Martial Soul Awakening, Hongming Appears

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed, and the day for Martial Soul Awakening had arrived once more.

A year earlier, Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan had awakened their martial souls and entered Martial Soul Hall Primary Academy.

Just as had been said back then, Xie Yue and Yan had Soul Power at rank nine, while Hu Liena had rank nine and a half. She had even been taken as a disciple by the newly appointed Pope, Bibi Dong.

(P.S.: Their Soul Power levels had been close during the Soul Master Tournament, and rank eight was a little too low for such a grand reputation.)

After the three awakened their martial souls, they came to celebrate with Bai Yu and wished that he would awaken a powerful martial soul the following year.

In truth, Bai Yu had long known what kind of martial soul he would awaken—it was the Hong Ming Saber in his mind.

Bai Yu felt that the reason he had awakened his memories at two rather than three was not because the slaughter had stimulated him, but because the Hong Ming Saber had been stimulated and awakened within him early.

According to legends from his previous life, the Hong Ming Saber had been formed when leftover material from Human Emperor Xuanyuan's forging of the Xuanyuan Sword flowed out and automatically condensed into the shape of a saber.

Seeing that the saber was born with an aura of slaughter, Human Emperor Xuanyuan feared that it would one day become an evil blade and wanted to destroy it.

Unexpectedly, the saber fled through the air on its own, never to appear in the world again.

Bai Yu did not know whether the saber in his mind was the Hong Ming Saber from those legends.

However, the Law Codex brought by the saber had kept him quite busy these past few years.

The Law Codex was not some magical treasure or divine artifact. It merely allowed Bai Yu to sense the Origin composition of all things and see the Law Patterns of heaven and earth when he observed them.

Origin composition was currently useless. Even if he sensed it, he could neither break it down nor synthesize it.

Besides, even God Kings might not be able to touch Origin in Douluo Continent. He probably would not have any use for it in this lifetime.

Law Patterns, on the other hand, had some use. After long periods of observation, he discovered that certain postures and movements could draw in specific elements of heaven and earth.

Yet drawing them in alone was useless. He could not make them his own, much less absorb them. That was what gave Bai Yu the idea of creating a cultivation method.

Within Spirit City, the only Law Power a child could observe without restriction was that of the sun and moon in the sky.

Bai Yu spent over two years observing patterns and testing which movements could draw in the power emitted by the sun.

He also tested which movements could draw in the power emitted by the moon, combining them to maximize their effect.

He even gave them lofty names: Tai Yang Power and Tai Yin Power.

After finding the guiding movements, he began researching how to bring the power into his body. With no foundation in cultivation, Bai Yu could only first find a physician to learn about the body's Meridians.

But he discovered that Douluo Continent did not have physicians like those of traditional Chinese medicine.

Or rather, there were very few of them, and their research was shallow. Minor ailments needed no treatment, while serious illnesses were handled by healing-type Soul Masters.

With no other choice, Bai Yu could only earn money first, then ask other Soul Masters about the paths their Soul Power took through their bodies, as well as the routes it followed when releasing different soul skills, and draw them himself.

Fortunately, he was in Spirit City, where having many Soul Masters had its advantages.

Furthermore, with proof from the Martial Soul City Orphanage, he could consult some low-level materials at Martial Soul Hall Primary Soul Master Academy. After all, the Orphanage counted as a subordinate unit of Spirit Hall.

Thankfully, in his previous life, he had learned quite a few recipes out of boredom at home. He wrote them down and had the Dean sell them to restaurants, earning quite a few Gold Soul Coins.

By piecing together information from all sides, he spent more than a year mapping out twenty-two Meridians.

Two of those Meridians were used by every Soul Master when circulating Soul Power. The other twenty varied according to different systems, so the routes of Soul Power circulation were not the same, but together they made up those twenty.

There were also some not included among them, but they were few in number. Most belonged to people who were injured, disabled, or had cultivated special soul skills.

Bai Yu divided the twenty-two Meridians into the Ren Du Meridians, the Twelve Main Meridians, and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. He did not know whether that was truly correct, but that was what he called them.

Now, Bai Yu only needed to wait for Martial Soul Awakening. Then he could circulate Soul Power and try to absorb the drawn Tai Yin Tai Yang Power into his body.

After all, Bai Yu had no cultivation method. With only theories about Meridians, he could not cultivate inner power. He could only wait until his martial soul awakened and he possessed Soul Power before trying. Surely the mighty Hong Ming Saber would not lack even Soul Power, right?

Near noon, the White-Clad Deacon from Spirit Hall, responsible for awakening martial souls, finally arrived.

"Hello, children. My name is Liu Feng. My martial soul is the Black Python, and I am a rank twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster. Today, I am here to awaken your martial souls."

A young man of around twenty stood there in white deacon robes, tall and straight.

The Dean bowed slightly. "Thank you, Lord Deacon, for coming to awaken the children's martial souls."

Liu Feng waved his hand. "All right, have the children line up."

As he spoke, he arranged six Black Stones into a hexagon on the ground, then took out a Crystal Ball. "Black Python, possess!"

"Ah!"

Cries of surprise rose from the surroundings, though few were afraid. Those who had been here for more than a year had seen similar scenes before.

"All right, children, do not make a fuss. Line up and stand in the middle of the stones."

After all, this was Spirit Hall's Orphanage. One of them might awaken high Innate Soul Power and become his superior in the future, so he was quite patient.

"Martial soul: hoe. No Soul Power."

"Martial soul: Bamboo Stick. Rank two Soul Power. Not bad."

"Martial soul: Blue Silver Grass. No Soul Power."

Martial soul: ...

"Next." Seeing that it was his turn, Bai Yu stepped forward and stood in the middle of the Black Stones.

As Liu Feng's Soul Power surged, Bai Yu could feel the Hong Ming Saber residing in his mind finally about to emerge.

Besides that, he felt another power within his body trying to emerge, but the disturbance from the Hong Ming Saber temporarily suppressed it. Twin Martial Souls?

"Extend your right hand." Following Liu Feng's instruction, Bai Yu ignored the other power and stretched out his right hand.

A straight, purple-gold saber, seemingly made of both metal and jade, appeared in his right hand. From the hilt to the guard, dragons and phoenixes coiled around it, while ornate patterns covered the blade.

As the Hong Ming Saber appeared, a purple-gold pillar of light shot into the sky. In an instant, clouds churned and lightning flashed.

"Th-this... what martial soul is this?"

Liu Feng stared dumbstruck at the Hong Ming Saber. After being a Soul Master for so many years, he had not merely never seen such a sight during Martial Soul Awakening—he had never even heard of one.

"Quick, test your Soul Power! With such an impressive martial soul, your Soul Power should not be low!" Liu Feng hurriedly handed over the Crystal Ball.

When Bai Yu placed his hand on the Crystal Ball, it immediately erupted with intense light.

"Haha, Innate Full Soul Power! Excellent! Child, what is your martial soul called?"

Liu Feng was beside himself with excitement. His martial soul had caused such a spectacle, and he had Innate Full Soul Power too. Today was the day Liu Feng would get rich and earn a promotion!

"Hong Ming Saber." So it really is full Soul Power? I knew it. Anything above rank ten is surely connected to gods, Bai Yu thought.

Of Qian Renxue's rank twenty Soul Power, ten ranks had been granted by the Angel Statue. And the two individuals after Douluo I who exceeded rank ten had both received divine bestowals.

By Douluo standards, my Hong Ming Saber counts as a Super Divine Artifact, right? Could it not be a little more mature and give me another ten ranks? Bai Yu grumbled inwardly as he looked at the saber in his hand.

Within Pope's Palace, a figure wearing a golden ceremonial gown sat upon the Pope's throne, the treasures adorning the magnificent robes gleaming brightly.

Holding a golden Scepter encrusted with gemstones, she exuded such noble bearing that others could not help but bow before her.

"Go and see what has happened outside." A cold voice rang out.

"Yes." The two great elders of Pope's Palace, Ju Douluo and Gui Douluo, bowed in salute before turning to leave.

The Orphanage? A Martial Soul Awakening? With such a disturbance, has another God-Tier Spirit appeared? Heh, I hope you can be used by me. Do not stand in my way.

Otherwise, I will kill you. Like that bastard, you all deserve to die. God-Tier Spirits all deserve to die! Bibi Dong's face twisted as intense malice filled her eyes.