Chapter 457: The Jealous Qian Renxue
Chapter 457: The Jealous Qian Renxue
The next day.
The door to the small courtyard opened.
A plain-looking middle-aged woman, appearing to be around fifty or sixty years old, walked in.
"Aunt Wu, you're here." Hearing the sound of the gate opening, a petite figure ran out of the house excitedly.
He threw himself into the middle-aged woman's arms, just like a baby swallow returning to its nest. It was obvious that this woman was the maidservant who had taken care of him since he was little.
"Little Young Master, I've come to take you to the family estate to awaken your Martial Soul." The woman called Aunt Wu patted his head, her attitude incredibly gentle. After all, facing such a cute child, what adult wouldn't like him? Especially since he was a child she had watched grow up.
"Really? Then let's go quickly." Dugu Sheng immediately feigned the impatience of a child, grabbing her large hand and pulling her toward the door.
"Little Young Master, slow down." Aunt Wu was helpless and could only let him drag her along.
A short while later, the two arrived at a residence with high surrounding walls. A massive plaque hung above the main gate: Zhang Manor.
Generally, those who went to the Spirit Hall for a free Martial Soul awakening were commoners with no power or influence. Any family faction with some assets would handle the awakening themselves. Although the Zhang family wasn't a major clan, it was still a small family with two hundred years of heritage. Awakening the Martial Souls of their younger generation was a simple task for them. After all, it wasn't exactly difficult.
Upon arriving at the main gate of the Zhang Manor, Dugu Sheng stopped, his entire demeanor becoming very timid and restrained. Since childhood, he had never once entered this place, even though Aunt Wu always called him 'Young Master.' But strictly speaking, his status was just that of an illegitimate bastard. It was already good enough that the Zhang family hadn't thrown him away; to be honest, he felt he should thank them for sparing his life!
Under these circumstances, Dugu Sheng, who was very self-aware, had passed by this place many times but had never gone inside.
Once they were there, Aunt Wu took the lead, holding his small hand and guiding him through a side door next to the main gate into the Zhang Manor. Inside, there were long walkways, gardens, and pavilions, along with quite a few guards and patrol squads.
After entering, Dugu Sheng didn't dare to look around randomly. He simply kept his head slightly lowered, allowing Aunt Wu to lead him forward by the hand. After winding through seven turns and eight bends, until his head was a bit dizzy, they finally arrived at their destination.
It was a large ancestral hall.
At this moment, many people were already present inside the hall.
Seated at the very top were several white-haired elders, while middle-aged men sat on the left and right sides. Below them stood a group of children about the same age as him. Clearly, this was the family ancestral hall, a place specifically dedicated to awakening the Martial Souls of the younger generation.
When Dugu Sheng was brought in, everyone glanced at him. Their gazes varied—some held pity, some disgust, and others curiosity. It was a myriad of expressions, reflecting the complexity of human nature.
Dugu Sheng didn't dare to meet their eyes, fearing he might offend someone just by looking at them. He kept his head down, honestly walking to the back of the group of children, trying hard to lower his presence.
Fortunately, after glancing at him once, those people continued discussing other matters.
A moment later.
Several more children walked in one after another from outside.
With that, everyone had finally arrived.
"Begin the Martial Soul Awakening!"
An elder in the seat of honor announced in a loud voice.
Following this, a middle-aged man took out some gem-like artifacts and arranged them into a square formation in the center of the ancestral hall. This was undoubtedly the Awakening Formation.
There were over a dozen children awakening their Martial Souls today, arranged in a long line.
Dugu Sheng was neither the first nor the last, but positioned somewhere in the back-middle. Just like his name, he was mediocre and unremarkable.
One by one, the children went up to awaken.
Their Martial Souls were either swords, sabers, or things like hammers.
Their innate Soul Power hovered mostly around Rank 1 or 2, with only a very small number possessing Soul Power around Rank 4 or 5. Whenever a child with that level of Soul Power appeared, the elders in the seats of honor and the surrounding middle-aged men would reveal smiles of joy. Clearly, possessing that level of innate Soul Power was considered excellent for this family.
Finally, it was Dugu Sheng's turn.
He stepped into the Awakening Formation with great nervousness. As the light of the formation lit up, he felt an unprecedented sense of relief wash over his heart, and his body relaxed completely.
A sound like shattering glass rang out from within his body; he felt as if some barrier inside him had broken!
Dugu Sheng slowly raised his right hand. Accompanied by a hazy light, a strange wheel appeared in his palm, hovering there...
At the center of this wheel was a large circle, and around the edges were ten smaller circles. Each contained various blurry patterns, slowly rotating around the large central circle which featured an arrow-like pointer. It exuded an ancient aura.
This is!!!
Upon seeing the object in his hand, Dugu Sheng's pupils shrank violently. As a shut-in otaku in his previous life who had watched almost every anime, how could he not recognize this thing?
Wasn't this the Golden Wheel of Sovereignty—the Authority of the Gods obtained by the protagonist Kusanagi Godou after killing a god in Campione!?
The ten small circles surrounding the wheel... each one represented a divine Authority!
In the anime, every time the protagonist wanted to use an Authority, the small circles on the wheel would begin to spin. Whichever Authority was to be used would eventually stop at the position pointed to by the central arrow. It looked just like a roulette wheel used for gambling.
Dugu Sheng never expected that his Martial Soul would be this. Could this be his "Golden Finger"? If it really was the Divine Authority from Campione!, then he had hit the jackpot!
This was the rhythm of someone about to skyrocket to success!
At this moment, aside from him, no one else present recognized the wheel; they just thought it looked a bit strange. There were myriad types of Martial Souls on the continent, so it wasn't surprising for weird ones to appear.
"Test your Soul Power."
The middle-aged man in charge of the awakening placed a crystal ball in front of him.
Dugu Sheng nervously pressed his hand onto the crystal ball. He couldn't help but wonder, how much Soul Power would he have? Would it be the Innate Full Soul Power that is essential for every Douluo transmigrator protagonist?
Unfortunately, the crystal ball had no reaction.
"No Soul Power," the middle-aged man announced the result heartlessly.
Dugu Sheng immediately lowered his head with a look of despair. In reality, his heart wasn't as despairing as his outward appearance suggested. He had a feeling that this Martial Soul was different from the Martial Souls of this world. Once he went back and studied it slowly, he might gain other insights.
After him, the remaining few children went up to awaken their Martial Souls. Basically, the lowest innate Soul Power among them was Rank 1. Dugu Sheng was the only child awakening today who had no innate Soul Power.
However, no one voiced any mockery toward him. After all, he was just a six-year-old child. He wasn't close to anyone here, nor was there any conflict of interest. Who would be bored enough to mock him without any grievance or enmity?
(End of Chapter)
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