Martial Soul Awakening

Watching the child before him enter the Hexagram Array, Elder Huoyun nodded and shouted, "Martial Soul Possession!"

As Elder Huoyun's words fell, his graying hair turned fiery red, while the same fur rapidly covered his entire body.

At the same time, Elder Huoyun's body swelled to several times its previous size. The ordinary-looking old man instantly became muscle-bound and looked incredibly dangerous.

The children in the square were all sect disciples who had studied Spirit Master knowledge since childhood. Rather than being frightened, they gazed with longing at the six Spirit Rings surrounding Elder Huoyun—two yellow, two purple, and two black.

Youquan watched everything unfold before her in shock, her eyes unconsciously glinting with excitement.

So this world cultivates Soul Power. Martial Souls? Spirit Rings? How interesting. I wonder what kind of Martial Soul I'll have. I wonder if I can still find Heavenly Flames. I wonder whether this world has Alchemists. No matter what my Martial Soul is, with the Fennel Art, I can still stand at the pinnacle of this continent. After all, I, Youquan, am the Fiery Emperor's direct disciple.

As time passed, the children ahead of Youquan in line completed their Martial Soul awakenings. Most had Martial Souls related to flames. There were Tool Martial Souls, but the majority were Beast Martial Souls.

Some children had only level two or three Innate Soul Power, drawing ridicule from their peers and scolding from their parents. They sat on the ground and cried loudly.

Others had level seven or eight Innate Soul Power and immediately attracted the elders' attention, earning envious cries from their peers as they were treated like the moon surrounded by stars.

A servant at the side set down the list in his hand and said to Elder Huoyun, "Elder, all the children on the list have completed the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony."

Hearing this, Elder Huoyun also released his Martial Soul Possession and prepared to put away the items used for the ceremony.

Youquan frowned at this and could only step forward, calling out loudly, "Elder, I haven't participated in the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony yet."

The elder frowned and glared at Youquan. "Insolence! Whose child are you?"

Youquan raised her head and glanced at Huo Kun, who sat at the very top without reacting, not even lifting an eyelid. A mocking curve rose at the corner of her mouth as she prepared to speak.

Huo Wushuang seemed to see what Youquan was about to say and immediately cut her off. "A sect servant, Huo Wuming. Since she's here, I'll have to trouble Elder Huoyun."

"Yes, Young Master." Elder Huoyun nodded to Huo Wushuang.

A sect servant? Heh heh. Youquan cast a mocking look at Huo Wushuang. A trace of killing intent flashed through her eyes before vanishing in an instant. Huo Wushuang frowned but did not pay it any mind.

"Since the Young Master has spoken, get over here." Elder Huoyun frowned at Youquan, his tone unfriendly.

Youquan did not care about Elder Huoyun's attitude. After all, she had long since grown used to such treatment.

These people looked down on her because she was an illegitimate daughter, but one day, she, Youquan, would stand at the pinnacle of the continent.

When that day came, none of these people would dare utter another word before her.

She had always believed that strength was where dignity came from.

Youquan stepped into the Hexagram Array. Guided by Elder Huoyun's Soul Power, specks of golden light drifted into her body.

Suddenly, Youquan felt a scorching heat in her right hand. Her right hand rose of its own accord, and all the light immediately gathered there. In an instant, an egg-shaped stone of intertwined white and red floated above her right palm.

"What kind of Martial Soul is this?" Elder Huoyun exclaimed in surprise.

Youquan stared at the stone in her hand in astonishment. She sensed within it a faint, almost imperceptible connection to the Fennel Art. Moreover, just now, she had actually felt the bottleneck in her cultivation loosen slightly.

Could it be that I need to obtain one of those Spirit Rings before I can continue cultivating the Fennel Art? Youquan wondered inwardly.

"Come test your Innate Soul Power." Elder Huoyun interrupted her thoughts and handed the Blue Crystal Ball to Youquan.

The moment the Blue Crystal Ball entered her hand, Youquan's expression changed instantly. She had not expected such a small Blue Crystal Ball to possess such tremendous suction. The Dou Qi within her body seemed to have found an outlet and surged out wildly.

Seeing the dazzling light emitted by the Blue Crystal Ball, Elder Huoyun's eyes filled with disbelief. Even Huo Kun, who stood on the high platform, rose to his feet in shock, while Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu beside him wore equally astonished expressions.

"Innate Full Soul Power!" Elder Huoyun and Huo Kun cried out at the same time.

Youquan activated the Fennel Art and carefully controlled the Dou Qi in her body. She could clearly sense the connection between the Dou Qi in her body—no, it should be called Soul Power now—the Fennel Art she cultivated, and the stone in her hand known as a Martial Soul.

"Elder, may I ask what Innate Full Soul Power is?" Youquan withdrew her Soul Power, and the Blue Crystal Ball returned to its original state. She carefully handed the crystal ball back to Elder Huoyun and asked curiously.

Hearing Youquan's question, Elder Huoyun frowned. "Don't you attend the sect's training? Don't you read?"

Youquan raised an eyebrow at his words and said innocently, "Elder, I'm only a servant. I'm not qualified to learn such things. I don't even know what a Martial Soul is."

Elder Huoyun wanted to say something, but held himself back. After glancing at Sect Master Huo Kun, he explained helplessly, "When everyone awakens their Martial Soul, aside from the Martial Soul's form determining whether it is powerful, the amount of Soul Power is also extremely important. Most people have no Soul Power when they awaken their Martial Souls, though most of them are ordinary children from commoner families. As for sect disciples like us, nearly all of us possess Soul Power. Even if it is only level one, we can still cultivate, though our future talent will simply be lower."

"Therefore, the level of Soul Power at the time of Martial Soul Awakening is extremely important. It determines one's starting point in Soul Power cultivation. The higher one's innate level of Soul Power, the faster one cultivates afterward. At the same time, because one starts higher, one's level will naturally surpass others'. So-called Innate Full Soul Power is the highest level of Soul Power one can possess at the time of Martial Soul Awakening."

After listening to Elder Huoyun's explanation, Youquan nodded, but she still asked curiously, "Can cultivation only be done through meditation? Are there no cultivation arts or anything like that?"

"Cultivation arts? What are those?" Elder Huoyun asked with a frown.

Youquan was shocked that this world did not even have cultivation arts. For a moment, she did not know how to explain it and could only ask again, "If one's Innate Soul Power level is low, can't it be improved with Medicinal Pills?"

After hearing Youquan's words, Elder Huoyun had thought she was going to ask something important, only to find that she wanted to rely on external objects. He flicked his sleeve and rebuked her sternly, "Heretical tricks!"

Seeing Elder Huoyun so angry, Youquan was somewhat stunned. Heretical tricks? Isn't using Medicinal Pills to improve one's cultivation physique perfectly normal? When Teacher was still young and unable to gather Dou Qi, Teacher's father had immediately thought of buying Medicinal Pills to improve Teacher's physique. What's more, nearly everyone on the Dou Qi Continent could use Medicinal Pills to break through bottlenecks and reach higher realms.

Unless there are no Alchemists in this world at all. I wonder if I can use Medicinal Pills in the future to improve those with useless Martial Souls, allowing them to begin cultivating. From Elder Huoyun's words, Youquan formed a rough understanding of the situation on this continent.