The Whole Village Is Saving Up Experience for Me

After his Soul Power rose to level one, Xu Zhou kept quiet about it.

It was not because he was overly cautious.

There were eight transmigrators standing in the awakening room, and dozens more waiting outside.

If he so much as shouted, "I have a special ability," there would be a long line outside his door by tonight.

Some would come offering warmth.

Some would come offering concern.

Of course, some might simply come to send him on his way.

The Black Ancient Book floated above Xu Zhou's palm. Other than him, no one seemed able to see the words on its pages.

[Cognitive Bias has completed its first collection.]

[For the same target and the same type of judgment, rewards will continue to diminish.]

[Changing the cognition of important figures can yield additional rewards.]

[Creating a collective false cognition can condense a Public Script.]

Xu Zhou's eyes flashed.

This ability did not mean he could gain unlimited Soul Power just by making people guess wrong.

Otherwise, he could sit at the village entrance and make seventy-two transmigrators play rock-paper-scissors. By tonight, he would be off to Spirit City to beat up Qian Daoliu.

To gain greater benefits, he had to make more people sincerely believe the same thing.

Then he had to personally overturn it.

Put simply, he first had to talk himself up, then accomplish it in front of everyone.

Except Xu Zhou intended to do the opposite.

Others would do the bragging for him.

He would be responsible for proving them wrong.

"Xu Zhou, are you all right?"

Tang San came over to him.

There was no pity on his childish face, only concern.

As someone from Blue Star, Tang San knew very well how cruel this world was.

Having no Soul Power meant Xu Zhou could only ever be an ordinary person.

So what if he knew the plot?

The Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would not grow legs and run into his bowl just because he could recite their names.

The Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest certainly would not line up to sacrifice themselves just because he shouted, "I'm a transmigrator!"

"I'm fine."

Xu Zhou shook his head.

"Really?"

"Of course."

Tang San stared at him for several seconds, then suddenly lowered his voice.

"Do you have a system?"

Xu Zhou's heart skipped a beat.

"Why would you ask that?"

"That's how it goes in novels."

Tang San analyzed the matter seriously.

"The more useless the Martial Soul at the start, the stronger the system usually is. You're acting so calm right now. It's like you've already heard a ding."

The Black Ancient Book showed no reaction.

Clearly, while Tang San's judgment was not entirely accurate, he was headed in the right direction.

Xu Zhou immediately felt a little regretful.

He was pretty smart.

Not easy to fool.

"Read fewer novels."

Xu Zhou sighed.

"If I really had a system, its first mission would definitely be to beat up your father or steal your future wife. You still dare stand this close to me?"

Tang San's expression changed.

He silently shuffled two steps to the side.

Of course he knew who Xiao Wu was.

The problem was that they had not even met yet!

There was no harm in taking precautions early.

Xu Zhou: "..."

Was trust between people really this fragile?

"The awakening ceremony is over."

Su Yuntao put away the six black stones and issued Tang San his Martial Soul certificate.

When it was Xu Zhou's turn, he hesitated for a moment.

"Although you have no Soul Power, your Martial Soul has successfully awakened. I'll issue you a certificate as well. In the future, find work copying texts. At least you'll be able to support yourself."

Xu Zhou accepted the certificate.

Name: Xu Zhou.

Martial Soul: Black book.

Innate Soul Power: None.

Black words on white paper.

Stamped with the seal of Spirit Hall.

From this moment on, in Spirit Hall's records, he was an ordinary person with no aptitude for cultivation.

It should have been a despairing certificate.

Yet Xu Zhou carefully folded it and tucked it into his clothes.

If he wanted to make a lie convincing, what could be more useful than official certification?

The doors opened.

The villagers who had been waiting for so long immediately surrounded them.

"How did it go?"

"Was Tang San's Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass?"

"Did the Clear Sky Hammer appear?"

"Forget Tang San for now. Did our village get any Mutated Martial Souls?"

The noise gave Su Yuntao a headache. He raised his voice and shouted:

"Tang San, Blue Silver Grass, Innate Full Soul Power."

Everyone remained utterly calm.

"Got it. Next."

Su Yuntao's mouth twitched.

He had never hosted such an unrewarding awakening ceremony in his life.

"The other children's Martial Souls were all ordinary. As for Xu Zhou, his Martial Soul is a book, and he has no Soul Power."

The crowd fell silent.

Dozens of gazes landed on Xu Zhou.

The sympathy lasted only a moment before discussions broke out one after another.

"As expected, not every transmigrator gets special treatment."

"This kid worked hard for six years, getting up early to run every day. Looks like it was all for nothing."

"It's fine if he can't cultivate. At least he won't have to risk his life in a Soul Beast forest."

"Have him keep my family's accounts in the future. I'll feed him."

"What future could he have at your place? My daughter happens to need a literate live-in son-in-law."

"Your daughter is only five!"

"We can settle it now. It won't hurt anything."

The muscles in Xu Zhou's face twitched slightly.

They had even arranged for him to become a live-in son-in-law?

These people were incredibly efficient!

The Black Ancient Book suddenly trembled.

A page turned by itself. Countless tiny motes of light floated out from the villagers' foreheads and gathered into lines of crimson text.

[Public Script is forming.]

[Script content: Xu Zhou has no aptitude for cultivation and will never become a Soul Master.]

[Current believers: 86.]

[Script grade: White.]

[Completion condition: Become a Soul Master within thirty days.]

[Success reward: Unknown Martial Soul trait, power of public cognition.]

[Failure penalty: Script solidifies; Soul Power permanently returns to zero.]

Xu Zhou stopped breathing for a moment.

Thirty days.

From level one to level ten, then obtaining his first Soul Ring.

Under normal circumstances, it was simply impossible.

Even a child with level-one Innate Soul Power needed several years of cultivation to reach level ten.

If he failed, the Soul Power he had struggled to obtain would vanish completely.

This was not a reward.

It was clearly a gamble with his life!

Xu Zhou's fingertips went numb, and cold sweat quickly seeped down his back.

Could he refuse?

The instant the thought appeared, another line of small text emerged on the page.

[Once a Public Script forms, it cannot be actively canceled.]

Xu Zhou nearly cursed aloud.

So the whole village only had to flap their mouths, and he had to stake his future on it?

Why the hell should he?

Xu Zhou clenched his teeth. The stifling frustration in his chest quickly turned into ruthless determination.

He had waited six whole years since transmigrating.

Now that he had finally seized a chance to become a Soul Master, they expected him to go back to being an ordinary person?

Impossible!

Forget thirty days.

Even if he only had three days left, he would tear this script apart!

"Everyone, disperse."

Old Jack drove away the crowd.

"Tang San, come with me tomorrow to enroll at Nuoding Academy. Xu Zhou, don't lose heart either. The village won't abandon you."

Xu Zhou nodded.

Just as he was about to leave, a rough hand landed on top of his head.

The man carried a longbow on his back, wore a short blade at his waist, and had dried beast blood staining his clothes.

It was Xu Yan, his father in this life.

"Dad."

Xu Zhou's throat tightened slightly.

Xu Yan had clearly already heard the result.

He did not comfort him, nor did he show disappointment. He simply stuffed an oil-paper package into his son's arms.

"Go home. We're stewing meat."

"Aren't you going to ask about my Martial Soul?"

"A book. What's there to ask?"

Xu Yan grinned.

"If you can't be a Soul Master, hunt with your dad. Would I let you go hungry?"

Xu Zhou lowered his head and looked at the roast chicken in his arms, still warm. The tip of his nose suddenly stung.

So what if he was a transmigrator?

Some feelings could be acted out. Others could not.

After father and son had walked some distance, the smile vanished from Xu Yan's face.

He pulled Xu Zhou close and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Son, did you hide your Soul Power just now?"

Xu Zhou abruptly looked up.

Xu Yan did not wait for an answer and quickened his pace.

"Don't look back."

"Ever since you came out of the Awakening Room, at least three groups of people had been watching you."

"One of them wasn't from Holy Soul Village."

Xu Zhou's palms instantly grew sweaty.

"Who?"

"Yu Xiaogang."

Xu Yan's eyes turned cold.

"And not the version of him we knew."