Martial Soul: Iron-Eating Beast, Never a Slave

Awoo, awoo, awoo~

"100,000 Volts and 1,000,000 Volts won't do. I want 100,000,000 Volts! 100,000,000 Volts!"

The Iron-Eating Beast raised both arms and made its demand emphatically.

"100,000,000 Volts is too awkward to shout..."

"Does sounding smooth matter? Momentum is what matters!"

"How can there be momentum if it isn't smooth to say?"

"..."

"Practice properly first. Once those skills of yours get stronger, then you can call them 100,000,000 Volts! You have to leave yourself some room to improve!"

The Iron-Eating Beast frowned. Fine, it accepted that reason!

So, for the sake of the names 100,000,000 Volts and 100,000,000 Volts...

It would give it everything!

Speaking of names, Zhao Mu soon thought of something even more important than the names of moves and skills.

Shouldn't his Iron-Eating Beast martial soul have a name too?

Even though it was a martial soul, it was still alive.

Even Yu Xiaogang's pig had the elegant name Luo Sanpao.

"Little guy, we'll be fighting side by side from now on. Shouldn't I give you a name?" Zhao Mu raised his chin slightly and spoke to the Iron-Eating Beast.

The Iron-Eating Beast's eyes instantly lit up at those words!

That was right, it did not yet have a domineering name!

Awoo, awoo, awoo~

The Iron-Eating Beast hurriedly urged Zhao Mu, demanding an incredibly domineering and mighty name.

The purpose of a Soul Master was to give their martial soul a domineering, mighty name!

"Your fur is black and white, so how about calling you Heibai?" Zhao Mu said, overcome by a mischievous urge to tease it.

Awoo, awoo, awoo~

The moment Zhao Mu finished speaking, the Iron-Eating Beast immediately raised both arms in protest.

It did not want to be called Heibai!

Since he was only joking, Zhao Mu naturally could not really call the little guy Heibai.

"How about this? I'll call you Heibai! It's simple and easy to say!"

The Iron-Eating Beast was still dissatisfied. Though it sounded a tiny bit better than the previous one, it still did not meet its requirements for being domineering and mighty.

Awoo, awoo, awoo~

The Iron-Eating Beast urged Zhao Mu to think of another name quickly.

"I'm not thinking anymore. Heibai is pretty good. Heibai it is!" Zhao Mu shook his head with a smile.

The Iron-Eating Beast shook its head unwillingly. If Zhao Mu would not name it, then it would name itself!

Iron-Eating Beasts would never be slaves, never compromise, and never submit!

The Iron-Eating Beast stood there blankly, pondering for a long time before finally letting out a delighted series of loud howls.

The little guy seemed to have thought of its own name.

"My name shall be Wudi Jushan Chaoliba!"

The Iron-Eating Beast seemed extremely satisfied with the name it had chosen. A mismatched, adorably dazed smile even appeared on its imposing face after transforming.

Meanwhile, Zhao Mu was left speechless by the name the Iron-Eating Beast had come up with.

"Jushan Chaoliba?"

"And Wudi Jushan Chaoliba, at that?"

"Why don't you just say your name is Diga?"

The Iron-Eating Beast pondered. "Diga? Can it be eaten?"

"You can call yourself Wudi Jushan Chaoliba. I'll just call you Heibai."

Awoo, awoo, awoo~

"No! It has to be Wudi Jushan Chaoliba!"

The Iron-Eating Beast would not allow the name it had painstakingly chosen to be discarded.

Seeing its persistence, Zhao Mu refused to compromise either. Compromise had limits. He could agree to shout a few slogans, but calling it Wudi Jushan Chaoliba was absolutely unacceptable!

This name was so cringeworthy that cringe had opened the door for cringe and found cringe waiting at home!

Just thinking about agreeing to it, then having to shout that name to command the Iron-Eating Beast in battle in the future, made him feel like he would die of embarrassment!

The Iron-Eating Beast could just howl, and no one else would understand it. But if he spoke human language, how could other people not hear him?

No! A Soul Master's dignity was the most important thing! A Soul Master could not compromise!

"Heibai it is. Keep making trouble, and you get no food and no place to live!"

The Iron-Eating Beast, which had been about to argue back, suddenly wilted at those words.

Damn Soul Master, why did he have to threaten it with food and shelter?

Iron-Eating Beasts would never be slaves, never compromise, and never submit—unless... food and lodging were included!

Having successfully subdued the Iron-Eating Beast, Zhao Mu revealed a triumphant smile when it accepted the name Heibai and stopped insisting on Wudi Jushan Chaoliba.

This feeling was absolutely amazing!

Zhao Mu held out his fist toward Heibai.

"Well then, Heibai, please take care of me from now on. Let's grow stronger together!"

Staring at Zhao Mu's outstretched fist, Heibai blinked its large eyes framed by dark circles. In the end, it clenched its paw into a fist as well and bumped it against Zhao Mu's.

Awoo~

Remember to provide food and lodging!

As their fists met, an indescribable feeling formed and passed between man and beast.

"Could this be what they call a bond?"

After withdrawing his hand, Zhao Mu muttered to himself. He was being cringeworthy too, copying others by bumping fists without a shred of originality.

After Zhao Mu gained a certain understanding of Heibai and his first soul skill, the Zhao Clan children who had been stunned by Heibai's Thunder Roar gradually recovered.

Because they had only just awakened their martial souls and were weak, the dizziness they suffered was more severe.

Still, that did not stop them from looking at Zhao Mu with awe and admiration.

After checking and confirming that they were unharmed, Zhao Mu had no intention of lingering any longer and prepared to head home.

Man and beast walked down the road together, creating an inexplicably harmonious scene.

"Heibai, where did you find that piece of purple bamboo?"

Awoo, awoo~

"A bamboo grove?"

There were no shortage of places with bamboo in the ravine where the Zhao Clan lived, so Heibai's answer was no different from saying nothing.

But that made sense. Heibai had only appeared in this world today, so naturally it did not know where anything was.

After figuring that out, Zhao Mu could not be bothered asking questions Heibai could not answer. He changed the subject instead.

"Heibai, when are you going back? You can't be planning to stay with me like this forever, can you?"

Looking at Heibai in its ordinary form, moving slowly on all fours, Zhao Mu was equally puzzled.

Martial souls were usually summoned only when Soul Masters needed them. Even Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao was only summoned when needed. Yet his own Iron-Eating Beast martial soul, Heibai, showed no intention of returning and instead seemed prepared to remain in this world indefinitely.

Awoo, awoo, awoo~

"Nooo~ You promised to provide food and lodging."

"."

"If you keep existing like this, my Soul Power will keep draining slowly."

"Martial souls should stay where martial souls belong. Why are you like that electric rat too, unwilling to return where you belong?"

"This is Douluo, not monster taming!"

When Zhao Mu returned home, his mother, Zhao Ru, was still busy in the kitchen, and several dishes had already been placed on the table.

His father, Zhao Santai, sat before the table as steady as Mount Tai. The wine cup before him was already full, filled right to the brim.

There was no cliché of his parents dying and him gaining boundless power, nor was there any melodramatic abandonment or twisted "loving father, filial son" nonsense. After transmigrating to the Douluo Continent, Zhao Mu's parents were both alive. Moreover, there was nothing special about them. They were ordinary people, neither soul beasts nor monsters, nor hidden experts—just an ordinary married couple.