Awakening of Twin Martial Souls

I do not know how much time had passed; perhaps a day, perhaps a month.

A heavy sense of exhaustion, like a massive dark cloud, loomed over the heart of Mu Qian.

Perhaps it was a hallucination, but he felt the light emitted by the cyan-gold ancient lamps in the corridor growing increasingly blinding. Even with his eyes closed, the light pierced through his eyelids, threatening to swallow his vision in an ocean of cyan-gold.

Later on, Mu Qian even felt countless black shadows appearing around him, some clutching their bellies in laughter, others whispering mockery...

Yet, their words seemed to revolve around a single theme: urging him to give up.

Mu Qian's heart was completely filled with fear and anxiety, and the oxygen in the air grew thinner. He truly wanted to follow the advice of those shadows and just give in, gasping for air regardless of the consequences.

"Stop persisting, just give up. Give up, and this dream will end. You can return to your past life, to a life with a house and a car—isn't that wonderful?"

"To be honest, Qian, I'm even envious of you. Find yourself a girlfriend, and wouldn't life be sweet?"

In a trance, Mu Qian seemed to see his childhood playmate from his past life, smiling and waving at him.

"Screw you! What's a house and a car compared to having real power? Besides, do you think there's a shortage of beauties here?" Mu Qian retorted with a laugh.

"When you watched anime, didn't you claim countless wives? When the time comes, I'll woo every girl in Douluo Continent and make you green with envy."

It had been six years since they last met, yet seeing that familiar smiling face, he couldn't help but boast and banter as he always had.

"Son, come home quickly. Mom and Dad are waiting for you at home." At this moment, a familiar voice came from behind him.

Mu Qian whipped his head around, his eyes filled with excitement and longing.

"Mom~" His voice trembled slightly. The last time he had seen his mother was when he was ten years old in his past life.

Back then, he had watched his parents waving at him from afar, and he, having just finished school, had run quickly toward his safe harbor.

But the next moment, a large truck lost control and slammed into the low bungalow by the roadside...

"No!"

A heart-wrenching roar erupted from Mu Qian on the road; the anger and terror in his heart could no longer be suppressed.

Thinking of the scene he had witnessed in his past life, he couldn't help but sprint toward the figures of the two elders.

Yet that short distance felt like it spanned countless dimensions of time and space; no matter how he chased, he could not touch that illusory bubble of a dream.

"No, Dad is already gone; there won't be a second time." The bloody memory replaying before his eyes allowed a sliver of clarity to return to Mu Qian's consciousness.

Life cannot be lived over again; what has passed can never be reclaimed.

"With your pathetic self, you'd better wake up. Stop dreaming your hero dreams and start thinking about how to earn your daily bread tomorrow."

The environment before him changed again, and a fat man appeared in front of him.

It was his manager from the company where he had worked right after graduation, a man who specialized in bossing around newcomers.

"Is my wonderful life, which hasn't even begun, going to end like this?"

"No, I refuse to accept this!"

"Douluo Continent, what a magnificent world this is. I haven't even had a chance to see it yet, so all of you, get lost!"

The impatience and anger were gone, as were the sorrow and bitterness.

At this moment, Mu Qian's mood calmed down.

Relying on his remaining consciousness, he forcibly shielded himself from all fear and unease.

Yes, he had already lost enough; what more could he possibly lose?

If it truly came to it, it would all just be a fleeting dream.

The people he had once known appeared in his consciousness one by one, only to be torn apart by his own hands.

Just like that, he drifted in a daze for who knows how long.

All the cyan-gold ancient lamps suddenly flickered, and countless rays of light began to converge toward Mu Qian's body. A massive surge of energy instantly filled the entire corridor.

At the same time, Mu Qian snapped his eyes open. With a majestic gaze that seemed not to belong to him, he let out a dragon roar that shook the heavens.

"Aung~"

The intense sound wave pierced through the Divine Temple, tore through the endless space, and echoed across the sky of the Far North.

Countless Spirit Beasts prostrated themselves on the ground; regardless of their cultivation level, they were all eclipsed by that terrifying pressure.

Outside the Divine Temple, the Snow Maiden's eyes revealed intense excitement. Forcing herself to resist the urge to kneel that was acting upon her as well, she walked to the entrance of the Divine Temple.

In truth, the gates of the Divine Temple had never been closed.

They were merely the walls of Mu Qian's own heart.

"It is done. Now, I am needed." The Snow Maiden's icy expression, which had remained unchanged for ten thousand years, shifted for the first time.

She seemed somewhat nervous, yet expectant, and before she knew it, a blush had already crept across her face.

Congratulations, you have successfully passed the First Trial of the Ancestor God: Emotion.

Assessment Difficulty: Low-tier.

When you learn to control your emotions in a desperate situation, you have mastered the first step on the path to the pinnacle.

"Evaluation: 70 points. Although you regained your sense of self at the final moment, you are still far from perfectly controlling your emotions. Continue to work hard."

"Reward: Twin Martial Souls, Innate Level 20 Spirit Power."

When Mu Qian's final consciousness heard these words suddenly echoing in his mind, he completely relaxed.

Violent spirit power surged from his lower abdomen, causing him to fall into a coma immediately.

After falling unconscious, Mu Qian's expression changed constantly, shifting from solemn to struggling, and finally to twisted, as if he were enduring unbearable pain.

His originally young body was also changing rapidly; it was as if time had accelerated for him, quickly transforming him into the appearance of a man in his twenties, only to soon regress, then accelerate its growth once more, finally stabilizing temporarily at the appearance of an eighteen-year-old.

It seemed that his body could not withstand this immense energy...

In the corridor, the figure of the Snow Maiden appeared beside Mu Qian.

At this moment, his animal-hide robe had long since been reduced to dust by the violent energy, leaving him with no covering at all.

The Snow Maiden's face flushed, her lips bitten slightly as she gazed at Mu Qian, her jade-like hand tracing his handsome face.

In his adult form, his features were equally handsome, with a little less childishness and a bit more masculinity.

The Snow Maiden imprinted his appearance deeply into her heart, as if looking at the man she would follow for the rest of her life, and controlled her spirit power to slowly remove her own clothes.

There was not a hint of hesitation on her exquisitely beautiful face; she had no right to choose, but she did not resist this outcome.

Scenes of their time together over the past few years surfaced in her mind; in her long life, it seemed she had only truly experienced happiness after Mu Qian appeared.

The Snow Maiden's crystal-clear, jade-like body slowly leaned into Mu Qian's embrace, her hands naturally wrapping around his waist.

"I have waited hundreds of thousands of years, just for this moment."

"The Old Master once said that every trial requires the bond of a romantic tribulation, intertwined with one another, to become the final test."

"You... will surely be able to reach that step in the future, right?"

"Ten trials require ten candidates, but even including me, only three suitable ones have been found."

"However, that woman should count as one as well, right?"

Speaking of this, the Snow Maiden could not help but look toward the south of the Douluo Continent.

That place was the true paradise for Spirit Beasts...