As the grand doors of the Martial Soul Hall swung open, Village Chief Kelo and Qi Tian hurried forward to greet the master.
Behind them trailed a group of anxious parents, their expressions tense with hope and worry.
"Master Su Yuntao," Kelo asked nervously, "is there any chance one of the children from Carrot Village will become a soul master this year?"
His anxiety was understandable—after all, it had been years since their humble village had produced a soul master.
Su Yuntao swept his gaze over the gathered crowd, sensing the restless anticipation in their hearts. He let out a long sigh.
The collective mood instantly dropped, disappointment flickering in every pair of eyes.
Could it be...
Would Carrot Village once again fail to produce a single soul master?
Their gazes naturally turned toward Qi Lin. If there was anyone who might defy fate, it was him. With his bizarre luck, surely he couldn't have failed to awaken innate soul power?
They expected to see gloom or frustration on Qi Lin's face.
But instead, he responded with a calm, relaxed smile.
There was no trace of disappointment—just serene indifference, like a monk at peace with the world.
What was going on?
Just as the villagers were growing puzzled, Su Yuntao continued, "This year, three children from Carrot Village have awakened innate soul power."
"Ah!"
Gasps of astonishment echoed across the square. Even Kelo and Qi Tian were stunned by the unexpected twist. Everyone looked at Su Yuntao with exasperated eyes that seemed to say, Then why did you sigh like that just now? You scared us half to death!
All eyes returned to Qi Lin, and understanding slowly dawned.
No wonder the boy had looked so calm—he had awakened innate soul power.
In contrast, the other children wore expressions of utter defeat, their heads hanging low.
Kelo, visibly excited now, eagerly asked, "Master Su Yuntao, who are the three children? And how strong is their innate soul power?"
Su Yuntao looked at their eager faces and sighed once more.
"The three are Qi Lin, Xiao Wu, and Qi Yue."
Before he could continue, murmurs broke out among the parents. Many wore expressions of as expected.
The parents of the unsuccessful children cast envious glances at Qi Tian and the father of Qi Yue—a modest-looking middle-aged man.
Only Kelo remained composed. He cleared his throat and called out, "Quiet, everyone!"
As the respected village chief, his voice immediately restored order.
Su Yuntao nodded approvingly and went on, "Among the three, Qi Yue has only one rank of innate soul power. However, both Xiao Wu and Qi Lin possess full innate soul power."
A wave of shock swept through the crowd.
"But unfortunately," Su Yuntao added with a tinge of regret, "Xiao Wu's martial soul is the Soft Bone Rabbit, and Qi Lin's is an even weaker variant—a mutated Blue Silver Grass."
He shook his head and sighed. "If only their martial souls had been stronger, their potential would have been limitless."
"Ah…"
"The Soft Bone Rabbit? Mutated Blue Silver Grass?"
"This… this is unbelievable. Why such weak martial souls?"
Kelo, too, sighed deeply, his eyes filled with pity as he looked at Qi Lin and Xiao Wu.
What a shame. These two children should have had much brighter futures.
At first, some parents felt a sting of jealousy upon hearing about the full innate soul power.
But that faded quickly.
When they learned that Qi Lin's martial soul was merely a mutated Blue Silver Grass, all envy vanished.
Everyone knew that Blue Silver Grass was one of the most useless martial souls in existence. For hundreds of years, no one had ever cultivated it to success.
Even if it had soul power, what was the point? The potential was locked from the very beginning.
Mutated or not, it was still trash.
After all, out of ten mutated martial souls, seven or eight were worse than the original.
As for the Soft Bone Rabbit… well, it wasn't strong either, but it was at least better than mutated Blue Silver Grass, wasn't it?
Poor Qi Lin. Perhaps his luck wasn't invincible after all.
With that thought, the god-like image of Qi Lin in their minds dimmed significantly.
Qi Lin, naturally, sensed the shift in the crowd's attitude. But he didn't care.
Among the villagers, only his parents remained calm, their expressions unchanged.
They, who had pinned their hopes on their son to change their fate, trusted completely in his strange luck.
Something deep in their hearts told them—Qi Lin's mutated Blue Silver Grass was no ordinary mutation.
Of course, no one else knew what they were thinking. Kelo took the lead in comforting the couple.
Su Yuntao, meanwhile, gently placed a hand on Qi Lin's shoulder and spoke with kindness, "Even though your martial soul is considered trash, it doesn't mean you can't cultivate."
"When your sister Sisi returns, we'll take you to hunt for a soul ring. Then, you'll officially become a soul master."
"Keep working hard. I believe your journey won't end there."
"Thank you, Brother Su Yuntao." Qi Lin, though not the least bit concerned about his future, still smiled warmly in gratitude.
Su Yuntao looked at the boy's calm expression and felt a strange sense of ease wash over him—as if a mental weight had been lifted. Even the bottleneck in his own cultivation seemed to loosen slightly.
What a strange feeling.
He murmured to himself but knew he had little time to ponder. There were still over a dozen villages waiting for him to conduct awakenings.
Turning to Kelo, he said, "Chief Kelo, I have other duties to attend to. I'll take my leave now."
Kelo quickly replied, "Of course, Master Su Yuntao. Don't worry about us. Your mission comes first."
Before leaving, Su Yuntao glanced once more at Qi Lin.
"Little one, I'll be back next time with your sister Sisi. We'll come check on you together."
Qi Lin beamed. "Go take care of your work, Brother Su Yuntao. Duty first!"
"Haha, good! Then I'm off!"
With a wave, Su Yuntao slung his pack over his shoulder and left.
As he disappeared into the distance, the villagers dispersed, returning to their homes.
On the way back, Qi Tian elbowed Qi Lin playfully and waggled his eyebrows. "Hey, son, let your old man take a look at your martial soul!"
Their banter sounded more like that of best friends than father and son.
Beside them, Xu Qian looked over with curiosity.
Qi Lin chuckled and said, "Alright, alright, I'll show you."
He raised his right hand, and in the next moment, a small blue plant with four leaves sprouted from his palm. It looked quite ordinary at first glance.
But Qi Tian squinted and suddenly exclaimed, "Wife! Look at the leaves—there's a golden glow on them!"
His loud outburst immediately drew Xu Qian and Xiao Wu's attention.
The two leaned in for a closer look.
Indeed, faint golden lines shimmered across the four leaves, subtle and easy to miss without careful inspection.
"Whoa—" Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. She leaned close, her lashes fluttering, the golden veins reflected in her eyes. She poked one of the leaves with a finger and giggled, "Brother Qi Lin's Blue Silver Grass glows!"
Qi Tian looked proud and turned to his wife. "See? I told you—our son's martial soul is no ordinary mutation."
Xu Qian rolled her eyes. "Of course it's not. You think I'm blind? Who's ever seen Blue Silver Grass that glows?"
After everyone had examined it to their heart's content, Qi Lin withdrew the four-leaf clover into his body.