Chapter 3

"Taohua, I'm tired. Go out first."

"Mm-hmm, all right. Young Master, make sure you get plenty of rest."

Hu Haoran dismissed Taohua with just a few words. From the memories he had inherited, he clearly understood that every clan on the Douluo Continent possessed its own inner cultivation technique. These had evolved over hundreds of thousands of years, with each clan creating techniques based on the traits and attributes of its own Martial Soul. The Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon Clan's inner cultivation technique was called the Blue Electric Dragon King Art. It was a cultivation method created to fully bring out the tyrannical nature and lightning attribute of the Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon. It was said that one could become a god upon reaching its highest realm, though that was merely a legend.

He took a secret manual from the bookshelf. It recorded the cultivation methods for the first three levels of the Blue Electric Dragon King Art. Although Hu Haoran had not awakened a Martial Soul, his mother had still left him the manual for its first three levels. That was because the first three levels of the Blue Electric Dragon King Art mainly focused on tempering the body, making one's physique tougher. Leng Xuewu's main purpose was to have Hu Haoran train his body and keep himself occupied, so that he would not fall into despair simply because he had failed to awaken a Martial Soul.

Hu Haoran stroked the secret manual. The first three levels had left a deep impression on him through his memories. His mother checked his cultivation progress every week, and he had always taken the manual seriously. Though he had not awakened a Martial Soul, he did not want to lag behind others either. Hu Haoran read through the manual again, then began training step by step. This cultivation method was also highly beneficial for physical recovery. Once he completed the movements of the first level, he felt much stronger, and his body had recovered by about thirty-five percent overall. By his estimate, as long as he worked hard, he would make a full recovery in around three days.

Three days flew by. Hu Haoran diligently cultivated the first three levels of the Blue Electric Dragon King Art every day, and his injuries had completely healed the day before—slightly faster than he had expected. After recovering, Hu Haoran did not stop cultivating. Instead, he trained even harder, because he discovered that each session made him a little stronger and his body a little sturdier. He could now easily lift a hundred-kilogram boulder. A seven-year-old carrying a hundred-kilogram boulder was something even ordinary low-level Soul Masters could not accomplish. Leng Xuewu came to see Hu Haoran three times over those days. Seeing her son train so desperately, she revealed a gratified smile.

Before he knew it, another week had passed. Hu Haoran threw himself into day-and-night cultivation, and every session left him feeling incomparably refreshed. Taohua continued caring for him as usual each day, while Leng Xuewu went from visiting once a day to coming only once every three or four days, always leaving in a hurry.

That day, Hu Haoran finally reached the peak of the third level of the Blue Electric Dragon King Art. His strength had reached the point where he could easily lift a fifteen-hundred-kilogram boulder. Further cultivation would require Soul Power.

"What should I do? I won't be able to cultivate anymore. Could it be that I'm really destined to be trash for the rest of my life?" Hu Haoran felt no joy at his breakthrough. Instead, his face was filled with worry because he could no longer cultivate.

"Ding~ Congratulations on breaking through the first three levels of the Blue Electric Dragon King Art. You are now entering the profession selection system. You may choose from five professions: Sword God, Blade Saint, Arrow Emperor, Staff King, and Spear Overlord." Just as Hu Haoran was agonizing over it, a gentle, pleasant voice suddenly sounded in his mind. It was a real voice, not an illusion.

"What is this?" Hu Haoran had yet to react.

"Please select one of the following five professions: Sword God, Blade Saint, Arrow Emperor, Staff King, and Spear Overlord." The gentle, pleasant voice appeared again.

"Can I choose Sword God?" Hu Haoran answered tentatively.

"Profession selected: Sword God. Please confirm once more."

"Confirm."

"You have now advanced from a commoner to a swordsman. Your ultimate goal is Sword God. Generating your Sword Martial Soul. Please wait."

"Ding~ Generation successful! Sword God Martial Soul—Soaring Sword!" A purple-gold sword-shaped Soul Seal swiftly formed on the back of Hu Haoran's right hand.

"So my Martial Soul Awakening succeeded just like that... What's going on?" Hu Haoran was still utterly bewildered.

"Congratulations, your personal profession Martial Soul has awakened. Your clan Martial Soul will awaken when you reach level sixty-one, Soul Emperor. Please cultivate diligently. In addition, your reward for awakening your Martial Soul is one Marrow-Cleansing Tendon-Transforming Pill, one Peerless Grade Inner Cultivation Technique, and one bottle of Golden Wound Pills. Please receive them."

The moment the voice fell silent, three items appeared out of thin air in Hu Haoran's hands.

Happiness had come too suddenly, and Hu Haoran could not process it at first. After a long while, he finally recovered. He had lived through two lives, after all. He had even been struck to ashes by a massive bolt of lightning before being reborn in this world. Slowly, he adapted to having the voice of a computer system in his mind.

He sank into thought, trying to see whether he could find this system—or rather, whether he could enter it whenever he wanted.

"Welcome to the Douluo System! How may I assist you?" After a while, Hu Haoran finally found the knack.

"I want to look something up." Hu Haoran decided to start with something simple.

"What would you like to look up?"

"How do I use the Marrow-Cleansing Tendon-Transforming Pill?"

"Swallow this pill, then circulate your cultivation method to refine it. This pill can help one break through bottlenecks and is extremely potent. It is recommended that you use it when breaking through to level thirty-one, Soul Elder."

"What about the Golden Wound Pills?"

"This pill is effective before the Soul Ancestor rank. Once you surpass Soul Ancestor, it will have no effect. The closer you are to Soul Ancestor, the weaker its effects become."

"How can I level up quickly?"

"Completing main storyline missions, side missions, dungeon missions, and sudden missions can all earn you large amounts of rewards and Soul Power."

After those three questions, Hu Haoran had gained a general understanding. At the very least, he knew that with this system, his future cultivation might become far more exciting. He looked at the pills in his hand, then at the secret manual the system had given him.

Driven by curiosity, Hu Haoran slowly opened the Peerless Grade Inner Cultivation Technique rewarded by the system. The technique was called the "Purple Firmament Thunder Art." It had thirteen levels in total, but the system had only given him the first eight. The first three levels were body-tempering methods, while each subsequent level corresponded to a Douluo-class rank. According to the description of its effects, this inner cultivation technique was even better than the clan's inherited inner cultivation technique his mother had given him. Hu Haoran thought to himself that it truly deserved to be called a Peerless Grade Inner Cultivation Technique.