Spirit Awakening Fluid

"Li Meili, congratulations. It's just a pity..."

Watching Su Yuntao leave, Village Chief Shi Gandang looked over the certificate in his hand again and again, then sighed helplessly before handing it to Li Meili.

"Thank you for your trouble, Village Chief."

Li Meili happily accepted the Spirit Soul Certificate from Shi Gandang.

So what if it was a useless spirit soul? For ordinary people, possessing Soul Power was already something beyond the reach of most.

Amid everyone's congratulations, Li Meili held Shi Quan proudly in her arms and hurried home.

Before she had even entered the house, her excited voice had already carried in from beyond the courtyard.

Shi Jian, who had been crafting clay sculptures in the Clay Sculpture Room, shot to his feet upon hearing his wife's voice. Usually mature and steady, his face flushed red with excitement the moment he saw the Spirit Soul Certificate concerning Shi Quan in Li Meili's hand.

For ordinary people, having a child with talent for Soul Power was absolutely cause for the whole family to celebrate.

Li Meili quickly began making arrangements, while Shi Quan's attention was entirely focused on the system that had just appeared. Using cultivation as an excuse, he asked his parents not to disturb him casually, then returned to his room alone.

"System, are you there?"

After returning to his room, Shi Quan shut the doors and windows. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did he call out softly.

"Ding. The Treasure Chest Trigger System is at your service."

That familiar mechanical voice once again sounded in Shi Quan's mind.

Hearing the voice again, excitement was plainly visible in Shi Quan's eyes. At least now he knew the voice from before had not been his imagination.

"System, can you explain your functions?"

"Ding. When the host reaches or completes certain specific events, objects, conditions, and so on, the system will randomly trigger a corresponding treasure chest and open it for the host. The chest will contain a corresponding reward, which will be granted to the host."

"Reaches or completes certain specific events, objects, conditions?"

Even after hearing the system's explanation, Shi Quan was still completely confused. He continued, "So you mean I need to complete certain specific tasks before you issue treasure chests as rewards?"

"Ding. The system will not assign the host any tasks, instructions, requirements, or any other commands with guiding effects. All treasure chest rewards must be triggered by the host himself."

"Triggered by myself..." Shi Quan was immediately speechless upon hearing those words. "Then how am I supposed to trigger them?"

"Ding. When the host reaches or completes certain specific events, objects, conditions..."

As the system's mechanical voice repeated itself in his mind, Shi Quan's face instantly darkened. Based on the novels from his previous life, his system was probably one of those rigid robotic systems without any intelligence, capable only of helping him according to preset programming.

Thinking of this, curiosity appeared in Shi Quan's eyes. "System, where did you come from?"

"Ding. This system was born in the gap between time and space."

"The gap between time and space?"

Shi Quan's entire body trembled, and the curiosity in his eyes deepened. He had only asked casually, yet he had not expected the system to actually explain its origins.

"System, do you know why I transmigrated to Douluo Continent?"

"Ding. The system cannot investigate the host's origins."

Shi Quan frowned and continued asking, "System, how did you end up on me?"

"Ding. This system was brought out by the host himself when passing through the gap between time and space."

"I brought you out?" The more Shi Quan asked, the more confused he became. "System, do you mean you've been with me ever since I was born?"

"Ding. Yes, Host."

"So it's been six years... and I only triggered one treasure chest?!" Shi Quan's face completely darkened. Just how absurd were this damn system's treasure chest conditions for him not to have triggered one even once in six years?

After letting out a long sigh, Shi Quan gritted his teeth and asked, "System, what kind of place is the gap between time and space?"

"Ding. The gap between time and space is the gap between time and space."

Shi Quan: "..."

After a stretch of silence.

Shi Quan understood now that no matter how much he asked, the system's answers would probably remain the same few responses. This system was merely a fixed program, and its current answers had been rigidly preset. Whether they were true or not was impossible to say.

The same applied to this so-called origin of the system. The answer he knew now might have been deliberately set by some higher existence.

But that was not something Shi Quan could consider at his current stage. Obsessing over it would simply be worrying about imaginary problems.

Shi Quan quickly gathered his thoughts. To him, the system was his only means of rising to prominence. Rather than worrying about the existence and purpose behind it, he might as well live well in the present. With his talent, it would already be difficult enough for him to break through to Soul Grandmaster and live safely past a hundred.

As long as the system could help him live a long life and ascend to Godhood, he would come out ahead. There was no loss either way. He did not have persecution delusions, so why think so much about it?

There were two main things he needed to do now.

First, figure out the system's rewards.

Second, figure out the trigger conditions for the system's treasure chests, so he could strive for more rewards.

"System, how do I claim the reward from the treasure chest I triggered earlier?"

Shi Quan's question sounded directly in his mind. After asking several questions, he had realized that as long as he called out in his mind, the system would respond. There was no need to speak aloud.

"Ding. The host may retrieve treasure chest rewards from the System Space. All treasure chest trigger rewards will be stored for the host in the System Space."

"System Space?" Shi Quan's eyes lit up. This was an unexpected delight. In the future, after triggering treasure chests, he would not need to worry about suddenly acquiring something that might arouse others' suspicions. If it could also store items for him, it would be a free spatial Soul Tool.

"Open System Space."

At Shi Quan's command, he immediately saw an illusory screen appear before him. It looked like the inventory slots in a game, and there was only one slot.

Inside the slot was a long silver tube. In the middle was a transparent, crystal-like glass section, through which he could see a liquid glowing faintly gold. An X2 symbol in the bottom-right corner indicated the quantity.

Shi Quan looked at it, and its name appeared directly in his mind like an annotation.

Spirit Awakening Fluid: A super-technological product from a certain Douluo's future. It could help the user awaken their Spirit Soul again and enhance their talent.

Usage: Oral consumption.

"Awaken my Spirit Soul again? A second awakening of my Spirit Soul? Or awaken another Spirit Soul?"

Shi Quan's eyes lit up. No matter which it was, it would be of enormous help to him right now.

Enhancing his talent was especially important to him. After all, there were only a few things in Douluo that could improve one's talent—either Immortal Herbs or divine power reshaping one's physique. Neither was something he could obtain at present.

One step behind meant falling behind at every step. He had not forgotten the piece of information the Blind Douluo had revealed when helping him awaken.

"Another Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul wielder with soul power."

That meant the Blind Douluo had likely just awakened someone else with the same Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul as him, someone who also possessed soul power.

There was no need to guess. That person had to be the protagonist, Tang San.

Although he did not know where Holy Soul Village was exactly, he could at least determine the approximate timeline. Tang San might be the same age as him.

With his Innate Soul Power of only level one, reaching the peak was simply impossible, much less facing this turbulent continent in the future. But with this Spirit Awakening Fluid, his current predicament could be greatly improved. At the very least, it was one of the assets he could rely on to rise.

"I just wonder how effective this Spirit Awakening Fluid is."

Shi Quan's attention was now entirely drawn to the Spirit Awakening Fluid inside the system inventory.

"Extract one bottle of Spirit Awakening Fluid."

With a thought, the silver tube appeared directly in Shi Quan's hand. After inspecting it from top to bottom, he immediately noticed a conspicuous raised switch at one end.

With a light press, the silver tube opened. A faint fragrance instantly spread throughout the room, leaving him refreshed and invigorated. Looking at the shimmering liquid inside the tube, flickering with a faint golden glow, Shi Quan did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately poured all of it into his mouth in one go.

Gulp, gulp.

The moment the golden liquid entered his mouth, Shi Quan immediately felt a strange fragrance wash through his nose and mouth, making him shudder. Then all the golden liquid flowed like a warm current from his mouth into his stomach before spreading throughout his entire body.

The sensation was like his previous Spirit Soul awakening. His whole being seemed to sink into a golden world. He could clearly feel streams of warm current flowing through his body, while his body itself was like parched earth, gradually regaining vitality under the nourishment of the golden liquid. Something within him also seemed to be nourished by that energy, as though it were about to break through the soil.

Crack.

Shi Quan suddenly heard something shatter in his mind. A golden-yellow light burst from within his body and swiftly gathered toward his left hand.

His eyes flickered. As the warmth in his body gradually faded, Shi Quan slowly opened his eyes and almost instinctively looked toward his left hand.

A clump of earth-yellow soil was floating above his palm.

"It's actually Twin Martial Souls!"

Shi Quan stared excitedly at the Martial Soul in his left hand, instantly falling into wild ecstasy.

As expected of something produced by the system—it was bound to be top quality.

A single bottle of Spirit Awakening Fluid had actually awakened his Martial Soul again, allowing him to inherit the Martial Soul passed down from his father: Spirit Mud!

Not only that, the small amount of soul power in his body had increased by at least threefold with the awakening of his second Martial Soul. In other words, his Innate Soul Power had now reached nearly level four.

One bottle of Spirit Awakening Fluid had not only turned him from a single-Martial-Soul wielder into someone with Twin Martial Souls, but had also transformed his talent.

And he still had another bottle of Spirit Awakening Fluid.

His heart raced, his hands trembled.

He put the empty bottle in his hand back into System Space, and another identical bottle of Spirit Awakening Fluid appeared in Shi Quan's hand.

"One wave to take off—Three-Life Martial Soul, here I come!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Shi Quan opened the Spirit Awakening Fluid and took large gulps, swallowing every drop of the golden liquid.

The Spirit Awakening Fluid's effect was to awaken one's Spirit Soul again. His Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul had been inherited from his mother, while the Spirit Mud Martial Soul awakened the second time had been inherited from his father. Both sides of his parents' bloodline inheritance had already awakened.

Shi Quan was also somewhat curious whether the Spirit Awakening Fluid could help him awaken a third Martial Soul, or whether it would instead enhance the quality of his two existing Martial Souls.

Sure enough, the warm and familiar feeling returned. But this time, although the warm aura continuously roamed through and nourished the meridians in his body, he did not feel as though something was being drawn out like before.

"Looks like a Three-Life Martial Soul can only remain wishful thinking..."

Just as that thought arose in Shi Quan's heart upon sensing the state of his body, a sudden change occurred.

Boom!

Shi Quan felt his consciousness jolt violently, as if something had exploded in his mind. All the warm currents in his body seemed to have found an outlet and surged madly toward his head.

Memories from his previous life appeared in his mind as though reflected there, continuously flashing past like a movie. Every event from the past became vividly clear—joy, sorrow, unwillingness, and regret. In the end, everything converged into a single figure.

Shi Quan was stunned as he looked at that figure.

Because it was himself.

More precisely, that figure bore the appearance of his past-life self.

The image vanished, and everything returned to normal. Shi Quan slowly opened his eyes. He was not as excited as he had imagined he would be. Instead, he was astonishingly calm.

The effects of the Spirit Awakening Fluid were truly astonishing.

Shi Quan had indeed achieved the feat of possessing Three-Life Martial Souls.

What Shi Quan had not expected was that his Third Martial Soul was actually himself.

A Body Martial Soul? His own body?

No.

Because Shi Quan's Third Martial Soul was not his current self, but his past-life self.

Moreover, from what he could sense, this Third Martial Soul differed from the Body Martial Souls he knew of. It seemed to have been formed from his past-life memories, emotions, and obsessions—nothing more than a strand of willpower, or rather, a special manifestation of his soul. It did not belong to any part of his body. Instead, it bore some resemblance to Ghost Douluo's Ghost Fan Martial Soul.

But it was only similar—absolutely not the same.

If he remembered correctly, Ghost Douluo's martial soul, Ghost Fan, seemed to have been born when his soul possessed his body again after death and awakened. His martial soul was his soul; at that time, his soul had been that of a dead ghost. Ghost Douluo himself could not truly be considered alive either. He was a living corpse, in a state neither alive nor dead.

But Shi Quan had been reborn. His martial soul was no dead ghost.

"Alas!"

With a long sigh, Shi Quan gradually came back to himself. Six years after his rebirth, much of his past life had been worn away by time. Yet he had never expected a single bottle of Spirit Awakening Fluid to dredge up every old memory from his previous life.

He had only lived twenty-seven years in his previous life, still at the age when one strove and struggled. Though ordinary, how could he possibly have had no family, no friends, no attachments? He had crossed over here for no reason at all. It would have been a lie to say he did not miss them, but he had been powerless to change anything and could only accept it. After six years of mental preparation, this experience had nearly plunged him back into the confusion and helplessness he had felt when he had first crossed over...