Martial Soul Avatar!
Li Changsheng hadn't seen a Soul Master of this caliber in a long time.
Especially a Soul Saint-level powerhouse using his Martial Soul Avatar.
In ordinary times, Soul Saints only released their Martial Soul Avatars when facing a true battle.
Even in the Soul Fighting Arena in Spirit Soul City, no Soul Saint-level Soul Masters participated in fights.
After all, Soul Masters who had reached this level were already people of high status.
Su Xinhe's roaring form gradually vanished amid the gray light that swirled around him.
The seventh black Soul Ring on his body flared to life, radiating an oppressive force.
Li Zishuo, standing closest to him, suddenly began to tremble all over.
Then Li Changsheng and the others, standing some distance away, started trembling too.
Pressure.
Terrifying pressure.
The sense of bloodshed and slaughter beat against the young faces of Li Changsheng and the others.
To Li Changsheng, it felt as if a peerlessly ferocious giant wolf stood in that gray mass of light ahead, devouring the wind and waves, treading upon thunder, and pressing toward him little by little in a swirling gale.
His clothes snapped in the wind. The children around him, except for Wang Dong, had all gone pale with fright, but none of them backed away. They merely clenched their fists and lowered their heads.
"It's not as oppressive as the Night-Startling Spear, and besides..."
Li Changsheng looked up at the enormous wolf head gradually emerging from the gray light. He sensed the Mysterious Heaven Skill's inner force rippling faintly within him, slowly pushing back against the powerful pressure of the Soul Saint.
Wang Dong, standing beside him, glanced at Li Changsheng in surprise.
He looked completely at ease, not the slightest hint of tension on his fair face.
Instead, he seemed utterly relaxed.
A layer of light replaced his beautiful pink-blue eyes.
Through his Purple Demon Eye, Li Changsheng seemed to see a layer of power circulating on its own around Wang Dong.
At that moment, Su Xinhe's transformation was complete. What appeared before everyone was...
A gigantic werewolf!
Its enormous, dark-green eyes held unfathomable depths, and a terrifying pressure filled every smoothed strand of its fur.
Several more cracks instantly appeared in the arena beneath its feet...
Seeing this, Li Zishuo, standing on the Spirit Awakening Platform, thought a giant wolf Soul Beast had attacked. He couldn't help retreating several steps, nearly falling off the platform.
"Careful."
Su Xinhe suddenly moved.
He was as swift as lightning and as powerful as thunder.
His enormous wolf claw reached out through the air. His invisible Soul Power took the form of a soft, gentle hand, lightly gripping Li Zishuo by the shoulder and pulling him back.
"Don't be afraid. This is my Martial Soul Avatar, Lone Wolf. If you awaken a Martial Soul and are fortunate enough to cultivate, you may have the chance to use an ability like this one day."
Su Xinhe seemed quite pleased by Li Zishuo's fear.
Li Changsheng secretly curled his lip.
Did he really need to scare children just to awaken their Martial Souls?
Apparently, he did. This custom had been passed down from Su Yuntao's time.
Scare them a little, and they might awaken a good Martial Soul.
That was probably the reasoning behind it.
But Li Changsheng had heard that they usually only released their Martial Souls. Why had Su Xinhe even brought out his Martial Soul Avatar this time?
Li Zishuo hurriedly nodded, his face burning red with embarrassment over his momentary loss of composure.
Su Xinhe gave him a kindly smile, withdrew the Soul Power hand he had extended, and said:
"All right, keep focusing. The rest of you, watch the process carefully."
After Su Xinhe finished speaking,
he raised a hand and pointed. In an instant, countless waves of deep-blue Soul Power burst forth beneath Li Zishuo's feet.
The rising, rippling waves of Soul Power instantly enveloped Li Zishuo.
Inside them, Li Zishuo's flushed face suddenly turned calm.
His expression shifted from the excitement and nervousness of a moment ago to complete serenity.
The deep-blue waves of Soul Power gently stroked Li Zishuo's head like a mother's hand.
Lines of blue light connected to his body.
Drops of crystalline, liquid-like stone seeped up from the ground and flowed into Li Zishuo as well.
Li Zishuo's body gave a faint tremble, visible to the naked eye.
"Hold out your right hand!"
Su Xinhe's hoarse, aged voice rang out. With his Martial Soul Avatar active, his entire presence radiated unquestionable authority.
Li Zishuo instinctively held out his right hand.
Then the gathered blue light concentrated in the palm of his hand.
A large, exquisitely translucent green chessboard took shape in an instant.
It was only a chessboard, with no pieces on it. Its connected lines didn't look like illusory light, but something real.
Seeing it, Su Xinhe smiled. "The Exquisite Chessboard. So you really are a child of the Li Family from God Soul Village. Not bad—a control-type Martial Soul, and a fine one at that."
Li Changsheng stared at the chessboard held aloft in Li Zishuo's right hand, his gaze filled with memories and a faint glimmer of pain.
That was right.
The Exquisite Chessboard Martial Soul had belonged to his late wife.
He and his wife hadn't shared some fairy-tale romance, but their feelings had been sincere. Holding her hand and watching her eyes slowly close, Li Changsheng had cried for the first time...
The Exquisite Chessboard was a powerful control-type Martial Soul.
When unfolded, it could exert powerful control over an opponent. In a team battle, it could even control the entire opposing group.
The blue light gradually faded, returning to the embrace of the great sea of Soul Power.
Li Zishuo slowly opened his wide eyes.
Looking at the Exquisite Chessboard Martial Soul held in his palm, he instinctively cried, "Yeah!" His joy showed plainly on his face.
His father had the same Martial Soul. He'd seen it countless times, and knew it was an incredibly powerful one.
Su Xinhe smiled faintly. "Your Exquisite Chessboard is a tool-type Martial Soul, and a fairly powerful one. Come, let's test your Soul Power. If you have Soul Power, you can become a Battle Soul Master one day. And listen: if your Innate Soul Power is above rank eight, you might be recruited by Shrek Pre-Academy."
Li Zishuo nodded, his small face growing even more excited.
"Then, respected Soul Saint, how do I test my Soul Power?"
Su Xinhe touched the ring on his finger.
A halo appeared, and a sphere materialized in his palm.
The sphere's surface was dull black, with its inner workings hidden from view. Its metallic exterior gleamed with dark light.
"Come, put your palm on it. Imagine gathering all your strength into your hand, then touch it," Su Xinhe told Li Zishuo.
As he spoke, he raised the sphere in his hand.
Modern Soul Power tests no longer relied on a special crystal ball that measured Soul Power through changes in the crystal itself. Instead, they used the inner workings of a Soul Tool to draw out and measure a person's Soul Power.
Li Zishuo nodded and reached out, trying his best to follow Su Xinhe's instructions.
His little face reddened from the effort.
But the result appeared at once.
A number suddenly appeared on the black sphere Su Xinhe held.
Three.
Then, as Li Zishuo let out a childish shout, the number on the sphere kept climbing.
At last, it stopped at six.
Innate Soul Power, rank six!
That was a very good level.
You could even call him a little genius.
Seeing this, Su Xinhe's smile grew wider.
"Congratulations, child. Your Innate Soul Power is rank six, so you're destined to become a Battle Soul Master. When you get home, you can ask your family to look into a Junior Soul Master Academy. Or, if you're willing, the Soul Awakening Sect welcomes you."
Su Xinhe was the first to make his pitch.
Li Changsheng, standing below, stared in astonishment.
They could do that?
Li Zishuo nodded. "I-I'll talk to my dad."
Su Xinhe nodded, quite pleased.
Though they helped children awaken their Martial Souls for Gold Soul Coins, their main goal was to recruit promising Soul Masters with Soul Power and decent Martial Souls as a reserve force.
"All right, next, Qian Dabao."
Su Xinhe didn't waste time and continued calling the children in order.
Though Qian Dabao sounded like a protagonist's sidekick, he didn't even have the luck of one. He awakened only a hoe Martial Soul and had no Innate Soul Power.
Su Xinhe didn't regret it. After all, there were so many Soul Masters to awaken, and every kind of Martial Soul was bound to appear.
It would have been downright impossible for them all to be powerful.
Before you continue