System Awakening, Martial Soul Hall Orphan

Douluo Continent, Martial Soul City.

Martial Soul City Primary Orphanage.

The narrow room contained four crude wooden beds. Moonlight filtered through the dilapidated wooden window lattice, spilling onto the rough floor.

A six-year-old boy sleeping by the window suddenly snapped his eyes open. He sat bolt upright, gasping for air, a fine layer of sweat glistening on his forehead.

The boy's name was Su Chen.

In the last few minutes, he had undergone a soul reconstruction.

A massive influx of memory data flooded his mind, allowing him to fully grasp his current situation.

He had transmigrated.

This was Douluo Continent, a world without magic or battle qi, where only Martial Souls existed.

Su Chen rolled out of bed and walked barefoot to the window.

He pushed open the wooden shutters, and the night breeze brushed against his face.

In the distance, a magnificent building towering into the clouds emitted a faint golden light amidst the night.

That was the Pope Palace, the absolute core of Martial Soul City and the holy land for commoner Spirit Masters across the entire 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-level deacon of Martial Soul Hall passing through the devastated ruins of the village had brought him, then on the verge of death, back to Martial Soul City and placed him in this institution specifically for commoner orphans.

Martial Soul Hall provided free food, clothing, and shelter.

Tomorrow was the annual Martial Soul Awakening Day, when Martial Soul Hall would send specialists to awaken their Martial Souls for free.

Su Chen gripped the window frame tightly.

In his previous life, he was a web novel reader who had not a shred of affection for Tang San, the protagonist of the book who stood high and mighty while preaching morality.

Martial Soul Hall awakened Martial Souls for all commoners on the continent for free and provided a monthly subsidy of one Gold Soul Coin to low-level Spirit Masters.

For ordinary people without any background, Martial Soul Hall was the only channel for the commoner class to break through barriers and change their destiny.

Tang San hailed from the Clear Sky Sect, enjoying the implicit dividends of the Upper Three Sects, yet he constantly claimed to be a commoner.

In his previous life, he stole the inner sect techniques of the Tang Sect and jumped off a cliff to prove his resolve.

After reincarnating to Douluo Continent, he immediately knelt to apprentice himself to Yu Xiaogang, a man with a powerful background.

For the sake of so-called Tang Sect revival, he sold high-lethality 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 selfish behavior filled Su Chen with deep disgust.

Yu Xiaogang, known as the Grandmaster, was even more hypocritical.

Yu Xiaogang came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family and became a waste due to a failed Martial Soul mutation, yet he took top-secret internal documents from Martial Soul Hall, compiled the riddled "Ten Core Competencies," and peddled them as his own academic achievements to swindle people everywhere.

Yu Xiaogang claimed there were no useless Martial Souls, only useless Spirit Masters.

This statement was pure ignorance. A farm tool Martial Soul with zero Innate Soul Power could never break through level ten, no matter how hard one trained for a lifetime.

This kind of toxic chicken soup was not only deceiving the world but was the greatest mockery of commoner Spirit Masters.

In the original ending, Tang San united the two great empires and Sea God Island to completely destroy Martial Soul Hall.

After the fall of Martial Soul Hall, there were no longer any institutions on the continent that awakened Martial Souls for commoners for free.

Spirit Masters completely devolved into a privileged profession monopolized by nobles and sects.

Commoners lost their path of advancement and were destined to be exploited for generations.

Furthermore, Bibi Dong was originally a brilliant and talented Saintess, left traumatized after being violated by Qian Xunji through despicable means.

She could have become a great ruler, but she was driven to the extreme by Yu Xiaogang's cowardice and Tang San's persecution.

Qian Renxue infiltrated the Heaven Dou Empire for twenty years, only to end up with her godhood shattered.

Su Chen took a deep breath, calming his turbulent emotions.

Since he had been reborn and occupied the body of an orphan of Martial Soul Hall, having received the grace of being saved by them, he could never stand by and watch Martial Soul Hall head toward destruction.

He would change all of this.

He would stop Bibi Dong from walking the path of extreme destruction in her despair.

He would help Qian Renxue complete the infiltration of the Heaven Dou Empire.

He would trample Tang San and Yu Xiaogang firmly beneath his feet.

Yet, reality was extremely cruel.

He was currently just an orphan about to turn six.

In this world where the strong prey on the weak, without a powerful Martial Soul or sufficiently high Innate Soul Power, he wouldn't even be able to get close to the steps of the Pope Palace.

The current situation within Martial Soul Hall was not optimistic.

The previous Pope, Qian Xunji, was dead, and Bibi Dong had seized the opportunity to ascend as the new Pope.

The Pope Palace and the Worship Hall controlled by Qian Daoliu were peaceful on the surface, but secretly, they were filled with power struggles.

If an orphan without any background awakens only an ordinary Martial Soul, even with the foresight of a transmigrator, the higher-ups will never give him a chance to speak.

He would soon be assigned to a remote town, living out his life in a daze.

He must break this cycle.

Su Chen's gaze turned resolute.

A mechanical voice devoid of emotion rang out in Su Chen's mind without warning.

"Ding."

"Host soul fusion complete, mental strength meets the standard, conditions for binding met."

"God-Level Choice System initializing."

"System initialization in progress."

"Progress: ten percent... fifty percent... one hundred percent."

"God-Level Choice System successfully bound."

Su Chen's body stiffened slightly, his tense muscles relaxing completely as a look of relief curled the corners of his mouth.

The transmigrator's greatest trump card had arrived.

System, explain your functions, Su Chen thought silently.

A translucent, pale blue light screen that only he could see appeared before his eyes.

The mechanical voice sounded in sync.

"This system is the God-Level Choice System. When the host faces major events or critical plot nodes that influence your own destiny or the direction of the continent, the system will automatically trigger relevant options."

"The host makes a decision based on the options provided on the panel. After completing the task conditions corresponding to the chosen decision, you will receive generous rewards issued by the system."

"The rewards cover Martial Souls, Soul Rings, Soul Bones, cultivation techniques, divine artifacts, and rare treasures from the 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 throne of gods."

Su Chen quickly read the text on the light screen.

The system mechanism was very straightforward.

There was no need to complete trivial, boring daily check-ins, nor would he be forced to perform punitive tasks by the system.

He only needed to make choices according to his heart at critical moments to obtain resources capable of defying the heavens and changing his fate.

This was exactly what he needed most right now.

"Ding."

"Detected that the host will participate in the Martial Soul awakening ceremony at the Martial Soul Hall primary orphanage tomorrow morning; a critical plot node has been triggered."

"Pre-requisite choice task issued."

The translucent light screen instantly refreshed into three new lines of text.

"Option 1: Deliberately hide your talent during tomorrow's awakening ceremony, remain low-key, and display ordinary aptitude. Reward: Innate Soul Power level 5, intermediate beast Martial Soul Green Shadow Wolf, 500 Gold Soul Coins."

"Option 2: Display a certain level of talent and choose to apprentice under an ordinary Red Bishop or outer sect elder of the Martial Soul Hall, becoming their vassal. Reward: Innate Soul Power level 8, high-grade tool Martial Soul Void-Severing Blade, one profound-tier low-grade meditation technique."

"Option 3: Refuse mediocrity. Shine brilliantly at the awakening ceremony, display supreme talent, and directly shock the highest power core of the Martial Soul Hall. Reward: One chance to draw a god-level Martial Soul, Innate Full Soul Power level 20 constitution (Note: Reward has been prepared in advance; it requires the host to complete the condition of shocking the higher-ups during tomorrow's awakening process before it can be fully solidified and absorbed)."

Su Chen's gaze swept over the three options, his brain working rapidly.

Option 1 was immediately ruled out. On the Douluo Continent, living like a coward did not mean safety. Mediocrity would only result in him being assigned to the bottom of the Martial Soul Hall. Once a future war broke out, low-level soul masters were nothing more than cannon fodder. Without strength, he couldn't even protect himself.

Option 2 seemed stable; level 8 Innate Soul Power and a high-grade Martial Soul were enough for him to gain a foothold in the Martial Soul Hall. But he was clear on the style of the Martial Soul Hall's higher-ups. Becoming a vassal to an ordinary elder meant being branded with a factional mark. Future access to core resources would inevitably be restricted by layers of bureaucracy. Neither Bibi Dong nor Qian Daoliu would tilt core resources toward an elder's subordinate.

Only Option 3 remained.

Refuse mediocrity, and shock the world in one go.

The highest power core of the Martial Soul Hall consisted of Pope Bibi Dong and the Grand Elder Qian Daoliu.

The Martial Soul Hall had never lacked geniuses; the Golden Generation's Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan were all top-tier talents. But the Martial Soul Hall desperately craved the kind of supreme monster capable of suppressing an entire era.

As long as he displayed talent that Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu could not refuse, he could ascend to the heavens in a single step, cross the threshold of the lower classes, and directly receive the Martial Soul Hall's top-tier resource allocation.

A chance to draw a god-level Martial Soul.

An Innate Full Soul Power level 20 constitution.

Su Chen's heartbeat accelerated slightly.

In the history of the Douluo Continent, only Qian Renxue, who possessed the Seraphim Martial Soul, had reached Innate Full Soul Power level 20. This represented the favor of the gods and the potential to become a god with one hundred percent certainty.

As long as he secured this reward, he would surpass Tang San, with his Twin Martial Souls, right at the starting line.

System, I choose three, Su Chen commanded in his heart.

"Host has confirmed Option 3."

"God-level Martial Soul draw opportunity is ready, Innate Full Soul Power level 20 origin energy has been injected into the host's body to lie dormant."

"Please fulfill the conditions during tomorrow's awakening ceremony to fully activate the reward."

The light screen slowly dissipated.

Su Chen felt a warm energy lurking deep within his meridians. It was the source of Innate Full Soul Power injected by the system in advance. As soon as the ceremony began tomorrow, this power would erupt completely.

Su Chen walked back to the wooden bed and lay down once more.

From the streets outside, the sound of patrolling knights' armor clashing drifted in from afar.

There were still three hours until dawn.

Tomorrow would be the first step he took toward changing the landscape of the Douluo Continent.

He intended to use an unprecedented Martial Soul awakening to make the entire Martial Soul City tremble.

Tang San, Yu Xiaogang.

The countdown to your doom begins tomorrow.