Bang! Bang...
In the Great Yue Dynasty, within the Luo Family residence in Qishan City, the sounds of fists cutting through the air echoed continuously in a secluded courtyard.
A young man in blue attire was practicing his punches, the force of his strikes stirring the air as beads of sweat splashed to the ground.
The young man in blue was none other than Luo Cheng, the young master of the Luo Family.
At this moment, a towering middle-aged man, about thirty years old with a slightly pale complexion, stepped into the courtyard.
"Father!"
Luo Cheng stopped his training.
Seeing the sweat-soaked garments clinging to Luo Cheng's body, Luo Hong's eyes flickered with a hint of satisfaction. "The Ji Family members will be arriving soon. Go clean yourself up and accompany me to the square."
"The Ji Family!"
Upon hearing these two words, Luo Cheng instinctively grasped the necklace on his chest, his gaze filled with excitement. "Will Mother be coming?"
Luo Cheng's mother was not originally from the Great Yue Dynasty but hailed from the mysterious Ji Family. When Luo Cheng was three years old, she had been forcibly taken away by her clan, never to return.
This necklace was the only keepsake his mother had left him!
A trace of pain crossed Luo Hong's eyes as he shook his head. "This time, the Ji Family is here to help you awaken your Martial Soul. If you can awaken an Advanced Martial Soul, you'll have the chance to train with the Ji Family and meet your mother."
Luo Cheng's eyes burned with determination. "Father, I will definitely awaken an Advanced Martial Soul! I will go to the Ji Family and reunite our family!"
"Reunite the family..."
Luo Hong froze momentarily, then shook his head with self-deprecation.
Only he understood just how formidable the Ji Family was and the immense weight those words carried.
After briefly tidying himself, Luo Cheng donned a clean outfit and followed Luo Hong to the Luo Family's square.
The square was already bustling with people, and all the important members of the Luo Family were present.
"Brother Luo Cheng!"
A young man greeted Luo Cheng warmly—it was Luo Qi, the son of his elder uncle.
Luo Cheng nodded briefly.
Seated in the main position, Luo Cheng's grandfather, the Luo Family Head, Luo Mingshan, smiled and said, "Cheng'er, you're about to break through, aren't you?"
"Yes, it should be within this month."
Wow!
His words caused a stir among the crowd.
Luo Cheng was only thirteen years old and had not yet awakened his Martial Soul, yet he had already reached the Body Tempering Fourth Layer Realm—a feat unmatched in Qishan City. Now, he was also on the verge of another breakthrough.
"Good! Excellent! You will surely awaken an Advanced Martial Soul!"
Luo Mingshan was overjoyed, his laughter causing his beard to tremble.
At that moment—
Boom!
The heavens shuddered, and the entire square trembled in its wake.
"What's going on?"
The crowd was shocked.
Buzz!
Their astonished gazes turned skyward as the very firmament was torn apart. A massive rift stretched impossibly far into the horizon.
Two figures enveloped in radiant light emerged as if descending deities, their overwhelming auras sweeping across all of Qishan City.
The visitors were an elderly man and a young boy. The elder was thin and clad in gray robes; the boy, around thirteen or fourteen, wore luxurious attire. His face was obscured, yet he exuded an imposing aura that seemed to command the earth!
"These are members of the Ji Family!"
"Traversing through the void, soaring above the clouds—what kind of power is this?!"
The crowd's faces changed drastically.
Luo Mingshan quickly composed himself and called out loudly, "I am Luo Mingshan, the Luo Family Head. We have prepared a feast for your arrival. Please, come inside for discussion."
"There's no need!"
The gray-robed elder's face was impassive as he looked down upon the crowd. "Who is Luo Cheng?"
Luo Cheng took a deep breath and stepped forward. "I am!"
"Oh? So you're the son of Ji Lingyue?"
The boy in luxurious attire glanced at Luo Cheng and sneered dismissively. "Already this old and still stuck in Body Refining Fourth Layer? What a disgrace to the Ji Family bloodline—a complete waste!"
Luo Cheng frowned slightly; Ji Lingyue was his mother's name.
"Enough, let us begin the Awakening Ceremony."
Bang!
The elder in gray waved his hand, and stars lit up the night sky. A massive altar descended onto the open square.
The altar spanned over ten meters and was shrouded in countless starry radiances, shimmering magnificently.
The crowd was stunned by this seemingly miraculous spectacle.
Qishan City also had a Martial Soul Awakening Altar, but it paled in comparison to the one before them.
The elder's gaze swept across the crowd, his tone indifferent: "Anyone who meets the conditions for awakening may step forward."
"Go quickly!"
Luo Mingshan's words snapped the crowd out of their daze.
Luo Cheng, Luo Qi, and over ten children of the Luo Family aged ten and above and at Body Refining Second Layer stepped onto the altar.
"I wonder what Martial Soul I'll awaken..."
Standing atop the altar, Luo Cheng's heart raced with both tension and anticipation.
For martial artists, the Martial Soul was the most critical aspect of their talent!
The grade of one's Martial Soul would directly determine future achievements in Martial Arts.
Moreover, only by awakening an Advanced Martial Soul could one journey to the Ji Family and reunite with his mother!
Unconsciously, Luo Cheng tightened his grip on the necklace his mother had left him.
The necklace's material was unknown, and the end featured a nine-colored scale. It lay weightless in his palm, exuding an aura of mystery.
"The Martial Soul Awakening begins!"
As the gray-robed elder announced, the starlight on the altar surged, transforming into radiant halos that descended upon Luo Cheng and the others.
For a moment, the square fell into complete silence.
Roar!
Suddenly, a massive wolf engulfed in blue flames emerged from the body of one of the Luo Family descendants.
Within the wolf, three dazzling stars shimmered brightly!
"Three-star Martial Soul: Green-eyed Wolf!"
The crowd burst into astonishment.
Martial Souls were categorized—one to three stars were Low Level, four to six stars were Intermediate, and seven to nine stars were Advanced.
A three-star Martial Soul was considered remarkable within the Luo Family.
"Two-star Martial Soul: Cloud Iron Snake!"
"One-star Martial Soul: Giant-scaled Turtle!"
"Amazing! Five-star Gun Soul! Luo Qi has awakened a Five-star Martial Soul!"
One by one, the youths awakened their Martial Souls, with Luo Qi's Intermediate Martial Soul leaving everyone stunned.
As time passed, only seven individuals, including Luo Cheng, remained on the altar without having awakened.
Their expressions turned increasingly tense, even desperate.
Once a time limit was exceeded, the inability to awaken a Martial Soul signified an absence of talent for cultivation, forever barring a Martial Soul awakening.
Seeing this, the boy in luxurious attire who had been observing Luo Cheng from above sneered disdainfully. "Hmph! To bear the unparalleled bloodline of my Ji Family yet fail to awaken a Martial Soul—what a waste!"
Below the altar, Luo Hong stared at Luo Cheng with a face taut with nerves, silently praying.
He alone knew the effort Luo Cheng had poured into preparing for this day—the Body Tempering Fourth Layer was sweat-earned progress.
If he could, Luo Hong would sacrifice his own life to ensure Luo Cheng's Martial Soul awakening, even if it meant a Low Level Martial Soul—if only to preserve hope.
A few more moments passed, yet the seven individuals atop the altar remained unaffected.
"That's enough,"
The boy in luxurious attire urged impatiently.
The gray-robed elder glanced at Luo Cheng and shook his head, declaring, "The Awakening Ceremony is over!"
"No!! Just a little longer, I know I can awaken a Martial Soul!"
Unwilling to give up, Luo Cheng's clenched hand on the necklace was bleeding slightly.
"Heh, trash! Do you think possessing my Ji Family's bloodline means you're guaranteed a Martial Soul awakening? Remember this: a mudfish will always be a mudfish, fit only to dwell in the dust, incapable of becoming a True Dragon soaring among the clouds."
The boy sneered, motioning to the gray-robed elder. "Withdraw the altar."
"Understood!"
Just as the elder prepared to remove the altar, a sudden change occurred.
Roar!
A faint dragon's call resonated, and the entire altar shook violently. Infinite starlight converged upon Luo Cheng, enveloping him in a celestial brilliance that made him unapproachable!