“Oh my god, am I seeing this right? A first-level human martial soul? The absolute worst kind of martial soul?”

“He actually awakened a useless martial soul! I waited in anticipation for nothing, damn!”

“What number one genius? He’s really just the number one good-for-nothing of the Su family!”

“……”

Everyone was talking at once. In that moment, all the elders and younger disciples of the Su family looked at Mark Sutton with changed expressions.

No longer was there the former respect and envy, but instead disappointment, disdain, and contempt.

On the altar, Mark Sutton slowly stood up, his fists unconsciously clenching tight.

Sweeping a cold gaze around and seeing everyone’s expressions, Mark Sutton sneered inwardly: “These people are really so snobbish!”

Before, when he was exceptionally talented, everyone treated him with utmost courtesy, and wherever he went, he was surrounded by flattery and praise.

Now, after awakening a trash martial soul, these people immediately changed their faces.

After a moment, Mark Sutton took a deep breath and strode down from the altar.

“Next, Eric Sutton!”

The presiding elder called out loudly. He glanced at Mark Sutton stepping down from the altar and secretly shook his head. This former genius was now completely finished!

Hearing his name, Eric Sutton walked proudly up to the altar, his figure brushing past Mark Sutton, and he immediately let out a cold laugh.

“Mark Sutton, to think I once considered you a rival. You’re not worthy at all. From now on, you’ll always be beneath my feet!”

Eric Sutton felt utterly delighted. Mark Sutton’s martial soul was the lowest grade, and from now on, he wouldn’t even be qualified to carry his shoes.

No matter how bad the martial soul he was about to awaken, it couldn’t possibly be a first-level human trash martial soul!

With that, Eric Sutton strode up onto the altar.

Mark Sutton ignored him. After returning to the martial arena, he quietly watched the martial soul awakening ceremony.

Standing in the arena, Mark Sutton could feel countless scornful gazes. Some of the disciples around him all wore looks of contempt.

Mark Sutton’s heart couldn’t help but ache. The feeling of falling from heaven to hell in an instant was truly unbearable.

At this moment, Eric Sutton was already sitting cross-legged on the altar. On the black altar, runic lights flickered from time to time, all of them pouring into Eric Sutton’s body.

The martial arena gradually quieted down, and everyone’s faces showed anticipation.

Mark Sutton had awakened a useless martial soul—surely Eric Sutton couldn’t also awaken a useless martial soul!

If that happened, and the Su family produced two useless martial souls at once, they’d become the laughingstock of Linyang City.

Roar!

Just as everyone was waiting expectantly, a beastly roar suddenly erupted from within Eric Sutton.

Above Eric Sutton’s head, a massive phantom of a python rose up, awe-inspiring and majestic.

Outside the python’s phantom, five yellow halos appeared, dazzling and brilliant.

“Five halos! It’s a fifth-level human martial soul, the Iron-scaled Python!”

The presiding elder, seeing Eric Sutton’s martial soul, was stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted excitedly.

A fifth-level human martial soul was already the highest grade in all of Linyang City. The Su family had finally produced another genius.

Looking at Eric Sutton’s martial soul, the entire martial arena fell into silence.

After a moment of silence, the arena erupted into excitement once more.

“It’s actually a fifth-level human martial soul!”

“Haha! Our Su family finally has a top-tier genius!”

“Big brother Eric Sutton is the true number one genius of the Su family. Mark Sutton isn’t even worth mentioning!”

“That’s right! Mark Sutton just has a trash martial soul—how could he possibly compare to big brother Eric Sutton!”

All the Su family disciples looked at Eric Sutton with deep envy in their eyes.

On the altar.

Eric Sutton, seeing that he had awakened a fifth-level human martial soul and hearing the crowd’s exclamations and envy, felt a surge of pride in his heart. Everything seemed wonderful, and he was brimming with confidence and arrogance.

Turning to look at Mark Sutton, Eric Sutton wore a face full of smugness, his eyes filled with mockery, as if to say: From now on, you’ll always be beneath my feet.

Seeing Eric Sutton’s proud expression and hearing the people around praising him, Mark Sutton sighed inwardly, then turned and left the martial arena.

Chapter 2: Past and Present Lives

After leaving the martial arena, Mark Sutton went straight back to his own small courtyard.

Sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard, thinking about the earlier martial soul awakening, Mark Sutton felt a wave of frustration.

Awakening such a low-level martial soul was completely beyond his expectations.

“Fourteen years!” Mark Sutton’s thoughts drifted as he murmured to himself.

In truth, Mark Sutton didn’t originally belong to this world—he came from Earth.

Mark Sutton was a mercenary in the twenty-first century, or more precisely, a king among mercenaries, a legend in the mercenary world, a legendary hero.

He was an orphan, raised in a relative’s home since childhood. At seventeen, he resolutely dropped out of school to join the army.

After two years of training in the military, Mark Sutton, relying on his outstanding military skills, joined the most elite special forces unit in China. Very quickly, he became the ace of that special forces team.

In four years, Mark Sutton carried out nearly a hundred national military missions, all of which he completed perfectly.