Martial Soul Awakening, Below the Extraordinary?

The old steward reached out and gripped the sealed iron tube. The next second, he shouted in a low voice:

"Azure Flame Wolf! Possession!"

As his voice fell, a burst of red light erupted beneath the old steward's feet. His originally gray-streaked hair turned a vivid red, and his frail body swelled by a third! Then—

Yellow! Yellow! Purple! Purple! Black!

Five solid, tangible-looking soul rings spiraled up from beneath his feet, hovering in sequence around his waist. As the rings rotated, dense soul power rippled outward like waves!

"Awoo—!"

A wolf's howl sharp enough to pierce eardrums rang out. Behind him, the phantom of a wolf king wreathed in ghostly blue flames slowly condensed, its fangs bared and its eyes blazing. Flames surged around its body, roasting the surrounding air into distortion. It looked majestic and imposing, its aura overwhelming!

A five-ring Soul King!

In Nuoding Province, where the strongest combatants were only Soul Ancestors in their forties, a five-ring Soul King already stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid. It would not be an exaggeration to say he could dominate an entire region and remain invincible within it!

Yet at this moment, this Soul King who should have looked down upon all living things wore an expression as grave as iron. His eyes surged with the resolve of one prepared to die, while both hands clutched that inconspicuous iron tube tightly.

He remembered that when the prince had sent him here all those years ago, the prince had said this to him:

"Old Yan, you're getting on in years. I'll find you a place to retire. From now on, you won't have to do anything there. Just walk the birds, tease the dogs, look after the children, and enjoy a peaceful life every day. How about it?"

Back then, Old Yan had flatly refused! What a joke! I'm a dignified Soul King! How could I possibly have so little ambition?

But after Prince Xue Xing offered him ten thousand gold soul coins a month, he nodded and said:

"I can go."

And then...

Now, he only wanted to slap his six-years-ago self to death!

At first, the days had truly been pleasant. Young Master Lin Ya had been clever and lively, delicate as carved jade, and sweet-talking enough to make one's teeth ache. He had truly been lovable.

But ever since last year, the child had seemed possessed by a demon, thoroughly revealing the tormenting nature black to the bone beneath that adorable exterior!

He had tinkered up something called "gunpowder." At first, it had only been small-time stuff—saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal mixed together and lit. Its power had only been enough to startle a few birds into flight or blow apart a few clay jars.

But now...

Old Yan stared at the five-hundred-gram iron lump in his hands, which the young master had named a "grenade." His Adam's apple bobbed violently as he swallowed against his parched throat.

Then... he lit it with unwavering resolve!

BOOM!!!!

A pillar of fire shot into the sky, lighting up the entire forest. The deafening explosion reached Prince Xue Xing's ears ten miles away, where he was riding in a carriage toward this place.

"Fuck! What was that sound? Are Soul Elders fighting nearby?"

Prince Xue Xing looked utterly baffled. Nuoding Province was this remote, and something like this could still happen?

No, he needed to get to his nephew's side quickly.

The carriage sped all the way there and soon arrived at its destination—the Lin residence.

Back then, Xue Ye had asked Prince Xue Xing to arrange for Xue Ya to be placed with an ordinary family, and Xue Xing had gone to great lengths to make it happen.

As it happened, he learned that a noble couple had tragically died while heading to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts.

He had thought, a viscount whose fief consisted of only one village should be ordinary enough, right?

So he had arranged for Lin Ya to be placed with the Lin Family. But when he had come last time, hadn't this place still been called Twin Venerables Village? Why had it been renamed Biyou Village?

As soon as Xue Xing reached the gate, a ragged beggar dressed in soot-blackened clothes came up to him:

"Lord... Lord Xue! You've finally come!"

"No, who are you?" Xue Xing asked, completely confused.

Who was this guy? Why was he acting so familiar? Did I even know him?

Could he be a beggar my nephew had taken in? As expected of my nephew—he really was kindhearted!

Hearing this, the beggar froze for a moment. Then he wiped his face haphazardly several times with his filthy sleeve, revealing a familiar face—it was Old Yan! Only now, his face was streaked with soot and ash, his hair was singed into curls, his clothes were riddled with holes, and faint wisps of smoke still rose from him. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he looked on the verge of tears.

"Lord Xue! It's this old servant! Old Yan! Sob..." Old Yan choked out, his voice full of grievance.

"You're Old Yan?!" Prince Xue Xing's pupils contracted sharply as he exclaimed, "How did you end up looking like this? Could it be... Xiao Ya's identity has been exposed?"

"No, no!" Old Yan hurriedly waved his hands, his face miserable. "It... it was the young master! He's the one who did this to this old servant!"

"Xiao Ya?!" Prince Xue Xing immediately flew into a rage, slapping his thigh. "That's outrageous!"

Seeing Prince Xue Xing grow angry, Old Yan quickly nodded in agreement. "Exactly, exactly! It's outrageous!"

He was secretly calculating that if he played up his misery enough, perhaps Prince Xue Xing would soften up and transfer him away from this "demon's den"!

But the prince's next words struck him like a bolt from the blue.

"Yes! Outrageous!" Prince Xue Xing looked at him with frustration at his failure. "You're a dignified level fifty-nine Soul King, yet a child who hasn't even awakened his martial soul managed to turn you into this! I'd be embarrassed if word got out! Don't ever say you came from my prince's residence again!"

Old Yan: "???"

"No! Lord Xue, this is..." Just as he tried to explain, Prince Xue Xing pulled a heavy cloth bag from his soul tool and tossed it into his arms.

"This is your pay for the year: fifteen thousand gold soul coins. Twelve thousand is your salary, and three thousand is a bonus."

"I swear to protect the young master unto death!" Old Yan answered at attention!

His voice rang so loudly that even the Black Powder Quartet in the manor heard it.

Naturally, Lin Ya heard it too.

"This Old Yan... it's just some black powder. I didn't forget to add iron nails, steel pellets, and shattered glass. Does he really have to make such a fuss?"

It wasn't that Lin Ya did not value human lives. Mainly... he was actually a transmigrator...

In his previous life, he had been at home watching Under One Person. Just as he was getting excited, he was sent to this world by a semi-truck. Naturally, he had also learned about his origins.

The fifth prince of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, Xue Ya!

He also knew that Old Yan and the others had actually been sent by Uncle Xue Xing to protect him. Knowing their strength, he had dared to freely work on a few small inventions.

"Bai Tang, write this down. Five hundred grams of black powder is equivalent to one hundred and forty grams of TNT. Its explosive overpressure can shatter nearby concrete within 3.2 milliseconds. The blast wave has a radius of approximately 1.2 meters, and the high-temperature flames reach 1,200°C to 1,500°C, enough to ignite nearby flammable materials."

At this point, Lin Ya paused before adding, "Its power is enough to kill a level 20 Grand Soul Master and severely injure a Soul Elder, but it cannot effectively harm a Soul King."

"Understood, Young Master." Bai Tang, who also served as his secretary, skillfully recorded Lin Ya's experimental data. Clearly, this was not the first time.

After watching Bai Tang finish recording, Lin Ya straightened his clothes. A bright, innocent smile immediately appeared on his face. Spreading his little arms, he ran toward Prince Xue Xing, who had just entered the courtyard, shouting as he ran, "Uncle Xue Xing! You finally came to see me!"

The little figure plunged headfirst into Prince Xue Xing's arms. Prince Xue Xing hurriedly wrapped an arm around his small shoulders. Feeling the warm little body in his embrace, his heart ached, and his eyes reddened with emotion.

Ah, my poor nephew. He should have been a noble prince, lofty and exalted, yet he could only suffer in such a remote place. He must have been terribly wronged.

Old Yan, watching from the side, could not stop his mouth from twitching. This little young master was definitely black to the core once cut open!

Xue Xing lovingly stroked Lin Ya's little head. "My good nephew, you've suffered so much. Come, see all the wonderful things Uncle brought you."

As he spoke, Xue Xing took a huge bag of gold, silver, jewels, toys, and delicacies from his soul tool and stuffed them into Lin Ya's arms. Naturally, Lin Ya accepted every last one without hesitation.

It could not be helped. Everyone knew that research... truly burned through money.

Looking at the obedient, sensible, well-behaved, adorable Lin Ya, then at the already-late hour, Xue Xing finally put away his smile and said solemnly:

"Good nephew, it's getting late. You... it's time for you to awaken your martial soul!"