Courage Is Life's Anthem, Hope You Have It

Sun Kong nodded at Nan Liujing.

Nan Liujing stepped forward and followed Wu Jingru to where Wu Sidu and the others had been standing.

"Focus and calm your mind." Wu Jingru's expression turned solemn.

Nan Liujing closed his eyes and waited for the Awakening Light to descend upon him.

Rarely, Sun Kong's expression grew grave as well.

Wu Sidu watched curiously.

Soon, streaks of Awakening Light descended from the ceiling once again, converging beneath Nan Liujing's feet.

Threads of power drilled in through the soles of his feet. Nan Liujing felt his entire body grow warm, and he shuddered. Then, it was as though his five senses had been stripped away. He lost all perception, and his consciousness silently entered a hazy space.

Outside.

Under everyone's watchful gaze, countless dazzling dark-blue arcs of lightning suddenly shot from Nan Liujing's body. The liquid-like arcs quickly solidified, forming the faint phantom of a dragon.

With every soft dragon roar, the lightning element nearby grew stronger while all other elements weakened.

Gradually, the dragon-shaped phantom gathered together and transformed into a staff-shaped weapon.

"So it really is the Coiled Dragon Staff Martial Soul. It can even draw upon the lightning element of heaven and earth to suppress other elements. This child's Thunder Dragon Soul far surpasses his father's." Sun Kong's eyes were sharp as he asked in a deep voice, "Jingru, what level is this child's Innate Soul Power?"

Wu Jingru was about to use the Awakening Light to examine him when his expression suddenly changed slightly. He exclaimed in astonishment, "Something's wrong. This child has another Martial Soul within him."

"Twin Martial Souls again?"

Everyone was surprised at those words.

As the person involved, Nan Liujing had no idea what was happening in reality. At this moment, he was staring ahead with cold sweat streaming down his back.

In that instant, the hazy space before him was pierced by a bolt of violet-red lightning. It stopped only beneath his feet, forming a deep lightning ravine. The dense fog seemed to have encountered some terrifying force and was unable to gather again.

Following that straight path of lightning, he looked up. At its end stood a towering figure over three meters tall. Surging thunderbolts swirled around this mysterious person, while a Divine Wheel flickered in and out of sight behind his head, continuously radiating a terrifying aura that towered over heaven and earth.

The light and shadows were too hazy for Nan Liujing to see the man's face clearly, but he was certain that this person was staring at him.

"You are fortunate."

Just as Nan Liujing was on high alert, an ethereal voice that seemed to come from beyond the heavens drifted over from ahead.

It was him.

Nan Liujing's heart stirred. This voice was identical to the one that had berated him awake.

"The bloodline aura that awakened the Heavenly Tribulation Bead has vanished. In its place is you, who inherited that bloodline aura."

"All living beings must face heavenly tribulation in order to earn the recognition of the universe's will. Otherwise, they cannot take that step." As the mysterious man spoke, his voice became increasingly solemn. "And those chosen by the Heavenly Tribulation Bead must endure the baptism of heavenly lightning."

"The Heavenly Tribulation Bead will help the weak, but it will never help the cowardly."

"Courage is life's anthem. I hope you have it."

The mysterious man's piercing gaze shot directly at Nan Liujing, as if it sought to see through his very soul.

Nan Liujing's mind trembled, but his consciousness plunged back toward the real world.

When he opened his eyes again, he immediately experienced what Wu Sidu had seen when she awakened.

Sun Kong, Ye Changming, Wu Sidu, and the others were all staring at him without blinking, making his skin crawl.

Just as Nan Liujing was about to say something, he heard crackling currents of electricity by his ear. He turned his head and froze in place as though immobilized.

On the floor to one side stood a dark bluish-green staff that radiated a heavy aura. Its surface was covered in fine scale-like patterns, glinting with a faint cold light in the dim surroundings. What was strange was that these scales were not mere decorations. As dazzling electric arcs flowed and rose and fell across them, they seemed to breathe.

Nan Liujing could clearly sense that these dragon scales appeared to be drawing in lightning elements from heaven and earth and making them their own.

Beyond that, he could sense that within a ten-meter radius, the strength of every type of element was clearly weaker than that of the same elements beyond ten meters.

That took him by surprise, because he had previously asked Sun Kong about it. The Coiled Dragon Staff of the Thunder Dragon Soul did not possess such a special passive ability.

"Hold it." Sun Kong's voice came from nearby.

Nan Liujing took a deep breath and immediately reached out with his right hand to grasp the Coiled Dragon Staff itself.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

In an instant, the electric arcs across the Coiled Dragon Staff's surface became far more violent. Dazzling lightning flashed, and the dragon scales attached to it lit up with deep dark-blue radiance. High dragon roars continuously rang out from within it, and a will that seemed to say, though heaven and earth are vast, I shall roam them unshaken, left an imprint upon Nan Liujing's heart like a carving in stone.

Only after several seconds did the Coiled Dragon Staff finally quiet down, all its light fading away.

A faint lightning pattern flashed through Nan Liujing's dark-blue pupils.

"No wonder your uncle wanted to bring you here to awaken your Martial Soul. So he had prepared a surprise." Wu Jingru said with a smile.

Nan Liujing was still immersed in his Martial Soul. Hearing that, he was somewhat confused.

Sun Kong walked over and chuckled. "Try circulating your Soul Power and concentrating it in your left palm."

Nan Liujing's eyes immediately widened. Once he realized what that meant, he promptly did as told.

Colorless, transparent Soul Power gathered in his left palm. The next moment, a delicate, compact round object rose into view.

A faint sweet fragrance quickly spread through the air.

Nan Liujing froze. He had never imagined that his casual wish had actually come true—he had successfully inherited both of his parents' Martial Souls.

"It smells so good." Wu Sidu wrinkled her delicate nose, and her beautiful eyes lit up slightly.

"Hm?"

Sun Kong, Wu Jingru, Ye Changming, and the others had also caught the scent, but their expressions abruptly shifted from smiles to concealed astonishment.

All their gazes fell upon the colorless, nearly transparent candy.

Its fragrance could actually faintly help them gather Spiritual Power more effectively. With their cultivation, the improvement was negligible, but Nan Liujing only had ten levels of Soul Power and did not even possess a Soul Ring yet. Yet his Martial Soul alone could affect them. If it were allowed to grow, what level of power would it reach?

Sun Kong fell into thought. He understood the changes in both the Coiled Dragon Staff and this Candy Martial Soul better than anyone. His younger brother and sister-in-law had never displayed such abilities when they released their Martial Souls.

Wu Jingru narrowed his eyes slightly, and the way he looked at Nan Liujing changed.

A Coiled Dragon Staff with a true dragon-type Dragon Soul, plus a rare Food System Martial Soul.

This match between close families might not be such a bad idea after all.

"Both children have Innate Full Soul Power. Why don't we take them to the Spirit Pagoda to obtain Soul Spirits now?" Ye Changming suggested.

Wu Jingru and his wife both nodded in agreement.

Sun Kong glanced at Nan Liujing and Wu Sidu. "All right."

As the continent's most famous organization, the Spirit Pagoda had eighteen large branch towers throughout the Sun Moon Federation, each located in one of the eighteen most renowned major cities. These eighteen large Spirit Pagoda towers were also known as the Eighteen Sky Pillars.

As the city ranked third on Douluo Continent in overall strength, Star Luo City naturally possessed a Sky Pillar branch tower.

It was a massive building over five hundred meters tall, its walls silver-white, with faint glimmers from Soul Guidance Arrays visible upon them. Its base was octagonal and covered an enormous area. Every ten floors, the structure narrowed inward until it reached the top.

Even amid the towering buildings of Star Luo City, the Star Luo Spirit Transmission Pagoda stood out prominently and could be considered one of the city's landmarks.

After getting out of the car, Sun Kong led Nan Liujing and Wu Sidu up the steps alone. There were quite a few pedestrians within their sight, dressed like office workers and holding cups of coffee, but most had no fluctuations of Soul Power around them.

In this era, even the Tang Sect had openly established Xuan Shi Tang Sect Technology Co., Ltd. to pursue side businesses. Naturally, the Spirit Pagoda did not rely solely on selling Soul Spirits for profit and had many side businesses of its own. Quite a few floors in this Star Luo Spirit Transmission Pagoda building were used for everyday office work, so it was very lively on weekdays.

Upon entering the first floor of the Spirit Pagoda, Nan Liujing and Wu Sidu were already tired of seeing such lavish decor. The only thing that caught their attention was the colorful murals that encircled the vaulted ceiling.

The murals were splendid and magnificent. They depicted scenery and people, seemingly recording an incomplete story.

Many people around them were admiring them as well, and exclamations of praise rang out endlessly.

"I've come to the Star Luo Spirit Transmission Pagoda many times with my family elders, but no matter how many times I look at these murals, I'm still amazed." Wu Sidu looked up at a young man in one of the murals.

His eyes were exceptionally bright, and several Soul Spirits who had left legendary epics in the history of Douluo Continent surrounded him.

He was none other than Huo Yuhao, the Spirit Ice Douluo. Legend had it that he had already ascended to the Divine Realm and become a true god.

Around him were famous powerhouses of Huo Yuhao's generation, such as Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi. The murals recorded the story of their era.

It was Nan Liujing's first time seeing them, so he stopped to take a closer look.

At some point, Sun Kong had stopped as well, quietly watching the two children admire the murals.

"I heard from my dad that the Spirit Ice Douluo holds a very special place in Star Luo City. It has nothing to do with the Spirit Pagoda." Wu Sidu leaned close to Nan Liujing's ear and spoke softly, as though sharing a secret.

After learning that Nan Liujing was her godfather's nephew, Wu Sidu had naturally taken a liking to him. She did not feel the slightest sense of distance.

Warm breath brushed against his ear, and Nan Liujing felt as though he had been shocked. He instinctively turned to ask why, only to find himself face-to-face with Wu Sidu. Less than twenty centimeters separated them, close enough to hear each other breathe.

Their pupils reflected each other's exquisite faces, and both of them froze.

Nan Liujing recovered quickly. He hurriedly raised his head to look at the mural again and asked calmly, "Why?"

Wu Sidu had not expected him to turn around so suddenly and had been a little flustered herself. But seeing his reaction, she suddenly found it amusing and smiled. "It's said that ten thousand years ago, when the Sun Moon Empire, predecessor of the Federation, attacked Star Luo City, the Spirit Ice Douluo turned the tide and saved several million citizens within the city."

"Although the Federation does not think highly of the Spirit Ice Douluo, believing that he obstructed the continent's unification, the common people of Star Luo City don't care about that. They even spontaneously established the Grilled Fish Festival. The authorities could not be bothered to interfere, so they simply turned a blind eye. By now, it has evolved into a true traditional holiday."

Nan Liujing retained memories of his past life, but this was indeed the first time he had learned such a story. His interest immediately rose, and he could not help asking Wu Sidu more about it.

Wu Sidu did not refuse at all and happily chatted with Nan Liujing in detail.

The two spoke back and forth, completely failing to notice the increasingly broad smile at the corners of Sun Kong's mouth.