Nuoding City Orphanage.
Watching the children leave the room one after another, looking utterly crestfallen, Lin Changgeng felt uncertain.
It had been six years since he transmigrated, and he had lived here for as long as he could remember.
According to the director, he had been found at the orphanage entrance. His parents' identities were unknown.
He had been an orphan in his previous life, so being one in this life wasn't something he couldn't accept.
But martial soul awakening was the dividing line in a person's life: either they became a peerless powerhouse, or they spent their entire lives accomplishing nothing.
And orphans were unlikely to awaken good martial souls. After all, despite the continent's enormous population, there were only a hundred thousand soul masters.
At that thought, Lin Changgeng sighed.
"Next, Lin Changgeng!"
Su Yuntao called his name.
Lin Changgeng walked straight into the awakening formation.
"Don't worry too much. Just focus on what you feel."
With that, Su Yuntao began awakening his martial soul.
Then Lin Changgeng felt warmth spread through his body.
Is this what awakening a martial soul feels like? My body's warm. It feels really nice, Lin Changgeng thought.
Suddenly, a cold voice sounded in Lin Changgeng's mind.
[Martial soul awakening detected. Activating Three Sets of Three Choices.] [Talent: choose one of three:] [Behemoth: Heaven-devouring potential, pure brute strength, bane of dragons.] [Tang Chen: Clear Sky Hammer, Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, Great Sumeru Hammer.] [Yun Ming: Sky-Piercing Spear, Sky-Piercing Nine Forms, self-created godhood.]
Looking at the three options in his mind, Lin Changgeng froze. So he had a cheat after all.
Why hadn't it told him sooner? He'd spent all that time worrying for nothing.
Then he looked over the three options.
He could forget about Tang Chen.
Although Tang Chen had led the Clear Sky Sect to become the greatest sect under heaven, possessed the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes and Great Sumeru Hammer, and had been the Asura God's previous successor, the Clear Sky Hammer was only a high-grade martial soul with no special effects whatsoever. Besides, he didn't like hammers. If he picked this, he was afraid his brain would turn into nothing but muscle and the top of his head would become pointy.
Yun Ming was exceptionally gifted: a Titled Douluo at twenty-three, a Super Douluo at twenty-six, a Limit Douluo at thirty-one, and a Quasi-God at thirty-five. He had created his own demigod godhood and would have become a god on the spot if the Divine Realm hadn't disappeared. He had simply been born at the wrong time.
Choosing Yun Ming would let him become a god in Douluo I.
But as for the Behemoth... brute strength?
Among all these gifts and talents, one option was just pure brute strength. How could he not see just how strong it was?
"I choose the first," Lin Changgeng decided.
[Martial soul: choose one of three.] [Sea God: Boundless Blue Waves, Endless Vast Sea, authority over the four seas, command of water and waves.] [Angel: Holy Light Judgment, Sacred and Flawless, cut down the world's injustice, purify all things.] [Gengjin Origin Spirit: Ultimate metal, Gengjin Slaughter, all iron bows before you! All metal in the world falls under your control.]
"Hm? I can control anything as long as it's metal?" One glance gave Lin Changgeng an idea.
Tool martial souls contain metal, don't they? Divine artifacts have metal in them too, right?
"I choose the third."
After hesitating for two and a half seconds, Lin Changgeng made his choice.
[Guardian: choose one of three.] [Rank 97 Dragon King Douluo Wang Qiu'er.] [Rank 97 Phoenix Douluo Ma Xiaotao.] [Rank 97 Silver Moon Douluo Zhang Lexuan.]
"I even get a guardian?" Lin Changgeng was a little surprised. This thing really was afraid someone wielding a hammer would beat him to death.
"But choosing between these three is a little tough." Lin Changgeng felt torn.
Ma Xiaotao was Ma Hongjun's descendant. Her figure needed no explanation: she was a mature beauty. Her temper was fiery, though, and she craved power, often disregarding other people's feelings. But this was a guardian role, so everything would revolve around him.
Zhang Lexuan needed even less explanation. She was a genius rarely seen in three thousand years, with the air of a married woman.
As for Wang Qiu'er...
"I just don't know whether this Wang Qiu'er has anything mixed into her."
Wang Qiu'er's true form was the Emperor Auspicious Beast. Tang San had used her to seize fortune and train his dogs, mixing a third of Tang Wutong's soul into her. He didn't know whether the system's Wang Qiu'er had that mixed in.
[Wang Qiu'er is simply Wang Qiu'er.]
The system gave its answer.
"I choose Wang Qiu'er." Lin Changgeng made his choice without hesitation.
Although Ma Xiaotao was excellent and Zhang Lexuan had her own charm, he liked Wang Qiu'er more than the other two. There was no reason for it.
[You have made your choices. Your future is yours to create.]
The instant the mechanical voice faded, a sharp, ferocious aura erupted from Lin Changgeng.
Something was about to manifest in both his right and left hands.
"No, the Behemoth can't come out now." Lin Changgeng desperately suppressed the Behemoth's ferocious aura. This was Nuoding City. Su Yuntao had finished conducting awakenings in Holy Soul Village just two months ago. If he exposed it and Tang Hao sensed it, Tang Hao would definitely come looking. He didn't want the place where he'd lived for six years destroyed.
He released only the martial soul in his right hand.
A mass of dark-gold radiance slowly rose from his palm. It wasn't gentle holy light, but the essence of gengjin condensed from countless tiny metal particles.
The radiance churned ceaselessly, sometimes turning smooth like liquid metal, sometimes scattering into a sky full of golden dust. The razor-sharp spikes shimmering around its edges made the surrounding air tremble faintly, while a low metallic hum rang without end.
At the same time, Lin Changgeng's appearance quietly began to transform.
His once-soft black hair turned entirely dark gold, every strand sharply defined, as though refined into pure gold, bearing its own cold luster.
The contours of his brows and eyes changed completely. His brows were sharp as knife cuts, the outer corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward, and his eyes turned gilded gold, with metallic particles slowly circulating deep within his pupils.
His nose was straight and prominent, his jawline sharp and taut. Every trace of childish softness vanished from his face, leaving distinct angles like a perfectly forged metal sculpture.
A forbidding aura of slaughter surrounded him, brimming with aggression. Even at his young age, it made others wary of approaching.
Before awakening, he had been a delicate-featured, well-behaved little boy. Now he had transformed completely, his sharp edge laid bare.
Watching this, Su Yuntao lost himself entirely, staring fixedly at the mass of gengjin radiance with bewilderment written all over his face.
Even his young age did nothing to diminish that sharpness.
"What martial soul is this? Why is it so sharp?"
Su Yuntao gazed distractedly at the Gengjin Origin Spirit in Lin Changgeng's palm. It seemed to have no fixed form, yet it radiated an intense sharpness that left him scratching his head.
"Gengjin Origin Spirit," Lin Changgeng said.
"Gengjin Origin Spirit? A good name. It looks like an elemental type." Recovering, Su Yuntao nodded slightly, then handed Lin Changgeng the crystal ball. "Let's test your soul power."
With a thought, Lin Changgeng made the Gengjin Origin Spirit vanish from his hand, then reached out with his right hand and placed it on the crystal ball.
The next instant, the crystal ball burst with dazzling light, illuminating the entire awakening chamber.
A gleam flashed in Su Yuntao's eyes, and wild delight filled his face. "Innate full soul power! And your martial soul is a powerful elemental martial soul, too!"
He turned to Lin Changgeng and extended a sincere invitation. "Child, would you like to join Spirit Hall?"
"If you're willing to join our Spirit Hall, I can recommend you to Spirit City.
"With your talent, you'll surely be able to take one of the legendary Titled Douluo powerhouses as your master.
"You won't have to worry about money or resources again. Your path ahead will be clear of obstacles."
Lin Changgeng shook his head. "Sorry, Brother Tao. I'd like to gain experience at a soul master academy outside. I hope you can understand."
Even without a guardian, he wouldn't have chosen Spirit Hall. He would have gone to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect instead.
He admitted that Spirit Hall was a good organization. He might have gone there in Qian Xunji's era, but not under the current Bibi Dong. Her mental state had already descended into madness. How could a woman who didn't even want her own daughter nurture an outsider? Unless they let him enter the Worship Hall directly.
As for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, its inherited martial soul was a support type, so it badly needed protection from battle soul masters. With his talent, he would receive treatment there equal to what Spirit Hall offered. He might even become Ning Rongrong's fiancé. Once he grew strong, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect his.
But things were different now. He already had a guardian. No matter how good an offer they made, it might not match what his guardian could provide.
Besides, if I still went begging a major faction for protection when I already had a guardian, wouldn't having one be pointless?
Su Yuntao's expression stiffened. He hadn't expected Lin Changgeng to reject him outright. Still unwilling to give up, he continued persuading him. "Won't you really reconsider?"
"Brother Tao, thank you for your kindness, but I really don't want to join Spirit Hall right now."
Lin Changgeng's attitude was firm.
"Ah, all right. I'll issue you a martial soul certificate."
Su Yuntao sighed. "If you change your mind and want to join Spirit Hall, you can come find me anytime."
"Okay. Thank you, Brother Tao."
What a good child.
Su Yuntao sighed inwardly.
Before you continue