The Cardinal's expression changed dramatically. The gust of air sent him staggering back several steps.
Then—
A burst of golden light erupted from Lin Qiu.
It was dazzling to the extreme.
The entire hall was instantly dyed gold.
Even the sun outside seemed dim by comparison.
The elders and worshippers, who had been ready to watch the spectacle, sprang to their feet.
Their expressions shifted from disdain to shock.
"What... what's happening?"
"What a terrifying aura!"
"How could this be a Martial Soul Awakening?"
Bibi Dong even teleported straight to the edge of the Awakening Platform.
Purple Soul Power shielded her from head to toe as she stared fixedly at Lin Qiu in the heart of the light.
Her eyes were full of shock.
This radiance...
It was a hundred times more dazzling than when Qian Renxue awakened her Six-Winged Angel!
Just as everyone was stunned by the strange phenomenon—
Within the light—
Lin Qiu slowly opened his eyes.
His entire bearing had changed.
The lazy, casual youth from before was gone.
In his place—
Stood a figure like a god, yet like a demon.
Behind him—
No phantom of a Beast Martial Soul or an Artifact Martial Soul appeared.
Instead, there was an endless sea.
A golden sea.
Its waves surged, crashing against the shore.
Above the Golden Bitter Sea—
Lightning and thunder flickered faintly, and chaos energy billowed.
And within that chaos—
An ancient Bronze Immortal Palace seemed to appear and disappear.
Lin Qiu reached out.
He gently pressed his hand against the crystal ball used to test Soul Power.
Within the light, the golden sea surged ever more violently.
The sound of waves crashing against the heavens rang clearly in everyone's ears.
In the deepest reaches of the boundless golden light, a huge, pitch-black silhouette slowly emerged.
It was a wolf.
Yet it was more than a wolf.
It had nine heads, each hideous and terrifying, with a different face.
Its body was as immense as a mountain, covered in scales like cast black gold.
Its tail was no ordinary wolf's tail, but a massive dragon tail, with a fearsome dragon head growing from it.
The Nine-Nether Ao.
One of the Ten Primordial Evils.
In the Shrouding Heavens World, it was an unrivaled evil spirit capable of contending with the True Dragon and True Phoenix.
At that very moment, it had descended upon Douluo Continent.
A fiendish aura from the ancient Desolate Antiquity swept through the entire Awakening Hall in an instant.
The aura was so bloodcurdling—
It was like an unrivaled demon king crawling out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
The Cardinal in charge of the awakening went weak at the knees and collapsed onto the floor.
His face was pale, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
It was a fear that came from the depths of his soul.
The Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo, seated among the elders, suddenly opened his bleary eyes wide.
He felt an overpowering suppression.
It was absolute dominance on the level of Martial Souls.
His Martial Soul was the Golden Crocodile King, a top-tier Power Attack System Beast Martial Soul that ranked among the top three on the continent.
But now, before that black figure—
The Golden Crocodile King within him was whimpering and trembling.
Like a subject before an emperor.
Golden Crocodile Douluo's fingers tightened around his teacup until his knuckles turned white.
How was this possible?
How could there be a Beast Martial Soul more noble and terrifying than the Golden Crocodile King?
The other worshippers' expressions changed as well.
The Coiling Dragon Staff in Demon Subduing Douluo's hand let out a low hum, as if it wanted to protect its master on its own.
Qian Jun Douluo's breathing grew ragged.
What kind of monster was this kid's Martial Soul?
Lin Qiu stood in the heart of the light, feeling the power surging through his body.
So this was the power of the Nine-Nether Ao?
As domineering as expected.
He slowly reached out and pressed his hand against the crystal ball, which had long since been pushed beyond its limits.
Boom!
The crystal ball blazed with light.
There was no gradual rise at all.
The light instantly filled the entire crystal ball, then spilled out and illuminated the hall's vaulted ceiling.
Crack!
A crisp shattering sound rang out.
The crystal ball, which could withstand a Soul Power reading of level ten, exploded on the spot.
It shattered into countless sparkling fragments that scattered across the floor.
A deathly silence fell.
Not a sound could be heard in the hall.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at what had just happened.
The crystal ball had exploded?
Everyone present knew what that meant.
Innate Full Soul Power?
No.
This was something beyond Innate Full Soul Power.
The Cardinal shakily got back to his feet and brought out a crystal ball of a higher grade.
Lin Qiu placed his hand on it again.
It lit up.
The Cardinal swallowed.
His voice was hoarse, filled with utter shock.
"Innate Soul Power..."
"Level twenty!"
The words struck like thunder.
The entire hall erupted.
"Level twenty? How is that possible!"
"A divine-level Martial Soul! This is the legendary divine-level Martial Soul!"
"Heaven bless Spirit Hall!"
The elders were so excited their faces flushed red.
Even Qian Jun Douluo, who had always been prejudiced against him, gaped in astonishment and couldn't speak for a long time.
Innate level twenty.
That was the talent only Qian Renxue possessed.
It was the mark of one who could become a god.
Hu Liena stood below the platform, completely dumbfounded.
She stared blankly at the figure onstage, the center of everyone's attention.
Just a moment ago, she had been congratulating herself on her own Innate Soul Power of level nine.
She had even shamelessly claimed she would look after Lin Qiu.
Now that she thought about it—
She was a complete joke.
What did Innate level nine amount to beside Innate level twenty?
A firefly trying to outshine the bright moon.
Lin Qiu looked at the shocked faces around him, utterly unmoved.
Was level twenty really that impressive?
If this world's rules hadn't held him back, with the Nine-Nether Ao's foundations, he would have started at least in the Xiantai Realm.
Bibi Dong rose from her throne.
Her beautiful eyes were full of joy and pride.
This was her son.
How could the person she, Bibi Dong, had taken an interest in possibly be a good-for-nothing?
However—
Just as everyone thought the awakening ceremony was over—
Lin Qiu didn't step down from the Awakening Platform.
He remained where he was.
Because he could feel another power surging within him.
It was the other part of the system's reward.
"It's not over yet."
Lin Qiu murmured to himself.
As soon as the words left his mouth—
Another change occurred.
The hall, which had been filled with the Nine-Nether Ao's fiendish aura, suddenly took on a trace of coolness.
Tufts of tender green grass sprouted from the cracks in the hall's floor.
They grew at a visible speed.
In the blink of an eye, the entire Awakening Platform was surrounded by lush greenery.
Above the golden sea, beside the Nine-Nether Ao—
A blue-green lotus slowly bloomed.
The Chaos Green Lotus.
A Single Lotus Through the Eternal Blue Heavens.
The lotus had only three leaves, yet seemed to bear the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
Grayish chaos energy swirled around it.
Each wisp of chaos energy that drifted down seemed to weigh a thousand tons, distorting the space around it ever so slightly.
With the appearance of the Green Lotus—
The Nine-Nether Ao's violent fiendish aura was miraculously balanced out.
A profound equilibrium took shape within Lin Qiu.
Yin and yang in harmony.
Creation in all its myriad forms.
"What... what is that?"
"Another Martial Soul?"
"Twin Martial Souls!"
Before you continue