Chapter 1: Martial Soul Awakening, Atlas Spear Descends Upon the World
Spirit City, within a luxurious orphanage.
"Yun Yuan, stop practicing your spear! Today is the day of our martial soul awakening."
"You've been so diligent with your spear lately, but who knows? Maybe you won't even inherit your father's martial soul. What if it's not a spear?"
A pockmarked boy shouted toward the center of the courtyard, where another boy was continuously swinging a wooden spear.
Today was the day the Spirit Hall would awaken the martial souls of these orphans.
If one awakened a powerful martial soul and high innate soul power, their future would be incredibly bright, just like their parents.
The children living in this orphanage all had parents who were once at least Soul King-level soul masters of Spirit Hall.
Without exception, they had all sacrificed their lives for Spirit Hall, and in return, Spirit Hall took great care of their orphaned children.
From childhood to now, aside from lacking parental companionship, these children in the orphanage had almost everything they needed.
The boy practicing the spear in the courtyard was named Yun Yuan. His parents were both Soul Saint-level powerhouses, but not long after his birth, they had already sacrificed themselves for Spirit Hall.
However, Yun Yuan had another important identity.
He was not from this world.
He was a transmigrator.
A transmigrator like Tang San, except he had read the original story.
At the center of the courtyard.
The young boy continuously swung the wooden spear in his hand. Though still very young, his grip on the long spear was as steady as a mountain. The shaft drooped slightly, yet showed not the slightest tremor.
When initiating movement, his steps were light and measured, neither hurried nor slow, each step perfectly controlled.
Raising his hand, rotating his wrist, and thrusting the spear, every motion was clean and decisive, without any childish impatience.
The sound of the spear tip cutting through the air was crisp, as thrusts, sweeps, blocks, and lifts followed a clear structure. Though the force was still shallow, the form had already taken shape.
When he finished, his stance was upright and composed, his breathing calm. There was no sign of sweat or panting on his small face, only a pair of bright, star-like eyes.
Despite having the body of a child, he carried a steady and composed aura. Still as a pine tree, moving like the wind.
"Got it. I'll come over right away."
After withdrawing his spear, Yun Yuan looked toward the entrance of the courtyard at his companions of many years and responded.
He then leaned the wooden spear against a tree and followed the group of children toward the place of martial soul awakening.
Before the awakening platform.
A group of children who had just turned six gathered here, including those from the orphanage and relatives of Spirit Hall members.
Standing on the awakening platform was a red-robed bishop, looking kindly at the children below.
Seeing that all the children awaiting awakening had arrived, the bishop was just about to announce the start of the ceremony.
But the next moment—
A man with brilliant golden hair, a handsome face, a gilded papal crown, and gold-white papal robes walked beside the awakening platform.
Beside him stood a young girl with bright, radiant eyes and a delicate, beautiful appearance.
The moment the bishop saw the man, he immediately recognized him and respectfully said,
"Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope."
The man was none other than the current Pope of Spirit Hall, Qian Xunji. Beside him was his recently accepted disciple, Bibi Dong.
A peerless genius possessing twin martial souls and innate full soul power.
All the children below the platform looked toward Qian Xunji with reverence.
This was the supreme leader of Spirit Hall, Pope Qian Xunji, standing right before them. How could they not feel excited?
After arriving, Qian Xunji looked at the red-robed bishop and spoke in a calm tone.
"No need for such formality. Quickly help awaken the martial souls of Spirit Hall's future."
"Yes, Your Holiness."
The bishop nodded slightly and began calling names from the list one by one, helping each child awaken their martial soul.
"Zhang San, Martial Soul: Azure Steel Sword, innate rank four soul power. Eligible to enter Spirit Hall Academy."
"Li Xi, Martial Soul: Flame Tiger, innate rank six soul power. Eligible to enter Spirit Hall Academy."
…
As time passed, nearly all the children present had awakened their martial souls, with only a few remaining.
However, among them, the most talented had only awakened a high-grade martial soul with innate rank-seven soul power.
The red-robed bishop on the platform was fairly satisfied. After all, a high-grade martial soul with innate rank seven soul power had a high probability of reaching Soul Saint in the future, and even Soul Douluo was not impossible.
But Qian Xunji, beside the platform, sighed. Compared to his exceptionally gifted disciple, he was clearly not very satisfied.
Just recently, he had accepted Bibi Dong, a peerless genius with twin martial souls and innate full soul power. Naturally, his standards had risen.
Bibi Dong, standing beside him, also lost interest as she watched the awakenings.
She had thought there might be someone who could pique her interest, but the strongest was only a high-grade martial soul with innate rank-seven soul power.
Such ordinary geniuses couldn't even stir her fighting spirit. Sometimes, being too talented was a flaw; there simply were no opponents.
Just as Bibi Dong was feeling proud—
On the awakening platform, a young boy stepped forward. Though he appeared childish, he carried a naturally steady aura.
"Hm, quite handsome."
Seeing Yun Yuan's appearance, Bibi Dong couldn't help but be surprised by his youthful face.
Among all the children, Yun Yuan stood out the most in appearance. Most striking were his bright, star-like eyes and his firm gaze.
The unique aura emanating from him also caught Qian Xunji's attention.
"Interesting. At such a young age, he already possesses spear intent. I wonder what kind of martial soul he will awaken?"
On the awakening platform.
The red-robed bishop looked at Yun Yuan, a trace of amazement flashing in his eyes as he paused briefly.
But soon, he regained his composure and began the process of awakening.
The next moment—
A beam of white light shot into the sky. In Yun Yuan's hand appeared a miniature, nearly transparent long spear radiating blazing white light.
The spear was sharp and imposing, exuding a fierce aura. At the junction of the shaft and blade was engraved an ancient, vigorous character: "Atlas."
The magnificent scene of Yun Yuan's martial soul awakening instantly captivated Qian Xunji's full attention.
"Quick, test his soul power!"
Qian Xunji's urgent voice rang out, urging the bishop.
At the same time, his eyes shone with intense excitement. The moment the spear appeared, he could tell how extraordinary its quality was.
Even the Clear Sky Sect, a potential rival of Spirit Hall, with its inherited Clear Sky Hammer martial soul, could not match the might of this spear.
Qian Xunji estimated that the boy's innate soul power was at least rank nine, and there was a strong possibility it could even be innate full soul power.
After all, generally speaking, the stronger the martial soul, the higher the innate soul power.
End of Chapter