What a Guy! They're Really Treating Me Like a Japanese Devil!

Without long-winded speeches or flowery language, Bibi Dong's address was simple and clear.

As the Pope of Spirit Hall, her regal bearing was revealed in that moment without a doubt.

Although it was only a few short sentences, it left the gathered crowd incredibly stirred.

Spirit souls represent the future; every successfully awakened spirit soul represents a bright future!

These simple words were undoubtedly a shot of adrenaline for the onlookers, and everyone hoped their own children would awaken a top-tier spirit soul that would bring honor to their ancestors.

Once Bibi Dong finished speaking, a team of spirit masters dressed in Spirit Hall attire began to walk onto the Awakening Platform in the central plaza to set up the awakening formation.

Unlike the citizens of Spirit City who were filled with anticipation for this ceremony, the representatives of the various major spirit master factions were actually quite indifferent. They showed little interest; had it not been for the elders sent by Spirit Hall to deliver invitations, they certainly would not have come to attend such a dull and flavorless spirit awakening ceremony.

Within Spirit City, there were quite a large number of children participating in this awakening ceremony, numbering around a thousand.

The parents of these children all held onto a glimmer of hope, wishing for their children to awaken a powerful, top-tier spirit soul and be selected by the elders and titled douluo of Spirit Hall, thereby soaring to success in one leap.

Little did they know, on the Douluo Continent, anything is possible.

Dragons do not necessarily beget dragons; they might even beget pigs!

For example, Yu Xiaogang of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect was a living example.

Under the witness of the various faction leaders, elders, and members of the imperial family, the spirit awakening formation was quickly set up, and the awakening process began.

"Qiu Dekao, successfully awakened spirit soul [Luoyang Shovel], spirit power level 7."

"Xie Gaze, successfully awakened spirit soul [Pepsi], spirit power level 3."

"Dongbei Yu, successfully awakened spirit soul [Vermicelli], spirit power level 1."

Lin Tian sat calmly in the waiting area, waiting with the other children who had yet to awaken their spirit souls to take the stage.

The children who went up to awaken their spirit souls included those who were overjoyed and those who wept bitterly.

Some, because their awakened spirit soul was not impressive enough, even fainted on the spot, their fate unknown.

However, these things could hardly capture Lin Tian's attention. As someone who had been personally taught spirit knowledge by the Pope for many years, these were merely trivial matters, not worth making a fuss over.

If a child were to awaken a twin spirit soul, or perhaps innate full spirit power, that would be worth his attention.

But the ceremony had been going on for a long time, and there had been nothing particularly stunning. As time passed, Lin Tian lost interest and turned his gaze toward the viewing area of the major spirit master factions.

He swept a glance over the high platform of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, where Sword Douluo was yawning with boredom.

Ning Fengzhi, however, was watching the ceremony with great interest, his signature smile still hanging on his face.

Perhaps sensing that someone was observing him, Ning Fengzhi turned to search and eventually locked eyes with Lin Tian.

He had expected Lin Tian, like the other children, to be too intimidated to meet the gaze of a Spirit Saint, but the result far exceeded his expectations. Not only did Lin Tian successfully meet his eyes, but his expression remained completely unaffected by the pressure of his Spirit Saint cultivation.

This discovery instantly piqued Ning Fengzhi's interest.

It seemed this kid was, in all likelihood, the child Bibi Dong intended to build up.

After exchanging a look with Ning Fengzhi, Lin Tian turned his gaze elsewhere. Just then, a sharp look was directed at him—a gaze filled with a hint of confusion and anger, as if it contained some hidden emotion.

Lin Tian looked over and saw a young man in golden robes on the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's viewing stand staring at him. After a brief exchange of glances, the youth turned his gaze toward Bibi Dong, his eyes seemingly harboring some unknown emotion.

Although Lin Tian had not yet obtained the [Spirit Eye] from the system rewards, in the years he had been taught by Bibi Dong, he had long since trained a pair of sharp eyes. As long as he concentrated, he could detect the subtle changes in the expressions of people a hundred meters away.

The emotion in the golden-robed youth's eyes was well-hidden; even Prince Xue Xing, who sat beside him, had not noticed a thing.

Yet, none of this could escape Lin Tian's eyes.

And as for the identity of this golden-robed youth, Lin Tian seemed to have reached a conclusion.

Although he had been a weary programmer in his past life, he had never missed a single episode of the Douluo Continent anime from Tencent; he had followed the whole thing.

If he wasn't mistaken, this golden-robed youth should be the Young Master of Spirit Hall, the daughter of the current Pope, Bibi Dong—Qian Renxue.

No wonder she would peek at the Pope from time to time; it turned out the daughter was missing her mother!

Just as Lin Tian was lost in his own thoughts, a gentle gaze from the main platform fell upon him. Following the gaze, he saw the Pope, dressed in magnificent robes, looking at him with a face full of maternal love.

In those rose-red eyes, there was nothing but encouragement and expectation for him.

Some spirit masters who were constantly monitoring Bibi Dong's every move also discovered Lin Tian's presence through her gaze. What kind of talent did this child have to earn the special favor of the Pope?

Even Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, turned her gaze back to Lin Tian, her eyes filled with deep confusion. What was the background of this kid, to make her mother treat him this way?

Lin Tian hadn't expected that just by exchanging a look with the Pope, he would attract gazes from all directions. It was clear that the position of the Pope of Spirit Hall was always being coveted by others.

As the number of children in the waiting area dwindled, it was soon Lin Tian's turn to take the stage.

Although there had been no prodigies with innate full spirit power or top-tier spirit souls in this ceremony so far, quite a few excellent children with innate spirit power reaching level seven had been selected by Spirit Hall.

A spirit soul and innate spirit power basically determine a child's future achievements. A child with only level four innate spirit power, even if they cultivated for a hundred years without eating or sleeping, would at best only reach the level of a Spirit King.

In this regard, Yu Xiaogang of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family had more say than most.

When it came to being a waste, if he ranked second, no one would dare rank first!

As time slowly passed, it was finally Lin Tian's turn to go up and awaken his spirit soul.

At this moment, the sky was clear and a gentle breeze blew. Lin Tian felt the gazes from all directions, and finally, under Bibi Dong's encouraging look, he slowly ascended the Awakening Platform.

On the Awakening Platform, the spirit master in charge of the awakening ceremony was clearly unaware of Lin Tian's other identity. Seeing Lin Tian walking at a snail's pace, he couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath:

"You brat, you'd better pick up the pace! Today is a momentous day for Spirit Hall; if you tarnish the reputation of Spirit Hall, His Holiness the Pope will not spare you!"

"Hurry up and move! Let's get this spirit awakening over with—don't keep His Holiness the Pope waiting!"

Hearing the words of the spirit master before him, Lin Tian was taken aback for a moment, but he soon broke into a helpless smile.

Good grief, before his identity was exposed, they were really treating him like some kind of villain!