Martial Soul Awakening, Worldbearing Coreflame! (Please Follow!!!)

Outside Spirit Pagoda headquarters, at an orphanage.

Bai Yuan looked at the place that had become all too familiar and could not help letting out a soft sigh.

It had already been six years since he arrived here.

His Martial Soul would awaken tomorrow. That was something to look forward to.

Life was unpredictable; shit happened.

Who would have thought that all he did was watch that bizarre Honkai Star Rail 4.0 PV until it scrambled his brain?

He had passionately typed, "What kind of nonsense is this?" in the comments, and then everything went black...

He transmigrated.

And not into Honkai Star Rail, either, but Douluo Continent.

Shouldn't this at least have been a Honkai Star Rail crossover?

Wasn't this just sending him to the wrong world?

Even more absurdly, he had transmigrated into an orphan and ended up living in this orphanage sponsored by Spirit Pagoda.

At least his name had not changed. It was still Bai Yuan.

Since they both had the surname Bai, he could consider it a tribute to his favorite character.

Six years had been enough for him to figure out his situation.

He was currently in the era of Legend of the Dragon King in Douluo.

The good news was that this era was relatively peaceful. As long as he did not court death in the core cities, he could always get by.

The bad news was—he was an orphan.

Bai Yuan knew perfectly well that Martial Soul awakening in this world was thirty percent mutation, seventy percent luck, and the remaining ninety percent depended entirely on how capable one's parents were.

As for him, his parents were unknown, his Martial Soul was unknown, and he had no trump cards whatsoever.

"If I awaken a good Martial Soul tomorrow, I'll stay," he exhaled slowly and muttered to himself. "If I don't awaken one... I'll run away early, find some remote little town, and quietly live out the rest of my life."

Lying low was the first principle of a transmigrator.

Bai Yuan silently prayed.

Which mighty being from Honkai Star Rail was up there? If one of you great ones could take pity on me and grant me even the tiniest bit of power, it would be enough for me to run wild across this continent.

"Come on, come on, children! Gather around!"

A staff member's voice interrupted his wandering thoughts.

A huge group of children came running in from all directions, chirping noisily as they gathered together.

Bai Yuan blended into the crowd, knowing full well what was going on.

Everyone was so eager for one reason only: tomorrow's Martial Soul awakening.

Spirit Pagoda had not opened this orphanage out of charity.

Their purpose was simple: to pick out promising talents from among these orphans.

As long as someone awakened Soul Power and was willing to sign a contract with Spirit Pagoda, they could receive a Soul Spirit for free.

They called it free, but that was not entirely true.

The orphans had no money, so Spirit Pagoda naturally "loaned" them the money for their Soul Spirits.

Once they joined Spirit Pagoda in the future, how that debt would be calculated would be entirely up to Spirit Pagoda, would it not?

For Spirit Pagoda, all it took was a few hundred-year Soul Spirits to gain a batch of talented Soul Masters. It was a guaranteed profit.

Bai Yuan was still pondering these hidden details when his gaze casually swept over the back of the crowd.

Then he could no longer look away.

It was a woman.

A magnificent crimson dress wrapped around her graceful figure. Her features were as exquisite as a painting, and her bearing was lofty and otherworldly.

She simply stood there quietly, yet everything around her seemed to lose its color.

A staff member promptly introduced her, his tone carrying a hint of pride:

"This is Spirit Pagoda's Vice Pagoda Master—Sky Phoenix Douluo.

Normally, she would not attend an occasion like this.

But this event is jointly organized by Spirit Pagoda and the Federation, so she was specially invited..."

Bai Yuan could no longer hear the rest.

Only one name echoed in his mind.

Leng Yaozhu.

Holy shit, wasn't she the famous...

He unconsciously swallowed.

If he could latch onto her, would he ever need to worry about his future again?

But the moment the thought arose, he snuffed it out himself.

Calm down.

The result of tomorrow's Martial Soul awakening was what truly mattered.

If he awakened a powerful Martial Soul, perhaps he would still have a chance.

If he failed to awaken one...

He glanced at the woman whose presence filled the entire place and silently added in his heart.

At her level, she probably would not even spare him a proper glance.

After the event ended, Bai Yuan returned to his dormitory.

Lying on his bed, he stared at the ceiling and could not help mocking himself.

As a transmigrator, he had not received even a single starter benefit. What a miserable, pathetic fate.

But on second thought, at least he was still alive.

As long as he was alive, there was hope. Everything was still possible.

If he awakened a powerful Martial Soul tomorrow, he would carve out a place for himself on this continent.

If he had no Martial Soul, or awakened some useless one...

Then he would find something else to do. He could not waste his life away; he had to find himself something to strive for.

But before that!

Bai Yuan abruptly shut his eyes, clasped his hands together, and wore an expression as devout as a believer's.

"The Hunt! Did you hear me? Give me power!"

"Vidyadhara High Elder! Give me power!"

"Brother Sun!"

He drew in a deep breath, and his voice unconsciously rose several notches:

"Bring me a Core Flame!!!"

Having said that, he rolled over in satisfaction and fell into a deep sleep.

In the darkness, a white-haired figure slowly materialized.

A faint Core Flame quietly appeared at his side.

Threads of golden light slowly flowed into his body.

Silently nourishing every inch of his meridians and every part of his bones.

Yet he knew nothing of it.

The next day, early morning.

The orphanage had become lively early on. A large group of children lined up and were led into the already prepared awakening room.

Bai Yuan mingled among them and watched Leng Yaozhu take commemorative photos with the children.

He could not help grumbling inwardly.

Spirit Pagoda's publicity work was certainly thorough.

After the photos, Leng Yaozhu took a seat at the front and waited listlessly.

She wanted to see whether she might encounter any promising children today.

A Spirit Pagoda staff member stepped forward. After explaining the precautions for awakening, he began the process.

"First one, come up."

A child nervously walked to the center of the awakening formation.

The formation lit up, then dimmed.

"Martial Soul: iron hoe. Soul Power: rank one. Next."

The child walked down in disappointment.

"Martial Soul: grass vine. Useless Martial Soul. Soul Power: rank three. Next."

One after another, ordinary Martial Souls and meager Soul Power.

Until—

"Martial Soul: Crimson Flame Tiger. Soul Power: rank six!"

The staff member's voice rose several notes.

The child froze for a second, then became so excited that he nearly jumped up.

"Not bad. You can report to one of Spirit Pagoda's affiliated institutions," the staff member said with a nod, his eyes full of approval.

Leng Yaozhu gave him a glance, but her interest was lacking.

Rank-six Soul Power, Crimson Flame Tiger...

He was a decent prospect, but nothing more.

As expected, the chances of finding truly gifted children here were far too low.

She turned her head, quietly gave a few instructions to the steward beside her, and prepared to rise and leave.

"Next—"

The staff member lowered his head to glance at the list and casually called out:

"Bai Yuan!"

Bai Yuan took a deep breath and walked toward the center of the awakening formation.

Standing in the center of the formation, he unconsciously closed his eyes.

He had prayed all night. He had no idea whether it would work...

"Begin."

The formation lit up.

At first, there was only a faint glow.

Then.

Boom!

A brilliant light suddenly erupted from the center of the formation. Like a blazing sun crashing to earth, it instantly swallowed the entire hall!

Everyone was blinded by the sudden radiance and raised their hands to shield their eyes.

Leng Yaozhu's steps abruptly halted.

She whirled around, her pupils contracting sharply.

Within that light, a power that made even her heart tremble was faintly awakening.