Dong!
The final chime rang out, announcing that the annual Awakening Day had come to an end.
The rainbow-hued demon spirits were, by a mysterious force, absorbed back into the Blue Moon, once again sealed away. On this day next year, they would reappear, until the day of their eventual refinement.
The magnificent ceremony ended, yet the watching crowd was reluctant to disperse.
"Wuuu..."
The youths who failed to fuse with a demon spirit looked dejected, heads bowed, eyes rimmed red, descending from the altar weighed down by grief and unwillingness.
To become a Demon Spirit Master is every student's dream—and also the hope every Martial Artist has—for their children. For this day, families had prepared for years.
Dreams shattered cruelly by reality; quite a few with fragile minds fainted straight away on the ritual platform, only to be carried off by the ready staff.
Yet those lucky enough to become Demon Spirit Masters held their heads high, pride and joy curving their lips as they basked in the gazes and envy of the crowd.
From this moment forth, they had already risen above ordinary Martial Artists.
One could say their life now started from a whole new, much higher point than ordinary people.
And among all these youths, three figures were the brightest of all—the light curtain played their acts of refining demon spirits over and over.
All three were boys, each refining a Ninth Grade demon spirit.
But among the trio, the boy with dyed yellow hair was the most dazzling.
Given Lin Feng's understanding of demon spirits, he could tell at a glance, even without reading the subtitles, that the yellow-haired boy had fused with a Ninth Grade Six-winged Illusion Python.
On Awakening Day, Lin Feng dreamed of refining a Ninth Grade Cyan Stinging Dragon. But in terms of rarity and strength, the Ninth Grade Six-winged Illusion Python was actually a notch above—it was the demon spirit coveted by all speed-type Martial Artists, Lin Feng included.
It's just that after fusing with a human, the Cyan Stinging Dragon looked more cool and imposing, so it was more popular among students, whereas the Six-winged Illusion Python's human fusion looked a bit strange. Otherwise, it would definitely suit Lin Feng better.
Under Lin Feng's curious gaze, the yellow-haired boy possessed by his demon spirit grew unusually tall—easily one meter ninety. In the middle of his forehead a purple scale, vertical jade-green pupils that looked rather eerie—snake-like—a chilling aura, sending shudders down spines. On his back, three pairs of wings tinged with violet-red flapped at breakneck speed; as a Ninth Grade poison-type demon beast, speed was just one attribute—the python's venom was what truly made it terrifying.
And its innate ability, "Illusion", was even more formidable; it allowed one to temporarily ignore certain attacks—a mark of its incredible value.
Ninth Grade demon spirits—provided your martial talent wasn't lacking—even if you skipped National Exams you'd qualify for a special enrollment from the Three Heroic Academies.
Without a doubt, these three were today's protagonists—favored by destiny.
Just as everyone thought this Awakening Day was over, a figure abruptly appeared on the light curtain.
"Roar..."
On screen, a boy was letting out a beastly roar, wild and raw.
A swirl of black currents wound around him, his body swelling, arms bulging with veins transforming into dragon claws. With a "shhh" sound, a dragon tail sprang from his tailbone, swaying like a steel whip. Pitch-black scales crawled over his skin, forming a suit of dark armor, sharp spikes extending from tail to brow—for a moment, maybe from pain, the boy went madly pounding the ground as he mutated.
The marble floor fractured under his blows, his flesh and blood gouging out a deep pit. Even as blood spattered, the boy's self-inflicted fury was undeterred.
Amid hysterical pounding, two blood-streaked black wings sprouted from his sides, each stretching over two meters, sharp as obsidian blades, gouging deep marks in the ground. After a while, the boy stopped struggling—when he raised his head, gold-red vertical pupils gleamed, cold and crazed.
"Thorny Demon Dragon."
Everyone stared in shock as the forty-sixth-ranked Earth Chart demon spirit was refined before their eyes!
Without doubt, this was the most jaw-dropping scene of Awakening Day.
Once in decades!
A moment's silence, then the crowd exploded like a tidal wave. Right now, the boy was at the center of it all.
No one could suppress their excitement; they waved and screamed, letting their exhilaration loose.
The yellow-haired boy, who'd been the focus, was now relegated to the background.
At this moment, no one spared him a glance.
Ninth Grade demon spirits were refined every year on Awakening Day, but Earth Chart demon spirits were truly rare—sometimes only appearing once in a decade. Many people live their whole lives without ever seeing one.
Let alone the forty-sixth-ranked one, famed for power—the Thorny Demon Dragon.
"So strong! Is the gap between Second Grade and Earth Chart demon spirits really that big?"
On the platform, Gao Hai watched, extreme envy in his eyes.
Beside him, Ya Ge was also quietly stowing away her pride, her beautiful eyes flashing with an unplaceable emotion.
Her Enchanting Butterfly was Eighth Grade, but could rival Ninth Grade demon spirits. Yet, while Ninth Grade and Earth Chart spirits seemed only a grade apart, their potential and fighting power were worlds apart—and they couldn't compare at all with pure dragon-type demon spirits like the Thorny Demon Dragon.
"His soul power must be insane." At the foot of the altar, Lin Feng stared in shock.
The boy's features were masked by Demon Possession, but the scraps of cloth on the ground showed he was from First Middle School. And in that school, with such talent, it could only be Ye Qiu.
This genius, whose Nightmare Lin Feng had snatched, still managed in the end to refine the Thorny Demon Dragon from the Earth Chart—a dragon-type demon spirit infamous for its brutal offense, and with added dark-series damage. The innate skill left every Martial Artist in awe.
This flying demon spirit excelled at ranged and close combat, offensive and defensive qualities; it was flawless, without weakness.
A demon spirit like that—Lin Feng could only dream about it, never dare hope he'd refine one himself.
"A true peerless genius," Lin Feng could only sigh to himself.
Earth Chart demon spirits were already rare—without exceptional Soul Cultivator talent you couldn't refine one. Spirits ranked in the top fifty of the Chart, aside from Guardian Divine Artifacts, couldn't be bought on the market, and required nearly freakish standards to refine.
Forget high schoolers—even powerful Martial Artists couldn't manage it.
This tier of demon spirit hadn't appeared in Jiang City for decades.
As for spirits higher than the Thorny Demon Dragon—of course, they existed, but required at least Fifth Grade Martial Artists, and tremendous soul power to have a chance of refining them.
Lin Feng gave Ye Qiu a deep look.
People really shouldn't compare themselves to others.
Some are born favored by fate—not just blessed in martial talent, but as Soul Cultivators as well.
While Lin Feng's martial talent was average, his soul talent was trash—he didn't even have strength to refine a First Grade demon spirit. If not for memories from a previous life, faced with geniuses like this, he'd be hopeless, too.
Lin Feng understood—Ye Qiu reaching Ninth Rank Body Cultivation at fifteen wasn't just natural talent—his status in Ye Group played a huge role.
Boys like Ye Qiu, born to wealth, enjoyed pills and demon beast flesh from childhood, aiding Foundation Establishment and cultivation; their bodies far exceeded those of their peers, blood and qi robust, and their progress far outpaced ordinary youth. His powerful physique was one reason he could refine the Thorny Demon Dragon.
Of course, being born lucky is a skill too; background is power.
The Thorny Demon Dragon's appearance kept the scene boiling—such a peerless demon spirit, even the big shots on the platform coveted it.
Their demon spirits only went up to Eighth Grade; those ranked above Ninth were leftovers from the Dawn War.
Not only on the platform—even as Jiang City's Guardian, Martial King Jiang Chu was amazed. He couldn't deny—even for him, he'd felt a twinge of envy in that instant.
As a Demon Spirit Master, Jiang Chu knew—refining a high-level demon spirit didn't automatically mean you'd be stronger than someone with a low-level spirit.
Demon spirits had to be cultivated; failing that, even an Advanced demon spirit master could lose to a Low-level one.
The rank was not equal to fighting power—it mainly indicated growth potential.
For example, a Fifth Grade demon spirit master versus a Seventh Grade one—at first stage, demon spirits start growing from First Grade, so the difference in battle power isn't huge. But a Fifth Grade spirit tops out at Fifth Grade and can only support Fifth Grade Martial Artists, while a Seventh Grade spirit can go that high—this is the meaning of demon spirit rank.
But if the rank gap is huge, you can't just treat it by that standard.
Like Ye Qiu's Thorny Demon Dragon—even as a First Grade, it could crush most Second Grade, or even some weaker Third Grade demon spirits. A spirit at that level was eligible for cross-rank challenges.
"Looks like Jiang City's going to be lively tonight."
With one last look at Ye Qiu, Jiang Chu stepped off the platform.
He'd seen plenty of geniuses before.
Even someone as incredible as Ye Qiu—only by truly growing and becoming strong would he earn Jiang Chu's regard.
"Line up, one at a time."
Though Awakening Day had ended, Lin Feng and the others weren't leaving; under instructions, they split into ten lines, queuing toward a person-tall mirror.
The youths passed in orderly sequence, and the mirror was special—when ordinary people passed, nothing changed; but when a Demon Spirit Master stepped up, it reflected the demon spirit inside their body.
This mirror had an interesting name: "Demon-Revealing Mirror."
The Demon-Revealing Mirror was originally invented to prevent top-level demon beasts from using illusion to take human form and blend into society—like that mysterious young demon.
Now, it served to record which demon spirit each youth had refined—and to deter demon spirit theft.
The latter was its main purpose.
Even though Martial Kings attended Awakening Day, dozens of powerhouses watched, and the whole event was monitored, demon spirit theft wasn't impossible—it happened often before the mirror's invention.
Even a First Grade demon spirit was worth several thousand New Coins; a Ninth Grade, at least a billion. Earth Chart demon spirits couldn't even be bought—those with them never sold.
The Thorny Demon Dragon, ranked forty-sixth, couldn't even be valued in money—utterly priceless and unattainable.
Because demon spirit refinement was limited to those under eighteen, in the past, many students were manipulated by big groups into theft—endless tricks, even secret skills developed to counter defense.
Even knowing punishment was severe, lots of people still took the risk every year; demon spirits were hard to refine but not especially dangerous. If luck struck and you caught an Advanced demon spirit, you'd be rich for life.
If you got an Earth Chart demon spirit, you could found a small clan.
But since the Demon-Revealing Mirror was invented, these incidents have almost disappeared.
All those secret skills and techniques—in front of the Demon-Revealing Mirror, none can escape.
"Will I be found out?" Lin Feng felt uneasy as he queued up.
Inside him, the Nightmare was still sealed by the Sealing Evil Seal—not refined yet.
If the Demon-Revealing Mirror detected it, it might be forcibly taken away. Even if he explained, he'd expose its uniqueness. Clearly, neither outcome was what Lin Feng wanted.