Martial Soul Awakening! (Please bookmark! Please vote!)

The Offering Hall stood in the southeastern corner of the royal palace, its buildings forming a self-contained complex.

It was both the Black Dragon Duchy's greatest military force and its highest administrative body for Soul Masters, with every member a Titled Douluo. It was also where the Qin Family's ancestral temple stood.

Qin Xu led Zhang Lexuan into the Offering Hall's main hall. The first things they saw were several pillars coiled with black dragons, radiating an oppressive presence.

The hall was spacious and empty. Aside from those pillars, only a towering human statue stood at its center. Including its pedestal, it reached a full ten meters in height. It depicted a man with a lifelike expression, as though he had returned to the world of the living, his armor lending him an imposing majesty.

Anyone whose statue could stand in the Qin Family's ancestral hall had to be extraordinary.

And that was indeed the case.

This statue, named the [Nation-Guarding Dragon King], depicted the most important and powerful ancestor in the Qin family's history—the Heaven Dou Empire's founding grand marshal, the Black Dragon King, Black Dragon Douluo Qin Fei.

Black Dragon Douluo Qin Fei was the only Limit Douluo the Qin Family had ever produced since its founding. All the strength and influence it enjoyed today stemmed from his achievements and enduring legacy.

At that moment, a group of distinguished elderly men stood beneath the [Nation-Guarding Dragon King]. As Qin Xu entered the hall, they all turned their gazes toward him.

Zhang Lexuan bowed respectfully to them, while Qin Xu skipped toward the two elderly men who clearly held the leading positions, calling, "Great-grandpa, maternal great-grandpa, I'm here!"

"Xu'er, you look full of spirit. Very good." The elderly man on the left, whose standing was clearly higher, answered with a kindly smile, his eyes brimming with affection.

He was lean and stood tall. Though his hair was entirely white, he remained hale and vigorous, and his black robes could not conceal his noble bearing. He was Qin Xu's great-grandfather, the Black Dragon Duke from two generations ago, the empire's grand preceptor, a rank-97 Power Attack System Super Douluo—Black Dragon Douluo Qin Tianji.

"Hahaha, my dear great-grandson, you'll awaken your martial soul today! Aren't you excited?" The elderly man beside Qin Tianji laughed.

This elderly man was slightly shorter, but sturdier and more powerfully built. His eyes shone with vitality, his blood and vital energy surged, and every movement carried a tiger's vigor. He was Qin Xu's maternal great-grandfather, an elder of the Body Sect, an imperial offering, and a rank-96 Power Attack System Super Douluo—Golden Heart Douluo Zhao Yong.

Qin Tianji and Zhao Yong held the highest status among everyone present that day. The other four elderly men ranked slightly below them, but to Qin Xu, they remained among his most important reserves of strength and support.

The elderly man to Qin Tianji's left had a scholarly bearing, his silver hair meticulously groomed, his expression stern, and his gaze blazing like a torch. He was Balance Douluo Wei Zhiyi, a rank-95 Control System Super Douluo, Qin Tianji's sworn brother, and the state chancellor, currently overseeing the Black Dragon Duchy's civil affairs.

The elderly man to Zhao Yong's right looked ordinary and unremarkable, but his eyes were savage, and he radiated a bloodthirsty aura. He was Army-Breaking Douluo Bai Jian, a rank-95 Power Attack System Super Douluo, Qin Tianji's sworn brother, and the grand general, currently overseeing the Black Dragon Duchy's military affairs.

The final two elderly men stood behind Qin Tianji. Both belonged to the Qin Family's direct line. One was Qin Tiansui, Qin Tianji's youngest brother, the rank-94 Dark Dragon Douluo. The other was Qin Feng, Qin Tianji's nephew, the rank-91 Demon Dragon Douluo. Aside from Qin Tianji, they were the Qin Family's only two Titled Douluo.

The six elderly men gathered around Qin Xu in cheerful harmony, talking and laughing. It was a warm, beautiful scene.

Yet Qin Xu knew very well how difficult it had been to bring about this moment.

Five years ago, Qin Tianji had led Wei Zhiyi and Bai Jian into Heaven Dou City to confront Zhao Yong and the Body Sect elders he had brought with him. Both sides had swords drawn and bows bent; the slightest misstep would have sparked a bloody battle.

Back then, Qin Tianji and his two companions had all been prepared to die.

Qin Tiansui and Qin Feng had even massed an army at the border. At a single word, they would have immediately led the Qin Family and the troops under its command in a defection to the Sun Moon Empire.

This was no exaggeration. In the eyes of Qin Tianji and the others at the time, the Heaven Dou Rebellion was no mere struggle within the imperial family, but a conspiracy targeting the Black Dragon Duke's household. They had truly acted with the resolve to let jade and stone burn together.

It was easy to foresee that if Qin Xu had truly died, the greatest winner of the Heaven Dou Rebellion would have been the Sun Moon Empire.

The future Qin Xu knew confirmed this conjecture. Twenty years later, the Sun Moon Empire would easily break through the Heaven Dou Empire's western defenses and sweep straight through, destroying the empire in less than a month.

The Black Dragon Qin family and the Bailian Wei Family—the Black-White Alliance that had founded the Heaven Dou Empire—had ultimately destroyed one another because of a conspiracy, leaving later generations with endless sighs of regret.

Qin Xu greeted the four elderly men in turn. Together with Qin Tianji, they constituted the Offering Hall's entire membership.

"It's about time," Qin Tianji said. "Tiansui, get ready to begin."

"Yes." Qin Tiansui bore some resemblance to Qin Tianji, but looked far older, nothing like a younger brother. Yet reality was that fantastical: Qin Tiansui was nearly twenty years younger than Qin Tianji.

Qin Tiansui walked beneath the [Nation-Guarding Dragon King] statue and pressed his hand against its pedestal. A crisp click sounded, and a beam of light shone from the floor at the center of the hall, ten paces directly in front of the [Nation-Guarding Dragon King].

The light rapidly spread outward. Wherever it passed, gilded lines lit up across the pitch-black floor tiles, layer upon layer intertwining into a wondrous, mysterious array.

Martial Soul Awakening Array!

Qin Xu recognized the array at a glance. At the same time, he realized that the floor of his family's ancestral hall was actually one complete awakening crystal, and the [Nation-Guarding Dragon King] statue had also been carved from awakening crystal.

Such extravagance was truly overbearing, though understandable. After all, the Qin Family was the most renowned specialist in horse breeding on the Douluo Continent.

"Xu'er, stand at the array's focal point," Qin Tiansui told him.

"All right. Thank you for your efforts, Fifth Great-grandpa."

Qin Xu quickly walked to the center of the array and faced the [Nation-Guarding Dragon King]. Blue ripples shimmered within the statue's eyes, making them remarkably lifelike. They were actually two soul power testing crystal balls!

"Xu'er, keep your mind steady and relax your body," Qin Tiansui said. A thread of black light extended from his eyes, and faint energy fluctuations traveled through his palm into the awakening array. The golden lines immediately began radiating waves of light.

Awakening array, activate!

Qin Xu's body naturally relaxed. He instinctively raised his right hand, palm facing the sky, and a thin stream split from the golden motes surrounding him, gathering toward it. His eyes drifted half closed, and his senses sharpened. Invisible energy poured into his body from every direction, like warm winter sunshine, gentle and smooth as jade, awakening the dormant spirituality within him.

His consciousness gradually grew hazy, his memories flickering in and out. Those familiar fluctuations stirred his soul, sending waves surging through his heart. Just then, thunder boomed beside his ears, clear and pure—the sound of his heartbeat.

Qin Xu's martial soul was awakening...

Everyone outside the array realized this. They could see everything happening within it, including the martial soul taking shape on Qin Xu.

Qin Tianji was the most nervous. As Qin Xu's great-grandfather, he naturally hoped Qin Xu would awaken the family's powerful martial soul. As the Qin Family's patriarch, he hoped for it even more fervently.

After all, beginning with Qin Tianji, the Qin Family's main line had produced only one son in each generation. He had only one son, Qin Xu's grandfather, who had also had only one son, Qin Xu's father. In Qin Xu's generation, he alone remained, the sole seedling. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong!

Thus, Qin Tianji was extremely nervous.

At that same moment, Qin Xu's awakening reached its final stage. Golden light had completely enveloped him, while his consciousness sank into an unknown realm. This realm was profoundly wondrous, as though his soul had been steeped in divine nectar, leaving him faintly intoxicated.

"Aoo—"

A Dragon Roar, faint as a whisper, jolted Qin Xu awake. His consciousness cleared from its murk, and an indescribable light of insight arose from his soul, allowing him to see:

A dark-gold dragon coiled its magnificent body and broke through the cage dividing illusion from reality!

A blazing brilliance burned with the rhythm of life, following close behind like a little sun!

Compared with Qin Xu's abstract, subjective awareness, the eyes of those outside received the full picture in tangible, objective detail.

That Dragon Roar sounded not only beside Qin Xu's ears, but beside everyone's. Qin Tianji's anxiety vanished in an instant, leaving only relief and joy.

The golden light surrounding Qin Xu had already dispersed. The phantom of a dark-gold dragon appeared overhead. The dragon was exceptionally majestic, its body slender and well proportioned, with four claws beneath its belly like hooks and daggers. A pair of horns with the texture of black jade crowned its head, while a pair of dark yet iridescent wings spread wide, lending this dragon soul a resplendent might.

The dark-gold dragon soul slowly opened its golden eyes. Ink-black mist churned around its body—the exultation of the Darkness Element, the resonance of the world's spiritual energy.

Invisible draconic pressure rippled from the dragon soul, making Qin Tianji's pupils constrict sharply and Qin Tiansui and Qin Feng shudder. They were all Titled Douluo with true dragon martial souls, yet they felt suppressed by this newly awakened dragon soul.

After all, even true dragons differed in stature!

"Ultimate darkness?!" Qin Tianji exclaimed.

"Royal True Dragon?!" Qin Tiansui exclaimed.