Biluocheng, a city under the jurisdiction of the Heaven Dou Empire, got its name from the nearby Biluo Gorge, a place teeming with poison-type soul beasts. It was a city built amid unforgiving mountains and treacherous waters.
The city's only major industry was hunting soul beasts in the Biluo Gorge. However, because poison-type soul masters held no significant advantage on the Douluo Continent—and both medical and poison techniques were underdeveloped—the city's income couldn't compare to other cities near larger soul beast habitats.
At noon, the Spirit Hall in Biluocheng was bustling with people. Dozens of nobles and soul masters were there with their children, waiting for the appointed hour.
This was autumn—the season of harvest and also the annual time for Martial Spirit Awakening across the Douluo Continent. During this period, awakening soul masters from the Spirit Hall, assigned by their superiors, traveled to every village with a Spirit Hall outpost to awaken children's martial spirits. As for those living in the cities, they brought their children to the city's Spirit Hall for awakening.
Although large clans and powerful noble families typically performed their own private awakenings, Biluocheng had no family that could meet that standard.
According to local custom, nobles and soul master families would all gather on a set day, bringing their children to the Spirit Hall for their martial spirit awakening, personally overseen by the Hall's officials. This day was not only the time for awakening but also a key opportunity for families to network and strengthen ties. A family whose child awakened a strong martial spirit and high innate soul power would gain prestige, while those whose children had weak awakenings were largely ignored. Many clans used this occasion to discuss alliances and marriage arrangements.
This had been an unwritten rule in Biluocheng for hundreds of years. Although it wasn't an official holiday, its importance was no less than that of a festival.
This year, only fifteen children were up for awakening—one of the smaller numbers in recent years—but the crowd of nobles and soul masters present numbered in the dozens, far more than the children themselves.
The nobles and soul masters chatted idly, but most of their focus was on the upcoming awakening. Their conversations were mostly polite small talk, just to pass the time.
About fifteen minutes later, the head of the local Spirit Hall emerged—a man who looked over eighty years old. His skin was withered like old bark, and his eyes were clouded, making him seem at death's door. Yet, not a single person dared to underestimate this elderly man.
No matter how old he looked, he was still a member of the Spirit Hall—a Soul Emperor-level expert—and a bishop who had been stationed in Biluocheng for decades under the Pope's direct orders.
Even the city lord of Biluocheng showed the utmost respect whenever he met this man.
"It's that time again... awakening day," the old man muttered, glancing around at the faces nearby. He sighed softly, and his soul power stirred slightly. Suddenly, six soul rings appeared around him: one white, two yellow, two purple, and one black.
At some point, his withered hand lifted, and a vine as hard and textured as stone sprouted from his palm, slowly dropping to the ground.
"I am Yan Jun, Bishop of the Spirit Hall, Martial Spirit: Rock Vine. Sixty-seventh-level Control System Battle Soul Master... I will oversee this year's awakening ceremony."
"Children, step forward."
Yan Jun spoke plainly, paying no mind to the crowd's stares. At his command, the children—already prepped by their families—stepped away from their elders and lined up before him in an orderly fashion.
Seeing this, Yan Jun nodded slightly and waved a hand to the side. At his signal, several soul masters in Spirit Hall uniforms stepped forward and began setting up a standard awakening formation between the bishop and the children.
"Children, step forward," Yan Jun said calmly.
At ninety-four years old, even by soul master standards, Yan Jun was exceptionally old. At this point in life, there was little that still interested him. He no longer cared about the children's names or backgrounds.
Apart from the Angel God and the Spirit Hall itself, there was almost nothing left in this world that he truly cared about. Distant blood relatives were just people he helped out when he could. He had long stopped paying attention to the opinions of others.
Honestly, if he wasn't worried about leaving a mess for the soul master sent to replace him, he wouldn't have even bothered coming out to oversee these awakenings himself.
At his command, the chubby boy at the front of the line stepped forward and entered the formation. Yan Jun lifted his hand, soul power surged, and the formation beneath the boy's feet began to glow. Tiny lights rose up and slowly merged into the boy's body.
The children from soul master and noble families already understood how the awakening worked, so no one needed to explain anything to them.
After a moment, the chubby boy let out an involuntary cry. His previously round figure began to shrink slightly, and a pair of comical-looking ears sprouted from his blond hair.
"Beast-type martial spirit... let's test the innate soul power," Yan Jun said as he flipped his palm, producing a crystal ball.
The slightly plump boy took the crystal ball and channeled his soul power into it. The ball glowed faintly.
"Innate soul power of two and a half... no, make that level three. Martial Spirit: Leopard Cat? Hmm, the quality seems a bit low... but regardless, he can still become a soul master."
Yan Jun took back the crystal ball and waved at the boy, who quickly left the awakening formation and ran back to the crowd. Instantly, a murmur of discussions broke out.
"As expected, the City Lord's second son awakened the Leopard Cat Martial Spirit again, but his innate soul power's not as good as the City Lord's or his older brother's. The City Lord had innate level four soul power, and though his eldest son was a bit lower, he still had level three and a half. Becoming a Soul Ancestor was practically guaranteed."
"Looks like the second son won't be able to compete with his older brother in the future, huh?"
"Heh, who knows about the future? Didn't the eldest son have his leg broken by the City Lord recently over a woman? He hasn't been seen for days. Things could still change."
"That's true…"
"Ahem, quiet." Yan Jun coughed lightly. His voice, amplified by soul power, carried clearly into everyone's ears. The previously noisy room instantly fell silent.
"Next child, step forward."
As the next child entered the awakening formation, Yan Jun—who had looked somewhat absentminded—suddenly froze. His clouded eyes became sharp, and even his lifeless expression took on a rare note of seriousness.
For over 40 years, Yan Jun had overseen martial spirit awakenings in Biluocheng, awakening spirits for more than a thousand children. Yet, before today, he had never seen a child quite like this one.