Fasnuo Province, north of Nuoding City, Red Maple Village, Spirit Hall.
They called it the Spirit Hall, but in reality it was just a small room.
Inside, a row of young brats stood in line, each with an uneasy expression. They followed the procedure, stepping forward one by one as the noble Soul Master before them called their names to awaken their martial souls.
"Hoe. No soul power."
"Blue Silver Grass. Standard trash martial soul, no need to even test for soul power."
Although Su Yuntao's face showed impatience, he still passed the soul power testing crystal ball over.
"Put your hand on top. Let me see… no soul power. Next…"
"Radish. If you had soul power, you could become a Food-type Soul Master. Unfortunately… you don't."
This was the Douluo Continent. Everyone possessed a martial soul, but from the moment their martial soul awakened, they would be divided into different classes according to the level of soul power.
As long as one had soul power, even the most insignificant rank-1 innate soul power was enough to be called "Soul Master, sir".
Without soul power, one could only struggle at the very bottom for the rest of their life.
This was the iron law of this world.
"Next…"
Su Yuntao looked tired. Hosting the martial soul awakening for so many children was no small burden even for a Grand Soul Master like him. Fortunately, there was only one left.
When the last child walked over, Su Yuntao's eyebrows lifted, a flash of surprise crossing his face.
This boy's features were delicate and handsome, yet there was a large red scar on his face, like flames spreading from his forehead down half his cheek.
However, the scar did not look ugly. Instead, it gave the boy a unique air.
"Lin Yang, right… Stand in the center of the array."
Lin Yang walked to the middle of the six stones embedded in the ground and stood firmly.
Su Yuntao injected soul power into the magic array, and the six stones at his feet began emitting a faint glow.
At the same time, Lin Yang sensed an incomparably gentle, warm current roaming through his body, flowing through all his limbs and bones, finally splitting into two streams that rushed toward his left and right hands.
Swoosh!
A pitch-black long blade suddenly appeared in Lin Yang's hand. The blade was about one meter long, its edge gleaming with cold light. It was slim and sharp, with a circular, cut-out guard connecting blade and hilt.
Near the guard, faintly carved into the blade, were four large characters: "Slayer of Demons and Evil Spirits" (惡鬼滅殺).
The instant he saw those four characters, it was as if some door in his mind had swung open. With a boom, a massive flood of memories erupted in Lin Yang's mind.
Earth… Demon Slayer… Sun Breathing… the final battle in the Infinity Castle… Scenes from the past flashed rapidly through his head in fragments.
He remembered. Lin Yang's pupils dilated slightly.
He was a transmigrator. Only, at first, he had transmigrated into the world of Demon Slayer. After encountering demons, he was rescued by the Demon Slayer Corps and naturally joined them.
Relying on foreknowledge and extraordinary talent, he learned Sun Breathing from Kamado Tanjurō, then slaughtered demons along the way, rising to become the Sun Pillar.
Naturally, he unlocked the three standard anti-demon setups: Red Blade, Demon Slayer Mark, and Transparent World.
In the end, he even outwitted Kibutsuji Muzan, triggering the final battle in the Infinity Castle. With the combined efforts of the other Pillars, they let that "scum demon" Muzan bask in the sun, achieving a happy ending.
He even achieved the "loving family with the Butterfly Girls" feat.
He just hadn't expected that after dying at twenty-five, he would start a third run and transmigrate to the Douluo Continent.
It seemed this body was still his own, just regressed to an infant.
By great luck, he'd been picked up and raised by an old granny from Red Maple Village.
His memories from his first and second lives had been sealed because of his frail infant body. That was why, during the past six years, he'd been no different from any other child.
Only now, with his martial soul awakening, did he recall everything.
Moreover, his martial soul was none other than his Nichirin Blade, "Hizama".
But he could clearly sense that another martial soul had appeared within him.
A twin martial soul. How could he not take off with that?
"So it's a blade…"
Su Yuntao stared at the meter-long Nichirin Blade in Lin Yang's hand, a glint flashing in his eyes. This blade didn't look ordinary at all—there might very well be soul power.
"Come, let's test your soul power."
He passed over the crystal ball. "Put your hand on it and relax your whole body."
By now, Lin Yang had already recovered from the tide of memories. Without a ripple on his face, he placed his hand on the crystal ball.
The moment they touched, a suction force erupted from within the crystal ball, and the warm current in his body uncontrollably surged into it.
The next second, the crystal ball flared with light.
"As expected, you have soul power." Su Yuntao's eyes lit up.
"Not bad. Innate rank-5 soul power. That counts as a little genius."
Lin Yang's brows lifted slightly. He felt his innate soul power was more than rank 5.
Of course, this wasn't something he'd say to Su Yuntao's face.
"Lin Yang, congratulations on possessing rank-5 innate soul power. As long as you cultivate diligently, you might become a Soul King in the future."
After speaking, Su Yuntao couldn't help asking eagerly,
"Are you interested in joining the Spirit Hall like your big brother here?"
Lin Yang scratched the back of his head, looking a bit at a loss. "Um… I'd have to go back and ask my grandma…"
"That's true."
Su Yuntao silently cursed himself for being impatient. What could he expect from a six-year-old child? The kid probably didn't even know what the Spirit Hall did.
It was no wonder. After presiding over awakenings in several villages in a row, aside from the Lin Yang before him, not a single child with the potential to become a Soul Master had appeared.
If he could discover a good seedling within his jurisdiction, he would reap no small benefits.
"Let's go, we'll go see your grandma."
As the door opened, Red Maple Village's chief, Talon, rushed up like an arrow, moving far more nimbly than a man in his fifties or sixties should.
"Master Su, has anyone in our village awakened soul power this year?"
"Congratulations, I found you a good seedling." Su Yuntao pushed Lin Yang forward a little.
"Innate rank-5 soul power, martial soul is a blade."
"Rank 5—my heavens!"
The village chief trembled, his eyes fixed tightly on Lin Yang as he muttered, "Good, good. Our Red Maple Village finally produced a good seedling."
Around them, the other villagers couldn't help showing a trace of loss and envy.
They all knew that from now on, Lin Yang's future would be completely different from that of their own children.
"Village Chief Talon, I'd like to recruit Lin Yang into the Spirit Hall. Could you take me to see his family?"
"Sure, sure, no problem." Talon nodded repeatedly.
"Master Su, please come with me."
The granny who had adopted Lin Yang was named Su Xi. She'd given Lin Yang his name, using her husband's surname.
Su Xi's husband had joined the army years ago and died on the battlefield. The two had no children, and she had lived alone for decades—until she found Lin Yang in the wild.
She treated him very well. She'd never despised the red scar on his face; instead, she doted on him like a grandson of her own blood.
Of course, even though Lin Yang's memories hadn't awakened, a person's fundamental nature wouldn't change. He always did what chores he could.
The neighbors in Red Maple Village were also very harmonious. Apart from a somewhat tight livelihood, the grandma and grandson lived in relative peace.