Twin Martial Souls

Douluo Continent, southwestern Heaven Dou Empire, Fasinuo Province.

"So you're saying I transmigrated to Douluo Continent, and somehow awakened these two weird things on my own?"

Late at night, in a small mountain village at the southernmost edge of Spirit Emperor Village, a boy sat on a cold stone bed, sunk in deep confusion.

Just moments ago, six years after transmigrating from Blue Star, he'd had an unexpected stroke of fortune: relying on the strength of his own soul, he had awakened a Martial Soul all by himself.

And not just one, but two.

Twin Martial Souls should have been cause for celebration. No matter which faction he joined, his future would be bright.

But...

At the thought of it, Luo Chen's expression changed at once, twisting into a conflicted mix of love and hate.

"Twin Martial Souls would be one thing, but what do you mean one is a Six-Winged Angel and the other is a Death Spider Emperor?!"

As he spoke, he released his Martial Souls. Two figures with utterly different auras appeared behind him.

One was a golden Six-Winged Angel, radiating holiness and sacred light that cleansed all it touched. At first glance, it was indistinguishable from the Qian Family's inherited Martial Soul.

The other was a purplish-black Death Spider Emperor, shrouded in darkness and death, its entire body teeming with deathly energy. It was a top-tier Beast Martial Soul from the lineage of the current Pope, Bibi Dong.

An Angel Martial Soul alone was enough to give Luo Chen a headache. Now a Death Spider Emperor had appeared too.

And on top of that, his innate Soul Power was level 20...

Forget what might happen if those people from Spirit Hall saw him. Even Luo Chen was starting to wonder if he was the illegitimate son of Bibi Dong and Qian Xunji.

After all, these two Martial Souls, which had no business being connected, had appeared in him at the same time. It was downright bizarre.

Fortunately, he'd awakened them himself. If he'd had to wait for people from Spirit Hall to come awaken his Martial Souls a month later, he couldn't even imagine what he'd have faced.

Would Bibi Dong have grabbed him on the spot?

With a long sigh, Luo Chen recalled his two Martial Souls and wearily lay down on the stone bed.

His current situation wasn't as dire as being discovered by Spirit Hall, but it still wasn't exactly to his liking.

With these two Martial Souls, he probably couldn't go join any major faction and take it easy.

One was the same lineage as the current Pope's Martial Soul, and the other was the inherited Martial Soul of the previous Pope.

What major faction would dare take him in? Anyone even a little suspicious—old foxes like Ning Fengzhi, for instance—would probably be full of doubts about him, even if they couldn't find anything.

The one thing he could be grateful for was that he'd started out an orphan, unattached and alone. Even if he developed on his own, he had nothing to worry about.

He'd already made up his mind: he would leave tomorrow.

Since things had come to this, he wouldn't keep dreaming of joining some major faction and taking it easy.

And no matter what, he couldn't waste his god-tier talent. He wasn't willing to accept that.

So he planned to head to the Star Dou Great Forest alone and hunt for his first two Soul Rings.

He had plenty of confidence in himself and his Martial Souls when it came to strength.

As a transmigrator, once he'd been able to move around on his own, he'd never neglected his physical fitness. He exercised every day.

With these two Martial Souls on top of that, he was confident he could take on not just hundred-year Soul Beasts, but even thousand-year ones.

--

At dawn the next morning, while the sky was still dim, a carriage left Spirit Emperor Village and rolled away.

Aside from the driver, the only passenger was the young Luo Chen.

Before leaving, he had left most of the money he'd earned helping the neighbors over the past while at the village chief's door. The chief had once helped him, an orphan, so he kept only enough for his own provisions.

It was a way of thanking the village chief. If he had a future, he would surely repay him again.

Luo Chen was someone who repaid kindness.

Unlike a certain protagonist.

After a morning of travel, he reached his first stop: Nuoding City.

He had ridden out in a village carriage, so it couldn't take him all the way to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for Soul Rings.

After thanking the villagers, Luo Chen wandered aimlessly around Nuoding City on his own.

It was his first time leaving the village in all the years since he'd transmigrated. He knew a little about Nuoding City from the original story, but overall, the place still felt unfamiliar.

He had no idea where to find a carriage.

At least, he hadn't seen anywhere to rent one by the city gate when he'd just entered.

"I'll wander around and see. I can ask a local, too."

Muttering to himself, Luo Chen headed toward the center of Nuoding City.

But he hadn't walked far. Just as he was getting into his stroll, he suddenly stopped beside a vast complex of buildings.

"Blue Silver Grass, and innate full Soul Power? What a joke!"

"Can a thatch nest really produce a golden phoenix? Blue Silver Grass with innate full Soul Power, my foot! I bet you forged that Martial Soul certificate!"

The grating voice drew Luo Chen's gaze as he passed by.

Could it be?

First, he looked up at the huge sign above the building's entrance.

The words Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy stood there in gleaming gold.

That was it.

He lowered his gaze to the source of the voice.

There were two guards, along with an old man and a young boy dressed in coarse hemp clothes, like Luo Chen himself.

"Tang San?"

Looking at the filthy little boy and recalling the exchange he'd just heard, Luo Chen was almost certain this was the protagonist of this world—Little Scumbag.

"So I've stumbled into one of the iconic scenes."

Delighted, Luo Chen couldn't help edging closer to watch.

Since he'd transmigrated too, and had happened to run into something like this, he'd be doing himself a disservice if he didn't watch.

Besides, this had also given him a lot of information he'd wanted to learn but hadn't known how to get. For example, the timeline. He'd been wondering which point in the original story they'd reached. Judging by this, he and the protagonist, Tang San, were about the same age.

The main story of Douluo Continent had only just begun.

Having figured that much out, Luo Chen blended into the scattered crowd of onlookers and made his way to the front to watch.

After all, this was the largest junior academy in the city, and the argument had already drawn the attention of many passersby.

Yet in the middle of all this, Luo Chen suddenly raised an eyebrow.

He looked at Tang San's sleeve, where a faint glimmer of silver light flickered.

"Are those Tang Sect Hidden Weapons?"

His innate level 20 Soul Power, combined with the boost from his two Martial Souls, had let Luo Chen notice Tang San's little move right away.

To dare show a Hidden Weapon in front of all these people and go for the kill—Luo Chen couldn't help thinking of the ridiculous way Little Scumbag had been portrayed in the original story.

All he could say was, he really lived up to his reputation. Those Yanzus online hadn't been cursing him for nothing.

But just as the scene was about to spiral out of control, a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind Luo Chen.

"Enough. Stop."