"Holy Soul Village's" Spirit Hall was preparing to awaken the Martial Souls of nine children.
On the land known as the Douluo Continent, this was a crucial event for everyone. Successfully awakening a "useful" Martial Soul and possessing a certain amount of Soul Power from birth meant one could become a Soul Master. For children born into poverty, it was a chance to change their lives.
Every child was both nervous and excited, with only two exceptions.
One was Tang San, the "chosen son of fate" of the Douluo Continent: a dual Martial Soul wielder, son of the youngest Titled Douluo in history (so far), sole descendant of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, rightful wielder of the Clear Sky Hammer, an outer disciple of the Tang Sect, born amid thunder and lightning, and a transmigrator.
The other was a white-haired, dark-eyed child who shouldn't have been here at all. According to the normal course of events, only eight children should have taken part in this Awakening. This extra child was named Mo Lin. Like Tang San, he was a transmigrator—a respectable, upstanding citizen of the twenty-first century. Now, he was an orphan from Holy Soul Village who had grown up on the charity of the villagers (literally).
Unlike Tang San, he hadn't transmigrated by jumping off a cliff, or by being hit by the transmigration vehicle of choice, a truck. Instead, he'd died miserably in his twenties, succumbing to a terminal illness.
But as things stood, he was "lucky" enough to have transmigrated to this "harmonious and loving" world, where countries and organizations often "helped one another," and the people were simple and honest. He'd been given the chance to live again.
For a transmigrator to have no cheat or special advantage would be downright abnormal. When he was still a baby, he'd discovered that a great many profound texts and books seemed to have appeared in his mind. At first, his infant brain wasn't developed enough for him to realize what they were. Then one day, he silently recited one of them in his mind:
"Heaven and Earth's Mysterious Ancestor, the root of all qi... Golden light, appear swiftly, shield and protect the true one."
At once, he felt an energy like gas begin to circulate through his body. His skin seemed to emit a faint golden glow. He immediately thought of something and skimmed through the other contents in his mind.
"Yang Five Thunders, Yin Five Thunders, Triple Inverse Life... And the energy inside me. Could these be...?"
Though Mo Lin had been widely read in his previous life, he'd never been able to figure out exactly which world these cultivation methods and texts came from. He'd assumed they were martial arts manuals from some extraordinary world. Judging by their names alone, they weren't unique to any one world. As long as a world had a culture called China and a Taoist tradition, it would probably have these things, though the specifics might differ.
Still, the uncertainty hadn't stopped Mo Lin from practicing everything he knew for the past six years. He treasured these things, which felt like gifts from his ancestors. Besides, with a free cheat like this, not practicing would be a complete waste!
Just look at Tang San next door—he'd made such good use of the things he'd stolen from the Tang Sect!
"Mo Lin, are you all right?"
Tang San glanced at Mo Lin, who seemed distracted. The two had known each other since childhood in this world. They weren't close, but Tang San was mild-mannered, so he asked anyway.
Mo Lin smiled, deliberately letting a trace of unease show on his face.
"It's nothing. I'm just a little nervous."
As mentioned earlier, they weren't close—at most, they were acquaintances who nodded to each other. Over the years, Mo Lin had kept himself hidden, just like Zhang Chunan, the "shameless, invisible scoundrel." He never got close to anyone. Even Tang San hadn't realized that Mo Lin was practicing cultivation techniques. The main reason was probably that Tang San couldn't imagine there being another transmigrator besides himself.
"Ahem!"
Su Yuntao, the "Soul Master talent appraisal grandmaster," cleared his throat. He seemed to have noticed Mo Lin and Tang San whispering to each other, so he drew the children's attention with a smile.
"My name is Su Yuntao. I'm a twenty-sixth-rank Soul Grandmaster, and I'll be your guide. I'll awaken your Martial Souls one by one. Remember, no matter what happens, don't be afraid."
The story proceeded as usual. Everyone watched Su Yuntao "show off" his white Soul Ring, then stepped one by one into the middle of the six stones. There were no surprises: the first seven had no talent for becoming Soul Masters. Then Tang San placed his hand on the crystal ball, and it shone with dazzling light.
"My heavens! Innate Full Soul Power!" Su Yuntao
"Uncle, what is Innate...?"
"Everyone..."
Mo Lin watched the two of them discuss something he knew all too well, question and answer, and thought:
"Could you two stop talking already? Hurry up!"
After curious little Tang San finished asking his questions, Su Yuntao seemed to be in a much better mood. He watched Mo Lin expectantly, as if hoping he would be a genius too.
Mo Lin stepped into the middle of the six stones and began silently reciting the Golden Light Incantation.
After only a second, Mo Lin raised his right hand. A golden vortex appeared in his palm and began to grow larger and larger, as if it were beyond his control!
Su Yuntao stared at the scene, too shocked to speak. He'd never seen such a strange Martial Soul before. What's more, as a twenty-sixth-rank Soul Grandmaster, he actually felt afraid of this newly awakened Martial Soul!
Tang San felt something similar. He circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill again and again to calm himself, because he felt he was about to lose control of his left hand!
Mo Lin caught Tang San's reaction out of the corner of his eye. Since they came from similar cultural backgrounds, he put his Martial Soul away.
Su Yuntao swallowed and looked at the white-haired child before him.
"Does your Martial Soul have a name?"
Mo Lin rolled his eyes.
"It told me its name is 'Primordial Qi.'"
"Primordial Qi?"
Tang San was a little surprised by the name's strong Taoist flavor, but that was all. Mo Lin had seemed utterly ordinary over the years, more like someone who couldn't keep a secret.
Seeing Su Yuntao caught off guard, Mo Lin simply walked over to the crystal ball, placed his hand on it, and began channeling Soul Power into it.
There were no surprises. The crystal ball once again shone with blinding light, and it looked even brighter than it had for Tang San. Its brightness continued to rise.
A few seconds later, Mo Lin sensed that the crystal ball was nearing its limit, so he stopped channeling Soul Power.
Since Mo Lin's Martial Soul had affected both Su Yuntao and Tang San, one was wondering how he could be afraid of a newly awakened Martial Soul, while the other was struggling to suppress his left hand. Neither noticed the subtle difference between the two bursts of light.
But the light was bright enough for even the blind to see. Su Yuntao naturally realized that this was another case of Innate Full Soul Power, and that the child had an extremely unusual Mutated Martial Soul. He hurriedly asked:
"Little friend, would you be willing to join the Spirit Hall?"
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