Martial Soul Awakening, the Five God Kings Descend Upon the Mortal World

Lin Chen was awakened by the crowing of a rooster.

No, more precisely, he had been awakened by Old Jack's speckled rooster. That beast crowed before dawn every single day, its voice so loud it sounded like someone had set off firecrackers under its ass.

He rolled over, the wooden bed creaking beneath him. Morning light streamed through the cracks in the window and fell across his face, carrying the scent of earth and dry grass.

It had been seven days since he transmigrated.

Lin Chen had already recovered from his initial dazed confusion. His memories of his previous life remained clear: working overtime until three in the morning, falling asleep facedown at his desk, then opening his eyes to find himself a six-year-old child.

Honestly, he had wanted to curse his mother at the time.

But on second thought, Douluo Continent was at least a world where people could cultivate. It beat writing PowerPoint presentations on Earth every day.

"Xiao Chen! Get up and eat!" Old Jack called from outside, his voice carrying the rasp and kindness unique to the elderly.

"Coming, coming."

Lin Chen pulled on a coarse short robe and pushed open the wooden door. Split firewood was stacked in the yard, several green vegetables grew in the corner by the wall, and Old Jack squatted before the stove, stirring a pot of thin porridge. The steam had flushed his face red.

The old man was a good person.

Old Jack did not have much screen time in the original story. He was simply the village chief who sent Tang San to Nuoding Academy. But after spending the past few days with him, Lin Chen had discovered that the old man was far more dependable than he had imagined.

Sometimes, Lin Chen thought that half the credit for Tang San's smooth start in his previous life should go to this old man.

"Today's the awakening ceremony. Nervous?" Old Jack handed him a bowl of porridge, with a poached egg nestled inside.

"What's there to be nervous about?" Lin Chen took the bowl and gulped down a mouthful. "It's just a martial soul. What, is it going to sprout flowers or something?"

Though he said that, he was actually pretty uncertain inside.

Where was the transmigrator's cheat? The system? The old grandpa mentor?

There was nothing.

If he did not still remember the original plot, he would have suspected that he had transmigrated into some counterfeit world.

"You can't put it that way." Old Jack sat across from him, took out his pipe, and lit it. "Our Holy Soul Village may be poor, but we've produced Soul Masters before. If you awaken a good martial soul, you'll have a future ahead of you."

Lin Chen did not respond and merely lowered his head to drink his porridge.

He knew that, in the original plot, Tang San had awakened twin martial souls: Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer.

One was trash among trash martial souls, while the other was the number one tool martial soul in the world.

As for himself...

Forget it. He would take it one step at a time.

After breakfast, Old Jack led him toward the center of the village. Along the way, they encountered several parents bringing their children as well. Everyone exchanged greetings, their faces filled with both anticipation and nervousness.

Lin Chen noticed a small, thin figure in the crowd. He had black hair and wore clean, neat coarse clothes, with a tall man beside him.

Tang San and Tang Hao.

This was the first time he had seen the father and son since transmigrating.

Tang Hao still looked as slovenly as ever, unshaven and bleary-eyed, like a drunken blacksmith. Only Lin Chen knew this down-and-out uncle's true identity.

And Tang San, the future Sea God and Asura God, was still an innocent, confused six-year-old child.

"Brother Chen!" Tang San spotted him and ran over with a smile. "Are you going to awaken too?"

"Yeah." Lin Chen nodded, his expression unchanged.

He did not think much of Tang San.

Even when reading the novel in his previous life, he had felt that something was off. The man spoke constantly of loyalty and righteousness, yet everything he did reeked of calculation.

He treated Xiao Wu well because she was pretty and innocent; he treated Boss Dai well because the man was a prince; he treated his teacher well because Yu Xiaogang was useful.

To put it plainly, every emotion Tang San felt came with an ulterior motive.

Lin Chen did not want to become close friends with someone like that.

"Let's do it together later!" Tang San said enthusiastically. "I heard awakening martial souls is really interesting!"

"Sure."

Lin Chen gave a casual reply, his gaze sweeping toward Tang Hao in the distance.

That Titled Douluo leaned against a tree with his eyes half-closed, looking as though he had not woken up yet.

But Lin Chen noticed that his gaze drifted toward Tang San from time to time, carrying a complicated emotion.

The group arrived at the clearing in the center of the village, where six black stones had already been arranged.

The Soul Master in charge of the awakening ceremony was a middle-aged man dressed in a white uniform, with a badge pinned to his chest.

Lin Chen recognized him as Su Yuntao, the disposable Soul Master from the original story who was responsible for awakening martial souls for the children of the beginner village.

"One at a time. Don't crowd." Su Yuntao said expressionlessly. "Place your hand on the awakening stone, close your eyes, and feel the power inside your body."

The first to step forward was a chubby little boy. The moment he placed his hand on it, a sickle appeared in his hand.

"Tool martial soul, sickle. No soul power." Su Yuntao shook his head. "Next."

The second, third, fourth... they were either farm tools or livestock. Not a single one awakened soul power.

The villagers' expressions grew more and more disappointed.

"Next, Lin Chen."

Lin Chen took a deep breath and stepped forward.

He placed his hand on the awakening stone, and a cold sensation spread from his palm. Closing his eyes, he could feel something stirring within him, like a sleeping beast awakening.

Suddenly, a surge of heat rose from his dantian and rushed through his meridians toward his palm.

The awakening stone began to tremble violently, emitting a blinding white light.

Su Yuntao's eyes widened. "This is..."

The light faded.

Lin Chen opened his eyes and looked down at his palm.

There was nothing there.

No, that was not right. There was something.

Looking more closely, he saw a faint gray pattern in his palm, like some ancient symbol. Without careful inspection, it was almost impossible to notice.

"What is this?" Lin Chen frowned.

Su Yuntao leaned in and examined it for a long while, his expression strange. "This... I have never seen a martial soul like this. Try circulating your soul power."

Lin Chen tried to mobilize that surge of heat. The gray pattern glowed faintly, but nothing happened.

"Strange..." Su Yuntao muttered. "Logically, even a trash martial soul should have a form. Yours..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

Because he felt a terrifying pressure descend from the sky.

It was not just him. Everyone present felt it.

The air seemed to freeze, and even breathing became difficult. At some point, the sky had darkened. Clouds churned overhead, and faint thunder rumbled.

Tang Hao abruptly opened his eyes, his pupils contracting.

"This is..."

Before he could finish speaking, five enormous phantoms descended from the sky.

They were five figures, each radiating a suffocating pressure. They floated in midair, their features impossible to make out. All that could be felt was the vast, ocean-like fluctuation of divine power.

The Divine Realm's five God Kings.

At that moment, the entire Douluo Continent trembled.

And all of it had been triggered by the gray mark in the palm of a six-year-old boy.

"Impossible..."

A deep voice emerged from one of the phantoms, filled with disbelief.

"The aura of the Father God... How could it appear here?"

Another phantom spoke, its voice cold as ice. "Back then, the Father God voluntarily split himself apart, turning his origin into five seeds. That was how the five of us came to be. But now..."

"The sixth seed has appeared in the world."