Notting City

As night deepened, Tang San finally fell into a deep sleep amid his tumultuous thoughts.

In his dream, he saw himself standing atop a magnificent palace, with countless powerful figures below bowing before him in submission.

Blue Silver Grass was in his left hand, the Clear Sky Hammer in his right, and nine hundred-thousand-year spirit rings encircled his body. His entire being radiated an unrivaled aura. In the distance, a blurry figure knelt on the ground, its build resembling Tang Ling's.

At this point in the dream, a smile unconsciously curled across Tang San's lips. What he did not know was that, in the little courtyard by the village entrance, Tang Ling's divine sense happened to sweep over him as well.

Tang Ling had just teleported back to Holy Soul Village. Sensing Tang San's smug smile, he smiled too.

"Smiling so happily?" Tang Ling murmured to himself. With a flick of his hand, a new jade pendant appeared—one he had refined for Xiao Wu today, of even higher quality than the previous one. "Tomorrow, you'll have plenty to smile about."

He tucked the jade pendant into his robes, then looked toward Notting City, a trace of amusement flashing through his eyes.

"Six years. Little San, you've waited six years for this awakening ceremony... How could I, as your godfather, possibly miss it?"

Early the next morning, the sky was only beginning to brighten.

Old Jack had already been waiting beneath the large locust tree at the entrance of Holy Soul Village for nearly an hour. Today, he wore a gray cloth robe that had been washed pale but pressed crisp and straight. A worn smoking pipe he had used for thirty years hung from his waist, and his graying hair was combed meticulously into place.

Today was an important day.

There were eight children in Holy Soul Village who had turned six this year. As the village chief, he would lead them all to the Spirit Hall branch in Notting City for their martial soul awakening. This was one of the most important annual events for every village, and there could be no carelessness.

One after another, the children gathered beneath the great locust tree with their parents.

Some were still rubbing their eyes and yawning, while others were so excited that they ran all over the courtyard. Their chirping chatter shattered the quiet of Holy Soul Village's morning.

Tang San was among the crowd as well.

He stood beside Tang Hao, wearing patched but clean coarse cloth clothes. On his back was a small bundle sewn by Ah Yin, containing two pieces of dry rations and a water skin.

His expression was calm, standing in stark contrast to the excitement and nervousness of the surrounding children.

Tang Hao crouched down, placing his rough hand on Tang San's shoulder. After a long silence, he merely said, "Go early and come back early."

Tang San nodded, but his gaze searched through the crowd for something.

Tang Ling had not come.

For some reason, Tang San felt relieved, yet also faintly disappointed in a way he could not explain.

His godfather usually treated him fairly well. If he missed such an important day, the villagers would inevitably gossip. Yet Tang San also feared that if Tang Ling came, something unexpected might happen.

"Alright, alright, everyone here?" Old Jack counted heads and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Children, follow me! We'll reach Notting City before dark and awaken tomorrow morning!"

The group set off in a grand procession.

From Holy Soul Village to Notting City, they had to cross two mountains and walk mountain paths for most of the day. Although Old Jack was old, his legs remained fairly nimble. He walked at the front of the group, telling the children about Notting City as they traveled.

"Notting City is one of the major cities of Fasnuo Province! The houses there are all built from stone, three stories high! There are more carriages running through the streets than we have cattle in our village! The Spirit Hall branch is right in the center of the city, and it is truly imposing—"

The children's eyes shone as they listened, chattering away with endless questions.

Tang San walked in the middle of the group, with little interest in any of it. In his previous life, he had seen structures far more magnificent in the Ba Shu Tang Sect. A mere Notting City was not enough to impress him.

By evening, the group arrived at Notting City.

Just as Old Jack had said, Notting City was indeed far more prosperous than Holy Soul Village. Rows of shops lined the bluestone-paved streets, large red lanterns hung outside the restaurants, and the scent of braised meat and baked flatbread drifted through the air.

The children were dazzled by the sight. Old Jack had to put in considerable effort to keep them together before finding an inexpensive inn in the west of the city for them to stay in.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Old Jack urged the children to get up, wash, change into their cleanest clothes, and head straight for the Spirit Hall branch in the city center after breakfast.

The Spirit Hall branch of Notting City was a three-story stone building. Two angel statues poised to spread their wings stood at the entrance, while ivy covered its gray outer walls, giving it an ancient and solemn appearance. By the time Old Jack arrived with the eight children, quite a few people had already gathered in the plaza before the hall, all children of awakening age from nearby villages.

"Holy Soul Village?" The deacon in charge of registration flipped through the roster and glanced at Old Jack. "You're late. You'll be in the third group. Go wait over there."

Old Jack hurriedly nodded and bowed in thanks, then led the children to the designated waiting area.

Tang San stood in the line, his gaze sweeping over the entrance to the Spirit Hall branch. He could sense faint spirit power fluctuations emanating from within. That should be the spirit master in charge of the awakening ceremony.

His heartbeat involuntarily quickened.

The day had finally arrived.

"Third group, children from Holy Soul Village, come with me."

A young woman dressed in a white deacon's robe emerged from the hall. Wearing a professional smile, she beckoned to the group led by Old Jack.

The children immediately grew nervous. A few of the timid ones had already begun to tremble. Tang San walked at the front of the group, following the female deacon through a long corridor and into a spacious hall.

A massive hexagram formation was carved into the center of the hall's floor. At each point of the formation was set a fist-sized spirit power crystal. The crystals were a gentle milky white, giving off a soft glow.

A young man stood beside the formation, dressed in Spirit Hall's plain robes with a stern expression.

Su Yuntao. A deacon of Notting City's Spirit Hall branch. His spirit power level was not high, but he had conducted awakening ceremonies for many years and was highly experienced.

"Line up. One at a time." Su Yuntao's gaze swept across the eight children. "The martial soul awakening process will not cause any pain. You only need to relax and clear your minds. Once the formation is activated, your martial souls will appear automatically. Understand?"

The children answered in unison, "Understood!"

"Very good." Su Yuntao nodded. "First one, come over."

The first in line was a sturdy-looking boy. His palms were drenched in sweat from nervousness, and he even walked with the wrong arms and legs moving together. Under Su Yuntao's guidance, he stepped into the center of the hexagram formation and closed his eyes.

Su Yuntao rapidly struck out with both hands. The six spirit power crystals lit up at once, milky-white light pouring from them and flowing swiftly along the patterns on the floor. It finally converged at the center of the formation, enveloping the boy's entire body.

The boy's body trembled slightly, then a ball of light slowly gathered in his right palm. When the light faded, a rusty sickle appeared in his hand.

Su Yuntao frowned. "A tool martial soul. A sickle can barely count as a weapon. Come, let me see whether you have any soul power." After saying that, he had the little boy retract the sickle, then handed him a blue crystal ball.

A moment later, Su Yuntao said disappointedly, "Tool martial soul, sickle. Innate soul power, rank 0."

There was no fluctuation in his tone as he quickly recorded the information in a notebook. "Next."

The boy walked down in a daze.

Although Su Yuntao had said nothing else, that indifferent tone itself was like a verdict. Rank 0 innate soul power meant that he could never become a Soul Master in his lifetime.

The next few children were much the same.

Some had farming tools as their tool martial souls, some had ordinary beast martial souls, and some had Blue Silver Grass. Their innate soul power was generally rank 0.

Old Jack stood in the corner, sighing repeatedly as he watched. Holy Soul Village had not produced many decent Soul Masters in all these years, and this year seemed to be no exception.

"The last one." Su Yuntao called without even raising his head.