The story started in Sunnywood City, Skymoon Country.

In the mansion of the Sus, a ceremony of Martial Soul awakening was being held in a huge martial practice field.

An altar stood in the center of the martial practice field.

Many elders and disciples of the Sus were clustered in the field, watching the ceremony.

"Rank 2 Human Class Martial Soul!"

"Rank 3 Human Class Martial Soul!"

"Rank 3 Human Class Martial Soul!"

The elder hosting the ceremony continuously announced the ranks of the Su disciples' awakened Martial Souls.

The level of the Martial

Soul indicated the cultivating talent of martial artists. Both Rank 2

and Rank 3 Human Class Martial Soul were common Martial Souls and were

considered mediocre.

Many people in the martial practice field fixed their eyes on two young men who were standing in the front row.

One was dressed in teal clothes, and the other one was wearing purple clothes. They were both quite handsome.

The young man in teal was called Su Mo, the young master of the Sus and the son of the Master of the Sus.

The young man in purple was the son of the First Elder of the Sus.

They both were seeded disciples with great talents among all inferiors, especially Su Mo.

The young master had

accomplished Lv 9 Body Tempering Realm at the age of 15, and he was

endowed with the highest talent among all inferiors.

Therefore, everyone looked forward to seeing what levels of Martial Souls they would awaken.

In the first row, Su Yu,

dressed in purple clothes, glanced at Su Mo, who was next to him. He

sneered and said, "You're called the top genius of the entire Su clan. I

hope that you can awaken a Martial Soul that is well worthy of your

identity."

The eyes of Su Yu were

full of sarcasm. He had an extremely high talent, but Su Mo was spoken

more highly of than him in the Su clan.

The so-called nickname of top genius made Su Mo so famous that he stole Su Yu's honors.

As a result, Su Yu could only be second to him every time.

Su Yu was so furious, because even the lady he liked had a crush on Su Mo.

Now, his opportunity had

finally arrived. As long as he could awaken a Martial Soul with a

higher level than that of Su Mo, he would claim the title of first

genius among the Sus.

However, Su Mo was unprovoked. He did not say anything, because he clearly knew Su Yu's hostility toward him.

Then, the hosting elder exclaimed,

"Next up, Su Mo!"

Su Mo instantly strode onto the altar.

Right at this moment,

all people fixed their eyes on him and the entire martial practice field

immediately quietened. They were wondering what the level of Martial

Soul Su Mo, the first genius of the Su clan, could awaken.

After entering the altar, Su Mo sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly closed.

Glowing runes emerged consecutively beneath the altar and entered into Su Mo's body.

The surrounding disciples of the Sus started to whisper after Su Mo entered the altar.

"Can you guess which level of Martial Soul brother Su Mo can awaken?"

"As the young master, the level of his Martial Soul must be very high."

"You're right. He has

accomplished Lv 9 Body Tempering Realm at less than 15 years old, so

he'll awaken a Martial Soul with an extremely high level."

Amidst the disciples' heated discussion, more and more sparkling runes floated above the altar and enveloped Su Mo's body.

With his legs crossed and eyes closed, Su Mo started to breathe quickly, and roaring sounds gradually arose.

Everyone stopped breathing and stared closely at the altar.

Boom!

Finally, with a mighty booming sound, a dark shadow abruptly rose from his body.

This dark shadow was a huge vortex, inside which was a bottomless black hole, making people feel a chill.

At the same time, a yellow halo appeared above the shadow.

Ah!

All the Sus were instantly glassy-eyed.

"Why is there only one halo?"

"His Martial Soul is Rank 1 Human Class?"

"How is this possible?"

Everyone was stunned, and even Su Yu felt startled with his mouth agape.

He had not expected that Su Mo would only awaken a Rank 1 Human Class Martial Soul.

The Rank 1 Human Class Martial Soul was the lowest one and totally useless.

Seated on the altar with his legs crossed, Su Mo slowly opened his eyes. He was also dumbfounded when he saw his Martial Soul.

"Rank 1 Human Class

Martial Soul..." Su Mo murmured with a bitter smile on his lips. He had

never thought that he would awaken a lowest rank Martial Soul.

After a while, everyone regained consciousness, and the martial practice field was suddenly in an uproar.

"Oh my, my eyes must be playing tricks on me. It's a Rank 1 Human Class Martial Soul, the totally useless one?"

"He awakened a useless Martial Soul. Crap, I can't believe I anticipated for so long!"

"He isn't a genius, but the most useless person in our clan!"

"..."

All the spectators were talking about the matter, and all the elders and inferiors of the Sus changed their view of Su Mo.

They used to look at him with respect and admiration, but now, they were looking at him with disappointment and contempt.

On the altar, Su Mo managed to slowly stand up with his fists clenched.

He looked around and saw their expressions. "What snobbish people they are!" Su Mo smiled satirically in his heart.

Previously, when he was

considered to be highly talented, all of them showed their respect to

him. Wherever he went, they all swarmed to him and kissed his ass.

Now, after he awakened a useless Martial Soul, they all instantly looked at him with contempt.

After a while, Su Mo took a deep breath and strode off the altar.

"Next one, Su Yu!" exclaimed the hosting elder.

Glancing at Su Mo, he shook his head secretly. The former genius was a genius no more!

Upon hearing this, Su Yu walked toward the altar with a prideful look.

When he passed by Su Mo,

he coldly laughed and disdainfully said, "I used to regard you as my

rival. But from now on, the rivalry is gone, and I'll tread you under my

foot forever!"

Su Yu felt extremely

happy. Now that Su Mo had awakened the lowest rank Martial Soul, Su Mo

would not even be eligible to lick his shoes.

Even if he awakened a bad Martial Soul, it would still be higher than Su Mo's.

Su Yu strode onto the altar after saying these words.

Without responding to his provocation, Su Mo returned to the martial practice field and calmly observed the ceremony.

Standing in the martial

practice field, he felt some disparaging eyes fixed upon him and saw the

disdainful expressions of disciples around him.

Su Mo's heart could not stop twitching. After all, the feeling of falling from heaven to hell was indeed torture.

Now, Su Yu sat on the altar cross-legged. The glowing runes emerged from the black alter and all entered his body.

The martial practice field quieted down again, and everyone looked forward to seeing his Martial Soul.

Su Mo had awakened a useless Martial Soul, so it was impossible that Su Yu would awaken another useless one.

Otherwise, the Sus would become a joke in Sunnywood City.

Howl!

As everyone was anticipating, a beast's roar abruptly came out from Su Yu's body.

A giant virtual shadow of a snake rose above the head of him, triumphantly.

There were five dazzling yellow halos around the python's shadow.

The hosting elder was

stunned at the sight of his Martial Soul. Then, he shouted excitedly,

"Five halos! It's a Rank 5 Human Class Martial Soul —Iron-scaled

Python."

The Rank 5 Human Class

Martial Soul was the highest one in all of Sunnywood City. Finally,

another genius had appeared in the Sus.

The entire martial practice field fell into silence at the sight of Su Yu's Martial Soul.

Then, it was in an uproar again.

"Rank 5 Human Class Martial Soul!"

"Haha! The top genius appeared in the Su clan."

"Brother Su Yu turned out to be the first genius of our Su clan. Su Mo is nothing!"

"You're right! Su Mo only has a useless Martial Soul. He can't be compared with Su Yu!"

All disciples of the Sus looked at Su Yu with admiration.

On the altar, Su Yu saw that he awakened a Rank 5 Human Class Martial Soul and heard the surprise and admiration from the crowd.

A thick of pride arose

in his heart and felt that everything was beautiful. He was full of high

spirits and thought that no one could rival him.

He arrogantly turned to

Su Mo and looked at him with eyes full of sarcasm, as if to say, "I will

always tread you under my foot from now on."

After seeing Su Yu's

proud look and hearing the praise from the crowd, Su Mo sighed in his

heart and left the martial practice field.

Su Mo went straight back to his yard after leaving the martial practice field.

Sitting on a stone bench, he moped over what happened at the awakening ceremony.

He was also surprised that he had such a low-rank Martial Soul.

"It's been 14 years!" Su Mo murmured distractedly.

He was actually not born in this world and came from the Earth.

He had been a mercenary in the 21st century. To be exact, he was a king of mercenaries, a legendary hero in the field.

As an orphan, he had lived with his relatives since he was a child. At the age of 17, he decided to drop out of school and join the army.

After two years' training, Su Mo was recruited into the strongest special forces in China for his excellent martial skills and soon became the top member of the special forces.

Within four years, Su Mo had successfully executed nearly 100 national military missions.

Su Mo had thought that he would devote his entire life to his motherland, to the army. But unfortunately, he had got discharged from the army for an accident and left the army dismally.

After returning home, he could not fit into normal society or find a job because he had no diploma, skills, or network.

Half sitting around for six months, Su Mo decided to embark on a new journey.

He enlisted several past comrades in arms and formed Dragon Soul, a small mercenary organization.

In the ensuing years, Su Mo and the Dragon Soul Mercenary Group travelled all over the world.

They were on the spot in all wars, including ones in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia.

The Dragon Soul Mercenary Group developed rapidly from its initial size of a few people into dozens, hundreds, and finally, thousands of people.

It went from an unknown small organization into a powerful mercenary army that ruled over a dark world.

Dragon Soul Mercenary had never failed its missions. For the right price, the organization could accomplish any mission, like destroying the army of a small country or overthrowing governments.

Last year, Dragon Soul Mercenary even defeated Blackblood Mercenary, which used to be the top mercenary organization in the world, thus becoming the new ruler of the mercenary field.

As the leader of Dragon Soul Mercenary, Su Mo was regarded as king of all mercenaries.

One could say that his name remained a taboo in the dark world. When he stomped his foot, the entire dark world would shake.

However, no one could keep his shoes dry if he always walked along the riverside. In the end, he was completely betrayed!

He was sold out by his most trusted brothers and died with his enemies in a trap.

After being in this world for 14 years, he was fully adapted and had almost completely forgotten his previous life.

He was greatly curious about this world, which was a very magical place that was completely different from Earth.

This continent was called Firmament and Continent and had a vast and unmeasurable landscape.

This world highly revered martial arts and believed in survival of the fittest. The strong were worshipped like kings, while the weak were crushed like ants.

If a person could achieve grand completion in cultivation, he would possess the most powerful skills and could travel to anywhere he wanted in the universe.

A powerful martial artist could access unlimited power, status, money and women.

In order to become a powerful martial artist, one needed to awaken his Martial Soul, absorb Spiritual Qi from the heaven and earth, fortify his body, and refine his genuine Qi.

There were countless types of Martial Souls with varying levels of strength.

They were divided into three classes, namely heaven, earth and human class, each of which was classified into nine ranks.

The higher a martial artist's level of Martial Soul, the stronger his power and potential were, and the faster his ability to cultivate was.

After coming to this world, Su Mo had worked very hard to cultivate.

He did this because he wanted to explore this big and exciting world.

In his previous life, he had been a powerful man and ruled the whole world.

In this present life, he still wanted to be a strong man who could overlook others.

However, today's Martial Soul awakening ceremony was a humbling slap to the face.

His dream was wonderful, but the reality was much too cruel.

Suddenly, a deep voice sounded at the door and brought him back to his senses.

"Mo'er."

The voice belonged to a tall and solemn middle-aged man. He was Su Hong, the Master of the Sus.

Upon seeing Su Mo, Su Hong tried to comfort him, saying, "Stop thinking about your Martial Soul. You may have a weaker one, but if you try your hardest to cultivate, you'll still become powerful one day."

Su Mo gave him a bitter smile, thinking, "My Martial Soul isn't just weaker. It's the weakest one."

"Don't worry, Father. I'll work harder!" he said, forcing a smile.

He knew that his father was comforting him.

Everyone knew that the level of one's Martial Soul decided his future accomplishments. The stronger the Martial Soul one awakened, the further one would go in martial arts.

This was an indisputable law.

It was impossible for him to become powerful with his Rank 1 Human Class Martial Soul.

"Good." Su Hong nodded.

He took out a jade jar and handed it to Su Mo, saying, "This is a Qi Condensation Elixir that'll help you break through your cultivation and enter the Qi Cultivation Realm."

"Father..."

Su Mo felt his heart ache. After he awakened a Rank 1 Human Class Martial Soul, he would be considered as a total failure to cultivate.

Qi Condensation Elixir was so priceless that the Sus could not have bought it for him, so Su Hong must have bought it with his own money.

Su Mo accepted this elixir, and the two chatted for a while before Su Hong left.

"What type of Martial Soul have I awakened?"

Su Mo was not in a haste to take the elixir after his father left. Instead, he sat cross-legged in his room and released his Martial Soul.

A dark vortex surrounded by a shining yellow halo suspended quietly above him.

"What special skills does it have? I'd better cultivate it for a while."

Su Mo calmed his heart, used his mind to connect with the Martial Soul, and sensed the Spiritual Qi from heaven and earth

The black vortex began to slowly rotate, and the center of the vortex emitted a strong suction force.

Wisps of Spiritual Qi converged toward Su Mo and entered his body.

He was soon immersed in cultivating and drove his Martial Soul to continuously absorb the Spiritual Qi.

After a long time, Su Mo stopped.

He opened his eyes with a hint of surprise.

"My Martial Soul is Rank 1 Human Class, but its cultivating pace equals the speed of Rank 2 Human Class."

Su Mo had met many martial artists whose Martial Souls were of the Rank 2 Human Class, and his Martial Soul was no worse than theirs.

This unexpected surprise greatly alleviated his depression.

After some pondering, Su Mo realized that this speed was probably related to the property of his Martial Soul.

His Martial Soul was a vortex which naturally had the property of suction.

Therefore, it was normal for his Martial Soul to absorb Spiritual Qi at a speed that equaled that of Rank 2 Human Class Martial Soul.

He took out the Qi Condensation Elixir his father had given to him and prepared to enter the Qi Cultivation Realm.

At the beginning of the martial arts journey, one must complete Lv 9 Body Tempering Realm. Then, one could awaken the Martial Soul to absorb Spiritual Qi, refine genuine Qi, and enter the Qi Cultivation Realm.

Only after entering the Qi Cultivation Realm would one be considered a true martial artist.

As soon as he swallowed the Qi Condensation Elixir, its effects immediately surged throughout his body.

Su Mo hurriedly ushered its powers into his elixir field and started to refine genuine Qi.

Time slowly passed. After four hours, Su Mo abruptly opened his eyes, and a sliver of light flashed in his eyes.

At this moment, a mass of vaporous genuine Qi had gathered in his elixir field.

The Qi Condensation Elixir was proven to be worthy and had helped him enter Lv 1 Qi Cultivation Realm.

The next morning, Su Mo got up early, freshened up, and headed into the Book Collection Pavilion.

The Book Collection Pavilion, a four-storey tower, was where the Sus stored scrolls of martial arts.

Before Su Mo had awakened his Martial Soul, he could only study the elementary martial arts on the first floor. Now that he had awakened his Martial Soul, and his cultivation was at Lv 1 Qi Cultivation Realm, he could choose cultivation skill and martial skill suited for him.

There were nine levels of cultivation skill and martial skill.

Each level was divided into three grades: Lower, Medium, and Upper.

Martial artists who used higher grade cultivation skill were naturally more powerful.

"Elder, I want to choose a scroll on the second floor," Su Mo said, saluting the pavilion protector as he stepped into the Book Collection Pavilion.

"The second floor?"

The pavilion protector, a fat old man, said indifferently, "Su Mo, the second floor can only be accessed by those whose cultivation is at the Qi Cultivation Realm. No exceptions."

"I know that, elder. My cultivation is at Lv 1 Qi Cultivation Realm," Su Mo nodded and said.

"Lv 1 Qi Cultivation Realm?" The pavilion protector was stunned. Then, he said with a cold expression, "Su Mo, you just awakened your Martial Soul yesterday, and it was at Rank 1 Human Class. How could you be at the Qi Cultivation Realm so soon with that crappy Martial Soul? Even if you had a Rank 3 Human Class Martial Soul, it wouldn't be possible. Are you kidding me?"

"Humph! You'll see!"

Su Mo released an aura of Lv 1 Qi Cultivation Realm with a serious expression.

Then, he turned around and went up to the second floor of the Book Collection Pavilion, leaving the pavilion protector behind.

"He... he did it!"

The pavilion protector was stunned, but then he laughed disdainfully and said to himself, "The Master must have given him some precious elixir, but he still won't be able to go much further with his crappy Martial Soul."

Su Mo went to the second floor and saw rows of antique bookshelves, which were full of scrolls.

The Sus was one of two main clans in Sunnywood City, so they had many cultivation skills and martial skills. There were almost 100 scrolls on the second floor of the Book Collection Pavilion.

A tall young man was browsing the scrolls there.

"Su Mo!"

The young man was initially surprised to see Su Mo, but then he glared at him with complete disdain.

"Su Heng!" Su Mo glanced back at him.

Su Heng also awakened a Martial Soul yesterday. His Martial Soul was of Rank 4 Human Class Martial Soul, which was not as good as Su Yu's, but a high rank nonetheless.

Since Su Heng was on the second floor, his cultivation must have also reached the Qi Cultivation Realm.

"Well, this is unexpected, Su Mo. I heard yesterday that the Master bought a 'Qi Condensation Elixir' from the Herbs Shop, which is probably what you used to increase your cultivation!"

Su Heng looked at Sumo and said disdainfully, "Otherwise, you wouldn't even be able to reach the Qi Cultivation Realm with that crappy Rank 1 Human Class Martial Soul."

"It's none of your business how I got this cultivation," Su Mo said coldly. Then, he began to browse the manuals and ignored him.

Su Mo knew Su Heng very well.

When Su Mo was still considered the top genius of the Sus, Su Heng had fawned on him, and Su Mo had been very kind to him.

However, Su Heng now had a completely different attitude towards Su Mo.

"Humph! So much for being a genius. You're nothing but a piece of trash!" Su Heng snorted and continued selecting his manuals.

Su Mo picked up a manual in the cultivation skill category and began reading it.

"Raging Fire Skill. Medium Lv 1 Cultivation Skill. The Genuine Qi cultivated through this method has extremely powerful fire power and has a very strong attack..."

Su Mo continued to browse after reading a few pages of this book.

He wanted to read a few more manuals to choose the most suitable cultivation skill.

All of the manuals on this floor were at Medium Lv 1. The manuals of Upper Lv 1 were only on the third floor.

However, those manuals were only available for those whose cultivation was at Lv 7 Qi Cultivation Realm.

"Huge Rock Skill. Medium Lv 1 cultivation skill. The Genuine Qi cultivated through this method is dense and has strong defense..."

"Clouds Skill. Medium Lv 1 cultivation skill. The Genuine Qi cultivated through this method is pure and has equally strong attack and defense..."

After reading several manuals, Su Mo selected Cloud Skill because of its pure genuine Qi and strong attack and defense.

After choosing a cultivation skill, it was time to choose a martial skill.

"Iron Fist. This fistplay is fierce and can easily crack open stones after practicing to the great Completion Realm... "

"Flying Swordplay. This swordsmanship is ethereal, agile, and gorgeous..."

"Breeze Palm..."

"Infinite Push Hands..."

Su Mo was not satisfied with a dozen martial skills that he read.

"Ninefold Ocean Wave Fist?"

Su Mo's eyes brightened when he saw the name of this manual. He could recognize that it was extraordinary.

He opened the manual excitedly. "Ninefold Ocean Wave Fist. Medium Lv 1 Martial Skill. The body is like the sea, and the fist is like a wave. The fist force has many levels, and each level is stronger than the previous one."

"This is the one!" After reading for a moment, Su Mo nodded with satisfaction.

As he was about to leave with the two manuals, Su Heng suddenly blocked him.

"Su Mo, put down Ninefold Ocean Wave Fist," Su Heng shouted arrogantly.

Su Mo glanced at him and asked, "Why should I?"

"I was thinking about taking that manual, and I've decided that I want it, so give it back to me!" Su Heng raised his chin and ordered.

"Give it back to you? It was never yours!"

Su Mo scoffed and said, "The book is mine now, so you're not getting it."

"Are you sure?" Su Heng's eyes grew cold, and he said, "Su Mo, do you know what the consequences of angering me are?"

"What consequences?" Su Mo smiled and said, "I have no idea. Please tell me."

"You're a piece of trash, but you're still so arrogant." Su Heng shouted furiously, "Su Mo, I'll say it again. Give it to me, kneel, and apologize, or I'll break your legs."

"Kneel and apologize, or you'll break my legs?"

A cold light flashed in Su Mo's eyes, and he said indifferently, "I'd like to see you try!"

"You're courting death!"

Su Heng shouted, and his spirit of Lv 1 Qi Cultivation Realm exploded. A yellow light shone behind him, which meant that he was arousing his Martial Soul to attack.

"Stop it!"

At that moment, the pavilion protector said with an icy voice, "No fighting in the Book Collection Pavilion, or you'll be banned for life!"

These words stopped Su Heng.

"Elder, I'm sorry. I won't violate the rules," Su Heng said hastily to the elder, stifling his anger.

Even though he wanted to teach Su Mo a lesson, Su Heng did not dare to violate the rules.

It would be a great loss if he was banned from the Book Collection Pavilion for life.

"Today is your lucky day. I won't let you off next time," Su Heng turned to Su Mo and snarled.

"Idiot!" Su Mo glanced at him and turned to leave.

"What did you say?"

Su Heng became furious again. He glared at the leaving Su Mo and gnashed his teeth in anger.

Since he had awakened a Rank 4 Human Class Martial Soul, his status had risen a lot in the Sus, and others were polite to him.

Today, he was insulted by this useless man with a crappy Martial Soul, and that drove him mad.

"Damn it, I'll make you pay!"