Martial Soul Awakening Shocks Everyone?

Shrek Academy, Martial Soul Testing Room.

This is a circular stone chamber. The walls are engraved with complex soul-guiding arrays, and six fist-sized soul power light orbs are embedded in the floor, arranged in a hexagram.

The air is permeated with an ancient and mysterious aura. This is the standard awakening test site configured by Martial Soul Hall, used across the entire continent.

Yu Xiaogang stands in the center of the array, holding a thick manual. He pushes up his glasses and sweeps his gaze over the four people before him.

Han Li, Xiao Yan, Shi Hao, Wang Lin.

The four stand in a row, each with a different posture, but their expressions are surprisingly consistent: impatient.

Han Li is expressionless, but inwardly he is calculating: Martial Soul? It is merely this world's misinterpretation of spiritual roots. I shall see what mysteries this test holds; perhaps I can deduce the cultivation laws of this realm from it.

Xiao Yan crosses his arms, a disdainful smirk hanging on his lips: "Awakening is just awakening. I'll let you all see what a Heavenly Flame is. Although it's been suppressed, it's more than enough to handle this small scene."

Shi Hao is the most excited, already bouncing on the spot several times: "Can we fight after the awakening? Can we fight? I'm just asking if we can fight!"

Yu Xiaogang replies expressionlessly: "No."

Shi Hao's excitement cools by half instantly.

Wang Lin stands at the very edge, hands behind his back, long hair draped over his shoulders, his face cold. He glances at the testing room, his gaze lingering on the six soul power light orbs for a second before moving away.

"This Seat is merely cooperating with you." Wang Lin's voice is not loud, but the sense of superiority—that he is not on the same level as them—is palpable.

Yu Xiaogang takes a deep breath, swallowing the retort of whether the four of them could act normally.

"First, Han Li."

Han Li walks forward and stands in the center of the hexagram.

Yu Xiaogang raises his hand, and the six soul power light orbs light up simultaneously, six beams of light converging on Han Li.

An invisible force envelops him, as if probing the deepest secrets within his body.

Han Li closes his eyes.

He feels that force burrow into his body, probing toward his dantian, his meridians, and the Heavenly Bottle hidden in his sleeve. His brows furrow slightly, and he quietly circulates his spiritual power, suppressing the spiritual light of the Heavenly Bottle to the minimum.

Cannot expose too much, Han Li chants inwardly, the rules of this world are unclear; my trump cards must be kept hidden.

That probing force wanders through his body, finally stopping at his Martial Soul, the cyan longsword sleeping deep within his spiritual platform.

A sword emerges behind Han Li.

No, not one, but seven.

Seven cyan longswords are arranged in a fan shape. The blades are ringed with fine bamboo leaf patterns, the edges cold and sharp, emitting a chilly and fierce aura. The seven swords tremble slightly, emitting a low humming sound, like seven sleeping beasts just waking up.

Yu Xiaogang's eyes light up, and he nearly loses his grip on the manual in his hand.

"Tool Martial Soul! Green Bamboo Bee Cloud... Sword?" He steps closer, carefully observing the fluctuations of the seven swords, his brows furrowing and relaxing, relaxing and furrowing again. "Strange, the fluctuations of this Martial Soul are very special... It doesn't look like a pure Tool Martial Soul, nor does it look like a Beast Martial Soul... It looks like a mutated Martial Soul, and the degree of mutation is significant."

Yu Xiaogang looks down at the test results and freezes.

"Innate Soul Power... Level Three?"

His voice carries obvious confusion.

Level Three is the threshold that barely meets the standard for cultivation; it cannot even be considered mediocre, only barely qualified.

Han Li's heart remains completely calm.

This fits my low-profile persona perfectly.

He opens his eyes and walks off the testing platform with an expressionless face.

The surrounding area is already crowded with students watching the spectacle. The Shrek Seven Devils are all present, along with other students. Seeing Han Li's test results, whispers rise one after another.

"Level Three? Isn't that too trashy?"

"The Martial Soul looks quite nice, seven swords, but it's a pity the person is useless."

"An ugly freak is an ugly freak; no matter how good the Martial Soul looks, it can't change that fact."

Han Li's ears twitch, hearing every word clearly.

He does not look back, but the corner of his mouth twitches slightly.

Noted. I will settle the score for these idle gossips later.

He walks silently back to the four-man team and stands in his position.

His expression is as calm as if nothing had happened.

"Second, Xiao Yan."

Xiao Yan walks toward the testing platform with long strides, his expression clearly saying, I'm going to open your eyes.

He stands still, crosses his arms, and closes his eyes.

The six soul power light orbs light up again, the light converging on him. Xiao Yan feels that probing force burrow into his body, touching the cluster of sleeping flames at his dantian.

The Heavenly Flame awakens.

A cluster of flames emerges behind Xiao Yan.

Multiple colors intertwine: the cyan Green Lotus Core Flame, the colorless Fallen Heart Flame, the red-gold Three Thousand Burning Flame, the purple Bone Chilling Flame... The light of twenty-three Heavenly Flames flows within this cluster. Although they are all very weak, the pressure of ten thousand flames bowing to their master still makes everyone present feel the scorching heat.

Yu Xiaogang's glasses reflected the firelight, his mouth hanging open in an 'O' shape.

"This is... a beast spirit? No, that's not right, an instrument spirit doesn't fit either..." He frantically flipped through his manual, attempting to find a matching entry, but after searching for a long time, he found nothing. "A mutated fire-attribute spirit! And it's a fusion of multiple attributes!"

The test results appeared.

"Xuanhuang Flame, mutated fire-attribute spirit, Innate Soul Power... level four."

Yu Xiaogang's voice carried a hint of surprise. Level four—one level higher than Han Li, but still below the average.

Xiao Yan opened his eyes and saw the level four result. The expression on his face shifted from smugness to confusion, then from confusion to resentment.

"Level four?" He frowned. "One level higher than that ugly freak, but it shouldn't be this low..."

He knew his Heavenly Flame had been suppressed, but he hadn't expected it to be suppressed to such a degree.

Back in the Great Thousand World, whenever his Heavenly Flame emerged, ten thousand fires would bow in submission; who would dare utter a word of dissent? To think that in this godforsaken place, it was only level four?

Below the stage, the whispering continued.

"Level four? Just one level higher than the last one; both are trash."

"The fire looks pretty cool, and he's arrogant enough, but it's a pity he's just a scrub."

"Scrub! Scrub!"

Xiao Yan's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

He glared at those calling him a scrub, the patterns of the Heavenly Flame on his right arm lighting up. He nearly went berserk on the spot, but he held back because Yu Xiaogang was staring at him, his eyes clearly saying that if he dared to make a move, he would be scrubbing toilets for a month.

Xiao Yan let out a cold snort and walked back to the line.

"Third, Shi Hao."

Shi Hao practically leaped onto the testing platform.

He had been looking forward to his spirit awakening for a long time, both to see what kind of spirit he possessed and because he simply thought the word 'awakening' sounded incredibly cool; he figured he would be much better at fighting once he was awakened.

He stood still, closed his eyes, and a silly grin hung on his lips.

Six soul power orbs lit up, their radiance converging.

This time, the reaction to the light was violent.

All six orbs erupted with blinding white light simultaneously. The entire testing room trembled slightly, and the soul-guiding arrays on the walls flickered frantically, as if unable to withstand some immense power.

Behind Shi Hao, a bone emerged.

It was a crystal-clear bone, the size of a palm, radiating an ancient and terrifying pressure. The bone was etched with dense, intricate patterns that looked like some form of ancient script, emitting a faint golden glow.

Yu Xiaogang's manual dropped to the floor.

"Supreme Bone?" His voice trembled. "This is... an instrument spirit mutated from the skeletal remains of an ancient divine beast? Impossible, such a spirit has been extinct on this continent for tens of thousands of years..."

The test results popped up.

"Innate Soul Power... level eight?"

Before Yu Xiaogang's voice had even faded, the number jumped again.

"Level nine!"

Full Soul Power.

The entire testing room fell into a dead silence.

Everyone stared at the number nine, and at the bone behind Shi Hao that radiated such terrifying pressure.

Dai Mubai's face went pale, Zhu Zhuqing's fingers trembled, Ma Hongjun's chicken leg dropped to the floor once again, and Oscar's sausage slid right out of his mouth.

Among the Shrek Seven Devils, only Tang San and Xiao Wu possessed Innate Full Soul Power. Now, another one had arrived.

And one with a Supreme Bone even more terrifying than theirs.

Shi Hao opened his eyes, scratched his head, looked at the bone behind him, and then at the level nine result.

"That's it?" His tone was filled with disappointment. "I thought I'd awaken something incredible, but I've always had this Supreme Bone."

The entire room was speechless.

Wang Lin stood in the line and let out a cold snort. "Level nine, so what? This Seat could beat him to a pulp."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for everyone nearby to hear.

Shi Hao turned his head to look at Wang Lin, a fighting spirit igniting in his eyes. "What did you say? Come over here!"

Yu Xiaogang grabbed Shi Hao. "Next, Wang Lin!"

"Fourth, Wang Lin."

Wang Lin walked slowly onto the testing platform.

His pace was slow and elegant, as if he were walking a red carpet. His white robes swayed gently behind him, and his long hair fluttered slightly in the wind.

There was no expression on his refined face, and his gray-white eyes were filled with the sentiment that "This Seat is not from the same world as you people."

He stood still in the center of the hexagram and closed his eyes.

The six soul power orbs lit up.

But this time, the radiance did not converge upon Wang Lin; instead, it was sucked away.

The soul power within the six spheres of light seemed to be seized by an invisible hand, surging madly toward Wang Lin's body. The light of the spheres dimmed rapidly, while a speck of gray light ignited between Wang Lin's brows.

That speck of light grew larger and brighter, eventually transforming into a gray bead that hovered before the center of his forehead.

Inside the bead, a vortex rotated like a miniature black hole, devouring all the light and heat in the surroundings.

A grayish-white radiance emanated from the bead, shrouding the entire testing room, and everyone felt a chill rise up their spines.

Yu Xiaogang dropped his manual entirely.

He stared at that gray bead, his lips trembling: "What kind of Martial Soul is this... a type I have never seen before..."

The test results appeared on the light screen.

"Martial Soul: Heavenly Inverse Bead. Type: Evil Martial Soul. Innate Soul Power: Unable to evaluate."

Yu Xiaogang swallowed with difficulty: "His Martial Soul devours the power used to detect it, so a specific level cannot be measured, but judging by the intensity of the fluctuations, it is at least level seven or higher."

Wang Lin opened his eyes.

The Heavenly Inverse Bead slowly faded into his forehead, and the grayish-white light dissipated along with it. A cold sneer curled the corners of his mouth as his gaze swept over everyone present.

"This Seat has no need for a Martial Soul."

His voice was flat, yet every word felt like an ice pick stabbing into the listeners' ears.

"This Seat is, in and of itself, the most powerful."

The entire room fell silent.

No one refuted him.

Facing this person, anything said felt superfluous.

He was clearly a one-ring Spirit Master, clearly someone who should have been a waste, yet standing there, he gave everyone the feeling that he was not someone to be trifled with.

A bizarre contrast.

"Finally, Tang San has volunteered for the demonstration." Yu Xiaogang's voice broke the silence.

Tang San stepped forward and stood in the center of the testing platform.

The six soul power spheres were recharged, glowing with light.

Tang San released his Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass.

Weak blue vines spread out from beneath his feet, carpeting the testing platform in a layer of green.

The test results popped up: Blue Silver Grass, Control-type Martial Soul, Innate Full Soul Power.

Standard and conventional, a textbook Innate Full Soul Power.

Tang San turned his head and saw the four of them observing him in their own ways.

Han Li's expression remained blank, but his eyes conveyed: Innate Full Soul Power? Blue Silver Grass? This person is not simple; he has hidden cards. A trash Martial Soul cannot reach full soul power; there must be a secret on him.

Xiao Yan had a trace of mockery on his lips: Level nine? So the floor tile wasn't actually a floor tile? Pfft, so what if he's level nine? Once I recover my strength, I can crush him with one hand.

Shi Hao tilted his head, his eyes filled with confusion: Level nine? Then I'm level ten—no, wait, I'm level nine too. So he's level nine? Which one of us is stronger? No, I have to fight him later to find out.

Wang Lin's grayish-white eyes lingered on Tang San for a second: Level nine? There is something on his causal line... the aura of a god? This trash has a backer. Interesting.

Tang San felt completely uncomfortable being stared at by these four gazes, and his Blue Silver Grass retracted.

He offered a strained smile: "Um... is there a problem?"

The four of them shifted their gazes simultaneously.

"None," said Han Li.

"None," said Xiao Yan.

"Yes, when will you fight me?" said Shi Hao.

Tang San: "...Another day?"

"Today!" Shi Hao's eyes lit up.

"Shut up," Wang Lin spat out coldly.

Shi Hao opened his mouth, but actually shut it.

Tang San stood on the testing platform, watching the interaction between these four, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He suddenly remembered what Xiao Wu had said: Third Brother, you have a personality that just invites trouble.

Now he understood.

It wasn't that he actually invited trouble, but rather that compared to these four, he was far too normal.

A normal person, amidst four lunatics, is the greatest abnormality of all.

The test ended, and the four of them walked out of the testing room.

Han Li walked in the lead, his pace neither fast nor slow, his back lonely.

Xiao Yan followed behind, still muttering about the level four matter.

Shi Hao skipped along, muttering to himself about whether his Supreme Bone could be used as a hidden weapon.

Wang Lin walked at the very back, hands clasped behind his back, his long hair flowing in the wind.

Tang San stood at the entrance of the testing room, watching the backs of these four people, when a very serious question suddenly occurred to him.

They were all monsters.

And he, it seemed, was the only normal one among them.

At Shrek Academy, the word "normal" was never a compliment.