Awakening the Martial Soul

Life was always so uneventful, yet so steeped in corruption...

Jiang Mingyang despised that decadent life so much that he made every effort to immerse himself in it. This was absolutely not for pleasure. The best way to defeat corruption was to understand it...

Jiang Mingyang counted the days. He would turn six next week.

As the adopted son of Jiang Tian, the strongest man in Fasinuo Province, he did not have to wait like Tang San of Holy Soul Village.

Two days earlier, while practicing calligraphy, his eldest brother Jiang Ti had mentioned it to their father, Jiang Tian:

The day after Jiang Mingyang turned six, Jiang Ti would come to awaken his Martial Soul.

Jiang Mingyang could not help thinking about the road ahead. When he was four, he had sensed a strange energy inside him. That was probably Soul Power.

And since he could sense it, his Innate Soul Power definitely was not low.

What Jiang Mingyang could not decide was whether to side with Tang San or Spirit Hall.

After all, in about twenty years, Qian Renxue's exposure would signal the start of the war between the two sides and serve as one of its sparks.

In reality, wartime would never be as simple as the books made it sound. The first thing they would do was force people to choose sides.

Titled Douluo were an exception, of course. If a Titled Douluo refused to get involved, there was little anyone could do about it.

The problem, though, was that a Titled Douluo had nothing to fear only if he was on his own.

Jiang Tian's family had raised Jiang Mingyang. He could not simply abandon them.

As for striking out alone, Jiang Mingyang had only been an ordinary university student in his previous life. He had not even entered society yet! He simply had no ability to build a faction.

Personally, Jiang Mingyang leaned more toward Tang San's side.

For one thing, Jiang Tian's family essentially belonged to the Heaven Dou Empire. By extension, so did he.

For another, Tang San's victory in the original world was guaranteed. It had looked like a narrow win—Tang San had even been killed once along the way.

But Tang San had the Asura God King backing him! So if Jiang Mingyang followed Tang San, his chances of winning were still high.

Judging by Tang San's actions, at least the Tang San of the first Douluo could be called a man with the makings of a formidable leader. The problem was that he had far too many stains on his record.

Still, Jiang Mingyang did not think that was a big problem. He was no saint himself. Deep down, the vast majority of people looked out for themselves. And if things went well, becoming a god was part of the deal.

As for Spirit Hall, the main problem was those three women! Every one of them had romance on the brain. There was no carrying them. Not one of Spirit Hall's three fools deserved pity!

Bibi Dong: an ungrateful wretch. Spirit Hall had awakened her Martial Soul and made her its Holy Maiden, second only to one and above countless others.

And what had she done? For the sake of love, she had leaked Spirit Hall's secrets to Yu Xiaogang and even tried to leave Spirit Hall. In the end, she had wanted to destroy the Spirit Hall Empire.

Hu Liena: another ungrateful wretch. She had leaked Spirit Hall's plans to Tang San and wept over him twice when he was injured, worrying about him.

Qian Renxue: something was wrong with her head. She had wasted her best years for cultivation working undercover, and she was cold toward her own subordinates.

To recruit Tang San, she could hand her subordinates over to him to deal with as he pleased—even Titled Douluo among them.

With leaders like that, Spirit Hall was beyond saving.

As for the plots in novels he had read in his previous life, where someone won over both mother and daughter or became an apprentice, Jiang Mingyang was not about to bet his life on them. He did not have that much charm.

All things considered, if nothing else worked, he would follow Tang San. If his Martial Soul proved decent, he would strike out on his own and reach the rank of Titled Douluo sooner.

As Jiang Mingyang thought it over, lunchtime arrived.

The Jiang family was one of the top families in Fasinuo Province, and their food was excellent. At the very least, they never ran short of meat from thousand-year Soul Beasts.

In truth, meat from thousand-year Soul Beasts was quite rare.

There were plenty of thousand-year Soul Beasts, but what creature that had survived a thousand years lacked a way to stay alive?

And the best means of self-preservation was usually poison. Most thousand-year Soul Beast meat was poisonous and could not be eaten.

That made edible meat from thousand-year Soul Beasts rather precious.

In the blink of an eye, the day of his Martial Soul Awakening arrived.

Early that morning, Jiang Ti arrived with everything needed for the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony. The moment he reached the door, he called, "Little Mingyang, get up! Hurry up!"

Hearing his eldest brother's voice, Jiang Mingyang quickly pulled his face away from the proud twin peaks and sprang to his feet.

He ran to the clothes rack, grabbed his clothes, and flung them around himself in one swift motion.

He rushed straight outside and called excitedly, "Big Brother, I'm here! Where are you?"

Then he saw Jiang Ti standing outside his door, taking out the awakening items he had prepared: six round black stones and a blue crystal ball.

Jiang Ti arranged the six stones in a hexagon on the ground, then motioned for Jiang Mingyang to step forward and close his eyes.

As Jiang Ti summoned his Martial Soul, he said, "Little Mingyang, don't worry. It's just a Martial Soul Awakening. Your father and I have already made plans for you.

"If your Martial Soul comes with Innate Soul Power, that's wonderful. If it doesn't, you can go into business and become a wealthy man, or enter politics and wield power across the land. Don't worry. Take it one step at a time."

Jiang Ti's words moved Jiang Mingyang. They had considered everything so carefully.

Then he felt a surge of energy enter his body. Light flashed, and he could not help holding out both hands.

A long sword appeared, its hilt long enough for both hands and its blade a vivid blue. At the same time, a wavering sword-shadow was faintly cast upon the northern wall.

The sword-shadow lasted only a moment, seeming to vanish as daylight arrived. Yet at the instant light and darkness crossed, that wavering shadow appeared again.

The sword was also adorned with exquisite patterns and engraved with rosy clouds.

Jiang Mingyang's heart leaped at the sight. Familiar as he was with Zhu Xian, he recognized the Tianya Sword at once.

Seeing that his Martial Soul had awakened, Jiang Ti smiled and said, "Place your hand on the blue crystal ball."

As Jiang Mingyang put his hand on it, a dazzling light flashed through the ball, though it did not fill it completely.

Jiang Ti said in shock, "Innate level nine... It's actually innate level nine! This is wonderful, Little Mingyang!"

Jiang Mingyang smiled too—a joyous smile, free of pressure.

Afterward, Jiang Mingyang and Jiang Ti went together to see their father, Jiang Tian, and tell him the good news.

When Jiang Tian heard it, he burst out laughing. "I was found by the villagers of Small River Village back in the day. I grew up eating at every family's table, and that's how I came to have all this.

"I found you, and now you've awakened an excellent Martial Soul. That's the bond between us, father and son!"

Jiang Mingyang smiled and nodded slowly.

He knew that Jiang Tian had been found by the villagers of Small River Village and raised on meals from their tables.

Later, when Jiang Tian had made something of himself, he had exempted the villagers of Small River Village from taxes for a hundred years and brought many things to the village.

From then on, Small River Village had flourished, becoming a prosperous village known far and wide around Suotuo City.

And so Jiang Tian hoped Jiang Mingyang would cultivate diligently, become accomplished soon, stand on his own, and bring good to the world.

Naturally, Jiang Mingyang nodded at once.

In truth, Jiang Mingyang's journey to this world had been rather unusual.

It was somewhat like crossing over in the flesh.

But not quite, because Jiang Mingyang's original body was still in the modern world.

This body had actually been molded from some unknown power it had absorbed during the crossing.

The wonderful day of his Martial Soul Awakening slowly passed...

When the Grand Ancestor awakened, sunset clouds flew alongside a solitary wild duck, and autumn waters stretched to meet the sky in one unbroken hue. Ten thousand birds cried out together, and a Sacred Dragon circled above.

—Martial Soul Awakening Gazetteer