Don't Drive on Overpasses in the Rain

Whoosh.

The spinning lightning flew back into Nan Liujing's hand, transforming once more into the Coiled Dragon Staff's original form. Its previously overwhelming aura had vanished.

Countless motes of light surged toward him and flowed into his body. Unfortunately, it had not yet broken through to the thousand-year level, though it was not far off.

The Wind Baboon leader in the distance froze for a moment. Then its cold pupils seemed to bleed, turning a solid crimson. A brutal aura began to spread as its dark yellow fur gradually transformed into blood-red fur.

Having lost its backbone, the nine hundred-year Wind Baboons would face an extremely bleak future in the forest. How could it not be furious?

Sensing the killing intent, dark blue Soul Power began flowing across Nan Liujing's body. Crackling arcs of electricity crawled over him and climbed onto the Coiled Dragon Staff.

A yellow soul ring rose beneath his feet.

The two human youths who had retreated into the distance immediately widened their eyes, stunned by the sight.

Only a one-ring Soul Master?

"Roar."

The Wind Baboon leader fixed Nan Liujing with a deadly glare. With a low growl, its fur floated upward as faint wind-element energy coursed around it. Its massive body crouched slightly, then its legs kicked off the ground. Riding the wind upward and then charging with it, it leaped more than ten meters into the air, tracing an arc as it arrived directly above Nan Liujing.

Its two bulging arms came together again, forming a warhammer shape. But with the enhancement of wind-attributed Soul Power, the attack now carried an intense sharpness. It chopped downward from above as though wielding a giant axe, radiating astonishing pressure.

What the hell? Is that really a Wind Baboon?

Nan Liujing's eyelid twitched as astonishment filled his heart.

But he was not slow to react. His soul ring flashed, and lightning power erupted from his body like a fountain. Then a bizarre scene unfolded—Nan Liujing seemed to melt away, vanishing from the ground.

The Wind Baboon leader struck down. Before its blow even landed, the sharp air currents churned up the ground, sending countless blades of grass flying as thousands of fine cracks appeared. The next instant, an earthquake-like boom erupted across the grassland.

Ripple-like wind shockwaves swept wildly in every direction. Even some thousand-year soul beasts would have feared the power of that blow, yet it had been unleashed by a Wind Baboon, a creature at the very bottom of the soul beast food chain. It was truly unusual.

The two youths hiding nearby had their hair blown into disarray. Their faces felt as if sharp blades had swept past them, leaving a stinging pain. Still, the Wind Baboon's cultivation was limited, so its actual attack range was not quite so terrifying.

"Ook! Ook! Ook!"

The ten-year Wind Baboons with tawny fur in the distance let out excited cries, cheering for their leader.

Yet no one noticed that above this patch of forest, liquid-like lightning plasma was rapidly gathering into a human figure. His body bent slightly into a crescent shape, both arms gripping a staff curved like a whip behind his head. Dim, heavy radiance flickered along it, while the other end faintly took the shape of a dragon's tail.

After finishing its attack, the Wind Baboon leader swept its crimson eyes around, but failed to find the target it wanted to kill.

"Looking for me?"

An indifferent voice came from overhead. The Wind Baboon leader looked up instinctively, and its pupils abruptly contracted.

A massive dragon-tail phantom seemed to tear through space as it smashed down with unstoppable force. Terrifying lightning churned the air, filling the surroundings with warped afterimages and resounding dragon roars.

Boom!

A sound like thunder striking the earth exploded where the Wind Baboon leader stood. Blinding light burst forth, and a vast stretch of grassland around it collapsed as countless cracks spread across the ground.

At the very center, the Wind Baboon leader instantly turned into a cloud of blood mist. A grazing blow meant instant death.

The ordinary Wind Baboons in the distance, still howling in celebration, seemed to have their throats seized. Their cheers abruptly ceased. Without pausing for even a moment, the group of Wind Baboons, none of them even a hundred years old, scrambled up the trees and fled deeper into the forest in terror, afraid they would also be smashed to death with a single strike.

"Now that was satisfying!"

A hearty laugh rang out as Nan Liujing descended from the air, electric arcs still dancing around his body. Holding the Coiled Dragon Staff in one hand, he spun it in a flourish before it turned into a streak of lightning and drilled back into his body.

Looking at the spiritual energy motes within the crater, he stretched out his hand and drew them over. Dense spiritual energy rapidly merged into the Thunderous Nethervine Soul Spirit, which was still asleep.

This six-hundred-year Wind Baboon leader had provided sixty years' worth of growth points. Combined with the one hundred and thirty years of growth energy provided by the nine one- to two-hundred-year Wind Baboons, Nan Liujing's first Soul Spirit's age had been forcefully raised to one thousand and forty years.

There were two ways to elevate a Soul Spirit. One was to do so directly within the Spirit Ascension Platform, while the other was to store the energy first and enhance it after leaving.

There was plenty of time, so Nan Liujing naturally intended to continue increasing his Soul Spirit's age. However, he did not immediately begin the elevation.

"You can come out now," Nan Liujing said toward a large tree in the distance.

Two figures quickly emerged from behind the tree. They were the twin brothers.

Having witnessed everything from start to finish, their faces still held lingering shock.

Especially when they noticed the crater beside Nan Liujing and the dense web of cracks, their throats bobbed involuntarily.

The youth who looked more composed introduced himself with a fist-and-palm salute. "Hello, I'm Chu Ziyuan. This is my younger brother, Chu Zihang."

"Chu Zihang?" Nan Liujing's expression turned strange. "Have you gotten your driver's licenses?"

On Douluo Continent, the legal age for Soul Masters to get a driver's license was fourteen, while ordinary people had to be eighteen.

"We have," Chu Ziyuan replied, not understanding why he was asking.

Chu Zihang asked curiously, "Is there a problem?"

"Just remember not to drive onto an overpass when it rains." Nan Liujing smiled and smoothly changed the subject. "I'm Nan Liujing. Nice to meet you."

Chu Zihang looked utterly baffled, but Chu Ziyuan reacted quickly and took the initiative to continue. "I didn't expect us to be so lucky as to encounter a Special Type Wind Baboon."

"A Special Type Wind Baboon?" Nan Liujing's heart stirred. He had felt from the start that the Wind Baboon leader was not quite right.

Hearing that, Chu Ziyuan immediately concluded that this was Nan Liujing's first time entering the Spirit Ascension Platform. He explained calmly, "Wind Baboons were originally just a very ordinary kind of soul beast. But according to the diaries of Dragon God Douluo Bei Bei and Blue Silver Douluo Tang Ya from ten thousand years ago..."

"When the legendary Spirit Ice Douluo was young, he once entered the Star Dou Great Forest alone and encountered a ten-year Wind Baboon. He nearly died because of it. Later, when the Spirit Pagoda marked its five-thousandth anniversary, the last wild Wind Baboon went extinct. The Spirit Pagoda specifically added Special Type Wind Baboons to the Spirit Ascension Platform because of that."

"When a Special Type Wind Baboon enters Blood Rage, it becomes like the one you just fought. Its combat power is nearly on par with top-tier soul beasts of the same age, like Blood Red Baboons."

"Because the Spirit Pagoda's higher-ups of that era believed that any Wind Baboon capable of driving the Spirit Ice Douluo into a desperate situation had to be special. They figured it was probably a mutant."

Nan Liujing's mouth twitched slightly.

What normal person keeps a diary?

Bei Bei and Tang Ya were something else. They had practically stripped Huo Yuhao bare.

Still, that battle truly had been magnificent. Although the Wind Baboon had failed to slay a god and died with regrets, it had still claimed the top spot on Douluo Continent's Season 2 Fame Ranking.

What, you ask who topped the Season 1 Fame Ranking?

That was obviously everyone's favorite sneak attacker, the Man Faced Demon Spider.

"Oh, right." Chu Zihang cut in excitedly. "Killing a Special Type Wind Baboon gives you a Soul Spirit Choice Card."

"What's that?" Nan Liujing felt like he needed to catch up on his studies.

Chu Ziyuan smiled as he explained, "A Soul Spirit Choice Card is basically an Easter egg reward. As long as you kill a Special Type Wind Baboon, you can choose any Soul Spirit under ten thousand years old from within the Spirit Pagoda. That includes rare-grade ones."

"Its value is impossible to measure. In this era, Soul Spirits provide far too much of a boost to Soul Masters. A good Soul Spirit can absolutely change someone's life."

"However, Special Type Wind Baboons are extremely rare. Someone once spent half a year in the beginner Spirit Ascension Platform killing Wind Baboons and still never got one."

"Oh, and once you leave the Spirit Ascension Platform, staff will come find you. Congratulations."

After hearing his explanation, Nan Liujing finally understood.

However, thanks to his uncle's connections, he did not particularly need this Soul Spirit Choice Card. He would keep it for now and trade it for something equally valuable later.

The three chatted briefly for a while longer. Then the Chu brothers prepared to take their leave first and make the most of their entry passes to the Spirit Ascension Platform. After all, each one cost several hundred thousand.

Chu Ziyuan gave another fist-and-palm salute. "I hope to see you on the Young Genius Ranking someday."

"May your words come true." Nan Liujing watched the brothers leave.

Both sides had only exchanged names. They had not asked anything related to each other's Martial Souls or Soul Master abilities, since such questions were rather impolite among strangers.

But Nan Liujing had undoubtedly left a deep impression on the brothers.

He was young and possessed only one soul ring, yet he had instantly killed a group of hundred-year Wind Baboons and a Special Type Wind Baboon.

They had only met by chance, but when Nan Liujing became powerful in the future, the brothers would have quite a story to tell.

Retracting his gaze, Nan Liujing moved and concealed himself among the dense leaves of a branch. After confirming that no nearby soul beasts would come disturb him, he immediately prepared to elevate his Soul Spirit before continuing his hunt.

In truth, Soul Spirit elevation was nothing special. It simply involved pouring the collected spiritual energy into the Soul Spirit.

The Thunderous Nethervine sleeping within his sea of consciousness began radiating purple lightning. It was gradually almost entirely enveloped by the light, making its form impossible to see clearly.

Yet Nan Liujing could sense that the aura emitted by the Thunderous Nethervine was rising rapidly.

Less than a minute later, the lightning radiance dispersed, and the Thunderous Nethervine reappeared. Visible changes had taken place.

The flower bud at its tip had become a deeper color. Its vines had shifted from light purple to dark purple, and their number had increased to ten.

"Feels good..." A faint, indistinct voice drifted over.

Nan Liujing instantly opened his eyes and released his Spiritual Power.

An occasional breeze passed through the forest, rustling the dense leaves, but there was no other movement.

Nan Liujing frowned. Had he heard wrong?

Buzz—

Just as Nan Liujing was wondering, a strange lightning sigil suddenly emerged in his eyes.

A startling suction force, like an invisible hand gripping his skull, forcibly dragged him back into his sea of consciousness.

The successive changes caught Nan Liujing off guard. He looked around in alarm, and his pupils shrank slightly. Floating before him was an almost transparent phantom.

It was his Candy Martial Soul.

"This..." Nan Liujing froze.

Rumble!

Suddenly, deafening thunder erupted overhead.

The Heavenly Tribulation Bead floating above the sea of consciousness abruptly shot out a beam of brilliant golden light. As Nan Liujing watched in astonishment, it rapidly merged into the phantom of the Candy Martial Soul.

Visible to the naked eye, the Candy Martial Soul, which had originally lacked the support of a Soul Spirit, gradually lit up with threads of dazzling radiance. It ceased to be transparent, and fine dragon scales faintly surfaced across it. Yet these were not the dark blue dragon scales of the Thunder Dragon Soul, but brighter golden dragon patterns.

Resounding dragon roars continuously burst from within the Candy Martial Soul. A rich fragrance then drifted out, and after taking a single breath, Nan Liujing clearly felt that gathering his Spiritual Power had become easier.

"I never expected the opportunity the Heavenly Tribulation Bead seized for you to be used on this power of yours. That is an unexpected blessing as well." The voice carried a trace of surprise. It was Thunder God Ling Ting.

Looking at his drastically changed Candy Martial Soul, Nan Liujing could not help asking, "Senior, what do you mean?"

Thunder God said, "When the Heavenly Tribulation Bead entered your sea of consciousness, I sensed that your soul had seemingly suffered some kind of impact and was continuously breaking apart. Within half a month, you would have died. So I took it upon myself to extract a hidden power from within you—a power that should never have been born—and use it to repair your soul."

"Inevitably, this Candy Martial Soul became tainted with a trace of your soul power. But because it was used to repair the origin of your soul, it lost its value as something usable."

So that was why I could awaken, and why my Spiritual Power was so strong from birth?

Nan Liujing suddenly understood. "In other words, although I have Twin Martial Souls, my Candy Martial Soul was effectively ruined when it repaired my soul?"

The impact Thunder God had mentioned was most likely the conflict between his awakened memories of his past life and the memories of this life. If he had been a powerful Soul Master, he might have been able to endure it. But as a small child, he had been utterly unable to bear it, so he would have died.

Thunder God said, "I do not really understand your world's cultivation system, but it is roughly as you say. It had already been ruined, which was why it appeared transparent."

"However... after the Heavenly Tribulation Bead fused the power it had seized into it, it revived once more. You can still use Soul Power to control it, but it cannot fuse with a Soul Spirit like that Coiled Dragon Staff. As for the specifics, you will have to experience them for yourself."

Nan Liujing fell into a long silence. Who could have imagined that such a series of changes would happen to him?

After saying this, Thunder God fell silent. The vast sea of consciousness became quiet once more.

As his consciousness withdrew, the world before Nan Liujing once again became the dense forest. With a thought, a golden soul ring rose beneath him, dispelling the surrounding gloom.

Looking at this unusual "soul ring," Nan Liujing's expression was especially complicated.

"Whatever. What's done is done. Thinking about anything else won't help. I'll first see what this Candy Martial Soul fused with that opportunity can do."

He was still curious about what exactly this opportunity was.

He spread open his left palm. At his command, the golden soul ring gave off a gentle glow and continuously drew in the surrounding Heaven and Earth Origin Energy. A ball of light gathered above his palm. Half a minute later, an enticing fragrance spread through the air, and a candy covered in golden dragon scales appeared in his palm. It resembled the Super Lollipop from GG Bond, though it was not nearly that large.

"Half a minute to make one. That's slow. It automatically absorbs Heaven and Earth Origin Energy as its power source, so I'm barely consuming any Soul Power." Nan Liujing summarized the candy-making process.

Overall, this candy took rather long to make. For now, he was not sure whether the production speed would increase as his cultivation grew, nor was he sure how long it could be stored.

But its advantages were obvious. It did not consume his own Soul Power at all, preventing him from running short of Soul Power when using the Coiled Dragon Staff because he had spent it making soul power food.

Picking up the Super Lollipop that gave off a hazy golden glow, Nan Liujing looked it over from left to right. After confirming that no one was around, he tried tossing it into his mouth.

The moment it entered his mouth, his expression changed.

First Soul Skill: Thunder Dragon Breaks Through The Void!

For the exact appearance, you can refer to the "four-bean" charged attack in Black Myth: Wukong.

This explains why the Candy Martial Soul's innate fragrance could enhance the concentration of Spiritual Power.