C1 Fate-altering Fruit

"Look, isn't that the City Lord's useless son?"

"Tsk, I heard that he was a piece of trash since he was born!"

Rustling sounds of discussion came from all directions. Xu Dong walked on the street with his hands balled into fists, his head lowered, and a trace of coldness flashed across his eyes. He pretended not to hear these sounds and continued to walk forward. He had grown up in these voices. Trash was his synonym. He couldn't get rid of it because what they said was the truth. In the eyes of these people in this continent, he was just an ant.

This was a continent where the strong were respected - In the Martial Soul Continent, every person was born with a Martial Soul, and those who had awakened a Martial Soul of a lineage would be called Martial Cultivators. There were all kinds of Martial Souls, and among these Martial Souls were low-level, medium, and high-level Martial Souls, the strongest divine beasts, the Azure Dragon, the Phoenix, the Vermillion Bird, the Black Turtle, and so on.

Only when one awakened their martial soul could they absorb the spiritual energy and cultivate. The higher the grade of the martial soul, the more effective the cultivation would be. The stronger the potential ability, the greater the chance of one becoming an expert in the future.

As for him, his martial soul was naturally unable to awaken, and in the eyes of these people, people like him who could not awaken their martial soul were all trash. If it was not because he was the son of the City Lord of Northguard City on the western side of the Great Wall of the Heavenly Dragon Empire, he would probably have died a long time ago.

With his head lowered, Xu Dong tried his best to ignore the gazes around him as he quickened his pace. At this moment, the Northguard City Square was holding a awakening ceremony that happened once every three years, and his goal was precisely there.

The moment Xu Dong arrived, he saw that the entire square was filled with people. On the stage in the middle of the crowd was a two-meter tall crystal. A male in white sat on the side with an arrogant expression, and below the stage were many Elders.

The people lined up orderly. One by one, they came forward to awaken their martial souls. The crystal began to spin, rise, and let out a faint buzzing sound. The man sitting cross-legged on the high platform stood up and lazily raised his eyes to look at the crowd below, scoffing.

The man slowly reached his right hand out and placed his hand on the crystal. In a few moments, the crystal began to vibrate violently. Following which, rays of purple light shot up into the sky, one, two, three... When it reached the sixth ray, the purple light showed signs of weakening, stopping at eight...

Immediately, everyone was shocked.

The people below opened their mouths wide as they looked at the man on the stage in disbelief. Immediately, cries of surprise sounded in the entire plaza. The elders below the stage looked at the man on the stage with a face full of piety and pride.

"Eighth Grade of the Purple Grade, it's actually a Martial Soul of the Eighth Grade of the Purple Grade!"

"It must be a divine beast! There is actually such a genius in Northguard City!"

The ranks of the Martial Soul were divided into five grades, green, orange, blue, green, purple, and each grade had nine levels. The Beast Martial Soul above green could almost be called a divine beast, which was also the strongest beast Martial Soul. The man's Martial Soul was still one level lower than the Super Divine Beast Martial Soul.

Looking at the person on the stage, Xu Dong's heart skipped a beat. He never would have thought that the Second Uncle's child, Xu Tianlong, would actually possess such a divine beast martial soul. He shook his head with a bitter smile. He was afraid that the entire Xu family would think of Xu Tianlong as a family treasure. One had to know how proud it was to have such a genius.

In comparison, no one would think much of him in the Xu family.

Xu Dong supported his forehead and looked at the crowd on the high platform. It would be great if the heavens could bless him so much. He hid in the crowd and tried his best to lower his presence. He quietly went to the back of the line, but unfortunately, Xu Tianlong, who was standing on the high platform, still noticed him at a glance.

Xu Tianlong looked at him provocatively, his face full of disdain. He did not know what this trash was doing here, nor was he afraid of losing face for the Xu family.

Xu Dong pretended not to see it, glanced at him indifferently, and then looked into the distance.

Below, people began to whisper among themselves about Xu Tianlong's martial soul. Xu Tianlong looked down at the people below him with an arrogant gaze, as if he was an emperor.

With a cold smile, a tiger's roar suddenly came out of Xu Tianlong's body. It was like a sudden clap of thunder, and the entire square was filled with this soul-stirring roar. A ferocious white tiger appeared faintly behind him. The white tiger's eyes were filled with killing intent, as if it had come from hell.

The arrival of the beast king shocked the hearts of the people below.

The White Tiger was actually a divine beast, the White Tiger!

Xu Dong narrowed his eyes and looked at the person above. Feeling the gaze from above, he coldly raised the corner of his mouth and turned to leave. He had come to try, but in the circumstances he would have to wait until the next day, when the ceremony would be held for three days. He was in no hurry, and if he went up now, he might lose his father's face.

No matter what others said, he didn't care. However, he wouldn't allow them to talk about his father. He had lost his mother since he was a child, and his father had raised him since he was a child. His father was his taboo. Every dragon had its reverse scale, and it would be furious when touched.

Xu Tianlong touched his nose and felt bored, so he went down the stage.

The people below all had expressions of worship and envy, and automatically opened up a path for him.

Xu Tianlong proudly raised his chin, and a trace of pride rose in his heart.

Only after Xu Tianlong left, did the servants slowly calm down. They lined up and walked forward one by one to wait for their martial souls to awaken. The entire square was filled with light, sighs, surprises, and envy. Everyone's talent was different, but it could never change the fact that in this world, the winner was the king and the loser was the bandit.

The Northguard City was neither too big nor too small. For a moment, the news of a genius appearing in the Xu family caused an uproar in the entire Northguard City. People spread the news and visited the Xu family one after another. The Xu family was originally the city lord of Northguard City, and now that a genius had appeared, everyone wanted to curry favor with him.

"Father, it is this child who is useless. My martial soul cannot be awakened, causing father to be humiliated." Xu Dong clenched his fist, and looked at his father, who already had white hair on his head. He felt guilty in his heart. If he could be of any use, his father would not have been under so much pressure.

The eldest son of the Northguard City Lord was trash. Even with such rumors, his father had never given up on him.

Unknowingly, his father's resolute face had been silently engraved with many marks.

"You can't be blamed for this. I was just worried that Xu Tianlong would make things even more difficult for you, and I'm afraid Second Brother will use this as an excuse to replace my position and expel you from the Xu family." Xu Yoo stood with his hands behind his back. He wore a gray robe and his clothes fluttered in the wind, giving him a sage-like aura.

Xu Dong frowned, but did not say anything. Second Uncle had always been eyeing his father's position like a tiger eyeing its prey. This time that Xu Tianlong's martial soul had awakened, it had probably increased his confidence.

For some reason, when Xu Dong saw Xu Yoo's expression, he suddenly had a bad premonition. His eyelids twitched, he stepped forward and grabbed his hand, and said nervously: "Dad, don't do something unnecessary for me... "

Xu Yoo shook his head with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm ready."

Xu Dong was unable to awaken his martial soul due to his mother's premature death. If he wanted to become a cultivator, he had to find a martial soul for Xu Dong.

Hearing Xu Yoo's words, Xu Dong realized something and turned pale with fright: "No... No, if you want to awaken my martial soul, you have to change the fruit. But this is too dangerous!"