In front of Zhu Ziyang's house.
Zhu Ziyang's parents, along with other children from the village who met the Spirit Awakening criteria and their parents, had already arrived.
"Dad, Mom." Zhu Ziyang took Jiang Nannan's hand and walked to his parents.
"Mm!" Zhu Changhe, Zhu Ziyang's father, was a handsome man with a refined demeanor. Seeing his son come out, a smile appeared on his face as he said, "Everyone's here. Children, get in the carriage."
"Yes!" The other seven children, under the hopeful gazes of their parents, boarded the Zhu family's carriage.
"Village Chief, we're counting on you!" The parents of the seven children respectfully said to Zhu Changhe.
"Don't worry, you all can go back now. We're about to depart." Zhu Changhe was indeed the Village Chief of Beihe Village and also the strongest person in Beihe Village. He was thirty-five years old this year and a Level 28 Spirit Grandmaster. Nearing forty, yet still a Spirit Grandmaster, it could be said that he had no hope of becoming a Spirit Ancestor in this lifetime. Zhu Changhe's Spirit was the Obscure Scythe, a common Tool Spirit that barely qualified as a Light Attribute. Starting from Zhu Changhe's great-great-grandfather, the Obscure Scythe Spirit had been stably passed down in the Zhu family for six generations. Zhu Ziyang was the seventh generation, and he had a fifty percent chance of inheriting this Spirit.
Why only a fifty percent chance?
Because his mother, Liang Ying, was also a Spirit Master. Liang Ying was two years younger than Zhu Changhe, thirty-three years old this year, and a Level 25 Spirit Grandmaster. Her Spirit was the Snow Dragon Lizard, a dragon-type Spirit Beast with a thin trace of dragon blood. In terms of quality, the Snow Dragon Lizard Spirit was slightly better than the Obscure Scythe Spirit, but not by much.
The other fifty percent chance for Zhu Ziyang's Spirit lay with this Snow Dragon Lizard Spirit.
Since both were ordinary Spirits, one a Tool Spirit and one a Beast Spirit, it didn't matter to Zhu Ziyang. As long as he could cultivate, an ordinary Spirit was fine. With so much knowledge in his head and in the library, there had to be a way hidden within to help him soar.
Liang Ying led Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan into the carriage, while Zhu Changhe drove the carriage towards Anyang City, which was not far away.
Beihe Village was located on the outskirts of Anyang City, only two or three li from Anyang City's south gate. Their destination, the City Lord's Mansion, was only an additional four or five hundred meters away.
In about fifteen minutes, they arrived at Anyang City. In fact, for such a short distance, they could have easily walked, but Zhu Ziyang didn't say much about his father's decision.
Many of the children were entering the city for the first time and were looking at everything outside with curious eyes, but Zhu Ziyang had already been to Anyang City multiple times.
This was just a small town!
This was Zhu Ziyang's impression of Anyang City.
Anyang City was located in the northern frontier of the Tianhun Empire. To its north was the outer forest of the Far North Ice Field, to its south was a large mountain range running east-west called the Northern Mountain Range, to its east it was close to Dragon City, the main city of Zhenbei Province, and to its west was a large north-south trending canyon. Because the terrain on three sides was very complex, Anyang City's geographical location was insignificant, and almost no one was willing to come here, making it a dispensable city.
The scale of Anyang City was not very large either. Nominally a city, it was actually just a slightly larger town with a small population of about two hundred thousand. The strongest person was the City Lord Hong Zhen, who held the title of Baron of the Tianhun Empire and was a Level 42 defensive Spirit Ancestor.
The carriage arrived at the City Lord's Mansion.
Zhu Changhe was considered a person of standing in Anyang City; he was one of the deputy captains of the city guard. Most importantly, he was related to the City Lord Hong Zhen; Hong Zhen's grandmother was Zhu Changhe's grandfather's full sister, meaning Hong Zhen and Zhu Changhe were cousins.
The gatekeeper of the City Lord's Mansion very sensibly took the carriage from him and went to park it. Zhu Changhe and Liang Ying led Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, and the other nine children into the City Lord's Mansion, and with familiar ease, arrived at the hall used for Spirit Awakening. They immediately spotted a burly man nearly two meters tall.
"Ha, Brother Changhe, you're here." The burly man, seeing Zhu Changhe, immediately burst into loud laughter, his voice booming.
"Brother Hong!" Zhu Changhe replied with a smile, "I'll be troubling you today!"
This burly man was none other than the City Lord of Anyang City, Baron, Level 42 Icefield Elephant Spirit Ancestor, Hong Zhen.
Today, he was the one awakening the Spirits for Zhu Ziyang and the others. The City Lord personally presided over the Spirit Awakening ceremony, and it was even free. This was undoubtedly a great blessing for the children of Anyang City. After all, in most places of the Three Great Empires, it was simply a pipe dream for commoner children to have their Spirits awakened for free. If commoners wanted to awaken their Spirits, they either had to sell themselves to the Imperial military or to nobles. Other than that, they could only pray to encounter a kind-hearted high-level Spirit Master who would provide charity.
The matter of Spirit Awakening was completely monopolized by the aristocratic class—truly a tragedy!
Zhu Ziyang had read history books and knew that this tragic situation had formed ten thousand years ago, during the battle known as the Jialing Pass Great Victory.
In the official historical records of the Three Great Empires, the description of that battle was the same: Under the leadership of the great Sea God, His Highness King Lanhao, and His Excellency Thousand Hands Douluo, the allied Imperial army crushed Spirit Hall's evil ambition to unify the continent, achieving ultimate victory in the war and preserving the continent's stability and peace.
After the battle, Spirit Hall's last Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong died, Holy Maiden Qian Renxue disappeared, the era of the church ended, and Spirit Hall, which had awakened Spirits for everyone for free, perished. Along with it, the golden age of commoner Spirit Masters also vanished.
The glory of the former church now needed a small northern city to continue.
What an irony!
"Brother Hong!"
"Uncle Hong!"
Liang Ying and Zhu Ziyang also stepped forward to greet Hong Zhen.
"Sister Ying is here too!" Hong Zhen replied to Liang Ying, then looked at Zhu Ziyang, laughing heartily, "Xiao Yang is also at the age for Spirit Awakening, how time flies!"
"Indeed!" Zhu Changhe also said with a sigh of emotion.
"Alright, no more idle talk, let's begin!" Hong Zhen was a straightforward northern man who never procrastinated. He spoke.
The nine children, arranged by Zhu Changhe and his wife, stood in a line. Zhu Ziyang stood first, followed by Jiang Nannan and the other children.
"Xiao Yang, come to Uncle's side!" Hong Zhen had already prepared everything. Seeing that the children were ready, he called out to Zhu Ziyang, who was first in line.
Zhu Ziyang didn't hesitate and quickly walked towards Hong Zhen. His heartbeat involuntarily accelerated. To be honest, not being nervous was a lie; this was a matter that concerned his entire life. He really didn't want to live another life in mediocrity, especially in such a grand era.
In a few steps, he arrived in front of Hong Zhen. Then, under Hong Zhen's guidance, he stepped into a six-pointed star formed by six jet-black stones.
He recognized these six jet-black stones: Awakening Stones, an extremely important resource monopolized by aristocratic families and major powers of the Empire, capable of performing the most effective Spirit Awakening method.
Seeing Zhu Ziyang in position, Hong Zhen immediately sent out six streams of spirit power. The six streams of spirit power accurately entered the six Awakening Stones. The next moment, the six Awakening Stones emitted light, then quickly formed a light barrier, enveloping Zhu Ziyang.
"Close your eyes, calm your mind, and feel carefully!" Hong Zhen instructed.
Zhu Ziyang had no choice but to comply. He unconsciously used the Xiao Guangming Breathing Method, and his mood immediately calmed down. Then his whole being became tranquil. Vaguely, he felt a power being drawn, about to emerge from his body. He immediately realized that it was his Spirit.
Thus, he subconsciously extended his right hand, and at that moment, Hong Zhen's guidance also arrived, "Extend your right hand!"