Crossing into Douluo Continent: The Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony

Seven Treasure Village was a peaceful little mountain village. Its population was not very large, but everyone lived comfortably, and smiles filled every face.

At the entrance to the village, a little boy could be seen lying on a large rock, sleeping in the sun. He was about five or six years old, yet his face carried a maturity far beyond his peers.

The boy had sharp brows and bright eyes. Although his features had not fully developed, he already had the makings of a handsome young man.

"Xiao Tian, hurry down! Lunch is ready!" a gentle woman called from below.

The boy leaped directly off the rock and said with a smile, "I'm coming, Mom."

"You're always scaring me like that." The woman seemed accustomed to this sort of thing, but watching her son jump around like this every day was enough to frighten any mother half to death. "I know you've been stronger than other children since you were little, but you still have to be careful. What would your father and I do if something happened to you?"

"I understand. I won't do it again!"

The boy's surname was Jun, and his given name was Tianlin. His parents were both native-born villagers of Seven Treasure Village, but he was different. He was a transmigrator who had come here after his computer inexplicably exploded while he was playing a game and watching the Douluo anime at the same time.

It was said that on the day he was born, a meteor streaked across the sky and fell into Star Dou Great Forest. Many people on Douluo Continent had seen it, and it was even said to have triggered a disturbance among the Soul Beasts there.

His father believed that this was a heavenly qilin child descending to earth, so he named him Tianlin.

I was clearly playing Chinese Paladin. Why did I end up in the world of Douluo Continent? This makes no sense at all! When he had first arrived, Tianlin had roared inwardly again and again.

Yes, this was Douluo Continent, a world filled with Martial Souls. As its name suggested, Seven Treasure Village was connected to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was the second-ranked sect on Douluo Continent. Its headquarters were located at Seven Treasure Mountain in the Heaven Dou Empire, and it possessed the world's number-one auxiliary-type Weapon Spirit, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

However, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had no offensive ability. Therefore, apart from its direct disciples, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect also accepted many affiliated clans as protectors of its direct line, such as Sword Douluo Chen Xin's lineage and the Gu clan lineage of Bone Douluo Gu Rong.

In addition, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect protected many villages at the foot of the mountain. Occasionally, a golden phoenix could emerge from among ordinary people. The sect was extremely wealthy, and its policy was to recruit as many Battle Soul Masters as possible rather than risk missing any.

Those with talent were given focused training, while the average ones became ordinary disciples protecting the sect.

Even the most ordinary Battle-type Martial Soul could kill enemies across major ranks with the support of their Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. If the so-called number-one Clear Sky Sect dominated through quality, then the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect triumphed through quantity.

Seven Treasure Village was the largest village beneath Seven Treasure Mountain. Its original name had been Little Soul Village, but several decades ago, a golden phoenix had truly emerged from among its commoners. The former sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had consequently bestowed the name Seven Treasure upon it.

That golden phoenix was still alive today. Apart from the sect master and the two Titled Douluo, he was the sect's fourth-most important figure. Now seventy-eight years old, his name was Yin Yang. He was an Agility Attack System Battle Soul Douluo of rank eighty-nine, and his Martial Soul was the Thunder Feather Golden Eagle. He was Seven Treasure Village's greatest pride.

This person had never appeared in the original work. After all, he was only a Soul Douluo. Perhaps he had died in battle during the Spirit Hall's Soul Hunting Operation.

But thinking about it, that was only natural. A sect as large as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could not possibly have only the two Titled Douluo who appeared on-screen as its highest combat power. It surely had some ordinary high-level combatants, such as Soul Douluo and Soul Saints.

When Tianlin returned home, he saw a burly man lift him into the air. It was his father, Jun Tianhai. "Haha, my precious son is back! Tomorrow is your Martial Soul awakening day. Your father is counting on you to win some glory for me!"

"Dad, you'd better not get your hopes up too high!" Tianlin helplessly spread his hands. Although his father placed great expectations on him, he truly could not guarantee anything.

Because of Martial Soul inheritance, unless there was a mutation, a child's Martial Soul generally came from whichever parent had the stronger one. However, both of Tianlin's parents possessed very ordinary Martial Souls. His mother had a pearl that was practically useless and gave her no Innate Soul Power.

His father possessed a sword, which should originally have been a decent Battle-type Martial Soul. The problem was that it was a rusted sword, whose offensive power was terribly weak. His Innate Soul Power was only one and a half ranks. Now nearly thirty, his father had only rank twenty-one Soul Power and two Soul Rings, one white and one yellow. As a Soul Grandmaster, he would probably find it difficult to become a Soul Elder in this lifetime.

Of course, as a Soul Grandmaster, his father still held some status in the village. He was the village warehouse keeper. Tianlin did not resent his parents for this, but he often felt regret. A sword is fine, but why did it have to be rusty too? Are you kidding me?

He had neither a system nor any cultivation techniques or Hidden Weapons from his previous life like Tang San. He had no idea how he was supposed to survive on this strength-worshiping Douluo Continent.

Of course, he was not completely without cheats. There were two books in his mind. Unfortunately, he could only see their covers and could not turn their pages, so he had no idea what was inside.

"It doesn't matter what Martial Soul our son awakens. If he inherits yours, then in the future he can become the village warehouse keeper just like you. He'll have an income and status, marry a good wife, and live a stable life." Tianlin's mother was named Mo Lan. As an ordinary woman, she had no dream of raising a dragon among men. She only wished for him to live out his life peacefully.

Tianlin ate his meal, but his fists slowly clenched. He would not be satisfied living the kind of life his mother described. Since he had come here, he had to carve out a world of his own.

The awakening ceremony would take place tomorrow. It was still impossible to say how the result would turn out.

The next morning, all the children in the village who had reached the age of six gathered at the village chief's summons.

The old village chief said kindly, "Children, a Lord Soul Master from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will soon come to help you awaken your Martial Souls. You must cooperate properly. Grandpa hopes that one of you can become a Soul Master, just like your Grandpa Yin Yang."

At the mention of Yin Yang's name, the children immediately displayed looks of longing. They had all grown up listening to stories about him.

The awakening ceremony in this village was handled by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. After all, it was a village under their protection. If they still needed the Spirit Hall to conduct the awakenings, it would be far too humiliating for the sect.

Before long, a sound suddenly tore through the sky. A figure flew from far away and descended before the children. He was a middle-aged man with a pair of wings on his back. Clearly, he possessed a flying-type Beast Spirit.

Moreover, four rings of light—one white, one yellow, and two purple—floated around his body. He was actually a powerful Soul Ancestor.

"Esteemed Soul Ancestor, thank you for coming," the village chief said, immediately stepping forward to welcome him.

"Not at all, Village Chief. You're too polite." The Soul Ancestor was quite courteous. Of course, this courtesy was not really directed at the ordinary village chief, but at Yin Yang.

The Third Elder of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had been born in this village, and he loved his hometown dearly. If this man caused trouble here, he would probably be skinned alive by his own elder.

After exchanging a few simple greetings, the Soul Ancestor led the children into the Awakening Shrine.

"All right, children. Stand in a line, and don't be nervous. My name is Tian Yu. I'm from the Reconnaissance Hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I'm a rank-forty-two Agility Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor, and my Martial Soul is White Bird. I'll now awaken your Martial Souls one by one."

Apart from its direct line of disciples, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had three main halls for external combat. The Battle Hall and Defense Hall handled offense and defense respectively, under the command of the offensive-type Titled Douluo Sword Douluo Chen Xin and the defensive-type Titled Douluo Bone Douluo Gu Rong.

The elder of the Reconnaissance Hall was Yin Yang. Compared with the first two halls, it was less renowned. After all, it had no Titled Douluo stationed there and mainly handled intelligence gathering and similar tasks. Quite a few Soul Masters with flying-type Martial Souls served within it.

In other words, the Soul Ancestor before them was actually Yin Yang's direct subordinate. No wonder he was so polite to them.

What a pity. Su Yuntao isn't the one awakening my Martial Soul. If he were the one to awaken a useless Martial Soul for me, perhaps I'd still have a chance of becoming a god in the future.

Tianlin had been extremely familiar with the name of the blind-eyed Douluo, Su Yuntao, in his previous life. It was said that any useless Martial Soul he appraised possessed the potential to soar to the heavens.

While Tianlin was lost in thought, the awakening ceremony had already begun. Tian Yu took out two things: six pitch-black, round stones and a shining blue crystal ball.

He arranged the six stones, then motioned for the first child to stand among them.

"Don't be afraid. Close your eyes and feel carefully." As he spoke, Tian Yu began circulating his Soul Power, and the four Soul Rings appeared once more. "White Bird, Possession!"

At the same time, a pair of enormous snow-white wings extended from his back, while the fingers on his hands transformed into talons. He looked mighty and extraordinary. This was the possession of a Beast Spirit.

Seeing this scene, even the other children were startled, let alone Tianlin, who had been mentally prepared. The way Soul Masters used their Martial Souls was truly wondrous.

"Children, this is my Martial Soul, White Bird. If any of you awakens a Beast Spirit, you'll be able to gain abilities like mine."

"Come, child. Extend your right hand!" Tian Yu commanded the boy with considerable authority.

The boy instinctively extended his right hand. In an instant, countless points of light burst from the six stones and surrounded him.

A spear slowly materialized in his hand.

"Oh, a spear? This can be considered a decent offensive-type Weapon Spirit. Now let me test whether you possess Soul Power. As long as you have Soul Power, you'll be able to become a Battle Soul Master in the future!" Tian Yu said delightedly.

He was responsible for awakening Martial Souls in various villages and knew how difficult it was for ordinary people to become Soul Masters. He had not expected to encounter a child with such potential right at the start.

"My lord, what should I do?" Seeing that Tian Yu was in a good mood, the boy finally asked boldly.

"Use your mind to withdraw your Martial Soul. From now on, you'll summon it with your mind as well. Then we'll test your Innate Soul Power." After saying this, Tian Yu handed the crystal ball to the boy.

The boy withdrew his Martial Soul and placed his hand on the crystal ball. Immediately, the crystal ball emitted a burst of light.

"As expected, you have Soul Power. And just like me, you've reached the standard of Innate Soul Power rank four. Very good!" Tian Yu was overjoyed. He would be able to give Elder Yin Yang a satisfactory report today.

Over the past several years, Seven Treasure Village had not produced another Soul Master. He had seen his elder sigh heavily over it more than once.

"All right, child. Stand to the side for now. You have the potential to become a Soul Master. I'll take you back to the sect later. You must cultivate diligently in the future, understood?" Tian Yu said gently.

"Yes!" The little boy was so excited he could hardly contain himself. Becoming a Soul Master was the dream of every child in the village.

Tian Yu raised his head and continued, "All right, next!"

After that, all kinds of scenes unfolded one after another. Unfortunately, apart from the first child, none of the others had any worthwhile results.

"Martial Soul, hoe. It can barely be used as a weapon, but unfortunately, there's no Soul Power."

"Martial Soul, water vat. No Soul Power."

"Martial Soul, chicken. It is a Beast Spirit, at least, but unfortunately, there's still no Soul Power. A chicken really isn't very useful either."

"Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass. This one is completely useless. No offensive power, no defensive power, and no auxiliary ability. The standard form of a useless Martial Soul!"

After awakening several children in succession, Tian Yu let out a heavy sigh. Miracles truly did not happen often. Still, at least there had been a child with a spear Martial Soul this year, so the trip had not been in vain.

The number of children gradually dwindled. Those who could not become Soul Masters all lowered their heads, indescribably dejected. The first boy, however, wore a smug expression. In his heart, these people already belonged to a different world from him.

I'm a heaven-blessed prodigy—the future Lord Soul Master!

"Whew, finally the last one. Child, come here!" After awakening so many children, Tian Yu looked somewhat tired. He took a short breath before calling over Tianlin, who stood at the very end of the line.

Tianlin nervously stood in the center of the formation. As Tian Yu circulated his Soul Power, Tianlin's body involuntarily floated into the air, and the six awakening stones radiated light far brighter than before.

Could this child be...? The astonishing phenomenon made Tian Yu feel that he might gain an unexpected harvest this time.

At that moment, Tianlin closed his eyes and felt as though he had entered a warm world, as if he were in his parents' embrace when he was young. The energy flowed through his five viscera, six bowels, limbs, and bones, bringing indescribable comfort.

At the same time, powerful forces surged in both his left and right hands, as though they were about to shatter the shackles of his body and break free.

Tianlin immediately clenched his left hand and only extended his right. Having read the original work, he naturally knew that this was probably the phenomenon of Twin Martial Souls awakening.

As a transmigrator, he naturally understood the principle that wealth should not be flaunted. He immediately withdrew the object in his left hand with his mind and concealed it.

In his right hand, a dark-blue longsword appeared. Many characters from the Ancient Jiang Kingdom were engraved along its blade.

"This is...the Demon Sword!" Tianlin's mind shook violently. Was this not the very sword wielded by Murong Ziying and Jing Tian in the Chinese Paladin series game he had been playing before he transmigrated?

Back then, he had reached the final stage and challenged Chonglou for the perfect ending. The Demon Sword had consequently been developed to its limit.

He had never expected the Demon Sword to come with him.

Then he could roughly guess what the object in his left hand was too. It was probably even stronger than the Demon Sword.

"What a sword!" Tian Yu suddenly could not help exclaiming. The sword's design was so magnificent that even a glance was enough to sense its extraordinary nature.

"Child, does your sword have a name?"

"Yes. It's called the De—Demon Suppressing Sword!" Tianlin had originally intended to say Demon Sword, but then he remembered how deeply the people of Douluo Continent loathed Evil Soul Masters. Demon Sword sounded like an ominous name. If someone mistook him for an Evil Soul Master and cut him down, would that not be terribly unfair?

Adding the word "Suppressing" made it completely different. Demon Suppressing implied subduing demons and vanquishing evil. It sounded like a divine weapon of the righteous path.