On the left side of his chest, an emblem carved with three crossed longswords was visible. It seemed Jack knew this type of Spirit Master well; three swords represented a third-rank Spirit Master, titled a Spirit Grandmaster, and the longswords represented that this Spirit Hall attendant was a Battle Spirit Master.
"Greetings, esteemed Battle Spirit Grandmaster, we shall trouble you this time."
Old Jack respectfully bowed to the young man, but Huang Tian just twisted his lips.
Huang Tian recognized him from the story.
Su Yuntao, the "Blind Spirit Grandmaster" who would today miss out on two gods in a single day. An amused smile played on Huang Tian's lips.
"Children, line up!" Old Jack's voice, the village chief, rang out, full of trembling reverence. "Show respect to Master Su Yuntao!"
"Humph!"
Su Yuntao had an air of impatient arrogance. His eyes swept over the children with thinly veiled boredom, pausing for a brief second on Huang Tian, who was sweaty and his clothes stained with dust. "Let's get this over with, Jack. I still have other villages to visit."
Then the process began.
Su Yuntao took out six black stones and arranged them in a circle, along with a blue crystal sphere. He summoned his martial soul, a lone wolf, and began the awakening.
One by one, the children were called. And as expected, most awakened tool Martial Souls — hoes, sickles, hammers. Basically trash for battle. None of them had spiritual power.
The disappointment on Su Yuntao's face deepened with each child. Huang Tian watched calmly, feeling a pang of pity. For these children, today was the end of a dream that had barely begun. They would live and die in this village, just like their parents. But he was different.
He was destined to be like his martial soul, a dragon spreading its wings starting today.
"Next, Tang San," Su Yuntao called.
Huang Tian watched him closely, the iconic scene unfolding before him.
Tang San stepped forward, calm as ever. He entered the circle of stones. Golden points of light emerged from the stones, flowing into his body. Soon after he extended his hand, a delicate blue grass, with an almost ethereal glow, appeared in his palm.
"Blue Silver Grass," Su Yuntao scoffed, the disdain in his voice evident. "A useless Martial Soul. It's inherently without attack power, without defense power. Trash among trash."
Huang Tian had to suppress a chuckle. Trash? If only you knew... his eyes shifted to Tang San's other hand, where the Clear Sky Hammer appeared for a brief moment before disappearing.
"Master, you haven't tested my spiritual power yet," Tang San said, his voice firm.
Su Yuntao sighed, annoyed. "There's no need. Never in history has there been a case of someone with Blue Silver Grass possessing spiritual power." But even saying that, he still followed protocol, and extended the crystal sphere.
Tang San placed his hand on it. And then, it happened. The blue sphere exploded with a light so brilliant that everyone recoiled. It was a dazzling, pure, and overwhelming glow.
Su Yuntao gaped, his eyes wide in absolute shock. He stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence. "Th-This is... Innate Full Spiritual Power!"
The crowd gasped. Old Jack looked like he was about to have a heart attack from pure joy.
Huang Tian smiled. Exactly as expected. He gave Tang San a thumbs-up, who furtively glanced at his other hand in a kind of silent confusion.
"What a pity, what a pity..." Su Yuntao lamented, regaining his composure. "To have Innate Full Spiritual Power, but with such a useless Martial Soul. What a heavenly waste."
Tang San returned to his place. But unlike the other children, he wasn't disappointed.
"Next!" Su Yuntao barked, clearly wanting to forget the anomaly he had just witnessed.
"Huang Tian!" Old Jack called, his eyes shining with hope.
Huang Tian snapped out of his thoughts and stepped forward, feeling everyone's gaze on him. He could feel his mother's worried look, Tang San's curious gaze, and Su Yuntao's impatient stare.
He took a deep breath and entered the circle of black stones. His body began to float slowly, but he remained calm.
And the moment he did, the energy was different. It wasn't a gentle flow of golden light. It was a torrent. The golden points were thicker, brighter, and converged on his body with an audible hunger, a VWHOOOOM sound that made the air vibrate.
Time passed, and it seemed nothing would happen.
Su Yuntao was about to send him back, when suddenly a resplendent light exploded from Huang Tian's body.
Su Yuntao's eyes widened even more than they had with Tang San. This was because the light's intensity was several times greater.
Within Huang Tian's mind, a battle was fought and won in a nanosecond. He chose to show only the armor, completely hiding the black dragon with all his willpower.
CONCENTRATE!
His body was enveloped by the golden light. But then, another light, a black light like the vacuum with thin veins of pulsating gold, erupted from within the golden cocoon. It did not manifest as an ethereal spirit above his hand.
It manifested upon him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Pieces of obsidian black armor materialized out of nowhere, covering his childish body with heavy metallic sounds. Chest plates, gauntlets, greaves... each piece was matte black, with shimmering golden lines tracing the edges and divisions, forming complex and regal patterns.
There was no helmet, leaving his gray hair and amber eyes exposed, but the moment the armor was complete, a small, diamond-shaped pendant, made of a deep violet crystal, materialized on his forehead, hovering millimeters from his skin and emitting a soft glow.
And then, with a heavy sound of metal materializing, a broadsword, almost as tall as he was, appeared on his back, held by a clasp of black energy.
The blade was wide and imposing, also black with a golden edge.
Huang Tian opened his eyes.
He felt... powerful. The armor wasn't heavy; it felt like a second skin, humming with contained energy.
The silence in the square was absolute.
The children looked on with dropped jaws. The adults were in shock. Huang Shui had her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide in a mixture of astonishment and something more... something that seemed like disbelief.
"This... this..."
Su Yuntao was trembling. Not from fear, but from pure, unbridled excitement. His lips quivered as he looked at the manifestation.
"A tool Martial Soul... armor! And a weapon! A variant Martial Soul of the highest quality! Quick, boy! Test your spiritual power! Now!" he shouted, pushing the crystal sphere toward Huang Tian with trembling hands.
Huang Tian, still enveloped in the armor that perfectly fitted his six-year-old body, extended his metal-gloved hand.
He touched the sphere. He already knew what would happen, but this he couldn't hide.
If Tang San's light was an explosion, his was a supernova.
BOOOOOOM!
The crystal sphere didn't just shine. It pulsed violently, and the blue light was so intense that Su Yuntao had to shield his eyes, shouting with joy and disbelief.
"Hahaha! Another one! Another Innate Full Spiritual Power!"
His voice echoed through the village, sealing the moment in history. In a single day, in the poorest and most remote village, two children had defied all odds.
Su Yuntao looked from Tang San to Huang Tian, his brain buzzing. One with maximum power, but the most useless soul. The other with maximum power and a variant martial soul of unknown, but clearly extraordinary, potential.
He looked at Huang Tian, a feverish glint in his eyes. "Boy... What's your name?"
Huang Tian felt the armor dissipate into particles of black and gold light, the sensation of power draining from his body. He vaguely looked at Su Yuntao, feeling a little exhausted.
"Huang Tian!" he said.