Soul Power surged through his meridians, and the five bronze weapons gave a deep hum, as though a Ferocious Beast that had slumbered for millions of years had opened its eyes.
Soul Power flowed along his meridians and poured into the bronze weapons.
"First form, Hooking Ge Sinks the Earth!"
The bronze Ge in his upper-left hand swung out abruptly. There were no dazzling lights or shadows, only pure strength.
The Ge's blade sliced through the air with a piercing sonic boom and slammed into the courtyard's bluestone paving.
Crack!
The slab shattered on the spot. Cracks spread rapidly across the ground, sending broken stone flying in every direction.
Lu Guan froze for a moment, looking down at the Ge in his hand, then at the crater in the ground.
That power was a little outrageous.
He had only just awakened and did not even have a Soul Ring. This came purely from his Martial Soul's own strength and the cultivation art's techniques for exerting force.
The "Weapon Lord's Heart Art" was itself an exceptionally sophisticated method of channeling force.
Soul Power circulated through specific meridians before finally converging in the weapons, unleashing destructive power far beyond his own level.
Next came the second form, Shu Shakes a Thousand Tons.
The bladeless pole in his middle-left hand smashed down.
A heavy concussive force traveled along the shaft. The ground sank again, and the shock left even Lu Guan's own arm numb.
The "Weapon Lord's Heart Art" certainly lived up to its name. It was terrifying indeed.
Keep training!
Lu Guan focused, swinging the Five Weapons again and again according to the pathways laid out in the heart art.
Five weapons, five forms.
Sweat slid down his forehead and dripped onto the ground. His six arms worked together in alternating movements. They were somewhat awkward at first, but after a few rounds of practice, his movements grew increasingly fluid.
The Ge specialized in hacking strikes and could restrict an opponent's movements.
The Shu specialized in concussive blows, capable of penetrating the body's surface to damage its interior directly.
The Ji specialized in thrusts, swift and imposing, with tremendous killing power.
The Qiu specialized in close combat, short and compact yet formidable.
The Yi specialized in battlefield control, with broad, sweeping movements.
The five weapons worked together seamlessly in his hands, uniting offense and defense.
The courtyard's bluestone paving, however, had suffered terribly. It was battered into a field of pits, and even the old locust tree had lost a large patch of bark.
His Soul Power drained rapidly.
In just over ten minutes, Lu Guan's Soul Power had bottomed out.
He panted heavily and dismissed his Martial Soul.
His four eyes closed, his six arms retracted, and he once again became that rather frail-looking six-year-old child.
The sudden drop in strength took some getting used to.
Bang!
The courtyard gate was shoved open.
Lu Beixuan strode inside, carrying two roast chickens, his face glowing.
"Son! Your dad's back!"
No sooner had Lu Beixuan shouted than he noticed the shattered bluestone slabs scattered everywhere and the cratered ground.
The roast chickens nearly fell from his hands.
"You little brat... are you tearing the house down?" Lu Beixuan swallowed, pointing at the craters.
Lu Guan rubbed his head.
"I tried out my Martial Soul just now and didn't control my strength properly."
Lu Beixuan sucked in a breath.
"Good grief... are all body Martial Souls this ferocious...?"
"All right, forget the craters." Lu Beixuan set the roast chickens on the stone table and rubbed his hands together, his face brimming with excitement. "Well? Have you given any thought to your Soul Spirit?"
Lu Beixuan thumped his chest.
"With your innate full Soul Power, you need a good Soul Spirit. I've saved a little money over the years. If I borrow some more from a few old buddies, I'll get you a hundred-year Soul Spirit no matter what!"
Seeing his bargain-bin father ready to go all out for him, Lu Guan felt somewhat moved.
Soul Spirits were not cheap.
Even a randomly drawn Soul Spirit cost thirty thousand federal dollars.
A hundred-year Soul Spirit cost a million-an astronomical price for an ordinary family like theirs.
Fortunately, things were not so bad.
Lu Guan felt around in his pocket, took out the storage bracelet, and tossed it onto the stone table.
"Dad, I've got some here too. We probably won't need to borrow anything."
Lu Beixuan froze.
"What's this?"
"The Spirit Pagoda gave it to me." Lu Guan pulled out a chair and sat down, tore off a chicken leg, and took a bite. "There are five hundred thousand federal dollars inside."
Lu Beixuan's eyes went round, and his breathing grew heavier.
"How... how much?"
"Five hundred thousand."
Lu Beixuan snatched up the bracelet and sent his Soul Power inside to take a look.
"It really is five hundred thousand!"
Lu Beixuan was so excited that he paced in circles around the courtyard.
"Wonderful! If I add another five hundred thousand, we'll have enough to buy a hundred-year Soul Spirit!"
Lu Guan spat out the chicken bone.
"Are we going to buy it now?"
"Yes! Absolutely!" Lu Beixuan waved his large hand. "We'll pick a good one. Come on, Dad's taking you shopping!"
Father and son returned to the Spirit Pagoda's lobby.
This time, they did not linger on the first floor. Lu Beixuan led Lu Guan up to the second floor with practiced familiarity.
The second floor was dedicated to Soul Spirit sales.
The man handling reception was a tall, thin middle-aged man surnamed Zhao, with a Spirit Pagoda deacon's badge pinned to his chest.
Deacon Zhao sat behind the counter leafing through a register. At the sound of footsteps, he raised his head and glanced at the pair.
His gaze swept over Lu Beixuan. Sensing his faint two-ring Soul Power fluctuations, he looked away with little interest.
When he saw Lu Guan, however, he raised his eyebrows. The child looked only six or seven, and today was Awakening Day. He might well have just awakened with innate full Soul Power.
At that thought, Deacon Zhao's tone warmed slightly.
"Buying a Soul Spirit?"
"Yes."
"A random ten-year Soul Spirit is thirty thousand, a specified one is a hundred thousand. A random hundred-year Soul Spirit is three hundred thousand, a specified one is a million. Did you bring enough money?"
"We did, we did," Lu Beixuan answered before his son could speak.
"All right. Follow me to have your spiritual power tested first."
A short while earlier.
The Eastsea City Main Road.
Crowds bustled along as a levitating train roared past on the tracks overhead.
A silver-haired girl wandered among them like a drifting ghost.
The girl wore a simple white dress, her long silver hair loose down her back, her purple eyes crystal clear. Her features were exquisitely delicate, and she was almost excessively beautiful.
Strangely, despite all the people passing around such a beautiful girl, no one so much as glanced at her.
Passersby completely ignored her existence, yet instinctively skirted around the spot where she stood.
The girl raised her head and looked toward the outskirts of Eastsea City.
That was the direction of the sea.
And a small city stood by the sea.
The girl had lost her memory. She remembered nothing. All she knew was that there was an aura over there, very faint, yet irresistibly alluring to her.
She wanted to go there.
Instinct drove the girl to start walking, ready to leave the city.
Just then, her steps abruptly faltered.
She turned her head and looked in another direction within Eastsea City, where a lofty tower stood.
Her purple eyes filled with confusion.
In that fleeting instant just now, she had sensed an exceedingly ancient, exceedingly domineering aura.
It was pure battle intent, carrying a ferocity that would tear everything apart.
This aura belonged neither to a Soul Beast nor to a human.
It was too ancient-so ancient that it sent the fragmented memories in her mind into violent turmoil.
And that aura, too, stirred a yearning in her heart.
The call of the Aolai City bloodline, and the lure of the aura in Eastsea City.
The two forces tugged relentlessly at her senses.
The girl wandered back and forth where she stood, her brows slightly furrowed, her gaze bewildered.
Which way should she go?
Before you continue