Courage Is Life's Anthem-I Hope You Have It

Sun Kong nodded at Nan Liujing.

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

"Focus your mind and steady your breath." 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 also became grave.

Wu Sidao watched curiously.

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

Threads of power drilled into him through the soles of his feet. Nan Liujing only felt his entire body grow warm. His body trembled, and then it was as though his five senses had been stripped away, leaving him unable to perceive anything. His consciousness quietly entered a hazy space.

Outside.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, countless dazzling dark blue electric arcs suddenly shot from Nan Liujing's body. The liquid-like arcs swiftly solidified, taking the form of a faint dragon-shaped phantom.

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.

"As expected, it's the Dragon Subduing Staff Martial Soul. It can even draw upon the Lightning Element between heaven and earth to suppress other elements. This child's Thunder Dragon Soul far surpasses his father's." Sun Kong's gaze was 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 inspect him when his expression suddenly changed. He cried out in astonishment, "Something's wrong. There's another Martial Soul inside this child."

"Twin Martial Souls again?"

The moment those words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

As the person involved, Nan Liujing had no idea what was happening in reality. At that moment, he was staring ahead, drenched in cold sweat.

In an instant, a purple-red bolt of lightning tore through the hazy space before him, stopping only beneath his feet and forming a deep Lightning Ravine. The thick mist seemed to have encountered some terrifying force and could no longer gather again.

Following that straight path of lightning, he looked up. At its end stood a towering figure over three meters tall. Surging thunder coiled around the mysterious person, while a divine wheel flickered behind his head, continuously radiating a terrifying aura that surpassed heaven and earth.

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

"You are very fortunate."

Just as Nan Liujing became extremely vigilant, a melodious voice that seemed to come from beyond the heavens drifted over from ahead.

It was him.

Nan Liujing's heart stirred. It was exactly the same as the voice that had berated him awake.

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

"All living things must face the Heavenly Tribulation. Only then can they gain the recognition of the Cosmic Will. Otherwise, it is difficult to take that step." As the mysterious man spoke, his voice grew increasingly solemn. "And those chosen by the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl must face the cleansing of Heavenly Thunder."

"The Heavenly Tribulation Pearl 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 sharp gaze shot directly at Nan Liujing, as though it sought to see through his heart.

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

When he opened his eyes again, he immediately experienced the same scene Wu Sidao had seen upon waking.

Sun Kong, Ye Changming, Wu Sidao, and the others were all staring intently at him, making his scalp prickle.

Nan Liujing was about to say something when he heard a series of crackling electrical sounds beside his ear. He turned his head and froze in place.

On the floor at one side stood a dark green staff radiating a heavy aura. Its surface was covered in dense scale patterns, gleaming with a faint cold light in the dim surroundings. What was strange was that these scales were not mere decorations. They rose and fell as dazzling electric arcs flowed across them, as though they were breathing.

Nan Liujing could clearly sense that these Dragon Scales seemed to be absorbing the Lightning Element between heaven and earth and making it their own.

Beyond that, he could sense that within a ten-meter radius, every type of element was noticeably weaker than the same type of element outside that range.

That was beyond his expectations. He had previously asked Sun Kong about it, and the Dragon Subduing Staff of the Thunder Dragon Soul did not possess such a special passive ability.

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

Nan Liujing took a deep breath and immediately reached out with his right hand, gripping the Dragon Subduing Staff itself.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

In an instant, the electric arcs on the Dragon Subduing Staff's surface became even more active. Dazzling lightning flashed as the Dragon Scales attached to it lit up with deep dark blue radiance. A high-pitched dragon roar rang out continuously, and an intent of roaming the vast heavens and earth with unshakable composure engraved itself into Nan Liujing's heart like stone carvings.

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

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

"No wonder your Uncle brought you here to awaken your Martial Soul. So he had prepared a surprise." Wu Jingru smiled.

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 focus it in your left palm."

Nan Liujing's eyes widened. Once he understood, he immediately did as instructed.

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

A faint sweet fragrance quickly spread through the air.

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

"It smells so good." Wu Sidao wrinkled her delicate nose, and her beautiful eyes brightened slightly.

"Hm?"

Sun Kong, Wu Jingru, Ye Changming, and the others had smelled the fragrance as well, but their expressions abruptly shifted from smiles to restrained surprise.

Their gazes all fell upon the colorless, almost transparent candy.

That fragrance could faintly help them gather their Mental 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. His Martial Soul alone could already affect them. If he grew stronger, how powerful would it become?

Sun Kong was thoughtful. He knew better than anyone about the changes in both the Dragon Subduing Staff and this Candy Martial Soul. When his younger brother and sister-in-law released their Martial Souls, they had never possessed such abilities.

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

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

This union between families might not be a bad idea after all.

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

Wu Jingru and his wife both nodded in agreement.

Sun Kong looked at Nan Liujing and Wu Sidao. "All right."

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

As the city ranked third on the 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, with silver-white walls that faintly glimmered with the light of Soul Guidance Arrays. Its base was octagonal and covered an enormous area. Every ten floors, the structure receded inward until it reached the top.

Even amid Star Luo City's forest of skyscrapers, the Star Luo Spirit Pagoda was exceptionally conspicuous 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 stairs alone. There were quite a few pedestrians in sight, dressed like office workers and holding cups of coffee, but most of them had no Soul Power Fluctuations.

In this era, even the Tang Sect had openly established the Xuan Shi Tangmen Technology Company to conduct side businesses. Naturally, the Spirit Pagoda did not rely solely on selling Soul Spirits for profit and had many side businesses as well. Many floors within this Star Luo Spirit Pagoda building were used for daily office work, so it was quite bustling on weekdays.

Upon entering the first floor of the Spirit Pagoda, Nan Liujing and Wu Sidao had already grown tired of such luxurious decorations. The only things that caught their attention were the colorful murals arranged around the dome.

These murals were splendid and magnificent. They depicted landscapes and people, seemingly recording an incomplete story.

Quite a few people nearby were admiring them, and sounds of praise rose continuously.

"I've come to the Star Luo Spirit Pagoda many times with my elders, but no matter how often I look at these murals, I'm still shocked." Wu Sidao raised her head and gazed at a young man in one of the murals.

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

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

Around him were renowned 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 watch.

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

"I heard from my Father that Spirit Ice Douluo holds a very special position in Star Luo City, and it has nothing to do with the Spirit Pagoda." Wu Sidao 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 Sidao had naturally taken a liking to him and did not feel the slightest bit distant.

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

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

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

Wu Sidao had not expected Nan Liujing to suddenly turn around. She had been a little flustered too, but seeing his reaction, she suddenly found it interesting. Smiling sweetly, she said, "It's said that ten thousand years ago, when the Sun Moon Empire, predecessor of the Federation, attacked Star Luo City, Spirit Ice Douluo turned the tide and saved several million civilians within the city."

"Although the Federation does not rate Spirit Ice Douluo highly, believing that he hindered the unification of the continent, the common people of Star Luo City do not care about that. They even voluntarily established the Grilled Fish Festival. The officials could not be bothered to interfere, so they turned a blind eye. By now, it has developed into a genuine traditional festival."

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

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

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