After leading the children into the grand hall, Su Yuntao stepped to the center and retrieved six pitch-black stones along with a pale blue crystal ball from his bag.
With practiced ease, he arranged the stones in a hexagonal pattern on the floor. Straightening up, he looked toward the children, his gaze settling on the boy standing at the front of the group. A kind smile stretched across his face as he waved the boy over.
"You must be Qi Lin, right? Come on up."
Su Yuntao, being Si Si's boyfriend, had heard that name more times than he could count. When he first heard it, he'd even been a little jealous. But after learning that the so-called "Qi Lin" was just a child, his worries naturally disappeared. Still, he remained curious. What kind of kid could leave such a strong impression on Si Si?
Now that he finally saw the boy for himself, he had to admit—though Si Si may have exaggerated her praise a little, Qi Lin did give off a warm, likable aura that made people feel at ease.
"I'm Qi Lin," the boy said as he stepped confidently into the hexagonal array. He glanced around curiously, then looked up.
"Master Su Yuntao, can you tell me why Sister Si Si didn't come this year?"
Su Yuntao's expression softened. "Si Si went to help a friend hunt for a soul ring. That's why she couldn't make it."
"Hunt for a soul ring?"
Qi Lin blinked, then nodded in sudden understanding. "I see. That makes sense."
"That's right," Su Yuntao chuckled. "And if you awaken soul power today, when you reach level ten, your Sister Si Si might even take you to hunt for one yourself."
As he spoke, Su Yuntao clapped his hands together.
With a hum, the six stones on the ground lit up simultaneously, shooting golden beams of light toward the center, enveloping Qi Lin in a radiant glow.
Su Yuntao's eyes lit up.
The formation's reaction was strong—this boy might awaken a good martial soul after all.
Bathed in the warm golden light, Qi Lin felt a cozy heat spreading through his body. A smile tugged at his lips.
'So comfortable…'
He couldn't help but wonder—what kind of martial soul would he awaken?
His father's was a sickle. His mother's was Blue Silver Grass. Both had no soul power.
By logic, his martial soul should be either the sickle or the grass—and likely just as powerless.
But something told him differently. He had a feeling that his martial soul wasn't ordinary. Perhaps… even mutated?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he felt something stirring in his palm—as if a force was pushing to break free.
"Qi Lin," Su Yuntao said suddenly. "Stretch out your right hand."
Qi Lin nodded, raising his hand and opening his palm.
In the next moment, a blade of light-blue grass emerged from his skin. At first glance, it looked no different from the common Blue Silver Grass found on roadsides.
But there was something unusual—this blade of grass had four tiny leaves at its tip.
Su Yuntao leaned in and examined it closely. His smile faded.
"Sigh… Looks like your martial soul is a mutated Blue Silver Grass," he muttered, voice tinged with pity.
"This type of martial soul is known for one thing—the more it mutates, the more useless it becomes. What a shame."
Looking at the boy's bright-eyed curiosity, Su Yuntao couldn't help but sigh again. Most martial soul mutations in the Douluo Continent were negative. And a mutated Blue Silver Grass? Practically worthless.
"Alright, let's test your soul power," he said.
"Chances are slim with a martial soul like this, but who knows? You might be lucky."
Because of Si Si's affection for the boy, Su Yuntao remained gentle and encouraging, even though he had little hope.
But Qi Lin suddenly brightened.
Why?
Because Su Yuntao had just uttered the words useless martial soul.
'Brother Tao said it's a waste? Then I'm at least guaranteed to become a god-tier powerhouse, right? Heh! Praise be to Brother Tao!'
Grinning ear to ear, Qi Lin eagerly pressed his hand onto the blue crystal ball.
Su Yuntao was caught off guard by the boy's excitement.
'Did I say something wrong?'
'Why does he look so happy about being called useless?'
Qi Lin's smile didn't seem fake at all.
But before Su Yuntao could make sense of it, the crystal ball flared to life—blinding blue light radiating outward in waves.
"This—!"
"You… You actually have soul power!"
"And it's… it's innate full soul power!?"
Su Yuntao's jaw dropped. His calm demeanor shattered. For a moment, he simply stood there, stunned.
He looked at Qi Lin like he was some kind of monster. Then he swallowed hard.
"In all the years I've awakened martial souls, this is the first time I've seen innate full soul power."
"What a pity… If only your martial soul weren't mutated trash. Even Spirit Hall's top elders would be lining up to take you as a disciple."
He shook his head repeatedly.
"Such a waste… Such a pity!"
A moment later, he seemed to recover his senses. Remembering the nature of Qi Lin's martial soul, he sighed and gently patted the boy's shoulder.
"Kid, don't be discouraged."
"Even with a weak martial soul, you have innate full soul power. That means you will become a Soul Master."
"And with me and your Sister Si Si looking out for you, you won't walk this road alone."
But Qi Lin simply smiled and shook his head.
"Discouraged?"
"I'm not discouraged at all!"
Su Yuntao blinked in surprise. He opened his mouth to comfort the boy further—maybe even give him permission to cry.
But after a closer look…
He realized the boy truly wasn't upset in the slightest.
'Strange kid…'
"…Well, it's good that you've got such a strong mindset," Su Yuntao muttered. "That's a rare and valuable trait."
He turned to the next child.
"Alright, next up—Xiao Wu."
The girl stepped into the array.
Her martial soul awakened normally—Soft-Boned Rabbit, one of the weakest martial souls in the soul beast world. Su Yuntao didn't expect anything from her.
Until—
The crystal ball lit up again.
Dazzling blue light filled the hall.
Innate full soul power. Again.
Su Yuntao stared in disbelief.
"Again? Another one?"
"What's going on? When did innate full soul power become so common?"
"Don't tell me… the crystal ball is broken?"
He hurriedly examined the crystal ball, inspecting it from every angle.
But after several minutes, he found nothing wrong.
"…It's working fine."
He cast another glance at Qi Lin and Xiao Wu.
"This year is truly bizarre… One innate full soul power after another, but all with weak or half-useless martial souls."
In the Douluo Continent, the strength of one's martial soul mattered far more than innate soul power. That's why, even when two children with innate full soul power appeared in Notting City, no major waves were made.
Fortunately, the rest of the children had ordinary awakenings. Most had weak martial souls, and only one tested with level-one innate soul power. The rest had none at all.
If more like Qi Lin and Xiao Wu had appeared, Su Yuntao might've started questioning reality itself.