Starting with a Ball, All Combat Power Comes from Catching
"Lone Wolf! Possess!"
Su Yuntao stepped forward and shouted. The next moment, a faint strand of blue-green light emerged from between his brows, and then his body began to swell. His hair turned grayish-brown, and grayish-brown fur sprouted over exposed areas such as his face and arms. His teeth sharpened and his nails lengthened, turning him straight from a human into a werewolf.
At the same moment, two Soul Rings, one yellow and one white, appeared beneath his feet.
"This is my Martial Soul, Lone Wolf. If any of you become Soul Masters in the future, you'll be able to use the same ability."
Seeing that none of the children present panicked at his Martial Soul possession, Su Yuntao nodded in satisfaction. Just what you'd expect from children raised by a Soul King. They're much calmer than those little brats in the other villages who've never seen the world. He stepped back, pointed at the center of the six-pointed star formation that had already been laid out, and asked, "Who wants to go first?"
"I'll go first!"
Before Su Lin could speak, Pang Hu, who had said at the start that he wanted to awaken a big hammer, squeezed to the front of the crowd.
After the six-pointed star flashed, an iron hammer appeared in Pang Hu's hand.
GG!
The moment he saw the iron hammer's design, Su Lin knew this guy was beyond saving.
As everyone knew, in this real world that resembled a game world, visual effects and character models were often directly tied to quality.
The flashier a Martial Soul's entrance effects and the more lavish its decorations, the greater its potential.
An iron hammer like the one in Pang Hu's hand, without any decorations or special effects, was utterly the most commonplace of the commonplace, an NPC through and through.
Sure enough, when Su Yuntao pressed Pang Hu's hand against the crystal ball, it showed no reaction.
Somewhat disappointed, Su Yuntao announced, "No Soul Power. Next."
After Pang Hu, the ten children other than Su Lin began their Martial Soul Awakening ceremonies one after another. Without exception, however, their Martial Souls were inconspicuous things such as sickles, axes, and hammers, and just like Pang Hu, none of them awakened any Soul Power.
"You're the only one left, child. I hope you can give me a pleasant surprise." Su Yuntao rubbed his slightly swollen brow. Controlling the formation to help others awaken their Martial Souls was extremely taxing on one's mental strength. Even a Battle Soul Master like him felt somewhat tired under such intense work.
"All right."
Su Lin walked into the center of the six-pointed star formation and took a deep breath. May the god of awakening bless me. With so many failed pulls before me, it ought to be time for my pity pull.
As Su Yuntao poured in his Soul Power, a hazy golden radiance burst from the surfaces of the six black Awakening Stones, forming a pale golden dome of light that enveloped Su Lin.
Noticing something unusual about the number of golden motes, Su Yuntao hurriedly reminded him with delight, "Pay close attention to the changes inside your body!"
At that moment, Su Lin felt as though he were soaking in hot water, his whole body comfortably warm. A warm current then appeared inside him, circulated throughout his body, and finally gathered in his hand.
In an instant, white light blossomed, and a red-and-white spherical object appeared in Su Lin's hand, drawing everyone's gaze.
The top half of its smooth, rounded shell was a clean, pure red, while the bottom half was matte white. A silver-gray metal band ran around its middle, with a small, round white button set into the very center of the band.
"What Martial Soul is this?" Su Yuntao scratched his head in puzzlement.
Judging by its design, it seemed to be a tool Martial Soul, but what could a ball do? Be thrown at people?
Grant, who had been watching from the side all along, was also somewhat puzzled. Although he was a Soul King, that only meant he was a capable fighter. He wasn't particularly well versed in knowledge concerning Martial Souls.
Still, judging by its exquisite craftsmanship, it probably wasn't anything ordinary. As for exactly what it did, that would depend on Su Lin's own exploration later.
In contrast to Grant and Su Yuntao's confusion, Su Lin's own breathing had grown heavy.
This ball was actually...!
A Poké Ball!
What excited him even more was that, at the same time his Martial Soul awakened, an illusory screen only he could see appeared before his eyes.
[Su Lin] [Level: 9 (0/100)] [Pokémon slots: 0/1] [Skill slots: 0/1]
Holy crap, a status panel!
Before Su Lin could explore any further, Su Yuntao's call pulled his thoughts back to reality.
"Never mind. Let's test your Soul Power first." Su Yuntao pushed the transparent crystal ball in front of Su Lin and had him place his hand against it, his voice unconsciously carrying a hint of anticipation.
Immediately, a powerful suction erupted from the blue crystal ball, and soon its surface blazed with dazzling blue light.
At the sight, Su Yuntao was overjoyed and cried out in surprise, "Innate rank-nine Soul Power! Good child, would you be willing to join our Spirit Hall?"
The moment Su Yuntao finished speaking, Grant clamped a hand onto his shoulder. Grant raised his right hand, his smile gradually turning twisted. "Well, well, lad. You've really grown bold, haven't you? Daring to poach one of mine right in front of me."
"Ahaha, I'm only thinking of the child's future..." Su Yuntao gave a couple of awkward laughs, attempting to defend himself. But the moment those words left his mouth, Grant's gaze grew even more dangerous. "Are you saying my Heaven Dou Royal Academy is inferior to your Spirit Hall?"
"Uh..."
Isn't that obvious...?
Su Yuntao pursed his lips and quietly muttered to himself inwardly.
"Hmph..." Seeing that Su Yuntao had fallen silent, Grant wasn't about to invite a rebuff by pursuing the issue. Instead, he rubbed Su Lin's head and asked gently, "Lin, are you planning to join Spirit Hall, or come with Uncle to attend a junior Soul Master Academy in the provincial capital?"
"..."
Su Lin blinked. With how close we are, you're asking me that?
Who doesn't know you came from Heaven Dou Royal Academy? You're clearly putting me over the fire to roast!
Let me think. How did Tianming put it again...?
"I want to stay with Uncle," said Su Lin, who was only six years old.
"Hahaha, good boy! Uncle hasn't doted on you for nothing!" Beaming with joy, Grant scooped Su Lin up onto his shoulder and laughed toward Grant. "All right, I'll be taking him with me. See you next year. Oh, no-better if we don't see each other next year."
"May your kind words come true." Smiling, Su Yuntao thumped his chest with his hand and watched Grant leave with the children of Wealth Village.
[Soul Power +0.0001] [Soul Power +0.0001] [Soul Power +0.0001]
An hour later, Su Lin, who had already moved into a private dorm room, sat cross-legged on his bed and began cultivating Soul Power according to the meditation method Headmaster Grant had taught him. He strove to raise his Soul Power to rank ten within three months, then obtain his First Soul Ring and catch his very first Pokémon.
This was the information gap between different social classes.
If he had been an orphan not in Wealth Village but in some rural place like Holy Soul Village or the neighboring Emperor Soul Village, he could only have waited three months for nothing, until Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy started classes, before he could systematically learn meditation methods.
And so, after sitting in meditation on his bed for three hours, watching his Soul Power rise by one ten-thousandth every second, Su Lin felt like a PCC grinding cultivation while AFK in some browser game.
The good thing, however, was that his experience gains were visible. At this rate, as long as he cultivated twelve hours every day and kept it up for a month, he would reach rank ten.