Heaven Dou Empire, Fasnuo Province, Nuoding City
"Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass, no Soul Power. Next!"
"Martial Soul hoe, no Soul Power. Next!"
Inside Spirit Hall, Su Yuntao was conducting the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony.
"Next, Bai Mu."
"Here!"
Bai Mu stepped out from the line of children and took his place within the awakening formation.
After transmigrating to Douluo Continent six years ago, the chance that would determine the course of his fate had finally arrived. He could not help feeling nervous and expectant.
Even though he was a transmigrator, even though his deceased parents had been Spirit Masters, and even though he had worked hard to train his body all these years, none of that meant he would necessarily awaken Soul Power.
Even the clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan could father a pig for a son and produce someone like Yu Xiaogang with only Rank 0.5 Innate Soul Power. Anything could happen to anyone else.
"Don't be nervous. Close your eyes and feel carefully."
Su Yuntao raised his hand and poured Soul Power into the formation. Golden motes surged from the formation stones like fireflies, gathering at its center and completely enveloping Bai Mu.
Seeing how dazzling the light was, Su Yuntao's weary eyes suddenly lit up!
"Could he have awakened some powerful Martial Soul?"
He could not help straightening up slightly, staring intently at Bai Mu as he anticipated the appearance of a sharp weapon or the phantom of a mighty Beast Martial Soul.
When the light faded, the expectation on his face instantly froze, and his brows twisted into a knot.
"What is this thing? A green slug?"
A flat, wormlike lifeform resembling a green cell appeared in Bai Mu's palm, with a red hexagonal core.
Su Yuntao had been responsible for awakening Martial Souls for years. What strange Martial Souls had he not seen?
Yet he truly had never seen anything like this before!
"?!"
Unlike Su Yuntao, Bai Mu's pupils abruptly contracted the instant he saw what was in his hand.
That cell-like structure, that iconic red hexagonal core!
How was this some kind of slug? This was clearly—
Zygarde Core!
A legendary Pokemon from the Pokemon World, the Monitor of the Ecosystem, an existence known as the God of Order!
Zygarde possessed the Dragon and Ground types, and the number of Cells determined its strength and form!
At 10%, it took the imposing form of a Dragon Dog. At 50%, it became the Order Monitor's Z-Snake. At 100%, in its Perfect Form, it could fight in a giant humanoid form and punish all destroyers of order!
Beyond that, it could even Mega Evolve and unleash Core Enforcer with peerless power to punish its enemies!
Even if Zygarde was currently only a Core without any combat ability, as long as he could raise it into its other forms and teach it some Pokemon moves, he might not become a god, but making a name for himself on Douluo Continent would certainly not be a problem!
Of course, that was on the premise that Zygarde Core could split into Cells on its own and learn moves by itself.
"Wah-woo~"
Zygarde propped up its soft body, looked around curiously, then hopped onto Bai Mu's shoulder. It rubbed against his cheek and let out a weak yet affectionate cry.
Bai Mu could not help chuckling as he gently stroked its smooth, soft head with a finger.
"Woo~"
Enjoying the caress, Zygarde comfortably narrowed its eyes.
"It's called Zygarde. Its potential in the future is absolutely limitless!"
Bai Mu tried to explain it to Su Yuntao, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.
"What Jige Er Duo? It doesn't seem all that impressive..."
Rank 1 Innate Soul Power? What potential could it possibly have!
Su Yuntao's expression was somewhat complicated.
Martial Souls generally fell into two categories—Tool Martial Souls and Beast Martial Souls.
Those that could possess their owners were Beast Martial Souls, while those that existed apart from their owners like weapons were called Tool Martial Souls.
Besides that, there was only Luo Sanpao, Yu Xiaogang's External Martial Soul, born from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's "famous" theoretical Grandmaster.
And now, another External Martial Soul had appeared?
There was no need to test its Soul Power. Su Yuntao, the Grandmaster, could tell at a glance from Zygarde's harmless appearance that was even inferior to Luo Sanpao's that this Martial Soul was probably useless.
At least Luo Sanpao was a pig and had some combat power.
But what was this thing in front of him...?
Sigh, looks like another useless Martial Soul.
Su Yuntao sighed inwardly.
He was almost certain that this child's Soul Power test result would not be much better than Luo Sanpao's.
"Forget it. We still have to finish the process. Child, place your hand on this and test your Soul Power."
He listlessly took out the Crystal Ball and held it out before Bai Mu.
It's a Divine Beast from the Pokemon World. Even if it's only a Core, it should at least have Rank Five or Six Soul Power, right?
Holding onto his final hope, Bai Mu poured all his Soul Power into the Crystal Ball.
Then, light instantly filled the Crystal Ball... at its very bottom.
"Rank 1 Innate Soul Power."
Su Yuntao glanced at it with an expression that said, "Just as I thought."
"...Damn!"
Even Bai Mu, who had lived two lives, nearly failed to keep himself together.
You were the Core of a mighty Divine Beast. Sure, you had the Ground type, but wasn't this starting point a little too down-to-earth?
His gaze fell on the little green blob on his shoulder, which had tilted its head curiously at the Crystal Ball, and he quickly calmed down.
That's right. In Pokemon lore, Zygarde Cells and Cores don't even have base stats. They only gain combat power after gathering into other forms.
After becoming a Martial Soul in this world, one Core having only Rank 1 Soul Power actually seems pretty reasonable.
So, the key was not how low the starting point was, but how high the ceiling for growth could be!
As long as the Core could split into Cells and successfully gather into another form, the quality of his Martial Soul would surely soar along with it.
What was more, it might even learn the strange and varied moves of the Pokemon World!
For a start like this, it was already quite good!
"Thank you, Grandmaster!"
Bai Mu composed himself and politely bowed to Su Yuntao.
"According to the rules, children who awaken Soul Power can receive admission to Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy. I hope that you can become a Spirit Master in the future and join Spirit Hall."
Su Yuntao gave him a token word of encouragement and quickly wrote out his Martial Soul certification.
After all, this was only Rank 1 Innate Soul Power. Under normal circumstances, it would take at least seven, eight, nine, or even ten years for him to become a Spirit Master.
As for inviting him to join Spirit Hall, they could talk about that after he became a Spirit Master.
"I'll work hard!"
Bai Mu gave an "innocent" smile and turned to leave.
It was afternoon, and the sun hung high in the sky, blazing with brilliant light.
As Bai Mu stepped out of Spirit Hall and into the sunlight, he felt more open-hearted and comfortable than ever before.
In this life, his parents had once been ordinary Spirit Masters in Nuoding City. They had gone out Soul Hunting two years ago and never returned, leaving him only a small courtyard and a little savings.
Now that two years had passed, he had less than 2.5 Silver Soul Coins left on him.
Fortunately, his Martial Soul had awakened, and the road ahead was clear.
As long as he gathered nine Cells and transformed into the 10% Dragon Dog form, he would have a chance to defy fate.
"Zygarde, please take care of me from now on."
"Wah-woo~"
Bai Mu headed home, smiling at Zygarde.
"Wah-woo~"
Zygarde let out a faint cry, raised its head and puffed out its chest, its manner seemingly saying—
"The future, leave it to me!"
The next second, its body rapidly turned transparent and vanished from Bai Mu's sight.
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