Heaven Dou City, Martial Soul Awakening Hall.
"What kind of martial soul is that?" the uniformed middle-aged man asked, staring at the silver vortex in confusion.
He tried hard to recall any soul with similar traits but came up blank.
Twelve-year-old Shi Yu curiously studied the martial soul reflected in the mirror.
Beast-type souls and other unique martial souls often didn't appear in the palm, but instead manifested as phantom-like images behind the individual. That's why mirrors were placed in awakening rooms — to allow soul awakeners to better observe their martial souls.
His martial soul was a silver vortex, hazy and indistinct — difficult to discern unless one looked closely.
Shi Yu shook his head. He had no understanding of his martial soul, only a strange sense of familiarity.
Ever since awakening it, he had developed a mysterious attachment to this world — as if he was here and elsewhere at the same time, his sense of place oddly unstable.
"At least I awakened a soul," he muttered, a little dazed while staring into the mirror.
He wasn't from this world. Just ten days ago, "Douluo Continent" had been nothing more than a fictional story to him. But now he was truly here — not just his soul, but his entire body had crossed over, though he had reverted to a younger age.
He used to be twenty. Now he was twelve — something he discovered when his bone age was checked upon arrival.
Still, twelve in this world felt equivalent to sixteen or seventeen back home.
Currently, he stood at about 178 cm tall, with a well-proportioned build — slim in clothes, muscular underneath. He wasn't devastatingly handsome, but certainly attractive enough to turn heads.
Yet he'd been unsure — could someone like him even awaken a martial soul after physically crossing over?
In this world of supernatural strength, lacking a martial soul meant being utterly defenseless. He didn't dream of soaring through the skies or performing miracles, but he wanted some control over his fate — the ability to live securely.
Now that he had a martial soul, he finally relaxed. At least he could cultivate. At least he could defend himself.
"Hey, snap out of it. Let's test your innate soul power," said the middle-aged man, patting his shoulder.
Nervously, Shi Yu placed his hand on the crystal ball.
It lit up brightly. The man's eyes widened — and as the ball filled with light, he cried out:
"Full innate soul power!"
"You... actually have full innate soul power?" he asked in shock, then immediately ran out of the room before Shi Yu could reply.
"…Was that such a big deal?" Shi Yu was speechless. Still, the result was much better than he had hoped.
As someone familiar with the world of Douluo, he understood what full innate soul power meant.
Soon, the man returned — this time with an elderly soul master.
After retesting and confirming the result, the old man was clearly pleased — yet he sighed deeply.
"Why the sigh, sir?" Shi Yu asked curiously.
"It's a pity," the elder replied. "If only you had awakened your martial soul at age six. You're twelve now — you've missed the golden cultivation period."
"From six to twelve is the golden phase to lay your foundation. Those six years could've set you up for rapid growth."
"Without them, your cultivation speed may lag behind even soul masters with lesser talent." He sighed again.
Shi Yu didn't dwell on it. Instead, he asked about his martial soul, which he didn't recognize.
He summoned it once more. Both men observed carefully, but couldn't determine its nature.
They then called for the head of the Awakening Hall — a Soul King-level soul master, considered powerful by most standards.
The man studied it for a long while, then cautiously offered, "It might be space-attributed."
"Space attribute?" the other two gasped. That was incredibly rare.
Shi Yu was also surprised — this soul seemed even better than expected.
"Spatial attribute, full innate power… Your talent is outstanding. But… sigh," the Soul King also let out a breath.
Shi Yu didn't care. After all, he'd never lived in this world as a six-year-old — there was nothing to regret.
He was about to leave and find a quiet place to study his soul.
"Wait," the Soul King called out. "We have cooperation with Shrek Academy. We're tasked with reporting any awakened soul master with full innate power or unique martial souls. You qualify on both counts. We need to submit your profile to them."
"If Shrek's staff believe you're worth nurturing, they might offer you special admission."
"Shrek Academy…" Shi Yu murmured. He knew it well. He neither liked nor disliked it.
"So what do I need to do?" he asked. He had no better options. If he could study there, it wasn't a bad path.
He'd only survived the past ten days because of sheer luck — he had stumbled upon a gold soul coin. Without it, he'd be homeless and starving. And now that coin was almost gone. He had to find a way to survive.
"Don't leave for now. I'll quickly contact Shrek's admissions team in Heaven Dou City. They should be here in an hour or two," said the Soul King.
"Alright," Shi Yu nodded and waited in the Awakening Hall.
Roughly an hour passed before the Shrek representative arrived.
She was a woman in her thirties — not particularly stunning, but soft and gentle in demeanor, someone easy to feel at ease with.
"I'm Song Lingzhen from Shrek Academy. Show me your martial soul," she said after a brief introduction.
Shi Yu cooperated, releasing the silver vortex once again.
Others might not have sensed it clearly, but Song Lingzhen had studied at Shrek. Her sharp eye recognized it immediately.
"Spatial soul… Full innate soul power… Very high potential. But your age…" She glanced over him and frowned slightly.
If he were six years old with that kind of soul and talent, he'd be a prodigy.
At twelve, even with full power, his growth potential had to be downgraded.
"Why didn't you awaken your soul at age six?" she asked.
"I'd rather not say," Shi Yu answered.
He had considered lying, but quickly dismissed the thought. One lie would lead to another, and eventually, he'd be tangled in contradictions. Shrek's background checks were no joke — they'd likely find any falsehood.
Instead of lying, silence was safer. If they refused him because of it, so be it.
He didn't have to enter Shrek Academy — he just thought it was a decent opportunity.
"If you want to join Shrek, it would be better if you cooperated," Song Lingzhen advised.
"I really don't want to talk about it," Shi Yu said calmly. "Please… don't force me."