Chapter 10: Qin Yue's Divine Soul

Qin Shu had realized it as well.

However, it likely wasn’t anything serious involving their grandfather or other family members.

Recently, the entire Nine Provinces Holy Court had been conducting spiritual soul awakening ceremonies, which could only mean one thing.

“It must be either Qin Yuan or Qin Yue; they’re of the same age as me,” Qin Shu reminded them.

Understanding the situation, Qin Wei suggested, “Let’s go inside and see for ourselves.”

The nine-member family entered the estate together, stepping into the main villa.

“Oh, you’re here!”

At that moment, old man Qin Wushang was seated in the hall, his emotions somewhat complicated, shifting between joy and sorrow.

“Sit down first. Something has happened recently within the family.”

Qin Wei approached and asked, “Father, is it Little Yuan or Little Yue?”

“Sigh!” Qin Wushang let out a sigh. “Little Yuan, unfortunately. He awakened with a Bronze Spiritual Soul and couldn’t pass through.”

“What about Second Brother?” Qin Wei inquired further.

Qin Wushang waved his hand dismissively. “It’s not a concern. Such things are quite normal. We can only say that fate wasn’t kind to Yuan’er.” Pausing briefly, he added, “However, Little Yue did well, awakening with a Starlit Spiritual Soul. In just a few days, she’ll be reporting to the War God Academy. The reason I didn’t inform you earlier was twofold: first, to prevent upsetting Little Shu, and second, to spare you any unnecessary worry.”

Qin Wei fell silent for a moment before revealing, “Actually, Little Shu also awakened with a Bronze-level Spiritual Soul.”

“What?” Qin Wushang’s head snapped up, looking past Qin Wei towards Qin Shu, who stood there.

“It’s alright now,” Qin Wei hastily reassured the old man. “Little Shu was fortunate enough to successfully overcome the trial.”

“Thank goodness, thank goodness,” the old man sighed in relief.

Qin Shu finally emerged with his siblings to greet Qin Wushang.

“Grandpa, we’re here.”

“Wonderful, wonderful!” Qin Wushang beckoned to Qin Hao. “Come here, little Hao, let Grandpa give you a hug.”

“Hello, Grandpa!” Qin Hao cutely approached Qin Wushang, extending his arms.

“How sweet!” Qin Wushang lifted Qin Hao into his arms and turned to Qin Shu. “Little Shu, tell your grandpa what happened.”

“It’s nothing much,” Qin Shu said. “My grandson’s spiritual soul is just a bit special. It might have mutated, becoming even more powerful than an ordinary golden soul.”

As he spoke, he spat out the Qingping Sword Pill. The sword aura filled the hall, its energy so potent it stung everyone’s skin.

Feeling the sharpness of the Qingping Sword Pill, Qin Wushang nodded. “Excellent! My grandson has the potential of a sword immortal.”

He then turned to Qin Wei. “Wei’er, you and Yurou go check on your second brother’s place. There’s no need for the younger generation to come along; stay here.”

“All right, Dad.”

Due to Qin Yuan’s passing, the family gathering couldn’t be held this time.

Perhaps only after this year would Second Uncle’s family recover enough to proceed.

As for Qin Yue, he was from Qin Shu’s uncle’s branch.

Unlike the sorrow of Second Uncle’s family, joy far outweighed grief in the heart of Qin Shu’s uncle and his relatives.

The Starlit Spiritual Soul! If everything went smoothly, their family was about to have an immortal.

As long as Qin Yue developed properly, it would be a leap forward for the entire clan—a transcendent leap from mortal to celestial.

Thus, compared to Second Uncle’s grief-stricken household, the overall atmosphere of the Qin Clan couldn’t have been more different.

Take Uncle Qin Shu and his branch, for example—they were barely restraining themselves from setting off firecrackers.

However, out of consideration for Second Uncle’s family, they held back on showing their joy too overtly.

All the families’ farms were tightly clustered together.

Great-grandfather and his brothers had been grinning from ear to ear all this time.

Ah, thought Qin Shu, we’re one big family, yet our joys and sorrows are so different.

They spent the night at Grandfather’s house.

The next day, Qin Wei took Qin Shu to visit their younger uncle’s family.

“Qi-ge, you’re here!” Younger Uncle, named Qin Jie, greeted them warmly and ushered them inside.

“I heard little Yue awakened a Starlit Spiritual Soul,” Qin Wei said with a smile. “We’ve come to offer our congratulations.”

“Qi-ge, no need for such formalities—we’re family after all,” Qin Jie sighed. “It’s just unfortunate about Xiao-Yuan… Ah!”

His words weren’t insincere. While he rejoiced over his daughter awakening a Starlit Spiritual Soul, Qin Yuan’s death truly saddened him.

These conflicting emotions meant that the farm’s overall mood wasn’t as somber as it could have been.

For instance, Qin Shu’s aunt kept herself hidden most days, afraid her relief might show too clearly.

“Indeed!” Qin Wei sighed in agreement. “Speaking of which, where is little Yue?”

“She went to see our great-grandfather,” Qin Jie replied. “Little Yue will need his support for her cultivation in the future.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Wei turned to look at Qin Shu.

Qin Shu gently shook his head.

“Oh right, Little Shu, didn’t you also awaken your spiritual soul this year? How did it go?”

“It was alright,” Qin Shu said. “I ended up with a variant spiritual soul. I’m just lucky to have made it back from the Abyss safely.”

“I see!” Qin Jie patted Qin Shu on the shoulder. “It’s good that you returned safely; safety comes first. Oh yeah, Little Yue will be back from visiting your great-grandfather in a few days. You two should exchange experiences more often.”

“Sure thing, Uncle,” Qin Shu agreed.

Three days later, Qin Yue arrived.

Probably at Qin Jie’s request, thought Qin Shu.

The two of them headed out to the fields.

By then, the spirit rice had been harvested, and there would be a gap before replanting.

“I heard from my dad that you successfully awakened your spiritual soul too,” Qin Yue said. “Can I take a look at it?”

The pair were the same age, with Qin Shu being one month older than Qin Yue.

Since they were close in age, neither called each other “brother” or “sister”; instead, they addressed each other by name directly.

Qin Shu pondered for a moment, then spat out the Qingping Sword Pill and said, “Here it is.”

The Qingping Sword Pill was the result of the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed’s first transformation, carrying traces of a spiritual soul within it.

“Sword Pill!” Qin Yue exclaimed. “I can sense its sharp sword energy, but how is it connected to a Bronze spiritual soul? Its power far surpasses that of bronze—could it be a mutation?”

“Something like that,” Qin Shu nodded.

“That would explain everything.” As Qin Yue spoke, stars shimmered above her head, revealing a Jade Ruyi scepter.

Artifact God Soul: Jade Ruyi Scepter.

“It’s mine,” she said. “It can transform into various weapons and magical artifacts, but ultimately, it’s limited to a Mortalstage Spirit Treasure. Transcending that realm seems incredibly difficult.”

Despite her words, a clear hint of pride gleamed in her eyes.

“Just be content with what you have,” Qin Shu advised. “Countless individuals never even awaken their spiritual souls, while many more perish in the Abyssal Fragment World. Focus on your cultivation; when the time comes for immortality, then consider transcending the Jade Ruyi Scepter.”

“Oh, I know that! Do I need you to tell me?” Qin Yue pouted before quickly asking, “Do you happen to know what my Jade Ruyi Scepter might become if it could reach absolute perfection?”

“What could it possibly become?” Qin Shu replied jokingly. “A Three-jade Ruyi Scepter or something?”

Qin Yue’s expression shifted abruptly. “How did you know about that?”

Qin Shu’s thoughts shifted slightly as he asked, “Do you know the name of this sword pill?”

“What?”

“Qingping Sword Pill,” Qin Shu said, looking at Qin Yue. “Does it feel familiar to you?”

The Three Paths were originally one family—red flower, white lotus root, green lotus leaf—the three religions had been united once upon a time. The red flower became a staff; its fate remained unknown. The white lotus root transformed into a jade ruyi, while the green lotus leaf evolved into the Qingping Sword.

In Qin Yue’s sea of consciousness, the jade ruyi spirit soul quivered briefly before sending a piece of information into her mind.

After a moment, she said, “So you’re like me—a Starlit spiritual soul? But why does it seem bronze-tier?”

“That’s right!” Qin Shu spread his hands. “Don’t just consider the entire God Soul Continent—even within our Nine Provinces Holy Court alone, I suspect my situation isn’t uncommon.”

Qin Yue pondered for a moment before adding, “I recall that in Yangzhou City itself, about three hundred years ago, there was another case. He seemed to have a Sunlight Rank spiritual soul but was mistakenly estimated as silver-tier.”

“Precisely! Sometimes the awakening ceremony’s assessment of a soul’s potential can be inaccurate,” Qin Shu continued.

“Hm!” Qin Yue nodded. “So what is your current strength level? Don’t tell me you’re still in the early stages of Qi Refinement.”