A few days after Feng Xiaotian and Shui Bing'er headed north, Jiang Lin and Bai Lingyu also began packing their bags.
On the eve of their departure, Bai Lingyu sat at the table, flipping through the map, and looked up at Jiang Lin, asking, "We're going out for training, so we need to have a general direction, right? We can't just wander off blindly."
Jiang Lin nodded. "Yes, we should determine the direction first." He then took out a map from his bag and unfolded it on the table. "This is a map of the southern region of the Heaven Dou Empire. It's not large, but it should be sufficient."
Bai Lingyu looked down for a while, then suddenly pointed to an area marked " Cloud Mist Mountain Range " on the south side of the map. "I came to this area before when I secretly left home."
The map only shows the outline of the mountain, but there's actually a small village beyond that ridge, with only a few dozen households, which isn't marked on the map at all.
He withdrew his hand and looked at Jiang Lin: "Since we don't know where to travel, why don't we just explore these places that are only marked with mountains and forests on the map, and see if there are any other villages inside?"
Those places are remote, Spirit Hall doesn't necessarily go there every year. If any children reach the required age but haven't awakened their powers, we can lend a hand."
Jiang Lin studied the map for a while, then said, "Alright. My research on the Spirit Eyes Martial Soul has recently hit a bottleneck. I need to observe and perceive more to find a breakthrough. This is a good opportunity to thoroughly understand both the map and the Martial Soul."
Bai Lingyu thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll go find the dean now and apply for a set of Awakening Array Plates and Crystal Balls, just in case we run into a situation where we don't have the tools."
The next morning, before all the sycamore leaves had fallen from the trees at the entrance of the Godwind Academy, Jiang Lin stood on the steps with his backpack, glanced at the gray sky in the distance, and then turned to Bai Lingyu and said, "Let's go."
They traveled south, in a fixed direction, but without a fixed route. When they encountered a fork in the road, they would choose the one that looked deserted, and when they came across a village, they would go in and rest for the night.
After walking for about five days, they entered an area surrounded by mountains. The map only had a few contour lines and no village markers, but when Jiang Lin stood on the hillside and looked down, he saw smoke rising from the valley.
"Someone lives here," he said.
Bai Lingyu glanced in the direction he pointed, then put the map away. "Let's go down and take a look."
They walked down the hillside, through a thicket of mixed trees, and at the bottom of the valley came a small village.
Most of the houses have mud-brick walls and thick thatched roofs. There are a few old trees at the entrance of the village, and an old man sits under the trees.
Upon seeing strangers enter, the old man looked up and sized them up, his eyes filled with wariness but not hostility.
Bai Lingyu walked ahead and nodded to the old man. "Grandpa, we're just passing by and would like to ask for a drink of water."
The old man looked at him for a while, then glanced at Jiang Lin behind him, and pointed to the well at the village entrance. "Draw it yourself."
Bai Lingyu thanked him and went to fetch water. After taking a sip, he handed the ladle to Jiang Lin and stood by the well, looking around.
There weren't many young people around in the village; occasionally you could see a few women hanging clothes out to dry in their yards, and a few children squatting in the corner playing with pebbles.
He asked casually, "Have all the young people in the village left?"
The old man was silent for a moment, then sighed, "We have no choice but to go out. Not much can be grown in the mountains, and young people have no future staying in the village. They have to go out and find work. They rarely come back throughout the year."
Bai Lingyu didn't reply. She put down the ladle and sat down on the Shitou by the well. Jiang Lin stood beside her, his gaze sweeping over the children squatting in the corners of the village, but he didn't rush to speak.
After a while, the old man said again, "You... are Lord Soul Master, aren't you?"
Jiang Lin did not deny it. "Yes."
The old man's eyes lit up, as if he wanted to say something, but hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke, "Could you... help the children in the village awaken their Martial Soul?"
A few years ago, people from the Spirit Hall used to come, but after they found that only Trash Martial Soul had awakened in our village, they stopped coming. We haven't seen them for two or three years. There are still a few children in the village who are of age but haven't awakened their spirits yet."
Jiang Lin listened but didn't answer immediately. He glanced at Bai Lingyu, Bai Lingyu nodded slightly. Then he turned to the old man. "Alright. Take us to see those children."
The old man stood up much faster than before. He turned and walked a few steps towards the village, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Old Chen's family! Bring the child over! A Soul Master has come to awaken our child's Martial Soul!"
The village quickly became lively.
Several women peeked out from the courtyard. Some were carrying children and hurrying towards the village entrance, while others stood at their doorways looking around. A thin boy, being pulled by his mother, ran over, his head down as if he hadn't yet figured out what was happening.
A crowd quickly gathered under the old tree at the village entrance, with adults standing on the outside and children on the inside.
Three children who had reached the age but had not yet awakened were pushed to the front. A seven or eight-year-old boy stood at the very front, while the other two, who were slightly younger, shrank behind and dared not raise their heads.
Everyone in the village was looking at Jiang Lin; no one spoke, but all eyes were on him.
Jiang Lin squatted down, took out a palm-sized metal array plate from his Mustard Seed Storage Ring, and pressed it onto the ground. The surface of the array plate was engraved with a ring of fine patterns; it was a spare awakening array plate from the Godwind Academy.
After he stabilized the array plate, he had the first child stand in the center of the plate, and then took out a fist-sized transparent crystal ball from his Mustard Seed Storage and placed it on the edge of the array plate.
"Don't move around, and don't be afraid, it'll be over soon," Jiang Lin said.
He poured his Soul Power into the array plate, and the patterns on the surface of the array plate lit up one by one. A layer of pale golden light rose from the ground and enveloped the body of the first child.
After the light faded, a scythe-shaped light appeared in the child's hand, then vanished in a flash. Jiang Lin picked up the crystal ball and handed it to the child. "Put your hand on it."
The child hesitated for a moment, then placed his palm on the crystal ball. A very faint grayish-white halo rose from inside the ball, barely discernible, but almost without any brightness.
Jiang Lin glanced at it and then said, " Sickle Martial Soul, Innate Soul Power level zero, cannot be cultivated."
Neither the child nor his mother spoke; they simply retreated in silence.
The second child stood in the center of the array plate, and after the light faded, a gleaming hoe appeared in his hand. Jiang Lin told him to place his hand on the crystal ball, where the halo was also faint.
" Hoe Martial Soul, with Innate Soul Power at level zero, just like the first one."
After the second child stepped back, the old man who had asked Jiang Lin for help sighed, as if he had expected this outcome.
He patted the first child on the shoulder, then glanced at the second child. His tone wasn't particularly enthusiastic, but it carried a simple honesty. "It's alright. Sickles and hoes are both good Martial Soul. You can support yourself by working with your family in the future."
The two children kept their heads down and didn't reply, but their shoulders weren't as tense anymore. The crowd was quiet for a moment, then A Shan's mother pulled A Shan forward from behind and gave him a gentle push in the back. " A Shan, give it a try, don't be afraid."
A Shan took a deep breath and finally stood inside the Awakening Array Plate.