North Frost County, Winter Fortress.

"As we all know, in our Nine Skies Continent, martial arts reign supreme. Powerful martial artists could reach up to the moon and stars, move mountains and drain the sea, slice a star with a leaf, and shift the four seas with one thought!"

"But to become a martial artist, the first step is to awaken the Martial Spirit! To awaken the Martial Spirit, a sky offering ceremony must be held. As long as your hearts are pious enough, you will definitely touch the heavens, and be granted a powerful Martial Spirit..."

In the huge martial arts stage, a sky and earth altar stood tall. At this moment, an elder from the Martial Spirit Hall was standing on it, talking incessantly, moving the thousands of neatly lined up young boys and girls below.

Only a young man standing at the end of the row revealed a hint of disdain in his eyes upon hearing the elder's words.

The boy's name is Ye Tian, a member of Ye family from Winter Fortress. Ye Tian has demonstrated a surprising aptitude since childhood. He can effortlessly master any martial arts moves, as fluent as the flow of clouds and water. At a young age, he has already become the number one prodigy of the Ye family.

Ye Tian's father, Ye Nanfeng, is even known as the strongest genius of Winter Fortress!

Although Ye Nanfeng has been missing for three years now, the saying goes, 'a chip off the old block.' Having been influenced by his father since childhood, Ye Tian naturally holds some contempt for the words of the old man from the hall.

Ye Tian vividly remembers his father secretly telling him when he first got in touch with martial arts that the so-called heavenly-granted Martial Spirit was complete nonsense!

The practice of a martial artist is an act against heaven itself.

The awakening of Martial Spirit should be dictated by man, not dictated by heaven.

Because of this, before leaving, Ye Nanfeng seriously warned Ye Tian of one very serious matter.

That is no matter what, he must not awaken the heaven-given Martial Spirit, even if this Martial Spirit is of the highest quality!

However...

Looking at the thousands of hopeful young boys and girls around him, and his father who has been missing for three years, Ye Tian wasn't sure if he could still abide by his father's promise, and his mood was becoming slightly gloomy.

"Brother Tian, don't be nervous, you are the strongest genius among us. Meng'er believes that you will surely receive heaven's approval in the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony, and be granted the strongest Martial Soul!"

The speaker is a young girl with sparkling eyes and pearly teeth. Her white dress enhances her pure and beautiful appearance, and secretly, many men are casting astonished and envious glances at her.

But no one dares to harbor ulterior motives because Bai Meng'er has already declared that she will marry no one but Ye Tian in this lifetime! Moreover, Ye Tian's martial arts comprehension is second to none in Lǐn Dōng city, and that added to the fact that the Ye Family is a powerful one, no one dares to offend them.

Seeing Ye Tian hand in hand with Bai Meng'er, the couple looked like a match made in heaven, attracting many blessings from people around them.

Ye Tian felt an even greater pressure and looked seriously at Bai Meng'er, "Meng'er, what would you do if I can't awaken my Martial Soul during this Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony?"

"Fail to awaken the Martial Soul? That's impossible! Brother Tian, your joke isn't funny at all." Bai Meng'er's face showed a hint of coyness, completely disregarding Ye Tian's comment.

After all, Ye Tian is the man she has chosen and the strongest genius among all the young people present. How could he not awaken his Martial Soul?

Ye Tian asked in a deep voice: "What if... I really can't awaken my Martial Soul?"

"Stop it, Brother Tian, how could you make such a joke at this time? Alright, if that's really the case, I, Bai Meng'er, swear that I will belong to you in life and death, always remaining by your side. Are you satisfied now?"

Bai Meng'er stuck out her tongue, not taking Ye Tian's words seriously.

This declaration of love between them, had nevertheless calmed Ye Tian's anxious heart, "As long as Meng'er doesn't look down on me, I, Ye Tian, don't care even if I become the laughing stock of thousands of people today."

Soon, the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony reached its climax. The old man from the temple suddenly gestured with his hands, and the altar in the middle of the martial arena suddenly erupted with a mysterious heavenly light.

"The Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony officially begins! Everyone line up, enter the spatial altar to be recognized by heaven!"

Thousands of young men and women who had been waiting for a long time became excited. The young man who was first in line rushed into the spatial altar.

On the altar, a divine light immediately burst forth, as if falling from the nine heavens, entering the body of the young man. The boy screamed aloud, an illusory white stone uncontrollably manifested within his body.

"A first-grade, White Stone Martial Soul, pity, next!" The temple elder recited calmly, triggering gasps from the crowd below the altar.

It was known that in the Nine Heavens Continent, to become a warrior, one must possess a Martial Soul. Even though the Martial Soul awakened by this boy was just the lowest grade, he could now embark on the Martial Path and become a warrior.

"Next, no Martial Soul!"

"Next, no Martial Soul!"

“......”

"Next, a third-grade Wolf Soul! Not bad, not bad, what's your name?" Having tested hundreds of boys and girls without finding any Martial Souls, the temple elder's face had been frozen until he detected a third-grade Martial Soul, then displaying a hint of a smile.

"Haha, Divine Envoy, my name is Ye Linfeng, Linfeng from 'stand tall and graceful as jade trees facing the wind'!" Among the hundreds of people, only Ye Linfeng awakened a third-grade Wolf Soul, which inevitably made him feel smug. At the same time, he couldn't help but stealthily glance at Bai Meng'er, only to find that she was not paying any attention to him, but was fully engaged in conversation with Ye Tian.

Ye Linfeng was so angry he nearly spat blood.

The Heaven Worship Ceremony continued.

“Next, no Martial Soul!"

“Next, a first-grade Martial Soul!"

“......”

"And the next one, it’s another first-grade Martial Soul......”

The temple elder's expression gradually became somewhat impatient.

Ye Tian shook his head slightly, remembering his father's words. The Martial Soul obtained through the Heaven Worship Ceremony is partly dependent on talent, but mostly relies on luck. If they were lucky, they could get a good Martial Soul. If not, they would only acquire the lowest ranked Martial Soul, or even no Martial Soul at all.

"And also..."

A glint appeared in Ye Tian's eyes, as if he thought of something else.

At this moment, those youths who failed to obtain any Martial Soul were crying a river, almost being dragged away by their families. Those who were successful, however, were over the moon, immediately becoming the beloved of the crowd.

This made Bai Meng’er - White Dream Girl, start to feel anxious. "Brother Tian, I don’t know if I can get a Martial Soul."

"Meng'er, don't be nervous, believe in yourself!"

Ye Tian had confidence in Bai Meng’er's talent. Now it all depended on her luck. Just then, another exclamation caught everyone's attention.

"My God, Zhou Chuan, the young master of the Zhou family, has actually been favored by the heavens and given the fourth-ranked Black Dragon Martial Soul!" The warriors in the square were all shocked, increasing Bai Meng'er's nerves.

Ye Tian was a bit surprised, but didn't care that his hand was gripped so tight by Bai Meng’er that it was bleeding. He merely continued to encourage and comfort her.

At the same time, Ye Tian subtly took out a stone ball and touched Bai Meng'er's palm with it.

Gradually, Bai Meng'er became less nervous, and walked towards the Heaven and Earth Worship Altar. Suddenly, a mysterious light column poured into Bai Meng'er's body which then exploded into five divine lights.

"Wow, five colors! Great, Rin Winter City has finally produced another fifth-ranked Martial Soul, the rare White Crane Martial Soul!"

The old man from the temple was drowsy during the test, and even too lazy to communicate with others, but on finding Bai Meng'er possessing a fifth-tier Martial Soul, he unexpectedly perked up and said much more than usual. This immediately stirred up a commotion in the whole arena.

Bai Meng'er's face turned red from excitement, amazed that her awakened Martial Soul was so strong. Even Ye Tian's father, Ye Nanfeng, who's hailed as the greatest prodigy of Rin Winter City, could only awaken a fifth-tier Martial Soul at his prime.

Almost all eyes turned toward Bai Meng'er, and then instinctively glanced at Ye Tian, who was still standing in a corner.

If Bai Meng’er could awaken such a Martial Soul, what kind of Martial Soul would Ye Tian, the son of Ye Nanfeng and the premier genius of the Ye family, awaken?

Everyone was watching, anticipating.

Noticing the crowd's anticipation, even the temple's old man gave Ye Tian an extra glance. "The last one, Ye Tian, step up!”