Chapter 1: Spirit Awakening.
This is Douluo Continent, yes! That incredibly awesome Douluo Continent, the final destination of millions of time travelers.
"Our village is called Daoxiang Village. The name comes from a story that's been circulating in the village!
Hundreds of years ago, there were two people in our village, one named Shi Ritian and the other Shui Ling'er. Then, they reached the age to awaken their spirits.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, they awakened their hoe and sickle, respectively. And so... they happily worked the land and cut straw together, and from then on, they lived together for the rest of their lives, growing old together..."
"Wow, what a beautiful story!"
"Yes! Such a travesty..."
Lingmo felt very annoyed, rolling his eyes as he listened to the village chief chattering non-stop.
What a travesty story, why were they listening so enthusiastically?
Today was the time for spirit awakening in Daoxiang Village. Even the six-year-old children in the village were there. They only listened to the village chief chattering non-stop, but didn't see the legendary spirit master appear.
The village chief said the spirit master was still in the neighboring Holy Spirit Village and would be here soon.
"Douluos come and go, but Su Yuntao remains forever. Sigh... They say time travelers have golden fingers, but I've been here for six years and haven't seen a single bird...
Tang San from next door can already single-handedly challenge Big Brain Axe, and I can't even kill a chicken."
Lingmo fumed. He was also a time traveler, but from the start, he'd been losing on the assembly line. Every day, he'd see Tang San from the next village practicing on the mountaintop. He'd sneak a peek, but couldn't understand a thing.
It was a disgrace to time travelers. Aren't they said time travelers are 100% self-taught, able to learn the basics at a glance? Can they be impressive without a master's guidance? Why didn't he have any of that?
Back to reality. Today was the day Lingmo awakened his spirit. It wasn't anything special. If it had awakened a sickle or a hoe, he'd just die.
He'd already died once, so living in this world was just a matter of filling in the gaps. It was meaningless.
Do you really think anyone can be like Tang San? That a single Blue Silver Grass can defy the heavens? Just think about it. It's not that simple.
"Xiao Mo, why are you so quiet today? Aren't you usually the most talkative?"
The village chief, Ultraman, finished his rant. The children nearby listened intently to his fabricated stories, but Ling Mo stood there, stunned.
"Right! Brother Mo, tell us the story of Guo Jing's battle with Qiao Feng, and the one about Wei Xiaobao and the seven dwarfs..."
"Yeah, yeah! I love the one about Yang Guo and Pinocchio fighting the deaf girl the most..."
"What are you talking about? Where did you get all those stories? Go wherever you want..."
Ling Mo refused impatiently. Those stories were all just made up, barely any of them were serious.
Ling Mo was already feeling upset, so he didn't bother to pay attention to these little brats.
As a great time traveler, Ling Mo had a wealth of life experience. How could he possibly play with these little brats?
"So, that day, on the summit of Mount Hua, Qiao Feng, carrying a speaker, climbed alone to the peak. He single-handedly fought the Five Supremes, overwhelming the crowd with a force so breathtaking it moved the heavens and the earth..."
Since it was still early, he decided to have some fun with them. As Lingmo began to recount the chaotic Jianghu, all the children cast admiring glances.
Just as Lingmo was engrossed in his story, a figure came sprinting from afar, swiftly stepping onto the peach blossoms in front of the wooden house and landing on the platform.
"Wow, Brother Tao is here! He looks quite handsome at first glance, worthy of being the man with the highest appearance rate in Douluo..."
After much anticipation, our great battle spirit master Su Yuntao finally appeared, arriving on the platform with a truly charming presence.
"Great spirit master, you've finally arrived..."
Su Yuntao's appearance stunned everyone. His speed was so swift that many were caught off guard.
Is this the power of a spirit master? It's quite impressive indeed...
"Alright! Let's get started. I'm in a hurry to get to the next village..."
Su Yuntao said impatiently. Apparently, the previous village had yielded nothing, and he was feeling rather irritated.
Although Tang San, a man with innate full spirit power, had appeared next door, unfortunately, his spirit was a useless Blue Silver Grass. Su Yuntao was deeply disappointed.
"I hope this village will yield something..."
He muttered, waving his hand and ushering all the children into the cabin.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Su Yuntao, a Level 26 Great Spirit Master, and I'll be your guide.
Now, I'll help you awaken your spirits one by one. Remember, no matter what happens, don't be afraid."
"We're professionally trained. We're not usually afraid. Don't worry..."
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.
"Is it starting already? I'm so nervous. What should I do? If I awaken a sickle or hoe or something, am I really going to die?"
Brother Tao is also a ruthless person. He doesn't bother to talk nonsense and just gets to work.
Look... the first child has already gone up for testing. Unfortunately, he has successfully followed in Shi Ritian's footsteps and can really go cut straw.
In Douluo, it is really rare for a village like this to produce a person with soul power! The truly talented ones are all in the big families and sects.
So, Su Yuntao didn't hold out much hope. He simply checked their spirit power and found another useless child with no spirit power.
"Okay! Next..."
Disappointment, disappointment, utter disappointment!
"I'm saying, your village is full of sickles and hoes. Can you get someone different?"
Brother Tao was racked with anxiety. It was indeed Daoxiang Village, with nothing but sickles and hoes. It truly lived up to its name.
"Oh wow, there's actually someone different! Too bad it's still a useless spirit..."
And just as he finished speaking, another one arrived. Alas, it was a Blue Silver Grass, and a Blue Silver Grass without spirit power at that.
Su Yuntao was despairing. Of these over a dozen children, not a single one possessed spirit power. Worst of all, their spirits were all the same: either a hoe or a sickle.
Lingmo was the last in line. Watching the fools in front of him awaken one by one, he became a little panicked.
After all, they were from the same village. They all had hoes and sickles. Could he be one too?
Lingmo had learned about spirit inheritance; it was generally passed down from parents, but it seemed he had no parents! He had never seen one since he was born.
He couldn't guess what kind of spirit he had!
"My turn, my turn! It must not be a hoe or sickle..."
Lingmo muttered to himself as he stepped forward. He was the last to awaken in Daoxiang Village. Su Yuntao's patience had worn thin, and he was utterly impatient.
With the utmost professionalism, he calmly said, "Stand up there..."
Lingmo walked without hesitation between the six black stones. As Su Yuntao injected his six soul powers, a pale golden light shone once again.
"Wow, the Golden Legend!"
Warmth was Lingmo's first feeling. He felt as if he were enveloped in a warm and cozy world, indescribably comfortable.
No wonder the children before him calmed down when enveloped by this golden light.
"Huh... this light? Is it Tiga?"
A multicolored divine light slowly flowed from Lingmo's body, and a hint of golden light shone on his surface. He closed his eyes, carefully observing it, and felt a surge of excitement throughout his body.
It was as if a force was slowly drawing upon him. His right hand slowly spread out, bare and empty.
"What? Empty?"
Lingmo was stunned. His palms were bare, nothing at all, not even a hint of a martial spirit. How could this even be?
He at least had a sickle, but he was even more thorough, not even giving you a chance to cut straw.
Right hand, empty!
Left hand, empty too!
Damn it, how could he possibly play tricks on me like this?
Lingmo was devastated, and Su Yuntao was even more bewildered. In over a decade of practice, he had never seen anything like this before. This was hitting a blind spot in his knowledge!
"Empty? What's going on? Is there something wrong?"
Su Yuntao was stunned. The light was clearly extraordinary, but... Su Yuntao couldn't even see a hint of Lingmo's martial spirit.
Could this thing be hidden? Impossible, Su Yuntao declared, he had never seen such a phenomenon before.
"No martial spirit? Wait, what about this kid's eyes?"
Su Yuntao suddenly realized that Lingmo's eyes were surprisingly double pupils.
Initially, Su Yuntao had assumed these pupils were his martial spirit, but after further investigation, he realized they didn't possess the characteristics of a martial spirit.
He had never heard of anyone using their eyes as a martial spirit.
It didn't make sense, so it could only be because Lingmo didn't have a martial spirit! He might even be the first person in the world without one.
(End of this chapter)