Dragon Soul

Xiao Xiao had forgotten all about loyalty at the sight of a handsome face. She had originally been wondering whether she should take a walk with her two teammates and see if she could bring them closer together.

The three of them were currently like familiar strangers. In class, they only knew that the others existed. That would definitely be disadvantageous in the upcoming elimination rounds.

But Chen Yuan was here.

Between her current teammates and Chen Yuan, who could perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with her, Xiao Xiao decisively chose Chen Yuan.

Even hesitating for a moment would have been disrespectful to her future happiness.

After returning to the dormitory, Xiao Xiao hurriedly climbed onto her bed and sat cross-legged to cultivate. During today's battle, she had felt that her Soul Power was about to break through, so she wanted to push through in one go and reach Level 25.

The Soul Power around Xiao Xiao grew increasingly vigorous, circulating faster and faster until it seemed to reach a critical point.

After exhaling a mouthful of stale air, Xiao Xiao opened her eyes. Breaking through felt so good.

Level 25. That was Xiao Xiao's current rank, absolutely among the best of the freshmen. If she had not been so lazy before, she might have been another two or three levels higher by now.

If she could have remained fused with Chen Yuan while cultivating, she might have broken through a month ago.

But one of them was a boy, and the other was a girl. Besides, they had only known each other for a few months. Cultivating together occasionally during the day was already the limit. If they cultivated together at night too, Xiao Xiao felt that she could not do that yet.

Besides, Shrek's school rules did not allow it.

Xiao Xiao's family was not extravagantly wealthy, but they were fairly well-off, and her parents treated her exceptionally well.

Otherwise, they would not have allowed a Twin Martial Souls genius with Innate Full Soul Power to idle away until she was eleven and only at level 19.

Xiao Xiao had originally thought that, with her talent, she might not rank among the very best of her peers, but she was not bad either. Her period of rapid growth was still ahead of her.

Yet as soon as she entered school, she encountered a senior who could form a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with her. After asking around, she learned that he was the number one student in the Outer Court.

Over the three months since enrolling, Xiao Xiao had also asked around about how Chen Yuan had become so strong, and Chen Yuan had shown no intention of hiding it.

Only then did Xiao Xiao understand what a true genius was.

What did it mean to awaken your Martial Soul only after turning eight? And to awaken it by accident, at that?

What did it mean to come from an unknown mountain village in the Heaven Dou Empire, only receiving a recommendation letter from Shrek Academy because your talent was so exceptional?

What did it mean to absorb an Over-Limit Soul Ring with no resources whatsoever?

The combination of all those conditions dealt Xiao Xiao a heavy blow. The Twin Martial Souls she had once been so proud of were utterly crushed before Chen Yuan's single Martial Soul.

At the same time, after learning about Chen Yuan's past, Xiao Xiao began to see him as the sort of protagonist in storybooks who relied on his own efforts to kick down the barriers of class.

That was precisely why Xiao Xiao had often followed Chen Yuan in training over the past three months.

After working so hard for so long and happening to break through today, Xiao Xiao lay quietly on her bed, planning to get a good night's sleep. Yet her thoughts immediately began to wander.

The night was deep. Xiao Xiao's eyelids gradually drooped shut, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, in the Assessment Zone, Wang Yan was discussing matters related to their Martial Souls with Chen Yuan.

"Chen Yuan, you should already know my Martial Soul. It is the Coiling Dragon Staff, and it can barely be considered a high-grade Martial Soul."

When Wang Yan mentioned his Martial Soul, a bitter expression appeared on his face. If he had possessed talent on the path of Martial Soul cultivation, why would he have switched careers to study theory?

After all, unless one developed a groundbreaking technique like Soul Core condensation, one could only pray to be as lucky as Yu Xiaogang and encounter a disciple capable of becoming a god. Only then could one leave a name in history.

But the scholar who developed the Soul Core condensation method was himself a Title Douluo!

Condensing a Soul Core was originally exclusive to Title Douluo. Well... as long as your total Soul Power, Soul Power quality, physical constitution, and Spiritual Power all reached the level of a Title Douluo in advance, then you could condense a Soul Core no matter what level you were.

That was as good as saying nothing. Before becoming a Title Douluo, it was already impressive if someone could meet even one of those requirements. All of them? Without some kind of cheat, the difficulty was no different from ascending to heaven.

Aside from the irreproducible exception that was Yu Xiaogang, all those remembered by history were powerful Soul Masters.

If one could become a powerful Soul Master—even just a Soul Douluo or Soul Saint—who would be willing to spend all day researching theory?

Douluo Continent was, at its core, still a fantasy world where strength reigned supreme. If they had the choice, who would not want to become strong?

"Teacher Wang, I have known about your Martial Soul for a long time. What are you trying to say?"

"Not to be afraid of your laughter, but the Coiling Dragon Staff has been tarnished in my hands." Wang Yan took a deep breath before continuing. "There are two kinds of Coiling Dragon Staff: one with a Dragon Soul, and one without."

"And mine belongs to the kind without a Dragon Soul."

"If it had a Dragon Soul, I estimate the Coiling Dragon Staff would at least be a top-tier Tool Martial Soul."

"Actually, I have never seen the so-called true Coiling Dragon Staff in my life. I was never sure whether it truly existed, until I met you."

"Teacher Wang, are you talking about my Martial Soul?"

"Yes. That was the first time I truly saw a Dragon Soul! Unfortunately, it was not the kind of Dragon Soul recorded as belonging to the Coiling Dragon Staff."

At that point, Wang Yan's voice was filled with regret.

"Chen Yuan, believe me. That Dragon Soul is definitely something you must delve deeply into during your future cultivation. According to the records, if the Coiling Dragon Staff possesses a Dragon Soul, then it houses a Dragon Soul known as the Heavenly Awakening Sacred Golden Dragon."

"The Heavenly Awakening Sacred Golden Dragon is also known as the Break Evil Dragon. It is a special dragon species born of heaven and earth, and it grants Soul Masters a trait called Indomitable."

"So I think that the Dragon Soul residing within your Martial Soul must have given you something as well. You simply have not uncovered it yet."

Because it was Wang Yan's own Martial Soul, and improving it had been the original reason he began studying theory, he knew every detail of the Coiling Dragon Staff's records like the back of his hand.

Of course, if the Qiangu Family from Douluo III already existed at this time, then Wang Yan's research would not amount to much.

But who could say whether the Wang Yan before them might be the ancestor of the Qiangu Family ten thousand years later?

Wang Yan had been far too conservative. He had underestimated the Coiling Dragon Staff's potential. A Coiling Dragon Staff with a Dragon Soul was absolutely a super Martial Soul. After all, it was a Martial Soul that could firmly hold its place even in the era of Douluo III, where all sorts of absurd Martial Souls emerged.

The Qiangu Family had produced three Limit Douluo in one generation, two of whom possessed the Coiling Dragon Staff. That alone showed its potential.

"Teacher Wang, I think you should keep trying. You said yourself that the Break Evil Dragon brings the Indomitable trait. If you surrender just like this, then you are even less likely to gain a Dragon Soul."

Wang Yan merely shook his head without saying more.

After learning about his Martial Soul, he had once considered whether he might be able to restore the Dragon Soul to the Coiling Dragon Staff. By now, however, he had long abandoned that idea.

At least in Wang Yan's view, a Coiling Dragon Staff capable of possessing a Dragon Soul would never appear in his hands.

"Enough of that. In any case, Chen Yuan, you must thoroughly uncover the Dragon Soul's potential."

"The assessment is about to begin. Later, remember to carefully record the Martial Souls of those twins. Body Martial Souls are research material the academy is badly lacking, and there is very little information on them."

If he did not still need to serve as the referee for this area, Wang Yan would have gone over himself long ago to observe those twins with hair Martial Souls.