Douluo: In the Peerless World, Counterfeit Deity

Su Junran carried the tray out of the kitchen just as the little guy walked into the front hall.

"Hehe, I just want to awaken my martial soul early~"

"Come over and eat, I was just thinking about having your father go upstairs to call you~" A gentle voice drifted from the kitchen. Before long, a graceful woman stepped out, dressed in a pale pink long dress with her beautiful, dark hair pinned up. Her features were delicate, and her eyes were filled with gentleness.

This person was none other than Su Luoheng's mother: Ye Lan.

Her beautiful appearance was in no way inferior to a young girl's, though she possessed an added touch of mature charm.

"Got it, Mom."

Su Luoheng replied and sat down opposite her, grabbing a fried dough stick and devouring it hungrily.

"Eat slowly, don't rush. Awakening your martial soul isn't going anywhere in these few minutes." Ye Lan, knowing her son's impatient nature all too well, smiled helplessly and handed him a freshly served bowl of rice porridge.

At the same time, she didn't forget to cast a reproachful glance at Su Junran. "It's all your fault for insisting on telling our son last night."

"How can you blame that on me?"

"Hmm?"

"Fine, fine, fine. My fault, it's my fault."

"Hmph~"

"Luoheng—"

"I know, Mom!"

"Good."

Watching her son pick up his spoon and begin to eat slowly, Ye Lan nodded in satisfaction.

Su Junran, having been caught in the crossfire, spread his hands and shared a bitter smile with his son before silently lowering his head to drink his porridge under Ye Lan's watchful gaze.

Perhaps this is what family status is all about~

"..."

The small interlude during breakfast added a bit of fun to the family's harmonious atmosphere.

Soon after breakfast, the family headed toward the Heaven Soul Hall.

On the way, Su Junran explained the details of the martial soul awakening to little Luoheng.

Since the Spirit Hall had been destroyed by Tang San, the responsibility for awakening martial souls naturally fell into the hands of the major empires.

The Spirit Halls that had once been established in every city were repurposed by the major empires; after some minor renovations, they continued to be responsible for martial soul awakening. The Heaven Soul Hall was the spirit master awakening institution established by the Heaven Soul Empire in every city.

Similar institutions included the Star Luo Hall, the Dou Ling Hall, and the Sun Moon Hall.

As the names implied, they belonged to the Star Luo Empire, the Dou Ling Empire, and the Sun Moon Empire, respectively.

All martial soul awakening institutions were directly controlled by the state.

However, compared to the formerly free-of-charge Spirit Hall, the major empires did not inherit that particular fine tradition.

Instead, a fee was required for the awakening.

The cost varied from country to country; the Heaven Soul Empire required one gold soul coin.

Frankly speaking, this awakening fee was not too expensive; even for ordinary families without a working spirit master, it was an amount they could afford.

(The original currency system is quite chaotic, so I am analogizing it to roughly one thousand yuan here.)

But as for those poor families in remote areas...

They could only go without awakening their martial souls.

"..."

As they spoke, the family soon arrived in front of the Heaven Soul Hall.

"Brother Jun, Sister Lan."

"Sorry to trouble you, Brother Mingxuan, waiting for us at the entrance."

"What are you saying, Brother Jun? This is only right."

"..."

Just as they entered, a figure in white robes walked up to greet them enthusiastically. He looked to be in his thirties, and judging by the tone, he seemed to be an acquaintance of Su Junran and his wife.

This was not surprising, however.

Maple Leaf City was only so large; everyone knew who was a spirit master and who wasn't.

Moreover, Ye Lan was a four-ring Spirit Ancestor.

After some brief pleasantries, Chen Mingxuan's gaze shifted toward Su Luoheng at the side.

"This child must be Luoheng, right?"

Ye Lan nodded with a smile and turned to introduce him to Su Luoheng, "Luoheng, this is Uncle Chen, who is in charge of managing the spirit master awakening at the Heaven Soul Hall."

"Hello, Uncle Chen. My name is Su Luoheng," Su Luoheng said, bowing respectfully.

"Hehe, what a well-behaved little one."

Chen Mingxuan chuckled, then spoke up, "Brother Jun, let's not delay. Let's take the child to awaken his martial soul."

"Then I shall trouble you."

As they spoke, the three of them walked toward the depths of the Heaven Soul Hall.

To their left and right were small cubicles, and through the windows, one could see many children gathered inside.

It seemed these were the places used for martial soul awakening.

Before long, Chen Mingxuan led the three of them to an awakening room further inside and specifically introduced them, "Sister Lan, Brother Jun, the master inside is Master Cheng. Under his guidance, five spirit masters with innate spirit power of level eight have successfully awakened. This round of awakening is about to begin, so hurry and take Luoheng inside."

"You are very thoughtful, brother," Su Junran said with a smile.

"It is just a small favor. I hope Luoheng can inherit the talents of you two."

"I'll take your kind words for it."

After giving a few instructions, Chen Mingxuan walked away quickly.

Su Luoheng followed his parents into the awakening room.

That Master Cheng was sitting in the center, a man with white hair and a white beard, appearing to be in his fifties.

He looked like a kind-hearted grandfather.

A line had already formed in the order of entry, with nine children waiting for their martial soul awakening ahead. After about a minute, five more children entered, and the guard at the door closed the awakening room's heavy doors.

This was the rule of the Heaven Soul Hall.

For the sake of efficiency in martial soul awakening, they were always grouped into sets of fifteen children.

"Children, look over here. Everyone is about to awaken their martial soul."

"You must stay relaxed throughout the entire process. Remember, with Grandpa here, no matter what happens, do not be nervous."

"..."

Following the standard practice for martial soul awakening, Master Cheng began to introduce the precautions for the process to the children.

Most of the children listened very attentively.

Su Luoheng was the exception.

Because he had already learned about it from his father on the way here, he didn't pay much attention to it now, instead curiously observing the surrounding environment.

This awakening room was indeed more ornate.

Moreover, the clothing of the children inside was also more magnificent and exquisite; one could tell the difference in family background at a glance.

Before long.

His gaze shifted to the six black awakening stones in the center.

Su Luoheng suddenly recalled that according to the original story, it seemed that as long as one had awakening stones and a spirit master, the martial soul awakening could be completed, right?

Then why did he have to come here?

Thinking of this, he looked at his old man.

Su Junran followed his son's gaze and understood his meaning, explaining in a low voice, "Outside, an awakening stone costs nearly fifty gold spirit coins, while coming here only costs a few. Unless one is from a large family or a sect, it is more appropriate for ordinary spirit masters to choose an awakening institution."

"Are awakening stones very rare?"

Su Junran smiled and countered with a question, "What do you think?"

"Sigh..."

Although he didn't explain it explicitly, Su Luoheng understood his father's meaning.

The awakening stones were clearly not worth that price.

As for why it was so high, it was nothing more than imperial interests.

Don't look at the small fee for one person's awakening; when added up every year, it was a very considerable sum. Naturally, the empire would not give up this free and substantial income.

Chapter 3: A Peculiar Martial Soul [Seeking recommendations, seeking collections, seeking investments!]

As for individual spirit masters wanting a piece of the pie?

They would first have to spend three hundred gold spirit coins to buy the awakening stones, and then work tirelessly to awaken people's martial souls every day. If they were lucky, they might be able to recoup their investment and start making a profit after about three years.

After all, compared to the national awakening institution, they would have to find their own clients.

Furthermore, these awakening stones also had a limited lifespan.

The effort and investment were not proportional to the return, which was clearly not worth the loss.

Thus, the awakening fees naturally flowed continuously into the pockets of the empire.

As for those commoners who lacked the money to awaken, who would care whether they lived or died?

Thinking of this, Su Luoheng could not help but let out a soft sigh.

The world was simply unfair like that.

While sympathizing with them, he also felt fortunate that his parents were soul masters, sparing him from having to worry about the few gold soul coins required for the awakening fee.

At the same time.

After a long-winded speech, the martial soul awakening finally began.

The first boy in line stepped into the center of the awakening stones. Master Cheng raised his hand, and one white and two yellow rings rose from beneath his feet. Simultaneously, a plain, unadorned long flute appeared in his palm, shimmering with a dark green light.

The next moment, under Master Cheng's guidance, the light from his palm merged into the awakening stones.

Suddenly!

A pale golden radiance bloomed from the awakening stones, enveloping the child.

"Extend your right hand."

At Master Cheng's authoritative voice, the little boy instinctively reached out his palm, and instantly, countless golden rays surged into it.

In a flash, a pale blue gemstone appeared in his palm.

"A stone?"

The little boy froze for a moment, looking at Master Cheng in bewilderment.

"A gemstone-type tool martial soul. Try to use your intent to retract your martial soul; remember, the method for summoning it later will be the same."

"O-okay."

The child nodded and, after trying earnestly a few times, finally succeeded in retracting his martial soul.

"Alright, place your hand on this. Let us test your soul power."