Near Nuoding City, in an unknown little village.
Today, the village welcomed its biggest annual event: Martial Soul Awakening. The adults had called all the children to gather in the village center early that morning.
The person sent by Spirit Hall to oversee the Martial Soul Awakening was Grandmaster Su Yuntao.
"Children, I'm here to help you awaken your Martial Souls. No matter what happens during the ceremony, there's no need to be afraid."
"There won't be any danger."
Su Yuntao was in his twenties, with sword-shaped brows and bright eyes. He was handsome and dashing, and wore a gentle smile as he faced the children.
"Transmigrators come and go, but Su Yuntao is forever."
Looking at Su Yuntao standing in front of him, Qin Qi couldn't help grumbling inwardly.
He was a transmigrator—and a second-time transmigrator at that. The first time, he'd ended up in The Outcast.
He'd become a child of the Tang Sect, and then, at eighteen, he hadn't jumped off a cliff. He'd simply gone to sleep and woken up in Douluo Continent.
"Everyone, get in line. We'll awaken your Martial Souls one by one."
Su Yuntao took some time to line up the children, then began the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony.
The first few children had all awakened ordinary Martial Souls and had no Soul Power. They were ordinary people who couldn't cultivate.
At last, it was Qin Qi's turn. The Martial Soul Awakening began, and after a burst of light, it was over.
"Your Martial Soul is... Where's your Martial Soul?"
Su Yuntao looked at the boy before him, examined him from head to toe, then froze.
He couldn't see where the boy's Martial Soul was at all.
[ Ding, host has learned Dan Shi. Strongest Learning System activated. ]
"Where's my Martial Soul?"
Qin Qi was just as dumbfounded. Weren't people supposed to awaken their Martial Souls at six? How come he didn't have one?
Was this discrimination against transmigrators? Damn Douluo Continent, what a wicked place!
And was that a system notification just now?
"It's all right. Don't be nervous. Maybe something went wrong just now. I'll try again."
Su Yuntao reassured Qin Qi before starting the Martial Soul Awakening procedure again.
But nothing happened this time either. He tried over and over, but still couldn't see the boy's Martial Soul.
"W-what's going on?!"
"N-no, I can't panic. Think carefully—what exactly went wrong?!"
Su Yuntao began to panic. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and cold sweat soaked his back.
He'd been doing this job for Spirit Hall for years, and this was the first time he'd ever failed. What on earth was the problem?!
"Um, I think I can see my Martial Soul?"
Qin Qi felt a new power inside him. He drew on it, and a transparent bubble appeared on his palm.
"Where? What is it?"
Su Yuntao hurriedly asked.
"It's right here in my hand. It's a transparent bubble."
Qin Qi confirmed that the system had indeed awakened. He looked at Su Yuntao without changing his expression.
"In your hand? A transparent bubble..."
Su Yuntao stared at Qin Qi's palm for a long time, but couldn't see anything.
"Well, let's test your Soul Power first."
Su Yuntao hesitated, then took out a crystal ball for Qin Qi to test his Soul Power.
Qin Qi placed his hand on it. The next moment, the crystal ball began to glow. A short while later, the result appeared.
"Innate Soul Power, level nine! A genius!"
Su Yuntao looked astonished. It was rare enough for anyone in a little village like this to have Soul Power.
Someone with level nine Soul Power was a genius.
"Phew. Having Soul Power means the Martial Soul Awakening succeeded."
Su Yuntao also breathed a sigh of relief. If the awakening had failed, Qin Qi wouldn't have any Soul Power.
"Hey, kid, would you like to join Spirit Hall?"
Su Yuntao looked at Qin Qi and hesitated, but still asked.
As a member of Spirit Hall, he would be rewarded if he recommended a genius to attend an academy.
But he couldn't recommend just anyone. The person had to be a genius, and level-nine Innate Soul Power was certainly enough.
But this boy's Martial Soul was too strange. It was a bubble, and Su Yuntao couldn't tell whether it was a Trash Martial Soul.
"Um..."
Qin Qi didn't answer. He deliberately acted as though he hadn't heard, hoping to play dumb and get out of it.
"Forget it. Just pretend I never asked. All right, I have another village to visit. I'm off."
Su Yuntao waved a hand and gave up. He'd only asked on a whim; he hadn't been all that keen on it.
Seeing Qin Qi's reaction, he put the idea out of his mind.
"Um, Grandmaster Su Yuntao, can I ask you something? Do Spirit Masters get an allowance every month?"
Qin Qi saw Su Yuntao about to leave and hurried over to ask.
"Yes. Have your Spirit Master level verified and registered at the Spirit Hall in Nuoding City, and then you can collect one Gold Soul Coin every month."
Looking at the boy in front of him, Su Yuntao thought that with level-nine Innate Soul Power, it shouldn't take long for him to obtain his First Soul Ring.
Then he could register and collect the allowance.
Qin Qi's eyes lit up at those words.
"Are you... short on money?"
Su Yuntao looked at Qin Qi and asked.
"Huh?"
Qin Qi looked at Su Yuntao, then down at his own ragged clothes. His expression said he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
Grandmaster, are you kidding? Look at my clothes. Do you think I'm short on money?
That was like asking an air-conditioning repairman what he did for a living.
"I'm very short on money. I'm an orphan, and I haven't eaten all day."
Qin Qi thought about it, then answered. Su Yuntao had answered his question, so he ought to answer Su Yuntao's.
"Ahem. Well, Village Chief, could you get this child something to eat?"
Su Yuntao realized how stupid his question had been and coughed a few times.
He took a few Spirit Coins from his pocket and handed them to the Village Chief, asking him to get Qin Qi something to eat.
Then Su Yuntao left. He still had several more villages to visit that day.
"This guy's surprisingly decent."
Qin Qi watched Su Yuntao leave. From the moment they'd met, Su Yuntao had been polite and patient with the children from the village.
He hadn't shown any impatience. Instead, he'd gently and patiently helped them awaken their Martial Souls.
"Qin Qi, come on. Have dinner at my house today. I'll get you plenty to eat," the Village Chief said.
"Okay," Qin Qi replied.
After leaving the center of the village and having a meal at the Village Chief's house, Qin Qi went out of the village alone.
He found a secluded, empty spot and began to inspect his system. After some research, he got a rough understanding of how it worked.
As its name suggested, the Strongest Learning System was an assistant that helped him study and become a super scholar.
At this point, Qin Qi had discovered three of the system's abilities. The first was to draw a private tutor.
The first function did exactly what it said: it drew a private tutor to teach him.
Each draw cost 100 achievement points, and he had to accomplish certain achievements to earn them.
The second function let a private tutor teach him one-on-one. He could open the Study Space for free once a day, where he would receive individual lessons from the teacher.
Each session in the Study Space lasted one hour. For every hour beyond that, he would be charged 10 credits.
Credits could be earned through any activity related to learning.
The third function was Epiphany State. Just as the name suggested, it was like the epiphany or enlightenment found in fantasy novels.
While in that state, his learning efficiency would increase rapidly. But each activation cost 100 credits.
Each activation lasted ten minutes. After that, every additional minute cost 10 credits.
[ Ding, first achievement completed: learning Dan Shi. Reward: 100 credits and one free tutor draw. ] [ Proceed with the draw? ]
"Yes."
Qin Qi chose yes without hesitation. Now that he had nothing, he needed to get some power to protect himself as soon as possible.