First Awakening

Douluo Calendar 2594, the eighth day of the eleventh month.

Waterwood Principality, located in the northeast of the Douluo Continent, had welcomed an early coating of silver-white snow.

Goose-feather snow had fallen for days on end. Ninety-nine percent of the people stayed safely at home, quietly enjoying the rare leisure and tranquility of the year.

Yet that morning, three generations of the Ling and Zhang families had risen early and gathered at Zhang Dahe's home, silently waiting for something.

Time passed second by second. Outside, the cold wind howled beneath a still-gloomy sky as heavy snow whirled down.

As they waited, Grandfather Ling Changqing and Grandfather Zhang Qiang each held a long-stemmed pipe, taking a puff now and then, while Grandmother Yan Hong and Maternal Grandmother Lu Yun kept their heads lowered, stitching shoe soles one stitch at a time.

Zhang Xiaoyu and Ling He were busy preparing the midday meal in the kitchen.

In the inner room, Ling Shan and Zhang Xin were still fast asleep beneath their warm blankets.

By the bed, Ling Yi sat on a low stool with his elbows resting on the bedframe. He curled his four fingers into fists, pressed his thumbs against his temples, and used the inner sides of the second joints of his index fingers to trace circles around his eye sockets. Above, he moved from the inner end of his brows to their outer tips; below, from the inner corners of his eyes to the outer corners. First above, then below, completing a full circuit around the eyes.

At the foot of the bed, Zhang Lei sat on another low stool, performing the exact same movements as Ling Yi.

Just as the eye exercises in their hands were about to end, Ling Yi's movements paused for an instant before returning to normal. Together with the oblivious Zhang Lei, he completed the first round of acupoint massage for the day.

A few breaths later, the Zhang family's courtyard gate was pushed open from outside, and a figure cloaked in snow strode in.

Against the vast whiteness, Ling Xiaoshan's somewhat dark face stood out. His skin, which usually seemed rough, now felt insufficiently tough; it had gone numb, and a faint pain from the freezing cold seemed to bore through his brow bones into his head.

Ignoring his discomfort, Ling Xiaoshan did not enter the house. Standing in the courtyard, he shouted inside, "Lei! Come with me, quickly! The Soul Master is almost in the village!"

Hearing Ling Xiaoshan's shout, the four elders inside could no longer sit still. Pipes, needles and thread, and half-finished shoe soles were all set on the wooden table. They rose to their feet and turned their eyes toward the curtain of the inner room.

The next second, before Zhang Qiang could speak, the curtain was lifted and Zhang Lei rushed out.

Ling Yi followed close behind, step for step, as he emerged from the room.

At that moment, aside from the sleeping and utterly unaware Ling Shan and Zhang Xin, everyone in the house—from Ling Changqing and Zhang Qiang down to Ling Yi and Zhang Lei—showed faint excitement on their faces.

Without wasting time, Ling Yi and Zhang Lei wrapped themselves into round bundles of clothing, pushed open the door, and headed out into the wind and snow with Ling Xiaoshan.

Behind them, pairs of expectant eyes watched as the backs of the one adult and two children gradually vanished beyond the courtyard gate.

Perhaps he could feel those expectant gazes. At that moment, Ling Xiaoshan felt that the snowstorm filling the sky was not quite so cold after all.

He turned to look at the two children beside him. Zhang Lei's face in particular was filled with excitement and unease, making Ling Xiaoshan sigh inwardly. More than ten years ago, I must have looked just like this...

"What a pity—"

The nearly inaudible words left Ling Xiaoshan's mouth and instantly dissolved into the ever-present cold wind, vanishing without a trace.

Shan Hai Village was not large. Before long, the three of them arrived at the center of the village, before a stone building that looked relatively ornate and solemn.

By then, six or seven figures of various ages had already gathered there, standing against the cold wind and heavy snow. Though their bodies trembled uncontrollably, their eyes shone with longing.

"Xiaoshan~"

Zhang Dahe stepped forward to greet the three of them. He nodded at Ling Xiaoshan, then turned his gaze to his son, Zhang Lei. His lips moved, but in the end he said nothing. He merely raised his large hand, stiffened somewhat by the cold, and placed it atop Zhang Lei's rabbit-fur cap, giving it a firm but gentle rub.

Feeling that familiar gesture from his father, Zhang Lei's unease seemed to ease. All at once, he did not feel quite so nervous anymore.

To the side, Ling Yi watched it all in silence, simply waiting.

Indeed, if Ling Yi mobilized his Mental Strength and paired it with verbal and gestural guidance, he could ease Zhang Lei's nervousness. But Ling Yi ultimately chose not to do so.

Sometimes, personally experiencing things and feeling the rise and fall of one's emotions was also a necessary part of growing up.

A state of unchanging calm, especially one achieved through external means, would do Zhang Lei, who had only just turned six, more harm than good.

The clouds overhead grew ever heavier, while the north wind howled without end, forcing people to bend at the waist in submission to the might of the heavens.

Fortunately, Ling Yi and the others did not have to wait long.

After only a short while, a burly figure emerged through the wind and snow, leaving one footprint after another in the thick snow that reached past his ankles. He was not fast, but every step was steady.

At the sight of him, everyone perked up, and the light in their eyes grew brighter.

As he drew closer, the falling snow interfered less with their sight, allowing everyone to see the newcomer clearly.

He was a tall, powerfully built man. His full beard gave him a rugged air amid the wind and snow. No matter how fierce the storm became, it could not shake his towering frame.

His muscular body stretched taut the white fitted outfit he wore, while a black felt cloak hung half-wrapped around him, shielding him from the bitter wind. A fist-sized character for "Soul" sat in the center of his chest, marking him as a direct member of Spirit Hall.

The badge on his left breast, engraved with three sharp swords, told everyone that he was a Power Attack System Battle Soul Master at the Great Soul Master level!

His tiger-like eyes swept across the crowd as a thunderous voice rang out. "All right, don't waste time. Everyone, enter the hall. We'll begin immediately!"

Hearing words loud enough to drown out the howling wind, the villagers of Shan Hai Village voiced no objections. They silently followed behind the burly man as he led the way in great strides, filing into the stone building—Shan Hai Village's Spirit Hall!

Ling Yi's eyes flickered slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he casually took in the burly man's demeanor and expression. With his hand held by Ling Xiaoshan, he followed along step by step.

Once inside the hall, the frigid wind and snow from outside were shut out. Everyone relaxed, feeling as though their somewhat stiff bodies had warmed up.

"My name is Lu Yi~"

The burly man's expression was indifferent, and his voice was as cold and hard as the ice and snow outside. "Level 29 Great Soul Master."

"You four, line up~"

His gaze swept over the four children, including Ling Yi and Zhang Lei. As he spoke, Lu Yi took a Blue Crystal Ball the size of a child's head from the bag at his waist and casually placed it on the only table in the stone room.

"Uh... Soul... Soul Master..."

Just as Lu Yi reached into his shoulder bag again, Ling Xiaoshan instinctively pulled Ling Yi closer into his arms. Carefully watching Lu Yi's expression, he stammered, "My little one is only three and a half... he... he's not Six Years Old yet..."

Ling Xiaoshan was truly panicking now. If he had known, he would never have brought Ling Yi inside. If they angered this Soul Master, not only would father and son be in danger, but Shan Hai Village might face a terrible disaster as well!

Originally, Ling Xiaoshan had planned to wait outside with Ling Yi, Zhang Dahe, and the other villagers while Zhang Lei and the other two children of the proper age followed the Soul Master inside to continue the Awakening Ceremony.

Who would have thought...

The Soul Master had actually told them all to come in together!