Qin Yu walked among the children barefoot, dust clinging to his soles, a thin layer of straw sticking to his shirt. He kept his gaze low and his expression flat—just another wide-eyed orphan in a backwater village.
The awakening ceremony took place in the town square, a simple stone clearing shaded by withering peach trees. There were no banners, no celebratory horns. Just a spirit array scratched into the stone by the village elder's finger—half magic, half ritual, wholly unimpressive.
Thirteen children waited in silence, fidgeting.
He was the smallest among them.
"Quiet down," barked the village elder, a bent man with sunken eyes and a spirit power barely above Level 15. He had a limp that no one ever asked about. His cane made a hollow tok each time it struck the ground.
Behind him stood two figures: a bored attendant holding a ledger, and a man in white robes with a Spirit Hall medallion on his hip. Young—twenty, maybe—but already bearing the smug stillness of someone used to deference. He watched the children like one might inspect livestock.
Qin Yu saw him immediately.
Spirit Hall always sends someone, he thought. Even to forgotten corners. They never miss a spirit awakening.
He stepped lightly into the circle when his name was called—"Qin Yu"—and kept his shoulders hunched, his hands close to his chest.
> [Reminder: Host spirit awakening imminent. System energy flow detected. Spirit data locked.]
He focused his thoughts inward.
The original plan was simple: fake a useless tool-type spirit, something unimpressive. Then quietly develop his true strength later.
He imagined it: a dull metal rod. Maybe a broken hoe. Let the elder shrug. Let Spirit Hall look away.
But the air around him had changed.
His skin tingled.
> [Alert: Full-body martial spirit detected. Suppression incompatible with host safety. System override in progress…]
Qin Yu's breath caught.
Wait—override?
The elder raised both arms, beginning the chant. The air thickened with spiritual tension. A soft wind rustled the leaves above as power pooled into the crude array below.
And then—
Qin Yu's body began to glow.
Not golden, not warm—black. Liquid shadow rippled across his skin like mercury awakened.
The elder's voice faltered.
The wind died.
The other children stepped back.
Qin Yu clenched his fists.
No, not yet. Not like this.
> [System override complete. Activating emergency concealment sequence.]
A whisper passed through his bones like silk through a blade.
The light dimmed.
The blackness shrank—condensing inward. His skin dulled to stone-gray. The shifting void armor receded until only his forearms remained coated. Rigid. Matte. Like basalt cut by a god's chisel.
It was enough.
"Stone-hide," the elder muttered. "Defensive. Very rare. But… stable."
The Spirit Hall man's brow creased slightly. He leaned forward. No words.
Qin Yu lowered his head further, panting faintly, as if exhausted.
Play weak, he told himself. Let them forget you.
The elder tapped his staff again. "Next."
Qin Yu stepped aside as the next name was called. He didn't look up. But from the corner of his eye, he saw the Spirit Hall scout still watching him.
Expression blank. Hands clasped. Not fooled.
Not entirely.
> [Spirit successfully awakened: Voidborne Body (Incomplete)]
[Spirit Quality: Unranked. Adaptive.]
[Auto-concealment protocol initiated.]
He exhaled softly.
He had planned for quiet.
Now he'd need something better.
Silence with teeth.
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