Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the system's voice rang out again:
"Ding... Activation complete, the host has adapted to the soul power rules."
Instantly, the Central Wu Earth Apricot Yellow Qi within Zhou Chen settled, and the soul power pressure that had filled the secret room disappeared, leaving only a golden-cracked crystal ball.
At that moment, Su Yuntao and Tang San were both gasping for air, looking at Zhou Chen with eyes full of shock and a hint of fear!
The three of them remained silent, with the atmosphere growing increasingly tense.
After a long silence, Zhou Chen, feeling a bit awkward, broke the silence first. He looked at Su Yuntao and asked, "Is my soul power measurement complete?"
"Of course... of course, it's complete."
Su Yuntao hesitated, then looked at the cracked golden crystal ball on the table, unsure, and said, "But the soul power crystal is destroyed, so I can't determine your soul power level."
Normally, even if someone had innate full soul power, it would only be at level 10. But a mere level 10 soul power shouldn't have nearly shattered the soul power crystal or suppressed him, a level 26 Grand Soul Master, to immobility.
Though hard to believe, Su Yuntao had a terrifying suspicion: this boy's innate soul power likely far exceeded level 10!
"Whoo..."
Taking a deep breath, Su Yuntao, still reeling from the shock, didn't forget his duty as a toolman. He pointed to the circle of six black stones on the ground and said slowly, "Little friend, step inside, it's time to awaken your martial spirit."
"Alright."
Zhou Chen stepped forward and stood among the six black stones.
"Focus your mind, I'm starting."
With a reminder, Su Yuntao slapped the ground, injecting six streams of green soul power into the six black stones. In an instant, a pale golden barrier rose again.
The next moment, golden specks of light emanated from the barrier, continuously penetrating Zhou Chen's body. A warm energy caused the Central Wu Earth Apricot Yellow Qi within him to become active!
"Just as expected!"
Su Yuntao's eyes instantly burned with intensity, for the golden specks around Zhou Chen were a thousand times denser than those of ordinary people!
If this boy's martial spirit was as powerful as his soul power, he must be recruited into the Spirit Hall, which would mean great merit and a promising promotion for Su Yuntao!
Boom!!
A towering golden pillar of light descended from the sky, instantly piercing through the dome of the Spirit Hall and enveloping Zhou Chen!
The next moment, Zhou Chen, bathed in golden light, began to float. Combined with his handsome face and luxurious purple attire, he seemed otherworldly.
"This... is that pillar of light!"
Tang San muttered as he stared blankly at the scene.
A few days ago, he had seen the same golden pillar of light at Zhou Chen's residence. But the spectacle then was nothing compared to the grandeur now!
As for Su Yuntao, he was already too stunned to speak, his mouth agape, making strange noises from his throat.
"Ding... Host's martial spirit has awakened, please check."
With the system's prompt, a massive humanoid figure, radiating golden light, slowly emerged from Zhou Chen's body!
As soon as the humanoid figure appeared, the surrounding sky turned pitch black, as dark as ink. The only remaining light was the golden pillar connecting heaven and earth.
Soon after, streaks of golden lightning sliced across the sky, creating vast golden clouds amidst the thunderous roars!
"Why did the sky go dark?"
"What is that pillar of light?"
"That's coming from the direction of the Spirit Hall!"
Faced with such a grand spectacle, countless people in Notting City began to question, then panic.
Crash!!
Suddenly, thunder roared across the land, and a massive golden lightning bolt struck the dome of Notting City's Spirit Hall, completely overturning the heavy stone dome!
Continuing its momentum, the lightning smashed the over-ten-meter-high six-winged angel statue inside the hall into pieces!
This seemed to be a signal!
The next moment, Zhou Chen suddenly opened his eyes, and the giant humanoid figure behind him erupted with waves of golden light. A pressure, vast as mountains and heavens, spread throughout the area!
Instantly, Su Yuntao and Tang San were overwhelmed by the immense pressure and fainted!
And this was just the beginning!
In the next second, centered on the Spirit Hall, tens of thousands of people in Notting City simultaneously fainted under the unparalleled pressure! Throughout the streets and alleys, countless pedestrians collapsed like waves!
Only soul masters above level 30 could barely remain conscious, but they too could only lie helplessly on the ground.
"Is this... the wrath of a deity?"
Inside the Spirit Hall, Cassius, the Notting City Archpriest with a soul power of level 47, was utterly horrified by the sudden events.
Around him, a dozen Spirit Hall deacons lay sprawled in various positions, with only a few over level 30 remaining conscious, yet they could only lie there like plants.
Only Cassius himself could still stand!
But that was all he could do...
---
**In the west of the city.**
Located there was Notting City's only elementary soul master academy, Notting Academy.
At this moment, almost all of the academy's hundreds of teachers and students had fainted. Only a middle-aged man in his fifties was still resisting the soul power pressure enveloping the city.
He was the academy's principal and ranked among the top three strong individuals in Notting City, a level 42 soul master.
"What is that pillar of light?"
The middle-aged man gazed at the golden pillar connecting heaven and earth, his eyes full of shock. Deeply uneasy, his eyes drifted to the figure slumped over the desk beside him.
"When Xiao Gang wakes up, I'll ask him. After all, he's from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan..."
---
**In a blacksmith shop owned by Zhou Chen in the city.**
A middle-aged man was intently watching the golden pillar connecting heaven and earth, his eyes filled with confusion.
The man appeared to be around fifty, tall and robust, with bronze skin visible beneath his tattered robe. His face bore a waxy complexion, with messy hair and a scruffy beard, giving him a disheveled appearance.
He was Tang San's father, the Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao!
The overwhelming pressure released by Zhou Chen had no effect on him, a Titled Douluo.
"What a strange pressure... Although it's not very intense, a soul master above level 40 could withstand it, but its range covers the entire city! This... seems somewhat akin to the deity domain of the Slaughter City."
Tang Hao murmured to himself, smiling bitterly. He had seen the golden pillar before, and it was undoubtedly linked to little Zhou Chen.
"Let's check out the Spirit Hall."
Tang Hao sighed softly, and with a slight flicker of his figure, he vanished.
Though not a responsible father, he had to check on his son Tang San after such a significant event. Of course, he'd also take the opportunity to see how young Zhou Chen was doing...
---
**Meanwhile.**
Enveloped in the golden pillar of light, Zhou Chen turned around, gazing quietly at the massive golden humanoid martial spirit.
At this moment, the golden humanoid martial spirit was shrouded in a dense golden glow, making its face and form indistinct, with only a pair of star-like eyes meeting Zhou Chen's gaze from afar.
For a long while, as the golden light gradually dissipated, Zhou Chen finally saw the humanoid martial spirit's appearance clearly.
Then he... was utterly astonished!
The golden humanoid martial spirit, though still with a blurred face, had undergone a significant transformation.
It wore a jade crown with twelve pendants atop its head, and donned a golden robe with nine five-clawed golden dragons swirling around it. Surrounding it were apparitions of mountains, rivers, plants, animals, the sun, moon, and stars!
Such imperial might brought eight words to Zhou Chen's mind:
"In heaven and earth, I alone am supreme!"
"System, what exactly is this martial spirit?"
Though its presence was majestic, clearly the top-tier martial spirit, Zhou Chen hadn't encountered anything like it in the martial spirit encyclopedia he read the previous night.
"Ding... Host, your martial spirit shares the same origin as the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor. It is the Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor, one of the Five Emperors, known as the Emperor Hongshi!"
Hearing this, Zhou Chen felt a wave of dizziness. No wonder such a powerful celestial phenomenon occurred during his martial spirit awakening!
His martial spirit was actually the legendary Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor, who mastered the five energies, cultivated five types, cared for the people, governed the four directions, forged swords on Shouyang, and ascended riding dragons?