Top-Tier Martial Soul

The golden light in his palm receded, replaced by a chilling ice-blue glow.

That blue was not an ordinary pale shade, but a deep indigo so dark it was nearly black.

Fine ice-crack patterns covered the spear's shaft like naturally formed inscriptions, spreading from the butt all the way to the tip. Within every pattern flowed a dark blue, icy gleam.

The temperature in the room plummeted. A thin layer of white frost formed on the floor and spread outward from beneath Li Hanche's feet.

The young woman's breath had turned to white mist. Her eyes widened as she stared at the gradually solidifying spear, her lips trembling.

The spear was seven feet two inches long, its entire body seeming to be forged from dark ice. On either side of its tip stood a backward-pointing ice spike, giving it a sharp and menacing appearance.

A fist-sized ice-blue pearl at the base of the spear slowly rotated. A blizzard seemed to howl within the pearl, and the faint phantom of a dragon could be seen inside.

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

The young woman's voice trembled.

Li Hanche gripped the spear shaft. An icy aura flowed into his body through his palm, yet he did not feel cold. Instead, he felt an intimate connection, as though it were part of his very bloodline.

The spear's name naturally surfaced in his mind, like a mark engraved deep within his soul.

"Dark Nether Ice Soul Spear."

He softly spoke the name. The ice-blue patterns on the spear lit up in response, bathing the entire room in a dark blue glow.

Just then, footsteps sounded in the corridor.

The door was pushed open from outside, and a young man in a moon-white robe stood in the doorway. It was Xue Qinghe, who had passed by the corridor corner earlier.

Two guards stood behind him, both staring in shock at the spear in Li Hanche's hand.

Xue Qinghe's gaze fell upon the Dark Nether Ice Soul Spear. His pupils contracted before he quickly regained his composure.

He stepped into the room, every movement carrying the unhurried poise unique to one born of the imperial family. Yet his clenched fingertips still revealed the turmoil in his heart.

"Interesting."

He murmured softly.

Before the young woman could salute him, heavy footsteps sounded from farther down the corridor.

An elderly man dressed in a crimson bishop's robe strode over. His beard and hair were white, but his frame was burly, and his eyes gleamed sharply. Before he even arrived, his voice came first.

"What is going on? This old man sensed that soul power fluctuation all the way from the main hall. Whose child is it?"

The crimson-clad bishop spotted the Dark Nether Ice Soul Spear in Li Hanche's hand the moment he entered, and abruptly stopped.

He stared at the spear for a full three breaths before shifting his gaze to Li Hanche's face. His eyes were filled with shock intertwined with wild delight.

"An ice attribute... the aura of a top-tier beast martial soul... No, this is a tool martial soul, yet it contains a trace of draconic might—the aura of an ice dragon bloodline! A mutated martial soul!"

He crossed the distance in a few quick steps and examined Li Hanche from head to toe, his gaze like that of someone appraising an uncut jade stone.

"Child, place your hand on the crystal ball and test your Innate Soul Power."

The crimson-clad bishop pointed at the blue crystal ball on the table, his voice eager.

Li Hanche recalled the Dark Nether Ice Soul Spear into his body. The ice-blue spear turned into a streak of light and vanished into his palm, leaving only traces of lingering chill in the air.

He walked to the table and pressed his right hand against the crystal ball.

The instant his palm touched it, the blue sphere suddenly erupted with dazzling light.

The radiance did not fade for a long time.

The young woman covered her mouth, her eyes reddening.

Not from emotion, but because she was utterly terrified.

She had worked here for seven years and awakened no fewer than eight hundred, if not a thousand, children. The highest Innate Soul Power she had ever seen was only level six. That child had later been specially admitted by Spirit Hall and was now an overseer at one of its branch halls.

Yet the brightness of the crystal ball before her was several times greater than that child's.

"I-Innate Full Soul Power!"

Her voice rose to a shriek that nearly cracked as her entire body trembled.

"My heavens, it's actually Innate Full Soul Power! Innate Full Soul Power!"

She turned toward Li Hanche. Tears had already welled in her eyes. Whether from excitement or shock, even her voice seemed to drift.

"Child, do you know what this means?"

Li Hanche actually did know.

He knew perfectly well that compared to those true geniuses, he had simply been given an unfair advantage.

But he could not show it.

So he furrowed his brow slightly, his clear black-and-white eyes carrying the confusion and bewilderment a six-year-old child should have had.

"What does it mean?"

He asked.

The young woman took a deep breath, crouched down until she was level with him, and spoke word by word.

"Innate Full Soul Power means that you were born with level ten soul power. You do not need any cultivation at all—your starting point is already someone else's finish line. On Douluo Continent, people with Innate Full Soul Power are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Every one of them is destined to become a Titled Douluo. Child, you are a true genius."

As she spoke, her own tears began to fall first.

The cardinal stood to one side. His gaze shifted from the crystal ball to Li Hanche, then to the right hand where he had just withdrawn his martial soul. His eyes grew brighter and brighter.

A top-tier tool martial soul.

Ice attribute, a mutated variant, carrying draconic might.

Innate Full Soul Power.

Six years old, an orphan, with no background whatsoever.

Put those four conditions together, and he was practically a gift from heaven to Spirit Hall.

He hesitated no longer. Striding forward, he crouched down so that he was level with Li Hanche.

For someone of his esteemed status as the bishop of Heaven Dou City Spirit Temple to lower himself before a child like this was already an immense display of sincerity.

"Little one."

His voice softened unusually, as though afraid of frightening the grimy child from the slums before him.

"I am Salas, bishop of Heaven Dou City Spirit Temple. I have already reviewed your personal records."

He looked at Li Hanche with utter sincerity.