Unable to Awaken His Martial Soul? Bright Phoenix Douluo Steps In

An outlying district of Shrek City.

Dragon-Sighting Village.

Legend had it that a powerful Dragon-type soul beast had once appeared here and died. The villagers had earned their first pot of gold by selling its corpse, and the village had taken its name from that event.

Within a waterfall at the foot of a mountain, a boy sat cross-legged on a mist-shrouded boulder, his eyes closed. His sturdy chest rose and fell with long, steady breaths.

Footsteps approached. Ji Feng opened his eyes, and the mist around him dispersed. Even the thunderous roar of the plunging waterfall was shut out.

"Here again?" Ji Feng sighed.

A piercing phoenix cry rang out. Amid a flash of golden light, a tall, straight-backed man appeared before Ji Feng.

He looked to be in his fifties or sixties and wore the everyday robes of Shrek's dean, with subtle phoenix patterns woven into his cuffs.

"Ji Feng, come on. The man handling the awakening is here. It's Zhu Chen. He has plenty of experience. Let's try again."

"Old Yan, stop wasting your effort. Zhu Chen's been trying to awaken my martial soul since I was six. I'm ten now, and every time, he ends up drenched in sweat without doing a damn bit of good."

The visitor was none other than Yan Shaozhe, Bright Phoenix Douluo—a senior elder of Shrek Academy, a member of the Sea God Pavilion, and the eldest disciple of Dragon God Douluo Mu En.

"That was because I wasn't here. Now that my injuries have healed, I'm going to awaken your martial soul no matter what. A Titled Douluo's soul power can definitely force it out!"

"That fast? When I rescued you from the woods last time, you were like a dead dog, breathing out more than you breathed in. It's only been three days, and you're already bouncing around?"

Ji Feng circled him, examining him closely.

"Kid, that's Shrek's deep reserves for you. Come on. I keep feeling a faint resonance between my martial soul and something inside you. You shouldn't be some useless kid without a martial soul."

"Time and fate have their say. You can't force these things. Ah... holy crap! Old Yan, fly slower!! I'm still a kid!"

Yan Shaozhe swept Ji Feng into his arms. Soul power surged, and he shot into the sky.

Cold wind struck their faces as the scenery beneath them raced past.

They flew over the village square, then slipped quietly into the crowd without attracting anyone's attention.

Through a gap in the crowd, Ji Feng saw a middle-aged man standing straight in the center of the square.

That man was the Shrek Academy teacher responsible for this round of awakenings—

Zhu Chen!

"This village really is thriving. Another dozen or so children have turned six this year. More than half the children whose martial souls I awakened here last year had soul power. Truly, a blessed land breeds outstanding people," Zhu Chen said with a smile.

As a teacher at Shrek Academy, he was responsible for finding talented soul masters among the common folk. Every July and August, he visited the countryside to help children undergo martial soul awakening.

Over the years, Dragon-Sighting Village had supplied him with at least twenty gifted youngsters.

Those were gleaming performance credits!

Every time Zhu Chen visited Dragon-Sighting Village, he was all smiles.

A cushy assignment—a truly cushy assignment!

That soul-power-wasting brat hasn't come this time, either. Even better.

Every time that kid comes for an awakening, he drains every last drop of my soul power, yet his martial soul never awakens. What a monster.

Shrek Academy recruits monsters, but not trash.

Without a martial soul, so what if he's a monster? He's still trash.

Zhu Chen released his martial soul—a Sea-Eagle.

"My martial soul is a Sea-Eagle, a beast martial soul. You should all be quite familiar with him by now."

With that, Zhu Chen tossed out six stones. They landed on the ground, forming an awakening Magic Array.

Next, the children began entering the Magic Array one by one.

"Martial soul: Shadow Tiger Blade. Soul power: rank six."

"Martial soul: White-Red Hound. Soul power: rank eight!"

"Martial soul: Pitchfork. No soul power."

After the tests, only two of the twelve children had trash martial souls. All the others had shown soul power.

That rate was far above the norm!

Zhu Chen found this phenomenon highly unusual. He intended to write a report and submit it to his colleagues in the Martial Soul Department.

"The testing is complete. Children with soul power can take the entrance exam at Shrek Academy. If the opportunity arises, I may become your instructor."

Having said that, Zhu Chen prepared to leave.

"Wait!"

A young voice called out. Zhu Chen stopped and saw a boy of about ten emerge from the crowd.

The boy's looks were ordinary, but his face shone with a confident smile.

He was the last person Zhu Chen wanted to see.

"You again? It's been four years. Haven't you given up yet? It's useless! Stop wasting time! If you have that much energy, go learn a trade! Think about how you're going to survive in the future!!"

Zhu Chen's eyes bulged, his beard bristled, and his chest heaved. Clearly, his earlier good mood had vanished.

Never speak of people by day or ghosts by night!

How is this walking plague still alive?

He has neither father nor mother. How has he managed to survive in this village?

Maybe I should lure him into the woods and send him straight to the next world!

The more Zhu Chen thought about it, the more irritated he became. He was a dignified Soul Saint, yet this brat left him limp and exhausted every time. It was utterly humiliating.

"Did Shrek Academy teach you to bully children?"

Suddenly, a deep voice rang out from the crowd, booming like a great bell and sending Zhu Chen's soul power churning!

An immense pressure bore down on him. Zhu Chen's knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground!

What was happening? He was a rank seventy-one Soul Saint, yet he couldn't resist at all!

A Titled Douluo?

Why would a Titled Douluo be protecting Ji Feng?

Yan Shaozhe stepped out of the crowd, the Sea God Pavilion badge on his chest gleaming in the sunlight.

"The Sea God Pavilion!! You... you're Bright Phoenix Douluo. Oh... no... Dean Yan, I... I was only..."

Zhu Chen had spent years clawing his way through Shrek Academy. Naturally, he knew every dean's face, especially Yan Shaozhe's. He was the dean of the Martial Soul Department and a disciple of Dragon God Douluo Mu En.

Why was he in this little frontier village? Weren't experts like him supposed to have countless duties?

Yan Shaozhe raised a hand, cutting Zhu Chen off.

"Save whatever you have to say for your department's leadership when you return. Right now, you had better assist me in awakening Ji Feng's martial soul. Otherwise, you'll bear the consequences."

Zhu Chen no longer dared show the slightest disrespect. He hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes."

Yan Shaozhe walked into the center of the array, and soul power erupted from him.

Crack, crack, crack!

The six stones shattered.

He flipped both hands, and eight stones taller than a person appeared around him.

All eight stones emitted a gentle white glow, hovering two meters above the ground as though held up by some unseen force.

"These... these are... no way! Dean Yan, could these be... Heavenly Soul Stones? Replicas?" Zhu Chen's voice trembled.

These were among Shrek Academy's greatest treasures. How could Yan Shaozhe bear to bring them out?

"No. These are the Heavenly Soul Stones. My teacher used them for his awakening back then, too."

Ji Feng looked puzzled. He had transmigrated from Earth and read the original Douluo novel several times, yet he had never heard of these Heavenly Soul Stones.

Seeing Ji Feng's puzzled expression, Yan Shaozhe could not help feeling secretly pleased.

Kid, Shrek's ten-thousand-year legacy has surprised you, hasn't it?

"Young man, you must have felt discouraged when your martial soul failed to awaken before. You managed to rescue me through your own strength, so this situation isn't surprising. Truly powerful martial souls cannot be drawn out through ordinary awakening methods alone. If the awakening is forced, your body's inability to withstand it will leave the martial soul defective.

"My teacher, Dragon God Douluo Mu En, would have awakened an incomplete light sacred Dragon martial soul just like Grandmaster from ten thousand years ago if he hadn't had the help of these eight Heavenly Soul Stones. It might not even have been as good as Luo Sanpao."

Yan Shaozhe gazed at the eight Heavenly Soul Stones before him and spoke softly.