"After the brief display of power, no further words were spoken. The three senior spirit servants turned, and the procession began .
They led the entire group of young slaves and spirit servants down the mountain range, passing through several important areas along the way.
At last, they arrived at a gloomy canyon that felt unsettling even to the ordinary senses of the young slaves. The air was rigid and heavy, exerting a faint pressure on their bodies as they followed closely behind the spirit servants.
Even Shen Mo, like every other young slave, felt the strangeness of the place. His mind raced with guesses.
'Could there be spirits here ,the mountain spirits of the clan? Or… no, a spirit pool?'
His curiosity burned as he formed one answer after another. Then the senior spirit servants suddenly halted.
Shen Mo lifted his gaze past them and froze.
And not just him every single young slave froze in stunned awe at the sight before them.
Like the rest of Black Ridge Mountain, the ground was composed of coal-black rock, but here it was cracked open in multiple places with one massive fissure stretching far and wide, pulsing with a faint, ominous black light. Large chunks of rock hovered above the ground, as though gravity itself had been distorted. At the far end lay a narrow ledge leading directly into a thick wall of fog.
Shen Mo couldn't help but mutter a place ,a place he had heard countless times from instructors, a place he had felt had no significance to him a mortal servant.
"Spirit Realm."
As if responding to his whisper, the oldest overseer spoke.
"Welcome to the clan's Spirit Realm,the Graveseal Mountain Realm."
He paused briefly, then pointed toward a stone platform near the narrow passage.
"This is where you will undergo your transformation from mere mortals into affirmed spirit masters. Remember this gift from the clan well, for nowhere else and no one else can grant such a grace. Now, assemble on that platform."
With his short speech finished, he turned his gaze toward the lean old spirit servant, who had already moved into action. The man began directing the other spirit servants, instructing them to quickly prepare the various materials needed for the awakening.
As the young servants who were excited, nervous, and even trembling lined up on the platform, the spirit servants kept them an arm's length apart from one another. Meanwhile, the old overseer turned to Overseer Yan.
"There shouldn't be any surprises, right, Yan?"
"Well, except for the four I mentioned earlier," Overseer Yan replied flatly, "the rest will probably awaken cracked cores if they awaken anything at all."
"Hm. Good," the old overseer said. "I don't want another scolding from him over an incorrect report."
"Wait… you think he'll come?" the female overseer asked
"Of course," the old overseer replied. "He'll come alongside the clan's young members."
Turning his gaze toward the fog wall, he continued, "Besides, we have more to worry about. A Grand elder will be presiding over this ceremony."
"I heard the same," Overseer Fei(the female one )said calmly. "And I'm not surprised. It's to be expected."
"And why do you think that?" Overseer Yan asked.
"Heh." She glanced at him mockingly. "Sometimes I wonder if all that hunting you do with the clan's hunters has replaced your brain with that of a beast."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Yan barked.
"Isn't it obvious?" she replied coolly. "The patriarch's son is undergoing awakening as well. And if the heavens favor us, he'll awaken the same core as his father."
Yan glared at her hatefully. "Don't act like you're the only one who came to that conclusion."
"That's enough," the old overseer snapped. "You'd both better get those youngsters ready. If they miss this chance, I won't hesitate to place all the blame on the two of you."
And with that they both turned and climbed up the platform,then overseer fei step forward
"I believe you all have been taught the process of forming your core. You will each be given a spirit marble, and you shall consume it with your eyes closed but for your own sake, do not fall asleep."
She turned away after her words, but a timid voice stopped her in her tracks.
"What happens afterwards?" Lou Yan asked nervously.
Her question earned sharp glares from the surrounding spirit servants. One of them barked coldly, "You don't speak unless spoken to."
The sudden rebuke made all the young mortal servants flinch, while Lou Yan trembled where she sat cross-legged.
"It's fine," Overseer Fei said, halting the spirit servant before he could step closer. "I don't mind giving them a heads-up."
A faint, unsettling smile curved her lips.
"The moment you take the marble, it will trigger a reaction in your soul," she continued. "It alerts your soul to the tiniest, purest traces of spiritual essence carried within the marble, condensing them at the exact place where your core is meant to form."
She paused deliberately, clearly savoring the fear spreading across their faces despite knowing it could lead to many failures.
"But your mind must remain awake for this to happen," she went on. "The extra strain on your soul will draw you towards sleep. If you fall asleep, you will never wake up."
Her smile widened as she took in the terrified expressions before her only to pause in mild surprise.
The girl who had asked the question, the blue-eyed one Overseer Yan had mentioned, didn't look terrified only nervous.
Then another boy, his rough hair filled with bits of hay and a bruised face, showed no fear at all, only determination. She didn't recognize him and knew he wasn't one of the four.
Then there was the last one with no expression at all.
Ah. This one she knew ,he was the one they called Steel Face.
She remembered his father very well.
With a glint in her eyes
She muttered to no one in particular but herself
"It's that bastard's son"
.