Courage is the Hymn of Life, I Hope You Have It

Sun Kong nodded toward Nan Liujing.

Nan Liujing walked out and followed Wu Jingru to the spot where Wu Sidao and the others had just been standing.

"Focus your mind and calm your spirit," Wu Jingru said with a solemn expression.

Nan Liujing closed his eyes, waiting for the Awakening Light to descend upon him.

Rarely, Sun Kong's expression also turned grave.

Wu Sidao watched with curiosity.

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

Wisps of power burrowed in from the soles of his feet. Nan Liujing felt his entire body grow warm. His frame shuddered, and then his five senses seemed to be stripped away. He lost all ability to perceive his surroundings, and his consciousness quietly drifted into a blurry space.

Outside.

Under the gaze of the crowd, countless dazzling dark blue electric arcs suddenly shot out from the surface of Nan Liujing's body. Those arcs, flowing like liquid, rapidly solidified and transformed into a faint, flickering dragon-shaped phantom.

With every faint dragon roar that echoed, the lightning elements in the vicinity grew stronger, while the other elements weakened.

Gradually, the dragon-shaped phantom began to coalesce, changing into a staff-shaped weapon.

"It really is the Dragon Subduing Staff Martial Soul. To be able to influence the lightning elements of heaven and earth to suppress all other elements—this child's Thunder Dragon Soul is far superior to his father's." Sun Kong's gaze was like a torch as he asked in a deep voice, "Jingru, what is this child's Innate Soul Power level?"

Wu Jingru was just about to use the Awakening Light to check when his expression suddenly shifted. He exclaimed in astonishment, "Something is wrong. There is another Martial Soul inside this child."

"Twin Martial Souls again?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was taken aback.

Nan Liujing, the person involved, did not know what was happening in reality. At this moment, he was staring ahead, cold sweat pouring down his face.

In that very instant, the blurry space before him had been pierced by a bolt of purple-red lightning. It stopped only at his feet, forming a deep lightning ravine. The dense, deep fog seemed to have encountered some terrifying power, failing to gather back together.

Following this straight path of lightning, he looked up. At the end of it, a towering figure over three meters tall stood firm. Surging thunder swirled around this mysterious person, and a divine halo flickered behind his head, constantly emitting a terrifying aura that transcended heaven and earth.

Because the light and shadows were hazy, Nan Liujing could not see the person's face clearly, but he was certain that this person was staring right at him.

"You are very lucky."

Just as Nan Liujing was on high alert, a melodious voice, as if coming from beyond the heavens, drifted toward him from the front.

It was him.

Nan Liujing's heart stirred. The voice that had scolded him awake was exactly the same as this one.

"The bloodline aura that awakened the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl has vanished. In its place, there is you, who carries the inheritance of that bloodline."

"All living beings must face the Heavenly Tribulation to gain the recognition of the Cosmic Will; otherwise, it is difficult to take that step," the mysterious person said, their voice growing increasingly solemn. "And those chosen by the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl must all face the baptism of the heavenly lightning."

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

"Courage is the anthem of life. I hope you possess it."

The mysterious person's sharp gaze pierced straight at Nan Liujing, as if intending to see through to his very soul.

Nan Liujing's mind jolted, his consciousness plummeting back toward the real world.

Opening his eyes again, he immediately experienced a wave of the same scene Wu Sidao had seen when she first woke up.

Sun Kong, Ye Changming, Wu Sidao, and the others were all staring at him unblinkingly, making him feel a bit uneasy.

Just as Nan Liujing was about to say something, he heard the "crackle" of electricity ringing in his ears. He turned his head to look and froze in place, as if petrified.

Right there on the floor to one side stood a dark green staff that exuded a heavy aura. Its surface was covered in fine, scale-like patterns that shimmered with a faint, cold light in the dim environment. Strangely, these scales were not merely decorative; as dazzling electric arcs flowed and pulsed over them, they seemed to breathe.

Nan Liujing could clearly feel that these dragon scales were absorbing the lightning elements from the world around them and incorporating them for their own use.

Beyond that, he could sense that the various elements within a ten-meter radius were significantly weaker than those of the same type outside that range.

This was unexpected, as he had previously asked Sun Kong, and the Thunder Dragon Soul's Dragon Subduing Staff possessed no such special passive effect.

"Hold it," Sun Kong's voice came from not far away.

Nan Liujing took a deep breath, immediately reached out his right hand, and gripped the body of the Dragon Subduing Staff.

"Crackle, crackle, crackle!"

In an instant, the electric arcs on the surface of the Dragon Subduing Staff became significantly more active. Dazzling electric light flashed, and the dragon scales attached to it lit up with a deep, dark blue radiance. A high-pitched dragon roar echoed continuously from within, and a will—no matter how vast the world, I shall roam it unperturbed—was etched into Nan Liujing's heart like a stone carving.

A few seconds later, the Dragon Subduing Staff finally quieted down, and all the light faded away.

A faint electric pattern flashed across Nan Liujing's dark blue pupils.

"No wonder your uncle wanted to bring you to me for your Martial Soul awakening; it turns out he had prepared a surprise," Wu Jingru said with a smile.

Nan Liujing was still immersed in his own Martial Soul and, hearing this, was somewhat confused.

Sun Kong walked over and chuckled, "Try channeling your soul power and focus it on the palm of your left hand."

Nan Liujing's eyes widened. Once he realized what was happening, he immediately did as he was told.

Colorless, transparent soul power gathered in his left palm. The next moment, a delicate, small, circular object rose up.

A faint, refreshing fragrance quickly drifted through the air.

Nan Liujing was stunned. He never expected that a wish made in passing would actually come true, and that he had successfully inherited the Martial Souls of both his parents.

"It smells so good." Wu Sidao twitched her delicate nose, her beautiful eyes brightening.

"Hmm?"

Having also smelled the fragrance, Sun Kong, Wu Jingru, Ye Changming, and the others saw their expressions shift instantly from smiles to hidden surprise.

Their gazes collectively landed on the colorless, almost transparent candy.

This fragrance was actually vaguely capable of helping them better gather their Mental Power. Although, given their cultivation levels, this improvement was negligible, Nan Liujing only had level ten Soul Power and hadn't even obtained a Soul Ring yet. If he could influence them purely through the Martial Soul itself, what kind of strength would he reach once he grew up?

Sun Kong was lost in thought. Whether it was the Dragon Subduing Staff or this Candy Martial Soul, he was the most familiar with the changes in his own Martial Soul, and his younger brother and sister had never possessed such an ability when they released their Martial Souls.

Wu Jingru narrowed his eyes, his gaze toward Nan Liujing changing slightly.

A Dragon Subduing Staff with a True Dragon-type dragon soul, plus a rare Food System Martial Soul.

This union between families seemed like a perfectly viable idea.

"Both children have Innate Full Soul Power. Why not take them to the Spirit Pagoda now to obtain their Soul Spirits?" Ye Changming suggested.

Wu Jingru and his wife both nodded in agreement.

Sun Kong glanced at Nan Liujing and Wu Sidao. "Alright."

As the most famous organization on the continent, the Spirit Pagoda had eighteen large branch pagodas across the Sun Moon Federation, each located in one of the eighteen most prominent major cities. These eighteen large Spirit Pagodas were also known as the Eighteen Sky Pillars.

As the city with the third-highest comprehensive capability on the Douluo Continent, Star Luo City naturally possessed one of these Sky Pillar branches.

This was a massive building over five hundred meters tall. Its walls were a shimmering silver, with the faint glimmer of Soul Guidance Arrays appearing upon them. Its base was octagonal and occupied a vast area, tapering inward every ten floors until reaching the top of the tower.

Even in the skyscraper-filled Star Luo City, the Star Luo Spirit Pagoda was exceptionally eye-catching and could be considered one of the city's landmarks.

After getting out of the car, Sun Kong led Nan Liujing and Wu Sidao up the steps alone. Wherever the three looked, there were quite a few pedestrians; they were dressed like white-collar workers, holding cups of coffee, but most of them had no Soul Power fluctuations.

In this current era, even the Tang Sect had openly established the Xuan Shi Tangmen Technology Company to develop side businesses. Naturally, the Spirit Pagoda did not rely solely on selling Soul Spirits to make money; it also had quite a few side ventures. Many floors within this Star Luo Spirit Pagoda building were used for daily office work, so it was very lively on weekdays.

Walking into the first floor of the Spirit Pagoda, the decor was magnificent and opulent. Nan Liujing and Wu Sidao were already tired of seeing such things; the only thing that caught their attention were the colorful murals circling the dome.

These murals were resplendent and magnificent, depicting scenery and figures, seemingly recording an incomplete story.

There were quite a few people around observing them, and exclamations of admiration were constant.

"I've been to the Star Luo Spirit Pagoda many times with my elders, but no matter how many times I look at these murals, I still find them shocking." Wu Sidao looked up, gazing at a young man in the mural.

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

It was none other than the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao. Legend had it that he had already ascended to the God Realm and become a true deity.

Surrounding him were other famous powerhouses from his generation, such as Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi. The mural recorded the stories of their era.

This was Nan Liujing's first time seeing it, so he chose to stop and observe.

Sun Kong had also stopped at some point, watching the two children study the mural without a word.

"I heard from my father that the Spirit Ice Douluo holds a very special status in Star Luo City, and it has nothing to do with the Spirit Pagoda," Wu Sidao whispered into Nan Liujing's ear, as if sharing a secret.

Ever since she learned that Nan Liujing was the nephew of her godfather, Wu Sidao had felt an innate sense of affection toward him, with no trace of distance.

The warm breath brushed against his ear, and Nan Liujing felt as if he had been electrocuted. He instinctively turned his head to ask why, only to find himself face-to-face with Wu Sidao. They were less than twenty centimeters apart, and he could hear her breathing.

In each other's pupils, they saw the reflection of the other's delicate face, and both were stunned into silence.

Nan Liujing reacted quickly, hurriedly looking back up at the mural, and asked calmly, "Why?"

Wu Sidao hadn't expected Nan Liujing to turn his head so suddenly and was initially at a loss, but seeing his reaction, she suddenly became interested. She smiled playfully and said, "It's said that ten thousand years ago, when the Sun Moon Empire—the predecessor to the Federation—attacked Star Luo City, it was the Spirit Ice Douluo who turned the tide and saved the millions of citizens within the city."

"Although the Federation's assessment of the Spirit Ice Douluo isn't very positive, believing he hindered the unification of the continent, the common people in Star Luo City don't care about that. They even spontaneously established a Grilled Fish Festival. The authorities couldn't be bothered to intervene, so they just turned a blind eye. To this day, it has evolved into a genuine traditional festival."

Nan Liujing possessed memories of his past life, but this was indeed the first time he had learned of such a story. His interest was immediately piqued, and he couldn't help but ask Wu Sidao more about it.

Wu Sidao did not refuse at all, happy to chat with Nan Liujing in detail.

The two chatted back and forth, completely unaware that the smile on Sun Kong's face was growing wider and wider.