The Second Martial Soul, Clear Sky Bamboo Shoot

"Innate Soul Power, level five."

"Not bad, much stronger than I was back then."

Su Yuntao wore a satisfied smile. In this small town on the outskirts of the Heaven Dou Empire, an Innate Soul Power of level five was quite impressive, enough to be called a genius.

Upon learning that his Innate Soul Power was level five, Lan Si did not show the slightest hint of surprise.

His current situation should be similar to that of Tang San in the original work. Tang San's Innate Full Soul Power was cultivated using the Mysterious Heaven Skill, and since he had only just begun practicing his two major cultivation techniques and hadn't even broken through the first level, he should reach level ten once he felt the techniques could no longer be improved.

Su Yuntao crouched down halfway and asked Lan Si with a smile, "Little brother, tell me, what is your name?"

"My name is Lan Si, everyone calls me A-Si." Lan Si did not act with the maturity he actually possessed.

In his past life, it was precisely because he was too high-profile that he was targeted by the Bad Commander, ultimately leading to his death.

In this life, he decided that in the eyes of others, he would act according to his apparent age.

He had to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

"A-Si, let me ask you, would you like to join the Martial Soul Hall? As long as you join, besides receiving a monthly subsidy, once you break through to level ten, our Martial Soul Hall can help you obtain a soul ring for free."

"Master Su Yuntao, I would like to go back and consult with my uncle first." Lan Si feigned panic and unease.

As a commoner, although he had a favorable impression of the Martial Soul Hall, he held too many secrets that could not be revealed to outsiders.

Furthermore, the potential shown by an Innate level five would not garner much attention even if he went to the Martial Soul Hall; rather than that, it was better to grow on his own.

This would make it easier to plan for his future.

As for exposing his Twin Martial Souls?

Lan Si felt he still wanted to live a little longer.

After all, in the original work, incidents like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect hunting down geniuses from rival factions were not uncommon.

If they couldn't have it, they would destroy it.

This was practically an unspoken rule among the major powers of the Douluo Continent.

"Alright then. This is your martial soul certificate. Once your family agrees, you can come to the Martial Soul Hall to find me at any time." Lan Si's response inevitably made Su Yuntao look disappointed; he knew that in such cases, people rarely chose to join the Martial Soul Hall.

However, he did not force the issue. He packed up the awakening tools, turned around, and led Lan Si outside.

"A-Si, how did it go?" As soon as they stepped out of the Martial Soul Hall, Otto greeted them and hurriedly asked.

"Not bad, my martial soul is a flaming lotus, Innate Soul Power level five." Lan Si smiled and handed over the martial soul certificate.

"A flaming lotus? Innate Soul Power level five?" Looking at the information on the certificate, Otto's breathing suddenly quickened. Excited, he crouched down and gave Lan Si a bear hug.

The nearby Martial Soul Hall guards saw this and couldn't help but show envy in their eyes, sighing, "Otto, you have a good nephew."

"That goes without saying. My A-Si is the descendant of a soul master; becoming a soul master is naturally a given." Otto looked proud.

Being hugged by a bearded man, Lan Si felt a chill and hurriedly changed the subject, "Uncle Otto, let's head back quickly. Don't block the entrance of the Martial Soul Hall, or Master Su Yuntao will be angry if he sees us."

"Haha, alright, let's go back." As he spoke, the overjoyed Otto took Lan Si's hand and turned to walk toward their residence.

Walking down the street, the cheerful Otto asked Lan Si casually, "A-Si, since your Innate Soul Power reached level five, you only need to improve by another five levels to obtain a soul ring. Did Master Su Yuntao invite you to join the Martial Soul Hall?"

"He did, but I don't like being restricted, so I want to go to Nuoding Academy." Lan Si replied.

Hearing this, Otto was stunned for a moment and looked at Lan Si with some surprise. After a long while, he sighed softly and patted Lan Si's head, "Very well, if you don't want to join, then don't. You are my nephew, and I only hope you can be safe and sound. Over the years, I've saved up some money from running the blacksmith shop; it's enough to support you through the junior soul master academy."

"Thank you, Uncle Otto. I will definitely repay you in the future." Otto's words sent a wave of warmth through Lan Si's heart, and he said firmly.

"Hehe, it's enough that you have the heart, kid." Otto's eyes grew moist, even though he had never thought about having Lan Si repay him.

But after years of living together, he had long regarded Lan Si as his own son.

Seeing his "son" wanting to repay him in the future, he was naturally very moved.

Passing through the streets belonging to the Martial Soul Hall, the overjoyed Otto boasted to every acquaintance he met about his nephew's level five Innate Soul Power, which made Lan Si feel quite embarrassed.

Fortunately, the Martial Soul Hall was not too far from their home. After dropping Lan Si off, Otto headed to the blacksmith shop.

He had already delayed for quite a long time to help Lan Si awaken his martial soul.

The workers were all waiting for the shop to open.

Lan Si was happy to have some peace and quiet.

For someone who had lived two lifetimes, the feeling of being praised like a child by strangers was truly shameful.

Returning to his room and closing the doors and windows, Lan Si couldn't wait to examine his martial soul.

He raised his right hand, and the Supreme Universe Art within his body began to circulate quietly. A faint, forest-white aura appeared out of thin air, and in an instant, a cyan lotus appeared in his palm.

"It seems the Supreme Universe Art has merged with the Cyan Lotus martial soul." Looking at the cyan lotus radiating the unique aura of the Supreme Universe Art in his palm, Lan Si whispered to himself. He retracted it into his body, then raised his left hand and circulated the Five Thunders Heart Art.

Faint blue electric arcs flickered in his left palm, and suddenly, a strange, black little hammer appeared out of thin air.

It was a small hammer about the size of an adult's palm, pitch black, with threads of lightning covering its surface. Its shape was very unique: the handle was straight, the head was long and tapered, and the surface was covered in bright golden spiral patterns that extended to the tip.

At first glance, it looked like...

A bamboo shoot!

A straight spring bamboo shoot that had just broken through the soil and was crackling with electricity.

"Holy shit."

"Holy shit."

"Holy shit."

Having watched the incredibly eye-searing Douluo Continent live-action series in his past life, Lan Si could not help but shout "holy shit" three times in a row.

On Douluo Continent, the Martial Soul a person possesses is directly related to their parents' Martial Souls; under normal circumstances, one will directly inherit the Martial Soul of one of their parents, and only when the quality of two Martial Souls is extremely close is there a small chance of awakening Twin Martial Souls.

His first Martial Soul was a lotus flower, which, barring any surprises, came from his mother, so his second Martial Soul must have come from his father.

Although he knew his second Martial Soul was very likely a hammer—after all, Uncle Otto had said that his father, Lan Zong, had awakened a hammer—he just hadn't expected it to be a Clear Sky Bamboo Shoot, a damnably ugly Clear Sky Bamboo Shoot.

Lan Si took a deep breath, struggling to calm the urge to curse his ancestors.

So be it!

A Clear Sky Bamboo Shoot is still a Clear Sky Bamboo Shoot; it is better than not having Twin Martial Souls at all.

He would just have to practice hammer techniques appropriately in the future.

He wondered if Tang San had awakened his Martial Soul yet; if Tang San came to Nuoding City, he would surely choose to work odd jobs at a blacksmith shop, and that would be his best opportunity to secretly learn the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer.

But before that, he had to hurry and raise his soul power to level ten; compared to Tang San, who had started foundation training at one or two years old, he had only been cultivating for two months and was already lagging far behind.

Having made up his mind, Lan Si sat cross-legged on the bed and began to enter a state of cultivation.