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"Good, good, Grandpa believes in you. You must know, Xiao Lan, that your parents were both Grand Soul Masters. Grandpa hopes you can awaken your father Ye Qingyang's martial soul, the Hanging-Eyed White Tiger, and become a powerful Battle Soul Master."
Tom's eyes gleamed with hope.
"Grandpa, I'll be satisfied as long as I awaken with innate soul power. I believe that as long as I can cultivate, no matter what my martial soul is, I'll become a powerful Soul Master. Then I'll repay the village and let Grandpa enjoy a peaceful life in his old age."
Ye Lan responded to Tom's expectations by voicing his heartfelt determination.
Ye Lan was well aware of the future trends and storyline of the Douluo Continent. As long as he could begin cultivating, he believed he could stir up a storm across the land.
Even if he couldn't cultivate, Ye Lan was confident—thanks to the knowledge from his past life—that he could still achieve something great.
Of course, if cultivation proved impossible and he had to take another path, it would only be out of helplessness.
In his past life on Blue Star, Ye Lan had no access to extraordinary powers. In this life, on the Douluo Continent, he longed for the supernatural—longed to become a powerful Soul Master, even a god.
"Alright then. Grandpa will be waiting for the day you become a great Soul Master," Tom said, his heart filled with relief after hearing Ye Lan's words.
That night, Ye Lan drifted off to sleep with a full belly, holding onto dreams of a promising future.
The next morning, yawning and stretching, Ye Lan was pulled along by Tom toward the Spirit Hall in Harvest Village.
Although it was called the Spirit Hall, it was actually just a small wooden hut used once a year for awakening ceremonies. Even so, one had to praise the Spirit Hall for its dedication. After all, Harvest Village was merely a remote settlement under Notting City, yet it still had a designated place for martial soul awakenings.
Outside the hut, a crowd of villagers had gathered in a circle. At the entrance stood several villagers, each accompanying children who were about to undergo their awakening. They surrounded a young man wearing the white deacon uniform of the Spirit Hall, with a black cape draped over his shoulders. He had sharp eyebrows, starry eyes, and a strikingly handsome appearance.
The young man in the center was explaining the martial soul awakening process:
"I'm Su Yuntao, the Grand Soul Master conducting this year's martial soul awakening ceremony in Harvest Village. When it's your turn to awaken, don't be afraid. No matter what happens, just close your eyes and carefully sense the martial soul within your body."
"Based on many years of experience in the Spirit Hall, no accidents have ever occurred during the awakening process. So there's no need to be scared. Just follow my instructions when your turn comes. Even if something goes wrong, the Spirit Hall will take full responsibility."
Ye Lan pushed through the crowd and spotted Su Yuntao, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. Overjoyed, he called out, "Uncle Tao!"
Su Yuntao looked over and smiled upon hearing Ye Lan's familiar voice.
"Still sleeping in, are you, Xiao Lan? Luckily, I've explained the awakening ceremony to you before, so I don't have to repeat it now. Come with me into the hut."
"I was a bit tired from yesterday's training, Uncle Tao," Ye Lan replied sheepishly, scratching his head as he joined the group of children entering the small wooden house.
"Whatever happens inside, the rest of you must not interfere with the awakening ritual!" Su Yuntao instructed the villagers before turning to step into the hut himself.
Once inside, Su Yuntao firmly shut the doors and windows. He then took out the items prepared in advance for the awakening ceremony.
He placed six black stones in the center of the room, arranging them in a precise formation—forming a hexagram with the stones.
Standing tall, a green light suddenly burst from Su Yuntao's forehead, enveloping his entire body. With a low shout, he said, "Lone Wolf, Possession!"
As Su Yuntao's martial soul possessed him, his appearance changed dramatically. His hair gradually turned gray-white, and his pupils shifted from black to a ghostly green, giving off a somewhat unsettling glare when viewed up close.
His muscles bulged across his body, and ten sharp silver claws extended from his fingers, glinting with a cold metallic sheen. A white and a yellow soul ring emerged from beneath his feet and slowly rose to the top of his head.
These transformations were the effects of his Beast Martial Soul, Lone Wolf. When a Beast Soul possesses its host, it partially transforms the body, enhancing physical attributes and combat ability.
The onlookers were a mix of gasps and fearful cries as they watched Su Yuntao's transformation. He quickly reassured the children awaiting their awakening:
"Don't be afraid—this is just my martial soul, the Lone Wolf. I haven't really turned into a wolf!"
After the crowd settled down, Su Yuntao began the awakening process for the children.
Since Ye Lan was the last to arrive, he was also the last to undergo awakening. He didn't use his familiarity with Su Yuntao to cut in line; instead, he welcomed the chance to observe the process more closely by going last. Containing his inner excitement, Ye Lan carefully watched the details of how the others awakened.
A skinny boy followed Su Yuntao's instructions and sat cross-legged in the center of the black stone formation. Then, Su Yuntao clapped his hands together, channeling his soul power. Six streams of green soul energy emerged from his body and flowed into the black stone array.
Before long, the green light wrapped around the black stones. Soon after, the stones emitted a faint golden glow that enveloped the boy entirely.
The boy kept his eyes tightly shut, focusing on sensing his martial soul. At that moment, tiny golden sparks rose from the black stones and slowly drifted into the boy's body.
The boy's body began to tremble, his facial expression shifting as he resisted the urge to cry out.
Su Yuntao kept a close watch on the boy's reaction and instructed, "Extend your right hand."
The skinny boy stretched out his right hand, and all the light gathered into his palm, forming an iron rod.
The rod appeared quite solid—not illusory in the slightest.
"An iron rod—an auxiliary weapon martial soul. Not bad. As far as tool martial souls go, this one has some offensive potential, and it's also quite durable. Take it back for now. I'll test your soul power," Su Yuntao said, his voice carrying a hint of excitement.
Most commoners only awakened useless tool-type martial souls, so encountering one with even modest combat potential left Su Yuntao somewhat hopeful.
As long as a child awakened with innate soul power, it would count toward Su Yuntao's performance record, and the Spirit Hall would reward him accordingly.
Still, Su Yuntao didn't place too much hope on it—after all, the vast majority of people on the Douluo Continent didn't awaken with innate soul power.
Following his guidance, the skinny boy retracted his martial soul.
Su Yuntao then took out a blue crystal ball to test the boy's soul power. Unfortunately, the result showed that he had no innate soul power.
Offering the boy a few words of comfort, Su Yuntao moved on to the next child in line for awakening.
As Ye Lan watched the ceremony unfold, a question quietly formed in his mind.
Where did tool-type martial souls originate? After all, most beast-type martial souls could be traced back to soul beasts as their prototypes. But tools—like iron rods or longswords—didn't exist in ancient times. These items only emerged later with technological and cultural development, giving rise to the concept of such tools.
So, were tool martial souls a product of evolving times, rather than something innate from the beginning? After all, soul beasts like "Iron Rod Spirit" simply didn't exist.
Based on his knowledge of the original work from his past life, Ye Lan had a general idea of where beast martial souls came from. The most direct explanation was the transformation of hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts into humans, who then interbred with actual humans—Tang San being a prime example of this.
(End of Chapter)