The Spirit Hall has six levels, from lowest to highest: Branch Hall, Sub-Hall, Main Hall, Holy Hall, Pope's Hall, and Douluo Offering Hall.
Villages do not have branch halls. For example, Holy Soul Village is just a slightly larger wooden house, where Spirit Hall masters hold a Martial Soul Ceremony once a year.
Generally, only cities have branch spirit halls. Musu Town is not a city, but it has a branch spirit hall.
This is largely due to Musu Town's geographical location; it is adjacent to Soto City and backed by the Soul Hunting Forest.
Soto City is one of the two most important cities in the Barak Kingdom, on par with Barak City, the capital city where King Kundera of Barak resides. Located in the center of the most fertile Lima Plain in the Barak Kingdom, it is known as the Barak Granary. Heavily guarded, it is the most important place in the entire kingdom.
Soto City is a large city with a Level 3 Martial Soul Main Hall.
Surrounding Soto City are seven large towns, each equivalent to a small city, each equipped with a branch spirit hall, though the central spirit sub-hall is omitted.
Musu Town is the largest of the seven, its development driven by the presence of the Soul Hunting Forest, which has led to a large influx of people.
Ma Hongjun's father, a member of the village's Soul Hunting team, frequently traveled to Musu Town, encountering many acquaintances along the way.
"Brother Ma, you're dressed so formally today, are you taking your son to awaken his spirit?"
"Yes!"
"Your spirit is a wooden spear, your son should also awaken a wooden spear spirit, much stronger than a wooden stick."
"I hope so!"
"Your son is very handsome."
"Haha!"
...
Ma Ming was very popular; many people greeted him politely along the way. As a level 27 Great Spirit Master with a powerful wooden spear spirit, coupled with his gentle temperament, he easily earned people's respect.
Unlike the previous Ma Hongjun, this Ma Hongjun was no longer a chubby little boy. He inherited his mother's beauty and, having practiced marksmanship since childhood, possessed an excellent physique and an imposing presence. Although only six years old, he was well-developed and taller than most of his peers.
"Son, don't be nervous. You will definitely become a Soul Master,"
Ma Ming comforted Ma Hongjun. Ma Hongjun wasn't nervous. As a transmigrator, he knew he would definitely awaken his Martial Soul; it was actually Ma Ming who was nervous.
Because Ma Ming knew that in the world of Douluo Continent, Soul Masters were vastly different from ordinary people.
"I'm not nervous, Dad. I will definitely become a Soul Master, and the strongest one at that,"
Ma Hongjun said confidently.
They arrived at the Spirit Hall. The twenty-meter-high dome was very grand. When Ma Hongjun followed his father into the Spirit Hall's main hall, he was immediately impressed by its magnificent aura.
The entire dome of the hall was covered with murals. In each small square, various Martial Soul symbols were depicted. The background was a shimmering gold, giving it a magnificent yet ancient feel.
The Spirit Hall was surrounded by enormous crystal windows. Sunlight, refracted through the transparent crystals, dappled the murals, creating a dazzling, shimmering effect.
At this moment, over a hundred people had gathered in the hall, mostly elders with children, from various villages in Musu Town.
The person in charge of today's Spirit Awakening was Ma Ping, a deacon of the Spirit Hall branch, a Soul Master level expert, and currently the strongest person in Ma Family Village—Ma Hongjun's third grandfather.
"Children, line up, the Spirit Awakening ceremony will begin soon."
As Ma Ping's kind voice rang out, the hall fell silent.
All the children, under the arrangement of the Spirit Hall staff, stood in rows of ten. There were seventy-six children in total.
Including Ma Ping, seven Soul Masters simultaneously arranged six black stones in a hexagonal shape on the ground and then released their Spirits.
Ma Ping's Spirit was a wooden stick; three halos glowed around the stick in his hand, their colors white, yellow, and yellow respectively, appearing exceptionally eerie.
The other six had different martial souls, but all only had two spirit rings, five of them with one white and one yellow. The other had two yellow rings.
Behind these seven, there were seven more people specifically for recording, with a blue crystal ball in front of them—a spirit tool for testing spirit power.
Ma Hongjun was in Ma Ping's group, which consisted mostly of children from Ma Family Village. Ma Hongjun was third in line, and the children took turns to awaken their spirits.
The first boy stepped forward, standing in the center of the hexagon. Ma Ping's wooden stick seemed to materialize; with a flick of the stick, six beams of azure light shot out and entered six black stones.
The six black stones lit up, forming a golden light shield that enveloped the boy. The boy stood there calmly, his gaze vacant.
Golden light points floated out from the black stones on the ground and entered the boy's body. Guided by Ma Ping, the boy extended his right hand, and golden light points surged out, forming a wooden stick in his right hand.
"Weapon spirit, wooden stick, go test your spirit power!"
Ma Ping patted the boy's head and said with a smile.
The second child stepped forward; his martial spirit was still a wooden stick. This wasn't unusual; in Ma Family Village, most boys' martial spirits were wooden sticks, while girls' were mostly poultry.
"Come here, Hongjun!"
Ma Ping recognized Ma Hongjun and knew that Ma Hongjun practiced his spear technique every day on the back mountain. Given his father Ma Ming's mutated martial spirit, expectations for Ma Hongjun were very high. Even if he only awakened a wooden spear, it would be a great joy for Ma Family Village.
Ma Ming, thanks to his mutated martial soul, the Wooden Spear, became the most promising person in Ma Family Village, and the strongest in the village besides Ma Ping.
Following the example of the previous two children, Ma Hongjun stood in the hexagon.
A warm power entered his body, making Ma Hongjun feel as if he were enveloped in a warm ocean. The Hundred Birds Paying Homage
to the Phoenix Sutra circulated automatically, and his internal energy was drawn by this power. Golden light spots frantically gathered towards Ma Hongjun's body, far exceeding the number of the children who had been tested before. Ma Ping showed surprise and injected energy into the black stone again.
The onlookers were captivated by the scene before them, staring in astonishment at Ma Hongjun enveloped in golden light.
At this moment, a surge of heat erupted within Ma Hongjun's body, his initial warmth turning into scorching heat, as if a volcano was about to erupt. This golden warmth was drawing upon some power within him, as if to open the volcano's gates and unleash its eruption. His body was burning; the fiery energy seemed about to explode within him.
At this crucial moment, a dragon's roar resounded in Ma Hongjun's mind, and the fiery, frenzied energy that was about to burst forth retreated.
Golden light gathered in his hand, and a gleaming silver spear appeared.
"This...this is a Martial Soul mutation, a silver spear!"
Ma Ping's voice trembled. From a wooden spear to a silver spear, and judging from the phenomenon Ma Hongjun had awakened, this silver spear Martial Soul must be very powerful.
"Look at this silver spear, its silver radiance shines, majestic and extraordinary, comparable to a top-tier Martial Soul."
"I think it must be a top-tier Martial Soul, perhaps even surpassing it."
"Hard to say, maybe it's just good-looking, all show and no substance."
...
Ma Ming, standing to the side, saw the silver spear and then looked at his son, his eyes filled with pride.
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, a minute passed. Ma Hongjun was breathing heavily, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. The Dragon Soul Spear in his hand felt incredibly heavy, frantically draining his inner strength; he was almost at his limit.
"Hongjun, quickly use your mind to take it back."
Noticing Ma Hongjun's condition, Ma Ming reminded him.
The more powerful a martial soul is, the greater its consumption of soul power. Just like Tang San's Blue Silver Grass and Clear Sky Hammer, one consumes almost no soul power, while the other consumes a huge amount.
This also proves the power of the Dragon Soul Spear.
A martial soul that can transport him through two worlds—how could it not be powerful?
However, it's unknown what form the Dragon Soul Spear is in right now.
"Come, Hongjun, let's test your soul power."
The power of the martial soul is undeniable, but we also need to see the soul power. Only with soul power can one cultivate to become a Soul Master, and the amount of innate soul power also represents future potential and upper limit.
At this moment, all eyes were focused on him, and the tests of the other groups were temporarily suspended, all watching Ma Hongjun.
Ma Hongjun slowly placed his hand on the blue crystal ball.