Chapter 2   – Martial Soul Awakening

Tang Wulin stood nervously in the middle of the Awakening Chamber with his eyes darting all over the room, after all, he was only six years old. Without a parent accompanying him in this strange and exciting environment, how could his mind be serene?

Right at that moment, a gentle white light shone from the Spirit Master’s hands and attracted his attention.

That white light, could it be the fabled soul power that only Spirit Masters possess?

While under his astonished gaze, the Spirit Master raised his right arm slightly. The white light vibrated before flying off towards the sky and blossoming into fireworks that illuminated the Awakening Chamber with its splendor.

Starting from the ceiling, the inscription lines filled with light as it moved towards the walls. It was as if it possessed a strong and revitalizing energy, as well as a life of its own. The lines kept lighting up until they converged below Tang Wulin’s feet.

A comfortably numbing energy crept up his legs before entering his body from his heart. Tang Wulin’s body couldn’t help but tremble as he struggled to hold on. It felt as if his body was being electrocuted.

Everything blurred before his eyes, and an unclear image unceasingly flickered within his mind. He wanted a clear look at it, but he could only feel its flowing shadows. In the end, he was able to see it, but he couldn’t remember what it was.

From the view of the Spirit Master, Tang Wulin’s body was already being enveloped in the light, and in turn, was releasing its own light. Within this ancient traditional ceremony, his martial soul had been awakened.

“Ah——!” Tang Wulin suddenly screamed, causing the Spirit Master to jump in fright. An ordinary child usually wouldn’t feel too much during their Awakening, but an extremely low number of them would experience intense pain due to their weak bodies being unable to bear the energy.

The Spirit Master’s body disappeared in a flash and appeared in front of Tang Wulin. In case the situation truly did take a turn for the worse, he would immediately stop the ceremony and ensure Tang Wulin’s safety.

After he got close, he was astonished to see that some golden lines were flickering on Tang Wulin’s forehead. Afterwards, those golden lines began to spread to his four limbs, creating a network of golden lines.

What kind of martial soul was this? This Spirit Master was extremely experienced; he had awakened thousands and tens of thousands of children. Yet, this was the first time he had seen the situation that was occurring in Tang Wulin’s body.

A faint energy undulated as it was emitted from Tang Wulin’s body. This energy originated from his lower abdomen, the most common place for soul power to appear from. Although the energy was feeble, its existence was undoubtedly real.

The Spirit Master was pleasantly surprised, this was a martial soul with soul power! Most of the time, he could conduct the ceremony for days without encountering a child with soul power. It would seem that today’s luck was pretty good. The only question was: what was his martial soul?

The previous golden lines from before had already disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed at all. Tang Wulin seemed to be enduring an immense pain as his eyes were tightly closed. He slowly raised his right arm.

The hollow of his palm faced upwards, and a pale blue light emitted from it. In his hands appeared a small light blue grass that quietly rotated and extended in his hand. With a delicate and soft sway, an exceptionally feeble energy fluctuated out.

“Bluesilver Grass?” The Spirit Master’s voice exuded disappointment, but it was once again substituted with amazement in a moment. He had seen the Bluesilver Grass martial soul so many times before, this was a completely ordinary martial soul! Bluesilver Grass was so common that it covered the whole Douluo Continent as well as the Star Luo Continent and Sky Dou Continent. Even the lawn of Red Mountain Academy was covered in Bluesilver Grass. How could this type of trash martial soul give birth to soul power?

So painful! It felt as if Tang Wulin’s body was being ripped to shreds.

His body became limp and numb to the point of being nearly comfortable, as that gentle energy continued to be poured into his body. However, an intense heat quickly bubbled forth from the hundreds of bones of his four limbs. The heat wrecked havoc on his body, making him feel like he had a bloated stomach that was about to burst. Under this pain, he was unable to breathe.

His whole body felt as if it was being ripped apart. Bone, muscle and flesh. There wasn’t a single aspect spared from the pain.

After what seemed like a very, very long time, this fit of pain gradually dissipated. Afterwards he felt a warm thread from the hollow of his palm, Tang Wulin opened his eyes.

A small light blue grass, verdant and lush, was undulating in the palm of his hand. ‘Bluesilver Grass?’

Although Tang Wulin was young, he clearly remembered what he was doing at that moment. Immediately after waking up to reality, he said, “Bluesilver Grass? This is my martial soul?”

Even though he hadn’t properly studied spirit beasts before, he still had some common knowledge. Naturally, he knew that Bluesilver Grass was a type of trash martial soul. Furthermore, it was the worst trash of them all.

“En. It is. This is your martial soul.” The Spirit Master said so with a smile, yet his eyes couldn’t help but reveal a trace of pity.

Possessing soul power was definitely a good thing, but if his martial soul was Bluesilver Grass…

Tang Wulin’s lips softly quivered, and an intense torrent of sadness attacked his tiny heart. After anticipating for so long, it turned out that he actually had a trash martial soul.

“Child, don’t be sad. You possess soul power.” The Spirit Master hastily said.

“I, I have soul power?” Tang Wulin met his words with a look of astonishment.

The Spirit Master nodded in response. “After I tested it, you actually have rank 3 innate soul power. Although it can’t be considered amazing, it still means that you possess soul power. As long as you put in great effort, then you will be able to become a Soul Master too!”

Tang Wulin foolishly stared. “But, but my martial soul is Bluesilver Grass…”

The Spirit Master laughed. “Have you ever heard the tale of the Tang Sect? The founding patriarch of the Tang Sect’s martial soul was actually the Bluesilver Grass! He relied on this martial soul that other deemed as trash to rebuke the Heavens and Earth and defeated the wicked Martial Soul Hall twenty thousand years ago.”

Tang Wulin blinked in surprise. How could he have never heard of the tale of the Tang Sect’s founding patriarch? After all, the legend of the almighty masters of the Tang Sect and Spirit Pagoda were the most widespread legends on the continent as well as the most universally appreciated.

“But wasn’t the Tang Sect’s founding patriarch’s martial soul the Bluesilver Emperor?” Tang Wulin earnestly asked.

“Eh…” The Spirit Master was somewhat embarrassed. Clearly, this little guy wasn’t so easy to fool. “The Bluesilver Emperor is the equivalent of an evolved Bluesilver Grass. If you wish to become a Soul Master, then you must put in your greatest effort.”

Tang Wulin bit his lip. “Thank you, Lord Spirit Master.”