Useless Martial Soul!?

"Yes, Grandpa Tai." Yang Yunhai's body had eased somewhat, and his legs were no longer weak. He carefully rose to his feet and strode forward.

Having watched his two companions undergo Martial Soul awakening earlier, he already understood the process and walked straight into the hexagonal stone formation.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man immediately thrust out both hands, continuously injecting Soul Power into the Six Black Stones on the ground. The next moment, the six stones seemed to form some kind of connection. A faint golden light rose from them simultaneously, enveloping Yang Yunhai completely.

So warm. This was Yang Yunhai's first sensation.

Then, he felt as though something inside his body had suddenly shattered. Waves of warmth flowed down his arm toward his right palm.

Yang Yunhai subconsciously raised his right hand.

The village chief, the middle-aged man, and the children nearby all watched intently.

The next second, blue light mixed with several streaks of white gathered together, and a tender-looking Blue Grass abruptly appeared in his palm.

Blue Silver Grass. It was a plant found everywhere along the village roadsides; they could not possibly mistake it. The only difference was that the leaf veins of Yang Yunhai's Blue Silver Grass were whitish, while the roadside Blue Silver Grass had pale blue veins. But without question, its appearance was absolutely that of Blue Silver Grass.

"Blue Silver Grass!?" All the children froze, including Yang Yunhai himself.

"How... how could this be?" The village chief and the middle-aged man could barely believe what they were seeing.

They had held great expectations for Yang Yunhai, who would inevitably be struck by lightning whenever he went out on rainy days. They had always believed he would awaken a decent Martial Soul today.

Yet now, he had awakened Blue Silver Grass. This was a Useless Martial Soul universally acknowledged across the continent!

The gap between expectation and reality was simply too great.

"Uncle Di, I feel like my Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul is a little different. Don't believe me? Touch it and see?!" Yang Yunhai recovered and looked up at the middle-aged man.

Chang Gongdi, the village chief's eldest son, was forty-four years old, a Level 29 Soul Grand Master, and the current Spirit Hall Deacon.

"Different?" Chang Gongdi muttered, subconsciously raising his right hand to touch a Blue Silver Grass leaf.

The next second, his pupils constricted, and his finger jerked back on instinct.

"It has electricity?!" The words nearly blurted out of his mouth. Light immediately returned to his eyes, along with renewed hope.

That makes more sense! It has electricity—that fits someone who keeps getting struck by lightning. Maybe this isn't Common Blue Silver Grass after all, he could not help thinking.

He hurriedly grabbed the Blue Crystal from the side and handed it over, saying eagerly, "Come on, Xiao Hai. Test your Soul Power."

"Okay." Yang Yunhai nodded. With a thought, he returned his Martial Soul to his body, then extended his right hand and placed it on the crystal.

A powerful suction force immediately came from his palm. Then, the blue crystal below abruptly lit up.

"This..." Chang Gongdi's expression instantly fell, while the faint light that had returned to the village chief's eyes dimmed just as suddenly.

At this brightness, his Innate Soul Power was Level 0.5. With their many years of experience, they could not possibly be mistaken.

Damn it, a Martial Soul with the Thunder Attribute only has this much Innate Soul Power!? Yang Yunhai's mentality crumbled as well.

As far as he knew, Spirit Masters on Douluo Continent could not cultivate Soul Power before awakening their Martial Souls. Therefore, the amount of Innate Soul Power one possessed was determined at birth. Otherwise, Innate Full Soul Power would have become commonplace long ago. From a certain perspective, barring accidents, the level of one's Innate Soul Power basically represented a Spirit Master's future cultivation speed and determined the upper limit of their growth.

And Innate Soul Power of Level 0.5 undoubtedly meant that his cultivation talent was at the very bottom.

The only exception was Tang San. According to the original work, Tang San's Innate Soul Power had been cultivated through the Mysterious Heaven Skill. At the beginning, he had no Soul Power in his body. Only after awakening his Martial Soul did the internal energy he had cultivated transform into Soul Power, giving him Innate Full Soul Power.

As for him, he had not encountered anything like a Cultivation Method in his previous life, so naturally he had been unable to accumulate internal energy before the age of six. The only thing he could do was exercise more and pray that fate would bless him. His skin had become so dark because of all the exercise under the sun over the past two years.

Now, that hope had been shattered. It hurt!

"Sigh..." Seeing Yang Yunhai's disappointed expression, Chang Gongdi, as an elder, could not help feeling regretful as well. He quickly composed himself, put on a smile, and patted Yang Yunhai's shoulder. "Xiao Hai, don't be discouraged. If your Martial Soul awakened Soul Power, that means you can become a Spirit Master in the future. In that respect, you've already surpassed the vast majority of people on the continent."

He was not lying to Yang Yunhai. Spirit Masters made up less than one percent of the continent's total population.

"That's right, Boss!" One of the nearby children spoke with a trace of envy in his voice. "None of us awakened Soul Power."

"Sigh, Boss awakened Soul Power. He's going to an academy in the future, so no one will tell us stories anymore."

Compared to becoming Spirit Masters, these young children still felt that having stories to listen to was more important.

"I'll tell you stories when we get back later." Yang Yunhai forced a smile and looked at his little companions.

"Yay!" The children immediately brightened.

"Alright! Children, it's time for us to go out too." The village chief, who had already walked to the side, said kindly.

After saying that, he turned to look at his eldest son.

"A Di, I'll talk to Xiao Hai about school once we get home. You should go to the other villages and awaken the children's Martial Souls."

"Alright." Chang Gongdi nodded and began packing up his things.

Before long, outside the Wooden House, the children who were not orphans were taken away by their parents, while the orphans were brought back to the Orphanage by the village chief.

After arriving, the village chief led Yang Yunhai alone into the Dean's Office and had him sit down.

"Xiao Hai, do you want to join Spirit Hall, like grandpa, your Uncle Di, Uncle Ao, and your older brothers and sisters?" Looking at Yang Yunhai, the village chief asked in a probing tone before explaining, "Xiao Hai, this is what grandpa thinks."

"Although your Innate Soul Power isn't high, you still have a good chance of becoming a Spirit Master. If you join Spirit Hall, you can serve as a deacon at the Notting City Branch in the future, just like Grandpa and your Uncle Di did. You'll have a stable income and won't live badly."

"When you get older, you can return to the village to retire, or take over grandpa's position and become the village chief or Dean. You've known everyone in the village since childhood. Everyone can look after each other when something happens, and when you're bored, you can gather together and chat."

Yang Yunhai had been smart since he was young. The village chief felt that he would definitely have no problem becoming the village chief in the future.

"As for school," the village chief continued, "you're the only one in the village who awakened Soul Power this year, so you can use the work-study student spot at the Notting City Junior Spirit Master Academy. And if you join Spirit Hall in advance, you'll become a reserve Spirit Master of Spirit Hall and can receive a monthly living allowance from the Notting City Branch. Combined with the wages the academy gives work-study students, you won't have to worry about food or drink at Notting Academy. Just be careful not to provoke those noble Spirit Masters."

He disliked the noble Spirit Masters at Notting Academy because he had been bullied when he was young and had even been forced to pay protection money.

That was why he felt he should give Yang Yunhai a reminder.

"Alright, Grandpa Tai." Yang Yunhai nodded without the slightest hesitation.

He had long overheard from the villagers that he had been abandoned by the roadside. If the village chief, who had been a deacon in Spirit City at the time, had not picked him up, he would likely have been carried off by wild beasts or starved to death beneath that poplar tree.

Not to mention that the village chief's family had cared for him throughout these years at the Orphanage and taught him knowledge related to Spirit Masters.

If joining Spirit Hall was what it took, then he would join. He could consider it repayment for their kindness.

As for why the village chief wanted him to attend the Notting City Junior Spirit Master Academy rather than send him to the Spirit Hall Exclusive Soul Master Academy, he knew the reason as well.

It was very simple. The Spirit Hall Exclusive Soul Master Academy had admission requirements, and Innate Soul Power of Level 3 was a hard requirement.

It was essentially selecting elites from among commoner Spirit Masters—those who at least had a chance of cultivating to the Soul Elder realm.

Once someone successfully joined, even hundred-year Spirit Rings were simply handed out for free.

Why was there a Spirit Hall Enforcement Team in the Beginner Soul Hunting Forest? Aside from patrolling, checking permits, and preventing people from sneaking in under false pretenses, they had another duty.

That was to help Spirit Hall Exclusive Soul Masters who came to obtain Spirit Rings find suitable Soul Beasts to hunt.

The Beginner Soul Hunting Forest was a place where the empire raised Soul Beasts in captivity. Note that they were raised in captivity, and captivity naturally involved human management. Thus, Spirit Hall knew perfectly well what Soul Beasts were inside the Beginner Soul Hunting Forest, how old they were, and where they could be found.

Whenever there was a need, they could simply have the Enforcement Team lead people over and beat the target to the brink of death. It was a complete one-stop service.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons Spirit Hall could control seventy percent of the continent's Spirit Masters.

Thinking of the original work, even nobles who had not joined Spirit Hall, such as the Notting City Lord's son Xiao Chenyu, had a White Ring as his first Spirit Ring.

The difference in benefits could not have been greater.

And someone like him, with only Level 0.5 Innate Soul Power and a Martial Soul universally recognized as useless, undoubtedly did not qualify to enter the Spirit Hall Exclusive Soul Master Academy. This was also why Su Yuntao had not invited Tang San to join Spirit Hall even after he awakened Innate Full Soul Power. In the general public's understanding, Blue Silver Grass was simply too useless and had no value worth cultivating.

Of course, having Soul Power still made one stronger than an ordinary person. Spirit Hall would certainly accept someone who chose to join voluntarily; they simply would not receive focused training. Therefore, sending them to a local junior academy while providing a small monthly subsidy to cover food and maintain contact became the best option.

As far as he knew, the village chief had awakened Level 2 Innate Soul Power back then, which had not met the requirement for studying at the Spirit Hall Exclusive Soul Master Academy. He later entered the Notting City Soul Master Academy as a work-study student, only to suffer bullying from noble Spirit Masters.

Then after that, he chose to join Spirit Hall. There was probably a factor of having suffered humiliation at the hands of noble Spirit Masters.

No wonder the village chief had told him to join Spirit Hall directly and specifically warned him to be careful around noble Spirit Masters.

"Then it's settled." Seeing Yang Yunhai agree, the village chief smiled. "There are still half a month before the Soul Master Academy opens. I'll arrange a single dormitory for you later. Cultivate properly during this time, and leave everything else to grandpa."

Yang Yunhai had looked through Spirit Hall's Meditation Method when the village chief's grandson was learning it.

"Thank you, Grandpa Tai." Yang Yunhai jumped down from his chair and bowed politely. "Then I'll head back first."

The village chief's smile became even warmer. He nodded. "Alright."

A Thunder Attribute, yet only Level 0.5 Innate Soul Power. This isn't normal. Yang Yunhai thought as he walked toward the door. When he stepped outside into the small courtyard, gentle sunlight fell across his face.

Warmth washed over him, and he could not help looking up at the sky. Clouds drifted and shifted as his thoughts floated away with them.

"Blue Silver Grass, as a plant-type Soul Beast, is characterized by tenacious vitality and carries the Life Attribute. But lightning is something that destroys life in nature. How could the two be compatible? Could it be that my Martial Soul underwent a negative mutation and produced no Soul Power at all? The reason I awakened Soul Power is because I've been struck by lightning dozens of times over the years, leaving some energy behind in my body?"

Thinking of this possibility, Yang Yunhai could not help recalling a certain special plant-type Soul Beast.

The Thunder Hell Vine. According to the original work, every lightning strike it endured during its early growth made it stronger. A hundred lightning strikes were equivalent to a year of cultivation for an ordinary Soul Beast. Yet he neither possessed Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline nor the Thunder Hell Vine Bloodline.

As an ordinary human, his physical strength, self-healing ability, and efficiency in absorbing the energy of heaven and earth—especially the violently destructive energy of lightning—were surely far inferior to those of a Thunder Hell Vine Soul Beast.

If a hundred lightning strikes equaled one year of cultivation for the Thunder Hell Vine, wouldn't he need hundreds or even thousands of strikes?

Not to mention that he had been absorbing it passively all these years.

So this Level 0.5 Innate Soul Power is the amount of Soul Power converted from Thunder Attribute energy left in my body after getting struck by lightning dozens of times over the past six years? At this thought, Yang Yunhai's mind blanked for a moment, and then the corner of his mouth twitched.

By that logic, if I'd gone out during every thunderstorm to get struck by lightning, wouldn't I have awakened Innate Full Soul Power today?

Of course, there was also the possibility that he would already have been struck to death!

He lowered his head and remained silent for a long while.

"Sigh..." In the end, it became a deep sigh.

"I'll wait for rainy weather and test whether I can use Lightning Attraction to cultivate. If I can, perhaps there's still hope."

"Otherwise, I'll have to find a way to get ahead of Third Brother and take advantage of his cheat."

With that thought, he started walking toward the dormitory.