"Oh, here it comes?"
Zhou Yang marveled.
He knew it couldn't possibly end just like that. After all, the power that most represented his identity hadn't truly appeared yet. He certainly didn't think the awakening ceremony would end here.
Although awakening The World had differed a tiny bit from his expectations, the result was still good.
As he rubbed the peculiar watch face, Zhou Yang was surprised to discover that it was made of metal.
"Damn, how did they make metal look like plastic?"
Even when Zhou Yang turned the watch face, what he felt was a distinctive metallic texture, completely at odds with its appearance. The sound it made was unmistakably metallic too.
Such a bundle of contradictions could undoubtedly only be-
No need to understand Kamen Rider stuff that clearly.jpg
"Next, let this world witness the Demon King's conquest."
He looked around. Time around him remained frozen, waiting for its master's command.
"Then-"
Zhou Yang struck the signature pose of a certain fish-selling tough guy, his face cold and aloof.
"Time, resume your flow."
With Zhou Yang's release, time finally began to flow again. The entire world regained its colors, the fallen leaves suspended in midair resumed their descent, and the hands of time turned once more.
Everything proceeded along its own course in orderly fashion.
But the instant Zhou Yang's Martial Soul awakening came to an end-
"What's going on? Why did my heart suddenly seize up?"
"You felt it too?"
"What exactly happened just now?"
The pinnacle powerhouses of the continent's major factions, existences such as Demigods and Quasi-Gods, were all utterly astonished by the vague sensations within their bodies. At their level, they were already extremely close to the God Realm. The various inexplicable sensations their bodies experienced wouldn't arise like wind from an empty cave; something unusual must have affected them.
They couldn't sense what had happened while time was stopped, but the overwhelming shock brought by the arrival of time's king remained deeply etched into their souls.
How could they not panic?
Naturally, the investigations that followed would bring changes to the continent's situation, but none of that had anything to do with Zhou Yang at present.
Inside the awakening chamber, the old man stared in surprise at the two objects that had appeared in Zhou Yang's hands: a white driver and a white watch face.
"Twin Martial Souls?!"
The old man couldn't help drawing several sharp breaths. Even now, such talent was exceedingly rare on the Douluo Continent.
"They aren't Twin Martial Souls."
Zhou Yang shook his head, rejecting that answer, and simply gave the old man a brief introduction to his Martial Soul.
The old man didn't understand anything about Rider transformations, but he did understand that these were part of the same Martial Soul, named Zi-O.
Even the old man, who had been conducting awakenings for nearly a dozen years, had never seen such a novel Martial Soul.
Though he didn't understand what sort of novel Martial Soul this was, the very fact that such a peculiar existence had appeared on the continent for the first time already proclaimed its uniqueness.
"Come test your Innate Full Soul Power."
Naturally, this classic procedure wouldn't change. After all, this was the "cup test" segment of the Douluo comedy.
What sort of talent you had all came down to this.
Although this wasn't ten thousand years ago, when Soul Power levels completely determined one's future, you still needed at least some Soul Power. Otherwise, you couldn't even cultivate.
Even trash needed a foundation to stand on before they could turn their fortunes around.
Zhou Yang placed his hand on the testing device, feeling that strange power within his body stir.
The device's testing stone immediately shone with dazzling light. As the data was recorded, an exact number appeared on the display, leaving the old man astonished once again.
"Level ten? Innate Full Soul Power!"
Seeing this, the old man promptly extended an invitation to Zhou Yang.
"Child, would you like to join the Spirit Pagoda?"
Zhou Yang's expression was gentle as he chuckled.
"I refuse."
After politely declining the old man's invitation, Zhou Yang got up, left the Spirit Pagoda, and returned home.
Zhou Yang had no particular desire to join any faction or organization. With his Rider Martial Soul, he already possessed an innate advantage and had found a path of his own.
It was also his path to kingship.
Possessing the power of Ohma, he was destined to be king, and history would inevitably bear his mark.
Rather than joining these organizations, he wanted to put together an organization himself.
"I'll call the organization Foundation S someday. (Big lie.)"
Of course, the name was just a joke. All of that was still far off.
Not to mention the potential ticking time bombs among the Douluo Continent's organizations.
Right now, he had something more important to do.
"Hehe, how could I not try something this fun?"
Red Mountain Academy was a public compulsory-education academy in Glorybound City, established under Sun Moon Federation policy. Children who had awakened their Martial Souls could choose between ordinary classes and Soul Master classes according to their circumstances.
After Martial Soul Awakening Day, most children without Soul Power could only enter ordinary classes, where they would be taught some basic knowledge. After completing their education, they would graduate and enter society.
Of course, heaven never barred every path. It wasn't as though they had no chance to turn their fortunes around.
If you had exceptional talent in technological research and could master a specialized skill, you could also study mechas, or achieve something in fields such as pharmaceuticals.
It was just that, without Soul Power and without being a Soul Master, your ceiling couldn't possibly be as high as a Soul Master's.
The remaining children with Soul Power would be tossed into Soul Master classes. Besides learning what the ordinary classes taught, they also had to study Soul Master knowledge and learn to cultivate.
Only one in a hundred awakened Soul Power, and few could enter a Soul Master class.
Originally, Zhou Yang had planned that, if he didn't awaken Soul Power, he would use his hazy memories of the plot to pick somewhere safe, sit back and watch the show, and simply slack his way through life.
Today was the first day of school.
Many parents brought their children to the school gates, holding their hands and patiently offering all sorts of reminders as the children took their first step toward society.
Time trickled away, drawing ever closer to the start of class.
Sitting in front of the guardhouse, the gatekeeper cheerfully watched this new batch of parents. He took the takeaway breakfast that had just arrived and placed it on the nearby table, watching the tug-of-war between children and parents with interest. This was an annual fixture.
Seeing some children coaxed into the academy, others rushing in excitedly on their own, and still others clinging to their parents and refusing to leave, he couldn't suppress the smile tugging at his lips.
Hehe, seeing this was worth the price of admission, even if I missed breakfast!
I really can't wait to see their faces when they find out they have to come again tomorrow!
Time ticked on without stopping, and before he knew it, it had passed.
Seeing that it was time for class, he prepared to go close the school gates.
However, as the gatekeeper rose and left, a peculiar reflected figure appeared in the guardhouse's glass. He didn't notice it.
The figure in the glass slowly extended a wicked little hand. It actually reached out through the glass toward the gatekeeper's breakfast, leaving behind a stack of Federation currency weighed down on the tabletop.
When the gatekeeper finished closing the gates and looked back, his expression changed, and the smile vanished from his face-
"Fuck, where's my breakfast? I haven't even had a bite!"
The piping-hot steam of his breakfast almost seemed to linger over the empty tabletop, yet not a trace of the food remained. Only a stack of Federation currency lay there.
Well, the amount was a little more than his breakfast had cost.
But-
"Who's going to make up for the nutrition I'm missing?" the gatekeeper wailed miserably.
In the classroom for Red Mountain Academy's Soul Master Class One, many children excitedly greeted one another, introducing themselves and chatting about their Martial Souls and Soul Power. The scenes of yesterday's awakening were still fresh in their minds, leaving quite a few of them brimming with excitement.
After all, starting today, they would embark on the path of Soul Masters. How could they not be excited?
Meanwhile, in a secluded seat in the corner of the classroom, beside the window in the back row-the king's homeland-
Zhou Yang lay sprawled over his desk with deep dark circles beneath his eyes, munching on the fresh, piping-hot breakfast he had just "bought" and catching up on yesterday's lost sleep. He felt rather helpless about the clamor around him.
"What a noisy day. If I'd known, I wouldn't have played so late last night."
Yes, the instant he had obtained the belt yesterday, he had started having a blast with it at home.
Though Ohma Zi-O was only a trial card, that didn't affect his other transformations in the slightest. The power of Ohma simply hadn't truly awakened yet; that didn't mean he couldn't transform or use it.
From here on, he only needed to keep improving himself and head toward his own "Day of Ohma."
Once the Day of Ohma arrived, everything would get better.jpg
The transformation at that moment remained fresh in Zhou Yang's memory.
When his power of Ohma truly awakened, that date would be engraved with a special name: the Day of Ohma.
Fortunately, although he no longer had the Ohma Zi-O trial card to play with, he still had Zi-O, plus the histories of two Riders to use. That was enough to keep him entertained.
After touching the watch faces, he discovered that, besides the armor forms used for Zi-O's transformations, the power of the watch faces themselves could also be used directly.
That was also why the watch faces could turn into a Zecter and a card deck.
Being able to directly use the Rider watch faces' power and transform into the corresponding Riders themselves had opened the door to a whole new world.
As a proper Rider, Zi-O was very strong in combat, but the suits for Zi-O's armor forms were disastrously hard to keep a straight face at.
Kids, I lost it.
Anyone who could keep a straight face upon first seeing the two giant USB drives and giant bottles on the shoulders of Zi-O W Armor and Zi-O Build Armor could succeed at anything.
(PS: Kamen Rider Zi-O W Armor and Build Armor forms.)
As Zhou Yang fondly recalled those two suits, a resigned smile of despair ultimately emerged on his face.
But those were already among the better ones.
What did they mean, this was nothing yet? What did they mean, there were even greater masters out there?
(PS: Zi-O Kabuto Armor and Zi-O Faiz Armor.)
After transforming into Zi-O Kabuto himself, Zhou Yang's suspended heart finally shattered all over the floor.
Hehe, kids, do you like big brother's big horns?
Not to mention the armor form Zhou Yang remembered for a certain Rider who transformed with a phone.
Was sticking two giant iPhones on someone's shoulders a design a human could come up with?
Toei's aesthetics had already reached this point. All he could do was submit.
After trying them out, he could only apologize to these armor forms. He decided to seal them away forever.
Sorry, Zi-O Armor was now out of print~
Recalling what a certain magenta warrior had done when taking back his own watch face, Zhou Yang willed it and copied him. As the watch face turned, it released a strange power that transformed into a belt around his waist.
Both watch faces could turn into belts from their corresponding Riders' histories according to Zhou Yang's wishes.
He thoroughly experienced the swagger of summoning the Kabuto Zecter to transform, the fantastical sensation of Ryuki's Mirror World, and, of course, the sheer stats offered by Zi-O, his own power and the one that felt the most satisfying and natural to use.
After all, he had three Rider systems on hand, yet more than three belts. A Rider corresponded to an entire history, and a history contained more Riders than just the main Rider. These were all genuine tokusatsu versions, too.
Thus, all manner of peculiar sounds kept coming from Zhou Yang's home throughout the night. Fortunately, he lived in the detached house Granny Zhou had left him, so he didn't disturb the neighbors.
All he could say was that Kamen Rider really packed a punch. He had nearly gotten addicted. He hadn't transformed and played around all that many times, just a few hundred transformations with different poses for each.
That was just how Kamen Rider was. This was also recorded in Gaim.
The trouble, however, was that when he transformed into Ryuki and summoned Mirror Monsters such as Dragreder, he accidentally smashed up his house. That forced him to work as a bricklayer and spend the whole night fixing walls. This was the biggest reason for his dark circles.
Unable to resist his drowsiness, he let himself slump over the desk and drifted hazily off to sleep.
Not until the class bell rang did a small hand gently pat his arm and shake him softly awake.
"Wake up. The teacher's calling you."
A gentle female voice sounded beside his ear, prompting Zhou Yang to raise his head.
The moment he looked up, he saw the entire class looking at him. Zhou Yang didn't particularly care.
With a quiet reminder from the girl sitting beside him, Zhou Yang understood that their homeroom teacher, Lin Ximeng, was asking them to introduce themselves.
Without a trace of embarrassment on his face, Zhou Yang stood straight up and briskly finished his self-introduction.
"Thanks."
Sitting back down, Zhou Yang spoke softly to the girl beside him, thanking her.
"You're welcome."
The girl responded with a lively, sunny smile.
Once the teacher had everyone introduce themselves, she quickly got down to business and began teaching them a meditation method. However, the name of the cultivation method caught Zhou Yang's attention.
Wait, what do you mean I'm learning the Mysterious Heaven Skill?
Was that how history went?
Or had something changed?
After all, he wasn't some shit-eating enthusiast who had seriously read the whole thing from beginning to end. He had read a certain God King's books back when he was young and foolish, but mainly the first two.
He only had some impressions of the Dragon King's story. At the end of the day, who would pay attention to details like these for no reason?
What had truly polluted his mind was a certain Instrument Emperor's earth-shattering fucking-literally-to destroy the BOSS, which had dealt little Yang a massive shock.
He couldn't help wondering whether what he had read was even a normal novel.
Still, he couldn't examine this too closely.
From what the teacher taught, it seemed that an unparalleled genius had appeared in the half-dead Tang Sect ten thousand years ago and revitalized it. Later, for certain unknown reasons, these simplified versions of the Mysterious Heaven Skill had been distributed.
A certain God King had actually been willing to open-source it for others to practice?
He hadn't slipped something into it to screw people over, had he?
As a suit for a certain Wei to project himself into, that God King's character felt even less trustworthy than the Fox God's.