Awakening the Martial Soul!

"Next, Ling Xuqing!"

The slightly weary and impatient voice of Spirit Hall deacon Su Yuntao echoed through the crude Spirit Hall in Wuxi Village.

Calling it a Spirit Hall was a stretch; it was merely a slightly larger mud-brick house. The interior was dim, and the air was thick with the scent of damp earth and dried grass.

Hearing Su Yuntao's call, a boy of about six years old with a tall, upright frame stepped out from the crowd.

He had a head of brilliant, dark-gold short hair that caught the sunlight, refracting a faint shimmer. His skin was as fair as jade, and his features were so exquisite they seemed not of this world.

He was none other than Ling Xuqing.

Since arriving on the Douluo Continent, Ling Xuqing had quickly determined his timeline and location through the surrounding environment and the villagers' idle chatter.

This was the world of the first Douluo, in the Fasnuo Province of the southwest Heaven Dou Empire, in Wuxi Village outside Nuoding City.

It was called Wuxi Village because five clear streams wove through the village like a net, nourishing the land.

Wuxi Village was remote, bordering the Star Dou Great Forest, and could be considered one of the most isolated areas on the edge of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Not far ahead lay the border between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

What made Ling Xuqing find fate even more peculiar was that the village next to Wuxi Village was Holy Soul Village.

That was right—the very village that would later produce the dual-god status of the Sea God and the Asura God, the home of Tang San, who in his past life was an outer sect disciple of the Tang Sect and had jumped off a cliff after stealing the Mysterious Heaven Skill!

Initially, upon learning that the neighboring village was Holy Soul Village, Ling Xuqing had considered paying Tang San a visit.

He was certain it was Tang San because, through various inquiries, Ling Xuqing had learned that Holy Soul Village had a blacksmith who loved to drink and had a strange temper, yet possessed incredibly exquisite forging skills.

Ling Xuqing immediately concluded that the man was Tang Hao.

This also confirmed that he and Tang San were indeed the same age.

However, after a brief moment of thought, Ling Xuqing abandoned the idea of trying to make his presence known in Holy Soul Village.

Since the Spirit Hall provided free martial soul awakenings for children of the appropriate age on the Douluo Continent, why should he look further afield?

It would be better to stay in Wuxi Village, wait until his martial soul was awakened, and then head to the mountains behind the village to fully fuse and condense the Golden Dragon King's origin soul ring, dragon wings, dragon claws, and the Golden Overlord Spear before dealing with Tang San.

After all, what he needed right now was absolute low-profile and accumulation.

"This child is truly handsome, but it's a pity that for generations, Wuxi Village has never produced a single Spirit Master," the village chief sighed, shaking his head as he watched Ling Xuqing.

Indeed, no child in Wuxi Village had ever awakened a martial soul before.

In this world, without a martial soul, one was destined to be an ordinary person, facing the yellow earth and backing the sky for a lifetime.

Ling Xuqing walked calmly into the center of the awakening array.

"Child, stand still, close your eyes, and feel it with your heart," Su Yuntao said while skillfully placing six pitch-black round stones into the array.

As a faint blue soul power was injected, the six stones suddenly lit up. A layer of golden mist rose from the ground, enveloping Ling Xuqing.

Ling Xuqing closed his eyes as instructed.

The moment the golden light shrouded him, he felt a warm and familiar power awaken from deep within his body.

It was the origin of the Golden Dragon King, sleeping deep within his marrow and soul!

"Boom!"

It was as if an ancient beast had opened its eyes inside Ling Xuqing's body.

In an instant, an incredibly domineering and terrifying surge of blood energy erupted from his small body!

"Hum—"

The pale blue awakening light released by Su Yuntao trembled violently under the impact of this dark-gold blood energy, as if it were about to be crushed at any moment!

"What... what is happening?!"

Su Yuntao was shocked. He felt a suffocating pressure rushing toward him, forcing him to take several steps back, his eyes filled with horror.

It wasn't just Su Yuntao; the village chief and the villagers standing nearby were also pale with fright and scrambled backward.

Although they didn't understand the power of a Spirit Master, they instinctively felt that Ling Xuqing, standing in the center of the array, had become terrifying, like a peerless beast wearing the skin of a child!

"Roar!"

A low, distant dragon roar faintly echoed in the awakening room.

Following that, Ling Xuqing slowly raised his right hand.

A brilliant, dazzling dark-gold divine light erupted from his palm, instantly illuminating the entire dim mud-brick house.

Amidst that intensely concentrated golden light, a golden spear with an archaic design and an aura of boundless dominance slowly condensed into shape.

The shaft was long, the blade was incomparably sharp, and ancient dragon runes flowed across its surface. Just by hovering there, it radiated a sharpness and pressure that seemed to pierce the heavens.

The Golden Overlord Spear!

When Ling Xuqing opened his eyes, the overwhelming golden light receded like a tide, pouring back into his body.

He stood quietly in place, holding the golden spear in his hand, his expression calm and without a ripple.

The entire awakening room fell into a deathly silence.

The village chief and the villagers stared with wide eyes and mouths agape, as if they had forgotten how to breathe.

Although they didn't recognize this martial soul, the miraculous sight of the golden light and the terrifying aura emanating from the spear told them one thing—this martial soul was definitely not simple!

"This... this is..." Su Yuntao swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

As a deacon of the Spirit Hall, he had traveled far and wide and seen many martial souls, but one that radiated such terrifying pressure just by manifesting, like this golden spear, was undoubtedly a top-tier martial soul!

He never expected that in this godforsaken Wuxi Village, which had never produced a Spirit Master, a martial soul would actually be awakened—and such a shocking one at that!

"Such... such a powerful martial soul!"

Su Yuntao took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart, and quickly pulled a blue-glowing test crystal ball from his robes. "Quick, child, put your hand on it and test your soul power!"

Ling Xuqing nodded slightly, retracted the Golden Overlord Spear into his body, then raised his right hand and gently placed it on the crystal ball.

"Hum!"

The moment Ling Xuqing's hand touched the crystal ball, it suddenly erupted with an incredibly dazzling blue light!

The radiance was even more blinding than when Su Yuntao had released his own martial soul. The entire crystal ball seemed to be instantly ignited, filled to the brim with blue light without a single dark corner left.

Su Yuntao stared fixedly at the glowing crystal ball, his pupils contracting violently, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

He suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with extreme shock and fanaticism as he looked at Ling Xuqing, his voice cracking with excitement:

"Innate... innate full soul power!!!"