"Beautiful Auntie, secretly give me a child, okay?"
The beautiful woman was slick with sweat.
Behind her, a fat, greasy man wrapped his arms around her.
He held her tightly, with all his strength.
As if he wanted to press her into his very body.
In a daze, the beautiful woman let out a weary, languid moan, its trailing note crushed between her lips and teeth.
"Okay~"
Just then, a voice called out, "Director! Director, something terrible has happened!"
The clear words dragged the fat man back from his memories.
Then a man's voice sounded beside his ear.
"Director, I think you wet the bed. Your clothes are soaked."
"Sigma, you brat, you didn't knock again! And this isn't... I just... Ahem, I was sweating."
"Director, none of that matters now. Hurry outside and take a look! A child awakened humanoid Martial Souls—three of them—and they're all giving off a chilling, sinister aura. None of them look normal..."
The director looked up at Sigma, his eyes full of the sort of disbelief usually reserved for a fool.
"Twin Martial Souls are so rare that Douluo Continent might go ten thousand years without seeing one, and now you're telling me someone's got Triple Martial Souls?"
"Humanoid ones, at that?"
"Did you sleep yourself stupid, or see a ghost in broad daylight? How dare you try to fool me with such nonsense?"
"Director, I really did see a ghost in broad daylight!"
Just then, a bone-piercing chill seeped through the crack beneath the door without warning.
Rotten and cold, it was like a ghostly wind drifting up from the Yellow Springs, making the curtains rustle.
The amusement froze on the director's face. He sprang up from his chair.
He had never felt such pure, baleful Yin energy. The aura was so thick, violent, and dark that it seemed even more evil than Saintess Bibi Dong's Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul.
Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.
He didn't even have time to change his pants before hurrying outside.
The usually noisy Martial Soul Awakening Hall
was now completely silent.
A shroud of resentment, baleful energy, killing intent, and calamity hung over Spirit City.
At the center of the hall, three figures floated silently in midair.
At their head was a red-clad figure. The woman was tall, with a face of tragic beauty and crimson lips so luscious they seemed to have just tasted human blood. Her red robes were like blood, their hems embroidered with sinister, twisted crimson patterns. Her sleeves stirred in the baleful aura though there was no wind, and beneath her feet stretched a brilliant red sea of blood.
Floating in midair to her left was a Ghost Bride in a red wedding dress, wearing a bright red phoenix crown and a bridal shawl. Her exquisite face was deathly pale. A red oil-paper umbrella and a red lantern bearing the character "囍" floated before her, while ghostly energy and resentment coiled around her.
The woman on the right wore a tattered purple Taoist robe, densely covered in twisted, uncanny golden talismans. The symbols shimmered with a cold, shadowy light, carrying both the profound power to ward off ghosts and suppress evil and an aura of the uncanny. Ghostly energy, Yin energy, and calamity clung to her as well, giving her an extremely bizarre presence. Dozens of talismans circled her.
Three figures, three entirely different yet equally formidable Soul Power auras. They intertwined, filling the whole area with eerie energy; even the wind that blew through was icy cold.
The children waiting to awaken their Martial Souls, along with the attendants and Soul Masters, seemed utterly stunned. They all stood frozen in place.
Between the three figures stood a boy of only six years old.
White hair, red eyes.
The surroundings fell quiet for a moment. At last, someone reacted, and gasps rose one after another.
The director immediately realized that the boy had awakened those Martial Souls.
His whole body trembled uncontrollably, filled with joy and excitement.
He hurried forward and tried to keep his voice calm. "Child... you, your Martial Soul—is it... Triple Martial Souls?"
There had never been any record of Triple Martial Souls anywhere on Douluo Continent.
If it was true, this child before him would become the first in the history of the continent.
"Director, they're not Triple Martial Souls. The Red-Robed Ghost Emperor is my Martial Soul. The Ghost Bride and the Purple-Robed Celestial Master Ghost are attendant spirits born from it, so they don't count as Martial Souls."
Su Chen took in the information transmitted into his mind and explained the basics of his Martial Soul in a childish voice.
As he looked at the dark red aura emanating from them,
he could sense its evil and the countless negative energies it carried.
His small brows relaxed slightly, and relief showed on his face.
Good thing it isn't ten thousand years from now. Otherwise, they'd have marked me for death the moment I awakened my Martial Soul, and I'd be back in line at the underworld.
The joy on the director's face froze at once,
and the light in his eyes dimmed. He couldn't hide his disappointment.
So it wasn't Triple Martial Souls.
He wasn't the once-in-ten-thousand-years genius after all.
Just one Martial Soul, with two attendant spirits.
His disappointment lasted only a moment.
The next second, excitement swept through him again.
In all the history of Douluo Continent, he had never heard of a Martial Soul summoning attendant spirits upon awakening.
He had heard of attendant weapons, but this was the first time he had ever seen attendant spirits.
And judging by the situation, these two attendant spirits weren't ordinary.
They were righteous to the point of being downright sinister!
"Sigma, bring me the Soul Power testing crystal ball."
The director's rough voice rang out. Sigma hurried over.
Once he had the crystal, the director held it out to the boy with both hands. Breathing rapidly, he softened his voice again. "Come, child. Let's test your Innate Soul Power."
Su Chen nodded lightly, then eagerly laid his small hand over the crystal ball.
"Boom—"
Brilliant light filled the crystal ball in an instant,
dazzling to the extreme, without a single impurity.
"Ke ke ke..."
"Just as I thought—Innate Full Soul Power!"
The director trembled, eyes wide. He laughed with delight. "You've got the potential to become a Titled Douluo! The potential to become one!"
Sigma was just as excited. He looked at Su Chen as though he were a priceless treasure.
Finding a child with Innate Full Soul Power meant the rewards from Spirit Hall would be enough to last him a lifetime.
At the sight, the crowd, silent until now, erupted. Their long-suppressed astonishment spread through the hall.
Although Su Chen's Martial Soul looked a little frightening, it really was beautiful. The more they looked, the more pleasing he seemed. And he had Innate Full Soul Power. As long as he trained well, he was sure to become a member of the Elder Hall.
That was the place everyone in Spirit Hall longed to reach.
For a moment, everyone looked at Su Chen with intense envy.
"Good child! Wonderful, wonderful! I'll report this to Spirit Hall's higher-ups right away. You won't have to stay in the orphanage anymore!"
"I'm sure the Titled Douluo elders of the Elder Hall will personally train you. You may even earn the attention of His Holiness the Pope."
As soon as the director finished speaking, a wave of Soul Power surged from afar.
A golden figure descended from the sky. He had golden hair and golden eyes, a golden crown atop his head, and wore papal robes. His radiant golden power was gentle, yet domineering.
Everyone froze at the sudden arrival. Then, the director and all the others bowed their heads at once.
"Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope!"