Awakening His Martial Soul

Six years later.

Near Snow Palace, in the core region of the Far North.

A six-year-old boy dressed only in thin clothes was gripping a small wooden sword, repeatedly practicing the most basic sword forms amid the ice and snow.

Thrust, cleave, sweep, slash.

Though his movements were still childish, they already carried a certain structure.

Not far away, Snow Empress sat sideways atop an ice boulder with her legs crossed. The hem of her white dress draped down, revealing a pair of delicate, enticing jade feet. Her bare feet hung above the snow, yet she felt no cold at all.

She watched the boy practice his swordsmanship, the corners of her lips curling upward slightly.

"This little fellow should be about due for the human awakening of his martial soul," she murmured softly, her gaze gentle. "I wonder how Bing'er's preparations are going."

Speak of the devil.

A petite emerald-green figure streaked through the air from afar.

"Xue'er! Where's little Yang?" Ice Empress's voice arrived before she did. "I got the materials for awakening a human martial soul!"

Snow Empress lifted her chin. "There, playing around."

Ice Empress turned and spotted Lin Yaoyang, and her eyes immediately lit up. Her figure flashed, and she directly scooped the little boy into her arms.

"Hehe, little Yaoyang, did you miss me?"

Lin Yaoyang was pulled into her embrace, his nose filled with Ice Empress's uniquely cool and faint fragrance.

Soft was soft, and fragrant was fragrant, but it was a little flat.

Still, he would not dare say that out loud even if it killed him.

"Of course I missed you!" He raised his face, smiling brightly. "Sister Bing'er, what have you been doing these past few days?"

"Preparing for your martial soul awakening, of course!" Ice Empress pinched his little cheek. "You're six now. It's time to awaken it."

Lin Yaoyang froze slightly.

Awaken his martial soul?

That was right. According to the rules of Douluo Continent, six was the age to awaken one's martial soul.

He had come to this world six years ago.

Back then, out of curiosity, he had poked the bulging power bank. After a bang, he became the human infant now cherished by the two rulers of the Extreme North.

Fortunately, his name was still Yaoyang.

He had no idea what martial soul an outsider like him would awaken.

But he had a faint premonition about one thing: his martial soul was most likely related to fire.

After all, in the freezing Far North, he had never once felt cold. Snow Empress and Ice Empress often said he was like a little sun, warm and cozy to hold.

"Little Yang? What's wrong?" Seeing him space out, Ice Empress thought he was worried. "Are you afraid of awakening a useless martial soul?"

Snow Empress walked over as well and reached out to ruffle his hair. Her voice was gentle enough to melt ice and snow. "Don't worry, little Yang."

Six years of companionship.

They had watched him grow from a tiny little thing into the lively, sturdy child he was now.

This human infant had brought far too many different colors into their dull lives as soul beasts. Their feelings for him had long since grown too deep to dissolve.

Even if he awakened a useless martial soul, they could still protect him for the rest of his life and let him live without a care.

Lin Yaoyang came back to himself and smiled. "No, I was just curious! Let's hurry back and awaken it!"

Ice Empress pinched his cheek affectionately. "All right!"

The two soul beasts took his hands from either side, rose into the air, and flew toward Snow Palace.

Inside Snow Palace.

Following the method she had obtained from humans, Ice Empress arranged the awakening materials into a hexagonal formation. As she worked, she muttered, "Human things are such a hassle. Awakening a martial soul needs so many tricks..."

Snow Empress stood nearby, her gaze resting on Lin Yaoyang, her eyes carrying faint anticipation.

"Little Yang, stand in the center of the formation." Ice Empress waved her hand.

Lin Yaoyang obediently walked into the heart of the formation and closed his eyes.

In an instant, strange energy rose from the formation beneath his feet, wrapping around his entire body like a warm tide. The energy caused him no discomfort. Instead, it felt like countless gentle hands slowly moving through him, as if they were trying to awaken something dormant.

"Relax, Yaoyang." Snow Empress's voice came with a soothing power. "Feel the changes inside your body."

Lin Yaoyang took a deep breath and focused completely.

Then, he felt a stirring rise from the deepest part of his body.

It was no ordinary stirring. It was as though a sleeping sun was slowly awakening in the darkness.

The sensation grew stronger and stronger, carrying an indescribable majesty and dominance. It even caused the auras emanating from Snow Empress and Ice Empress to ripple slightly.

"Hm?" Snow Empress and Ice Empress exchanged a glance, surprise flashing through their eyes.

They could sense that the martial soul about to awaken within Lin Yaoyang seemed to contain an extremely powerful force.

Just then, Lin Yaoyang abruptly opened his eyes!

A blazing red light, brilliant as the scorching sun, exploded from within him, warping and steaming the surrounding air with its heat!

The light was so dazzling that even Snow Empress and Ice Empress instinctively narrowed their eyes.

The radiance lasted for several breaths before gradually fading.

Snow Empress and Ice Empress had just begun to relax when they both froze.

Because they saw that Lin Yaoyang's originally black short hair had turned into a brilliant orange-red.

It was not the flamboyant red of flames, but a warm, bright orange-red like the rising morning sun.

"Little Yang, your... why did your hair change color?" Ice Empress asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

Lin Yaoyang was stunned for a moment and lowered his head toward the floor. The floor of Snow Palace was paved with mysterious ice, smooth as a mirror, clearly reflecting his image.

In the reflection, his features were still the same, but his short black hair had become a dazzling orange-red.

"Maybe it's because I awakened my martial soul." He reached up and touched his hair. It felt no different; only the color had changed.

Immediately afterward, he sensed that the stirring had not completely vanished.

A massive phantom slowly took shape in the void.

It was a majestic figure covered in deep crimson and silver-white. Its armor was sharply angular, carrying the cold, rigid texture of metal while also flowing with a warm golden gleam.

A round, wheel-like golden eye core was embedded in the center of its forehead. At its chest was a perfectly round golden core, like a miniature sun, slowly exhaling and swallowing blazing white flames.

Most eye-catching of all were the two pairs of light wings spread behind it. The wings were translucent golden-yellow, their edges flowing with orange-red firelight. Every flap brought scorching heat.

It hovered silently behind Lin Yaoyang like a God of War who had stepped out of the sun, carrying the fiery pressure to burn all things to ash.

Ice Empress's eyes widened. "What... martial soul is this?"

Feeling the blazing heat rushing toward her, Snow Empress's pupils contracted slightly. "This temperature... could it be Ultimate Fire?"

Lin Yaoyang stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar mecha phantom before him, equally stunned.

Apollo?!

"Little Yang! What is your martial soul called?" Ice Empress asked eagerly.

Lin Yaoyang came back to himself and softly said, "Apollo."

"Apollo?" Snow Empress and Ice Empress exchanged another glance, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes.

They had lived for so many years and seen countless martial souls—beast martial souls, weapon martial souls, Body Martial Souls, mutated martial souls... Yet they had never heard the name "Apollo."

But that did not matter.

Judging solely from that aura earlier, and from the temperature that made even Ice Empress, a soul beast of Ultimate Ice, feel scorching heat, the grade of this martial soul was already self-evident.

Snow Empress stepped forward and touched Lin Yaoyang's head, smiling. "Little Yang, though we've never heard this name before, judging from its aura alone, it must be a super martial soul. You will certainly become an unparalleled powerhouse in the future."

Lin Yaoyang withdrew his martial soul, and the sun God of War slowly faded away. He raised his little face, a gleam beyond his years flashing in his eyes. "Mm! Of course! I'll definitely become the strongest soul master!"

"However..." He scratched his head. "I still don't know how much Innate Soul Power I have."

"It's fine, it's fine! I prepared everything already!" Ice Empress somehow pulled out a blue crystal ball and held it out before him. "Come on, put your hand on it."

Lin Yaoyang pressed his hand against the crystal ball.

The next second, a dazzling blue light burst from its core and instantly spread through the entire sphere!

The radiance was as brilliant as the purest sapphire, bathing all of Snow Palace in azure light.

Ice Empress's mouth formed an O.

Delight flashed through Snow Empress's eyes.

"Innate Full Soul Power!" she said with a soft laugh, her voice filled with pride. "It seems my little Yang really is an unparalleled genius."

Lin Yaoyang planted his hands on his hips and puffed out his little chest proudly. "Naturally!"

Ice Empress could not help pinching his cheek again. "Look how proud you are!"

Snow Empress watched this scene, the smile on her lips deepening.

When she had found this infant in the wind and snow six years ago, she had never imagined there would be a day like this.

But now, looking at this proud little fellow, she suddenly felt that these six years of companionship had been the warmest time in her hundreds of thousands of years of life.

"Come on." She reached out and picked Lin Yaoyang up. "Today is the big day of your awakening. What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."

"Roast rabbit!" Lin Yaoyang's eyes lit up.

Several Soft Bone Rabbits outside Snow Palace suddenly shivered in unison.