Martial Soul Awakening: Azure Dragon, Spirit-Suppressing Spear

Filled with excitement at the prospect of meeting an important figure and worry over his own future.

Su Yuntao finally arrived outside the residence of Dragon Soul Village's chief and knocked on the gate.

Knock, knock, knock~

He did not have to wait long before footsteps sounded behind the gate.

Small steps, light and quick. A child...

And the truth was just as he had expected.

The gate opened, and a black-haired boy whose looks "narrowly surpassed" even his own back in the day appeared before Su Yuntao.

Before Su Yuntao could greet him, the boy spoke first:

"You must be Lord Su Yuntao?"

The speaker was naturally Lu Chen, and when he saw the other man nod slightly in confirmation, his eyes could not help lighting up.

A handsome young man with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, a fitted white deacon's uniform, a black cloak, a fist-sized character for "soul" in the center of his chest, and a badge of three crossed swords pinned to his left breast.

The appearance all matched.

The illustrious Blind God King Su Yuntao-today, he had finally met the man in the flesh!

Lu Chen could hardly be blamed for his secret excitement. Apart from the fact that his two lives combined did not even add up to twenty-five years and his mindset was entirely that of a young man, there was also the thrill of finally meeting an "important character" from the original story, of seeing someone from a picture come alive before his eyes.

As the saying went, "Who stands at the peak where martial souls end? Without meeting Yuntao, the path comes to nothing."

"If the awakening ceremony isn't conducted by the Blind God King, it loses all meaning."

"The awakening world cannot do without Mr. Su Yuntao, just as transmigrators cannot do without systems."

After all, what transmigrator would not hope to see Mr. Su Yuntao shake his head slightly at their martial soul awakening ceremony and declare their martial soul a "trash martial soul" in a faintly regretful tone?

But for Lu Chen, who already knew he would awaken twin martial souls and possess innate full soul power, that famous scene might be something he would never get to see.

"Yes, I'm Su Yuntao. I arranged with Senior Lu Yun to come today and assist with the martial soul awakening ceremony. Young brother, you must be the one having your martial soul awakened today?"

Unlike his unruffled attitude before everyone in Holy Soul Village, Su Yuntao showed little of an expert's lofty bearing when facing Lu Chen.

This family was on the verge of producing a Titled Douluo. At most, he was merely a junior.

His voice was gentle and his smile warm. Setting aside the sharpness inherent to a Battle Soul Master, he looked just like the sunny, cheerful Second Brother Li from next door to Lu Chen.

"Assist," "young brother"...

He certainly knows his place. His desire to survive and get ahead is strong, too.

Lu Chen naturally noticed the care Su Yuntao took with his words. Was he afraid that, should Lu Chen awaken a trash martial soul, his grandfather would take it out on him?

"That's right. My name is Lu Chen. Grandpa is waiting for you in the sitting room. Please follow me." Answering with a smile, Lu Chen led Su Yuntao through the entrance hall toward the main room.

"Lord Deacon."

"Hmm?"

"It's nothing, but when you meet Grandpa in a moment, just call him Village Chief. Don't... you understand, right?"

"Yes, I understand. Thank you, young brother."

Of course Su Yuntao understood.

He understood all too well!

Before he came, Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo had repeatedly cautioned him that he absolutely, absolutely, absolutely must not address Lu Yun as "Grandmaster" to his face.

After all, no one would feel proud of a detrimental mutation during their martial soul awakening that left the ceiling of their cultivation forever confined to the Soul Grandmaster stage.

His inherited martial soul, the cloud eagle, had undergone a detrimental mutation into a featherless eagle, and his innate soul power had been only half a rank.

Yet Lu Yun had successfully broken through to the Soul Grandmaster realm at twenty-three. Under normal circumstances, that was something only Soul Masters with rank-four or even rank-five innate soul power could accomplish!

Lu Yun's experiences could truly be called both inspirational and legendary, and he was indeed an idol to some Soul Masters with low innate soul power.

It was said that even the esteemed His Holiness the Pope had once asked about his circumstances in detail.

Unfortunately, no miracle had come in the end. Decades passed, and Lu Yun remained unable to advance another step.

Under such circumstances, anyone daring to call him "Grandmaster" was probably simply tired of having too smooth a life.

"Hahaha, has Lord Deacon arrived?"

Before the two entered the main room, they heard several hearty laughs from inside, and a tall, lean old man in black with a thin face came out to greet them.

He was Lu Yun, the chief of Dragon Soul Village.

In contrast to his aged face, his eyes were bright and sharp as an eagle's. When his gaze swept over, Su Yuntao actually felt somewhat unable to meet it.

This also made Su Yuntao marvel inwardly. A senior of the older generation, indeed. Truly terrifying!

His soul power is only three ranks above mine, but this pressure is no joke. If we really fought, I probably wouldn't last even a few moves.

Luckily, I'm only here to get ahead...

Su Yuntao raised his hands, not in apology, but to convey that there was really no need for his elder to come outside to greet him:

"Village Chief Lu, you're putting this junior to shame. How could I have you welcome me in person? If the Grand Steward finds out later, I'm afraid I'll be in for it."

"Oh, Lord Deacon, what are you saying? It was already willful of this old man to request you specifically for this trip. I ought to observe this little courtesy." Stroking his beard, Lu Yun said with a smile, "As for your Grand Steward, if that old rascal gives you trouble over something like this, just tell him to come to me!"

"Haha, then this junior will take you at your word."

After a few exchanges of small talk, Su Yuntao gradually relaxed.

This Village Chief Lu doesn't seem nearly as stern and frightening as the rumors say. Is he being so polite to me because he dotes on his grandson so much?

Eek!

If the boy really awakens a trash martial soul, won't I be torn apart alive?!

Had Lu Yun and his grandson been able to hear Su Yuntao's thoughts, they probably would not have been able to keep from laughing.

In truth, Lu Yun's temperament in his earlier years had indeed been just as the rumors described: stern, cold, and unsmiling.

As his old friend, the Grand Steward in Nuoding City, put it: he looked at everyone as though they owed him ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.

And this, too, had to do with Lu Yun's experiences.

His wife had died of illness in his earlier years, his only son had died fighting an Evil Soul Master, and despite cultivating hard his entire life, he had never managed to break through to the Soul Elder realm...

Past seventy, he had no family left in the world apart from a younger brother.

With such experiences weighing on an old man, could anyone still expect him to be kindly and gentle?

But all that was in the past.

Six years ago, when Lu Chen descended upon the Douluo Continent with a meteor, the brothers Lu Yun and Lu Tian, who happened to be nearby, had rushed to the scene at once.

Lu Tian was not the only one whose martial soul had evolved.

A rank-forty-one Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor, with the steel-winged dragon hawk as his martial soul-that was Lu Yun's true strength now!

It was only for certain reasons that the Lu family had not publicized the matter.

This was not only to protect Lu Chen, whom the two brothers regarded as their closest kin, but also to guard against the current His Holiness the Pope.

With Lu Tian's intelligence network in Spirit Hall, getting hold of a little hearsay was hardly difficult.

It was precisely because of this hearsay that Lu Tian had never fully accepted the overtures from the Pope's faction within Spirit Hall.

Inside the tidy, spacious room, Su Yuntao placed six black stones on the floor in a hexagon, then motioned for Lu Chen to step inside.

Once Lu Chen stood in place as instructed, he gave a low shout: "Lone wolf, possess!"

A faint blue-green light emerged from between his brows, then spread toward his hair.

As the blue-green light flowed in, Su Yuntao's flowing black hair immediately turned gray and continued to lengthen. Fur of the same color also sprouted on his hands, which had turned into sharp claws at some point.

Looking closely, even his originally slender body seemed to have swelled considerably, and every movement carried an indescribable sense of strength.

One white and one yellow, two rings of light inscribed with unknown runes lit up beneath his feet. Their shifting radiance lent even greater majesty to Su Yuntao's dark green wolf eyes.

Watching Su Yuntao's martial soul possession, Lu Yun murmured in praise, "Handsome!"

"Ahem~"

"Of course, Grandpa is still a little more handsome. You have wings, after all!"

Hearing the slightly displeased cough from the old man beside him, Lu Chen changed tack, filling his words with praise for the noble flying martial soul. Only then did the old geezer beside him nod in satisfaction and turn all his attention back to the awakening ceremony before him.

Seeing this exchange between grandfather and grandson, Su Yuntao's lips, from which his canine teeth protruded slightly, twitched as though he wanted to smile, but in the end, he did not dare.

Forcing himself to become serious, Su Yuntao spoke solemnly:

"Lu Chen, I'm sure the village chief has already told you everything you need to bear in mind during the awakening ceremony. Now, I'm going to begin!"

"Lord Deacon, I'm ready."

Lu Chen nodded in reply and straightened his body.

Su Yuntao thrust his hands out rapidly, sending six streams of soul power into the six black stones on the floor in succession. At once, golden radiance shot skyward from the stones, lighting up the entire room!

Countless golden motes gathered into several streams of light, flowing ceaselessly into Lu Chen's body.

At the same time, Lu Chen, whose body was trembling continuously, called up the system panel in his mind.

System, display the panel!

[System girl at your service (✧ω✧)!]

[Host detected to be in a special state.]

[Martial soul awakening in progress!]

"Rooar~"

The frequency of Lu Chen's trembling reached its peak. As a dragon's cry resounded in the ears of all three, Lu Chen raised his right hand high. Brilliant runes appeared on the back of his hand, and a sinuous blue-green silhouette emerged behind him.

Antlers like a deer's, a head like a camel's, eyes like a rabbit's, a neck like a snake's, a belly like a giant clam's, scales like a fish's, claws like an eagle's, palms like a tiger's, and ears like an ox's.

[Azure dragon awakened!]

Indeed, this was the image of the azure dragon that majestically guarded the east in Huaxia's ancient myths and legends. It was also a powerful martial soul that the system had spent years creating, drawing on the power of countless shattered planes before finally transforming it through Lu Chen's own bloodline.

Shing~

Another metallic ring sounded, like a sharp weapon leaving its sheath.

Lu Chen raised his left hand, and a spear of brilliant gold, roughly ten feet long, appeared immediately after the azure dragon.

[Spirit-suppressing spear awakened!]

A complete true dragon design was engraved along the shaft, its mouth swallowing the blade. Cold light glinted on the sharp spearhead. Merely looking at it gave one a stabbing pain that seemed to emanate from the depths of the soul.

Su Yuntao was certain that this was by no means merely an ordinary spear martial soul!

Twin martial souls-and from the soul power fluctuations of these two martial souls alone, he could tell that the innate soul power was definitely not low.

The turmoil of Su Yuntao's emotions at that moment was no less than that of the old geezer beside him, who was shaking with excitement.

He felt that his future was now utterly bright!

Only...

Is this a true dragon martial soul?

Or some unknown variety of lesser dragon?

Why doesn't it match my impression of powerful dragon martial souls, with their strong bodies and dragon wings on their backs?

Could it be an incomplete martial soul that underwent a detrimental mutation?

The Blind God King was working his magic!