Green Scale Python

"It's too loud!"

"Why are you all chattering and yelling?"

Xuan Qing put on his shoes, stumbled out of the house, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Are you trying to get yourselves killed?"

He rolled up his sleeves, ready to beat up those little brats.

"Oh no! We woke up the big bad wolf! Run!"

Xuan Qing could only let out a long sigh.

Once he lay back down, he couldn't fall asleep, so he began thinking about his past life.

In his previous life, he'd been a recent college graduate, working overtime every day and living a dull, joyless life. Then he'd given his boss the boot.

He'd been full of bluster at the time. "I'm done working for you! With a dumbass like you, whoever wants to serve you can do it."

But right after he'd quit, on his way home, all he'd seen was a blinding flash of white and heard the roar of an engine. Then...

Then he'd ended up here. He'd arrived six months ago.

The original owner of this body hadn't had a name. People called him Skinny Monkey. He was an orphan adopted by the village chief of Scale Snake Village. He'd fallen seriously ill, and in the final second before he breathed his last...

Xuan Qing had taken over. The village chief had nearly been scared out of his wits.

He'd thought it was just a last burst of energy before death. After keeping an eye on him for a while and confirming that nothing was wrong, he'd finally relaxed.

Then he'd given him the name Xuan Qing. There wasn't any particular reason; he just thought the character "Xuan" sounded nice.

And since there were so many green snakes around the village, he'd simply chosen that name.

After asking around for a while, Xuan Qing had figured out what kind of world he'd come to.

Douluo Continent!

He knew it all too well. Before his transmigration, he'd been a bookworm who sampled every kind of trashy novel. He couldn't say he'd memorized this one inside and out, but he'd come pretty close.

And from the traveling merchants passing through, he'd learned that the current pope was Bibi Dong.

The previous pope had died eight years ago, so Xuan Qing had a good idea where things stood.

He touched the necklace at his throat, his thoughts drifting. He wondered what kind of Martial Soul this body would awaken.

The necklace had come with him from his previous life. It was probably his only keepsake. It had no special use—just a jade pendant necklace engraved with an Azure Dragon on one side and a Qilin on the other.

It was cheap street-stall junk, something he'd bought for fun. He'd never imagined it would be the one thing to accompany him all this way.

As he sat there lost in thought, a loud voice rang out from outside.

"Xiao Qing, come out! The Soul Master from Spirit Hall is almost here."

Xuan Qing hurried outside.

"Uncle Village Chief! They're here already?"

The village chief smiled and patted his head. "That's right. Didn't I tell you yesterday?"

The village chief liked Xuan Qing. Ever since that serious illness, Xuan Qing had insisted on living on his own. The village chief had worried about him at first, but he'd turned out to be quite capable of looking after himself.

Xuan Qing slapped his hand away.

"Come on, Uncle. Since he's here, let's hurry, before we keep him waiting."

A quarter of an hour later, they arrived at the village's Spirit Hall. In truth, it was just a shabby wooden shack with a Spirit Hall sign hanging over the door.

The Soul Master was already there. He stood with his hands on his hips and grumbled, "What took you so long?"

The village chief rolled his eyes. "Whose fault is it that you got here so fast?"

The two had been playmates since childhood. They'd both awakened a Green Snake Martial Soul back then, but one had Soul Power and the other didn't.

The Soul Master's parents still lived in the village, so he came back to visit often. Whenever the two met, they bickered like a pair of quarrelsome old friends.

The village chief tapped Xuan Qing on the head. "What are you standing around for? Say hello."

Xuan Qing hurriedly greeted him. "Hello, Uncle!"

They went into the Spirit Hall. Besides Xuan Qing, there were six other children.

The Soul Master quickly set up the awakening array, then called out, "Martial Soul Possession!"

A green snake phantom appeared behind him. One white and one yellow Soul Ring revolved slowly around his body.

He beckoned the first child into the array. Six black stones floated up and circled the child.

A stalk of Blue Silver Grass appeared in the child's hand.

"Blue Silver Grass. Come test your Soul Power."

The child placed a hand on the crystal ball. It stayed dim and showed no reaction.

The other children awakened their Martial Souls in turn. They were either Blue Silver Grass or common farm tools like wooden sticks and hoes.

None of them had any Soul Power, so the six children could only leave with their heads hanging.

At last, it was Xuan Qing's turn. As soon as he stepped into the array, he felt a surge of warmth rushing through his body.

It was as if something were about to burst out of him. He couldn't help letting out a low growl.

A huge phantom suddenly appeared behind him: a massive green python, though its appearance was a little strange.

The python had five claws. Its body was like a python's, but its claws were like a dragon's.

It looked like a dragon that had evolved halfway, but hadn't quite finished.

The Soul Master's eyes widened. "Well, I'll be! Hurry up and test your Soul Power."

Xuan Qing placed his hand on the crystal ball. Its light began to rise slowly, finally stopping halfway up the sphere.

"Level five innate Soul Power! Not bad at all. But your Martial Soul is a bit strange. What exactly is that thing?"

The Soul Master scratched his head. "Give it a name. I need to register it."

Xuan Qing looked at the phantom, its scales gleaming green. "Let's call it the Green Scale Python."

"Sounds good."

The Soul Master quickly wrote down the name. Then he looked at Xuan Qing and suddenly smiled.

"With your personality, I doubt you'll go to Spirit Hall. I'll write you a recommendation letter."

He took out a sheet of paper and stamped it. "This letter will get you into whichever Soul Master Academy you want."

Then he pulled out a money pouch and an old book. "This is the Basic Meditation Method. There are sixty Gold Soul Coins in the pouch."

He patted Xuan Qing on the shoulder. "That's half a year's salary, so make it last."

"Keep training hard. If you've really got a conscience, then once you've made something of yourself, remember to give back to the village."

Xuan Qing gripped the money pouch and nodded firmly.

"Don't worry, Uncle. I might be a bit of a slacker, and I'm no saint, but I know you should repay kindness."

The Soul Master patted him in satisfaction. "Good lad! You haven't let me down."

He sighed. "At any rate, I watched you grow up, so I'm half a family elder to you. If I'd had level five innate Soul Power back then, becoming a Soul Emperor might not have been out of reach. But I only had level two. Reaching the third ring is almost impossible for me in this lifetime."

He waved a hand. "Go back and study the meditation method. The future belongs to you young people!"

Xuan Qing nodded solemnly, said goodbye to the two of them, and returned to his little house.

He didn't start cultivating right away. Instead, he took out the jade pendant.

Ever since his Martial Soul Awakening, the pendant had been growing hot.

Xuan Qing tried to cover the pendant with Soul Power, but it had no effect at all.

A bold idea suddenly came to him. He gritted his teeth and bit down hard on his finger.

"Ts—! That really hurts!"

He guided his finger and let his blood drip onto the pendant. In an instant, it was absorbed completely.

Xuan Qing's vision went black. His consciousness entered a strange space, boundless and utterly empty.