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"Thank you, Sister Xiaotao."
After scarfing down the grilled fish in just a few bites, Su Wen realized his lack of manners. He scratched his head in slight embarrassment.
"Here, have some more if you're still hungry."
Ma Xiaotao didn't mind at all. With her slender fingers, she casually handed over a few more sticks of grilled fish.
Several minutes later—
"Ugh… I'm good… I'm stuffed."
Su Wen patted his belly and lay flat on the ground, completely satisfied.
"Thank you, Sister Xiaotao…"
This time, he meant it from the bottom of his heart.
Originally, he didn't think much of Ma Xiaotao in the original novel—just a hot-headed, big-busted muscle-brain with a fiery temper. But now, having experienced her kindness firsthand, he saw a different side—kindness and sincerity.
"Hey, kid, have you awakened your martial soul yet?"
Ma Xiaotao raised an eyebrow with interest as she looked at him.
Having no soul power could only mean two things:
He had awakened a useless martial soul and couldn't sense any soul power.
He hadn't awakened a martial soul at all.
"I haven't awakened yet," Su Wen shook his head.
Ma Xiaotao rested her chin in her palm, her eyes lighting up.
"Well then, why not give it a try? Who knows, maybe you'll awaken with a soul power level of five or six. If that happens, I'll personally guarantee your admission into Shrek Academy!"
"You think everyone's like you, born with level nine innate soul power?"
A handsome young man in a red-and-white Shrek inner court uniform, around eighteen or nineteen years old, chuckled helplessly. He handed over a few crystals and said, "Here, kid. I just happen to have soul awakening stones on me. Go ahead and try it. If your innate soul power is level four or above, and with Xiaotao's recommendation, you'll qualify for Shrek."
"Thank you," Su Wen replied gratefully.
Everyone knows that if you transmigrate into Douluo Dalu II and aren't a noble, you're starting on hard mode. That's because there's no Spirit Hall to provide free martial soul awakenings for commoners anymore—and what's worse, Su Wen was undocumented...
He vaguely remembered this guy was named Zhang Yi. He was strong, with a wood-based martial soul. Earlier, with just a wave of his hand, he built a wooden hut out of thin air—three rooms and a hall, no less. His power was probably at the Soul Sage level.
From Zhang Yi's casual attitude, Su Wen could tell—if not for Ma Xiaotao's involvement, the guy wouldn't even have wasted breath on him.
Being cautious when out in the world is the norm. Girls like Ma Xiaotao—simple and adorably naive—are rare gems.
"Come on in."
As she spoke, Ma Xiaotao finished setting up the soul awakening array and beckoned Su Wen over.
"Alright…"
Su Wen took a deep breath.
The commotion attracted the attention of the Shrek inner court disciples at the nearby campsite. Since they had nothing better to do, they all turned to watch.
As for whether Su Wen could really awaken with a level five or six innate soul power as Ma Xiaotao hoped—almost no one believed it.
After all, soul power at level five or six meant you'd likely become a Soul Sage. If someone awakened with level seven, a future Titled Douluo was practically guaranteed.
Most of the people present only had innate power around level six or seven themselves.
There was no mockery in their eyes, though—just curiosity, like they were watching a show.
Buzz…
As Su Wen stepped into the array, a golden light surged from the six-pointed star and enveloped him.
A few seconds later—
Dozens of gazes locked onto him.
In Su Wen's palm sat a small, white orb.
"Trash martial soul, huh?" Zhang Yi remarked flatly.
Many people averted their gazes. It was obvious—no one even bothered checking his soul power after that.
After all, truly top-tier martial souls often triggered natural phenomena during their awakening.
But Su Wen stood still, dumbfounded.
Only the awakened could sense what their martial soul truly was.
And the information he received was that this white orb was definitely not a trash martial soul, but a Poké Ball! Used for capturing pets!
Based on the information he received, this martial soul would provide a total of ten spirit rings. Each time he absorbed a ring, he'd obtain a Poké Ball capable of capturing a beast up to that ring's age limit. In other words, upon becoming a god, he'd have ten Poké Balls!
In an instant, Su Wen thought of the Star Dou Forest's core region—of the injured Silver Dragon King. If he could capture her, would his future battles look something like: Go, Silver Dragon King! Use One Hundred Thousand Elemental Tides— Wait, no, scratch that.
As for the orb being white—it was because the first spirit ring's age limit was ten years (white), meaning this Poké Ball could only capture ten-year-old soul beasts, not even hundred-year ones.
Nothing he could do. The first ring wasn't optional.
Su Wen's mouth twitched.
Whatever. Ten years it is.
He suppressed the excitement in his heart. This was more than enough proof that he had innate full soul power.
I mean, if he already has his first ring, how could he not be at max innate power?
"Still want to test?" Zhang Yi asked, arms crossed and relaxed.
"Of course!" Before Su Wen could respond, Ma Xiaotao inhaled sharply. "Give me the crystal ball!"
Zhang Yi shrugged and tossed her a crystal.
"Put your hand on top."
Ma Xiaotao narrowed her eyes with anticipation.
"Alrighty." Su Wen didn't waste a second. He quickly followed her instructions, afraid that even a second's delay would cause something to go wrong, and a genius like him would be lost in the crowd.
Buzz!
In the next moment—
A blinding light burst from the crystal ball, instantly outshining every campfire in the area. It engulfed Su Wen, Ma Xiaotao, and a completely dumbfounded Zhang Yi…
Seconds later—
As the light faded.
When Su Wen opened his eyes again, a beautiful face was right in front of him—as if she were inspecting some rare treasure. He nearly kissed her out of reflex but stumbled back… only to fall into something soft. A pair of jade-like arms steadied him before he could collapse.
Looking back, he found himself in Zhang Lexuan's arms, her face full of shock.
Around them, a crowd of Shrek inner court disciples had already gathered, all with various expressions.
"Wow! Innate full soul power!" Ma Xiaotao squealed and pulled Su Wen into a tight hug, jumping with excitement.
"Told you! There's no way a little brother that this lady claims could be a nobody!"
"Damn, you actually guessed right…" Zhang Yi looked like he was questioning his life choices. He glanced around as if hoping to find another unawakened kid lying around somewhere.
"I'll go inform Elder Xuan!" Zhang Lexuan vanished in a flash.
The others began looking at Su Wen with warm, friendly expressions.
Trying to build rapport.
Everyone knew how rare innate full soul power was. As for that so-called "trash martial soul"? Chances were it just hadn't revealed its true power yet. After all, in history, how many people with full innate power didn't make a name for themselves?
Especially Ancestor Tang San, who was once overlooked by the Spirit Hall thousands of years ago for supposedly having a useless martial soul, proved this point.
There were no fools in the Shrek inner court. They all understood—if Su Wen didn't die young, his future would be terrifying.
Su Wen, however, felt a bit suffocated. The faint fragrance in the air, the warmth pressing around him—his body was too weak. Even with a newly awakened martial soul, he almost passed out.
Thankfully, Ma Xiaotao noticed in time and let go of him a little awkwardly.
(End of Chapter)