Sausage Awakening

"Hey, Oscar, stop sleeping. Get up already—don't keep the headmaster waiting."

In an orphanage, six-year-old Oscar was shaken awake by his roommate.

"All right, all right, I'm up, Venice. Stop shaking me."

As Oscar got dressed, his roommate Venice continued dancing around excitedly.

"Hurry up, Oscar! I can't wait for Martial Soul Awakening! I'm sure I'll awaken a powerful Martial Soul and become a powerful Soul Master.

Besides, we should thank Spirit Hall. Normally, we would definitely be placed behind the other children, but this time Spirit Hall actually started Martial Soul Awakening a day early for us. Spirit Hall is amazing.

I've decided. Once I awaken a powerful Martial Soul and become an honorable Soul Master, I'll definitely join Spirit Hall."

Watching his roommate, who could not settle down at all, Oscar remained rather calm.

"Is it really that big a deal? It's just Martial Soul Awakening. Orphans like us might not even have Soul Power.

And even if we become Soul Masters, we'll still have to fight and kill. It feels too dangerous. I'd rather become a cook someday, marry a wife, and live out my life peacefully."

Venice was already used to Oscar acting as though he did not care about anything.

Although Oscar seemed unconcerned on the surface, Martial Soul Awakening was ultimately something that could affect a person's entire life. Children were also naturally curious, and he was full of anticipation over what kind of Martial Soul he might awaken. Without realizing it, he dressed a little faster.

About ten minutes later, Venice dragged the fully dressed Oscar hurriedly to the entrance of the orphanage, where they joined the headmaster, who had been waiting there for some time, along with the eight other children going for Martial Soul Awakening.

"Oscar, you're the last one again. Can't you put a little more thought into something as important as Martial Soul Awakening?"

Faced with the headmaster's rebuke, Oscar answered indifferently a few times.

Seeing that Oscar was unmoved by either soft or hard words, the headmaster could only sigh helplessly. After emphasizing a few requirements, he led the ten children toward the Martial Soul Branch Hall in their city.

After arriving outside the Martial Soul Branch Hall, the orphanage headmaster submitted an application as he did every year. Then, under the guidance of a Soul Master, they entered the awakening room at the back.

After a while, a middle-aged Soul Master entered. Once he had the headmaster wait outside, the awakening began.

"Leopard, possess!

Come on, little one. Hold out your right hand and do your best to feel within your heart..."

Martial Soul Awakening did not take long. From awakening the Martial Soul to testing Soul Power, the entire process took about three minutes per child.

Just like that, after a little over twenty minutes, there were eight more children in the room who either had no Soul Power or possessed useless Martial Souls.

"Next."

Venice smiled excitedly at Oscar before quickly stepping forward.

As he awakened Venice's Martial Soul, the Soul Master with the Leopard Martial Soul began thinking, Looks like there'll be no gains among the orphans today. I can only see whether there are any promising seedlings among tomorrow's children. And the food-type Soul Masters the higher-ups asked for—I wonder if I'll run into one.

Any child who awakens a food-type Martial Soul during Martial Soul Awakening must have their name, Martial Soul, and Innate Soul Power level recorded and reported to the next level. If someone higher up takes a liking to them, there'll be a hefty reward.

Heaven knows what madness the higher-ups have gotten into, going to such lengths just to find a child with a food-type Martial Soul. Could some high-level food-type Soul Master be planning to take on an apprentice before dying? But even a Soul Douluo probably wouldn't receive such treatment. Could there be a food-type Title Douluo I don't know about?

Just as he was letting his thoughts wander, a Spatula appeared in Venice's hand.

"Spatula Martial Soul. Let's test your Soul Power."

The moment Venice saw his Martial Soul, the fire in his heart suddenly went cold. Still, he kept telling himself that as long as he had Soul Power, there was at least still hope.

But when the Soul Master declared, "Innate Soul Power: zero," Venice was instantly struck by a plunging despair, as though thunder had crashed down upon him.

Venice bit his lip and silently walked back to Oscar's side.

Oscar watched his friend, who had once radiated sunny cheerfulness wherever he went, suddenly become silent. Just as Oscar was about to comfort him, Venice forced a smile and jokingly said to him.

"Look, Oscar, my Martial Soul is a Spatula. We can become cooks together in the future."

Seeing that smile, uglier than crying, Oscar's comforting words suddenly caught in his throat. He did not know what to say.

"Next."

At the Soul Master's call, Oscar nodded at Venice before walking over.

Martial Soul Awakening began, but Oscar's mind was still filled with what he had said that morning about becoming a cook, as well as Venice's awakened Spatula.

"Martial Soul: Sausage."

Oscar calmly looked at the cured sausage Martial Soul in his hand. He felt neither joy nor sorrow, only thinking, A Sausage Martial Soul should be able to comfort Venice, right?

But unlike Oscar's calmness, the Soul Master with the Leopard Martial Soul suddenly perked up.

"A food-type Martial Soul! Looks like my luck is about to change today. As long as he has even a little Soul Power, I'll report him. It's only a matter of writing up a sheet of paper, after all. But food-type Martial Souls are so rare that there might not even be many in the entire continent. In that case, that reward..."

"Come, test your Soul Power." As he said this, the unease and anticipation in his heart were no less than when he had awakened his own Martial Soul.

As Oscar casually placed his hand on the crystal ball, the entire room was immediately flooded by the light it emitted.

At that moment, the Leopard Soul Master felt that today's crystal ball was especially dazzling. He had never seen such a dazzling crystal ball before, one bright enough to rival the sun in the sky.

After recovering from his initial shock, the Soul Master cried out in disbelief, "In... Innate Full Soul Power!"

After suppressing his excitement with great effort, he personally brought over a chair for Oscar to sit on. Then, like an agile leopard, he sprinted out at top speed, not even acknowledging the orphanage headmaster outside.

After the Leopard Soul Master found the master of the Martial Soul Branch Hall, a single letter from that master set nearly half of Spirit Hall within the Heaven Dou Empire into motion.

That very afternoon, Wu Ling looked at the letter in his hand and softly said, "Oh, Oscar has been found?"

As a child, Oscar had originally longed for a peaceful life. There were few things he cared about, and he was rather lazy, liking to sleep in. He was not very diligent in cultivation and only worked hard under the influence of the companions around him. This was Baidu's description of Oscar, and Bai Yang used it as the basis for writing Oscar's childhood.