Douluo 2: Way of Fake God With Soul Tools

As for any Spirit Master who wants a share of the pie?

First, they'd have to spend three hundred gold spirit coins to buy an Awakening Stone, then tirelessly awaken martial souls for others every day. If they're lucky, they might break even after about three years and start making a profit.

After all, compared to the state-run Awakening Institutions, they'd need to find their own customers.

Moreover, the Awakening Stone has a limited lifespan.

The input and return are not proportional, which is clearly a losing proposition.

As a result, the awakening fees naturally flow continuously into the empire's coffers.

And as for those who can't afford the awakening fees, who cares about their lives?

Thinking of this, Su Luoheng couldn't help but sigh softly.

The world is just that unfair.

He felt sympathy for them, but also gratitude that his parents were Spirit Masters, sparing him from worrying about the awakening fees of a few gold spirit coins to become a Spirit Master.

Meanwhile...

After a long discussion, the martial soul awakening finally began.

The first boy in line stepped into the Awakening Stone. Grandmaster Cheng raised his hand, and three rings of light—yellow yellow, and yellow—rose from beneath his feet. At the same time, a simple flute appeared in his palm, glowing with a dark green light.

In the next moment, under Grandmaster Cheng's guidance, the light in his palm fused into the Awakening Stone.

Instantly!

A faint golden light burst from the Awakening Stone, enveloping the child.

"Extend your right hand."

With Grandmaster Cheng's authoritative voice, the boy instinctively stretched out his hand, and countless golden lights surged into it.

In an instant, a pale blue gem appeared in his palm.

"A stone?"

The boy was stunned for a moment, looking blankly at Grandmaster Cheng.

"A gemstone-type tool martial soul. Try to retract your martial soul with your mind. Remember this method; it's the same for summoning it in the future."

"O-okay."

The boy nodded and, after a few serious attempts, finally managed to retract his martial soul.

"Alright, place your hand here, and we'll test your spirit power."

As he spoke, Grandmaster Cheng placed a crystal ball in front of the boy. As the boy spread his palm and placed it on the crystal ball, a blue light gradually rose from the bottom of the crystal ball.

The boy's parents behind him couldn't help but hold their breath, their expressions tense as they watched the glowing crystal ball.

At about a third of the way up, the blue light in the crystal ball stopped.

"Innate spirit power, level four."

Grandmaster Cheng smiled and nodded, encouraging him, "Not bad, kid. Keep training hard, and you'll definitely become a Spirit Master. Stand behind me, and after the testing, I'll take you to register your martial soul."

Grandmaster Cheng was in a good mood now.

The first child had the talent of a Spirit Master, making him more excited about the following children.

Hopefully, someone with spirit power above level six will awaken today~

"Alright, next!"

After calming himself, Grandmaster Cheng continued the martial soul awakening.

"Next."

"…"

"Next."

Scenes similar to this played out repeatedly, with various martial souls appearing one by one in the six-pointed star array. The luck of the first child seemed to continue; among the next nine children tested, four had spirit power.

One child's innate spirit power even reached level six.

But this was expected.

After all, the children who could have Grandmaster Cheng awaken their martial souls were not ordinary; their chances of becoming Spirit Masters were higher than those of average children.

Soon, it was finally Su Luoheng's turn for the martial soul awakening.

"Son, go ahead."

"Mom believes in you. You will definitely become a Spirit Master!"

"Mm."

The couple smiled and gave an encouraging thumbs-up, looking confident in little Luoheng's ability to awaken his martial soul.

"It's your turn, child."

Glancing at the three remaining children behind him, Grandmaster Cheng wiped his sweat and signaled Su Luoheng to step forward.

Unlike his parents' emotions, Su Luoheng's current mood was like when drawing cards in a game from his previous life—hopeful, anxious, excited, nervous, and praying that his luck wouldn't betray him this time. After all, there were no guarantees in martial soul awakening...

"Are you ready, child? We're starting now."

Su Luoheng nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped into the center of the Awakening Stone.

As green light poured into the Awakening Stone, the faint golden light enveloped him once more.

Warmth—this was Su Luoheng's first sensation.

The warm, comfortable glow surrounded him, explaining why the previous children had calmed down upon entering the awakening array.

As dots of light continued to flow into his body, Su Luoheng faintly sensed something inside him being drawn out.

He instinctively spread his hands, but no trace of a martial soul appeared in his palms.

At the same time, the golden light suddenly became dazzling and brilliant!

In the blink of an eye, a peculiar scene unfolded behind Su Luoheng: a boundless desert stretched endlessly, as if he had stepped into a desolate world. Countless nameless swords were thrust into the ground as far as the eye could see.

But in the next instant, all the swords vanished, leaving only the barren desert.

Grandmaster Cheng, amazed, only took a single glance before feeling engulfed by a sense of desolation.

As the glow faded, he was still immersed in shock.

Is this...?

Space, or perhaps an illusion?

What kind of martial soul is this?

In his decade-long experience as an awakening master, he had never seen such a strange martial soul!

"Huh?"

"It seems our son has awakened a unique martial soul. Although it's unclear what type it is, judging by the fluctuations during the awakening, Luoheng's innate spirit power level shouldn't be too low."

"Hmm, the fluctuations just now seemed related to spiritual attributes."

"…"

Su Junran and Ye Lan exchanged bewildered glances. Even with their considerable experience, they couldn't identify the nature of their son's newly awakened martial soul.

Meanwhile, Grandmaster Cheng finally snapped out of his daze.

"Child, what is your martial soul called?"

"I… I don't know either."

Hearing this, Su Luoheng shook his head, also studying his martial soul.

"Let's consider it a special martial soul for now." Grandmaster Cheng calmed his thoughts and, after observing a while longer, waved his hand, "Retract your martial soul first, then place your hand here to test your innate spirit power level."

"Okay."

After a brief attempt, Su Luoheng successfully retracted his martial soul and placed his right hand on the crystal ball.

Blue light gradually rose within the crystal ball, spreading rapidly until it almost filled the entire sphere.

"Innate—"

But just as Grandmaster Cheng was about to announce the result, the light that had filled the crystal ball began to recede slowly, like a tide, and his excited voice abruptly halted.

The light in the crystal ball continued to flicker between bright and dim.

At that moment, Su Luoheng felt something; a portion of the spirit power seemed to be drawn into his body.

As time passed, the light finally settled near the top of the crystal ball.

"…"

"Innate spirit power, level eight."

Grandmaster Cheng's voice carried a hint of regret. Although innate spirit power at level eight was already an excellent talent, it still fell short of the full innate spirit power. This child's spirit power, like his martial soul, was peculiar.

Or perhaps it was just a trick of the eye~