Spirit Awakening Ceremony (1)

And just like that, six years passed by quietly, with no trouble knocking on their door. It was a rather peaceful period, away from the world of Spirit Masters.

Tang Beixuan and Tang San also turned six years old this year. This was a rather special occasion to them as tomorrow, they will finally awaken their Spirits!

...

...

"Cock-a-doodle-do!"

"Cock-a-doodle-do!"

"Cock-a-doodle-do!"

Sounds of rooster's morning call resounded in the room. A young kid rose from his slumber quietly.

His face showed signs of discomfort. He looked towards the bed near him, only to find it empty. He thought about his little brother who had an average face with blue hair.

'Tang San already left, huh. Early as always.'

He rose from his bed and stood in front of the mirror as he marveled at himself. He had an above-average face that was slowly touching the line of handsomeness and long black hair that reached his shoulders.

Who could it be? Obviously, it's our little reincarnator, Chen Beixuan, no, Tang Beixuan.

Tang Beixuan grabbed the little comb hanging by the mirror as he fixed his messy hair while also reflecting on what he did over the past six years.

During the time Ah Yin died, his map was open the whole time, so he could see what was happening. They were surrounded by many red dots who Beixuan concluded were the enemies.

There were four blue lights which he guessed are him, Tang San, Tang Hao, and Ah Yin. At that time, Tang Hao's light was flickering over and over, which Beixuan guessed that he was about to die.

Ah Yin's light suddenly disappeared and the flickering lights of Tang Hao were replaced by a steady blue light. The light of Tang Hao rushed towards the sea of red lights and one by one, they started disappearing.

Beixuan guessed that Ah Yin must have sacrificed her life to become Tang Hao's ring so he can recover and defeat the enemies surrounding them, as he knew she was a 100,000-year-old Spirit Beast.

During the time when they were hiding, Beixuan became close to the family of three, and he gradually accepted them as family. Seeing Ah Yin die saddened and angered him at the same time. He swore to take revenge on whoever forced Ah Yin to kill herself.

'Today is the day, huh...'

Yesterday, the village chief, Grandpa Jack went to our house and asked Tang Hao if Tang Beixuan and Tang San can participate in the Spirit Awakening Ceremony performed by someone from the Spirit Hall.

However, Tang Hao didn't give a definite answer as he just went to sleep immediately after that. Grandpa Jack was angered, but instead of bothering Tang Hao again, he just told us to wait at the gates before lunch.

Tang Beixuan took a bath before going to the river nearby. He took out the Guqin that the system gave him from his Inventory to practice since there was a lot of time before lunch.

On the way to Holy Spirit Village, he was checking the functions of his system when he found a Guqin and some other stuff like books on how to practice it and songs from his previous life on his Inventory since music hasn't developed that far in this world.

The quality of the Guqin the system gave him was quite high tier. The Guqin's name was named Wangji, a seven-stringed Guqin. (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation reference.)

He started to play the Guqin with closed eyes. He was already a master at this instrument. There were two reasons that he started to practice at Guqin, first was it gave him a peaceful time, and lastly, it was going to be his spirit. It was much better to know how to use it first rather than recklessly using it.

During these six years, not a single mission was given to him. Well, except one which was quite impossible to do so at his current state.

[Become a Spirit Master (Reach Rank 11)

Description: The first step of your journey. Prove yourself worthy by becoming a Spirit Master! Get a Spirit Ring and reach rank 11!

Rewards: Alchemy Knowledge (Adept)

Well, he can't do that for now since he hasn't awakened his Spirit yet.

He also started doing physical training and sword training. Beixuan originally wanted his father, Tang Hao, to craft a sword and weights. But Tang Hao disagreed. Tang Hao was the only blacksmith in the village so only he could make what he want. He was kinda disappointed, but he also improvised by making a sword made from a tree branch and using a rope to tie down a rock to his body.

He does physical training in the morning, sword training in the afternoon, and Guqin training in the evening.

"Gege [1]! Grandpa Jack's looking for you! The Spirit Awakening Ceremony is about to start soon! I figured that you'd be here." Soon, a shout interrupted his Guqin play and his train of thoughts. A young kid with an above-average face and blue hair came out of the woods.

"Xiao San! Sorry, I didn't notice. I was too immersed in playing." Tang Beixuan replied. He looked towards the skies that already turned clear.

'Wait what!? I thought I was only playing the Guqin for a minute! Looks like time really flies quickly the moment you get immersed.' Tang Beixuan thought embarrassedly.

"I'll go after you! You go first! I have some matters to take care of." Tang Beixuan shouted. Tang San looked at the Guqin that Beixuan was holding and nodded before jumping towards the distance.

Beixuan waited for a few minutes before he took the Guqin to his Inventory. The thin and small body turned into a blur as he leaped into the distance. If people were to see Beixuan's action, they would be definitely staring wide-eyed in astonishment.

He immediately arrived at the gate. There were already a lot of kids in there, but the Spirit Master was yet to be seen. Beixuan sighed a relief.

They waited for a few more minutes before a dark silhouette came flying towards the gate at an alarming speed. Beixuan and San noticed him, but the others didn't.

A youth jumped directly in front of the crowd. The person appeared to be only around 20 years old. He had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, with a face that could be considered handsome. He was dressed in brilliant white clothes. In the center of his chest, there was the badge that signified that he was a direct subordinate of the Spirit Hall.

"Greetings, esteemed Spirit Master." Grandpa Jack bowed to the youngster.

"My time is scarce! Let's get going already!" The youngster replied in an arrogant tone.

Grandpa Jack nodded, "Children, this is a Spirit Master from Nuoding City's Spirit Hall Branch. He will guide you to awaken your spirits, so listen to him and do as he says. Your grandpa's looking forward to seeing who among you can become a Spirit Master."

All the children nodded obediently.

The youngster frowned and replied in an arrogant tone, "You said the same thing last year. I already passed six villages, and not one of them had a person who had spirit power. They also have trash spirits."

Grandpa Jack's eyes showed a trace of dejection. Sighing, he nodded and said: "Yes ah! Only one in very many inherit the aptitude to become a Spirit Master. Compared to us commoners, the big clans have it easy." and shook his head.

The youngster gestured, "Follow me!"

They arrived at rather an unusual place. It was decorated and has a rich atmosphere, different from the village. A wisp of spirit power came out of the youngster's hand, and the door opened magically.

Grandpa Jack didn't go in with the children. He seemed rather familiar with the process.

The youngster walked towards the place at a small pace. The children, excluding Tang San, looked at their surroundings, amazed.

The youngster stood at a small platform and stopped. He turned to look at the children who were still checking the place out.

"Children, line up!"

The nine children stood in order. Tang San and Tang Beixuan stood on the leftmost side. They were both a little smaller than the other children in his age.

The youngster observed them before he nodded and smile. He said:

"I am called Su Yuntao, a twenty-sixth-ranked Spirit Grandmaster. I will be your guide today. Now, I will have you undergo spirit awakening one by one. Remember, regardless of what happens, do not panic."

Su Yuntao took out a small bundle, taking out two things: six-round pitch-black stones and one sparkling blue crystal.

Su Yuntao's eyes lit up, and before their eyes, he shouted in a deep voice, "Lone Wolf Body Enhancement!"

Su Yuntao's hair that was originally black turned grey after a small blue-green light poured in. It grew longer. A similarly colored fur also appeared on his two hands. His whole body swelled with muscles. Despite all that happening, his attire didn't rip which was rather unusual.

Sharp claws stretched out from his ten fingers. Two flashes of light shone brightly, moving from his foot to the crown of his head. Among the two lights, one was white and the other was yellow.

"Hick!"

"Aaahh~~!"

The children were scared at his transformation. Some covered their eyes with their hands, some looked away. They all screamed in horror. The only exception was Tang Beixuan and Tang San, who were gazing at Su Yuntao with great curiosity.

Su Yuntao clapped both of his hands together as green light poured into the six stones, before they flew up, circling his body. He directed the stones into the kid who he told to get near him earlier.

A golden light appeared and covered the body of the kid. He started to fly. The kid looked amazed and fearful at the same time. His body also began to tremble as he felt some pain.

"Extend your right hand!" Su Yuntao commanded as his eyes gazed over the boy.

The boy extended his right hand. All the golden light gathered around his hand, and instantly, a small sickle appeared in his hand.

Su Yuntao looked disappointed. He creased his brows as he spoke, "A Tool Spirit. Can a sickle even be regarded as a weapon? It ought to with effort." Spirit Masters who have Beast Spirits looked down on Tool Spirits as they felt superior to them. At least, that's what they were taught.

The golden light disappeared as the boy looked at the small sickle floating in his right hand.

"Your spirit tool is a Sickle, a Tool Spirit. Come, kid. Let me see if you have spirit power. If your spirit tool undergoes cultivation, it might harness some potential for battle."

"Mast— Master, what should I do?" The boy asked fearfully as he looked towards Su Yuntao, not daring to gaze at his eyes.

"Recall your Spirit. Try to imagine drawing out your spirit." Su Yuntao replied with a cold tone.

The boy tried to for a minute, before a short sickle appeared in his hands. Su Yuntao asked for the boy's left hand and placed it atop the crystal ball he was holding.

"No Spirit Power. You can't become a Spirit Master. It's much better to use this Spirit for farming related-stuff rather than for battles. For now, step aside." Su Yuntao paid no heed to the boy's emotion as he spoke rather harshly.

"Next!"

Similar scenes soon continued to play out. All of them were pickaxes, sickles, or other farm tools. All of them also had no spirit power. It was until a small freckled girl stepped.

A blue little grass materialized above the girl's right hand. Tang Beixuan recognized this. It was his mother's, Ah Yin's, spirit!

Su Yuntao's eyes showed great disappointment the moment he saw this. He spoke,

"A trash spirit. It doesn't have the potential for attacks, doesn't have defensive power, and doesn't have any assisting abilities. This spirit can also be considered the standard of useless abilities." [2]

Tang Beixuan felt anger at his statement, though he quickly shook his head as he tried to remain calm.

Next was Tang Beixuan's turn.

Su Yuntao gazed at his body. Seeing the forming outlines of muscle, he shook his head. To him, it was pointless training your body. After all, people relied on Spirits to become stronger.

"Come."

Tang Beixuan stepped towards him, striding with confidence. He extended his right hand as the six stones near Su Yuntao's body rotated and came closer to his hand.

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[1] - Chinese word for Elder Brother.

[2] - Fun fact: In the Chinese forums, he's dubbed as the "Blind Douluo" for coining the Blue Silver Grass as "useless."