Martial Soul Self-Awakening

Sister Zhang failed to notice Qian Mo's abnormality and continued talking to herself.

"This little one used to have black hair. Then, some time ago, for some reason, she woke up one day with pink hair, and her eyes had turned this bright red too.

"At first, I thought she was sick, so I specifically took her to see a healing Soul Master.

"But that Soul Master said the child wasn't sick at all. Even so, that Soul Master still charged me five silver soul coins. It broke my heart at the time."

Sister Zhang continued rambling for a while, but Qian Mo more or less understood what was going on.

This little girl named Xiao Qi was likely showing signs that her Martial Soul was about to awaken on its own.

According to records in the books of Martial Soul Hall, before awakening arrays existed, only a tiny number of human Soul Masters with exceptionally powerful Martial Souls could awaken their Martial Souls innately on their own.

This situation often brought certain visible physical changes to the Martial Soul's owner.

The most obvious example was the White Tiger Martial Soul of the Star Luo Imperial Family.

However, Qian Mo preferred calling this Martial Soul the Evil-Eyed White Tiger. He felt they did not deserve to be called simply the White Tiger.

The evil eyes were the permanent physical trait bestowed upon those who awakened this Martial Soul.

However, this kind of innate awakening had become rare ever since Martial Soul awakening arrays appeared.

This awakening method carried far too much uncertainty. Since six years old was enough to meet the basic requirements for Martial Soul awakening, who would gamble on such an uncertain future?

At that thought, Qian Mo subconsciously touched the feathered tufts by his ears, and a previous speculation flashed through his mind.

"Perhaps the malignant mutations Yu Xiaogang and I experienced were not truly malignant. Our Martial Souls may have been forcibly activated while still developing, which was why they revealed such incomplete forms."

As soon as that thought surfaced, Qian Mo immediately turned to Sister Zhang and asked, "Sister Zhang, has this child awakened her Martial Soul? And has she turned six yet?"

Sister Zhang shook her head, indicating that the child had not yet reached the time for Martial Soul awakening.

But it was close—just the day after tomorrow.

As for whether this large group of children had reached the age for Martial Soul awakening, it was not difficult to determine.

Once a Soul Master broke through to Soul King, their spiritual power underwent a qualitative transformation, allowing them to determine a person's physical age through bodily contact.

One could see hints of this from the bone-age test Tang San had been required to undergo when he enrolled at Shrek.

At the same time, this was one of the points for which Yu Xiaogang would be most criticized in the future.

He knew only the limits of soul ring records, yet did not even know about the soul shock from ten-thousand-year soul rings. He was nothing more than an ignorant fake master.

Having obtained the information he wanted, Qian Mo thought for a moment before saying, "Sister Zhang, please remember this. When the time comes, don't take this child to awaken her Martial Soul."

The moment Sister Zhang heard that, she grew anxious.

On the Douluo Continent, although the vast majority of commoners were ordinary people without Innate Soul Power, what if—what if even a useless Martial Soul awakened with Innate Soul Power?

This was something that could change a person's entire life!

Sister Zhang had long regarded the orphanage children as her own, so how could she not be anxious?

She immediately blurted out, "No! Xiao Qi has to awaken her Martial Soul! Even if I have to pay for it myself, she has to awaken it!"

But Sister Zhang quickly came to her senses. Everything Qian Mo had done before showed that he was absolutely not a bad person.

How could he possibly be reluctant to pay such a small Martial Soul awakening fee?

Just as the thought that there must be a deeper meaning behind his actions arose in her heart—

Sister Zhang met Qian Mo's amused and helpless expression as he said, "You're overthinking it, Sister Zhang. It's not as if I can't afford the Martial Soul awakening fee.

"It's just that this child's situation is rather special. If we use Martial Soul Hall's method to awaken her Martial Soul, it might actually harm her."

That completely confirmed that Qian Mo was not being stingy.

Having misjudged him again, Sister Zhang looked deeply embarrassed and repeatedly bowed to apologize.

Sister Zhang's exaggerated movements immediately drew everyone's attention, and they all turned to look over.

Several children closest to Sister Zhang instantly widened their eyes in anger and hurried over to stand protectively in front of her, trying to use their tiny bodies to protect their "mother."

This truly gave Sister Zhang a fright.

After all, in this world where Soul Masters stood above all else, no matter how noble Qian Mo's character appeared, Sister Zhang still instinctively feared Soul Masters because of everything she had seen before. She was afraid the children would offend Qian Mo.

After a long round of soothing them, Sister Zhang finally cleared up the misunderstanding.

Watching Sister Zhang wipe a cold sweat from her forehead, Qian Mo smiled. "All right, Sister Zhang. There's no need to be so nervous. It's not as though I'm some terrible person. As long as things are explained clearly, it's fine."

The instant Qian Mo finished speaking—

He felt someone gently tug at his shirt. He turned and lowered his gaze, only to see Xiao Qi standing behind him, looking at him expressionlessly.

Seeing that it was the child, Qian Mo asked with a smile, "What is it, little one?"

Xiao Qi was not timid either. She asked calmly, "Sir, can you tell me why you do not want me to awaken my Martial Soul?"

Though Qian Mo was somewhat surprised that Xiao Qi was as calm and aloof as she appeared on the outside, rather than some expressionless, socially anxious type—

He did not dwell on whether she might be another transmigrator like Tang San.

After all, the winds stirred by his butterfly wings had already begun affecting the Douluo Continent. What did it matter if things became even more chaotic?

Besides, he had a safety net~

After hearing Qian Mo's speculation about the malignant mutation of his own Martial Soul, Xiao Qi nodded thoughtfully, then said something startling.

"Then, sir, if I truly awaken my Martial Soul on my own as you described, and if my talent is good enough, can you accept me as your disciple?"

Hearing that, Qian Mo's brows rose in rare surprise.

Because she knew the customs of taking masters in the Soul Master world, it meant this child definitely had not come from an ordinary family.

But with the Angel Clan behind him and a safety net in place, what did Qian Mo have to fear? He smiled and rubbed the little girl's head. "Sure."

The instant Qian Mo's words fell, the black pupils within Xiao Qi's scarlet eyes suddenly lit up ice-blue.

In an instant, a bone-chilling cold erupted from Xiao Qi as its center and surged outward in every direction.

Qian Mo's expression changed at the sight.

Sister Zhang and several children, all ordinary people, were right beside him. This extreme cold was not something they could withstand!

Qian Mo instinctively retreated sharply, trying to shield Sister Zhang and the others.

But Ye Lulu was faster than Qian Mo.

Having once fought on the front lines against the devious Fallen, Ye Lulu reacted the instant she sensed the abnormal soul power fluctuation.

Two pairs of brilliantly golden wings spread and beat at once, and Ye Lulu used her own body as a shield in front of Qian Mo.