Douluo Continent, Balak Kingdom, Balak City.
Inside one of the Spirit Hall branches, the annual awakening ceremony for this year was about to begin.
Twenty six-year-old children stood in a neat line.
The Soul Master in charge of the ceremony was a two-ring Soul Master with a squirrel Martial Soul.
"Kid, don't just stand there, come over here." The unknown squirrel Soul Master motioned for the first boy in line.
The boy, looking nervous, moved to the center of the hexagram-shaped awakening array.
Summoning his Martial Soul, the Soul Master channeled his soul power into the six awakening stones at the same time.
A pale golden light emerged and gathered around the boy. Soon, a Martial Soul in the shape of a crow materialized behind him.
The Soul Master remained expressionless as he took out a crystal ball to test the boy's innate soul power.
"Crow Martial Soul, innate soul power level 3. Next."
One by one, the children stepped forward to awaken their Martial Souls as the Spirit Hall Soul Master continued the ceremony.
After nearly an hour, only one child remained.
He was a boy with short black hair, black eyes, thin lips, and a tall nose… Overall, he was quite good-looking.
But in a world where soul power reigned supreme, his appearance only earned him an "average" at best.
His name was Shi Hao. A protagonist's name.
"Kid, come on, it's your turn. Don't be nervous."
Maybe because it was the last awakening of the day and his break was finally in sight, the Spirit Hall Soul Master's tone was noticeably friendlier toward Shi Hao.
"Mm~" Shi Hao nodded and stepped into the center of the array with composed nervousness.
Today was the day that would determine his fate in this world.
With the Soul Master's infusion of soul power, the awakening array lit up. Golden light gathered around Shi Hao.
He felt something inside him awaken as he instinctively raised his right hand and opened his palm.
A small, translucent silver seal with red edges appeared.
Shi Hao stared at his palm intently, trying to grasp the nature of the Martial Soul that would accompany him for life.
"Oh? This one seems new. Kid, put away your Martial Soul. Let's test your soul power."
Before Shi Hao could fully process what his Martial Soul was, the Soul Master urged him to retract it.
Having watched the other children do the same, Shi Hao successfully retracted his Martial Soul on his first attempt.
He placed his right hand on the crystal ball and waited for it to glow, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Seconds passed…
Even after a full minute, the crystal ball remained dull.
Shi Hao's expectant eyes turned to disbelief as he bit his thin lips so hard that a trace of blood seeped out.
"Child, you have no innate soul power," the Awakener announced, patting Shi Hao's shoulder lightly.
In today's ceremony, Shi Hao was the only one with absolutely no innate soul power.
Most children here were descendants of Soul Masters, so even the weakest among them had at least half a level of innate soul power.
Shi Hao's lips trembled. A disappointed smile formed on his face as he muttered softly, "Oh, I see."
"Alas… Don't feel too discouraged, child. Not everyone can become a Soul Master. It's fate…" The middle-aged Soul Master wanted to offer words of comfort, but halfway through, he ran out of things to say and simply stopped.
Shi Hao bowed slightly, thanked the Soul Master for awakening his Martial Soul, and walked away with slow, heavy steps.
The Soul Master watched Shi Hao's lonely back as he murmured to himself, "My son is the same… not chosen by fate."
---
Outside the Spirit Hall branch, two people—a man and a woman—waited.
They were Shi Hao's father, Shi Chen, and his mother, Hu Rong.
The moment they saw Shi Hao emerge from the Spirit Hall, head hanging low and silent, they exchanged a glance and silently agreed not to ask him anything.
With a gentle smile, Hu Rong stepped forward, picked Shi Hao up in her arms, and said lovingly, "Let's go home. Mother will make your favorite food for lunch."
Shi Hao said nothing, simply resting his head on his mother's shoulder and closing his eyes.
The family of three boarded a carriage and headed home.
---
Later, in his room…
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Shi Hao grinned brightly as he muttered to himself:
"So, my Martial Soul is called… Devouring Seal?"
Not a trace of disappointment remained on his face. Instead, he was thrilled.
Just earlier, when the Soul Master confirmed that he had no innate soul power, Shi Hao felt as if his world was collapsing.
As a transmigrator from Earth who knew all about the Douluo world, how could he not feel despair at the idea of being unable to cultivate?
Six years ago, when he was born into this world and realized he was in Douluo Continent, he was full of hope for the future.
Then, after piecing together the timeline from overheard conversations, his excitement grew even further.
Two years after his birth, Tang Hao killed the Pope of Spirit Hall, and Saint Bibi Dong became the next Pope.
This was all the confirmation Shi Hao needed.
He was two years older than Tang San, the protagonist of Douluo Dalu.
With his future knowledge, he was certain he would carve a name for himself in this world—unlike his mediocre past life on Earth.
So naturally, not having innate soul power was a massive blow.
But now that he understood what his Martial Soul was… Shi Hao's hope reignited.
"Hehe, Devouring Seal… oh, Devouring Seal… So you're my golden finger, huh?"
As its name suggested, Devouring Seal had the ability to devour.
By planting this seal inside a Soul Master, he could bind them. Once the linked Soul Master died, he would inherit their soul power, innate talent, Martial Soul, and vitality.
A chilling ability.
"But it can only be used once…"
"Once the linked target dies, my Martial Soul disappears and is replaced by theirs…"
"At least I can change targets before they die. If I want to switch, I just have to retract my Martial Soul and plant it on someone else…"
Shi Hao instinctively grasped his Martial Soul's abilities and limitations after a bit of mental probing.
But this limitation… put him in a tough spot.
"There are only about 20 years before the world turns upside down… and I can only use my Martial Soul once."
"Alas… Why can't I think of the best way to use this chance?"
"I'm really unreliable. The moment I actually need to use my brain, it stops working…"
Shi Hao sighed.
"Province Number One Chess Player… Seems like it was just a title, huh?"
He was disappointed in himself.
His intelligence was unpredictable. Sometimes, he was a genius. Other times, he struggled with the simplest problems.
"Well, eventually, my brain will come up with a plan, right? For now, let's go eat. Mother said she'd make my favorites~"
Shi Hao happily put aside his worries.
Now that he had recovered his high spirits, he wasn't about to miss his mother's delicious cooking.
Everything else could wait. Food came first.