—
After his medicinal bath that night.
In Master Chen Yu's study, Chen Xianjun was brought in by his father, Chen Xun.
Chen Yu opened, "Xiao'er, tomorrow is the day you awaken your martial soul. Are you nervous?"
"I am," Chen Xianjun admitted honestly. "After all, it's a once-in-a-lifetime moment. It's the most important turning point for me. Whether I rise as a dragon or remain ordinary like a phoenix all depends on that."
Chen Xun offered reassurance, "Don't worry. Everyone goes through this. Besides, even if you inherit your mother Xiuxin's Seven-Colored Bracelet support-type martial soul, that's still a top-tier one. It can still help you become an extraordinary swordmaster."
While support-type martial souls don't provide as many offensive skills as attack-types, their base stat enhancement combined with the Chen family's secret techniques can still make them formidable. There's historical precedent: the Xuantian Gourd Martial Soul of the Xuantian Douluo was no weaker than the sword arts of their own ancestors.
"Mm," Chen Xianjun nodded.
Chen Yu smiled gently and continued, "Xiao'er, how much do you understand about the quality of martial souls?"
Chen Xianjun replied, "Martial souls—everyone has one. Awakening occurs at age six, and it's inherited from either the father or mother through bloodline.
"Martial souls are classified based on power, potential, functionality, and rarity into four categories: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Top-tier.
"Since martial souls are incredibly diverse and numerous, with tens of thousands recorded according to books like A Primer on Martial Soul Studies, Defining Martial Soul Grades, and Hundred Questions on Soul Masters, they're further broken down. Apart from basic souls which are unranked, Intermediate, Advanced, and Top-tier martial souls are graded into upper, middle, and lower tiers—forming a 9-tier system, with Tier 1 lowest and Tier 9 highest.
"Our family's Seven-Kill Sword is a top-tier, upper-grade soul, a Tier-9 martial soul."
"Very good, Xiao'er. But there are two special categories beyond top-tier martial souls," Chen Yu said with a smile.
"Special? You mean useless souls? Or god-level martial souls?" As a transmigrator, Chen Xianjun was well aware of those legendary terms.
Chen Yu chuckled, "Useless souls are just the worst kind of basic souls—low stats and often without innate soul power. Even if they do have soul power, it rarely exceeds level one. For example, the most infamous one is Blue Silver Grass, known for having zero innate soul power.
"But I'm talking about two types that are above even the top-tier—Super Martial Souls and God-Level Martial Souls."
Chen Xianjun immediately followed, "I've heard of god-level martial souls. The Spirit Hall's Six-Winged Angel is one, right?"
"Correct. God-level martial souls can exceed innate full soul power. Their initial level can be anywhere from 11 to 20. In fact, our ancestors suspect some so-called 'innate full power' souls exceed level 10, but normal soul power orbs can't measure past level 10—only Spirit Hall's secret orbs can. There's even a rumor that reaching innate level 20 lets one ascend to godhood—though whether it's true is unknown."
Chen Xianjun understood instantly, "So keeping soul power hidden is actually a form of valuable intel."
"'Valuable intel'—good term," Chen Yu nodded approvingly.
"What other traits do god-level martial souls have?" Chen Xianjun, driven by curiosity from his past life, asked.
Chen Yu's eyes grew deep. "Their first trait is what we discussed: surpassing innate full soul power.
"The second trait is that they come with an innate domain. After a certain level of cultivation, this domain naturally manifests.
"The third trait: they come inherently infused with near or actual extreme attributes."
"Extreme attributes?" Chen Xianjun echoed, recognizing the term from his past life.
"Yes. It means having the absolute peak in an elemental category—becoming the undisputed king among all martial souls of the same type. Extreme martial souls are the elite of Super Martial Souls. The known extreme attributes include water, fire, light, darkness, gold, earth, wood, and more."
Chen Yu paused, then continued, "Super Martial Souls are evolved forms of top-tier souls. They're not born—they must be awakened or evolved later.
"For beast-type souls, this evolution leads toward becoming a flawless divine beast soul.
"For tool-type souls like ours, the only path to further evolution is via extreme attributes. One of our ancestral founders, Chen Feiyi, possessed an extreme metal attribute and became a peerless Douluo."
Chen Xianjun thought of the Ning clan's Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. "Can it evolve into the Nine Treasures Pagoda?"
Chen Yu nodded, "Yes. The Seven Treasures Pagoda is the continent's strongest support-type martial soul. The Ning clan has long sought to evolve it into the Nine Treasures version. But even reaching the Eight Treasures is immensely difficult. As for the Nine Treasures, it's practically impossible.
"Unless it awakens or evolves postnatally, the inherited chance is virtually zero. Historically, there have been only two Title Douluos who inherited the Nine Treasures Pagoda, and both did so by consuming supreme heavenly treasures.
"That's why their clan remains fixated on replicating this. Sadly, such treasures only appear for those destined. Heaven has been cruel to them—always just out of reach."
Returning to the topic, Chen Yu summarized:
"Compare god-level martial soul traits—
Surpassing innate full soul power? Can be offset through years of training.
Domain skills? We can learn them later too. Many top clans have secret methods to raise domain comprehension. Our Chen family has such a method.
Extreme attributes? If one evolves into a Super Martial Soul before level 90, the chance of unlocking extreme traits increases significantly.
Conclusion: Super Martial Souls can rival god-level martial souls. This has happened many times in history."
Then Chen Yu asked with a smile, "Do you remember what Grandpa told you the other day about breaking through to Title Douluo?"
Chen Xianjun nodded, "Yes, you said it requires understanding one's will. The physical soul body in the lower soul core must merge with the soul's astral body in the upper core. That's how the soul ascends and soul power liquefies."
Chen Yu smiled, satisfied. "Correct—merging body and soul, ascending the martial soul. 'Ascension' is really another form of evolution.
"All Title Douluos, without exception, have martial souls at least at top-tier grade seven. Even initially intermediate or advanced souls can evolve to top-tier.
"What I want to tell you is this: martial souls can always be awakened further and evolve. So whether you awaken your father's Seven-Kill Sword or your mother's Seven-Colored Begonia Bracelet, both have the potential to reach the pinnacle—becoming Super Martial Souls.
"Everything is possible! So don't stress, and don't worry about your awakening."
Chen Yu looked encouragingly at his grandson.
Chen Xianjun felt a warmth in his heart and couldn't help but be moved. "Thank you, Grandpa!"
Then he asked, "But Grandpa, how do you know so much about the inner secrets of other factions?"
"Haha! The Chen family has a long legacy. Many of our ancestors were distinguished figures—some were elders of the Spirit Hall, others patrons of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and some even generals of both great empires. That's why we say the world is our home!"
"Oh right, Grandpa, how many types of god-level martial souls are there?"