"Damn, could I get any unluckier...?"
The Far North, Frozen Forest.
A black-haired boy in plain clothes huddled in a snow-dusted thicket, shivering.
In his hands rested a flawless white Snowflake. It was his Martial Soul.
At that moment, it gave off a faint, icy glow, coating him in a thin layer of frost to conceal his figure.
A Snowflake Martial Soul with Innate Soul Power of level five. In this barren Far North, that already counted as a decent talent.
Even so, the boy couldn't feel the slightest bit of joy.
Because—
Half an hour ago, an Evil Soul Master had stormed into his village.
His parents, relatives, friends—even every villager—had fallen beneath the Evil Soul Master's hand. He was the only one who had managed to escape by sheer luck.
The boy hiding in the grass was named Xue Mingqing. He had been in this Douluo Continent for six years.
Unlike other transmigrators, he had arrived in this strange world with no cheat, no system. The only thing that had come with him was a soul that had remained asleep ever since.
At first, Xue Mingqing had thought it was his cheat's grandpa, but he was already six years old now.
Forget waking up to help him show off and soar—his soul hadn't so much as twitched in his head.
Thinking of this, Xue Mingqing gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath, "Heavens, you really have treated me so well..."
Crack—
The sound of a snapped branch rang out in the distance.
Xue Mingqing shuddered. He hastily clapped both hands over his mouth and looked toward the sound.
A figure in black robes slowly emerged.
He held a Black Smoke Banner, and three Soul Rings revolved in order at his feet—white, yellow, and purple.
A voice as sharp as claws scraping glass came from his mouth.
"Ke ke ke, little brat, stop hiding... Your mom, your dad, your friends—they've all become heroic spirits under this envoy's command. Come out obediently, and I can send you to reunite with them..."
His words fell, but the entire forest remained dead silent, not the slightest sound to be heard.
It was as if Xue Mingqing truly wasn't there.
The man in black slowly swept his sinister eyes around beneath his hood, sizing up the surroundings.
"What...? You're not coming out?"
"Then don't blame this envoy." As he spoke, the man in black took a corpse from his Storage Soul Tool and held it up, giving it a shake.
It was Xue Mingqing's mother in this life.
At the sight of her, Xue Mingqing instinctively froze. Then his whole body began to tremble...
His eyes went bloodshot, but he kept both hands clamped tightly over his mouth. He still didn't go out...
He couldn't go out. His opponent was a Soul Elder, while he hadn't even obtained a single Soul Ring.
If he went out, he wouldn't just fail to avenge his mother—he would lose his own life too.
He had no choice but to endure...
Seeing that Xue Mingqing still hadn't appeared, the man in black snorted and casually put his mother's corpse back into his Storage Soul Tool.
"Looks like that brat really isn't here... I'd better search somewhere else..."
As he spoke, the man in black turned and headed in another direction, without the slightest hesitation.
His footsteps gradually faded away.
Only when the man's back had vanished from sight did Xue Mingqing finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He stood up, intending to leave the place first.
But—just as he rose and poked his head out of the grass—
A cold, piercing voice, like claws scraping glass, rang out behind him.
"Where do you think you're going...?"
"?!"
The instant he heard the voice behind him, Xue Mingqing froze from head to toe.
He whipped around, and the condensed Snowflake in his hand shot behind him like a falling star!
The octagonal Snowflake flew out, cutting a cold arc through the air before transforming in an instant into a rapidly spinning, razor-sharp Snow Dart!
It was about to strike the man in black right in the face!
Seeing the razor-sharp Snow Dart whistling through the air toward his face, the man in black snorted.
"Such a paltry trick, and you still dare put up a desperate fight? If you'd surrendered obediently, you could have spared yourself some pain..."
As he spoke, the sinister, evil Soul Power around the black-robed man erupted. Before the Snow Dart could hit him, he shattered it to pieces.
At this sight, Xue Mingqing merely gritted his teeth. He had already planted his feet and launched himself forward like an arrow from a fully drawn bow while the black-robed man dealt with the Snow Dart.
And even while still in midair, before he had landed, he didn't stop resisting.
The Snowflake in his palm changed shape once more, transforming into a rough-looking Snow-Cast Longbow!
He raised the bow, drew the string, and three Snow Arrows appeared.
He let go. The bowstring twanged, and the three Snow Arrows shot toward the man in black with a shrill whistle that pierced the air!
Seeing the three Snow Arrows hurtling toward him, the man in black narrowed his eyes. A flicker of uncertainty appeared in them.
He casually shattered the three Snow Arrows with a single blow, then stepped forward and locked onto Xue Mingqing's retreating figure. He chased after the boy as he fled at full speed.
"Could you have Twin Martial Souls?! Weren't you just using throwing darts?"
Hearing the voice draw closer behind him, Xue Mingqing's expression darkened. He glanced at the Snow Bow in his hand and felt the Soul Power he had left. His expression grew even grimmer.
Changing the Snow Dart into a Snow Bow, then firing three Snow Arrows, had already consumed most of his Soul Power.
He could transform it one more time. This time... he had to turn it into something that could shake the man off...
Only he knew that this wasn't Twin Martial Souls.
The reason his Snowflake Martial Soul could change into countless forms was his Self-Created Soul Skill—Snow Transforms Into All Things.
It could turn his Snowflake Martial Soul into anything he could imagine. But the drawback was obvious: changing the Martial Soul's form consumed a great deal of Soul Power.
That was why Xue Mingqing had only one chance left to strike...
As for how he had been able to create a Soul Skill like this as soon as he awakened his Martial Soul—
First, Xue Mingqing wasn't a native of Douluo. Second, even before awakening his Martial Soul, he had been a master at playing with snow.
As if he'd thought of something, Xue Mingqing abruptly let go. The crude Snow Bow suddenly crumbled in his hand.
Then the scattered snowflakes gathered once more, transforming in Xue Mingqing's hands into a fine-meshed Snow Net!
At the sight of this, the Evil Soul Master, who had deliberately kept back to see what other tricks Xue Mingqing could pull, instinctively paused.
Then his pupils contracted!
"Brat! Just how are you doing that?!"
The Evil Soul Master's question went unanswered. A tightly woven, snow-white net, as fine as a spiderweb, flew toward him!
"What?!"
Too late to react, the Evil Soul Master crashed headlong into the Snow Net. For a moment, he really was held back by it.
And what about Xue Mingqing?
Changing the Snowflake's form three times had drained all his Soul Power. Throwing out that final Snow Net had already been his limit.
At that moment, his face was frighteningly pale, and the Soul Power in his body was completely exhausted.
In theory, anyone who ran out of Soul Power would grow weak or pass out.
But Xue Mingqing, who should have collapsed—or even fainted—was still gritting his teeth and running for dear life!
He couldn't stop. He had thrown everything he had at the Evil Soul Master and still stood no chance. If he fell into that man's hands, he feared...
Even death would be a luxury!
He forced himself to stay alert, but his consciousness grew hazier by the moment...
Realizing this, Xue Mingqing bit through the tip of his tongue, using the pain to clear his mind.
But his legs were slowing down more and more, beyond his control...
"Heh... Run, then. Why've you stopped? Out of Soul Power?"
The sharp voice rang out again, this time right behind Xue Mingqing!
Hearing it, Xue Mingqing's pupils contracted, even though he was on the verge of passing out. Terror jolted his consciousness awake.
He whipped around!
But the instant he turned, a withered hand clamped around his throat and hoisted him into the air!
"Guh...?"
Grabbing at the Evil Soul Master's hand, he felt himself suffocating. His legs kicked wildly at the air on instinct.
But he couldn't change a thing...
And the Evil Soul Master?
As he gripped Xue Mingqing by the throat, greed glimmered in his eyes.
He had seen through it. Xue Mingqing didn't have Twin Martial Souls at all.
That bizarre transformation of his Martial Soul was clearly a Self-Created Soul Skill!
"Heh heh... I won't even ask you... As long as I pull out your soul, I'll find out everything I want to know..."
Hearing this, Xue Mingqing's pupils contracted. He tried to fight back, but...
It was already too late.
The Ten Thousand Soul Banner appeared in the Evil Soul Master's hand. Thick black mist poured from it, winding around Xue Mingqing's body as it began to pull out his soul!
"Guh... Aaaah—!"
As his soul convulsed in agony, Xue Mingqing instinctively let out a scream.
Could this really be where I met my end...?
I'm not willing... I really... am not willing...!
His unwillingness roared in his heart, but—Xue Mingqing's consciousness was slowly being stripped away from his body.
And yet...
Just as Xue Mingqing's soul was about to be completely torn free—
Deep within Xue Mingqing's mind, the soul that had slept for six long years...
At that very moment, as Xue Mingqing's soul faced the threat of being snatched away, suddenly opened a pair of blue-green eyes!
"Which little nobody are you?! Such a paltry trick, and you dare show off before an expert?!"
Before you continue