So Cunning!?

"Kid, your name is Feng Xinglie, right? You... what kind of Martial Soul is this?"

In Fengmen Village, Su Yuntao was helping the village's six-year-old children awaken their Martial Souls. He stared in astonishment at a phantom, while the child he'd called Feng Xinglie stared back at the Martial Soul—a figure in a leather jacket and jeans who looked almost exactly like him.

"Isn't that just me before I transmigrated? This can become a Martial Soul too?"

As the Martial Soul slowly merged into his body, Feng Xinglie immediately felt much stronger. But without pausing to examine the feeling, he quickly turned to Su Yuntao and bowed.

"Thank you, Lord Soul Master. You awakened a Body Martial Soul for me—that is, my own body."

"A Body Martial Soul? I've never heard of one. Is it a Mutated Martial Soul?"

Feng Xinglie shrugged at Su Yuntao, who was pondering with his head lowered. Of course he wouldn't know about it. The concept of a Body Martial Soul wouldn't appear until ten thousand years later. Still, before transmigrating, Feng Xinglie had read some analyses and summaries by other internet users. Douluo Continent seemed to be a pretty low-quality world. A few hundred pounds could make the earth tremble when they hit it, so a person with a Blue Star person's physique would basically be a dimensional mismatch there.

As he was thinking, Su Yuntao suddenly interrupted him.

"Never mind. Let's test your Innate Soul Power first. Put your hand on this, kid."

Feng Xinglie nodded and obediently placed his hand on the crystal ball Su Yuntao held out. A moment later, a powerful force of suction swept over him, and the crystal ball burst into brilliant light.

"F-full... Innate..."

Staring at the dazzling light, Su Yuntao stammered, unable to finish. Then the crystal ball suddenly made a cracking sound, and, to everyone's shock, shattered into several pieces.

After a brief silence, just as Feng Xinglie was wondering whether he'd have to pay for it, Su Yuntao solemnly produced another crystal ball and held it out.

"Kid, try again."

Without hesitation, Feng Xinglie immediately placed his hand on it. This time, the light filled most of the crystal ball. Su Yuntao let out a breath of relief.

"Looks like something went wrong the first time. Your Innate Soul Power is level seven. Very good. You should be able to become a Soul Sage someday. Kid, do you want to join Spirit Hall?"

Meeting Su Yuntao's fervent gaze, Feng Xinglie gently shook his head.

"Thank you, Lord Soul Master, but I'd like to stay in the village and look after Grandpa Tom. I won't be going to Spirit Hall."

Su Yuntao clearly wanted to say more, but in the end, he just shook his head.

"All right. If you ever want to join Spirit Hall, you can come find me at the Nuoding City Martial Soul Branch Hall anytime."

With that, he pushed open the door and left the wooden house. Old Tom, the village chief, who'd been waiting outside for a long time, hurried over to meet him.

"Lord Soul Master, thanks for all your effort. Did any children in our village become Soul Masters this year?"

"Yes. We were lucky. There's one child with level-seven Innate Soul Power..."

Ignoring the two men chatting, Feng Xinglie waved from a distance and ran toward the old village chief's house. Six years earlier, when he'd first transmigrated, he'd been an abandoned infant. He'd grown up safely thanks to Chief Tom taking him in and giving him his current name. Even after transmigrating, he hadn't developed any grand ambitions. He'd only longed for a peaceful life. Of course, if he awakened a decent Martial Soul and could improve his quality of life, he'd be more than happy. He just hadn't expected to draw a Golden Legend: a full seven levels of Innate Soul Power. Even among some major powers, that would make him a promising young talent.

"But I still feel like something was off about Su Yuntao's reaction..."

Thinking back to Su Yuntao's reaction when the crystal ball exploded, Feng Xinglie couldn't help feeling uneasy. But he'd already prepared extensively for the peaceful life he wanted. Whether he became a Soul Master or stayed a civilian, he had dozens of backup plans. Even if something really was wrong, he had more than ten escape routes mapped out. One Su Yuntao wasn't enough to corner him.

When he got home, Feng Xinglie shut the door and dragged a large bundle out from beneath his bed. Inside were all kinds of grotesque poisonous insects and plants. After carefully weighing them, he mixed the ingredients into poison in strict proportions. He dissolved the mixture in hot water and poured it into a clay pot filled with sand. Then he took a deep breath and plunged his hand into the poisonous sand. Agonizing pain instantly spread throughout his body. His veins bulged from the pain, but he gritted his teeth, pulled his hand out, and plunged it back in.

Poison Hand was a secret art of using poison in combat. Once poison had seeped into the hands, a single strike could leave an enemy's skin rotting or their body covered in festering sores. Without an antidote, they were as good as dead. The downside was the excruciating pain of training. Some people couldn't bear it and chose to cut off their own arms.

Feng Xinglie didn't know this technique himself, of course. He'd only mastered it thanks to the system he once had.

Yes, the system he'd "once" had.

When he'd first transmigrated to Douluo Continent, three lines had sounded in his mind:

Ding, system binding successful.

Martial arts knowledge from Baki World has finished loading.

System uninstall complete. Have a nice day.

"..."

The system's trial period had expired in less than five seconds, before Feng Xinglie could even recover. Afterward, he could only train his body according to the martial arts knowledge the system had loaded, removing the martial arts he couldn't practice because of his age. In the end, he'd chosen Poison Hand, which had greater lethality.

At last, training was over. Feng Xinglie was drenched in sweat from the pain. He washed his hands with a special solution to neutralize the poison. After tidying up the room, he stepped outside and casually brushed his hand over a Blue Silver Grass by the roadside. When he pulled his hand away, the plant had completely withered and turned purplish brown.

Seeing this, Feng Xinglie had an idea. He flexed his hand, then grasped another Blue Silver Grass plant. But when he let go this time, the plant hadn't changed at all.

"This Martial Soul Awakening has done a lot for me. It's not only strengthened my body; I can also control the poison in my body with ease. I can even control my muscle movements and heartbeat."

As Feng Xinglie happily tested his Martial Soul, a shout suddenly rang out behind him.

"You little brat! How could you turn down the chance to go to Spirit City with the Lord Soul Master!?"

He turned around and saw Old Tom, looking heartbroken with anger.

"Xiao Lie, do you know that being a Soul Master is the most respected profession on Douluo Continent, and Spirit City is the sacred land of all Soul Masters? How could you turn down such a wonderful opportunity!?"

"Grandpa, I just couldn't bear to leave you. I wanted to spend more time with you~"

Putting on a childlike act, Feng Xinglie threw his arms around Old Tom and spoke in a coaxing voice.

Give me a break. Join Spirit Hall? So Tang Buddha could wipe them all out in the future? Since he had Soul Power, he'd find a safe place and enjoy a happy life. Let the chosen protagonists make a racket conquering the continent.

"Ah, you child... Grandpa knows you're filial, but you have to go to Spirit Hall! Once you get stronger, you can come back and take Grandpa to live the good life, can't you?"

Feng Xinglie didn't need to ask to know that Su Yuntao had told Old Tom to put in a good word for him. After all, a child with level-seven Innate Soul Power counted as a promising young talent. Bringing him into Spirit Hall would surely earn Su Yuntao a hefty reward. But something about today's awakening ceremony had been strange. The first time they tested his Soul Power, the crystal ball had exploded.

"Could it be... that my Innate Soul Power is over level ten?"

The thought had barely occurred to him before he dismissed it.

"How could that be? The only person with Innate Soul Power over level ten was Qian Renxue, who received divine Soul Power through the Angel God's inheritance. Leaving aside whether my Martial Soul is divine, even if it were, there's no Blue Star God on Douluo Continent to grant me divine Soul Power. Besides, if it were true, would Su Yuntao have let me go? He'd have dragged me back to Spirit Hall by force."

As he comforted Old Tom, Feng Xinglie secretly made up his mind to get a work-study student placement and have his Soul Power tested again in the city.

Three days passed in a flash. Feng Xinglie was training when he suddenly saw Old Tom running toward him, gasping for breath.

"Grandpa, slow down. What happened?"

Feng Xinglie hurried over to steady him. Old Tom hadn't even caught his breath before grabbing Feng Xinglie and pulling him toward the village. As they ran, he spoke in broken gasps.

"Kid... they're here... Two distinguished... Lord Soul Masters... They specifically asked to see you. You... be good when we get there, understand?"

Who could it be? What was he so worked up about...?

Maybe Spirit Hall had taken an interest in his talent and sent someone else to try to persuade him. Feng Xinglie didn't think much of it. He let Old Tom pull him back home, then went inside alone at the old man's urging.

As soon as he entered, Feng Xinglie understood why Old Tom had been so excited. One of the two people inside was standing, the other sitting. Their clothes looked extraordinarily expensive at a glance, and their imposing bearing spoke of people accustomed to high status. Following the principle that you shouldn't slap a smiling face, Feng Xinglie was about to bow when the one sitting spoke.

"I am Qian Daoliu..."

Thud.

Feng Xinglie stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.

"Qian Daoliu? The Great Enshrined of Spirit Hall, high priest of the Angel God, one of only three Limit Douluo at level ninety-nine in the world, the Invincible Sky, Qian Daoliu? What's he doing in this backwater place???"

His thoughts racing, Feng Xinglie quickly steadied himself. Using the momentum of his near-fall, he bowed a full hundred and eighty degrees, his forehead touching his knees as he shouted:

"Greetings, Lord Soul Master!"

Qian Daoliu paid no attention to his strange behavior and simply asked:

"I heard you didn't want to join Spirit Hall?"

"I do! I've thought it over these past few days. Joining Spirit Hall is the greatest dream and aspiration of my life!"

Give me a break. Qian Daoliu had personally come to recruit him, like a boss making a direct hire. If Feng Xinglie dared to say no, the days ahead would probably be far from pleasant.

Qian Daoliu looked at Feng Xinglie's sudden change from arrogance to deference with indifference, then nodded slightly.

"Since that's the case, set out for Spirit City tomorrow. Remember, not just anyone can go to Spirit City. I invited only you. Understand?"

"Yes! I'll set out for Spirit City alone tomorrow!"

The order to make a six-year-old cross mountains and rivers alone sounded absurd, but Feng Xinglie knew he had no room to bargain.

"Good. Also, take this. The Martial Soul certificate you received earlier was incorrect. Use this one as your pass to enter the city."

Feng Xinglie accepted the Martial Soul certificate that Qian Daoliu sent over with his Soul Power. He scanned it quickly, and his pupils shrank.

"Innate Soul Power: level twenty."

"My goodness... Good thing I agreed so quickly. If I'd still refused to join, it wouldn't have been a question of whether my days would go well. It'd be a question of whether I'd see tomorrow's sun."

Feng Xinglie instantly understood. Su Yuntao had known his true Soul Power level three days ago but had deliberately said it was only level seven to avoid causing too much of a stir and to cover up his own loss of composure. He'd also worried that forcing Feng Xinglie back might lead to trouble along the way or leak the information. So when Feng Xinglie refused to join Spirit Hall, Su Yuntao hadn't pressed him. Instead, he'd hurried to Spirit City to report the news as quickly as possible. That way, simply delivering the information would count as a great service. It was undoubtedly the more prudent and safer choice.

"You sneaky Su Yuntao! Who knew you had such a calculating mind!?"