Five Elements Qilin, Qingtian Destruction Spear!

Inside the awakening hut.

One hopeful child after another stepped forward, only to leave with their heads hanging when it was over.

The chances of a commoner awakening a martial soul were far too low.

In an age when nobles monopolized nearly everything, a commoner's chances of rising above their station were about as good as finding a phoenix among sparrows.

The sight never sat right with Jiang Hao.

Having grown up steeped in revolutionary culture, he naturally sided with the commoners.

Unfortunately, with what little power he had now, all he could do was watch.

Soon, it was Jiang Hao's turn to awaken.

"Step forward, child."

The soul master conducting the awakening sounded a little tired.

It was none other than Su Yuntao.

He had already visited more than a dozen villages that day. The only child he had found with Innate Soul Power had awakened Blue Silver Grass of all things.

Barring a miracle, his recruitment targets for the year were probably done for.

Jiang Hao stepped into the center of the awakening formation.

Seeing this, Su Yuntao waved his hand and channeled Soul Power into the formation.

In an instant, specks of light appeared and slowly flowed into Jiang Hao's body.

"Hold out your right hand. Feel the martial soul inside you and try to summon it," Su Yuntao said.

Jiang Hao did as instructed and slowly opened his right hand.

In an instant, an invisible force seemed to shake the entire hut.

"What the hell..."

Su Yuntao's eyes widened. Before he could react, a dazzling five-colored glow erupted from Jiang Hao's palm, lighting the hut as brightly as day.

Within the light, the phantom of a beast martial soul slowly appeared behind Jiang Hao. Five-colored scales covered its body, and its four hooves trod upon flames and auspicious clouds.

"Child, what... what martial soul is that?"

Su Yuntao's voice trembled. In over a decade on the job, he had never witnessed an awakening like this.

"Qilin," Jiang Hao said lightly.

"Qilin!?"

Su Yuntao drew a sharp breath and fumbled for the Soul Power testing crystal. "Quick, test your Innate Soul Power!"

Jiang Hao pressed his hand against the crystal.

A blinding light flared at once.

"Innate Full Soul Power! Another one with Innate Full Soul Power!?"

Su Yuntao clutched his head in shock.

What the hell? Innate Full Soul Power was a once-in-a-century rarity, and he had seen it twice in one day!?

And this time it came with a powerful Beast Martial Soul, not some useless Blue Silver Grass!

Su Yuntao forced down his shock and asked in a trembling voice, "Child, would you... would you like to join Spirit Hall? With your talent, you'd receive the best training!"

Jiang Hao smiled and shook his head. "Sorry, Lord Soul Master. I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

You must be joking. I haven't finished milking Tang San for all he's worth. Why would I go be Spirit Hall's lapdog?

"I see..."

Regret filled Su Yuntao's face.

Had Spirit Hall's reputation gotten worse? Why did neither of them want to join?

He could not force the issue, so he sighed. "All right. If you change your mind, come find me at the Notting City Branch."

With that, Su Yuntao packed up his things and left.

Outside the awakening hut, Grandpa Wang had been waiting on pins and needles. The moment he saw Su Yuntao, he hurried over.

"My lord, how did it go? Did we have any promising soul masters this year?"

Su Yuntao glanced at him and nodded. "Your village was lucky this year. You have a genius with Innate Full Soul Power and a powerful Beast Martial Soul. With the right training, he'll certainly become a formidable soul master."

"Oh, and talk to him when you get the chance. Make sure he knows the benefits of joining Spirit Hall. We're recruiting talented people, and if he joins, he'll receive the best training."

Su Yuntao still could not give up and hoped the village chief might persuade Jiang Hao.

Grandpa Wang beamed and agreed at once. "Of course, of course. I'll have a word with the boy."

After Su Yuntao left, Jiang Hao strolled out of the hut with his hands in his pockets.

"Grandpa Wang, when's dinner? I'm starving."

Grandpa Wang froze for a moment. Then his eyes reddened, and he slapped Jiang Hao on the shoulder. "What's the rush? Go to my house and have some jerky to tide you over. I'll call you when the village feast is ready."

"It's just a martial soul awakening. Is a feast really necessary?"

"What do you know? Just go home and wait."

Back in his little thatched hut.

Jiang Hao shut the doors and windows, sat on his wooden bed, and summoned his first martial soul with a thought.

Five-colored light surged forth, and a phantom slowly emerged behind him.

Five-colored scales covered its body. It had a dragon's head, deer antlers, a lion's eyes, an elk's body, and an ox's tail.

It looked exactly like the legendary Qilin, the Auspicious Beast!

From the information his martial soul conveyed, Jiang Hao learned its name: Five Elements Qilin.

Not only could it command the power of the five elements, but it also came with an innate domain called Five Elements Auspiciousness.

Once activated, the domain boosted all allies' attributes by 50%, suppressed all enemies' attributes by 30%, and continuously purified them. Its effect doubled against dark and evil attributes, and it ignored all soul beast domain abilities.

An all-round powerhouse with absurd numbers.

And Jiang Hao still had a second martial soul.

With a thought, he switched martial souls.

In an instant, the aura around him changed completely.

If the Five Elements Qilin radiated peace, solidity, and an embrace of all things...

Then with his second martial soul active, he was like a peerless weapon with its edge bared.

A cold, domineering will of destruction that seemed capable of annihilating everything erupted from his body.

"Whoa..."

Jiang Hao looked down. In his right palm appeared a long spear, pitch-black from end to end, with purple light of destruction flowing along its shaft.

Its blade was exceptionally long, taking up nearly a third of the weapon's total length.

Four ancient characters meaning "Qingtian Destruction" were engraved on the shaft.

The spearhead looked sharp enough to pierce the void. His eyes hurt just looking at it.

As the martial soul fully manifested, information about it surfaced in Jiang Hao's mind.

His second martial soul was called the Qingtian Destruction Spear. It possessed tremendous destructive power and an edge of unsurpassed sharpness.

Its domain ability was called Destruction, and its effect was brutally simple.

Once deployed, it barred flight within its bounds, reduced enemies' defense by 30%, and ensured his attacks never missed.

Where the Five Elements Qilin excelled at everything, the Qingtian Destruction Spear was built for absolute offense.

The part about attacks never missing was worthy of being called god-tier on its own!

The Five Elements Qilin alone could crush all of Tang San's martial souls, let alone Jiang Hao's Qingtian Destruction Spear.

Give him a little time to grow, and merely suppressing Little Scumbag would be the least of it. Beating him to a pulp would be no problem.

There was one thing to watch out for, though: Tang Hao was still at Tang San's side, and he did not fight fair.

The old bastard was sneaky. The moment anyone threatened Tang San, he would not only pick on someone weaker, but also attack from the shadows.

A dirty trickster through and through.

But Jiang Hao had the Suppression System. If Tang Hao dared appear near him, the system would instantly arrange for someone capable of suppressing Tang Hao.

It seemed he needed to find a chance to approach Tang San and see if he could make him reveal more of his hidden cards.

Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm.

The God of Destruction seemed to sense something. He lowered his gaze through layer upon layer of space and time until it settled on Jiang Hao.

"The fortune of heaven and earth, the power of destruction... It seems I can retire early."

The moment the God of Destruction withdrew his divine sense, inside the Evil Temple...

The God of Evil opened his gray-white eyes. His divine sense also crossed layer upon layer of space and time, settling on the same young man.

"Rare. Truly rare."

"To think someone in this world possesses both the power of evil and the power of good..."