Rise in Douluo Continent with the help of bean buns

The Awakening Hall is actually just a slightly larger mud-brick house, which is usually locked and left unused, and is only cleaned out during the annual awakening season.

At this moment, a large crowd had already gathered at the entrance of the hall. Parents led their children, chattering excitedly, their anticipation mixed with nervousness.

Most of the children were five or six years old, with a bewildered look on their faces. Their parents repeatedly told them to be obedient, to exert themselves, and to activate their soul power.

Lin Chen walked over and stood quietly at the back of the line. He was thin but stood very steadily, which was out of place with the noisy atmosphere around him.

The parents around him glanced at him but didn't pay much attention.

An orphan with no parents is lucky to even scrape together the awakening fee; no one has any expectations of him. Some even gossip privately, saying he might have stolen the money to make up the difference, and that he'll cry when he awakens with zero soul power.

Lin Chen remained expressionless, his eyes lowered, silently going over the optimal plan for the awakening process in his mind.

[Real-time body monitoring: Excellent condition, stable soul power seed, abundant mental energy, awakening conditions are at the optimal level.]

Receiving Doubao's feedback reassured him.

After waiting for about half an hour, the village headman accompanied Deacon Li over.

Deacon Li was in his forties, wearing the standard gray robe of the Martial Soul Hall, his face showing the numbness and perfunctoriness of years spent running around at the grassroots level.

He yawned and waved his hand: "Alright, everyone line up. Six-year-olds, come in one by one. Those who are older, don't bother."

He then pushed open the door to the Awakening Hall and went inside first.

Parents quickly pushed their children forward, and the line moved a little further.

The palace doors were open, revealing the scene inside: in the center of the room stood a jet-black awakening stone, next to which stood a soul power crystal ball about half a person's height, and in the corner were tables and chairs for registration.

The children went in one after another, and came out one after another.

Most of them were dejected, and their parents also sighed. It was clear that they had zero soul power and had not even awakened a decent martial soul.

Occasionally, a child awakens a level one soul power or a farm tool martial soul, and the parents are overjoyed, as if they've won the lottery, and they drag their child around telling everyone.

Lin Chen stood at the back of the line, watching silently.

Even with a level one soul power and a beast spirit, one can only reach the level of a Great Soul Master at most in this lifetime, still struggling at the bottom. There's nothing to envy.

His path was different from these people's from the very beginning.

The sun rose higher and higher, and the line grew shorter and shorter. The dozen or so children at the front were at most at the second level of the Innate Realm, and they only possessed a Stone Shovel Martial Soul; they were already considered the hope of the entire village.

Soon, only two or three people remained in front.

"Next up, Wang Hu!"

Muramasa's voice came from inside the hall, and a chubby-faced boy ran in. A moment later, Deacon Li's voice came: "Weapon Soul Stone Hammer, Innate Soul Power Level 2. Not bad, keep practicing."

The boy's father immediately rushed in with a smile, thanked the steward repeatedly, and led his child out triumphantly.

A chorus of envious compliments rippled through the crowd.

  

"Next up, Lin Chen!"

When Muramasa called out the name, the murmurs outside stopped abruptly, and everyone's eyes turned to the boy at the end of the line.

There was curiosity, disdain, and waiting to see the joke.

Lin Chen remained expressionless as he stepped out of the group and entered the Awakening Hall with steady steps.

The light inside the hall was not bright; the Awakening Stone and the Crystal Ball emitted a faint, cold light, and dust particles floated slowly within the beams of light.

Deacon Li sat in his chair, idly twirling his pen without even looking up: "Place your hand on the Awakening Stone, concentrate your mind and calm your spirit, and draw upon the soul power within your body." His tone was as perfunctory as usual, clearly showing that he had no expectations for this orphan.

"Yes."

Lin Chen responded with a soft, calm voice, showing no sign of nervousness. He stepped forward, extended his right hand, palm down, and gently pressed it onto the cool Awakening Stone.

The stone's surface had a frosted texture, and as soon as you touched it, a gentle pulling force entered through your palm and probed towards the soul power seed in your dantian.

Lin Chen steadied himself and, following the method Doubao had taught him beforehand, slowly relaxed his mind, guiding the faint seed of soul power within his dantian to rise slowly with the pull.

hum-

The Awakening Stone trembled slightly, and a pale blue halo shone from within the stone, spreading up his palm and gradually enveloping his entire arm.

The light was soft and not dazzling, without any towering beams of light or powerful fluctuations of energy; it was ordinary and unremarkable.

Deacon Li raised his eyelids, glanced at the pale blue light, scoffed, and lowered his head again.

A plant-type martial soul. It's just the most ordinary light blue halo, clearly a useless martial soul made of weeds or vines, nothing special.

For decades, the border villages have never produced a single top-grade plant-based martial soul.

The light grew brighter and brighter, eventually coalescing into a shape in Lin Chen's palm.

The moment the halo faded, a slender and delicate vine floated quietly on his palm.

The leaves are a light sky blue, the stems are slender and soft, and the top is topped with two small tender leaves that swayed gently in the air, so delicate that they seemed as if they would break with a gust of wind.

There were no sharp barbs, no powerful aura, and no unusual phenomena.

It is the most common and universally recognized useless martial soul in Douluo Continent - Blue Silver Grass.

The hall fell silent for a moment. Muramasa sighed and looked away.

It really is a useless martial spirit.

Deacon Li finally raised his head, glanced at the Blue Silver Grass in Lin Chen's palm, and showed no surprise. Instead, it seemed as if his guess had been confirmed, and his tone was indifferent and casual: "Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass. A useless martial soul, not worth cultivating."

He raised his chin and pointed to the crystal ball next to him: "Go over there and test your soul power."

Lin Chen withdrew his hand, but the Blue Silver Grass in his palm did not dissipate; it swayed gently according to his will.

He glanced down at it.

Slender, delicate, and as ordinary as the wild grass that can be seen everywhere by the roadside.

Yet this very wild grass once stood atop the continent ten thousand years ago, known as the Blue Silver Emperor, ruling over all plants. Others considered it useless, but only he knew the immense potential hidden within it.

There was no sense of loss or resentment in my heart, only a calm feeling of everything having settled down.

It really is Blue Silver Grass. Exactly as expected.

He turned and walked to the soul power crystal ball, placing his palm on it.

A cool sensation came through, and the next second, a pale blue light slowly lit up from the bottom of the crystal ball, climbing upwards step by step.

One square, two squares, three squares.

The light finally stopped steadily at the third position, no longer rising, with uniform brightness and no flickering.

Innate soul power, level three.

The villagers outside the temple heard the commotion and gathered at the door to watch. Upon seeing what they saw, they began to discuss it amongst themselves.

"Level three? He actually has level three soul power?"

"Blue Silver Grass, level three innate? That's rare. Aren't they usually level zero or one?"

"So what if it's level three? My spirit is Blue Silver Grass! A useless spirit is a useless spirit. No matter how high my spirit power is, it's useless. The upper limit is locked."

"That's true. No matter how good the water is, it can't hold much if it's in a broken jar."

Deacon Li was also taken aback for a moment. He put down his pen and walked over, staring at the crystal ball for a few seconds before turning back to look at the Blue Silver Grass in Lin Chen's palm, his brows furrowing.

Having been an Awakening Master for decades, he had seen countless Blue Silver Grasses, most of which were at level zero or one, with level two being quite rare. This was the first time he had ever encountered a Blue Silver Grass at the innate level three.

But the surprise was only momentary.

He quickly regained his indifferent expression, shook his head, and spoke in a tone as flat as if stating a perfectly ordinary fact:

"Most ordinary Blue Silver Grass cultivators have innate soul power of zero to two levels, while you have three, which seems slightly better. But it's useless."

He pointed to the Blue Silver Grass in Lin Chen's palm, his tone carrying a hint of habitual assertion:

"The essence of a useless martial soul is locked, resulting in slow cultivation speed, trash soul skills, and a broken evolution path. Your slight advantage in soul power might give you a little speed advantage in the early stages, but it's completely useless later on."

"The highest level I can reach in this lifetime is only the Great Soul Master. I will remain mediocre for life and never amount to anything."

The words were blunt and harsh, showing no mercy whatsoever.

For him, this was simply stating the truth. This had been the fate of all Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters for millennia, without exception.

Muramasa sighed beside him, wanting to say something comforting, but after opening his mouth, he only patted Lin Chen on the shoulder and didn't say anything.

They couldn't even find words of comfort—after all, what Deacon Li said was the truth, a truth universally acknowledged throughout the continent.

Lin Chen raised his eyes and glanced at Deacon Li.

The boy's eyes were calm, without any resentment, anger, or bitterness, as if he had just heard something insignificant.

"Thank you, Deacon."

He nodded slightly, his tone flat, revealing no emotion.

He then withdrew his hand, and the Blue Silver Grass in his palm slowly shrank back into his body and disappeared.

There was no argument, no questioning, and no crying like other children.

Deacon Li seemed somewhat surprised and raised an eyebrow.

When children hear that they have a useless martial spirit, they either cry, panic, or keep asking if there is any way to fix it.

The child was calm, so calm that he didn't seem like a six-year-old.

He didn't think much of it and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, you've registered. Go on."

"Um."

Lin Chen responded and turned to walk out of the hall.

His back was ramrod straight, his steps unhurried, just as when he came in. It was as if he wasn't the one who had just been publicly condemned as "mediocre for life."

Stepping out of the Awakening Hall, the sunlight outside was a bit dazzling.

The villagers gathered outside immediately looked over, pointing and whispering, their comments reaching his ears without any attempt to conceal their presence.

Mocking, regretful, and gossipy gazes—all sorts of eyes fell on him.

Lin Chen didn't stop walking; he kept his eyes straight ahead and headed straight for his own courtyard.

Those words brushed past his ears like the wind, leaving no trace in his heart.

Summer insects can't talk about ice.

These people, trapped in border villages their whole lives, have a world view limited to the size of a well opening; the "upper limit" in their eyes is never their final destination.

A useless martial spirit? Mediocre? Stuck at the Great Soul Master level?

He wanted to see if this so-called destiny could be broken.

Back in the courtyard, after closing the door and bolting it, Lin Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't because he was nervous, but because he was eager to know just how much room for improvement there was in the origin of this Blue Silver Grass.

"Doubao," he said in a deep voice as he sat down cross-legged, "deeply analyze the origin of my martial soul, its structure, flaws, and evolutionary path, analyze it all."

[Command received. Deep analysis of the Martial Soul's origin initiated. This analysis involves the core origin of the Martial Soul, which is extremely resource-intensive, estimated to consume 80% of your mental energy. Please prepare accordingly.]

"start."

The next second, a strong wave of dizziness suddenly hit him, more intense than any previous analysis. Lin Chen groaned, clutching his forehead, cold sweat instantly seeping from his temples.

He gritted his teeth and held on.

This is his martial spirit, the foundation of everything he will ever have. No matter how much it costs him, he must analyze it thoroughly.

Time passed by, second by second.

Five minutes... ten minutes... fifteen minutes...

The analysis process was long and painful, and his mental energy was rapidly depleted like a tide. In the end, Lin Chen's consciousness began to become somewhat blurred.

Just when he was about to give up, Doubao's voice finally rang out.

Analysis complete.

Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass (Ordinary Plant Type)

Innate Soul Power Level: Level 3 (actually measured at Level 3.2, slightly higher than the value detected by the Awakening Stone)

Original structure assessment:

-Advantages: The plant-based source has an extremely high purity of 97%, with almost no impurities, far exceeding that of ordinary Blue Silver Grass (usually 60%-70%).

- Defects: The soul power circulation path has 17 structural redundancies, resulting in low cultivation efficiency; the root system absorption mode is primitive, with a nutrient conversion rate of less than 30%; soul skill adaptability is extremely poor, with a rejection rate of over 80% for high-level soul rings.

-Evolutionary Potential: Its origin is extremely pure, possessing complete evolutionary genes of a plant-type emperor, but no one has been able to activate it for ten thousand years, leading to its misconception as a "useless martial soul."

Optimize space assessment:

- Corrected the soul power circulation path, increasing cultivation efficiency by over 300%.

- Optimized root absorption patterns can increase nutrient conversion rates to over 90%.

- Reconstructed the soul skill adaptation logic, theoretically compatible with plant soul rings up to 100,000 years old.

-Complete evolutionary path: Ordinary Blue Silver Grass → Optimized Blue Silver Grass → Blue Silver King → Blue Silver Emperor → Blue Silver Emperor, all five-tier evolutions are feasible.

Core conclusion: This is a top-tier plant-based martial soul, buried by millennia of flawed cultivation methods. Its purity is unparalleled. Theoretically, its potential is limitless, provided the optimization path is correct.

Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes, a light shining in them.

Although his mental energy was almost exhausted and his head was still buzzing, he was unusually calm.

Just as he expected.

No, it was even better than he had expected.

With a purity of 97%, all five evolutionary paths are feasible, theoretically with no ceiling.

Deacon Li is right. Ordinary Blue Silver Grass is indeed a useless martial soul, with its upper limit locked, destined for mediocrity for life.

But that's Blue Silver Grass for ordinary people.

His blue silver grass has bean buns.

He can correct the flawed cultivation methods that others cannot change. He can navigate the dead-end paths of evolution that others cannot traverse.

A useless martial spirit?

From this day forward, let this weed, despised by the whole world, grow step by step into a ruler that governs all plants in his hands.

Lin Chen slowly stood up, leaning against the wall, walked to the window, and opened it.

The afternoon sun streamed in, falling on him, warm and bright.

Awakening is just the beginning.

The real journey begins now.