Ah Yin: Every Man for Himself

"Could you tell me about my parents?" Nan Liujing asked casually on the way back.

Sun Kong did not refuse. In an unhurried tone, he began telling the story.

Nan Liujing listened attentively. The vague outlines of his parents lingering in his memories gradually became clear as the story unfolded.

"Come to think of it, you've reached the age to awaken your Martial Soul. I just don't know whether you'll inherit your father's Martial Soul or your mother's."

With the story temporarily at an end, Sun Kong smoothly changed the subject.

"If possible, I'd rather inherit both," Nan Liujing said, half joking and half serious.

Sun Kong glanced at Nan Liujing from the corner of his eye and smiled faintly. "If that really happened, the moment you awakened your Martial Souls, Shrek Academy—or any top academy, really—would probably admit you in advance."

Nan Liujing was puzzled. "Why?"

Sun Kong said, "Your father's Martial Soul was called the Coiled Dragon Staff, and it was a Coiled Dragon Staff fused with a dragon soul. Your mother's Martial Soul was Candy, an exceedingly rare Food System Martial Soul in this era. Of course, a single Food System Martial Soul alone would not earn such favor from Shrek Academy. But if you possessed Twin Martial Souls, that would mean you were guaranteed Innate Full Soul Power. With that, full-scale cultivation would almost guarantee you a Nine-Ring Titled Douluo. And the last Food System Titled Douluo appeared more than a decade ago."

A name and the outline of a very plump figure immediately surfaced in Nan Liujing's mind.

Xu Lizhi, one of the Shrek Seven Monsters from Tang Wulin's generation.

His Martial Soul was buns, and he had Innate Full Soul Power. He had been admitted to Shrek Academy in advance when he was only ten, perhaps even earlier.

It seemed Food System Soul Masters, especially gifted ones, were extremely popular in the era of The Legend of the Dragon King.

The only thing Nan Liujing had not expected was that his father's Martial Soul was actually the Coiled Dragon Staff. Yet his surname was Nan, so he clearly was not from the Qian Gu Family line.

"Uncle, what makes the dragon soul carried by the Coiled Dragon Staff Martial Soul different?" he continued asking.

"I knew you'd be more interested in the Coiled Dragon Staff than the Candy Martial Soul." Sun Kong wore an expression that said he had seen through him. "An ordinary Coiled Dragon Staff Martial Soul is only a low- to mid-grade Martial Soul. It has no dragon soul fused to it. You can think of it as a staff with fairly decent attack power—or rather, Martial Souls like that should not be called Coiled Dragon Staffs in the first place."

"But a Coiled Dragon Staff that is born with a dragon soul fused to it when the Martial Soul awakens is entirely different. Dragon souls are ranked as well. The lowest are mainly draconic beast-type souls, but even then, as long as it possesses a dragon soul, it is guaranteed to reach the level of a high-grade Weapon Martial Soul."

"The next level consists of true dragon-type souls. Your father's Coiled Dragon Staff had one of those, called the Thunder Dragon. You can think of it as a dragon-soul version of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. It counts as a top-tier Weapon Martial Soul."

Nan Liujing frowned, unsure whether the Thunder Dragon Soul would be suppressed.

Sun Kong did not notice the change in his expression. As he drove, he added, "The most powerful Coiled Dragon Staff, however, is the Martial Soul inherited by the renowned Qian Gu Family. Their dragon soul is the Evil-Breaking Dragon Soul, born of heaven and earth and condensed from the righteous energy between them."

"That is the general classification of Coiled Dragon Staffs."

After thinking for a moment, Nan Liujing asked with the curiosity appropriate for his age, "Then can the dragon soul fused to a Coiled Dragon Staff evolve? For example, could it become an Evil-Breaking Dragon Soul?"

He knew that the Evil-Breaking Dragon Soul was not suppressed by the bloodlines of the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings.

Sun Kong answered bluntly, "No matter what type of Martial Soul it is, it should have an opportunity for a second awakening. But to this day, according to records, only the second awakening method for Body Martial Souls has been summarized into a theory that can be passed down. Yet Martial Souls of that type are far too rare. As for the Coiled Dragon Staff Martial Soul, there has never been a second awakening. There have only been mutations."

Nan Liujing fell silent.

A Coiled Dragon Staff fused with the Thunder Dragon was indeed powerful, comparable to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. But for him, it was absolutely not enough.

In truth, he knew Sun Kong was not entirely correct. The second awakening of a Martial Soul was not something only Body Martial Souls had a transferable theory for; it could be applied more broadly. A typical example was how Tang Wulin had been thrown into the sea by the current sect master of the Original Body Sect to temper himself.

But Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King Bloodline had been powerful enough to carry him through it by force. Without that bloodline, an ordinary person had a ninety-nine percent chance of being killed by it.

Seeing Nan Liujing fall silent, Sun Kong assumed he was digesting the knowledge. "Get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, we'll return to Star Luo City and awaken your Martial Soul there while we're at it."

"Yes." Nan Liujing answered respectfully.

The hovering Soul Guidance Vehicle rounded the mountain road, and the skyscrapers of Shrek City gradually emerged in the distance. Nan Liujing's gaze grew distant.

Second awakening. Mutation.

Something suddenly stirred in his heart: that peculiar sphere of lightning within his consciousness—or rather, his sea of spirit—and the voice that had startled him awake.

What could that be?

Was it an opportunity meant for him?

Within a space resembling primordial chaos, bizarre, kaleidoscopic lights occasionally flashed past. Heaven and earth were impossible to distinguish.

A massive hammer, like the peak of a giant god, hung in the air. A terrifying aura as towering and unfathomable as an abyss continually spread from it, as though it were suppressing something.

Unwilling roars and successive tremors echoed one after another, yet beneath the aura spreading from the giant hammer, they could never form any effective force.

Everything seemed to have remained in this state for a long time. Yet at that moment, a figure sitting cross-legged atop the enormous hammer seemed to sense something and slowly opened his eyes.

His pitch-black eyes seemed to pierce through space as they swept across that enormous world.

"Hao Ge, what is it?" A gentle female voice rang out. A glimmer of green-gold light filled with boundless vitality lit up in this chaotic world. It belonged to an incomparably beautiful figure. Though her features could not be seen clearly, her silhouette alone was enough to leave one stunned.

Tang Hao withdrew his Spiritual Sense and said gravely, "I sensed two unfamiliar divine auras."

"Divine auras?" The woman's voice turned astonished. Then, seeming to think of something, she said solemnly, "Could the Abyssal Sage King have grown impatient? But Tang San said that within the Abyss Plane, only the Abyssal Sage King barely qualifies as a god."

Tang Hao shook his head. "It isn't the Abyssal Sage King. Without absolute confidence, he would not rashly descend upon Douluo Star."

"Of the two divine auras I sensed, one felt somewhat similar to the Golden Dragon King, but it was very vague. I cannot tell whether it is real or false."

The beautiful figure said in surprise, "Similar to the Golden Dragon King? Then could it be the one that vanished many years ago..."

"I can't be certain. But if it truly is, then it would be a good opportunity." Tang Hao said in a deep voice, "Wulin is about to awaken his Martial Soul. You can secretly stimulate the Golden Dragon King Bloodline within him to awaken and merge with his Martial Soul. Perhaps we can use this chance to arrange an immense opportunity for Wulin."

"The Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King have always had two souls that draw each other in. Even if I sensed wrongly in the end, there will be no loss."

"Alright." The beautiful figure answered solemnly.

"As for the other divine aura..." Tang Hao frowned slightly. "I am certain I did not sense it wrongly, but that aura was extremely obscure and vanished in an instant. Even I could not seize its exact trace."

The beautiful figure considered it. "Ever since Douluo Star connected with the Abyss Plane, the Spatial Nodes have become somewhat unstable. Perhaps you sensed the aura of an inheritance left behind by some god within a Lesser World."

"That is possible. I am only worried that the appearance of this aura will muddy Tang San's ten-thousand-year plan."

"Rumble—"

As Tang Hao spoke, this world suddenly shook. Layer upon layer of ripples spread like a tsunami. Most of them gathered together and madly crashed against the towering hammer beneath Tang Hao, as if trying to overturn it.

"Still refusing to submit." A savage glint flashed through Tang Hao's eyes. His heavy right hand struck violently toward the void, and in an instant, vast divine power swept out. When it slammed into the "tsunami," it immediately shattered it into countless fragments.

After taking that blow, the "tsunami" seemed to lose its strength and did not appear again.

Tang Hao snorted coldly. "Ah Yin, do as I said. Next, I will sleep for a time to strengthen the seal and accelerate the refinement."

"Alright." Ah Yin glanced at the faint, imprisoned mass of light and shadow beneath the giant hammer, then gently shook her head.

Every man for himself, and heaven and earth will destroy those who do not.

If you must blame someone, blame yourself for becoming the Plane Spirit of Douluo Star.

Though it was a Coiled Dragon Staff, rest assured, the protagonist would not be suppressed by bloodline.