Chapter 5: Is This Martial Soul So Careless?
Some rejoiced while others worried; the old butler, having navigated the complexities of the mansion for many years, predicted the situation perfectly.
In the secret room behind the observation hole, the Duchess was already trembling with fury.
Watching the mother and daughter embrace, she felt an intense hatred, wishing she could devour their flesh and drink their blood.
Qian Zhaoguang, who was also feeling happy for Huo Yutong at that moment, had no idea that his well-intentioned actions to help improve her innate soul power had inadvertently caused trouble.
The Duchess, though sparsely detailed in the original story and mostly existing in the background, was described as extremely jealous and suspicious. She was determined to eradicate any potential threat to her sons, Dai Huabin and Dai Yueheng.
So what if Huo Yutong didn't inherit the White Tiger Martial Soul lineage of the White Tiger Duke? An Innate Level 9 Body-type Martial Soul was still exceptionally top-tier talent.
Watching the Huo mother and daughter depart, the Duchess nearly ground her teeth to dust, her resolve to suppress them hardening further.
If Dai Hao discovers such a genius upon his return, given his level of affection for that bitch Huo Yun'er, and considering how I've oppressed her all these years, Dai Hao would absolutely not let me off lightly.
Damn it!
In that case, let's finish this once and for all – settle old scores and new hatreds together!
Until I manage to kill this pair of bitches, Dai Hao can just stay put obediently at the border!
Unbeknownst to the three people present (Qian Zhaoguang, the butler, and the middle-aged man), Huo Yutong and Huo Yun'er had already left, flushed with excitement and eagerly planning their wonderful future life.
Now, it was finally Qian Zhaoguang's turn for the Martial Soul Awakening.
"Come on, child, you're the last one for today."
The middle-aged man had composed himself.
When facing Qian Zhaoguang, his tone was noticeably gentler than it had been with Huo Yutong.
Qian Zhaoguang nodded calmly and stepped into the center of the Awakening Stones on his own.
As the six streams of soul power flowed in, the pale golden light illuminated once more.
Warmth – that was his first sensation.
His entire being felt enveloped in gentle sunlight, an indescribably comfortable feeling.
The warm aura permeated inwards, and Qian Zhaoguang clearly felt some unknown changes occurring within his body.
The most direct effect was the mobilization of the mere remaining sliver of innate soul power in his dantian, causing it to flow upwards through his body.
Qian Zhaoguang subconsciously extended his right hand. Incredibly, the exact same situation as Huo Yutong's awakening occurred.
No Martial Soul appeared in the palm of his right hand.
Nor did any phantom image of a Beast Martial Soul appear behind him.
Suddenly, an icy aura permeated the room, causing the overall temperature to drop sharply by several degrees.
The middle-aged man shivered involuntarily, looking at the boy before him in astonishment.
This...
What on earth was this Martial Soul?
Forget him, a mere Soul Ancestor; even the Soul Saint-level old butler was completely baffled.
What in the world had just been awakened?
As the awakening ceremony concluded, Qian Zhaoguang looked down at himself, utterly confused.
He also wanted to know what Martial Soul he had awakened.
Why was there absolutely nothing?
He just felt a slight chill on his chest.
The old butler walked up, circled him, and examined him closely several times before finally noticing something unusual on his chest.
"Zhaoguang, lift up your shirt, let Grandpa take a look."
"Okay."
Qian Zhaoguang complied.
This time, both the middle-aged man and the old butler saw it clearly.
On his chest rested a cluster of clear, cold light.
The old butler reached out and touched it, feeling a faint chill.
Qian Zhaoguang himself realized it too; this seemed to be his Martial Soul.
"My Martial Soul... is Light? But why is it cold? Aren't Light-type Martial Souls usually associated with fire or holy attributes?"
The old butler didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "My dear boy, I gave you the name Zhaoguang (Morning Light), and you actually went and awakened a Light Martial Soul? If I had known, I should have named you Qian Jizhi (Thousand Ultimate), then you'd be guaranteed to awaken an Ultimate Martial Soul, hahaha!"
The middle-aged man interjected, "Elder Zhu, what exactly is this Martial Soul your grandson awakened? I've seen Light Martial Souls before, but not like this. And look, this light actually carries a bone-chilling coldness; it's truly bizarre."
The old butler shrugged.
"Who cares? The world is full of strange and bizarre Martial Souls, who knows what this one really is? Hurry up, test his innate soul power. Judging by the fluctuations during the awakening, I estimate it shouldn't be low. It might even be Innate Full Soul Power, or at the very least Level Eight or Nine."
The middle-aged man brought out the crystal ball again.
Qian Zhaoguang placed his hand on it, only feeling that wisp of soul power in his dantian being drawn out once more.
The crystal ball emitted a faint glow.
"Innate Soul Power... Level One?"
The middle-aged man's expression was odd, his words hesitant.
The old butler's earlier smile vanished completely.
He frowned fiercely, his forehead wrinkling deeply.
"Level One? Is this broken piece of junk faulty? How could Xiao Guang's unique Martial Soul result in Level One? Based on the fluctuations during the awakening, it should be at least Level Eight or higher!"
"Elder Zhu, this is a new soul power crystal ball I just retrieved from the storeroom, freshly unsealed today. There's definitely no mistake."
As the middle-aged man spoke, he infused his own soul power into the ball.
"Look, I'm Level 45. It's working perfectly fine."
The old butler tried it himself as well, and the crystal ball displayed a soul power level of seventy-nine.
"This is damned strange... how could it possibly be Level One?"
On the way back, the old butler kept muttering about what had just happened, his face etched with worry.
Qian Zhaoguang, knowing exactly what was going on with himself, consoled him, "Grandpa, it's alright. It's just a low innate soul power level. If I work hard at cultivation in the future, I'll still have a chance to become a top-tier expert."
Innate soul power, for Soul Masters, was an indicator of talent.
Soul Masters couldn't cultivate before the age of six, so more talented Soul Masters could awaken more innate soul power before officially starting their cultivation journey.
However, for Qian Zhaoguang, his low innate soul power was simply because he had already used up this accumulated power beforehand.
It was like casually collecting rainwater in a bottle.
A bigger bottle (talent) collects more water.
The collected water is the so-called innate soul power.
The more water collected, the higher the innate soul power.
So, a Soul Master's talent is indeed linked to innate soul power; there's nothing wrong with that logic.
But Qian Zhaoguang wasn't a conventional Soul Master.
He had simply drunk the water before the test; the bottle itself hadn't shrunk.
"But this... sigh."
The old butler started to speak but trailed off.
As a graduate of Shrek Academy, how could he not understand the importance of innate soul power for future accomplishments?
Aside from those 'medicine jars' from the Sun Moon Empire, for someone with Innate Level 1 Soul Power to reach the rank of Soul Venerable (Level 30+) would require tremendous blessings from their ancestors.
"Grandpa, please don't worry," Qian Zhaoguang said reassuringly. "Tomorrow, I'll go learn a trade. I won't starve in the future, and I still need to take care of you in your old age! Look, how about I learn forging? I'll strive to become a Soul Tool Master in the future; that's also a decent path."
Qian Zhaoguang had already planned his future cultivation path.
Starting to learn forging now had two benefits. Firstly, he could try to replicate the Spirit Forging method from later eras, preparing himself for attempting to create Battle Armor in the future.
Secondly, even if experimenting with Spirit Forging didn't work out, simply using forging to temper his body was also an excellent option.
Seeing his grandson being so sensible and well-behaved, how could the old butler bear to say no?
He sighed deeply.
"Ai, since you want to learn forging, then Grandpa will take you this afternoon. The Duke's Mansion has its own blacksmiths. Grandpa will definitely find you the master craftsman with the best skills."
"Mm-hmm, thank you, Grandpa."
(End of Chapter)