The First "Phone" in Another World

Yu Xiaogang felt groggy, as though he had slept for a very long time. His whole body ached. He forced his eyes open and roughly assessed his situation. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering mottled patches of light. The tree hollow he had casually covered with a raincloth before passing out now stood open, while the raincloth had fallen carelessly some distance away.

"It must have been blown away by the wind while I was asleep, right? Still, I'm pretty lucky. I spent the night at the edge of the forest without any nocturnal beasts coming after me."

Yu Xiaogang could not help sighing. He stepped out of the tree hollow and took a deep breath. The forest air on Douluo Continent was exceptionally fresh. It felt even better than those so-called natural oxygen bars on Earth, though he had never had the money to visit one.

"Mm!! All right, pull yourself together. First, I need to figure out where I am. Just where the hell did this Yu Xiaogang wander off to? Looks like I need to find a river somewhere. I really want a hot bath right now. My whole body feels awful!"

Yu Xiaogang stretched, unable to hold back any longer. His bones crackled one after another, and he immediately felt a little better. He had simply slumped against the inside of the tree hollow and passed out yesterday. When he woke up, his entire body felt rusty.

"I choose you! Come out! Luo Sanpao!"

Yu Xiaogang could not resist being a little cheeky. Was it because Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul looked too much like a Pokémon? Two yellow soul rings suddenly appeared at his feet, expanding from small to large as purple smoke swirled and flashed. Then a purple, short-legged puppy resembling a corgi appeared. More or less, anyway? The dog looked a little chubby.

"Luo Luo!"

Luo Sanpao cried out upon appearing. His little intelligent eyes cautiously scanned the surroundings. Finding no threats, he scampered to his master Yu Xiaogang's feet, wagging his short tail with a flattering look on his face.

"Is this really the Light Holy Dragon Martial Soul that failed to evolve? How amazing! It feels like I'm playing Pokémon in Douluo Continent. Never mind that for now. Luo Sanpao! Help me find a stream. Your beloved master needs a proper wash."

Yu Xiaogang crouched down, patted Luo Sanpao's head, and spoke to him.

"Luo Luo!"

Having received his orders, Luo Sanpao immediately got to work. He lowered his head and sniffed around. Then he barked at Yu Xiaogang and took the lead.

Yu Xiaogang promptly followed him, finding it all rather miraculous. He felt as if he and Luo Sanpao were connected by flesh and blood. Perhaps Martial Souls were manifestations of the soul; Yu Xiaogang and Luo Sanpao shared an invisible bond.

Yu Xiaogang could command Luo Sanpao with his thoughts or give verbal orders. He could even understand the meaning behind Luo Sanpao's cries. As expected, even if the Light Holy Dragon had failed to evolve, it could not be underestimated! It had become even more remarkable. This Martial Soul actually possessed considerable intelligence and a physical body.

After walking for a quarter of an hour, Yu Xiaogang saw the forest trees begin to thin out. He could also feel moisture in the air. Knowing that he was about to reach his destination, he quickened his pace.

He was simply too uncomfortable right now. He was covered in dirt and rank sweat. Once the sweat had dried and mixed with dust and mud, his clothes had turned stiff and hard, and his entire body gave off a strange smell.

"Luo Sanpao, keep watch for me. I'm going to take a bath. Let me know if anyone comes!"

"Luo Luo!"

Yu Xiaogang ran to the stream, stripping off his clothes as he gave Luo Sanpao new instructions. The water before him was so clear that he could see straight to the bottom. Bare-assed, he jumped right in. Luo Sanpao ran over to guard the clothes Yu Xiaogang had just taken off, his little eyes vigilantly watching the surroundings as he carefully carried out his master's orders.

"Hiss! So cold >_<!"

Although it was only early summer, the river water was still a little chilly in the morning. The icy water struck him, forcefully waking up his new brain at once.

"Heh! Even though Yu Xiaogang was a useless bum in the novel and anime, his body is pretty good!"

Yu Xiaogang could not help remarking as he experienced his new body for the first time. As someone from the bottom rung of modern society, he had spent every day struggling to make a living. Where would he have found the time to work out? The tiny bit of abs he had developed in the Martial Arts Club at university had long since vanished.

After graduating from university and entering society, he had been buried under endless overtime and late-night work, and his health had worsened. Yu Xiaogang felt that in his previous life, he had spent every day working overtime like a factory drone. He had not dropped dead at work, but instead died in his sleep after finally relaxing during a break.

"I wonder who got to enjoy the little money I saved up. Life is so unpredictable. The person's gone, but the money remains unspent! What a damned tragedy."

Yu Xiaogang grumbled about his past life while washing himself. The things he had experienced lately had been far too fantastical. Now that he had relaxed, his mood had improved as well. After all, Yu Xiaogang had gotten his wish and transmigrated to Douluo Continent. He could personally experience miraculous Martial Souls and see all those beauties from the novels and anime.

With that thought, Yu Xiaogang immediately sped up. After washing himself clean, he climbed onto the bank, took a change of clothes from the Storage Soul Tool on his belt, put them on, and ate some dry rations to fill his stomach.

The clothes he had taken off were far too dirty, and they were riddled with large tears from branches and thorns. Yu Xiaogang had originally intended to wash and dry them before continuing to wear them. After all, he had already been struck off Spirit Hall's rolls and could no longer receive its stipend. Without an income, he had to save wherever he could.

Yu Xiaogang roughly checked the less than twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins in his Storage Soul Tool and felt that he could not simply sit around until his money ran out. He needed to find a place to settle down as soon as possible and properly study the Calculation Soul Skill that came with his Phone Martial Soul. After all, it was the foundation he would rely on to establish himself in Douluo Continent.

"Let's go, Luo Sanpao! Find the nearest city. We'll go in, get some proper rest, and have a good meal." The dry rations really tasted terrible—dry, hard, barely salty, and rough on the throat.

Knowing that he would soon be able to taste the food of Douluo Continent, Yu Xiaogang could not help quickening his pace. Luo Sanpao grunted a few times, lowered his head, and sniffed here and there before taking the lead again. Before long, they returned to the path from yesterday.

Luo Sanpao sniffed the scent, turned around, and cried "Luo Luo" at Yu Xiaogang. Once he saw his master following behind him, he lowered his head and continued on his way.

As Yu Xiaogang followed Luo Sanpao, he placed great trust in the instincts of his physical Martial Soul. Animals had stronger senses than humans, after all. At the same time, he tried to see whether he could summon his second Phone Martial Soul. Since Yu Xiaogang was a transmigrator, he was surely different from the natives.

Sure enough, he was different. Yu Xiaogang could actually summon two Martial Souls at the same time. This differed from the Twin Martial Souls of the continent, since the Douluo Continent novel's setting stated that Twin Martial Souls could not be used simultaneously.

A flash of golden light appeared in his left hand, and a phone resembling black crystal floated there. Only now did Yu Xiaogang carefully examine his Phone Martial Soul. He had been too exhausted yesterday and had received quite a fright, leaving him no time to inspect it closely.

The Phone Martial Soul seemed whole and seamless, pitch-black from top to bottom. It glimmered beneath the sunlight like a piece of black crystal. The charging port at the bottom had vanished, and the screen had grown considerably larger. If not for the few dim circles resembling camera lenses on its back, as well as the instinctive soul skill and information provided by the Phone Martial Soul, Yu Xiaogang would have thought he had awakened a black crystal brick.

As Yu Xiaogang continued following Luo Sanpao, he poured Soul Power into the phone, wanting to see whether the contents of his phone from his previous life were still there, what other abilities it possessed, and whether it could connect to Earth's internet. Although the Douluo Continent anime appeared quite modern, it was actually still a feudal society, with royalty, nobles, commoners, and Soul Masters. Its only entertainment was spirit battles and brothels, nothing compared to the vibrant life on Earth.

After receiving Soul Power, the phone's front screen lit up. A charging symbol appeared, and after a few seconds, two transparent rings spun before it entered the home screen.

"Did my phone level up when it transmigrated too? Soul Power can be used as electricity for the phone. It makes no scientific sense, but this is fantasy!"

Yu Xiaogang could not help complaining. Once the phone had booted up, the upper-right corner displayed 1% battery, while the signal indicator had disappeared. There were only four apps on the screen. One was Data, another was Calculation, which Yu Xiaogang had known about from the start. The remaining two were transparent squares labeled Unnamed.

"Is this my Golden Finger? Pretty amazing. Are the unnamed apps the soul rings my Phone Martial Soul has yet to obtain? It took one-tenth of my Soul Power to charge the phone by 1%. Let's see whether I can transfer the power back out. That way, I'll have a backup source of Soul Power!"

Yu Xiaogang said excitedly and immediately tried it. Sure enough, it could replenish his body's Soul Power in reverse. After circulating through the phone once, the Soul Power became easier to control and purer as well. He suddenly realized that the phone could even purify and compress Soul Power. This was truly an unexpected delight.

After all, now that he had become Yu Xiaogang, he had inherited Yu Xiaogang's terrible cultivation talent. He had been stuck as a level 29 Soul Grandmaster for nearly five years.

Yu Xiaogang would certainly be able to break through the bottleneck without relying on the precious medicine Tang San gave him. Now that he had a Golden Finger, breaking through to become a level 30 Quasi-Soul Elder was a sure thing. He did not want to truly remain a useless bum, or this transmigrator Yu Xiaogang would be an embarrassment to all the netizens out there.

"Hehe! Luo Sanpao, run! Let's find some civilization faster and taste some local Douluo Continent delicacies. I'm giving you an extra meal today! Chicken legs!!!"

Yu Xiaogang happily shouted at Luo Sanpao, telling him to run. The dry rations he had casually eaten that morning had already been digested, and he was getting hungry again.

"Luo Luo!"

The moment Luo Sanpao heard that he was getting an extra meal today, he perked up at once. Usually, all he got was radishes and croton seeds, and he had long grown tired of them. Back when he was with the Golden Iron Triangle, Flender and Liu Erlong would occasionally feed him roasted meat and fruit. His own master only gave him radishes and croton seeds. Just thinking about it made drool threaten to spill from his mouth.

After running for a while, Yu Xiaogang smelled cooking smoke. Rounding a bend, he saw a signpost standing not far down the path, bearing directions for Heaven Dou and Star Luo. At the end of the path lay a small village, wisps of cooking smoke drifting above it. They were probably making breakfast.

"Let's go, Luo Sanpao. We're almost there. I hope the Tujia Cuisine tastes good. We can ask someone where this place is, too. For some reason, it feels familiar." Looking at the signpost before him, Yu Xiaogang could not help taking a photo with his phone, intending to snap pictures and check in wherever he went in the future.

"Luo Luo." Luo Sanpao responded and followed behind Yu Xiaogang, wagging his tail.

Yu Xiaogang put away his Phone Martial Soul and tidied his clothes, which had become rumpled from running. He was about to meet people, after all, and he wanted to make a good first impression. He was not the original native Yu Xiaogang, who had considered himself superior simply because he was a Soul Master from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and looked down on commoners and independent Soul Masters. Basic courtesy was still necessary.

With random thoughts running through his mind, he headed toward the small village at the end of the path. First, he would eat a good meal, then find somewhere to settle down and properly sort through the wealth the native Yu Xiaogang had left him. The books, knowledge, cultivation notes, and insights Yu Xiaogang had collected from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Spirit Hall would be of great help to a cultivation novice from Earth like him in the early stages.

The author has released a new book. Those who enjoy Candle in the Tomb and The Lost Tomb fanfiction can go check it out. If you like it, please save the author's new book! Thank you, dear readers!