Martial Soul Awakening (II)

There were only seven or eight children in all, and they filed into the Spirit Hall one after another. Su Yuntao turned and closed the hall doors.

Su Yuntao arranged six unusual stones on the floor in the shape of a six-pointed star, then stood and addressed the children before him. "I am Su Yuntao, a rank twenty-six Battle Soul Master, and I will be your guide. During your martial soul awakening, no matter what you see, do not be afraid or move around. Follow my instructions."

"Stand in the middle of the formation," he said, pointing at the first child before him. The child timidly stepped forward and stood in the center of the formation.

"Like this, Master?" the child asked quietly. "Yes, just like that," Su Yuntao replied. With that confirmation, the child visibly relaxed.

"Lone Wolf, possess!" Su Yuntao barked. In an instant, he transformed into a towering werewolf, and two Soul Rings, one white and one yellow, appeared beneath his feet. The frightened child tried to flee, but Su Yuntao caught him with one hand. The children standing in front of Tang Xuan and Tang San panicked as well.

"Don't be afraid. This is my martial soul," Su Yuntao explained. "If you awaken a beast martial soul, this will happen to you too." Hearing that, the children settled down.

A little girl in the line said, "Beast martial souls are so ugly. I don't want one." Tang Xuan nearly burst out laughing. Su Yuntao's expression visibly darkened; he was probably repeating Children speak without malice to himself several times.

"Hold out your right hand. Focus on drawing out and releasing your martial soul," Su Yuntao instructed. A flash of light passed, and a sickle appeared in the child's hand. "A sickle martial soul should have some offensive power. It counts as a tool martial soul. Let's see whether you have any soul power." As he spoke, Su Yuntao took a crystal ball from behind him.

"Place your hand on the crystal ball," Su Yuntao told the child with the sickle martial soul. The child did as instructed, but the crystal ball showed no response. "You have no soul power and cannot become a Soul Master. Next." After Su Yuntao finished speaking, the child with the sickle martial soul walked dejectedly to one side.

It was another child's turn now. "Handkerchief martial soul, zero soul power. Next." Then came another child. "Blue silver grass martial soul, innate soul power... zero. A textbook trash martial soul, just as expected. Next." "Hoe martial soul, no soul power. Next." "Kitchen knife martial soul, no soul power." "Wooden club martial soul, no soul power."

Each time Su Yuntao's indifferent voice rang out, it announced the failure of another martial soul awakening. None of the children so far had any soul power, so none could become Soul Masters. Like a mere cog in a machine, Su Yuntao followed the procedure, repeating the same set phrases and motions. "You last two, come over." He was clearly speaking to the Tang brothers, since only Tang Xuan and Tang San had yet to awaken their martial souls. With none of the earlier children possessing soul power, Su Yuntao had given up hope of Holy Soul Village producing a Soul Master this year. He only wanted to finish the assignment quickly and return to report its completion.

"Little San, you go first," Tang Xuan said. Tang San nodded and stepped into the formation.

"Hold out your right hand and focus on drawing out your martial soul," Su Yuntao repeated once again. Tang San's right hand instantly blazed with light. This light is stronger than any of the others. It should be a decent martial soul! Su Yuntao silently speculated. But a flash of blue within it sent his hopes down the drain. It was blue silver grass. A small blade of blue grass appeared in Tang San's right hand. "How could it be a trash martial soul like blue silver grass? That shouldn't be right," Su Yuntao murmured, his heart full of confusion.

But Tang Xuan, standing behind him, saw a flicker of black light pass through Tang San's left hand, only for Tang San to forcibly suppress it almost immediately. His second martial soul-the Clear Sky Hammer!

"Uncle, you haven't tested my soul power yet," Tang San reminded Su Yuntao when he saw him standing there in a daze. Su Yuntao looked at Tang San. A trash martial soul like blue silver grass simply could not possess soul power, so he had not intended to test Tang San's. But seeing the eager hope in Tang San's eyes, Su Yuntao tested him anyway, even though, as far as he knew, blue silver grass could never have soul power. Yet the instant Tang San's hand touched the crystal ball, its light filled the entire room.

"This... it's actually innate full soul power!" Su Yuntao exclaimed, his face filled with astonishment. "Young fellow, would you be willing to join the Spirit Hall?" he asked eagerly once he recovered his senses. The reward for recommending someone with innate full soul power would be extremely generous, even if that person only had a trash martial soul!

"Uncle, you haven't awakened my older brother's martial soul yet!" Tang San deftly steered the conversation elsewhere.

At those words, Su Yuntao suddenly remembered that one person still had not awakened his martial soul. "Oh, right. Young fellow, come over here."

Tang Xuan calmly walked into the center of the formation. Brother Su, Your Esteemed Self finally remembered me, he grumbled inwardly. "Focus on drawing out and releasing your martial soul," Su Yuntao said.

Tang Xuan rolled his eyes. Is that line some kind of soul incantation of yours?

Immediately afterward, a gleam of black light appeared in Tang Xuan's palm, accompanied by a rising chill. In an instant, everyone in the room felt a faint pressure. This time, it has to be a powerful martial soul! Su Yuntao thought again. Even he felt suppressed by its aura. Just then, the martial soul in Tang Xuan's hand revealed its true form: a long sword patterned in black and blue, its blade over three feet long. The blade's colors were magnificent and unfathomably deep, and the sword as a whole seemed capable of seizing the soul. Both righteous and sinister-that was Tang Xuan's first impression of this martial soul.