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The three-day martial soul awakening period soon ended, and on the afternoon of the second day afterward, the results from the Black Dragon Duchy's capital and nine commanderies were delivered to the palace.

The palace's Hall of State Affairs.

Qin Xu, Qin Tianji, Wei Zhiyi, Qin Feng, and Zhang Lexuan were reviewing the awakening results submitted by the commanderies, while more than a dozen Martial Soul Bureau staff members compiled their data.

Qin Xu and Qin Tianji needed no explanation. One was the grand duke and the other the grand duke emeritus; they were the absolute core of the duchy and naturally had to be present. Wei Zhiyi was the chancellor, and Qin Feng was the elder in charge of the Martial Soul Bureau, so their presence was also required. As for Zhang Lexuan, she was Qin Xu's fiancée and would one day be his right-hand woman, so she had been summoned as well.

This year's martial soul awakening in Yongdu City had produced 4,096 new Soul Masters, a figure that matched Qin Xu's estimate.

"Elder Brother, we actually have two geniuses with innate full soul power this year!" Wei Zhiyi said excitedly. "This is wonderful! It shows that the Martial Soul Bureau has done its work thoroughly, and that establishing it was absolutely necessary!"

"Hehehe, Uncle Wei, you flatter me. It's all thanks to Xu'er's flawless proposal and Eldest Uncle's wise decision!" Qin Feng chuckled beside him.

"Feng, you've verified both of these talents with innate full soul power, haven't you?" Qin Tianji asked, a hint of a smile on his face. "Once everything is confirmed, admit them to the Heavenly Profound Academy through special recruitment. They can be Xu'er's study companions."

"Of course!" Qin Feng immediately replied with a serious expression. "The moment I received the news, I went to verify it myself. Both have genuine innate full soul power, and both are children from commoner families."

Qin Xu had been listening intently the whole time. At this point, he could not help speaking up. "There really are children with innate full soul power, and two appeared at once! Our fortune is truly incredible!"

"Hahaha, exactly! Xu'er, you're right. Heaven is blessing our nation!" Qin Feng laughed heartily, then waggled his eyebrows at Qin Xu and teased, "Oh, right, Xu'er, let your Sixth Grandpa tell you something. Both of these children with innate full soul power are little girls!"

"Uh!" Qin Xu was left rather speechless. He instinctively looked toward Zhang Lexuan beside him and only breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he saw her stifling a laugh.

Zhang Lexuan was so perceptive that she immediately noticed Qin Xu sneaking a look at her reaction. Her smile grew even brighter. Though Qin Xu was still young, he was her fiancé, after all!

In truth, Zhang Lexuan did not mind how many wives Qin Xu might have in the future. She had long since prepared herself for that. As long as he cared about her, she would be satisfied!

"Of these two children with innate full soul power, one is from Mohe Town, Icefield City, Snowfield Commandery. Her name is Xue Zhao, and her martial soul is a snow woman. The other is from Yulong City, Tianhai Commandery. Her name is Ye Guyi, and her martial soul is an angel," Qin Tianji said. "Feng, remember to arrange for someone to bring these two children to Yongdu City."

"No problem!" Qin Feng replied.

Xue Zhao? A snow woman martial soul? Upon hearing Qin Tianji's words, Qin Xu immediately picked up their records. When he saw that name, a flicker of astonishment stirred within him. Good heavens, that name carries some weighty karma. Could a little girl from the countryside bear it?

"Xue Zhao, also known as Xue A Liang, six years old, resident of Xuebian Village, Mohe Town, Icefield City, Snowfield Commandery. Martial soul: Snow woman. Innate full soul power... awakened by Wu Haichao, a village-patrol Soul Master of the Mohe Town Martial Soul Bureau... orphan... parents died in a beast tide from the Far North, subsequently adopted by Xue Dou, an elderly villager without family... withdrawn disposition..."

Nothing in Xue Zhao's records seemed amiss, yet Qin Xu still felt that something was unusual. His subconscious told him this girl was no ordinary child. Even setting everything else aside, the character "Zhao" in her name was certainly not something a little girl from a remote village should have.

A snow woman martial soul, an orphan, Xue Zhao... could she be the Heavenly Snow Woman, the Snow Empress, who transformed into a human to cultivate anew? But would a transformed soul beast still need someone to awaken her martial soul? Interesting. This Xue Zhao is rather interesting. A gleam of interest appeared in his eyes.

"Ye Guyi, six years old, resident of the western district of Yulong City, Tianhai Commandery. Martial soul: angel. Innate full soul power... awakened by Liu Tao, head of the Yulong City Martial Soul Bureau... parents died in an Evil Soul Master attack..."

Qin Xu's eyes lit up at the familiar name—Ye Guyi, of course. This girl should be the future Soul Emperor with the holy angel martial soul who hunted Evil Soul Masters in Mingdu, in the Sun Moon Empire. He had to admit that she was very brave to charge into an Evil Soul Master stronghold to hunt them.

With proper nurturing, she would undoubtedly become another Titled Douluo-level powerhouse for the duchy and the Qin Family in the future.

Not bad.

After some time, everyone had gone through the awakening results from all the commanderies.

"If the data is accurate, this year's results are truly gratifying!" Wei Zhiyi exclaimed, his smile gentle and refined. "Aside from the two with innate full soul power, there is one with ninth-level soul power, eighteen with eighth-level soul power, and fifty-seven with seventh-level soul power. These numbers have only increased compared with the previous two years. This is ample proof that there are quite a few geniuses among the commoners!"

"Exactly, exactly!" Qin Feng agreed. "And this is only one year's results from our duchy, which is no larger than a single province. I can hardly imagine how many Soul Masters our Black Dragon Duchy could gain each year if this were expanded to the entire continent!"

"There was a reason Spirit Hall became the sacred ground for Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent back then," Qin Xu said. "After Spirit Hall fell, neither the Heaven Dou Empire nor the Star Luo Empire seized the opportunity to take control of martial soul awakenings at the grassroots level. If they had, the continent should already have been unified by now."

"In this regard, the three nations of our Douluo Continent have indeed fallen short of the neighboring Sun Moon Empire," Qin Tianji said gravely. "Their number of Soul Masters has been increasing throughout the past century. Though their total still lags behind ours, it is foreseeable that they will surpass us in another hundred years at most. When that happens, I fear we truly will be powerless to resist."

"Yes," Wei Zhiyi said. "The Star Luo Empire has also been trying to implement a commoner Soul Master training program in recent years, but the process has been very difficult. The Heaven Dou Empire once considered implementing universal martial soul awakening as well. Even with the Body Sect's support, resistance proved too great in the end, and it was only carried out in the royal domain. As for the Dou Ling Empire, heh."

No era or nation lacked intelligent people. Both the Star Luo Empire's commoner Soul Master training program and the Heaven Dou Empire's proposal for universal martial soul awakening showed that they had begun to change under pressure from the Sun Moon Empire. Unfortunately, one faced a bleak future, while the other had died in the womb.

The Black Dragon Duchy's establishment of the Martial Soul Bureau and its designated martial soul awakening days had likewise been a chance outcome brought about by the convergence of many conditions.

First, the Black Dragon Duchy was only the size of one province, making its small territory easier to govern. Second, there was the Qin Family's strength: five Titled Douluos were a force that could not be underestimated anywhere on the continent. Third, conservative forces had too little influence to form a united front.

Added to that was Qin Tianji's killing spree during that period. Only through all of this had the current favorable situation come about.

This was an exceptionally difficult case to replicate. The Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family could not possibly emulate it. The old guard was far too powerful—so powerful that the emperor's reform decrees carried little binding force once they left the bounds of the imperial city.

Even under the Black Dragon Duchy's exceptional circumstances, however, the Martial Soul Bureau's work had not proceeded entirely smoothly. Though no great nobles or powerful families obstructed or interfered with it, some reclusive sects treated it with indifference. Using their seclusion as an excuse, these sects simply ignored the Martial Soul Bureau's work.

The duchy found it difficult to gain access to the villages under these sects' control.

"Since we've brought this up, Feng, what attitude did those reclusive sects take this year?" Qin Tianji asked.

"Dismissive, resistant, and uncooperative!" Qin Feng's expression turned cold as he answered gravely. "There. Those are the results they submitted. They've now more or less rallied behind the Xuanming Sect, and they're all watching its attitude. If the Xuanming Sect won't cooperate, neither will they."

Qin Feng pointed to a stack of records set apart to one side. It contained only a handful of booklets and did not even look as thick as an ordinary city's report. Beside it stood another stack, tall and thick—the martial soul awakening results from the nobles and Soul Master families within the duchy. The contrast between the two was stark.

Wei Zhiyi's expression also grew rather ugly.

Qin Tianji walked over, picked up the top booklet, and flipped through it before throwing it straight onto the floor. He sneered. "Hmph, that old turtle! Leave them alone for now. As long as they pay their tribute on time, that will do. We'll have plenty of time to deal with them later!"

"Understood!" Wei Zhiyi and Qin Feng replied.

The Xuanming Sect was a reclusive sect whose predominant martial soul was the Xuanming Turtle. Located on the border between the Black Dragon Duchy and the Heaven Dou Empire's North Pole Province, it was the strongest Soul Master sect within the Black Dragon Duchy. It currently had one Titled Douluo: Xuanming Douluo Xu Wu, the old turtle Qin Tianji had mentioned.

Xu Sanshi. A name surfaced in Qin Xu's mind. He remembered that this fellow was the young master of the Xuanming Sect. What a coincidence.

He pulled out an awakening report and searched through it. Sure enough, he found what he was looking for.

"Jiang Nannan, six years old, resident of Beihe Town, Anyang City, Yinshan Commandery. Martial soul: Soft Bone Rabbit. Innate soul power: eighth level..."

Beihe Town happened to be near the Xuanming Sect's grounds. That explained it.

Qin Xu smiled. It seemed his arrival really had changed quite a few things. Since this Jiang Nannan possessed the talent of innate eighth-level soul power, she would certainly receive special attention from Anyang City's city lord's residence and the Martial Soul Bureau. Whether she would still sell herself to save her mother in the future was now an open question.

The Xuanming Sect would probably have to find another talented girl for Xu Sanshi's martial soul second awakening. Still, whoever they found, if they dared lay a hand on one of his Black Dragon Duchy's subjects, would that not give him a reason to move against the Xuanming Sect?