Alaric stood beside Elder Mei, just outside the Spirit Awakening Hall.
The distant sounds of birdsong and murmuring villagers filled the air, but he paid them no mind. His focus was inward, steadying his thoughts, stabilizing his emotions.
The encounter from earlier still echoed in the back of his mind—Zhao Tian's bumbling explanation, Elder Mei's yelling, and the odd way the rest of the villagers had briefly looked at him wondering who he was.
The tension in the air quickly came to an end.
"Come," sir Mu said curtly, already moving ahead.
He followed the priest into the stone hall, slipping in alongside the rest of the villagers.
The interior was simple: a flat circular stone elevation in the center and a shelf with the doctrines and basic knowledge from the Spirit Hall. Nine children were now standing on it, with varying degrees of anticipation and fear. Parents and villagers lined along the backside of the hall near the walls, whispering, pointing. The only one not looking around was the man in white and gold robes, standing on the elevation before them.
Mu Tianlan.
The Spirit Hall deacon looked completely detached from the crowd. Older, silver-streaked hair neatly tied back, and a small silver bell hanging from his waist that didn't chime. Alaric observed the man carefully — calm posture, focused gaze, no wasted motion.
A professional Soul Master in the service of the Spirit Hall.
Mu Tianlan gave a brief nod towards the village chief, then turned his gaze to the children.
He started to explain:
"My name ist Mu Tianlan, Rank 32 Soul Elder, here to guide you."
"Children, listen carefully. What we are about to perform is your martial soul awakening — a standardized procedure under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Hall."
"Each of you will step forward when I call you. You will enter the circle. Stand still, concentrate on your inner self and breathe slowly. I will channel spirit energy into your body to initiate resonance with your dormant martial soul."
"The martial soul will manifest. Do not panic, regardless of it's appearance. Remain still until I say otherwise."
"After the manifestation, your innate spirit power will be measured using a spirit crystal. This will determine your cultivation potential and initiate starting level. Those with power ranked one or higher may begin formal training, where the higher it is the better. The training itself is subject to local conditions and Spirit Hall guidance."
He scans the group briefly, eyes settling on no one in particular.
"Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. The process is delicate and precise. Follow the instructions exactly." 3 children that looked like troublemakers instantly straightened up.
A collective nod came from the children.
"We begin now."
Mu Tianlin threw out 6 stones that started hovering in a circle formation slowly rotating, 2 meters above the ground.
Then he gave a nod to the first child in line. A young boy, slightly undernurished.
The child stepped forward. A minute passed during which Mu Tianlin started channeling his soul power and summoned his martial soul, a sheperd's bell. Nothing special, but with a spirit power level of 32, it felt like he gave off an aura of absolute power to these small children and the rest of thenormal villagers.
Soon the first martial soul got identified.
A plant soul. The next, a rabbit-type. One by one they took their turns, some with joy, some with disappointment. One girl, a sickle, with a spirit power of 3, was grinning from ear to ear, feeling like she just got told that she was a princess.
And then it was his turn.
He stepped forward. Calm. Measured. Eyes neutral.
He stood in the center of the carved circle. The stone underfoot felt oddly cold, probably his inner nervousness.
Mu Tianlan spoke softly "Close your eyes. Focus. Let your soul respond."
He didn't need the instruction. He was prepared.
He reached inward. Let the world fade. Felt the thrum in his hand — not the scar, but what lay beneath it.
And then he pulled.
There was no explosion of light. No dramatic surge.
Just a sudden shift — a ripple in the air — and then a shape appeared beside him.
A hammer.
Large. Cracked. Glowing faintly along its fractures. It looked like a weapon forged from a collapsed star, rough and scarred, yet balanced. Lines of light, different in color, shimmered through the jagged surface like molten veins that had cooled just enough to contain themselves.
The villagers muttered amongst themselves.
"It looks broken?"
"No… it looks like it's barely holding together."
Mu Tianlan's gaze narrowed - not with alarm but with curiosity... and perhaps a flicker of pity for the boy."
While everyone's focus was on his right uplifted hand, his left hand clenched hard, as if he were holding the weight of his existence in it.
Alaric took a moment to open his eyes and said calmly, "Shattered Hammer".
But not unconsciously, no very consciously.
Tianlan didn't speak for a moment. He stepped up a little closer to look at the hammer, hands folded behind his back.
"Uncommon spirit," he said finally. "I haven't seen one like this so far but it's a hammer type, probably a negative mutation. It would seem that the original is a powerful martial soul, but this one …" the phrase ended with a sigh.
He summoned the crystal orb to measure spirit power and held it to Alaric's chest. Alaric still mostly focused on his new martial soul barely managed to reign in this new feeling as much as he could, before pressing his hand against the crystal orb.
"Innate spirit power: Rank 3."
Murmurs. Rank 3 was low, but not for the villagers who sometimes didn't see a person with innate soul power at all for years. It earned a small amount of envy, after all he had potential just like the girl.
"Thank you," Alaric said with a respectful bow.
Mu Tianlan nodded once. "Train well."
Alaric stepped back. The hammer faded into light. No one noticed the miniscule light that had erupted even from his clenched left fist.
Alaric smiled in his mind. Just enough to get enough benefit, but way below the radar.
After the ceremony, he was asked to stay by sir Mu, who obviously wanted to record the never-before-seen martial soul, to which he obliged. After all he didn't lose anything by letting the man record it.
During this examination he asked the elder: "Sir, may I ask whom I should thank for sending you to awaken my martial soul today?"
""You can pray to the angel god… pray for her highness the pope, lady Bibi Dong." He answered with a smile. Alaric instantly got the information that he desired.
With that, the ceremony came to a quiet close.
Afterwards he got a basic training technique as well as identification from the Spirit Hall Elder, like the girl with a sickle, who also received it, as she was the only other future spirit master amongst the children.
That was pretty much the end of the ceremony, he went out where he found the villagers preparing a small feast, for they had gotten themselves a girl who may one day become a high-ranking soul master.
"Goodbye village chief, goodbye uncle Zhao." He bid farewell to the 2 villagers that he knew.
As he vanished among the conopy of trees on the dirt path,into the forest, he let out a quiet chuckle, whispering to himself with the resummoned hammer glowing faintly in his hand.
"Behold World, The Hammer of Ruin!"