章 1: Chapter 1
I looked into the absolute void, or should I say, I felt it? Well, it doesn't matter. It's not like I could see, touch, smell, or hear anything. The only thing I could hear were my own thoughts.
How long can I endure this without going insane?
I never should have listened to my friend who convinced me to play Pokémon Go, knowing the place I lived in was dangerous. How did I die in the first place?
Oh, right, I was stabbed in the back with a knife before the attacker threw me to the ground, snatched my smartphone from my hand, and ran away while I bled out.
I felt like crying, but I couldn't. I couldn't even die after my parents; they must be enduring the sorrow of my death, and I feel terrible about that.
"Huang Lin," I heard the beautiful voice of a woman, which confused me a lot, and suddenly I could feel a giant hand touching my body.
What's happening?
I could hear several voices, but they were speaking too fast and in a language I didn't understand.
"Stop talking!" I felt my stress peak; I don't even know why I'm getting angry over something like this. But it's as if I can't control my emotions right now.
"WAAAAAAHHHHHH" But instead of my voice coming out, only a horrible wail emerged.
Before I knew it, I started feeling more tired. I hope this is just a horrible nightmare.
I looked from the top of a tree at the vegetation covering this place, recalling fragments of memory from when I arrived in this world.
I have already lost the memories from when I was a baby, but it's strange that I can still remember much of my past life, even though I have started to forget things over the years, just like I began to forget the things I did in elementary school as I became a teenager in my previous world.
"Huang Lin! It's time to eat, come down quickly," I heard my mother's voice coming from the house.
"I'm coming!" I shouted before removing the cat that was sitting on my lap.
"Meow" I ignored its resentful meow and jumped down from the tree before entering the house.
"Lin, why do you look so relaxed? You must dress well and be properly presented for the awakening of your martial soul."
"Yes, mother. I'll change now," I replied as I entered the house. Although I was now Huang Lin, the memories of my past life were still present, blending with my new reality.
It's a bit uncomfortable to know that I am in a world written by someone and that much of the world revolves around the protagonist Tang San, a very hypocritical person.
Although I don't think badly of him because many people in his place would try to make similar decisions out of selfishness, and compared to other genocidal Chinese protagonists, he is much more peaceful. However, if possible, I would prefer not to get involved with Tang San or Martial Soul Hall and strengthen myself quietly due to the destined conflict between the two sides. But I suppose the best way to strengthen myself is to get involved with them, to have the chance to inherit the power of the Gods, the immortal herbs. But I guess everything will depend on the awakening of my martial soul.
The martial soul awakening ceremony was an important event in this world. All the children eagerly awaited it, as it determined their future and place in society. However, I had mixed feelings. I couldn't help but feel a mix of nervousness and curiosity, wondering what type of martial soul I would have and how it would affect my life in this world.
"Maybe, this time, I can live a more fun and exciting life," I told myself, trying to push away dark thoughts.
I left my room dressed in the best clothes my mother had chosen.
Mom waited for me by the door, with a smile that couldn't hide her nervousness.
"You look very handsome, son. I'm sure you will have a wonderful awakening," she said as she stroked my hair.
"Thank you, mom," I responded, trying to share her enthusiasm.
We arrived at the Spirit Hall. It was a fairly large building compared to many of the houses in this village, but it was still just a small branch of Spirit Hall that is distributed throughout the continent.
"Lin, I'll wait for you here," mom said before encouraging me to go inside.
When I entered the Spirit Hall, the village elder Ran was there with eleven other children gathered, and the most prominent figure was a man from the Spirit Hall. He seemed to be around 25 years old. He was dressed in radiant white robes, with a black cape hanging from his shoulders. In the center of his chest, just above the heart, there was an emblem the size of a palm with the character "Spirit." This was the standard attire of the staff directly subordinate to the Spirit Hall.
Is this the legendary Yantao? Or was it Yuntao? I don't even remember his name.
"Respected great battle master, all the children of the village who turned six years old are gathered," said the village elder Ran with great respect and appreciation to the man from the Spirit Hall.
"It's about time, let's start quickly, I don't expect much from this rural place anyway." The man's arrogance could be felt with every word he said, and it made me cringe to hear it, bringing back bad memories.
"Form a line," said the man with a solemn voice, and all the children, including me, started to form a line.
"My name is Ru Hei, a Spirit Grandmaster ranked twenty-eighth, and I will be your guide. Now, I will make you experience an awakening one by one."
I watched as Ru Hei opened a package on a desk, taking out six round black stones and a bright blue crystal ball.
Ru Hei placed the six black stones on the ground in a hexagon shape, then indicated to the first child on the left to stand inside.
"Don't be scared, just stay calm and try to feel the change in your body."
As he spoke, Ru Hei's eyes suddenly lit up, and in the astonished eyes of the children, he shouted in a deep voice, "Manifest, flaming sword," before a red sword emerged from his hand.
I watched the sword, and it was quite striking, and the children seemed very excited about the idea of awakening this type of martial soul.
"This is my spirit, a flaming sword. As you may have seen, it is similar to your parents who have summoned their martial souls."
"Now let's start the ritual."
The child, who seemed quite excited, was enveloped in the faint golden light and immediately fell silent.
Every particle of golden light emerged from the black stones and entered more into the child's body.
The child's body began to tremble slightly, not knowing whether to scream or remain silent.
"Extend your right hand," said Ru Hei.
I could see a kind of lotus starting to form in the child's hand.
"Wow, your martial soul is a lotus, a tool spirit. It can be a good Auxiliary Spirit, but let's not get our hopes up yet. Now let's check your level to see if you can become a true Soul Master," said Ru Hei, while holding the bright blue crystal ball.
"How do we do it?" asked the child.
"Remember the shape of your spirit and try to think about how you felt the first time you summoned it," said Ru Hei, and when the child summoned his lotus, he indicated that he put his hand on the crystal ball.
The child placed his hand on the crystal ball without any hesitation, and the crystal ball began to glow faintly.
"Half a level of soul power, you can try to become a Soul Master with a lot of effort and time, but your future is very limited by having an auxiliary martial soul," said Ru Hei, looking a bit bored and with disdain at the child.
The child seemed very sad upon hearing this, but he said nothing and moved away from the place, tears streaming from his eyes.
"Next," said Ru Hei with a solemn voice, and the children went to awaken their martial souls, but all left disappointed because they awakened martial souls that couldn't be used for combat, such as a shovel, bluegrass, spoon, and they didn't have soul power either. But not everything was so bad because some of them seemed happy to awaken a martial soul they found useful, like a boy who was one of my neighbors, he awakened a kitchen knife, his father was a chef who usually spent time working in Nuoding City.
I stopped thinking about trivialities and got excited when it was my turn.
I stood in the center of the circle and closed my eyes, feeling the warmth that spread through my body. It was very pleasant, so much so that if I could feel this sensation whenever I wanted, I would have no problem sleeping anywhere. But after a moment, I started to feel a kind of energy running through my body until it slowly gathered in my right hand.
I opened my eyes and saw a red light emerging before taking the form of a half-red, half-white ball. There is no way I couldn't recognize this Martial Soul because it's one of the most iconic objects in the Pokémon franchise, the Poké Ball.
"A ball? It could become an auxiliary or defense spirit," Ru Hei asked with disappointment upon seeing the shape of my martial soul.
Still, like all the other children, he placed the blue crystal ball in front of me.
Before placing my hand on the blue crystal ball, I felt a strong attraction to it when my hand was very close, and I could feel the same energy from before leaving my body through my hand, while the blue crystal ball began to shine intensely.
When the brightness diminished, I could see Ru Hei's solemn, expressionless face forming a smile before he said excitedly:
"You are an innate full soul power."
"Tell me, child, do you want to join the Spirit Hall? You will receive many resources, and I can guarantee that you will have a great future ahead," asked Ru Hei, full of expectations.
"Sorry, but I don't think I can join a grand place like the Spirit Hall. Besides, I promised my father I would go to Nuoding City if I had a soul power level above two." I tried to give some reasons why I couldn't join the Spirit Hall.
"Please, think it over, this is a great opportunity that many children do not get," said Ru Hei, quite anxious for me to join the Spirit Hall, but I didn't want to get involved with the Spirit Hall at this moment.
"Sorry, but I think I have to go, there are still other children who haven't awakened their martial soul yet," I said before walking away, and I saw how Ru Hei seemed a bit resigned but still continued doing his main task of awakening the martial souls of the other children.
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