Thunder Prison Qilin

Su Zhen felt an unprecedented sense of comfort enveloped in the light, and he could not help but let out a soft moan.

Seeing more and more points of light pouring into Su Zhen's body, yet his Martial Soul had yet to appear, the Soul Master could not help but increase his output of soul power. It was only when nearly half of the soul power within the Soul Master had been consumed that Su Zhen finally reacted.

Su Zhen's entire body began to radiate a purple-gold light, accompanied by a series of low, bestial roars.

At this moment, dark clouds gathered in the sky above the branch hall of Martial Soul Hall, and purple-gold lightning surged within them like swimming dragons.

BOOM!

A thunderous roar erupted from the clouds as the purple-gold lightning converged into a sea of thunder. A bolt of lightning as thick as a water barrel crashed down, shattering the stone roof of the branch hall and striking Su Zhen directly. The violent thunder sought to tear Su Zhen apart, but it was blocked by the purple-gold light radiating from his skin.

The light and the thunder remained in a stalemate. The world suddenly fell silent, as if a century—or perhaps just a second—had passed. The light and the thunder shattered simultaneously, with fragments of light and arcs of electricity swirling around Su Zhen.

"Ang—woo—"

A bestial roar resounded across the heavens and earth, clear and piercing like the ringing of gold and stone. It was long, ear-shattering, and transcended the clouds; it was not violent, yet it carried an innate pressure that would make all beasts bow their heads in submission.

"What is that? Look, it's so cool!"

The children exclaimed in surprise.

Behind Su Zhen, amidst the light and electric arcs, a beastly silhouette stood tall.

The silhouette was covered in purple-gold scales, each etched with lightning patterns that crackled with surging electricity. It possessed a dragon's head with lion-like jaws, and its eyes burned with purple lightning. A single horn on its forehead resembled a lightning halberd, wreathed in thunderous light. Its mane of purple lightning exploded into electric sparks in the wind. Its body, a hybrid of dragon and deer, rippled with muscles like coiled lightning pythons. Its four claws trod upon thunder, leaving purple-gold lightning prints wherever they landed, and its ox-like tail, covered in thunder scales, whipped about to summon thunderbolts.

"This is... a Qilin!"

The Soul Master's face turned pale with shock, his speech faltering. The moment this Martial Soul appeared, his own Black Bear Martial Soul had autonomously deactivated its possession. He could feel his own Martial Soul trembling in fear and submission; the pressure radiating from that entity made it impossible for him to even maintain his Martial Soul Possession.

"Ch-child, could you please put your Martial Soul away?"

Su Zhen followed the method the Soul Master had described and retracted his Martial Soul.

"Child, what is your name? And what is your Martial Soul called?"

"Lord Soul Master, my name is Su Zhen, and my Martial Soul is the Thunder Prison Qilin."

"A Qilin, a truly powerful Martial Soul. Come, child, let us test your soul power. Just place your hand on this."

The Soul Master took a transparent crystal ball from his bag. He hadn't brought it out earlier because he believed a small village like this wouldn't produce a child with Innate Soul Power, but Su Zhen's Martial Soul surely possessed a high level of it.

The moment Su Zhen placed his hand on it, the crystal ball lit up with a brilliant radiance, filling the sphere instantly.

"Good! This is truly excellent! Innate Full Soul Power! My quota for this year has been exceeded; the position of branch hall master in Suotuo City tomorrow will surely be mine!"

The Soul Master was ecstatic; Su Zhen alone had allowed him to meet his annual quota.

"Lord Soul Master, what is Innate Full Soul Power?"

Su Zhen's small head was filled with big questions.

The Soul Master explained the meaning of Innate Full Soul Power to Su Zhen.

"Child, don't call me Lord Soul Master anymore. You, too, can become a Soul Master. My name is Shi Heng, a White-Clothed Deacon of the Suotuo City Martial Soul Hall branch, a level 32 Assault-type Soul Elder. You can call me Uncle Shi. By the way, child, are you willing to join Martial Soul Hall? With your talent, you will surely receive the best resources and treatment, and you might even be able to take a Titled Douluo as your master."

"Uncle Shi, where is Martial Soul Hall? What is a Titled Douluo? Are they very strong?"

Shi Heng gave Su Zhen a brief introduction to the hierarchy of the Soul Master world and the levels of its factions.

"In other words, as long as I join Martial Soul Hall, I can become stronger, and once I'm strong, I can earn lots and lots of money?"

"That's right, child, you could put it that way. Will you join?"

After receiving Su Zhen's affirmative answer, Shi Heng grabbed Su Zhen's arm and turned to walk toward the hall exit.

"Uncle Shi, you haven't awakened the Martial Souls for the others yet."

"Oh, right. Then you go wait outside the hall for a moment, and I'll come find you once I've finished my work here."

Shi Heng's figure paused for a moment as he looked at the remaining children, agreeing to Su Zhen's small request.

"Okay."

Su Zhen pushed the door open and walked out, while Shi Heng proceeded to finish the awakening for the remaining children. In truth, he hadn't wanted to bother with the others, his mind currently filled with the performance and status boost Su Zhen had brought him. However, he wouldn't easily refuse a request from Su Zhen; after all, given Su Zhen's talent, his status after joining Martial Soul Hall would certainly be high. At the same time, he also harbored a sliver of hope that the remaining children might awaken talent similar to Su Zhen's.

After Su Zhen came out, he saw Village Chief Miles waiting outside.

"Grandpa Village Chief!"

Su Zhen greeted Miles with a smile.

"Child, whose child are you? Why haven't I seen you in the village before?"

Miles was very confused when the child in front of him greeted him.

It was no wonder Miles didn't recognize Su Zhen. At this moment, Su Zhen's hair was a long, flowing purple-gold, his skin was as white and lustrous as jade, and he was significantly taller than before. His originally sturdy frame had become even more robust, and his entire body was brimming with a sense of power.

"Grandpa Village Chief, don't you recognize me? It's me, Xiao Zhen!"

"Ah, Xiao Zhen? It really is Xiao Zhen? How did you change so much?"

Miles hadn't believed it at first, but the child was wearing the same coarse clothes Su Zhen had been wearing when he went in, and the voice was indeed Xiao Zhen's, so he chose to believe this child was indeed him.

"Grandpa Village Chief, it's because I awakened a very special Martial Soul that I turned out like this."

Su Zhen showed Miles his Thunder Prison Qilin Martial Soul and told him about his Innate Full Soul Power talent.

"Hahahaha, good, good, good! Our Hound Village can finally hold its head high!"

Miles was so excited that he even yanked out several strands of his own goat-like beard.

"Xiao Zhen, you and your brother Xiao Ming are truly the lucky stars of our village. Are you planning to attend the Junior Soul Master Academy in Suotuo City? The village's quota for a work-study student this year is yours."

"Grandpa Village Chief, I have already promised Uncle Shi that I will join Martial Soul Hall."

"That is correct, Miles. Xiao Zhen will be joining our Martial Soul Hall, so I am afraid that work-study quota will not be needed."

Shi Heng walked out after finishing the martial soul awakenings for the children.

"Lord Soul Master, how did the rest of the children fare? Are there any others who can become Soul Masters like Xiao Zhen?"

"I am sorry, Miles. The remaining children only awakened ordinary martial souls like dogs or deer; none of them possess any Innate Soul Power."

"Village Chief Miles, has the martial soul awakening finished? What are the results? Where is Xiao Zhen?"

It was Su Changkong who had arrived. He had finished his work and, estimating that the time was about right, came over to take a look, but he did not see Su Zhen in the crowd.

"Changkong, this is Xiao Zhen. His appearance changed because of the martial soul awakening. Your family has truly struck gold! First Xiao Ming, and now Xiao Zhen—your family has two Soul Masters now."

Miles pointed at the drastically changed Su Zhen as he spoke.

Upon hearing this, Su Changkong was stunned for a moment, followed immediately by a hearty laugh. Both of his sons were Soul Masters; he finally had something to brag about in front of the other villagers.

"Xiao Zhen, did you awaken a dog or a deer? How much Innate Soul Power do you have?"

Su Changkong smiled and patted Su Zhen on the head.

"Dad, my martial soul is a Qi..."

Before Su Zhen could finish his sentence, he was violently shoved away by Su Changkong, crashing into a nearby tree trunk and falling unconscious.

BOOM!

A deafening roar erupted, and a thick, black pillar appeared where the crowd had been standing moments before. A violent shockwave exploded outward, sweeping across the surroundings.

"How dare you, thief!"

An angry shout thundered down from high above.

Billions of miles away from Hound Village, A massive, somber palace, dark red in its entirety, stood tall. The interior of the palace was incredibly vast, with only a single, menacing throne standing at the far end.

A towering figure rested on the throne, propping up his face. His entire body was wrapped in dark red demonic patterns, and he wore armor equally covered in the same markings. He radiated a dark red light that made it impossible to discern his features.

He opened his eyes, a pair of dark red pupils that could seize a soul, and a flash of dark red light flickered in the depths of his gaze.