Palace.
The current situation within Spirit Hall was far from favorable.
The former Pope, Qian Xunji, had died, and Bibi Dong had taken advantage of the opportunity to become the new Pope.
The Pope Palace and the Worship Hall, controlled by Qian Daoliu, appeared peaceful on the surface, but beneath it all, they were locked in a struggle for power.
If an orphan with no connections awakened an ordinary Martial Soul, the higher-ups wouldn't even give him a chance to speak, no matter how much foresight he had as a transmigrator.
Before long, he would be assigned to a remote town and muddle through the rest of his life.
He had to break through this deadlock.
Su Chen's gaze turned resolute.
A mechanical voice, utterly devoid of emotion, rang in Su Chen's mind without warning.
"Ding."
"Host's soul fusion detected as complete. Mental strength meets requirements. Binding conditions satisfied."
"God-Level Choice System initiating."
"System initializing."
"Progress: ten percent... fifty percent... one hundred percent."
"God-Level Choice System binding successful."
Su Chen's body stiffened slightly. His tense muscles relaxed completely, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a relieved smile.
The transmigrator's greatest trump card had arrived.
"System, explain your functions," Su Chen thought.
A translucent, pale-blue screen appeared before him, visible only to him.
The mechanical voice rang out in sync.
"This system is a God-Level Choice System. When the host faces a major event or pivotal plot point that could affect his fate or the course of the continent, the system will automatically trigger relevant choices."
"The host will make a decision based on the options displayed on the screen. Upon meeting the mission conditions associated with the chosen decision, he will receive the generous rewards issued by the system."
"Rewards include Martial Souls, Soul Rings, Soul Bones, cultivation techniques, divine artifacts, rare treasures, and other items from Douluo Continent and the myriad worlds."
"The system's sole purpose: to assist the host in breaking through the world's barriers and ascending to the supreme Divine Seat."
Su Chen quickly read the words on the screen.
The system's mechanics were very straightforward.
There was no need to complete tedious, boring daily check-ins, nor would the system force him to carry out missions with punishments attached.
All he had to do was follow his heart and make a choice at a critical moment to obtain resources powerful enough to defy fate.
That was exactly what he needed most right now.
"Ding."
"Detected: the host will attend the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony at Spirit City Junior Orphanage tomorrow morning. A pivotal plot point has been triggered."
"Preliminary choice mission issued."
The translucent screen instantly refreshed, displaying three new lines of text.
"Option One: deliberately hold back at tomorrow's Awakening ceremony, keep a low profile, and appear to have ordinary aptitude. Reward: Innate Soul Power level five, intermediate Beast Martial Soul, Green Shadow Wolf, and five hundred Gold Soul Coins."
"Option Two: display a certain level of talent and choose to join an ordinary Cardinal or an outer sect elder of Spirit Hall, becoming his subordinate. Reward: Innate Soul Power level eight, high-grade weapon-type Martial Soul, Void-Severing Blade, and one low-grade Profound Rank meditation technique."
"Option Three: reject mediocrity. Make a dazzling display at the Awakening ceremony, reveal peerless talent, and directly alert Spirit Hall's highest authorities. Reward: one chance to draw a divine-grade Martial Soul and a physique with level twenty Innate Full Soul Power. (Note: the reward has been prepared in advance. It can only be fully solidified and absorbed after the host fulfills the condition of shocking the higher-ups during tomorrow's Awakening.)"
Su Chen scanned the three options, his mind racing.
Option One was out of the question. On Douluo Continent, eking out a humble existence didn't mean being safe. Mediocrity would only get him assigned to the bottom ranks of Spirit Hall. If war broke out in the future, low-ranked Soul Masters would be nothing but cannon fodder. Without strength, he wouldn't even be able to protect himself.
Option Two seemed like a safe bet. Level-eight Innate Soul Power and a high-grade Martial Soul would be enough to establish a foothold in Spirit Hall. But he knew how the higher-ups of Spirit Hall operated. Becoming an ordinary elder's subordinate meant being branded with a faction's mark. Obtaining core resources in the future would inevitably be hampered at every turn. Neither Bibi Dong nor Qian Daoliu would divert core resources to an elder's lackey.
Only Option Three.
Reject mediocrity and make a name for himself in one stroke.
The highest authorities in Spirit Hall were Pope Bibi Dong and Great Worship Qian Daoliu.
Spirit Hall had never lacked geniuses. Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan of the Golden Generation were all top talents. But Spirit Hall yearned desperately for an unparalleled prodigy who could reign over an entire era.
As long as he displayed talent that Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu couldn't refuse, he could rise to the top in one leap, bypass the bottom of the hierarchy, and gain direct access to Spirit Hall's finest resources.
A chance to draw a divine-grade Martial Soul.
A physique with level twenty Innate Full Soul Power.
Su Chen's heartbeat quickened slightly.
In all the history of Douluo Continent, only Qian Renxue, who possessed the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, had reached level twenty Innate Full Soul Power. It signified the favor of the gods and the potential to become a god with absolute certainty.
As soon as he claimed this reward, he would already have surpassed Tang San, with his Twin Martial Souls, at the starting line.
"System, I choose Option Three," Su Chen commanded silently.
"Host has confirmed Option Three."
"Chance to draw a divine-grade Martial Soul is ready. The origin energy of level twenty Innate Full Soul Power has been injected into the host's body and lies dormant."
"Please fulfill the conditions during tomorrow's Awakening ceremony to fully activate the rewards."
The screen slowly faded away.
Su Chen felt a warm energy lying dormant deep within his meridians. It was the origin of the Innate Full Soul Power the system had injected in advance. As soon as tomorrow's ceremony began, this energy would erupt completely.
Su Chen returned to the wooden bed and lay down again.
From the distant streets outside came the clatter of patrol knights' armor.
There were three hours until dawn.
Tomorrow would be the first step toward changing the fate of Douluo Continent.
He would use an unprecedented Martial Soul Awakening to make all of Spirit City tremble.
Tang San, Yu Xiaogang.
Your countdown to doomsday starts tomorrow.
Before you continue