Morning sunlight shone into the Notting City Spirit Hall branch. Spirit Master Soichiro looked over today's schedule.
'The village I am responsible for this year is... Holy Spirit Village?'
After packing the tools needed for Martial Soul awakening, Soichiro boarded a carriage and set off for that village.
Sitting in the carriage, Soichiro gave the same yearly sigh. Many years had already passed, but every time he thought about why he had come here, envy and jealousy still rose in his heart.
He still remembered how, six years ago, he had received notice that he was being transferred to Notting City. His mind had gone blank. At the time, he had served at a Spirit Hall sub-branch for less than a year.
His Spirit Power level did meet the requirement for a Spirit Adept, but in terms of potential, he should still have been able to reach Spirit Elite or even Spirit Meister in his lifetime. Logically, he should not have been sent to a position that symbolized spent potential.
So he had asked around. He had even gone to his third uncle, who worked as a deacon in a Spirit Hall main branch. He found nothing. Only after he tracked down the Spirit Master named Su Yuntao, who had replaced him at the sub-branch, did he understand what had happened.
Some fellow handling Martial Soul awakenings for the very first time had awakened a child with innate full Spirit Power. That child had even been ordered by the current Pope to be brought to Spirit City.
As the saying went, when one person rose to heaven, even the chickens and dogs around him rose with him. That child had not exactly ascended, but the Spirit Masters here were not chickens or dogs either.
Because of that, the three people in this branch who had the most contact with that child had all been directly transferred up one level.
And for certain reasons, every Spirit Hall branch had been reassigned that year. There had been no open positions left. In the end, someone had to be chosen from the remaining options, and he was picked to switch places with Su Yuntao.
'That guy. Just thinking about that lucky bastard makes me angry. In strength, potential, and even looks, I am clearly better than him. But why did I not have that kind of luck?'
Innate full Spirit Power was incredibly rare. For a tiny place like this to produce even one was already heaven-defying. A second was out of the question.
Since he arrived here six years ago, Soichiro had awakened children in the surrounding villages once each. The results were worse every time.
Across six years, only five children had awakened with Spirit Power. Three of them had only level one Spirit Power. Without resources, whether they could even become Spirit Adepts was uncertain.
'Sigh. Holy Spirit Village. The name is good, at least. I just hope this trip is not another waste.'
Holy Spirit Village, Spirit Hall office.
'Hello, um... Lord Deacon. These are the children our village has for awakening this year.' In the Spirit Hall office every village had, an old man led several children before Soichiro.
'Mm. We will begin the ceremony now. Village Chief, please wait outside.'
'Oh. Yes, yes.'
After the village chief left, Soichiro introduced himself.
'I am Soichiro, a Spirit Hall deacon, a level twenty-eight Spirit Adept, a combat Spirit Master, and my Martial Soul is Black Sword. I will also be your guide...'
After Soichiro finished his introduction, the display and awakening proceeded smoothly.
But the results still disappointed him. At least, until the final child.
Looking at the Blue Silver Grass that appeared in the child's hand, Soichiro sighed in disappointment. 'Another Blue Silver Grass. Three useless Martial Souls out of eight children. Forget it. Hurry up and test the Spirit Power. The chance is probably zero, but once it is done, I can leave.'
The next instant, dazzling light burst from the crystal ball.
'Huff... huff... huff... Hall Master!' Soichiro slammed open the door to the Spirit Hall branch master's office.
'What is it, Soichiro? Why are you in such a hurry? Should you not be handling Martial Soul awakenings today?' The hall master, who had taken office around the same time as Soichiro, paid special attention to this young man who had suffered a similar fate, so he knew a little about Soichiro's daily schedule.
'Hall Master... innate full Spirit Power... I encountered a child with innate full Spirit Power!'
The hall master's expression changed the moment Soichiro finished speaking. As a Spirit Leader, even though his salary had not changed after the transfer, his working environment had. At the end of the day, he still brooded over the fact that he had been transferred downward just because someone else had discovered a genius.
'Come, come. Drink some water and speak slowly. No need to rush. A child who just awakened cannot fly away, can he?' As he spoke, the hall master handed Soichiro a cup of water.
Soichiro had never enjoyed such treatment before. Flattered, he accepted the water, drank it in one breath, and finally calmed down a little. Then he told the hall master about a child named Tang San who had awakened Blue Silver Grass and innate full Spirit Power.
To be honest, even with innate full Spirit Power, the fact that the Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass still made him uneasy. Because of the deeply rooted impression everyone had of it, he truly could not imagine what use Blue Silver Grass could have. Could it grow and wrap around an opponent?
But the obsession in his heart left him unwilling to give up. So what if it was Blue Silver Grass? It was still innate full Spirit Power. He had heard that the child from last time had awakened from a mutated plate-like Martial Soul. Maybe this one was mutated Blue Silver Grass.
With that thought, Soichiro hurried back. He wanted to deliver the news to the hall master immediately.
Compared to Soichiro, who was treating a dead horse like a live one, the hall master had once worked as an ordinary deacon in a Spirit Hall temple. After listening to Soichiro's description, he returned to his chair in thought.
Back then, his position had not been high, but because of the environment, his experience was broader than that of Spirit Masters who had never left their assigned region. This hall master knew that Martial Soul quality mattered.
If Soichiro was not lying, then this Blue Silver Grass with innate full Spirit Power really might be mutated. He simply could not imagine what Blue Silver Grass could mutate into.
There was a second possibility beyond mutation, but that possibility was even smaller. So the hall master did not make a reckless conclusion.
'Innate full Spirit Power Blue Silver Grass. It is a useless Martial Soul, but reporting it is still better than hiding it. The worst result is being scolded. But if it really is mutated...'
At that point, the hall master and Soichiro looked at each other. Both of them had suffered the same kind of frustration, and neither of them was willing to accept it.
'This should count as urgent, right? Then it is time to take this thing out.' After saying that, the hall master pulled a box about the size of a human head out of his desk drawer.
'What is that?' Soichiro leaned forward curiously.
The hall master smiled mysteriously. 'You do not know? This is something invented by that innate full Spirit Power child from before. I think it is called a telephone.'