Forsaken Martial Spirit: The Ascension of Roberto

Golden light rises

"Hmph, unsure about talent, but quite the attitude," Long Tao shook his head repeatedly, casting a sidelong glance at Roberto within the formation, then looking at the village chief and the villagers, sneering disdainfully.

"Allow me to tell you a harsh truth."

"Every commoner child who fails to awaken fancies themselves extraordinary, filled with hope, oblivious to the fact that commoners lack strong ancestors, their bloodlines inadequate. No matter how hard they try, they can never awaken powerful martial souls."

"However, the children of the empire's nobility and major sects, even the most mediocre among them, can awaken martial souls of third grade or higher."

"If it weren't for the supreme kindness of the Temple's Empress, you commoners would likely never have the chance to awaken your martial souls, condemned to a lifetime of servitude."

The children who failed to awaken and their parents felt as though their hearts had been struck by a heavy blow, a weight so heavy they could hardly breathe, feeling a deep sense of humility and despair from within.

Long Tao's emotions inexplicably intensified.

"I look down on you. Is it because you're not honest and loyal enough?" he shouted loudly. "Wrong! It's because you're weak. Being weak means you deserve to be insulted by me and dare not speak back. That's the bloody reality."

The hearts of the commoners were deeply pierced, clenching their fists but lowering their heads in shame.

At that moment, a voice of mockery rang out.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Then may I ask, esteemed temple steward, which prominent family do you hail from?"

Long Tao turned around, seeing Roberto opening his eyes, and since there had been no movement within the formation for so long, his gaze immediately turned contemptuous.

"It seems you are also a useless waste who cannot awaken a martial soul. I thought you were a descendant of a hermit, ready to curry favor with you."

Long Tao admitted openly, "Yes, I, this steward, am of common birth. Having never experienced hardship, how could I advise others to be virtuous? You people have no idea how much I've suffered because of my commoner status."

"If it weren't for the fact that my lizard dragon martial soul contains a hint of noble dragon bloodline, I wouldn't have been able to turn my life around."

He detested his past commoner status and thus despised all commoners.

"The past commoner Long Tao is dead. Now, all of you must address me with respect, as Lord Long Tao." A strong sense of superiority appeared on Long Tao's face, mixed with madness.

"Say I cannot awaken a martial soul?" Roberto's lips curled with a confident curve. "Then you better keep your eyes wide open."

As if in response, a buzz echoed from the hexagram awakening formation.

The obsidian stones lit up one after another rapidly.

"Whoosh!"

One, two... six... all the obsidian stones were activated, shimmering with golden light on the surface.

"This?" Long Tao's pupils contracted. Roberto had stood there for so long without any movement, so Long Tao had already classified him as useless, hence his blunt words. But now, this awakening...

The surrounding villagers and the villagers quickly held their breath. Even those who had no experience could sense the extraordinary aura. When everyone else awakened, it was considered good if two obsidian stones emitted golden light.

"Boom!"

A dazzling golden light soared from the surface of the obsidian stones.

One zhang.

Three zhang!

Five zhang!!

In an instant, it reached six zhang, without any obstruction, and continued to rise.

"My God, it's seven zhang of golden light!" The disheartened and humiliated villagers exclaimed in disbelief.

"No, it's not just that." Isabella affirmed in a low voice. She wouldn't be disappointed in the man chosen by her Nine-Tailed Emperor.

"It's eight... eight zhang." Long Tao was dumbfounded. Even at the peak of his efforts, his golden light only reached five zhang, but that was already enough to completely reverse his fate.

"This... this fellow... how?" He doubted whether he was dreaming, biting his tongue hard. In the moment of clarity, the aura of awakening golden light surrounding Roberto showed no signs of diminishing, instead surging upward to nine zhang in height.

"It's impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!!" Long Tao was pale with shock, his mind echoing like thunder, incredulous shouts escaping his lips.

"You, a mere commoner, how could you reach nine zhang in height? Even the royal family nobles, the geniuses of major clans, achieving such heights is but a legend."

All the villagers saw Long Tao's unprecedented panic, realizing that Roberto's martial soul was probably even more terrifying than they had imagined. Just when they had been hit hard and felt low and timid, their spirits began to rise.

Excited, the villagers threw punches, as if injected with a strong heart stimulant. "Who says we commoners are destined to be bottom-feeders? We also have geniuses in our village!"

"Roberto, you're a good lad. Grandpa Lu knew you could do it." Village Chief Lu showed a grandfatherly smile of satisfaction and affection.

Bathed in golden light, Roberto appeared like a god descending, an exiled immortal returning, his deep black eyes meeting the shocked gaze of Long Tao.

There was no ecstatic joy on his face as everyone expected, only solemnity and seriousness.

"Long Tao, how does my awakening compare to yours?"

"I... I..." Long Tao was speechless, unsure of how to respond.

The words of consolation truly irritated him, for compared to the talent of the other party, he, Long Tao, was just a fart.

Nine zhang, the limit! This was the legendary talent of a deity!!

Never did he expect it to appear in such a crude and despicable village, like a true dragon rising from the mud, who could have foreseen it?

"Speak, answer me." Roberto's gaze was firm, calmly speaking.

Long Tao's mind was in turmoil, feeling as if he were facing the oppression of a monarch despite the lack of a strong aura from the other party.

"The golden light has already reached its limit, why hasn't your martial soul appeared yet? This is completely against common sense!"

The villagers were puzzled, even Isabella was confused. Though soul beasts didn't need awakening, she knew that nine zhang was already the pinnacle of human talent.

Everyone was curious about what kind of martial soul Roberto possessed.

"The limit?" Roberto shook his head, saying lightly, "Who told you that now is my limit?"

"What did you say?!!" Long Tao's heart was filled with shock waves.

"A mere nine zhang, breaking through is nothing."

Roberto's words fell, and the golden light, stagnant at nine zhang, surged again.

"Nine zhang one."

A special fluctuation surged from within Roberto's body, his martial soul appearing, his soul force emanating. It was the aura of his martial soul, the aura of his soul force.

"Nine zhang five!"

A silhouette gradually formed behind Roberto.

"Nine zhang eight!!"

Under the astonished gaze of everyone, that silhouette grew larger and larger.

"It hasn't stopped yet!"

"It's not... stopping??"