Innate Soul Power

Mutated Martial Souls could be good or bad. The good ones could make a Martial Soul stronger, while the bad ones might weaken the original Martial Soul.

They had never seen a change like Yang Dong's before.

The Wind Sword Martial Soul had nearly taken shape, but then such a transformation occurred. No one knew whether it was good or bad.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Yang Dong howled incessantly. By the end, only hoarse gasps came from his throat, as if he were about to lose his voice.

It hurt—too much. Yang Dong could feel the changes in his left hand, and because he could feel them so clearly, he cried out in agony.

That hand seemed as though it no longer belonged to him. One moment, it felt as if it were submerged in lava; the next, as if it were trapped in bitter cold. In just fifteen minutes, it felt as though he had endured an entire year.

Outside, Lin Qiuyu's eyes had already reddened. She had never seen her son scream and shout like this before. Even when he fell outside and scraped his skin, she had never once seen him cry.

Now, her son was screaming in agony. One look was enough to tell that he was suffering terribly. As his mother, all she could do was watch helplessly. How could Lin Qiuyu bear it?

If she could, she would gladly suffer in her son's place!

At last, the agonizing wait came to an end. Yang Dong collapsed onto the ground. His entire left hand was scarlet, with faint black veins clearly visible beneath the skin.

"Child, how do you feel?"

Yang Lan finally saw that the awakening had ended. Holding a crystal used to test Soul Power, he stepped forward, his eyes constantly sweeping over Yang Dong's left hand.

He had seen quite a few strange Martial Souls before, but one like Yang Dong's was truly a first for him.

"I'm fine. This should be the crystal for testing Soul Power, right?"

Yang Dong took several deep breaths, wiped the sweat from his face, and looked expectantly at the crystal in Yang Yi's hand.

Having a Martial Soul was certainly important, but to become a Soul Master, one also needed Innate Soul Power. Those without Innate Soul Power could not cultivate.

The higher one's Innate Soul Power, the faster one could cultivate. Yang Tianyi, the current Sect Master of the Wind Sword Sect, possessed Innate Full Spirit Power. Otherwise, he would never have achieved so much at such a young age.

Come on! Innate Full Spirit Power! Come on, Innate Soul Power Rank 20! Come on, I wouldn't even care if it were Rank 30!

Yang Dong shouted inwardly as his hand touched the testing crystal in Yang Lan's hand. His eyes remained fixed on the crystal's changes.

It was not only Yang Dong. Many people, including his parents, watched the crystal expectantly.

One second, then two seconds passed. Yang Lan's expression gradually froze. Not only him—even Yang Tianyi and his wife wore looks of disbelief.

Innate Soul Power Rank 1?

It was not exactly trash, but it was not far from it either. With only Rank 1 Innate Soul Power, could he not merely cultivate by the skin of his teeth?

Someone who had neither awakened the Wind Sword Martial Soul nor possessed much Innate Soul Power—would Soul Elder be the limit of his future achievements? How could someone like that be qualified to become the next Sect Master of the Wind Sword Sect?

At that moment, not a sound could be heard. The entire Wind Sword Sect fell into an unusual silence.

"Alright. Since Dong'er has completed his awakening, take him back to cultivate first. He looks tired too."

Yang Tianyi spoke to his wife, Lin Qiuyu, with a trace of disappointment in his eyes.

Never mind the Martial Soul Mutation. That Rank 1 Innate Soul Power alone had likely already ruined his son's future prospects.

This should not have happened. He was a genius with Innate Full Spirit Power, while his wife, though not possessing Innate Full Spirit Power, had Rank 9 Innate Soul Power. Yet the child born from their union had only Rank 1 Innate Soul Power. It was simply unbelievable.

Lin Qiuyu said nothing more. She glanced around, quickly stepped forward, and picked Yang Dong up. After a few flashes, she vanished from the area, leaving behind the scorching aura of flames in the air.

This departure had revealed her strength before everyone: an eighty-third-rank Soul Douluo, with Li Yan as her Martial Soul, an elemental-type Soul Master.

She was telling everyone present that even if her son had only Rank 1 Innate Soul Power, he was still her son—the son of a mother with the strength of an eighty-third-rank Soul Douluo.

Lin Qiuyu quickly brought Yang Dong back to their residence. The expression on her face looked much better than before. Not because she truly felt better, but because she had hidden her emotions.

She knew that her son had been somewhat different from ordinary children since he was young. She did not want him to read anything from her expression, even though Yang Dong was only six years old.

Of course, what she did not know was that Yang Dong understood what Rank 1 Innate Soul Power meant. It meant that his achievements in this life would be limited.

There was no such thing as diligence making up for a lack of talent on the Douluo Continent. Low cultivation talent meant limited achievements.

Take Tang San, the future child of destiny. Did he awaken Blue Silver Grass, a trash Martial Soul? What a joke. His was the Blue Silver Emperor; it simply had not been officially activated yet.

And he also had the Mysterious Heaven Skill as a cheat. But what about me?

Yang Dong silently asked himself.

No system had traveled through time with him. His dream of awakening his Martial Soul at six years old and activating a system at the same time had been shattered.

"Dong'er, rest well first. Mother will stew a chicken to nourish your body."

Lin Qiuyu sent Yang Dong back to his room. Whether it was her or Yang Lan and the others from before, none of them cared much about his Martial Soul anymore.

After all, Rank 1 Innate Soul Power was enough to extinguish the blazing hopes in their hearts. Even a powerful Mutated Martial Soul would be useless if its Soul Power could not increase!

Watching Lin Qiuyu leave, Yang Dong sighed. He was truly troubled. He had hoped to make something of himself on the Douluo Continent.

But Rank 1 Innate Soul Power? Was this not just messing with him?

"System?"

Yang Dong called out tentatively. Unfortunately, he was disappointed once again. No strange system had appeared with him.

"What a pity."

Yang Dong felt some regret. These days, as long as one had a system, one could even throw away one's intelligence. Maybe he could have played at being a God King.

"Appear!"

Yang Dong summoned his Martial Soul again. His entire left hand turned crimson, purple veins crisscrossing its surface, while an ink-black mist coiled around his arm, giving off an ominous feeling.

Ghost Hand!

The instant his Martial Soul awakened, Yang Dong had learned its name. Just as its name implied, his left hand truly seemed like a ghost's hand.