Spirit City Orphanage, Martial Soul Awakening

Spirit City Orphanage.

As the morning sun rose, its light spilled over the Martial Soul Awakening Hall.

Inside the hall, more than a dozen children who had reached the age of six stood in a line.

They wore identical gray orphanage uniforms, their young faces filled with both nervousness and anticipation.

Some of these children were the orphaned descendants of Spirit Hall Spirit Masters, while others had been rescued by the Spirit Hall Enforcement Squad from Fallen Soul Masters.

Today was the day their martial souls would awaken, the moment when the gears of fate began to turn.

If they awakened a powerful martial soul and possessed good talent, then as long as they did not die prematurely, their futures would be bright, and they would become powerful Spirit Masters admired by all.

But if they awakened a useless martial soul and possessed no Innate Soul Power, they could only fade into obscurity and live as ordinary, unnoticed people.

At the very back of the line stood a black-haired little boy.

Unlike the anxious children ahead of him, his expression was exceptionally calm—far too calm for a six-year-old child.

His name was Su Mo, a transmigrator from Blue Star who had arrived in this world exactly six years ago.

As for why he had transmigrated, he found it utterly baffling. It had been an ordinary night; he had lain in bed watching some adult videos before falling deeply asleep from exhaustion.

When he opened his eyes again, he had become a swaddled infant. A Spirit Hall Spirit Master had found him and brought him to this Orphanage.

Six years was neither particularly long nor particularly short. Su Mo had long since accepted the fact that he had transmigrated and had completely adapted to life on Douluo Continent.

At this moment, though his face remained calm, he felt a trace of nervous anticipation inside.

Since transmigrating, apart from his advantage of knowing the future plot, he had possessed no other cheat. He had neither a system nor an old grandpa in a ring.

Over the past six years, he had silently called out countless times in the dead of night, hoping that a system would suddenly activate and set him on the path to the pinnacle. Unfortunately, he had received no response.

He had accepted that there was no system.

As a transmigrator, even if his talent was not exceptional, he was confident he could establish himself on Douluo Continent. But that was all; becoming a god was basically impossible.

If his talent was insufficient, divine inheritances would naturally have no interest in him. As for becoming a god through faith, that was even harder than climbing to heaven.

But having transmigrated here, he was naturally unwilling to stop there.

Though he appeared composed, he was still somewhat nervous inside. He hoped today would give him a good start and allow him to awaken a powerful martial soul.

Just then, a soft voice called from ahead, "Su Mo..."

In front of Su Mo, a little girl was looking back at him. Her small hands tightly gripped the corners of her clothes, and her little face was full of nervousness.

She had short, ear-length reddish-brown hair, delicate features as lovely as a painting, and large eyes as clear as water. Even though her features were still childish, one could already glimpse the beauty that would one day captivate a city.

The little girl before him was none other than Bibi Dong, the future Pope of Spirit Hall who would hold power over the world and make the entire continent tremble.

But at this moment, she was merely a timid little girl.

Bibi Dong had been sent to the Orphanage two years ago.

Her village had been invaded by Fallen Soul Masters, and her entire family had died at their hands. She had been hidden away and was fortunately rescued by Spirit Hall Spirit Masters, who sent her here.

When she had first arrived, having lost her family, she had been unwilling to talk or make friends. She always curled up alone in a corner. When the other children played, she merely watched from afar and never approached them.

When Su Mo had first learned that she was Bibi Dong, he had indeed been somewhat surprised. After all, she was a genius with Twin Martial Souls and would one day become the Pope who held power over the world.

But that was all. He had not deliberately approached or tried to ingratiate himself with Bibi Dong.

It was not that he had never considered it. After all, if he could win Bibi Dong over, the prospect of living off her for the rest of his life was certainly tempting.

But Su Mo had not done so. He knew how the plot unfolded. Qian Xunji would sooner or later take Bibi Dong as his disciple, and if his talent was mediocre, the two of them were destined to drift farther and farther apart.

Qian Xunji would never allow Bibi Dong to grow too close to a good-for-nothing.

Su Mo was not Yu Xiaogang. He had neither the backing of the Upper Three Sects nor a Titled Douluo father.

To Qian Xunji, crushing him to death would be as easy as crushing an ant, requiring no hesitation whatsoever.

Besides, Su Mo had always believed that mountains could collapse and people could leave. Only becoming strong himself was the true foundation for survival.

Thus, even after learning that she was Bibi Dong, Su Mo continued living his life as usual.

He ate, slept, completed the Orphanage's daily tasks, and immersed himself in the library. Douluo Continent had no phones or computers, so this was the only way he could pass the time.

The Orphanage had a modest library containing a large number of basic books, such as general histories of the continent, Soul Beast guides, and basic theoretical knowledge.

Su Mo discovered that transmigrating had given him an additional ability: photographic memory.

From the time he had become capable of caring for himself until now, he had read every book in the library and remembered them all with perfect clarity.

However, one day, half a year after Bibi Dong arrived at the Orphanage, Su Mo's routine was disrupted.

Su Mo was not truly a child, so he naturally could not fit in with that group of brats.

When the other children gathered in twos and threes to play, Su Mo was always alone. He either ate quietly, held a book and read, or stared blankly at the sky.

Perhaps it was precisely this unusual lack of sociability that attracted Bibi Dong's attention instead.

That day, Bibi Dong suddenly ran up to Su Mo and began talking to him.

Su Mo had been somewhat surprised at the time. In the original story, Bibi Dong had met Yu Xiaogang in Spirit Hall's library. She had gradually been drawn to his uniqueness and eventually fallen in love with him.

And now, had he also drawn Bibi Dong's attention through such a strange coincidence?

But Su Mo did not think much of it. Bibi Dong was still young and naturally knew nothing of romance between men and women. She was simply curious in the way children were.

Su Mo did not deliberately distance himself from Bibi Dong. Since she had taken the initiative to approach him, he simply let things take their natural course.

The Bibi Dong from the original story was indeed hard to put into words, but those things had not happened yet. Right now, she was still just a little girl.

And so, for more than a year, the two ate together and studied together.

When Su Mo read, she would also pretend to hold a book and read. But after reading for a while, her head would begin to bob, and then she would fall fast asleep.

Over time, the two became each other's only friend in the Orphanage.

"What's wrong?" Su Mo asked with a slight smile.

"What if... what if I awaken a useless martial soul?"

"Don't worry. You'll definitely awaken a powerful martial soul."

"Really?"

Bibi Dong's eyes lit up, and most of the tension on her face instantly vanished, replaced by eager anticipation.

Su Mo gave a soft hum but said nothing more.

Just as the two spoke quietly, two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance to the hall.