Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 774: Awakening

Three days had passed, and in Battle Soul City at the Battle Soul Plaza.

"Xiao Huohuo, Battle Power - Three Segments, Battle Soul - Mother's Love Grass! Unqualified!"

The youth positioned in front of the awakening crystal stone displayed a face flushed with shame, his gaze flickering with a hint of denial.

"This can't be happening? I've always possessed remarkable strength from a young age, devouring eight bowls of rice per sitting. Yet I end up with a worthless Battle Soul such as Mother's Love Grass?"

The lad's voice, laced with self-doubt, rang out sharply in the chilly, empty square.

However, not one of the surrounding youths and maidens uttered a scornful chuckle.

They understood all too well—for those not born into noble lineages, the majority shared this boy's fate, destined to receive a pointless Battle Soul.

Should their Battle Soul bear even the slightest link to fighting, they'd count it as their forebears' luck turning heavenly.

"Wang Tiegen, Battle Power - One Segment, Kitchen Knife Battle Soul... hopeless, utterly hopeless!"

"Liu Ruyan, Battle Power - Two Segments, Cooking Spatula Battle Soul, move on, move on!"

A bunch of nervous youngsters, driven like flocks of ducks toward the bazaar, shuffled quickly by the awakening stone.

From brimming with optimism to trudging into hopelessness, they resigned themselves to mundane lives ahead.

Such sights had grown painfully routine at the quarterly Battle Soul Awakening Ceremony.

Amid the throng, certain individuals radiated bold assurance, dressed in finer garb than the ordinary youths, exuding an innate aristocratic vibe.

These hailed from the elite houses of Battle Soul City.

Yet they stemmed not from the grandest clans, merely lesser ones.

Bigger and mid-tier families possessed their private awakening stones; no reason for them to mingle with plebeians in the square.

Nevertheless, confronting these everyday folk, they brimmed with utter condescension.

"Young Master Lei, see there—that appears to be the rightful daughter cast out from the Flame Boar Family!"

The attendant next to Lei Bo gestured toward an elegant maiden lingering at the crowd's rear.

Clad in a simple white gown, she remained unobtrusively in the commoners' queue, yet her pristine, otherworldly aura instantly captured every onlooker's attention. Anyone glancing her way couldn't help but fixate, filled with awe.

The lowly-born lads and lasses nearby shied away from approaching Li Qingran, fearing proximity would only underscore their plainness and discomfort.

As a result, an empty space roughly one or two meters wide spontaneously encircled Li Qingran.

"Indeed, it's her." Lei Bo squinted his eyes. "Though she's no longer tied to the Flame Boar Family, so calling her their legitimate daughter wouldn't fit anymore.

I simply wonder, being a Battle Power Zero Segment reject, why bother showing up for Battle Soul awakening?

Still clinging to false hopes?"

All the youths attending the Battle Soul Awakening had passed the initial vetting.

Those eliminated were, of course, the ones devoid of Battle Power.

From ages of wisdom gathered by Soul Masters throughout the Canglan Continent, the truth stood clear—lacking Battle Power meant a ninety-nine percent chance of failing to awaken a Battle Soul. And even if one stirred, it invariably proved worthless. Thus, sans Battle Power, sparing ten silver coins was futile.

Better to save that sum for a few proper clothes, improving chances of a kinder glance when job-hunting.

Back from the Flame Boar Family, Lei Bo had sunk into terror from Li Rong's colossal, fleshy form, struggling to shake it off.

He'd pleaded with his father to dissolve the betrothal.

Yet his father's reply came as a stinging slap.

Ancestral traditions safeguarded the Thunder Leopard Family's legacy; altering them on a whim was impossible.

His father dismissed tales of Li Rong's girth and visited the Flame Boar Family himself. Upon returning, his demeanor soured.

The gaze he fixed on Lei Bo carried traces of sympathy and remorse.

Lei Bo assumed his father had relented, offering some alternative path.

But ultimately, his father uttered just one line: "Lei Bo, you'll wed Li Rong someday! As her spouse, you ought to assert a husband's dominance. True, Li Rong's build leaves much to be desired! Still, as her betrothed and eventual husband, isn't it your duty to guide and temper her? You could assist with her weight loss, couldn't you?"

Lei Bo's face twisted in stunned horror then.

What good would slimming down do for that towering beast over two meters?

Besides, him aiding Li Rong in shedding pounds?

Even sans her World Ring's activation, Li Rong could crush him merely by plopping down.

Should she engage the World Ring...

He'd delved into details; Li Rong's fighting prowess truly held merit...

Without giving his all in combat, he might not overpower her.

Li Rong's Battle Soul appeared far from ordinary. It resembled a standard Flame Boar, sure, but dwarfed those of other Flame Boar Family kin in size.

The deeper Lei Bo dwelled on it, the more his spirit chilled.

Now, turning his eyes to Li Qingran, he couldn't suppress a wish that she too bore the Flame Boar Family's Battle Soul.

That way, he'd escape wedding that cursed swine.

"How pitiful, a Battle Power Zero still daring to awaken a Battle Soul? Dreaming on a whim~"

A piercing, bitter tone pierced his ears. Lei Bo knew without checking it came from Rong Wuhua of the Flame Boar Family.

"Young Master Lei, wouldn't you say?" Rong Wuhua hauled her enormous offspring, shoving through the masses to sidle up to Lei Bo, her features beaming. "Certain folks are fated to stay lowborn, forever unable to climb, unlike my precious girl, raised amid silver and silk."

Rong Wuhua's words carried just enough volume for the plebeian youngsters by the awakening stone to catch.

They balled their hands into fists, seething yet silent.

In truth, Rong Wuhua's claim held a kernel of reality.

Against nobles blessed with bloodlines, commoners paled dramatically.

For bloodlines flowed solely through noble veins and their heirs, sealing off class leaps for outsiders. They could merely gamble on destiny.

A fine Battle Soul might grant survival, and perhaps in a century, spawn another noble house.

Lei Bo ignored Rong Wuhua's remarks, averting his eyes from the blazing stare of the fleshy mound, Li Rong.

This bulk had apparently fancied him before, delivering daily pots of fried chicken drumsticks. The mere thought turned his stomach.

At present, he even harbored faint eagerness for Li Qingran's awakening. Any Flame Boar Battle Soul would suffice, Battle Power or not...

"Next up, Li Qingran!"

The Soul Master by the awakening stone announced the name, casting an idle look forward before stiffening briefly.

What an exquisite beauty...

How had such a stunning girl escaped his notice in Battle Soul City until now?

Soon, he spotted her in the commoners' line and inwardly sighed in sorrow.

Had this lovely maiden belonged to nobility, admirers would throng her home endlessly.

But as a mere commoner, she'd likely summon no mighty Battle Soul. That charming visage could spell trouble for her path ahead.

Secure in his own marriage and status, he harbored no ill intentions toward Li Qingran, yet regret tugged at him still.

"Rest your hand upon the awakening stone," he instructed steadily, his voice softening despite himself. "It will lead you through awakening your Battle Soul. Clear your mind of all thoughts, and yield to the force stirring your bloodline."