NOVEL WEB Chapter 12: Zhang Lei Awakens
The voice was still cold and stern, yet everyone breathed a sigh of relief, for the Soul Master named Lu Yi did not seem inclined to pursue any issues.
Unfazed, Lu Yi continued, his large hand retrieving something from his satchel; firmly in his grip were six pitch-black, round stones.
Casually tossing them, the stones fell to the ground, perfectly forming a hexagonal pattern. Lu Yi, with a beard-laden chin, nodded towards the most robust child among the three, Zhang Lei, indicating, “Go ahead.”
Zhang Lei met Lu Yi's gaze for a fleeting moment before instinctively turning his head towards Zhang Dahe, Ling Xiaoshan, and... Ling Yi!
Encouraged by their supportive glances, Zhang Lei took a deep breath, gathering his resolve, and with a determined look, stepped into the center of the hexagonal pattern, coming to a standstill.
“Not bad,” Lu Yi commented briefly upon seeing Zhang Lei swiftly overcome his nerves and fears. His expression then grew serious as he extended his broad right hand, palm facing upwards, and called out lightly.
At that, a dark light surged from his palm, transforming in the blink of an eye into an iron hammer.
The hammer's head was spherical with defined edges, its handle extending about a meter long, looking incredibly heavy, yet Lu Yi grasped it steadily.
“Boom!”
The hammer's head struck down onto the ground's stone slab, and two circles of light encircled Lu Yi's feet: one pale yellow, the other bright yellow.
Martial Spirit—「Eight Edged Heavy Hammer」!
Lu Yi planted the spiritual iron hammer firmly at his feet, both palms striking in succession. Six streams of pale gray light shot into the ground and penetrated six circular stones, followed by a layer of golden aura emanating from the stones, forming a faint golden shield that enveloped Zhang Lei.
Initially, Zhang Lei, shrouded in golden light, involuntarily shivered with tension. However, as golden specks floated up from the black stones and merged into his body, his tightly closed eyes gradually eased to a calm state, his entire being becoming serene.
At a certain point, as Zhang Lei's body began to tremble again, Lu Yi's eyes narrowed like a tiger's and he commanded in a deep voice, "Extend your right hand!"
Instinctively, Zhang Lei extended his right hand, and instantly, all the light points surged forward. In a flash, a small, foot-long hoe appeared in his grip.
A brown wooden handle, shaped like a kitchen knife, with a black, metal hoe blade shining with a metallic luster.
This was a common farm tool one might find in rural areas, just scaled down a bit.
Fortunately, it was a Martial Spirit and could adjust to the most fitting and handy size according to Zhang Lei's own dimensions.
With Zhang Lei's Martial Spirit fully materialized, Lu Yi maintained a composed expression as he softly instructed, "A tool Martial Spirit: 'Hoe'. Now, place your hand here, let's see if there's any spiritual power—"
Saying that, his large hand flipped over, fetching a blue crystal ball from the table behind him, cradling it in his palm, and holding it out in front of Zhang Lei.
With Lu Yi's guidance, Zhang Lei retracted the 'Hoe' into himself and placed his chubby, fair little hand on the blue crystal ball.
After a moment, seeing no reaction from the crystal ball, Lu Yi signaled Zhang Lei to withdraw his hand, placing the orb back on the table behind him. He then briefly announced, "No soul power, you may leave."
Ling Yi, watching from the side, observed Zhang Lei's expression clearly throughout—going from anxiety to calm, then to joy and excitement, ultimately transforming into disappointment and desolation.
What particularly caught Ling Yi's attention was the faint yet unusual contraction in Zhang Lei's pupils just moments before Lu Yi, the soul master, declared him devoid of soul power.
As soon as Zhang Lei was judged to have no soul power, all his emotions turned to dismay, and that fleeting anomaly likely went unnoticed even by Zhang Lei himself.
While pondering these thoughts, Ling Yi wasted no time joining Zhang Dahe and Ling Xiaoshan in surrounding the downcast Zhang Lei, some patting his head, others his shoulder.
If the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony had not been ongoing, with two other village children undergoing their awakenings, Zhang Dahe and Ling Xiaoshan might have already spoken words of comfort.
Predictably, the next two children from Shanhai Village awoke to spirits of "Sensitive Grass" and "Short Stick," both lacking soul power and thus unqualified to become soul masters.
"Alright~"
"Let's go."
"Okay~ Okay~" Zhang Dahe led the villagers of Shanhai Village, nodding repeatedly and responding a bit nervously, "Soul Master, the weather is so harsh outside, would you like to rest a while before departing?"
“That's right, sir, it's almost lunchtime. Although our village is poor, we do have some wild game for meat...”
“There's no need.” Lu Yi retied his satchel, walking towards the stone house door without looking back. “We still have a few more villages ahead—”
Watching Lu Yi's departing figure, Ling Yi's eyes flickered. He gently put an arm around Zhang Lei's shoulder and whispered words of comfort: “Lei, don't feel down. Even though the crystal ball showed you have no soul power, it doesn't mean you absolutely have none...”
“Perhaps, your soul power is just very, very minimal, too little for the crystal ball to detect—”
“Isn't the minimum soul power supposed to be level one?”
“There's a chance, Lei, that your soul power might be 0.1 or even 0.01...”
Ling Yi's voice was so soft that aside from Zhang Lei, even Zhang Dahe and Ling Xiaoshan, who were standing nearby, didn't hear it.
At the door, Lu Yi's hand paused briefly on the handle before casually pulling it open, freeing the slightly frozen wood.
“Whoo—!”
A gust of cold air, accompanied by howling wind, rushed inside. Without waiting for more snow to follow, the muscular figure stepped out and closed the door behind him, keeping the cold at bay.
While continuing to comfort Zhang Lei, Ling Yi cast his gaze at the now-closed wooden door, his eyes clear and distinct, resembling a serene, deep pool.
The night was still, the wind had ceased, and the snow had stopped. Yet, the thick blanket of clouds above kept the earth shrouded in darkness.
Ling Yi lay quietly on his bed, his breathing steady. Around him, the countless blades of Blue Silver Grass gently swayed in response to his breaths.
In the corner, there were two tubs made of wooden boards, lined with dry straw and old cotton wadding. Ah Huang and Meow Meow lay inside them, sound asleep, their chests rising and falling with a deep, rhythmic sound.
In the pitch-black room, where one could see nothing, Ling Yi opened his eyes to the darkness, replaying the day's events in his mind.
Scene after scene surfaced, zoomed in, reviewed, and slipped past his mental vision.
Eventually, the image of a broad back fading away behind a slowly closing wooden door amidst the swirling snow lingered before Ling Yi's eyes.
“What a pity~”
A whisper, devoid of sorrow or joy, echoed in the silent room.
Soon after, tranquility once again enveloped the room, a sense of serenity gradually spreading and filling the entire space.
Outside the house, despite the serenity not spilling even the slightest to the exterior, countless Blue Silver Grass, covered by white snow, persisted. Though frozen and withered, they stretched their remaining leaves and roots towards that seemingly ordinary house.
The chapter concludes with Zhang Lei's awakening, hinting at the potential for new beginnings and undiscovered powers.
(End of Chapter)
