Soon, Zhao Tao was led to the interior of the awakening room.
Looking around, the floor, walls, and roof of the awakening room were all covered with intricate and gorgeous patterns.
In the center of the awakening room was a middle-aged man in a gray robe.
He was the spirit master who awakened the children's martial spirits.
"Child, come and stand here."
Looking at Zhao Tao, the spirit master instructed.
After Zhao Tao stood still, the spirit master urged his soul power and injected it into the wonderful patterns inside the awakening room.
Suddenly, a series of soul guide inscriptions lit up and spread to the soles of Zhao Tao's feet. At
this moment, Zhao Tao only felt a warm current flowing into his body, and he also took the initiative to stretch out his right hand.
The next moment, the Spring and Autumn Cicada martial spirit, which was still full of a dead aura, appeared in the palm of Zhao Tao's right hand!
"Child, congratulations."
"You are one in a hundred, possessing innate soul power. You can embark on the path of soul master cultivation!"
"Next, I will test your innate soul power level."
Sensing the faint soul power fluctuations emanating from Zhao Tao, the spirit master smiled faintly and began to test Zhao Tao's soul power level.
"Your innate soul power is average, but don't be discouraged. With hard work, you still have the potential to become a soul master, or even a great soul master. You're far superior to ordinary people."
"Come with me. For a soul master seed like you with innate soul power, we still need to register and register your information."
After testing Zhao Tao's soul power, the spirit master glanced at him with some regret, offered a casual word of encouragement, and then led him to the registration point at Hongshan Academy.
After registering his orphan status, Zhao Tao was informed that he would no longer be in the orphanage, but would be raised in a soul master family.
Soon, after a matching process, Zhao Tao learned that his future guardian would be Lin Ximeng, a teacher at Hongshan Academy and Tang Wulin's homeroom teacher.
"It seems the first butterfly effect of my rebirth has already occurred."
"In my first life, I was adopted by a Soul Douluo senior from the Spirit Pagoda because of my innate talent for abundant soul power."
"And now, my guardian has become Lin Ximeng. What a huge change!"
Zhao Tao couldn't help but sigh inwardly upon hearing this news.
"Thankfully, this change hasn't had much of a negative impact on me."
"That Soul Douluo-level adopter in my previous life did provide me with considerable help early on."
"But the backup plan I left behind before my rebirth is far more helpful to me now than a Soul Douluo alone!"
"What's more, there are clues to the inheritance left by that legendary Immortal Senior. I just need my Spring and Autumn Cicada Martial Spirit to fully recover and then re-enter the River of Time to explore!"
Thinking of this, Zhao Tao's mood gradually calmed down.
...
And soon, Lin Ximeng, who had received the notice, also rushed over excitedly and took Zhao Tao back to her home.
"Zhao Tao, this will be your home from now on."
"I am your guardian, Lin Ximeng. You can call me Aunt Lin or Aunt Ximeng."
Looking at Zhao Tao, Lin Ximeng smiled and introduced herself.
"Thank you, Aunt Lin!"
Hearing Lin Ximeng's words, Zhao Tao responded with a smile.
"You're welcome. As your guardian, I can also receive a subsidy from the Sun-Moon Federation every month."
"If you are promoted to a Soul Master or even a Great Soul Master in the future, I will also receive additional rewards from the Federation."
"So, if you want to thank me, then practice hard and strive to be promoted to a Soul Master within three years and enter the Intermediate Soul Master Academy~"
Hearing Zhao Tao's words, Lin Ximeng explained with a smile, then led Zhao Tao to the second bedroom.
"Alright, this is your room from now on. I'll go get dinner ready,"
she said, then headed for the kitchen.
"Come and see how effective the backup plan I prepared before my rebirth has been!"
Seeing Lin Ximeng leave, Zhao Tao closed the door and slowly sat down cross-legged.
Before his rebirth, Zhao Tao had naturally made thorough preparations for this crucial rebirth.
He had also anticipated and planned a backup plan for the Spring and Autumn Cicada's damaged essence and the resulting decrease in its innate spirit power.
For example, before his rebirth, he had already researched the locations of several unoccupied Time Sand deposits that could restore Spring and Autumn Cicada's essence.
While the locations of these deposits would remain unchanged with his rebirth,
these unoccupied deposits were generally located in remote locations, some even difficult for Titled Douluo to access.
Even the most accessible locations, Zhao Tao conservatively estimated, would require him to reach the Grand Spirit Master stage before he could even begin mining.
Therefore, rapidly restoring the Spring and Autumn Cicada's source power was unrealistic!
The Spring and Autumn Cicada could only slowly recover its source power by relying on its own absorption of the River of Time.
This meant that Zhao Tao's initial cultivation speed would undoubtedly be affected.
To cope with this, Zhao Tao had a backup plan:
a meditation method tailored to his own situation and the Spring and Autumn Cicada's martial spirit—the Time Meditation Method.
Compared to ordinary meditation methods, the Time Meditation Method could draw upon some of the power of the River of Time, significantly improving Zhao Tao's cultivation efficiency.
Upon his rebirth, Zhao Tao naturally brought with him the knowledge and experience of this meditation method.
As the Time Meditation Method activated, Zhao Tao quickly sensed the free spirit power flowing through the space, as well as the faint silver energy emanating from the River of Time.
As the Time Meditation technique activated, strands of soul power and the force of time continuously flowed into Zhao Tao's body, being refined into pure soul power and integrated into his dantian.
Soon, half an hour passed.
Zhao Tao concluded a cycle of cultivation and slowly opened his eyes.
"The gap between my damaged innate soul power and the full innate soul power of my first life is indeed huge."
"Even with the benefits of the improved Time Meditation technique, which can additionally refine the scattered time power, my current cultivation speed is probably only half of what it was before my rebirth." "
And if I didn't have the Time Meditation technique, and only used ordinary meditation, my cultivation speed after my rebirth might even be only one-fifth of my pre-rebirth speed, or even lower!"
Feeling the newly added soul power in his dantian, Zhao Tao's eyes flickered with helplessness.
Although his rebirth had brought him much, it also came with a price.
Perhaps, the cultivation in the past few years was bound to not be as smooth as before rebirth.
Fortunately, with the gradual recovery of the Spring and Autumn Cicada, his talent and cultivation speed will continue to recover until they surpass those before rebirth.
And what he needs is time!
Shortly after Zhao Tao finished his cultivation,
Lin Ximeng also brought Zhao Tao a sumptuous dinner.
After dinner, Zhao Tao did not sleep, but began to meditate again.
He did not end his soul power training until he felt a slight pain in his meridians.
...
In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning.
Zhao Tao followed Lin Ximeng to Hongshan College.
Today was the day of enrollment, and Zhao Tao, led by Lin Ximeng, rushed to the soul master class of Hongshan College to begin his future compulsory soul master training.