The Soul Awakening Ceremony officially begins.
With a heart full of anxiety and uncertainty, Ye Hao stepped into the center of the six stones.
The hexagonal stones emitted a golden glow, which soon pierced into Ye Hao's body. For some reason, it felt as though something was about to emerge from within him, enveloping him in a warm flow.
Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped slightly, causing Su Yuntao, Si Si, and Matthew to shiver involuntarily as they stood behind Ye Hao.
"Crack, crack—"
A strange sound echoed, and from behind him, four small eyes emerged. The abdomen morphed into a massive round shape, from which grew eight stout legs covered in thick green fur, glistening with repulsive mucus.
An aura of dominance surged forth.
A pair of crimson eyes met Su Yuntao's gaze, sending chills down his spine. Si Si couldn't hold back her fear and collapsed to the ground, and even Matthew, who had lived many years, felt a creeping terror; he had never seen such a bizarre martial soul.
It seemed to be a type of demon spider.
Ye Hao was drenched in cold sweat; after all, it was the Death Spider Emperor, the king among demon spiders.
Recalling Su Yuntao's earlier words, Ye Hao exerted his soul power, barely managing to retract the Death Spider Emperor martial soul, realizing that if he hesitated any longer, his second martial soul—the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor—would soon emerge.
"I found it! I found it!"
Matthew flipped through a book, pointing excitedly at an illustration of the Death Spider.
"You are… Ye Hao, right? Your martial soul is the Death Spider. Such martial souls are rare on the continent; throughout history, very few have awakened them."
"To date, the current Pope's martial soul is also the Death Spider Emperor, but it's a pity."
At this point, Matthew's expression turned extraordinarily excited. The Pope of the Spirit Hall is a revered figure; in remote places like Notting City, the Pope's status is akin to that of a deity.
Ye Hao was slightly taken aback and grabbed the book from Matthew's hand, looking at the illustration of the Death Spider Emperor. He shook his head secretly; something wasn't right.
Flipping to the next page confirmed his thoughts!
Death Spider Emperor!
Soon after, Su Yuntao composed himself and held the crystal ball in his hand.
Ye Hao understood and placed his hand on it; in an instant, the crystal ball exploded with unprecedented brightness.
Even though it was daytime, the light radiating from the crystal ball was still blinding, far brighter than the sun.
"First… first innate full soul power!"
The three exclaimed in shock, feeling as though they had struck gold!
"Yuntao, Xiao Hao, be careful on the way!"
Having awakened the Death Spider Emperor martial soul, Ye Hao became the center of attention, instantly rising to the number one spot in the Notting City Spirit Hall Branch.
For Su Yuntao and the others, Ye Hao's true identity as a downand-out child was established.
But for Ye Hao, his journey as a soul master was just beginning.
Next, he had to head to the Notting City Primary Soul Master Academy. The Spirit Hall Branch was affiliated with the Spirit Hall, and Matthew needed to report this matter so that Ye Hao could enter the academy for a short period of study.
Once the powerful figures of the Spirit Hall arrived, they would take Ye Hao to where he needed to go.
Master Matthew had already begun reporting the matter, as a genius with innate full soul power was extremely rare—only a few had emerged throughout the entire Douluo Continent. Most of them would enter the Spirit Hall and, if they progressed smoothly, would eventually become elders and pillars of the Spirit Hall.
The fact that a genius with innate full soul power had emerged in a small city like Notting City was surprising, although there were two; one of them was named Tang San.
"First innate full soul power, Blue Silver Grass?"
Matthew sat at his desk, studying all the materials related to Tang San, and shook his head deeply. The Blue Silver Grass was a hallmark of a worthless martial soul; its future achievements would not be high.
As for the significant figures in the Spirit Hall, there was no need to disturb them.
"Crack—"
"Master Matthew, someone is looking for you outside!"
The door burst open, causing Matthew to tremble; at his age, each scare felt like it could take years off his life.
"Got it; have him wait for me in the side hall."
Matthew waved his hand dismissively. "Su Yuntao really brought along a good one. Young people nowadays, sigh—"
Su Yuntao:...
"Hurry up and go! Our academy does not accept beggars!"
The Notting City Primary Soul Master Academy was located in the west of the city, but at this moment, a gatekeeper without any sense of understanding blocked someone's path.
From a distance, at the academy's archway, a gatekeeper stopped an old man and a child from entering. The old man leaned on a cane, bent over, emaciated, and his white beard made him look extremely old.
As for the child, there was no need to say more at this point, right?
That's right, the protagonist was being stopped outside, and the reason? It was none other than the Blue Silver Grass, a martial soul representative of worthless martial souls. This gatekeeper clearly did not believe that Blue Silver Grass could possess innate full soul power.
Holy Spirit Village? Never heard of it; probably another poor backwater.
Faced with the gatekeeper's mockery, Tang San felt a surge of killing intent rising within him; the hidden dart on his wrist showed signs of being drawn.
"What are you all gathered here for?"
Su Yuntao, accompanied by Ye Hao, arrived at the entrance of the Notting City Primary Soul Master Academy just in time to witness this scene. Looking at the frail Tang San, he felt an odd sense of familiarity, as if he had seen the boy somewhere before.
There had been too many children awakening their souls recently; he had met many and then forgotten many.
"You... you are Master Su Yuntao! How wonderful! I can't believe I'd see you here!"
The old man was overjoyed, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.
"Who are you?"
Su Yuntao frowned. "Old Jack?"
"It's me! It's me!"
Old Jack seemed to grasp at hope, straightening his bent back slightly.
"Master Su Yuntao, I'm Tang San. You shouldn't have forgotten me, right?"
Tang San stepped forward, glancing at Ye Hao beside Su Yuntao before looking at Su Yuntao and smiling.
Ye Hao also looked at Tang San, finding him quite ordinary in appearance, nothing particularly special; perhaps this was a common trait of protagonists.
He looked harmless, yet often proved to be deadly.
Su Yuntao suddenly realized, "Of course I remember; your martial soul was awakened by me personally. It's been a long time; are you preparing to enroll in the Notting City Primary Soul Master Academy?"
"Yes!"
Old Jack interjected, "Master Su Yuntao, you must help us!"
"Oh? What happened?"
Su Yuntao asked.
"Look, this soul master certificate was issued by you, right?"
Su Yuntao, somewhat unclear, took the soul master certificate concerning Tang San from Old Jack's hands, briefly glanced at it, then nodded seriously and said, "Yes, I issued it. Is there a problem?"