“Good, good, good, Grandpa believes you. You know, Xiao Lan, both your parents are Great Soul Masters. Grandpa hopes you can awaken your father Ye Qingyang’s Martial Soul, the Striped-Eyed White-Browed Tiger, and become a powerful Battle Soul Master.” Tom’s eyes revealed a glimmer of hope.
“Grandpa, I’d be content just to awaken innate Soul Power. I believe that as long as I can cultivate, no matter what Martial Soul it is, I can become a powerful Soul Master. Then I’ll repay the village and let Grandpa live a comfortable life,” Ye Lan said, expressing his thoughts in response to Tom’s expectations.
Ye Lan knew the future trends and plot progression of the Douluo Continent, so as long as he could cultivate smoothly, he believed he could stir up a storm on the continent.
Even if he couldn't cultivate, with his knowledge from his previous life, Ye Lan believed he could still achieve something.
Of course, if he couldn't cultivate and had to take another path, it would only be Ye Lan’s last resort.
In his previous life on Earth, Ye Lan had no extraordinary abilities, but in this life on the Douluo Continent, he possessed extraordinary power. Becoming a powerful Soul Master, or even a god, on the Douluo Continent was Ye Lan’s heart's desire.
“Good, Grandpa will wait for you to become a Soul Master,” Tom said, a wave of comfort washing over him as he listened to Ye Lan’s words.
That night, Ye Lan, with a full belly, embraced his hopes for the future and quietly fell asleep.
The next day, Ye Lan, stretching and yawning, was pulled by Tom to the Spirit Hall in Fengshou Village.
Although it was called Spirit Hall, it was actually just a small wooden house used for the annual awakening ceremony. But one had to commend Spirit Hall for its dedication; Fengshou Village was merely one of Notting City’s remote villages, yet it had a dedicated place for Martial Soul awakening.
Outside the wooden house, villagers gathered in circles to watch. At the entrance of the wooden house, several villagers led children who were about to awaken, surrounding a young man. The young man wore a white Spirit Hall deacon uniform, a black cape draped over his shoulders, and had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, making him very handsome.
The handsome young man in the center was explaining the Martial Soul awakening procedure to everyone:
“I am Su Yuntao, the Great Soul Master for this year’s Martial Soul awakening ceremony in Fengshou Village. Don’t be afraid when you awaken later. Whatever happens, just close your eyes and carefully feel the Martial Soul within your body.”
“According to Spirit Hall’s experience over many years, the Martial Soul awakening has never had an accident. So, everyone, please don’t be afraid. Just follow my instructions during the awakening. Even if a problem arises, Spirit Hall will bear the corresponding consequences…”
Ye Lan pushed through the crowd and saw Su Yuntao, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. He happily called out, “Uncle Tao!”
Su Yuntao, having finished his explanation, smiled when he heard Ye Lan’s shout. “Still sleeping in, Xiao Lan? Good thing I usually explained the Martial Soul awakening ceremony to you, so I don’t have to explain it again now. Xiao Lan, come inside with me.”
“I was a bit tired from training yesterday, Uncle Tao,” Ye Lan scratched his head and followed the group of children into the small wooden house.
“No matter what happens later, no one else is to disturb the awakening ceremony!” Su Yuntao informed the villagers, then turned and entered the small wooden house.
After entering, Su Yuntao closed the doors and windows tightly. Then he took out the items prepared beforehand for the Martial Soul awakening ceremony.
Su Yuntao placed six black stones in the center of the room, arranging them in a specific pattern, forming a hexagonal star array.
Su Yuntao straightened his body, and a wisp of green light suddenly emerged from between his eyebrows, enveloping his entire body. A low shout was heard: “Lone Wolf, possess!”
As Su Yuntao’s Martial Soul possessed him, his appearance rapidly changed. His hair gradually turned grayish-white, and his pupils changed from black to a eerie green. Up close, his pupils were somewhat unsettling.
Su Yuntao’s muscles swelled and bulged, and silver sharp claws extended from his ten fingers, their pointed tips revealing a cold glint, appearing very sharp. One white and one yellow halo emerged from his feet, rising to the top of his head.
These changes were the effects brought by the beast Martial Soul, Lone Wolf possession. Beast Martial Soul possession could cause partial body beastification, enhancing physical quality and combat power.
Everyone looked at the transformed Su Yuntao, some gasping in surprise, some in fear. Su Yuntao immediately comforted the children who were about to awaken: “Don’t be afraid, this is my Martial Soul, Lone Wolf. I haven’t actually turned into a wolf!”
After everyone quieted down, Su Yuntao began to awaken them.
Following the order, Ye Lan was the last to arrive, so he would be the last to awaken. Ye Lan did not use his acquaintance with Su Yuntao to cut in line; being the last to awaken also allowed him to observe how others awakened. Ye Lan suppressed his inner restlessness and carefully observed the details of others’ awakenings.
A thin boy, following Su Yuntao’s instructions, sat cross-legged in the center of the black stone array. Then Su Yuntao clapped his hands, channeling the Soul Power within his body, and six rays of green Soul Power light emerged from his body, drifting towards the black stone array.
Soon, the green light intertwined with the black stones, and then the black stones emitted a faint golden light, enveloping the thin boy’s entire body.
The thin boy closed his eyes tightly, carefully feeling the Martial Soul within his body. At this moment, the black stones emitted tiny golden sparks, slowly drifting into the thin boy’s body.
Then the boy’s body began to tremble, his expression changed, suppressing the urge to cry out.
Su Yuntao stared intently at the thin boy’s changes and said, “Extend your right hand.”
The thin boy extended his right hand, and all the light gathered in his hand, forming an iron rod.
The iron rod looked very real, not illusory.
“Tool Martial Soul, iron rod. Not bad. As a tool Martial Soul, it has some offensive power, but it’s strong in its sturdiness. Put it away. I’ll test your Soul Power,” Su Yuntao said with a hint of excitement.
Most commoners could only awaken useless tool Martial Souls. Now encountering a tool Martial Soul that could fight, Su Yuntao was somewhat expectant.
As long as this type of Martial Soul awakened innate Soul Power, it would be considered Su Yuntao’s achievement, and Spirit Hall would give corresponding rewards.
However, Su Yuntao didn't have too high hopes, because most people on the Douluo Continent could not awaken innate Soul Power.
Under Su Yuntao’s guidance, the thin boy withdrew his iron rod Martial Soul.
Then Su Yuntao took out a blue crystal ball to help the thin boy test his Soul Power. Unfortunately, he did not have innate Soul Power.
Su Yuntao comforted the boy, then began the next round of Martial Soul awakening.
Looking at the awakening ceremony at this moment, a question arose in Ye Lan’s mind.
Where did tool Martial Souls come from? After all, most beast Martial Souls still had Beast Spirit prototypes, but tool Martial Souls, such as iron rods and longswords, did not appear in ancient times. Only with the development of society were various tools invented, and only then did the concepts of these tools exist.
Therefore, tool Martial Souls appeared with the development of society, not as something inherently existing. One must know that Spirit Beasts did not have any iron rod Spirits.
Based on his understanding of the original work from his previous life, Ye Lan had some grasp of the origin of beast Martial Souls. The most direct one was a 100,000-year Spirit Beast transforming into a human, then reproducing with humans, and Tang San was an example of this.