Celestial Master Talisman and Treasure-Gathering Golden Toad

Qian He.

A character from the movie Uncle Zombie, he was also a Maoshan Daoist and Shi Jian's junior brother. In the martial world, he was known as: Only Fights Peak Matches!

It meant that although he was very strong and could utterly crush a bunch of weaklings, he always chose opponents stronger than himself. The outcome went without saying—he got beaten badly every time.

As for He Shen...

Looking at the character on the card in his hand—a man with a queue braid, a large round face, and a beaming smile, who looked remarkably like Teacher Wang Gang from before his transmigration—Ye Zhou's eyes flashed with a complicated emotion.

Whether it was Yan Chixia, Shi Jian, or Qian He, all of them possessed formidable combat power. But He Shen was undoubtedly an ordinary person. Awakening a martial soul at his age meant he would not get far on the path of a Soul Master.

That was one thing, but more importantly, this guy was a notoriously corrupt official. If Ye Zhou summoned him and put him to work, would he take the opportunity to embezzle his money?

This was a very serious problem!

"Oh? Qian He? You actually summoned him?" Shi Jian walked over and looked at the character cards in Ye Zhou's hand. Seeing one depicting an old acquaintance, he was quite surprised.

Still, it was good that Qian He had come. Shi Jian wanted to establish the Maoshan Sect in this world, and having him around to help would make things much easier.

The other card was...

He Shen?

Never heard of him.

"Is there anything special about this person?" Shi Jian asked Ye Zhou.

"He was the Grand Councilor of some dynasty and the emperor's confidant, more or less equivalent to a prime minister," Ye Zhou said.

"Isn't that great? A talented man!" Shi Jian said.

With a prime minister helping manage the sect's miscellaneous affairs, surely the sect would be kept in perfect order?

"But he was incredibly corrupt. The money he embezzled exceeded the national treasury," Ye Zhou added.

Shi Jian: "..."

Maybe they should just not summon this guy?

"Ah, forget it. He may be a corrupt official, but he's still talented. If Qianlong could use him, so can I." After thinking it over, Ye Zhou let out a sigh.

Then, with a sweep of his hand, he shot out the two character cards and thought, Use!

"Buzz~"

"Buzz~"

Two flashes of light passed by, and two figures appeared in the room.

One wore an orange Daoist robe, a Daoist crown, and carried a wooden sword. His face was filled with righteous dignity.

The other wore a lavish long robe. Most of his scalp was shaved bare, with a queue braid hanging down from the back. He wore a beaming smile and had the look of a perfect lackey.

"Hm? Senior Brother!" Just as he was about to be grabbed and bitten by the Royal Zombie, Qian He had been suddenly summoned to another world at the critical moment. He swept his gaze around, and when he saw Shi Jian, he froze in disbelief.

What was going on? Why was Senior Brother here too?

"It's been a long time, Junior Brother," Shi Jian said with a faint smile.

His relationships with several of his junior brothers had not been very good, but they were still fellow disciples. Besides, he had taught them all their abilities.

Take Lin Jiu, Lin Fengjiao, whom he disliked most. After Lin Jiu caused trouble and let so many wandering ghosts escape, Shi Jian still rushed over to clean up the mess as soon as he received word. So there was still brotherly affection between them.

"Greetings, Senior Brother!" Daoist Qian He hurried over to Shi Jian and cupped his hands in salute.

"Mm, rise. Junior Brother, this is Brother Ye." Shi Jian nodded, helped Qian He up, and introduced Ye Zhou beside him.

"I know. Brother Ye was the one who summoned me here. Brother Ye, thank you for summoning me in time. Otherwise, this humble Daoist would likely have been... bitten by that zombie. Sigh!" His skills had been inferior to the zombie's. All four of his disciples had died, and he himself had nearly met his end. Daoist Qian He could not help but let out a heavy sigh.

"What happened?" Shi Jian frowned and asked.

"It was like this..." Qian He looked at Shi Jian and recounted what had happened.

"A zombie that had survived a lightning tribulation and gained sentience? No wonder... Junior Brother, this isn't your fault. It was all because of that steward. He actually refused to let the coffin into the tent first, allowing the rain to wash away the ink-line water," Shi Jian said to Qian He.

If Qian He could not defeat an ordinary zombie, then he could certainly be blamed for being useless.

But if he could not defeat a sentient Royal Zombie like that, it was not his fault. The gap in strength was right there. What could he do?

"In the end, this humble Daoist was still incompetent." Qian He shook his head.

At that moment, He Shen, who had remained silent until then, had more or less figured out what was going on. He looked at Ye Zhou, shuddered, then bent over and jogged toward him.

"Master, this servant He Shen pays his respects!" He Shen directly performed a full prostration before Ye Zhou.

Shi Jian: "???"

Qian He: "???"

"Ahem, Lord He, get up." Ye Zhou coughed and raised a hand toward He Shen.

In both his previous and current life, this was the first time someone had bowed to him so deeply. If you're like this, I'll feel even more embarrassed not to use you.

"Yes!" He Shen called out, then climbed up from the floor.

After standing up, he cupped his hands toward Shi Jian and Qian He in turn. "This lowly one is He Shen. Greetings, esteemed Daoists."

"You are a prime minister. There's no need to be so polite," Shi Jian said with a frown.

The world Shi Jian and Qian He came from also had the Qing Dynasty, but it was a parallel world to He Shen's. In that world, there had never been a He Shen in history.

"In my own world, this lowly one was merely the emperor's servant. I would not dare call myself a prime minister." He Shen repeatedly waved his hands.

"Enough, Lord He. No one here sees you as a servant. But if you keep calling yourself one, over time, we might start treating you like one. Don't blame us then," Ye Zhou said.

He Shen wore a serious expression. "Please simply treat this servant as a servant."

Ye Zhou: "..."

You really are stubborn. Then you can't blame me in the future.

"Here are two copies of the novel Douluo Continent. They tell the story of this world. The protagonist, Tang San, is now a little over six years old. I'll help you awaken your martial souls first. Once that's done, you can read them." Ye Zhou took out two novels and handed them to Qian He and He Shen.

"Alright."

"Yes."

After the two accepted the novels, Ye Zhou began arranging the awakening ceremony. Once he had finished preparing, he started awakening their martial souls.

In the end, Daoist Qian He awakened a tool martial soul: a talisman floating in midair. After thinking for a moment, Ye Zhou named it the Celestial Master Talisman!

Then came the Soul Power test. Qian He's Soul Power was level seventy-nine, far weaker than Shi Jian's. After adding soul rings, he should reach somewhere above level eighty.

Then came He Shen. His martial soul was a Three-legged Toad covered in gilded gold, squatting atop a gold ingot. Its eyes resembled rubies, and it held a copper coin in its mouth.

It was practically a Treasure-Gathering Golden Toad.

Then there was his Soul Power...

Holy shit!

Ye Zhou's eyes widened. He Shen, who had originally been just an ordinary person, actually possessed level ten Soul Power after awakening his martial soul?

Wait, wasn't this true Innate Full Soul Power in the strictest sense?

He really was a talented man!

He was just a little old.