The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Martial Arts Arena was packed with people.
Today was the annual Martial Soul Awakening ceremony.
Below the platform, dozens of six-year-old children stood in rows, holding their breath, their eyes filled with anticipation and unease.
This was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's annual Martial Soul Awakening ceremony.
Today would determine the fate of another batch of clan children. Bloodline concentration, Martial Soul quality, Innate Soul Power—these three were like three impassable chasms, dividing people into different worlds.
"Silence!"
At the center of the raised platform, an elder in a purple-patterned robe spoke in a low voice.
"The awakening ceremony begins now. Those whose names are called, step forward."
A steward held a register and called out in a booming voice, "Yu Xiaochuan!"
"Yu Xiaochuan, Martial Soul: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Innate Soul Power: level five!"
"Yu Tianxin, Martial Soul Mutation: Water Dragon, Innate Soul Power: level six!"
One child after another stepped forward to awaken their Martial Souls. As members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, they were all quite talented.
An uproar broke out below the platform, followed by a chorus of praise.
"Not bad, not bad. Though Yu Xiaochuan's from a collateral branch, awakening the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon is a blessing in itself."
"Five levels of Soul Power. With proper nurturing, he could become a Spirit King someday."
"Yu Tianxin's Martial Soul mutated! And it's a beneficial mutation!"
"Though the Water Dragon isn't as domineering as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, six levels of Innate Soul Power... That child has boundless prospects!"
The atmosphere was quite good, until...
"Yu Xiaogang!"
The crowd fell silent for several seconds.
Every gaze turned toward the front of the line. A boy in a plain blue shirt lowered his head and walked silently onto the platform. He was a little thinner and smaller than the other children his age, and his hands trembled slightly at his sides.
He was the son of the current clan head, Yu Yuanzhen.
The awakening light glowed, contracted, and gathered.
There was no dragon's roar, no flash of lightning.
Something appeared on the platform... a creature.
About half a meter long, it was pale gold all over and shaped like a puppy, but with a huge pig's snout. Its ears were large and droopy, and four short legs supported its round body. It blinked its tiny, bean-like eyes in bewilderment and let out a series of "oink-oinks."
The entire arena fell deathly silent.
The steward stared at the crystal ball used to test Soul Power. His Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke in a hoarse voice. "Yu Xiaogang, Martial Soul... Luo Sanpao. Innate Soul Power... half a level."
"Half a level?!"
"What is that... thing? A dog?"
"A dog with a pig's snout? Th-that counts as a Martial Soul?"
"Hahaha, the clan head's son, and this is all he's got?"
The silence shattered. Laughter, discussion, and jeers surged like a tide.
Below the platform, faces both familiar and unfamiliar were filled with shock, mockery, pity, and even gleeful anticipation.
Yu Xiaogang stood frozen.
He slowly lowered his head to look at the ridiculous creature by his feet, then raised his eyes to the faint glimmer in the crystal ball—so dim it was almost invisible.
Half a level... With half a level of Innate Soul Power, he would likely never reach the threshold of a Soul Grandmaster at level thirty, even after a lifetime of effort.
And Luo Sanpao...
"Oink-oink." The creature rubbed against his trouser leg.
"Get away!" Yu Xiaogang suddenly kicked at it. Luo Sanpao tumbled twice, let out a wounded whimper, and dissolved into motes of light that returned to his body.
The boy's face went from flushed to deathly pale, then from pale to livid.
He spun around and almost stumbled as he rushed down from the platform, plunging headfirst into the crowd.
The awakening ceremony continued on the platform, but the atmosphere had changed completely. Whispered conversations never ceased, and their subject was naturally the clan head's "brilliant and extraordinary" son.
A blue-haired boy stood quietly in the crowd.
He was about six years old, tall for his age, with neat, short blue hair. His face still had a child's roundness, but his brows already held a hint of heroic spirit.
"Luo Sanpao... A descendant of the Golden Sacred Dragon's bloodline, yet they've mistaken him for a Trash Martial Soul."
Yu Tianlong—or rather, the soul from another world inhabiting his body—sighed softly to himself.
He had been transported to this world six years ago.
After his initial shock and bewilderment, he had gradually accepted the truth: this was the Douluo Continent, and he had become a collateral-branch child of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. His parents had been outstanding members of the clan's second generation, but both had died in a Soul Hunting Operation when he was three.
In name, he was still Yu Xiaogang's cousin.
As someone who had crossed over from another world, he knew all too well what lay behind this seemingly ridiculous Martial Soul. It was a top-tier Beast Martial Soul with the bloodline of the Golden Sacred Dragon. If it could evolve, its potential would be no less than that of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, perhaps even...
"Yu Tianlong!"
The steward's call brought him back from his thoughts.
Yu Tianlong took a deep breath and stepped onto the platform. His stride was steady, his back straight.
The ceremony began!
Then, the light began to gather.
One... two?
Yu Tianlong was puzzled. Normally, a Martial Soul's phantom should condense into a single form.
The next instant, amid everyone's stunned gazes, two balls of light burst into bloom behind Yu Tianlong at the same time!
The one on the left blazed with golden light, brilliant as the sun.
The one on the right gleamed with silvery moonlight, cool and clear.
As the light faded, their true forms emerged.
They resembled the creature Yu Xiaogang had summoned earlier: pig snouts, large ears, short legs, and round bodies. But the details were entirely different.
The one on the left was golden all over, its fur like molten gold in motion, refracting dazzling light beneath the sun.
It was slightly larger, and even as it sat, it carried a solemn presence. Though its four paws were short, their claws glinted faintly.
The one on the right was as silvery as moonlight, its fur as soft as the finest silk. Its large eyes were translucent, like colored glass, and a clever liveliness shone in them as they turned. It tilted its head curiously, its silver tail swishing gently.
"Th-this is..."
"Another Luo Sanpao? Two of them?!"
"One gold and one silver... What kind of mutation is this?"
Another uproar erupted below the platform. Yu Xiaogang's "performance" was still fresh in everyone's minds, and now there was another one—one with a twin Martial Soul, no less!
Yu Yuanzhen's brow furrowed even deeper. He had presided over the clan's awakening ceremonies for over thirty years and had never seen anything so bizarre.
Twin Martial Souls were rare, but not unheard of. Yet twin Martial Souls of the same kind, and in this... seemingly useless form?
"Twin... Luo Sanpaos?"
He murmured. His voice wasn't loud, yet the entire arena fell abruptly silent.
Countless gazes landed on Yu Tianlong—some shocked, some pitying, some mocking, some gleeful. Yu Xiaogang was a lost cause, and now here came an "upgraded version"?
In a corner, Yu Xiaogang, who had yet to leave, saw the scene too. He froze for a moment, then his lips twisted into an almost grotesque smile.
"Ha... hahaha... So I'm not the only one... And he's got two... Good. That's great..."
Pain needed to be shared, humiliation needed company. Seeing someone fall into the same—or an even more ridiculous—predicament as himself strangely eased the despair that had nearly swallowed him whole.
Yu Tianlong paid no attention to the commotion below, though the corner of his mouth twitched.
"I actually awakened two Luo Sanpaos..."
"Test his Soul Power." The elder's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Yu Tianlong did as instructed and placed his right hand on the crystal ball.
A blinding light burst from within the crystal ball!
It was so dazzling, so pure, like a tiny sun being born in his palm. The entire platform, and even half the Martial Arts Arena, were illuminated in brilliant white!
"Th-this is..."
Yu Yuanzhen's eyes widened. For the first time, disbelief and shock broke across his usually impassive face.
The steward's hands trembled as he held the crystal ball. His voice turned shrill with excitement. "I-Innate... Full Soul Power! It's Innate Full Soul Power!"
"Innate Full Soul Power?!"
"Impossible!"
"Luo Sanpao... with Innate Full Soul Power?!"
The crowd erupted. Shouts of surprise, cries of disbelief, and sharp intakes of breath blended into a tumult.
Everyone—elders, parents, and children alike—stared fixedly at the dazzling crystal ball and at the blue-haired boy standing before it.
What did Innate Full Soul Power mean?
It meant that as long as he didn't die young, this child was destined to become one of the top powerhouses in the Soul Master World!
It meant that even if his Martial Soul were a blade of grass, he could still force his way to strength with the sheer level of his Soul Power!
But why Luo Sanpao?
Why this pig-snouted dog?!
Yu Yuanzhen looked at the boy's face and saw a calmness far beyond his years.
"Child," Yu Yuanzhen said, his voice softening, "Innate Full Soul Power is a gift from heaven. Though your Martial Soul is... rather unusual, your Soul Power foundation is real. Don't lose heart. The path of a Soul Master is long, and a steadfast spirit matters more than talent."
It was both comfort and warning. He had seen too many geniuses give up on themselves because their Martial Souls were inadequate.
Yu Tianlong withdrew his hand, and the crystal ball's light gradually faded. He bowed. "Thank you for your guidance, Clan Head. Tianlong understands."
His gaze swept over the crowd's many different expressions, over Yu Xiaogang in the corner, pale once again with his fists clenched, and finally settled on the two "Luo Sanpaos" beside him, one gold and one silver.
He reached out and rubbed both little creatures' heads.
The golden one let out an "oink" and rubbed against his palm. The silver one licked his finger, its glassy eyes full of affection.
"Innate Full Soul Power means that the Martial Soul and Soul Power are a match. If this really were a Trash Martial Soul, why would heaven and earth favor it so, granting it the foundation of full Soul Power?"
He thought of Tang San, the cheat who had crossed over with the memories of the Tang Sect, and of his Blue Silver Grass and Clear Sky Hammer.
"My Luo Sanpaos... are definitely no ordinary Martial Souls."