A solemn, majestic hall.
Bright sunlight streamed through the windows onto a group of six-year-old children.
"Big Brother, what kind of Martial Soul do you think I'll awaken?"
"You said Martial Souls come in all kinds of forms. Big Brother, do you think ours could be the Clear Sky Hammer, the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, or the legendary Angel..."
Oscar trembled nervously, his eyes full of anticipation and unease.
Lin Feng spoke with a complicated expression.
"What are you thinking? Your surname is Ao, not Ning or Tang. An Angel Martial Soul? You'd be lucky to get a Big Sausage."
Oscar, was he the future Food God Oscar? Or was it just a coincidence of names?
"Pah, pah, pah! What kind of damned sausage Martial Soul is that? Though I do love eating sausages..."
Oscar rolled his eyes. Yet the moment he finished speaking, an image of a sizzling, greasy sausage flashed through his mind. He swallowed helplessly, then gave a foolish grin.
"Come to think of it, awakening a sausage wouldn't be so bad. At least we'd never have to go hungry again."
Lin Feng did not respond. Anxiety and worry rose within him over the Martial Soul he was about to awaken.
What would his Martial Soul be?
He had transmigrated to this Douluo Continent six years ago and been taken in by Spirit Hall's orphanage. In a world that valued Bloodline above all else, he had started with a truly terrible hand.
He understood all too well what a Martial Soul meant to a person. If he could not become a Soul Master, he could lose his life at any time in this world where the strong preyed on the weak.
"Lord Soul Master, this way, please. We'll have to trouble you to awaken the Martial Souls of these children today."
The orphanage director's respectful voice came from outside the hall, pulling Lin Feng back from his wandering thoughts.
Looking up, he saw the director bowing deeply as he led a middle-aged man inside.
The man was broad and powerfully built. His gray-blue clothes made his shoulders appear especially wide, while black-rimmed glasses rested on his nose. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, his back ramrod straight, and beneath his sly expression lurked a fierce toughness.
"Was this Flender?"
Although the original story had never mentioned Flender awakening Oscar's Martial Soul, who would pass up a genius food-system Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power?
It was most likely him.
Flender swept his gaze over the children in the hall. Most of them hunched their shoulders timidly, but Lin Feng alone stood straight, his gaze calm and completely fearless.
A flicker of surprise passed through Flender's eyes before vanishing. He then cleared his throat.
"Alright, everyone line up!"
He took out six pitch-black awakening stones. Looking at the young faces before him, he knew that these brief moments would determine the fate of the children's entire lives. A trace of barely noticeable pity flashed through his eyes.
"Good luck."
"Blue Silver Grass. Sigh, a useless Martial Soul. No Soul Power."
"A Wooden Hoe? No Soul Power. Next..."
"Iron Blade? Soul Power Level one. Not bad. At least you can cultivate..."
The more Lin Feng watched, the colder his heart became. The awakening was nearly over, yet out of more than a dozen children, only two had tested positive for Soul Power—and both were merely level one.
Even though he had prepared himself mentally, the appalling odds still made his heart sink.
Beside him, Oscar had long forgotten his nervousness. He stood on tiptoe with his neck craned forward, watching each Martial Soul appear and quietly gasping in amazement.
"So this is a Martial Soul! It's amazing."
Flender merely frowned slightly at the sight, his heart unmoved.
Having come from a commoner background himself, he knew better than anyone how slim the chances were for commoners to become Soul Masters. Unless their Martial Souls mutated and they gambled on it, otherwise...
Soon, it was Oscar's turn.
All six awakening stones lit up with white light at once.
A sausage giving off faint heat lay quietly in his palm, carrying a hint of meaty fragrance.
Oscar's eyes widened round as he stared at the sausage in his hand. His entire body froze, and only after a long while did he cry out in disbelief.
"Sau... sausage!"
"Oh! It's actually a food-system Martial Soul."
Delight flashed through Flender's eyes. He hurried forward two steps and carefully examined the sausage.
Food-system Martial Souls were already rare. He had not expected to encounter one during this awakening.
He immediately handed the Soul Power testing crystal to Oscar.
"Child, place your hand on it."
Oscar timidly raised his hand and pressed it against the crystal.
The next second.
Dazzling blue light suddenly burst from the crystal, instantly filling the entire hall.
"What? Innate Full Soul Power!"
A sharp gleam flashed in Flender's eyes as he shouted excitedly.
"And he's a food-system Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power."
Unprecedented. There had never been a record on the continent of a food-system Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power. A genius rarely seen in a century!
Such a genius had limitless potential in the future. He had to trick—no, recruit him into the academy.
Lin Feng stared at the dazzling blue light, his heart filled with envy as every doubt in his mind was completely resolved.
"Sure enough, you're that Oscar, and this middle-aged man is Flender."
At that moment, he also fully confirmed the timeline he was in.
Please... please don't let me awaken a useless Martial Soul. Otherwise, even if I knew of countless opportunities, I would be powerless to change anything.
Flender instantly changed his demeanor. He grabbed Oscar's little hand, his eyes burning with excitement.
"Child, tell me your name."
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Flender, a level seventy-three Agility Attack System Battle Soul Saint and the dean of Shrek Academy!"
"And you are precisely the talented monster our academy has been searching for. Please join our academy."
When Oscar heard that the man before him was a Soul Saint, his eyes showed some fear as he stammered.
"Ah! Hello, Lord Soul Master. My name is Oscar. As for joining this Shrek Academy..."
As he spoke, he looked at Lin Feng and grinned.
"Wherever Big Brother goes, I'll go."
"Big Brother?"
Flender's eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly walked over to Lin Feng, his excited voice even trembling slightly.
"Child, are you his biological elder brother?"
Martial Soul talent was mostly hereditary. If the two were blood brothers, Lin Feng's talent surely would not be much worse.
Even if he did not have Innate Full Soul Power, he should at least possess Innate Soul Power of level seven or eight. That would still make him an excellent prospect with hopes of becoming a Title Douluo!
Warmth rose in Lin Feng's heart, and he shook his head.
"We're not biological brothers. We just met in the orphanage."
"I see!"
Upon hearing that, most of the excitement on Flender's face faded, and he sighed inwardly.
"What a pity."
Six awakening stones floated around Lin Feng as a strange energy was released from within his body.
Golden light gathered above his right palm, slowly forming a palm-sized Money Bag.
Fine golden light flowed across its surface, its patterns exquisitely detailed. It hovered half-real and half-illusory above his palm, swaying gently.
Lin Feng stared at the Money Bag, his pupils shrinking sharply.
It looked incredibly familiar. The longer he looked, the more something felt wrong.
Wasn't this the Money Bag equipment from Honor of Kings?
"A... Money Bag?"
Flender stepped closer, his eyes filled with surprise.
Golden light swirled around the Money Bag. It was clearly no ordinary item.
A Martial Soul's appearance and aura were also ways to judge its quality. The higher the quality of a Martial Soul, the more extraordinary its appearance would be.
He stroked his chin, brows furrowed. He searched through every Martial Soul record in his mind yet found nothing, so he could only hand over the crystal.
"Test your Innate Soul Power."
Lin Feng took a deep breath and raised his hand to press it against the crystal.
A strange pulling force came from it, and the Soul Power within his body surged out.
Blue light erupted with a bang. The crystal's dazzling radiance was so bright that no one could open their eyes.
Ecstasy flooded Lin Feng's heart, and even his hands trembled slightly.
"Innate Full Soul Power!"
"Those with Innate Soul Power of level seven or eight have the potential to challenge for the rank of Title Douluo. As for Innate Full Soul Power, as long as nothing unexpected happens, they will at least become Title Douluo in the future."
The excitement Flender had just managed to suppress erupted once more. His eyes widened as he said.
"Another one with Innate Full Soul Power."
Encountering two super geniuses in one day, he could practically see Shrek Academy becoming famous throughout the Soul Master world. He could also see countless gold coins piled into mountains, burying him beneath them.
"Money! Money!"
His face flushed with excitement, his heart pounding as he threw back his head and laughed.
"Hahahaha! After all these years, it's finally my turn, Flender, to strike it rich! Heaven is helping me!"
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