The next day.
Early in the morning.
Fu Qin was wandering around the village as usual.
[Name: Fu Qin (Transmigrator)
True Age: 27
Current Age: 6
Soul Power: Not Awakened (Mysterious Heaven Skill, Peak of the First Layer; inner strength equivalent to a Level 10 Soul Scholar)
First Martial Soul: Not Awakened
Second Martial Soul: Not Awakened
Constitution: Life Affinity Constitution (Intermediate)
Innate Buffs: God-Level Luck ProMax+, Intelligence-Lowering Aura Max+, Fate Origin and Dissipation Max+
Currently Held: Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record (Handwritten Copy)
Status: Peak (Luck Boost, Status Full)]
[Name: Tang San (God King Reincarnated)
True Age: 50,006
Current Age: 6
Soul Power: Not Awakened (Mysterious Heaven Skill, Second Layer; inner strength equivalent to a Level 8 Soul Scholar)
First Martial Soul: Not Awakened
Second Martial Soul: Not Awakened
Constitution: Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline (Sealed)
Favorability: 75 (Considers him a trustworthy underling)
Thoughts: After his Martial Soul Awakening, if his talent is decent, recruit him for my use]
Fu Qin glanced at the information on the panel and sneered.
Recruit him as an underling?
Just wait until the Martial Soul Awakening. You'll be in for a surprise.
Today was the day of the Martial Soul Awakening. Village chief Old Jack wore his finest clothes as he led a dozen children of the proper age to wait in the open space at the center of the village.
In the distance, a young man in a white robe with a long black case strapped to his back was slowly approaching. He was none other than Su Yuntao, a Spirit Hall deacon.
"Children, line up quickly! This is Master Su from Spirit Hall. He can awaken your Martial Souls!"
Old Jack shouted excitedly, his wrinkled face breaking into a smile.
Su Yuntao waved a hand, looking rather haughty.
"All right, village chief. Let's begin. One at a time. Put your hand on this crystal ball."
He took out a blue crystal ball, then brought out six black stones and arranged them in a magic array.
The children went forward one by one. Some awakened hoe Martial Souls, some awakened Blue Silver Grass, and some had no Soul Power and were impatiently sent aside by Su Yuntao.
Soon, it was Tang San's turn.
Standing behind him, Fu Qin clearly saw the surprise in Su Yuntao's eyes as Tang San placed his hand on the crystal ball.
"Hm? Blue Silver Grass? A Trash Martial Soul."
╮(╯▽╰)╭
Su Yuntao frowned and placed his hand on the crystal ball.
(ΩДΩ)
"Checking Soul Power... Holy crap! Innate Full Soul Power!"
The children and Old Jack were stunned.
Innate Full Soul Power!
A genius like this only appeared once in a century!
But Su Yuntao's excitement quickly faded.
"Too bad it's a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. No matter how high his Soul Power is, it's useless."
Tang San lowered his head. No one saw the sharp glint in his eyes.
He quietly clenched his right hand, where his second Martial Soul—the Clear Sky Hammer—was hidden.
[Tang San's thoughts: Thank goodness this guy's an idiot. I'll first pretend to have a Trash Martial Soul, just like in my previous life, then develop in secret.]
[Attention to Fu Qin: 80 (Looking forward to his Martial Soul talent)]
Next, it was Fu Qin's turn.
He stepped forward with a faint smile.
"What should I do?"
[Fate Arises and Fades buff activated. Su Yuntao's favorability +10 (Considers him an endearing child)]
[Intelligence-Reducing Halo activated. Su Yuntao's expectations of Fu Qin lowered by 30% (Considers him an ordinary child)]
Huh???
Why were these two buffs hurting each other?
Su Yuntao softened his tone. "Just put your hand on the crystal ball and close your eyes."
Fu Qin did as he was told.
The moment his hand touched the crystal ball, a warm energy surged from the magic array into his body, soothing him from head to toe.
At the same time, a system notification rang in his mind.
[Martial Soul Awakening in progress... Twin Martial Souls detected...]
[First Martial Soul: Alchemy Gloves (Tool Martial Soul)]
[Quality: God-level (Locked)]
[Current Effect: Unknown for now]
[Second Martial Soul: Godhood Mask (Tool Martial Soul)]
[Quality: God-level (Locked)]
[Current Effect: Unknown for now]
[Soul Power check: Innate Full Soul Power!]
Fu Qin felt a silver-white glove appear on his left hand. Fine patterns covered it, and it gave off a faint golden glow.
Feeling the heat in his right palm, he immediately followed Tang San's example and clenched his right hand tightly.
He held the Godhood Mask Martial Soul firmly in his palm, revealing only the Alchemy Gloves on his left hand to Su Yuntao.
"Hm? A glove Martial Soul?" Su Yuntao leaned in for a closer look. "Another Trash Martial Soul?"
He pressed down on the crystal ball. When he saw it light up with a dazzling blue glow, he froze.
"Another... another Innate Full Soul Power?!"
(⊙_⊙)?
Su Yuntao shouted in disbelief, staring at Fu Qin as if he were a monster.
"How is this possible? Two people with Innate Full Soul Power in Holy Soul Village—and both have Trash Martial Souls?!"
Old Jack was so excited he couldn't speak. He clasped his hands together and kept murmuring,
"Thank the gods."
The children around them erupted into chatter, looking at Fu Qin and Tang San with envy.
Fu Qin put on a suitably confused expression.
"Hm? I have Innate Full Soul Power. Is my Martial Soul not good?"
[Intelligence-Reducing Halo activated. Su Yuntao is convinced "Fu Qin doesn't know glove Martial Souls are Trash Martial Souls."]
[Su Yuntao's thoughts: What a waste! Two people with Innate Full Soul Power, and both have useless Martial Souls!]
[Favorability: +5 (Sympathy)]
"It's... nothing."
Su Yuntao shook his head, took out two Martial Soul certificates, and handed one each to Tang San and Fu Qin.
"Your Martial Souls both have Innate Full Soul Power. Although your Martial Souls are ordinary, you're still qualified to become Soul Masters. Take these certificates and register at Nuoding Academy."
Fu Qin took the certificate, practically beaming inside.
Alchemy Gloves were a Trash Martial Soul?
With Emperor Su Yuntao's blessing, Fu Qin felt that reaching the peak of life wasn't far off.
At that moment, Tang San's gaze toward Fu Qin had changed.
[Tang San's thoughts: He has Innate Full Soul Power too? Could my reincarnation have caused a butterfly effect? This Fu Qin has decent talent, but his Martial Soul is too weak. Perfect—he'll make a good underling, and I can put him to use in the future.]
[Favorability: +10 (Considers him a useful underling)]
[Hidden Emotion: Ruthlessness (Suppressed by the buff, not revealed)]
Fu Qin caught the fleeting ruthlessness in Tang San's eyes with his Purple Demon Eye and sneered inwardly.
Want to use me? Then I'll let you "use" me to your heart's content.
He walked over to Tang San and put on an innocent smile.
"Xiao San, we both have Innate Full Soul Power! How about we go to the academy together?"
Tang San came back to himself and gave him a warm smile.
"Sure, Fu Qin. I'll look after you from now on."
[Tang San's favorability +3 (Considers him a loyal underling)]
[Intelligence-Reducing Halo remains active. Tang San has no suspicion of Fu Qin's disguise.]
Fu Qin nodded, but had already begun plotting.
With Twin Martial Souls and three top-tier buffs on his side, his future was bound to be anything but ordinary.
Perhaps he could even try being the hawk behind the oriole that waited behind the mantis stalking the cicada.