Chapter 1: Twin Martial Souls
Shrek Academy, Inner Court.
An island shaped like a small hill stood before them. This was Sea God Island.
A vast lake, as wide as the sea, surrounded it.
Mist curled around the island, veiling its many buildings in a hazy shroud.
At the very center of Sea God Island stood a Golden Ancient Tree, a hundred meters tall.
Its trunk was golden all over, as if forged from gold, while its lush green branches and leaves brimmed with life.
Rich, gentle golden light drifted down from its boughs, radiating a warm, weighty aura of light.
Carved into its massive trunk was a three-story pavilion: Sea God Pavilion, the highest seat of power in Shrek Academy.
A six-year-old boy lay on one of the tree's thick roots, bathing in the light given off by the Golden Ancient Tree.
"Heh, what a stroke of luck! I actually became Bei Bei, the great-grandson of Mu En, the Dragon God Douluo. What a dream start!" Bei Bei said with a silly grin, his eyes half closed.
Bei Bei's mother had died in childbirth. His father, overcome with grief, never returned from a mission to hunt down an Evil Soul Master.
Before he was even a year old, he had been orphaned. Fortunately, his Mystic Ancestor, Mu En, had taken him in and doted on him, granting nearly every wish he made.
Bei Bei knew that his Martial Soul was the Radiant Sacred Dragon, but because his bloodline was unstable, it usually appeared as a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
Later, when he obtained a Soul Spirit for his Seventh Soul Ring, all he got was a twenty-thousand-year-old Sky Dragon Horse. It was downright pathetic!
Now that he had been reborn, he naturally couldn't let history repeat itself.
Bei Bei figured the instability in his bloodline had to be because his Martial Soul lacked the power of light.
As he grew a little older, he often stayed beside the Golden Ancient Tree, bathing each day in its golden light.
Nourished constantly by the Golden Ancient Tree, he hoped that when his Martial Soul awakened, he would awaken the complete Radiant Sacred Dragon Martial Soul.
"Bei Bei, stop lying around. Today's your Martial Soul Awakening. Elder Mu and Elder Xuan are waiting for you, so don't be late." A gentle voice sounded nearby.
Bei Bei looked toward the voice.
A girl of about sixteen approached at an unhurried pace.
She wore a dark red robe over black clothing, and her long black hair fell to her waist. A serene, gentle air surrounded her.
"Sister Lexuan!" Bei Bei sat up and hopped down from the Golden Ancient Tree's root.
"Careful. Don't fall." Zhang Lexuan hurried over to him. A faint smile appeared on her flawless, pale face.
"With Sister Lexuan here, how could I get hurt?" Bei Bei beamed.
Zhang Lexuan crouched down helplessly and carefully straightened his slightly rumpled clothes.
The two went to where Elder Mu was. A disheveled old man stood beside him, taking swigs from a wine jug now and then and biting into a chicken leg.
"Great-grandfather. Elder Xuan." Bei Bei greeted them politely.
He couldn't help looking eagerly at Mu En, who sat in a wheelchair.
Mu En looked at his most beloved great-grandson, feeling a flicker of anticipation. What Martial Soul would his only descendant awaken?
Bei Bei had displayed remarkable intelligence from an early age, along with a deep interest in Martial Souls.
If he inherited the same Martial Soul as Mu En and carried on what he had learned, Shrek would surely prosper for generations to come.
Mu En turned to Elder Xuan. "Xuan Zi, you can awaken Bei Bei's Martial Soul."
"No problem." Elder Xuan tossed aside the chicken bone in his hand, wiped his greasy palms on his clothes, then walked over to Bei Bei.
He took out several Awakening Stones. Controlling them with Soul Power, he made them float around Bei Bei and form an awakening array.
Bei Bei felt golden light radiating from his body, and a power within him stirred.
ROAR!!!
A high, resonant dragon's roar suddenly rang out.
Bei Bei opened his right palm. A giant dragon slowly appeared, its body covered in fine scales, its entire form a pale gold. Golden light, like lightning, shone around it.
Its horns were crystal-clear, brimming with a powerful, sacred aura of light, and its dragon wings slowly unfurled.
Its claws were razor-sharp, their tips seeming capable of tearing through space as a faint glow shimmered around them.
"This is... the Radiant Sacred Dragon!" Elder Xuan cried out in shock.
Bei Bei had perfectly inherited Mu En's Martial Soul. Its draconic pressure and sacred aura of light were even stronger than Mu En's.
Seeing this, Zhang Lexuan finally relaxed. A bright smile spread across her face as she rejoiced for Bei Bei.
Mu En's expression remained kindly, with little outward emotion, but he could hardly contain his excitement. At last, someone could perfectly inherit his legacy.
Ever since his battle with Du Bisou of the Body Sect decades ago, he had been gravely wounded. Later, the violent energy inside the Dragon Core had injured him as well, damaging his foundation.
He could never stand upright again, and had been confined to his wheelchair for the rest of his life. Even his lifespan had been affected.
Now that Bei Bei had awakened the Radiant Sacred Dragon Martial Soul, Mu En was confident he could nurture him into a ninety-ninth-level Limit Douluo within a few decades.
Just as Elder Xuan took out a crystal ball to test Bei Bei's Innate Soul Power, an unexpected change occurred.
The golden light radiating from Bei Bei turned to wisps of black, as if ink had been splashed over it.
The Radiant Sacred Dragon Martial Soul in his right palm slowly vanished, while a power began surging from his left hand as well.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, a pitch-black dragon appeared in Bei Bei's left palm, its body like the dark night sky.
Black scales covered its mighty body, giving off a faint purple glow, while corrosive black mist coiled around it.
Its horns were twisted and savage, like sharp spikes. Its black wings and razor-sharp claws framed a body so dark it seemed to devour the light around it.
ROAR!
A deep dragon's roar rang out.
Compared with the Radiant Sacred Dragon Martial Soul, this pitch-black dragon gave off the same heart-stopping pressure, but was even more vicious and savage.
Zhang Lexuan, not far away, grew tense. Martial Soul Awakening usually came with some degree of mutation. It could be beneficial, but more often it was harmful.
She knew all too well how much Bei Bei had been looking forward to his Martial Soul. She didn't want him to be heartbroken.
"So it's the Dark Sacred Dragon!" A strange glint flashed in Mu En's eyes as he murmured, and he couldn't help recalling an old friend.
"Twin Martial Souls! Shrek is truly blessed by heaven." Elder Xuan was even more excited. He wasn't worried at all that the second Martial Soul was the Dark Sacred Dragon.
With Mu En around, he didn't believe Bei Bei would stray down the wrong path and become an Evil Soul Master.
Besides, the Dark Sacred Dragon had the attribute of darkness, not evil.
Bei Bei was stunned, too. He hadn't expected to be the owner of Twin Martial Souls!
Whether the Radiant Sacred Dragon or the Dark Sacred Dragon, both were top-tier Martial Souls.
Their quality far surpassed that of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, making them powerful Martial Souls that could rival the Clear Sky Hammer.