Li Xiaoyao found himself in a long, endless dream. In the dream, his soul drifted outside his body, floating in a vast darkness. No matter how far he floated, he could never escape that endless void.

It was a world of pure darkness, devoid of any life.

He didn't know how long he'd been wandering when suddenly, a glimmer of light appeared in the distance—a single bright speck in the void. The light shimmered with vibrant colors, swirling upwards, brilliant and dazzling.

"So surreal..."

Li Xiaoyao was drawn to the light, moving closer as it grew brighter. The swirling light seemed to stretch on forever, beyond reach. Above the twisting light, a brilliant ancient book floated silently in the sky, exuding an aura of timelessness, as if it had been there since the dawn of time.

As he stared at the radiant book, it suddenly burst open, and countless glowing characters rushed toward him!

Boom!

His mind exploded. Li Xiaoyao shot upright from the ground, gasping for air. The night rain continued to fall around him, the world still dark and dreary. There was no brilliant light, no ancient book.

"Hah... hah..." His breath came in heavy bursts, his body trembling slightly. But he was alive.

Just moments ago, under that soul-rending pain, he had been sure he was going to die. It was pain beyond what any human should be able to endure.

"Do other people experience this kind of pain when their martial spirit awakens?" Li Xiaoyao's deep eyes stared into the pitch-black night, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. He didn't think his talent was anything extraordinary, but he had confidence in his willpower. If others could survive the pain of a martial spirit's awakening, so could he.

But during his own awakening, he'd been hit by three waves of unbearable agony, each one worse than the last. By the final wave, it felt like death itself was looming. No amount of sheer will could have survived that. His will was strong, sure, but it left him bleeding from every orifice, barely holding on.

Maybe everyone's martial spirit awakening is different. I just hope mine made it through this fucking hell...

Li Xiaoyao thought to himself as his mind stirred, releasing his martial spirit. The next moment, an indescribable sensation washed over him—a feeling of being submerged in darkness. Everything around him had changed. It wasn't just night anymore; he was in a world of pure darkness, endless and consuming.

His senses had sharpened dramatically. He could now detect even the slightest movements within a few miles, as if nothing could escape his notice. His mind felt eerily calm, operating with a level of clarity and speed he'd never experienced before, like he could suddenly see through everything.

The most terrifying part, however, were his eyes. Though he couldn't see them himself, he knew something had changed—his pupils were now dark, devoid of any human emotion. It was a cold, chilling kind of indifference, a terrifying calmness.

"Darkness... Martial Spirit."

Li Xiaoyao realized that his mind had never been this sharp. Even he was starting to grasp just how powerful and terrifying this martial spirit was.

And yet, there seemed to be more...

He willed his thoughts once more, and behind him, a vast, looming black shadow spiraled upward. At the very peak of this dark shadow, a brilliant book floated silently in the air, its pages already open, as if it had always been this way.

"Is this really a martial spirit?" Li Xiaoyao's eyes glazed over. When a martial artist releases their martial spirit, they can feel every aspect of it. What he was seeing now was just like his dream—a world of endless darkness, a flickering light, and an ancient floating book.

In all his memories, he had never heard of a martial spirit manifesting twice like this. It was as if his martial spirit had two distinct layers. The first didn't summon any shadow but merged the surrounding world into darkness. The second revealed the book martial spirit. He had thought his awakening had failed, but now it seemed not only had it succeeded, it had exceeded his wildest expectations.

"A celestial book... a book martial spirit...oh my fucking god..." Li Xiaoyao had no idea what to call his martial spirit anymore.

On the continent of Shenzhou, martial artists numbered in the countless, and there were so many kinds of martial spirits. During the awakening process, a martial spirit undergoes a metamorphosis, and no one could claim to know them all. They were aware of many common martial spirits, along with some rare, exotic ones.

And the book martial spirit was one of those strange, exotic types. It wasn't an attack-oriented martial spirit, nor could it be used for defense or to assist in battle. But those who possessed a book martial spirit often found their book inscribed with extraordinary things—things that had the potential to change their fate as martial artists.

"Amaterasu," Li Xiaoyao whispered softly, and in that moment, his cold, dark pupils gleamed with a brilliant silver light—sharp and dazzling like the sun, radiating an almost terrifying intensity.

The blinding glow vanished as quickly as it appeared, but Li Xiaoyao found himself lost in thought. This Amaterasu was the divine power granted to him when the first page of his book martial spirit turned—a power that allowed him to see through everything.

"From now on, I'll call you the Amaterasu Martial Spirit," he murmured to himself. As the shadow of his martial spirit dissipated, his eyes gradually returned to normal, the coldness fading away. His gaze remained clear and pure, but now with a deeper, more profound edge behind that purity.

He opened his palm, and wisps of white energy flickered in and out of existence. The spiritual energy of the world now naturally gathered around him, easily condensing into his energy field. Li Xiaoyao had finally stepped into the Spirit Martial Realm.

With the awakening of his Dark Martial Spirit, he had unlocked the ability to release the Amaterasu Martial Spirit in two stages, and his strength had soared to the Spirit Martial Realm. Even though the small snake martial spirit he carried hadn't awakened, Li Xiaoyao was more than satisfied.

Just the first stage of his Amaterasu Martial Spirit was enough to give him incredible power. The second stage, the book spirit, seemed more of a supportive ability, granting him access to miraculous divine powers without needing to summon it all the time.

"A Spirit Martial Realm cultivator... from now on, no one can stand in my way." A confident smile spread across his face. He could feel the terrifying evolution of his Dark Martial Spirit. Just the first stage of Amaterasu alone was an evolution of the Dark Martial Spirit, and now, if he faced Li Xin again, he was absolutely certain he could defeat her, even though she possessed the rare Ice and Fire Dual Martial Spirit.

The rain continued to drizzle, but a faint light began to break through the dark sky—dawn was approaching.

Li Xiaoyao stood up, looking down at his rain-soaked clothes. He chuckled to himself; he hadn't realized he'd been sitting there all night—he was completely drenched.

Glancing in the direction of the distant city, a trace of cold indifference flashed in his clear eyes. Last night, the City Lord's mansion had sent so many Spirit Martial cultivators at the eighth and ninth levels to assassinate him. If his strength had been just a little weaker, he would've been dead and buried by now.

"City Lord's mansion, Nalan Yanran, you'll pay for what you did, sooner or later," Li Xiaoyao muttered as he lifted his foot and began walking toward the distant horizon.