In the Douluo Continent, the Spirit Hall's signboard and halls are located in various major cities and even towns of the two great empires, like a thousand-year-old tree with deep roots, firmly embedded in this Spirit World.
Moreover, the Spirit Hall is an independent organization, not controlled by the two great empires. In addition to its advanced and meticulous management structure, it also has its own private army. It is not an exaggeration to call it the eighth sect or even the "third empire" outside of the seven great spirit sects.
In addition to awakening martial spirits for people and providing subsidies to soul masters, the Spirit Hall also frequently participates in community management and preaching, and enjoys extremely high prestige among the people.
So much so that you might not know the names of the emperors of the two great empires, but the name of the current Pope, Qian Xunji, is familiar to everyone.
Moreover, the Spirit Hall is not only a religious and spiritual master management organization, but it has also invested in building many orphanages to take in orphans from the wars of the two great empires and other kingdoms, or abandoned babies from ordinary families.
For example, Zhang San was an abandoned baby adopted by the Spirit Hall. He lived in the orphanage for six years. In the third year, Zhang San awakened the memories of the Mysterious Heaven Skill. In the following three years, Zhang San worked hard to cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Skill. He reached the bottleneck very early and could not break through it no matter what. At this time, Zhang San did not know the reason.
Now, the reborn Zhang San understands that his soul power has reached level ten, but he has neither awakened a martial soul nor is he missing a soul ring, so he cannot advance any further.
Inside a brightly lit small hall, more than ten children dressed in gray cloth stood side by side, looking up at the tall, thin, bespectacled middle-aged man on the stage with anxious or curious gazes. Zhang San was among them, quietly waiting for the ceremony whose outcome he already knew.
"I am Luo Xiang, a level 57 Soul Master, and I am also your guide."
The middle-aged man glanced down at the children below, his expression neither cold nor warm, and simply said:
"The following is your Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony."
Perhaps feeling that his opening was too bland, Luo Xiang pushed up his glasses and unleashed his martial spirit, revealing five spirit rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black—in his best configuration behind him.
Luo Xiang noticed that the gazes below were becoming increasingly respectful. In the Douluo Continent, the strong are revered. Soul Kings already have the capital to establish themselves in this world, but in the Spirit Hall, where strong people are as numerous as clouds, he, a Soul King, is just a mid-level deacon and is not a remarkable figure.
Of course, he was also enough to command the respect of these fledgling youngsters.
"This is my martial soul, the 'Heavenly Calligraphy Classic,' and you will each have your own unique martial soul for the rest of your lives."
Luo Xiang, holding the red-covered law book, looked down at the whispering children below and said sternly:
"Now you are all acting according to my instructions. You have all received relevant training, so I will not go into the specific procedures again."
"No noise or disturbance is allowed during this period; violators will be detained for one day."
After announcing the punishment, the children below dared not make any more noise. Then, Luo Xiang slowly and deliberately spoke:
"When your name is called, respond and then come forward."
Luo Xiang looked at the roster on the table and said:
"Asri."
"exist!"
A dashing boy responded and stepped out of the line.
Luo Xiang pointed to the magic circle made of six black stones next to the podium and said, "Come forward and stand here."
"yes!"
Once the valiant boy stood in the center of the magic circle, the red-covered magic book in Luo Xiang's hand floated into the air, projecting six beams of red light into the six black stones. Then, specks of golden light emerged from the black stones, forming a light shield that enveloped the boy and slowly entered his body.
Extend your right hand.
The boy obediently extended his right hand. Luo Xiang looked at the long, sharp, illusory shadow that appeared on the boy's hand and said:
"Your martial soul is a sword, a weapon martial soul, which is mainly physical attack, so it should be pretty good."
Then Luo Xiang continued, "Now concentrate and use your mind to retract your martial spirit."
The boy frowned and spent a long time finally managing to retract his martial spirit.
Luo Xiang waited quietly without urging the boy. After the boy put away his martial spirit, Luo Xiang controlled the blue crystal ball on the lectern to float in front of the boy and then said:
"Come on, test your soul power. Place your hand on this ball and try to put your power into it."
The boy did as instructed, and after a while, the crystal ball reacted. Luo Xiang nodded and said:
"Level 5. You can cultivate and have the aptitude to become a Soul Master. You may leave now. Please sit on the left."
After the boy happily walked off the stage, Luo Xiang called out the next name from the roster.
"The moon is gentle and charming."
"Uh, yes!"
A pretty girl walked to the front of the line, looking slightly flustered.
Having demonstrated the previous example, Luo Xiang stated more concisely: "Come into this formation to test your martial spirit."
"yes!"
...
One by one, the children completed their martial soul awakening ceremony. Of course, not everyone had the aptitude to cultivate a martial soul. Apart from Asli at the beginning, several others had insufficient soul power or poor martial souls that were not suitable for cultivation.
Soul Masters are clearly the profession in this world that can help ordinary people turn their lives around. Unfortunately, like nobles, Soul Masters are a profession monopolized by bloodline. Since Martial Souls are related to the bloodline of their parents, children of commoners often don't have good Martial Souls. Even if they have good Martial Souls, they can't get good Soul Rings without relying on other forces. After all, not everyone can deal with those ferocious Soul Beasts on their own.
So, the Douluo Continent, which seems to be a world of equality and "respect for strength," is ultimately a world where birth and connections matter.
Zhang San turned his head and looked at the children sitting dejectedly in the seats on the right. Even the girl named "Roumei" was sobbing with her face covered. Seeing this, Zhang San sighed inwardly.
Who wouldn't want to be a high and mighty Soul Master?
It's not that they don't work hard, but rather that from the moment they are born, they are destined to be mediocre and unknown, and they don't even have the means to work hard.
Presiding over the awakening ceremony itself consumes a lot of soul power, but for Luo Xiang, a Soul King, this amount of soul power consumption is nothing. He tested more than a dozen people without batting an eye.
"Zhang San."
Finally, Luo Xiang called out Zhang San's name.
"exist..."
Zhang San was standing so long he was about to yawn. In his previous life, he hadn't thought much of it, since he was genuinely curious about what his martial soul was. So even though he was the last one, he was still "very energetic," and his reply was quite loud. After all, you think you can be a soul master if you don't have a loud voice? Just kidding.
But now that he already knew the outcome, he was just going through the motions of the ceremony, so naturally he wasn't very enthusiastic.
"Come forward and let us test your martial spirit."
Luo Xiang didn't even glance at Zhang San much before calling him over, eager to finish work.
"yes."
Zhang San had been eager to finish this quickly, so he strode forward and stood in the six black stone formations.
Six beams of red light emanated from Luo Xiang's "Heavenly Calligraphy Canon" and were injected into the six black stones. The black stones burst forth with golden light, forming a golden light shield that enveloped Zhang San. At the same time, many golden light spots appeared on Zhang San's body, and the number of golden light spots increased until he looked like a little golden man, shining brightly.
"this..."
For the first time, Luo Xiang, who had remained calm and composed, showed a look of surprise. This was the first time he had witnessed such a powerful martial spirit awakening, and also the first time in more than ten years of presiding over martial spirit awakenings.
Before Luo Xiang could speak, Zhang San, who was bathed in the warm golden ocean, had already raised his right hand. On his right hand appeared a dark, ugly, and fat creature with a pair of tattered wings on its bumpy back.
Luo Xiang frowned and said, "Yours is a beast spirit, but... I've never seen this kind of beast spirit before."
Zhang San said, "It's called Ghost Dragon, a rare soul beast."
"Impossible. There is no such soul beast. Yours is a unique martial soul that is one in ten thousand. You should be the only one in the entire Douluo Continent who has it."
Zhang San couldn't fool Luo Xiang. Luo Xiang had an encyclopedic knowledge of martial spirits in the Douluo Continent, and he was certain that such a creature and such a martial spirit did not exist in this world.
"Come on, let's test your soul power."
Of course, Zhang San is only a six-year-old child, so it's normal for him to talk nonsense. Therefore, Luo Xiang didn't think much of it and continued the ceremony.
Moreover, this time he directly took the crystal ball and handed it to Zhang San. Obviously, this mid-level deacon of the Spirit Hall was shocked by Zhang San's performance when his spirit awakened, and therefore couldn't wait to know what kind of talent Zhang San had.
(End of chapter)