A Coveted Prize

The scene returned to Eastsea City.

Qi Ji stood in the center of the awakening chamber. The dazzling seven-colored radiance had just faded from the dome, and the air still retained the lingering warmth of Soul Power aftershocks.

The two phantom Martial Souls behind him had already withdrawn into his body, but the tremor from deep within his bloodline still faintly echoed through his limbs and bones, leaving him with a light, unreal feeling.

Su Haotao took several deep breaths before barely forcing his wildly pounding heart back into place.

He had worked at the Spirit Pagoda for twenty years and awakened no fewer than eighty thousand, if not a hundred thousand, children, yet he had never encountered anything like this.

But professionalism ultimately overcame his shock. He steadied himself, pulled out a record book, dipped his pen in ink, and tried to keep his voice calm.

"Little friend Qi Ji, it seems both of your Martial Souls have never appeared before. According to the rules, as their owner, you have the right to name new Martial Souls."

Qi Ji blinked at that. He lowered his head to look at his hands, as though he could still see the seven-colored streams of light that had poured from his palms moments ago.

Of course, he knew the names of his Martial Souls—the Dragon God Crown Prince and the Dragon Lord Nine-Tassel Crown. If he revealed those names, the upper ranks of the entire Spirit Pagoda would probably explode.

But saying them outright would be a little too arrogant.

"Then... Uncle, how about calling them the Seven-Colored Dragon and the Nine-Tassel Crown?"

Qi Ji raised his head and looked at Su Haotao with clear, innocent eyes, his tone carrying the naïveté and curiosity expected of a six-year-old child.

Su Haotao pondered the two names, then stroked his chin and nodded. "Seven-Colored Dragon... I recall there is an auxiliary Martial Soul called the Rainbow Dragon. Like yours, it is also a true dragon Martial Soul with seven colors."

As he spoke, he rapidly wrote in the record book, his pen scratching softly across the paper.

"However, the Rainbow Dragon Martial Soul is an auxiliary-type Martial Soul, with more graceful and gentle lines. Little friend Qi Ji's Martial Soul, on the other hand, looks more robust. Its body is thicker, its scales heavier. It should be a power attack-type Martial Soul..."

Hearing that, Qi Ji nearly lost control of his expression.

He secretly gave Su Haotao a thumbs-up in his heart. My god, are you really a descendant of that blind God King?

Your knowledge is actually this extensive. You really don't look like a descendant of that blind God King at all.

But he could only keep that complaint to himself. On the surface, he still had to act like an ordinary curious child.

"Really? I didn't know there was a Martial Soul called the Rainbow Dragon. Does it look like mine?" Qi Ji tilted his head, perfectly displaying the thirst for knowledge expected of a six-year-old.

Su Haotao shook his head and closed the record book. "At least when it comes to the seven colors, you are indeed exactly alike. But whether they are variants of the same Martial Soul, I can't say for sure."

After all, he was only an ordinary awakening master. Though his profession had given him considerable knowledge of Martial Souls, deeper subjects—such as identifying God-Level Martial Souls or tracing Ancient Bloodlines—were beyond his field of expertise.

He glanced at the Soul Tool clock in the corner of the awakening chamber, then looked back at Qi Ji. His expression became more solemn.

"Still... little friend Qi Ji, the commotion from your Martial Soul awakening was enormous. That seven-colored pillar of light shot straight into the sky, and the dragon-shaped phantom churned among the clouds for quite a while. The whole of Eastsea City saw it. Before long, important figures from the Spirit Pagoda will likely come looking for you. You must be prepared!"

As Su Haotao spoke, he reached out and patted Qi Ji on the shoulder.

The two of them had already spent quite a while in the awakening chamber. Considering that Qi Ji possessed Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power, no one could fault them no matter how long they took.

But if they continued occupying the awakening chamber, the people waiting outside would probably start cursing their mothers in impatience.

"I understand... Thanks, Brother Tao." Qi Ji nodded, turned, and walked toward the awakening chamber's door.

He raised his hand and pushed it open. Warm yellow light poured through the gap, illuminating the corridor outside.

Then he froze.

The long, snake-like queue that had originally stretched outside had vanished completely.

The marble floor on both sides of the corridor was empty. Not a single child waiting for awakening remained.

In their place stood a neat line of "important figures" on both sides of the corridor, all staring at him with blazing eyes.

Why call them important figures? On the Douluo Continent, Soul Masters grew tall and strong as if they had been fed hormones—being tall did not necessarily mean one was a high-ranking Soul Master, but high-ranking Soul Masters were always tall and attractive.

As Soul Power tempered the body, it continuously optimized the form of the bones and muscles. Thus, anyone who reached the level of Soul Sage or above would be tall and well-proportioned, with handsome features.

And this row of people before him all appeared to be over 1.9 meters tall on average. They were richly dressed and carried themselves with extraordinary poise. Standing there like a wall of people, they blocked the entire corridor tightly.

Qi Ji gave them a quick sweep. There were at least a dozen of them, men and women alike, ranging in age from their thirties to their fifties or sixties. The Soul Power fluctuations around each of them were as deep as the sea, making even the air in the corridor feel heavier.

Their gazes held surprise, greed, eagerness, and calculation. They looked like a pack of wolves that had starved for three days and suddenly spotted a plump little lamb.

Qi Ji took a deep breath, put on a sweet, harmless smile, and spoke in the most obedient tone possible. "Hello, uncles and aunties."

His voice was crisp and clear, but it landed in the corridor like a stone dropped into a still lake. In an instant, all dozen or so "important figures" spoke at once.

"Little friend, I am the director of the Sun Moon Imperial Academy's Eastsea admissions office. Our academy—"

"Don't listen to him. Come to our Eastsea Legion, little one. We have all the resources you could want—"

More than a dozen voices erupted at once, and the corridor instantly became as noisy as a boiling pot.

One boasted about the long history of his faction, another about its abundant resources, while someone even directly pulled out a storage Soul Tool, intending to stuff a greeting gift into Qi Ji's hands.

Su Haotao poked half his body out of the awakening chamber. Watching this spectacle of people fighting over a recruit, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he silently closed the door again—this was not something he could afford to get involved in.

The noise made Qi Ji's head ache. He raised both little hands in a stopping gesture.

After all, he was not really a six-year-old child. In his previous life, he had at least struggled through an age of information overload. He knew that at a time like this, the more reserved he was, the more he could raise his own value.

So he cleared his throat and said in a youthful yet clear voice, "If you uncles and aunties are not Titled Douluo, then you may go back."

The corridor instantly fell silent.

Qi Ji understood this perfectly well. He had never considered himself especially noble. In the law-of-the-jungle world of the Douluo Continent, he knew all too clearly how difficult cultivation was for independent Soul Masters—without a background, resources, or support, even the best talent would amount to nothing.

And the talent he had revealed was enough for any faction to treasure him like a priceless gem.

However, if they wanted to recruit him, they had to show some sincerity. He possessed two God-Level Martial Souls, Innate Full Soul Power, and had even caused a heavenly phenomenon on the day of his awakening. He could not possibly agree to join just any random faction that came knocking, could he?

A Titled Douluo was the threshold of top-tier combat power on the Douluo Continent. Only a faction guarded by an expert of that level was worthy of his value.

Sure enough, the moment he said that, more than half the previously clamorous crowd changed expression.