Su Yuntao still had several villages to visit, so he got off at the next crossroads.
By evening, the carriage reached Notting City and their new home.
The new house was not large, just a small courtyard in the west of the city.
But it had everything they needed.
There was a master bedroom, a separate bedroom, a kitchen, and a private well.
It even had a small vegetable patch and an attached storefront.
His mother could use the storefront to open a medicinal herb shop.
His parents had planned it all well in advance.
Back in the village, his mother had occasionally bought medicinal herbs.
Then, when his father returned, he would take them into the city to resell.
It helped support the family.
Now, opening a herb shop seemed like a promising business.
Lin Yuan's room was naturally the separate bedroom.
Once they had settled in, Lin Yuan began training in earnest.
He wanted to be in better shape when his Martial Soul awakened.
A hundred push-ups, a hundred squats, a hundred sit-ups, and a ten-kilometer run every day.
For a child not yet six, it was a daunting task.
Lin Yuan did not expect to manage it from the start.
He only needed to reach that goal before his Martial Soul Awakening.
By the end of two and a half months, Lin Yuan's body had changed dramatically. He was far from superhumanly strong, but he had built some solid muscle.
He was no longer as soft and weak as before.
That day, Lin Yuan skipped his training for once. Lin Kun also took the day off instead of reporting to the city lord's residence.
Early that morning, Lin Yuan's mother prepared a table full of steaming dishes.
There was a reason for it!
Lin Yuan had finally turned six.
It was time to awaken his Martial Soul.
After celebrating his birthday, Lin Yuan left home with his father and headed to the Spirit Branch Hall in Notting City for his Martial Soul Awakening.
The Spirit Branch Hall was a huge domed building, a hundred meters wide and twenty meters tall, with three floors.
"Grandmaster Lin Kun, you're here to have your son's Martial Soul awakened, aren't you? Go on in. Grandmaster Su Yuntao is waiting inside."
As soon as Lin Yuan arrived at Spirit Hall, he saw two guards greeting his father.
Lin Kun nodded. He knew his way around the Spirit Branch Hall in Notting City.
When father and son entered the second-floor hall, they saw Su Yuntao transformed into a humanoid gray wolf. He stood before a Martial Soul Awakening formation made of six black stones, ready to awaken the Martial Souls of four children of the right age.
Less than half a month remained before Nouding Academy opened.
Clearly, these children were like Lin Yuan. They had just turned six and had come to awaken their Martial Souls as soon as they could.
At the sight of Su Yuntao, Lin Yuan pretended to be frightened and hid behind Lin Kun. He acted as a country child his age might when faced with something unfamiliar.
Lin Kun patted his head to reassure him, then nodded to Su Yuntao.
Su Yuntao, still in his humanoid wolf form, said nothing when he saw them enter. He merely raised a hand and directed Lin Yuan to the back of the line.
Then he began awakening the children's Martial Souls one by one.
"Niu Dali, Martial Soul: iron hammer. What a pity. No Soul Power."
"Chen Ergou, Martial Soul: dog. Innate Soul Power, half a level."
"Zhu Sanpao, Martial Soul: pig. Innate Soul Power, half a level."
Three children had awakened their Martial Souls, and two of them possessed Soul Power. But their Martial Souls were a pig and a dog, and each had only half a level of Innate Soul Power.
Su Yuntao could not help feeling disappointed.
The last boy was strikingly handsome.
His clothes were plain, and malnutrition had left him thin and sallow.
Yet his face brimmed with confidence, and he carried himself with an almost absurd air of self-importance.
The other children were at least a little afraid of Su Yuntao's wolfish appearance. Only this boy acted as though he had seen it all before.
He looked exactly like a Transmigrator.
That was why Lin Yuan had been watching him closely ever since he came in.
When his turn came, the boy did not step into the Martial Soul Awakening formation. Instead, he spoke with the composure of a miniature adult:
"Grandmaster Su Yuntao, I'm not here to awaken my Martial Soul. I'm here to ask you for proof of my Martial Soul. When you came to our village last time, you saw that my Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass and didn't test my Soul Power."
"Not long ago, a Lord Soul Master passed through our village. He could tell I had Soul Power and asked why I wasn't going to school, so I came here."
"Which village are you from?" Su Yuntao asked in surprise.
"Emperor Soul Village, next to Holy Soul Village," the boy answered.
"That's strange. I tested everyone's Soul Power in the villages after Holy Soul Village... Oh, never mind. Give it a try." Su Yuntao handed him the Crystal Ball for testing Soul Power.
Lin Yuan noticed the corners of the boy's mouth lift slightly the moment Su Yuntao passed him the Crystal Ball.
The boy touched the Crystal Ball, and it gave off a modest glow.
"One level of Innate Soul Power. No, you're already at one and a half, almost two. You really do have Soul Power. Did I remember wrong?" Su Yuntao said, visibly surprised.
"All right, Grandmaster Su Yuntao. My name is Yan Beifei. Please give me proof of my Martial Soul. I need to start at Nouding Academy in half a month," Yan Beifei said as though it were only natural.
"What a rude little brat." Su Yuntao was annoyed, but he did not make things difficult for him. Once Su Yuntao had issued the document, Yan Beifei left without looking back.
Lin Yuan watched Yan Beifei go, lost in thought.
The three children whose Martial Souls had already awakened saw Yan Beifei leave. They said goodbye to Su Yuntao and left as well.
Soon, only Lin Yuan, Su Yuntao, and Lin Kun remained in the awakening room.
"A-Yuan, come in."
At Su Yuntao's signal, Lin Yuan stepped into the Martial Soul Awakening formation.
Su Yuntao sent six streams of Soul Power into it, and specks of golden light rose from the Awakening Stones on the floor.
Lin Yuan felt as though something inside him had broken open. He extended his right hand.
A plain-looking green bamboo stalk appeared in his palm.
"Hurry and test your Soul Power," Su Yuntao said.
Lin Yuan's heart leaped into his throat. The difference between ordinary bamboo and Lone Bamboo came down to whether he possessed Soul Power.
If he had no Soul Power and could not awaken a Martial Soul, many of his plans for the future would be affected.
Lin Kun was nervous for his son, too. His eyes stayed fixed on the Crystal Ball in Su Yuntao's hand.
Thankfully, the result did not disappoint either of them.
A few seconds after Lin Yuan touched the Crystal Ball, it shone brighter than it had for Yan Beifei.
"Three levels of Innate Soul Power! Good, wonderful!" Lin Kun exclaimed. "A-Yuan, now you can become a Soul Master just like me. Yuntao, let's go to the old tavern tonight. We'll call a few old friends and have a proper drink together."
In Bamboo Ridge, most villagers awakened ordinary bamboo as their Martial Soul. Only a rare few awakened Lone Bamboo. Lin Yuan had awakened Lone Bamboo with three levels of Innate Soul Power, giving him slightly better talent than Lin Kun had possessed at his age.
How could Lin Kun not be delighted?
Before you continue