Chapter 2: Spirit Awakening
Three days passed quickly under Xiao Fei's anticipation.
Three days later, in addition to the village chief Jack and the nine children who had arrived, there was another young man in the Spirit Hall. He looked to be in his twenties, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a very handsome appearance. He was dressed in a white suit with a black cloak on his back. In the center of his chest was a fist-sized word "Soul".
This was the standard attire for the Spirit Hall's direct staff. On the left chest was a badge engraved with a long sword. There were three long swords intertwined on the badge.
People like Old Jack who were very familiar with spirit masters knew that the number of three swords represented the third-level title of spirit master, the Great Spirit Master, and the long swords represented that this deacon from the Spirit Hall was a combat spirit master.
"Hello, respected combat spirit master, I am sorry to trouble you this time." Old Jack saluted the young man respectfully.
A hint of pride etched across the young man's brow. He gave a slight, neutral bow as a return of greeting. "I don't have much time, so let's begin now." Old Jack said, "Okay, children, this is the Battle Spirit Master from Notting City. He will guide you in awakening your own spirits. You must cooperate with the Master in awakening your spirits. Grandpa is eager for one of you to become a Spirit Master."
The young man said impatiently, "Okay, you said the same thing last year. Is becoming a Spirit Master really that easy? I've traveled through six villages, and there's not a single soul with spirit power. Nor are there any suitable spirits."
Xiao Fei had been secretly observing the young man. This was the legendary Su Yuntao, known as the Blind Douluo. An iconic figure in the eyes of countless time travelers, he witnessed the rise of God King Tang.
The young man's gaze fell on the eight children before him. As a Spirit Hall patrol deacon, helping ordinary people awaken their spirits was a must-do, a routine he had long since become accustomed to.
"Children, line up." He was much gentler with these children. The nine children stood before the young man. Tang San stood second to last, while Xiao Fei deliberately stood last.
Two main considerations arose. On the one hand, he wanted to see Tang San's spirit awakening carefully—whether it was truly as described in the novel.
On the other hand, he felt that since he was the most physically fit and the tallest of the group, he should be the last to appear. In his memory, the protagonist always appeared last.
So, I decided to be that protagonist. The young man smiled and said, "My name is Su Yuntao, a Level 26 Great Spirit Master. I will be your guide. Now, I will help you awaken your spirits one by one. Remember, no matter what happens, do not be afraid."
As he spoke, Su Yuntao opened his package on a nearby table and pulled out two items: six round, jet-black stones and a gleaming blue crystal ball.
Su Yuntao arranged the six black stones in a hexagon on the ground and gestured for the first child on the right to stand inside it. "Don't be afraid, close your eyes and feel it carefully."
As he spoke, Su Yuntao's eyes suddenly lit up. As the children stared in horror, he whispered, "Lone Wolf, possessed." A faint green light first emanated from the center of his brow, flowing upward along that spot, entering his hair.
Su Yuntao's hair was originally black, but after the green light was injected into it, it instantly turned gray and rapidly grew longer, with hair of the same color appearing on his exposed hands.
Simultaneously, his body seemed to have expanded considerably, his entire body brimming with muscle. The Spirit Hall's custom-made clothing was highly elastic and hadn't expanded with his increased size.
Su Yuntao's eyes had turned a faint green, and the claws extending from his ten fingers gleamed with a faint cold light. Two auras emanated from beneath his feet, lingering from his feet to his head. One was white, the other yellow, creating a strange and eerie atmosphere.
The boy he had summoned into the black stone screamed, "Ah!" as he watched Su Yuntao's body transform. He began to run. The green light in Su Yuntao's eyes was truly terrifying. He grabbed the child and said, "Don't move. I told you not to be afraid. This is my martial spirit, Lone Wolf. If any of you become a spirit master in the future, you will also use this ability."
Everyone was frightened by Su Yuntao. After all, as a rural child, he was quite afraid of wolves. Xiao Fei observed Su Yuntao carefully. His body had transformed into a wolf, a bit like the transformations in novels.
He should have possessed some of the wolf's characteristics, such as physical strength, speed, and defense. Could this be the advantage of a beast spirit? Early on, through spirit possession, the body possessed some of the advantages of a wild beast.
Su Yuntao clapped his hands together rapidly, and six faint green lights poured into the six black stones on the ground. Suddenly, a golden glow emanated from the six stones, forming a pale golden shield that enveloped the child.
"Stretch out your right hand," Su Yuntao commanded with authority, his dark green eyes fixed on the boy. The boy instinctively extended his right hand, and instantly, points of light burst forth, a sickle appearing in his palm.
It seemed the sickle wasn't just an illusion, but a real thing. Su Yuntao frowned. "It's a weapon spirit. Can a sickle be used as a weapon? Probably not."
"Place your right hand on the crystal to see if you have innate spirit power." The boy did as he was told, but the crystal didn't light up. "Without innate spirit power, you can't become a spirit master," the child said with disappointment.
Seven children were tested in this way, and none of them showed innate spirit power. It wasn't until the eighth child, Tang San, that Xiao Fei was excited to see if he could witness the beginning of this rise.
As expected, as the original story had said, Tang San's right hand awakened an ordinary blue silver grass, practically unremarkable, but his left hand was tightly clenched.
Seeing it was a Blue Silver Grass, Su Yuntao's face was filled with disappointment. "This is a Blue Silver Grass spirit, a classic useless spirit, the most common in Douluo Continent. It has virtually no chance of becoming a Spirit Master."
At Tang San's repeated request, Su Yuntao performed a test on Tang San's innate spirit power. The crystal ball shimmered like a gem, its entire sphere ablaze with brilliance. Su Yuntao's face was filled with astonishment.
"It's actually full innate spirit power! This is the first time I've encountered such a level in all my years of work. What a shame." Su Yuntao's face was filled with disappointment when he realized Tang San's spirit was Blue Silver Grass.
Finally, it was Xiaofei's turn. He stood between the six black stones. As Su Yuntao's spirit power poured in, Xiaofei felt a warmth spread throughout his body, and then flames erupted from his body. A flaming bird appeared in his field of vision.
Upon closer inspection, it was Ma Hongjun's Fire Phoenix from the Shrek Seven Devils. But Xiaofei had been feeling strange. Something was amiss with him, and there was something strange about his right hand.
"Molten! It's actually Molten! A very good beast spirit." Su Yuntao was excited. Xiao Fei rolled his eyes at Su Yuntao. What kind of look was that? He could mistake a Fire Phoenix for a Molten Bird. He was indeed the Blind God King.
"Come, let's test your innate spirit power."
Xiao Fei did as he was told and placed his hand on the crystal ball. The crystal ball shone, but the brightness was obviously lower than Tang San's. "Innate spirit power level eight. Can become a spirit master. Huge potential."
In Su Yuntao's memory, Xiao Fei should be the one with the highest innate spirit power he had ever met besides Tang San.
"Hello, Xiaofei. My name is Su Yuntao, and I'm a deacon of the Spirit Hall. Are you interested in joining our Spirit Hall Academy? You'll receive the best training there."
Xiaofei hesitated. "I'm sorry, Master Su Yuntao, I need to ask my grandfather. It's just me and him. I want to study in Notting City first, and then join the Spirit Hall when I grow up."
Xiaofei had no objection to the Spirit Hall, but the Spirit Hall's teaching methods were rather standardized, not suitable for individual training. The students who emerged were often routine, with few if any special performances.
In the original novel, of the seven Spirit Hall academy members who faced off against Erleke, aside from the three from the Golden Generation, the others offered few standout performances.
As a Soul Master over level 45, higher than anyone in Shrek, their performance was worse than the last. Even Hu Liena and Xie Yue performed mediocrely, lacking any outstanding individual abilities.
Their combined spirits were effectively forced into a one-on-one duel with Tang San, effectively holding off two Soul Kings by himself. It was truly disappointing. The only one who stood out was Yan, who displayed both his defense and burst, only to be beaten by the group.
Besides, there are so many opportunities in Douluo Continent? Wouldn't joining the Spirit Hall waste all those opportunities? Xiao Fei didn't think he could get past level 45 at 14. Innate Spirit Power Level 8 is lower than the average level of Shrek.
Su Yuntao brought Xiao Fei and Tang San to Old Jack.
Old Jack greeted Su Yuntao with a nervous look on his face. "Master, how is it? Are there any children in our village who have the potential to become Spirit Masters this year?"
Su Yuntao said excitedly. "Two have awakened their Innate Spirit Power. Tang San has full Innate Spirit Power, but unfortunately his Spirit is Blue Silver Grass, which is useless.
And Wang Xiaofei has awakened his Fire Bird Spirit, which is Level 8 Innate Spirit Power. He has great potential for development, but unfortunately he refuses to go to the Spirit Hall Academy with me and wants to stay home."
Su Yuntao knew Xiao Fei was Old Jack's grandson and kept persuading Old Jack to let Xiao Fei go to the Spirit Hall Academy.
Old Jack knew Xiao Fei had his own ideas and told Su Yuntao that he might wait until he graduated from the junior college before attending the Spirit Hall Academy. This disappointed Su Yuntao.
After returning home, Old Jack, once he was sure there were only two of them, asked, "Xiao Fei, why don't you want to go to the Spirit Hall Academy? For us civilian spirit masters, the Spirit Hall Academy is the fairest and offers the best environment."
Xiao Fei expressed his thoughts: "The Spirit Hall Academy is indeed relatively better at first, but the internal competition is too fierce, and it's not suitable for individual development. I have other ideas and goals that I can't achieve at the Spirit Hall Academy."
He didn't mention one more thing: he didn't want to work under Bibi Dong, that crazy woman. In the original novel, if it weren't for Bibi Dong's repeated foolishness and leniency, Shrek wouldn't have made it. For the sake of his own life, he should avoid fools and cherish his life.
Returning to his small room, Xiao Fei summoned his spirit, but something felt off. After summoning his Fire Phoenix spirit, he felt his flame wasn't quite as pure as it should be. It felt like there were impurities mixed in, and quite a few of them.
This is probably the evil fire in Ma Hongjun's body in the original novel. My own innate soul power is one level lower than Ma Hongjun's, so I'm afraid the evil fire problem will be even more serious. If I want to continue practicing, I must find a way to restrain my evil fire first.
Another thing is that Xiaofei always feels as if he has two martial souls, but the other one seems to be invisible to Xiaofei himself. I always feel that something is wrong with my body, and my right hand seems to be unable to integrate with the whole body.
(End of this chapter)