Douluo Continent: The Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, who intercepted the immortal herb

The first rays of sunlight greeted Wuhun City in the morning.

Su Chen pushed open the wooden door of the orphanage.

He strode toward the Awakening Plaza in the center of the Spirit Hall.

Last night, he successfully bound himself to the God-level Choice System.

In this world where martial spirits reign supreme, the lack of strength is the original sin.

Su Chen understood this perfectly. As an orphan adopted by the Spirit Hall, if he couldn't awaken a powerful spirit, his future would only be to be assigned to a branch hall in a remote town as a low-level steward. He didn't want to be cannon fodder. He wanted to control his own destiny.

The streets of Wuhun City were wide and smooth. Squads of Templar Knights in silver armor patrolled the area. Su Chen walked along the main road. Half an hour later, he arrived at Awakening Plaza.

Hundreds of children of school age have already gathered in Awakening Square.

They were all orphans adopted by the Spirit Hall from various places, or descendants of people from the lower classes.

Everyone's face was filled with tension and anticipation.

Su Chen walked into the crowd and found a spot at the back.

In the very center of the plaza stood a massive platform. Intricate array patterns were carved into the platform. At each of the six nodes of the array, a jet-black awakening stone was placed.

Cardinal Snow was in charge of presiding over this awakening ceremony.

Snow wore a magnificent red robe, with the Spirit Hall's high-ranking emblem pinned to his chest. He walked to the edge of the platform, looking down at the hundreds of children below.

"Today is the annual Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony," Snow began. His voice, enveloped in soul power, resonated throughout the entire plaza. "The Spirit Hall has provided you with shelter. Now is your time to prove your worth. Awaken a Martial Soul with soul power, and you can stay in Spirit City. You can directly enter the Spirit Academy to study. If you don't have soul power, you will be assigned to various lower-level branch halls to do odd jobs. Do you understand?"

The children responded in unison. Their voices echoed across the square.

Snow waved his hand. He gestured to the chief steward beside him to begin taking attendance.

The presiding deacon produced a thick register. He opened to the first page and loudly read out a name.

"The first one is Wang Daniu."

A burly boy nervously walked up to the platform. Following the deacon's instructions, he stood in the center of the six awakening stones. The deacon swiftly unleashed six streams of soul power with both hands, which were precisely injected into the six awakening stones.

A layer of pale golden light emanated from the Awakening Stone. The light intertwined in the air, forming a golden shield that enveloped the boy. Within the shield, specks of golden light emerged, continuously entering the boy's body. The boy's body began to tremble slightly. He instinctively reached out his right hand.

The light quickly faded. An ordinary iron sickle appeared in the boy's palm.

"Martial Soul, scythe. Weapon Martial Soul." The deacon wrote it down expressionlessly. He turned and took out a blue crystal ball from the side. The crystal ball was crystal clear and flawless. The deacon handed the crystal ball to the boy. "Test your soul power. Place your hand on it."

The boy placed his hand on the crystal ball. The crystal ball did not react. No light appeared.

"No soul power. Next." The deacon announced the result indifferently.

The boy walked down from the platform, his face filled with dejection. This was the cruel reality of the Douluo Continent. Without innate soul power, he was destined to never become a Soul Master. His future fate was limited to wielding a sickle in the fields or cleaning in the Martial Soul Branch Hall.

The awakening ceremony proceeded smoothly.

Most children awaken useless martial souls. Farm tools, weeds, ordinary poultry. Occasionally a few appear with innate soul power, but their soul power level is extremely low.

"Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass, no Soul Power."

"Martial Soul: Wooden Stick; Innate Soul Power Level 1."

"Martial Soul: Wild Boar; Innate Soul Power Level 2."

As time went by, Snow's brow furrowed slightly. This year's prospective talents didn't seem very promising. The Spirit Hall needed fresh blood. The higher-ups hoped to discover exceptionally gifted geniuses among the orphans. But so far, they were all mediocre.

Su Chen stood in the crowd, calmly observing everything on the platform. He wasn't worried about the outcome of his awakening. Now that the system was bound to him, it wouldn't let him become a useless person. He was now thinking about his next plan. Judging by the time, Tang San should be awakening his martial soul soon too. He had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

"Next, Li Qing," the deacon's voice rang out again.

A thin boy walked onto the platform. A flash of golden light appeared. Behind him, the phantom of a small blue bird appeared. The bird fluttered its wings, looking quite agile.

A flicker of emotion crossed the deacon's eyes. "Beast Spirit, Azure Spirit Bird. Test your spirit power."

The boy placed his hand on the crystal ball. The crystal ball immediately emitted a faint blue light, which filled nearly half of its volume.

"Level four innate soul power." The deacon nodded. His tone finally softened. He made a heavy note on the roster. "Not bad. Move to the left."

The boy was overjoyed. He quickly ran to the designated area on the left side of the platform. That was the exclusive spot for children with soul power.

Snow's expression softened slightly. He possessed innate level four soul power. With diligent cultivation, he could at least become a Great Soul Master, and might even have a chance to reach the Soul Venerable realm. For an orphan, this was already a life-changing achievement.

Next, several more children appeared who possessed soul power. But the highest level they had was only level five of innate soul power. Their martial soul was a mountain-splitting axe.

Time passed second by second. Most of the children in the square had already woken up.

Finally, the steward called out Su Chen's name.

"Next, Su Chen."

Su Chen took a deep breath. He stepped out of the crowd. His steps were steady. He didn't have the timid look of the other children. He walked step by step up to the platform.

Snow glanced at Su Chen. He noticed the boy's eyes were remarkably calm. Such composure was rare among his peers. Snow paid closer attention to Su Chen.

Su Chen walked to the center of the magic array and stood still.

"Relax. Close your eyes. Carefully feel the power within your body," the deacon instructed routinely. Then he unleashed his soul power through both hands.

The six awakening stones lit up instantly. A pale golden light rose up once more, forming a protective shield that enveloped Su Chen.

The protective shield had just formed when Su Chen felt a warm current surging from the Awakening Stone. This current entered his body through his pores, rapidly circulating through his meridians before finally converging at his dantian.

Just then, a crisp mechanical voice rang in his mind.

"Ding! Detected that the host is undergoing Martial Soul Awakening. God-level Selection System triggered."

"Option 1: Suppress your potential and awaken a common mutated martial soul. Reward: Level 10 innate soul power, 1,000 gold soul coins."

"Option Two: Let nature take its course and awaken twin high-level martial souls. Reward: Level 15 innate soul power, one soul beast illustration."

"Option Three: Fully unleash and awaken twin supreme martial souls. Trigger extraordinary phenomena in heaven and earth. Reward: Innate level 20 full soul power, two divine-level martial soul origins."

Su Chen looked at the three options presented by the system. Without hesitation, he made his decision. He wanted to distinguish himself in the Spirit Hall. He wanted to attract the attention of Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu. He had to demonstrate overwhelming value.

In this world, hiding one's talents is pointless. Only by displaying exceptional talent can one obtain the best resources. The Spirit Hall possesses the best simulated cultivation environment on the entire continent and countless qualifications for entering high-level spirit beast forests. These resources are reserved exclusively for true geniuses.

"System, I choose option three," Su Chen commanded in his mind.

"Ding! Confirmation selected. Rewards issued. The divine-level martial soul origin has begun fusion. Please prepare for martial soul awakening."

In an instant, the warm current within Su Chen's body suddenly became violent. He felt two completely different yet incredibly powerful forces colliding wildly within him. These two forces quickly took over his body. One surged towards his right hand. The other surged towards his left hand.

On the high platform outside.

The deacon was prepared to wait for the martial spirit to take shape as usual. But he soon realized something was wrong.

The six awakening stones on the ground began to tremble violently. Their pale golden light instantly turned into a blinding glare.

The deacon's expression changed drastically. He immediately increased his soul power output, attempting to stabilize the awakening array.

But to his horror, he discovered that the Awakening Stone was frantically draining his soul power. The Awakening Array seemed to have become a bottomless pit, greedily devouring external energy. Within seconds, more than half of the deacon's soul power was drained away.

Snow also noticed the anomaly. He suddenly stood up straight, his gaze fixed on Su Chen in the center of the formation.

Such a massive energy fluctuation. This is definitely not an ordinary martial soul awakening.

At this moment, Su Chen's entire body was suspended in mid-air. The dazzling light completely engulfed him. The people below the stage could not see his face clearly.

The once clear sky began to churn rapidly. The clouds pressed lower and lower, and an indescribable pressure spread outwards from where Su Chen was located.

The children in the square were forced back by this oppressive force. They kept retreating until they reached the edge of the square.

The deacon was drenched in sweat. His hands were constantly forming hand seals. He was about to collapse. Fine cracks had already appeared on the surface of the six awakening stones. This was a sign of energy overload. If the awakening stones shattered, the awakening ritual would be forced to stop.

Seeing this, Snow immediately flashed to the edge of the magic circle. He raised his right hand. The powerful soul power belonging to the Cardinal surged forth. He directly injected the soul power into the magic circle.

With Snow's soul power supporting it, the awakening formation finally stabilized. The six awakening stones stopped shattering. But the light emanating from Su Chen grew even more dazzling, shooting straight into the sky.

The commotion in the plaza had already attracted the attention of everyone else in Wuhun City. The patrolling knights stopped in their tracks. Soul Masters in the surrounding buildings opened their windows to look at the plaza.

Just as everyone was watching the platform, Su Chen slowly raised his hands in mid-air.

A ball of pure light condensed in his right palm. A sacred aura emanated from within the ball of light. The moment this aura appeared, the energy throughout the entire Awakening Plaza began to surge.

Immediately afterwards, Su Chen's left hand also changed. A profoundly deep dark energy emerged, forming a stark contrast with the holy light emanating from his right hand.

Two distinct yet equally powerful forces were being born in his hands. The interplay of light and darkness distorted the air around the platform.

Snow was closest. He felt the oppressive force emanating from both forces. Instead of retreating, his eyes blazed with unprecedented fervor.

The Spirit Hall is finally about to produce an unparalleled genius.