Martial Soul Awakening, Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff

After that, the atmosphere between the two fell somewhat silent as they quietly watched the martial soul awakenings below.

Suddenly, Qian Renxue seemed to spot something. Her eyes brightened slightly, and her gaze became serious and profound.

This child... I feel like I've seen him somewhere before?

Salas followed Qian Renxue's gaze, frowning slightly in confusion.

After all, where Qian Renxue was looking, there was only a scruffy, carefree-looking child. Nothing stood out about him.

"Next."

At Liu Bitao's call, Yun Chen quietly stepped into the awakening formation, his heart surging with emotion.

Whether I rise to become a king or fall into obscurity depends on this moment. Awaken a good martial soul, and I'll soar like a dragon in a single day. Awaken a poor one, and I'll be stuck at the bottom of society.

"Follow my guidance and channel your soul power."

Yun Chen gently exhaled a breath of stale air, then closed his eyes and slowly stepped into the awakening formation.

Liu Bitao activated his martial soul and injected soul power into the awakening stone. The stone immediately shone with brilliant light as countless streams of energy poured into Yun Chen's body.

Yun Chen felt as though some shackle within his body had suddenly shattered. With a crack, violent energy surged through him.

Yun Chen could not help letting out a soft groan.

"Ah..."

Yun Chen's right hand trembled uncontrollably as terrifying energy frantically poured out in all directions. Liu Bitao's expression abruptly sharpened.

"Steady your mind! Guide the power and gather it in your right hand!"

The commotion drew everyone's attention. Behind the one-way glass, Salas and Qian Renxue were also deeply captivated.

Salas abruptly rose to his feet and hurried forward several steps, pressing his face against the glass with wide eyes.

With his cultivation, there had been no need for such a thing. But at this moment, he no longer cared about appearances, because Yun Chen's martial soul had awakened successfully.

An ancient, majestic presence overflowing with power suddenly appeared within the hall.

"ROAR!"

With an earth-shaking roar, every soul master with a beast martial soul felt their minds violently reel at the same instant.

Even Liu Bitao, standing before Yun Chen, could barely maintain his Demon Wolf martial soul.

"Th-This... what martial soul is that?"

Behind Yun Chen, dazzling golden light shot into the sky, condensing into the phantom of a majestic, divine golden beast.

This enormous beast resembled a male lion, yet it appeared even more agile and ferocious. Its entire body was covered in thick fur that seemed to have been forged from gold.

Yun Chen's eyes, already filled with golden light, now burned with pale golden flames. An aura like that of the king of all beasts swept outward, looking down upon the world.

Yun Chen's bones suddenly erupted in a series of crackles. His originally slender, frail body abruptly became strong and muscular.

Golden markings surfaced across Yun Chen's body, and a dense sense of power filled every muscle.

Salas's pupils suddenly contracted. He dashed downstairs at nearly top speed, muttering to himself as he ran.

"Impossible! A lion martial soul? I've never seen a martial soul like this—and that sense of power is so strong? Could he be the illegitimate son of Lion Douluo?"

Several possibilities flashed through Salas's mind, but he rejected them one by one.

The strength of this martial soul was clearly unlike that of an ordinary lion martial soul. As for Lion Douluo, who had always lived in seclusion within the Hall of Worship, Salas had never even met him.

Naturally, he could not make a sound judgment.

Little did he know, this was no lion martial soul. It was clearly the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, powerful to the extreme.

The super soul beast that, in the original work, was said to have been capable of suppressing and beating Bear Lord, who had over four hundred thousand years of cultivation, despite only having ten thousand years of cultivation itself.

Its even more legendary battle in the original work was when, as a ten-thousand-year soul beast, it once suppressed Tang Wulin, who possessed the Golden Dragon King's bloodline and strength at the Title Douluo level.

It was simply monstrously overpowered.

A complicated look flashed through Qian Renxue's eyes—surprise, curiosity, and a trace of killing intent.

With a martial soul of such strength, his innate soul power could not possibly be low. He might even possess full innate soul power.

And if someone like this could not be used by Qian Renxue of Spirit Hall, then he would become a thorn in her side and had to be eliminated.

Everyone in the hall retreated repeatedly in fright at Yun Chen's martial soul. Some of the more timid children were even scared into tears by that overwhelming aura.

Yun Chen looked at his hands, at that golden power. He slowly clenched his fist, feeling abundant strength fill his entire body.

At that moment, he felt incomparably invigorated.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from upstairs. The crowd then saw an elderly man wearing the robes of a platinum bishop of Spirit Hall quickly descend.

"Lord Bishop..."

Liu Bitao bowed in salute, but Salas did not even spare him a glance. His entire attention was fixed on Yun Chen's hand.

The closer he got, the more he could sense the faint, almost imperceptible pressure emanating from Yun Chen's martial soul, and the greater the joy in his heart became.

"Child, what is your name?"

A kindly smile appeared on Salas's face, and his tone was exceptionally gentle.

It seemed Salas had kept a stern face for too long. When he smiled, the muscles on his face twitched, making it look like a forced grin.

Yun Chen's mouth twitched. Looking at the man before him, he more or less guessed who this was, though he really wanted to complain.

Salas, do you know how awkward this looks? If you can't smile, you don't have to.

"Greetings, Your Excellency Bishop. My name is Yun Chen."

"Yun Chen, good, Yun Chen. It truly is a fine name."

"Little friend, would you like to come sit in my office? We can test your soul power there."

Yun Chen glanced around and silently nodded. He understood what Salas meant. His martial soul was definitely not weak, and his innate soul power would not be low either.

When it came to recruiting geniuses, if Spirit Hall claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.

Throwing money around across the entire continent and handing out subsidies—only Spirit Hall could do something like that.

Salas took Yun Chen's little hand and slowly led him back upstairs amid everyone's stunned stares. The two continued chatting and laughing along the way.

"Damn, that kid's martial soul is powerful."

"Yeah, yeah. And judging by how warmly His Excellency the Bishop treated him, he's definitely going to be a genius in the future."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... I'm so jealous."

When Salas reached the second floor, he suddenly paused. Only now did he remember one problem: Xue Qinghe was still in his office.

In an instant, he came up with a solution. Leading Yun Chen onward, he deliberately passed by his own office and entered a separate room.

This was the room he usually used to receive guests. It was not large, but it was elegant and quiet.

"Yun Chen, sit here for a moment. I'll go get the soul power testing orb."

After saying this, Salas smiled and rubbed Yun Chen's head. Yun Chen nodded, looking perfectly obedient.

As she sensed Salas rushing back and forth, Qian Renxue also noticed that something was wrong.

My public identity is Xue Qinghe right now, so Salas must be avoiding me. But I want that genius too.

With that thought, Qian Renxue abruptly rose to her feet. Golden specks of light slowly emerged above her head.

Using the Angel Skull Spirit Bone, Qian Renxue rapidly spread out her spiritual power.

"Found you."

A sinister smile curled across Xue Qinghe's face. Then she strode out and headed toward the room where Yun Chen was.