The Girl with the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul

The prosperity of Martial Soul City belonged only to soul masters and nobles.

Within the inner city, the Martial Soul Hall gleamed with golden tiles and white jade.

Yet, in the civilian district of the outer city, countless patches of mud and decay remained hidden.

The Huimin Orphanage in the south of the city was merely an inconspicuous corner within this flourishing, prosperous world.

Mottled earthen walls enclosed a narrow, cramped courtyard.

The plaster had long since peeled away in large patches, revealing the blackened bricks and stones beneath.

A few low-slung, adobe houses huddled together, teetering and ready to collapse at any moment.

Those who lived here were all orphans from Martial Soul City who had lost both parents.

The children adopted by the Martial Soul Hall Orphanage were, in the end, only a tiny fraction.

Most orphans could only rely on meager relief in such civilian orphanages, struggling to scrape by and survive.

In the open space at the center of the courtyard, a few seven or eight-year-old boys gathered in a circle.

They were pointing and jeering at a girl in the corner.

"Yo, isn't this our great genius Ling Xi?"

The leading boy crossed his arms, his face full of schadenfreude.

"Why are you hiding here in a daze? Why aren't you off practicing your soul power?"

"Innate Soul Power of rank nine, how impressive!"

As soon as his words fell, the surrounding boys burst into laughter.

The girl huddled at the base of the wall, her small body pressed tightly against the dirt.

Her name was Ling Xi, and she had just turned six this year.

She was one of the orphans in this orphanage.

Her small face was exceptionally delicate and pretty, and she should have been a lively, charming girl.

A few days ago, at the awakening ceremony held by the Martial Soul Hall.

She had tested for an Innate Soul Power of rank nine.

This result had shocked the entire orphanage.

An Innate Soul Power of rank nine was considered a top-tier genius even among the core disciples of the Martial Soul Hall.

Ling Xi had always been the most sensible child in the orphanage, kind and hardworking.

While other children were still playing and running wild, she was already studying hard, yearning to change her destiny.

She hoped to one day walk out of this dilapidated orphanage and become someone of status.

The jokes of fate are always unexpected.

Although her Innate Soul Power was as high as rank nine, the martial soul she awakened was the lowest-tier Blue Silver Grass.

Not every Blue Silver Grass has the fortune of Tang San.

If you are not Tang San, then Blue Silver Grass is synonymous with a trash martial soul.

No attack, no defense, no support, and extremely poor soul power affinity.

It was almost impossible to break through the soul scholar realm and become a true soul master.

This Blue Silver Grass was effectively a death sentence for her path as a soul master.

In just a few short days.

She had become the target of ridicule for the entire orphanage.

Those children who only had rank three or four Innate Soul Power, but had awakened common martial souls like sickles or wild rabbits.

Now, they all rode on her head, mocking her wantonly.

Even if their martial souls were very ordinary, they could still cultivate step by step and become soul masters.

In this life, she would likely be trapped in this orphanage, living a mediocre existence.

"Wang Hu, don't go too far!"

Ling Xi suddenly raised her head, her reddened eyes glaring at the leading boy.

"Even if my martial soul is Blue Silver Grass, my Innate Soul Power is still higher than yours!"

"So what if it's higher?"

Wang Hu sneered, stepped forward, and shoved Ling Xi hard to the ground.

"A Blue Silver Grass with rank nine Innate Soul Power is just trash!"

"You'll never be a soul master in this life!"

"Do you think you're still that genius from before? You're just a piece of unwanted trash!"

Ling Xi fell to the ground, her palms scraped raw by the gravel, her entire body trembling in pain.

She gritted her teeth, staring fixedly at Wang Hu, her eyes filled with resentment and indignation.

She refused to accept this!

She had worked so hard for so long, finally testing for an innate soul power of level nine, so why should she be cast into hell just because of a Blue Silver Grass?

Why?!

"What? Still not convinced?"

Seeing her glare at him, Wang Hu grew even more incensed, raising his foot to kick her.

"You dare!"

Ling Xi shouted sharply, bracing herself against the ground as she tried to stand.

Her thin, small body was no match for the sturdy and strong Wang Hu.

Just then, the matron of the orphanage walked out of the house and scolded them sternly:

"What is all this noise! Get back inside, all of you! If you keep making trouble, no one gets dinner tonight!"

Wang Hu retracted his foot resentfully and made a face at Ling Xi.

He scattered with a group of boys, not forgetting to leave a parting shot before they left.

"Trash is trash; you'll never be able to turn your life around!"

The courtyard finally returned to a deathly silence.

Ling Xi braced herself against the cold ground and slowly stood up.

The wounds on her palms burned with pain, but no matter how much it hurt, it could not compare to the despair and unwillingness in her heart.

She brushed the dust off her body, but did not return to her room.

She turned and walked to the back of the orphanage, hiding beneath a gnarled, cracked old locust tree.

Unable to hold it in any longer, her tears finally broke like a dam, and she began to sob quietly.

She did not want to be trash.

She did not want to be trapped in this orphanage for the rest of her life, nor did she want to be trampled underfoot forever.

She wanted to become a soul master, she wanted to grow stronger, and she wanted to stop being bullied.

She wanted to make those who looked down on her shut their mouths.

At this moment, she was willing to do anything to become stronger.

Even if it meant paying any price, even if it meant falling into the abyss, she would not hesitate!

She leaned against the old locust tree like that, crying from the afternoon until dusk, and from dusk until deep into the night.

The moon climbed into the night sky, and the cold, clear moonlight spilled down, illuminating her lonely figure.

The lights in the orphanage had long since gone out, and everyone was asleep.

Only she remained, immersed in boundless darkness and despair.

The night wind blew, swirling the fallen leaves on the ground and making a rustling sound.

A bone-chilling cold struck, making her shrink back and hug her arms tightly.

At that moment, a voice sounded behind her without warning.

It shattered the silence of the deep night.

"Do you crave power?"

The voice was very soft, yet it carried a power that could Charm the heart, like the whisper of a demon.

Ling Xi trembled all over, turning around abruptly to look vigilantly in the direction the voice came from.

Under the moonlight, not far away, stood a young boy.

He looked about the same age as her.

He wore a white robe made of fine silk, the likes of which she had never worn before.

His face was so handsome it didn't seem mortal; his skin was fair, his brows and eyes refined, and his nose bridge high and straight.

His pitch-black eyes were deep and bottomless as he watched her quietly.

He didn't look like a demon; he looked more like an angel descended to earth.

Ling Xi was stunned, forgetting to react for a moment.

She just stared blankly at the boy before her, forgetting her vigilance, forgetting her fear.

In all her years, she had never seen anyone so good-looking.

"Who are you?"

Ling Xi finally regained her senses, subconsciously taking a step back and clenching her fists as she asked guardedly.

"What do you want to do?"

The boy did not answer her question, but simply walked slowly toward her.

His footsteps were slow, crunching against the fallen leaves with a rhythmic "crackle."

He walked up to her and came to a halt.

He stood half a head taller than Ling Xi, his gaze lowering to rest upon her reddened eyes.

He looked at the despair in her eyes, and the yearning for power burning within them.

"I will ask you one more time: do you crave power?"

"Do you crave to break free from your current fate, to shatter the shackles of this trash martial soul?"

"To become a true Spirit Master, to rise above the masses, and to make everyone who mocked you look up to you in awe?"