The gray light continued to gather above the Awakening Crystal.
Every eye in the Martial Soul Hall was fixed on the platform.
Even the elders leaned forward.
Finally, the light condensed into a tangible form.
It was...
A tiny gray sapling.
Barely a foot tall, its trunk was thin and withered, with only a single dull leaf clinging to one of its fragile branches. It swayed gently as though a slight breeze could snap it in half.
Silence filled the hall.
The spectators stared blankly.
"...A tree?"
"No... it's just a sapling."
"What kind of Martial Soul is that?"
Elder Gu raised a hand, and a bronze mirror flew into the air. Its surface shimmered as it examined the Martial Soul.
After a few moments, glowing characters appeared across the mirror.
Martial Soul: Gray Sapling.
Grade: Mortal Grade One.
Elder Gu's brows furrowed.
"Mortal Grade One..."
His words echoed throughout the hall.
"The lowest rank."
For a heartbeat, the square remained silent.
Then laughter erupted from every direction.
"Hahaha! The son of those geniuses awakened a Mortal Grade One Martial Soul!"
"I thought he would become the pride of Azure Maple City."
"A worthless sapling? Even a firewood axe has more value!"
Some of the youths shook their heads in pity.
Others couldn't hide their smug smiles.
Lin Yuan looked up at the gray sapling floating behind him.
Its faint aura was so weak that it could barely be sensed.
He had imagined countless possibilities over the years.
A sword.
A dragon.
A blazing flame.
Never had he expected this.
Elder Gu sighed softly.
"Lin Yuan, your Martial Soul possesses almost no offensive or supportive abilities. Your cultivation speed will also be extremely slow."
"The Hall can only judge your future based on its current rank."
Lin Yuan nodded silently.
"I understand."
His voice remained calm, though his heart felt heavy.
Just then, a graceful figure stepped onto the platform.
She wore a flowing white dress, her beauty drawing countless admiring glances.
It was Mu Qingxue, the daughter of the City Lord.
She and Lin Yuan had grown up together.
Years ago, both families had agreed that they would marry once they came of age.
She looked at Lin Yuan's Martial Soul for a long moment before speaking softly.
"Lin Yuan."
"Our engagement..."
"...should end here."
The words were gentle, but they struck harder than any blade.
The crowd immediately understood.
A genius could never marry someone whose future had already been decided.
Lin Yuan met her eyes.
There was disappointment in them, but no malice.
She simply accepted the reality of this world.
After a long silence, he gave a faint smile.
"I understand."
"You deserve someone whose path matches yours."
Mu Qingxue hesitated before bowing slightly.
"I'm... sorry."
She turned and walked away.
Moments later, her own awakening began.
Brilliant blue light burst into the sky.
A majestic ice phoenix spread its wings behind her, releasing a chilling aura that swept across the square.
Gasps echoed everywhere.
"Heaven Grade Three Martial Soul!"
"The Ice Phoenix!"
"A once-in-a-century genius!"
Several sect elders who had been quietly observing from the balconies immediately stood.
One after another, they invited Mu Qingxue to join their sects.
The contrast was painfully obvious.
One was celebrated as the future of Azure Maple City.
The other had become its greatest disappointment.
Lin Yuan quietly stepped down from the platform.
No one stopped him.
No one looked at him anymore.
As he walked through the streets, whispers followed wherever he went.
"The genius has fallen."
"What a pity."
"I suppose bloodlines aren't everything."
By the time the sun began to set, Lin Yuan had returned to the small courtyard where he had lived alone for the past ten years.
The gray sapling floated quietly within his spiritual sea.
Looking at it, he sighed.
"So... you're my Martial Soul."
The sapling gave no response.
Yet, for some reason, he felt a strange connection to it.
It seemed... alive.
Not merely as a Martial Soul, but as though it possessed a faint will of its own.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the lone gray leaf on the sapling quivered ever so slightly.
A tiny thread of spiritual energy drifting through the air was silently drawn into the sapling.
The movement was so subtle that no ordinary cultivator would have noticed it.
Lin Yuan's eyes widened.
"...Did you just absorb spiritual energy on your own?"
The sapling became still once more, as if nothing had happened.
But deep within its roots, a faint emerald light flickered for the briefest moment before disappearing.
Lin Yuan frowned.
Perhaps...
This insignificant Martial Soul wasn't as ordinary as everyone believed.