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*****
Fasinuo Province. Artisan Soul Village.
On a mountain behind the village, a remarkably handsome young boy with sword-like eyebrows and star-bright eyes was relentlessly swinging a wooden sword, his gaze filled with unwavering determination.
Just then, an anxious voice called out from nearby.
"Xiao Tian, why are you still out here practicing with your sword? The Spirit Master responsible for the Awakening Ceremony has already arrived. If you miss this opportunity, you'll have to spend your own money to find someone to awaken your spirit!"
"Grandpa Village Chief, are they starting already? In that case, let's head over right away."
Xiao Tian put away his wooden sword and went to the Village Chief's side, offering him a supportive arm.
"You silly boy, how can you be so unconcerned about your Spirit Awakening ceremony!" the Village Chief said, his tone a mixture of fondness and exasperation.
Xiao Tian replied nonchalantly, "Grandpa Village Chief, there's no use in me being anxious about it. Awakening a Spirit depends entirely on one's bloodline. I'm just an unwanted orphan, so it really doesn't matter what my Spirit turns out to be. The sword in my hand is more than enough for me!"
As he spoke, a bright gleam flashed in Xiao Tian's eyes. "Oh, by the way, Grandpa Village Chief, didn't you promise that you would give me a real longsword as soon as my Spirit Awakening was complete? I don't want to keep using this wooden one; it always feels like something important is missing."
The Village Chief chuckled helplessly. "Alright, alright, I'll give it to you right after you awaken your Spirit. In fact, I have it all prepared and waiting for you already."
He couldn't understand why Xiao Tian had been so singularly devoted to longswords since he was a small child. He simply hoped the boy would be able to awaken a decent Spirit. Most of the villagers in their Artisan Soul Village awakened Spirits that were related to forging. He had no idea what kind of Spirit Xiao Tian would awaken.
So why did Xiao Tian seem to regard this Awakening Ceremony so lightly?
It was, of course, because he was a transmigrator—or, to be more precise, a reincarnator. He had awakened the memories of his past life as far back as his earliest recollections. In his previous life, besides enjoying various web novels, he had loved practicing swordsmanship and collecting famous blades. It could be said that he was uniquely passionate about the Way of the Sword.
Unfortunately, his past life took place in what was known as the 'Dharma-Ending Age.' When he realized he had been reborn into the world of Douluo Dalu, he didn't know whether to feel joy or sorrow. The joy came from this being a world where one could cultivate power, but the sorrow stemmed from it being a world completely dependent on one's bloodline!
Spirits are inherited directly through one's lineage! For an ordinary person to possess higher innate spirit power, the only way is through a spirit mutation!
This reality couldn't help but leave Xiao Tian somewhat disappointed. However, he suddenly recalled the few rare geniuses in Douluo Dalu who had defied their circumstances, and the one who had impressed him the most was none other than Ji Juechen! Ji Juechen's innate spirit power was only at the third rank, yet he had managed to cultivate all the way to the rank of Titled Douluo by relying purely on his comprehension of the Sword Dao. Why couldn't he, Xiao Tian, also give that path a try?!
Therefore, from the moment his memories returned, he had pestered the Grandpa Village Chief to make him a wooden sword. Every single day, he did nothing but practice with his sword; he wouldn't even part with it while eating or sleeping! Consequently, he wasn't particularly concerned about what his Spirit would be, or even whether he would get a system. After all, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment!
Soon enough, under the Village Chief's guidance, Xiao Tian arrived in front of a building that the village had constructed specifically for the Spirit Awakening ceremonies.
"Lord Spirit Master, everyone has arrived. Thank you for taking the trouble to come," the Village Chief said with a respectful smile.
Xiao Tian took a look and thought, 'Well, what a coincidence! Isn't this the 'Blind Douluo' himself, Su Yuntao from the original story?'
Su Yuntao spoke with a hint of impatience, "Alright, that's enough with the pleasantries. Once I've helped you awaken your Spirits, I still need to hurry along to the next village."
"Alright now, children, all of you should follow the Lord Spirit Master inside to have your Spirits awakened. I hope every one of you can awaken a fine Spirit." The Village Chief didn't dare to delay and quickly ushered the children forward.
Inside the room.
"Children, no matter what happens in a moment, do not be afraid. My name is Su Yuntao, a rank twenty-six Spirit Grandmaster, and I will be the one to guide you today."
Su Yuntao did his best to appear gentle as he took out six round, black stones and a single blue crystal ball from his bag. Afterward, Su Yuntao arranged the six black stones into a hexagonal pattern on the floor and then motioned for the first child to step inside it.
"A Scythe Spirit. No spirit power."
"A Hammer Spirit. Innate spirit power, rank one."
"A Nail Spirit. No spirit power."
"..."
As the Awakening Ceremony continued, it was finally the last person's turn: Xiao Tian.
At Su Yuntao's signal, Xiao Tian took a deep breath and stepped into the center of the hexagonal formation. Although he had acted with complete indifference before, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous at this crucial moment. Even though he had already planned out a future for himself regardless of the outcome, who wouldn't hope for their Spirit and innate spirit power to be a little better? It would certainly make cultivation much easier down the line.
Then, under Su Yuntao's guidance, a rust-covered iron sword materialized in Xiao Tian's right hand. As if sensing a connection, Xiao Tian subconsciously murmured, "Sword Fifteen?"
Su Yuntao looked at the iron sword in Xiao Tian's hand and frowned. "Is this rusty blade called 'Fifteen'? That's certainly a strange name. Still, since it is a Sword Spirit, there's a high probability that it possesses spirit power. Let's proceed with testing your spirit power first."
As he spoke that last sentence, there was an unmistakable trace of excitement in Su Yuntao's tone. He had already helped awaken the Spirits in several villages recently, but without a single exception, not one of the children had possessed any spirit power. Of course, due to the nature of their bloodlines, the probability of commoners possessing spirit power was known to be quite low, which he understood, but it was always somewhat disappointing nonetheless. But Artisan Soul Village was different. Every year he came to help with the awakenings here, there was at least one child who possessed spirit power, which was already an excellent result.
Xiao Tian stared at the rusty sword in his hand. Could it truly be the Sword Fifteen from his memories? If it was, then even if his innate spirit power was a bit low, he might still have a chance to defy his fate!
Moreover, Xiao Tian could clearly sense that Sword Fifteen was sentient. Was it possible? Could this truly be the spirit of the legendary Xuanyuan Sword? He never expected to awaken such a special Tool Spirit. No, Xiao Tian believed this could even be considered an intelligent Spirit, couldn't it? It was just like the intelligent spirit rings invented by the Skydream Iceworm ten thousand years in the future! After all, among all the Sword Spirits he was familiar with, not even Chen Xin's legendary Seven Kills Sword was as sentient as Sword Fifteen.
If this truly was that same Sword Fifteen, then the most fundamental difference between it and other Tool Spirits was that Sword Fifteen could move entirely on its own, without him needing to consciously control it, something other Tool Spirits absolutely could not do! Of course, this was a point he would have to test for himself after the Awakening Ceremony was completely finished.
With these thoughts in mind, Xiao Tian placed his hand upon the crystal ball.
"Innate spirit power, rank five!"
This result took Su Yuntao by surprise. He hadn't expected such an inconspicuous-looking iron sword to grant Xiao Tian a full five ranks of spirit power. When he had awakened his own Lone Wolf Spirit, he had only possessed a mere two ranks of power!
As for this result, Xiao Tian was already quite satisfied. An innate spirit power of rank five was certainly not bad at all, and it was a Sword Spirit, no less. He could dedicate himself to arduous training and see if he could cultivate a Sword Intent, just like Ji Juechen had done.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for awakening his Spirit. The System is now initiating the binding process.]
[Ding! Warning! An eighty-thousand-year-old Blue Silver King is located nearby. The Host is advised to evacuate immediately, or his life will be in mortal danger!]
Xiao Tian: ???
What the hell, is this for real? Xiao Tian's guard was instantly raised, though he was also quite puzzled. Weren't the Blue Silver Kings supposed to guard the Blue Silver Ancestral Land? Why would one appear in a small, remote village like theirs?
"System, is there anything you can do?"
[Ding! No. However, the Host need not worry excessively. The Blue Silver King is generally a gentle species and will not attack without provocation. Of course, if your luck turns out to be particularly bad, then I will simply have to find another Host.]
Xiao Tian immediately decided that this system was completely unreliable. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with the system's warning. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed impossible for a Blue Silver King to be in their village. There was, however, quite a lot of ordinary Blue Silver Grass around.
(End of chapter)