Lan Kai had never expected to join the Spirit Pagoda after all.
But it wasn't because Qiangu Dongfeng or Leng Yaozhu had taken an interest in him.
If Lan Kai had awakened his Martial Soul in Shrek City and transformed into Orb Origin Form in front of everyone, he might well have become a disciple of Qiangu Dongfeng or Leng Yaozhu.
But Lan Kai had awakened his Martial Soul in Aolai City, an obscure little town.
Every year, there were at least a dozen Soul Masters across the continent who awakened with Innate Full Soul Power. And his Ring Martial Soul didn't have any feature that would make someone's eyes light up just from reading a report, so it wasn't worth bringing a Tower Master or Vice Tower Master all the way out to see him.
Besides, Lan Kai was an orphan in this life, with no powerful family backing him.
If he wanted to attract attention, the only path open to him for now was to hope that a family with some influence would adopt him. Through their connections, he could gain more resources and renown, and thus catch the eye of a major organization.
Still, Lan Kai wasn't in a hurry. The Light of Orb had a very high ceiling and a very high floor on Douluo Continent, so he only needed to solve the problem of growing quickly. Before long, he could let his brilliance shine.
What he hadn't expected was that the day after he awakened his Martial Soul, one of the teachers at the orphanage summoned him to the director's office.
"Teacher Liu, what happened?"
As he followed the teacher toward the director's office, Lan Kai hurriedly asked.
"A big shot from the Spirit Pagoda has arrived. Apparently, he's a Spirit Envoy, and he specifically asked to see you."
The teacher replied, her expression filled with reverence.
She wasn't a Soul Master, but she had heard about the Spirit Pagoda's upper ranks.
Aside from the Tower Master and the two Vice Tower Masters, the Four Spirit Envoys held the highest positions.
And the man who had now come to visit their orphanage and specifically requested to meet Lan Kai was the renowned Fifth Spirit Envoy, whose name had been making waves lately.
The Spirit Pagoda had even made an exception and created a Spirit Envoy position for this man. That showed just how terrifyingly powerful he was. He was probably one of the most exalted Titled Douluo among Soul Masters.
Moreover, the man seemed to possess a special charm. Teacher Liu had only glanced at him, yet she was already utterly captivated.
"The Fifth Spirit Envoy? Looks like I should read the papers more often. Only getting to read the continent-wide paper once a month means I'm missing too much news..."
Lan Kai shook his head. He felt even more cut off from the world than that one Warlord of the Sea whose true form was sunglasses. At least that guy could watch the latest news every day, even after being thrown in prison. Lan Kai, on the other hand, could only read the continent-wide paper once a month. He was seriously behind when it came to keeping up with the latest news.
As for the local papers, although they covered some major events across the continent, they barely mentioned things like the Spirit Pagoda gaining a new Spirit Envoy. Instead, they were full of meaningless gossip.
Before long, Teacher Liu led Lan Kai to the orphanage director's office. He pushed open the door and went inside.
As soon as he entered, apart from the orphanage director, he saw a man carefully pruning a potted plant. Beside him, the sheathed Snake Heart Sword leaned against the sofa.
That handsome, faintly wicked smile and his distinctive air were enough for Lan Kai to recognize him at once.
"No way. Juggler is only the Fifth Spirit Envoy of the Spirit Pagoda?
"Got it. He's probably holding back just like he did at STORAGE. He probably hasn't even used Demon Form. Otherwise, forget Leng Yaozhu—whether Qiangu Dongfeng could walk away with his life would depend on Juggler's mood.
"If he still has the Dark Z Riser, and brings out Juggernaut or Five King, then there's only one thing I can do...
"Congratulations to Juggler on becoming emperor!"
As Lan Kai studied Juggler, Juggler noticed the commotion at the door and turned to look at him.
"Yeah, aside from his name, this kid's a lot like Haruki. I like him.
"Considering how tragic his life's been, I'll let the name thing slide.
"Besides, the thought of raising a Warrior of Light from scratch is just delightful.
"I wonder if that guy will approve of his fighting style as a Warrior of Light when he sees him. Hahaha..."
Remembering a certain miserable bastard from back then, Juggler couldn't help feeling a little anticipation.
Watching Natsukawa Haruki grow alongside Ultraman Z had been a lot of fun for Juggler. He had even stolen Haruki's transformation device and copied it into a Dark Riser, so he could grow giant and fight Haruki.
After Haruki and Ultraman Z defeated him, Juggler had deliberately picked a fight and made Haruki write a report.
He had also felt especially delighted when he showed off his status as Storage Facility's captain in front of Asakura Riku.
Now, as one of the Spirit Pagoda's upper ranks, he could personally raise a Warrior of Light from the ground up. How could that not delight him?
"You're Lan Kai, right? Good. Let me see your Martial Soul."
Lan Kai obediently did as he was told, summoning his Orb Ring Martial Soul and handing it to Juggler.
Lan Kai's Orb Ring was almost exactly like Kurenai Gai's. The only difference was that the stripes on its handle were blue instead of red.
Juggler toyed with it briefly, then returned it to Lan Kai. He came over, ruffled Lan Kai's hair, and messed it up.
"I'm Juggler, one of the Spirit Envoys of the Spirit Pagoda. Would you be willing to come with me and join the Spirit Pagoda?"
Juggler asked with a very kind smile, and Lan Kai readily nodded.
With Juggler as his boss, what was there to worry about? Juggler was an extremely reliable teammate.
In fact, among the captains of the various Defense Forces throughout the years, Juggler was one of the most dependable. Sure, during his time at the Storage Facility, he had indirectly helped the villains once, but when trouble came, he really stepped up—and he fought hard.
Before long, Juggler had finished the adoption paperwork and left the orphanage with Lan Kai.
But as soon as the two of them stepped outside, Juggler's expression turned serious.
"Little Lan, you don't mind if I call you that, right? You should understand.
"How much do you know about this world, exactly? Where is the Dark Ring most likely to appear?"
When Juggler had arrived in this world, he had known only the bare essentials about it. But then he learned that a transmigrator dragged into the O50 universe to serve as forced labor knew quite a bit about Juggler's world and his experiences, as well as something about this one. That was when Juggler decided to set aside his pride and patiently ask him.
Lan Kai thought for a moment, then recounted some of the plot developments from the original Douluo Three.
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