The Lin Ducal Estate spanned a vast area. The Awakening Chamber was not exactly close to the wooden house Lin Rong lived in, but it wasn't particularly far either.
Even so, walking from the wooden house to the chamber would still take nearly half an hour.
Since the day of his transmigration, six years had passed.
Having waited so long, Lin Rong was beyond eager to awaken his martial spirit. Naturally, he wasn't planning on walking there.
The old steward understood the young master's thoughts perfectly. So he lifted Lin Rong into his arms and activated his soul power, speeding toward the Awakening Chamber.
The chamber was located at the very center of the estate — the heart of the main residence.
Martial Spirit Awakening was a highly private affair, so to ensure complete secrecy, the chamber was constructed entirely from refined blacksteel — airtight and impenetrable.
Twelve luminous pearls were embedded in the ceiling for illumination.
In the center of the floor, six circular black stones were arranged into a hexagonal formation — a soul array.
In truth, the Awakening Chamber looked more like a secret underground vault than a ceremonial hall.
As Lin Rong stepped inside, that was exactly what crossed his mind.
"Alright, Young Master — stand in the center of the formation," said the steward.
Once Lin Rong stepped onto the designated spot, the Martial Spirit Awakening Ritual officially began.
Suddenly, countless starlights appeared around Steward Yu, gathering in midair into a shimmering white jade star disc. Eight stars lit up on its surface, flickering in and out — a breathtaking sight.
At the same time, eight soul rings emerged beneath him — two yellow, two purple, and four black, in that exact order:
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black.
This was the Heavenly Star Disc, a top-tier star-type martial spirit, evolved from an ordinary grindstone spirit through mutation.
When Lin Rong was born, Yu Yuan was already 59 years old, with a soul power level of 84. Now, six years later, he had reached level 86, a true Control-type Soul Douluo.
Raising both hands, Yu Yuan sent out six streaks of bluish-white light from his palms. Each beam entered one of the six black stones in the array.
The next moment, all six stones began to glow with a faint golden radiance, forming a light dome that enveloped Lin Rong.
Then, golden motes of light continuously flowed from the stones and entered Lin Rong's body.
He instantly felt a warm, comfortable sensation wash over him. That warmth penetrated deep within, causing his internal soul energy to stir slightly.
Soon, guided by that warmth, all the soul energy in his body surged toward his right palm.
Lin Rong instinctively lifted his hand.
From the center of his palm, a sky-blue glow began to swirl outward, accompanied by the echo of a dragon's roar that reverberated through the Awakening Chamber.
A few moments later, the sky-blue mist faded.
Suspended above his palm appeared an entire grove of banyan trees. In the center stood a main tree, surrounded by several smaller offshoots.
Winding around the trunk of the main tree was a vine-like root, except it had transformed into a coiled azure dragon, alive with motion.
At that moment, a sky-blue aura erupted from Lin Rong's body, expanding to fill the entire chamber.
Inside the chamber, both Lin Rong and Steward Yu were frozen in different kinds of shock, both stunned by what they were seeing.
"A mutated martial spirit...!"
The old steward murmured to himself as he observed the vision before him:
"It carries the traits of both Dragonvine Soul and Thousand-Leaf Banyan. A fusion mutation?"
"That dragon roar, and the innate domain radiating from it... It's a positive mutation!"
"Young Master, let's test your innate soul power level!"
With that, he retrieved a blue crystal sphere from his soul tool and held it carefully out to Lin Rong.
Still standing within the array, Lin Rong had recovered from his initial shock. He reached out, taking the sphere with both hands.
The instant he touched it, a powerful suction force burst from within, pulling his soul power toward it like water bursting from a dam.
Within seconds, a brilliant blue glow lit up from the base of the crystal sphere and rapidly filled it, until the entire orb gleamed like a flawless sapphire.
"Innate full soul power! Just as expected!"
Both Lin Rong and the steward exclaimed in unison.
Unlike the calm, composed Lin Rong, Steward Yu beamed with pride as he gazed at the orb. Without thinking, he gently ruffled the boy's jet-black hair.
"The Lin Clan has its heir. This old servant can finally rest easy."
After a moment, Yu Yuan quietly withdrew his hand, steadying his emotions. Then he spoke again, his tone warm:
"Young Master, why don't you give this mutated martial spirit a name?"
"A name?" Lin Rong had already decided the moment he first saw it.
He looked at the old steward and said firmly:
"The banyan root takes the form of a dragon soul, coiled around the trunk, winding and twisting in nine curves. Let's call it... Nine-Curve Vine Dragon."
"Nine-Curve Vine Dragon?" Steward Yu stroked his beard in admiration.
"Excellent. That name suits it well."
Indeed, even Lin Rong hadn't expected to awaken such a martial spirit.
The Nine-Curve Vine Dragon was born from the fusion and mutation of the Dragonvine Soul and Thousand-Leaf Banyan martial spirits.
This spirit came with its innate domain — the Vine Dragon Domain.
Domains had three stages. The Vine Dragon Domain was newly awakened and currently in Stage One:
Allies within the domain receive a 10% boost to all attributes. Enemies suffer a 10% reduction.
Its exclusive domain ability was:
"Life Dragon Soul" — while within the domain, any damage taken is converted over time into pure life energy to heal the user. Furthermore, life energy, soul power, and mental energy can be freely converted between one another with no loss.
Reflecting on all this, Lin Rong was certain that his mastery of the Marrow Cleansing Sutra had played a pivotal role in enabling this rare fusion mutation.
Now that his martial spirit had awakened, some of his plans could finally begin.
Timeline Context:
When Lin Rong's mother was four months pregnant, the famous battle between Qian Xunji and Tang Hao took place.
Tang San was born during that battle.
Given that human pregnancy lasts ten months, Lin Rong was born six months after Tang San, making him half a year younger.
In the original novel, three months after Tang San awakened his martial spirit, he entered Nuoding Academy.
Six years later, he graduated and enrolled in Shrek Academy. Not long after, while in Star Dou Forest, he reached level 30 at the age of 12 years and 7 months.
From this, we can calculate that Tang San awakened his spirit at around 6 years and 4 months old.
Today, Lin Rong is exactly six years old.
That meant Tang San was currently 6 years and 6 months old, and had awakened his spirit just two months ago. He was probably still hammering iron in Holy Soul Village.
Holy Soul Village
After completing his daily Purple Demon Eye training in the hills outside the village, Tang San sprinted toward the western side of town using his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Steps.
In no time, he arrived at a cluster of three clay houses.
Inside, Tang Hao was still the same, waiting for his son to finish cooking and wake him for a meal.
After about a stick of incense's time…
Tang San finished cleaning the pots and dishes, then entered another room and placed a block of raw iron into the forge.
The block had originally been 50 centimeters square, but after nearly two months of forging, it had shrunk to nearly the size of a fist.
"The closer to perfection, the harder it is to remove the final impurities..."
Tang San thought as he pumped the bellows,
"But this hammer technique is truly miraculous. It uses force against force, refining the iron even at this stage."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He swung the hammer, unleashing the signature Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique.
The rhythmic clang of metal echoed through the small forge.
"Another half a month, and I should be done refining this piece."
"Then, using this iron as the core, I'll forge the first Tang Sect hidden weapon in this new world!"
Excitement flickered uncontrollably in Tang San's eyes.
"One day, the name of Tang Sect will shake this entire world — and it will start with me!"
Soul Power Growth Factors:
Soul power advancement isn't determined by innate soul power alone — other key factors include:
Martial Spirit Type
Combat-type > Support-type > Food-type
Training Diligence
Oscar: Lazy in the early stages. Despite having an innate full soul power, I reached only level 30 by age 14.
After accounting for 2 levels gained from spirit rings, that's 18 levels over 8 years, averaging 2.25 levels/year.
Zhu Zhuqing: Hardworking. Started with innate level 7. Reached level 27 by age 12.
After 2 ring levels, that's also 18 levels in 6 years — 3 levels/year on average.
Training Environment
For example: Simulated training environments (mimicry zones)
External Pressure
Feng Xiaotian: Innate full soul power. Level 44 at age 24.
After training for 5 years in Hurricane Valley, I reached level 61 at age 29.
That's 15 levels in 5 years — 3 levels/year.
Immortal Herbs
For example: Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid