What is this about my awakening martial soul being my death date?

"Damn it, talk about bad luck..."

Far North, Frozen Forest.

A black-haired youth in simple clothes was curled up in the snow-dusted grass, shivering.

In his hand, he held a pure, flawless snowflake; this was his Martial Soul.

It was currently emitting a faint, cold light, coating his body in a thin layer of frost to help conceal his presence.

A snowflake Martial Soul with innate soul power of level five—in this barren Far North, that was considered a decent talent.

Even so, the youth couldn't bring himself to feel happy.

The reason was simple—

Half an hour ago, an Evil Soul Master had broken into his village.

His parents, friends, and even all the other villagers had been brutally slaughtered by the Evil Soul Master, leaving him the only one to narrowly escape.

The youth hiding in the grass was named Xue Mingqing, and he had transmigrated to this Douluo Continent six years ago.

Unlike other transmigrators, he had arrived in this world without a golden finger or a system; the only thing that had come with him was a soul that had remained in a deep slumber ever since.

At first, Xue Mingqing thought it was his golden finger "old grandfather," but by the time he reached the age of six, the soul in his mind hadn't even stirred, let alone woken up to help him dominate the world.

Thinking of this, Xue Mingqing couldn't help but grit his teeth and mutter, "God, you really have been 'kind' to me..."

Snap—

The sound of a branch breaking echoed in the distance.

Xue Mingqing's body trembled; he quickly covered his mouth with both hands and stared in the direction of the sound.

A figure in a black robe slowly emerged from there.

He held a Black Smoke Banner, and three soul rings floated rhythmically beneath his feet—white, yellow, and purple.

A voice as sharp as claws on glass rasped from his throat.

"Hehehe, little brat, stop hiding... Your father, your mother, and your friends have all become heroic spirits under this envoy's command. Come out obediently, and I can send you to reunite with them..."

As his words fell, the entire forest remained deathly silent, without the slightest movement.

It was as if Xue Mingqing truly wasn't there.

The man in black slowly turned his sinister eyes beneath the hood, scanning his surroundings.

"What...? Not coming out?"

"Then don't blame this envoy." Saying this, the man in black took a corpse out of his storage soul tool and dangled it in his hand.

It was the biological mother of Xue Mingqing in this life.

Seeing this, Xue Mingqing froze instinctively, and then his entire body began to tremble faintly...

His eyes turned bloodshot, yet he kept his hands tightly pressed over his mouth, still refusing to emerge...

He couldn't go out; the opponent was a Soul Master, while he didn't even have a single soul ring.

If he went out, let alone avenging his mother, he would lose his own life as well.

He had no choice but to endure...

Seeing that Xue Mingqing still hadn't appeared, the man in black snorted coldly and casually stowed the corpse of Xue Mingqing's mother back into his storage soul tool.

"It seems that brat really isn't here... I'll go look elsewhere..."

With that, the man in black turned and walked in another direction, without the slightest hesitation.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

Only when the figure of the man in black was no longer visible did Xue Mingqing finally let out a breath of relief.

He stood up, intending to leave the area first.

But—the moment he stood up and poked his head out of the grass.

A cold, sharp voice, like claws on glass, rang out from behind him.

"Where do you think you're going...?"

"?! "

The moment he heard the voice behind him, Xue Mingqing's entire body stiffened.

He whipped his head around, and the solidified snowflake in his hand flew toward his back like a falling star!

The octagonal snowflake flew out, carving a cold arc through the air and instantly transforming into a high-speed, spinning, razor-sharp Snow Dart!

It was aimed directly at the man in black's face!

Seeing the sharp Snow Dart whistling through the air toward his face, the man in black snorted coldly.

"A petty trick, yet you dare to resist? If you had surrendered obediently, you could have spared yourself some pain..."

As he spoke, the man in the black robe suddenly released his sinister, evil soul power, shattering the Snow Dart into dust before it could strike him.

Seeing this, Xue Mingqing gritted his teeth. He had already taken advantage of the moment the man in black was dealing with the Snow Dart to push off the ground with both legs, launching himself forward like an arrow released from a fully drawn bow.

Even while airborne and yet to land, his resistance did not cease.

Within his palm, the snowflakes shifted shape once more, actually transforming into a somewhat crude Snow-Cast Longbow!

He raised the bow, drew the string, and three Snow Arrows manifested.

He released the string, which vibrated with a hum, and the three Snow Arrows whistled through the air, piercing toward the man in black!

Seeing the three Snow Arrows shrieking toward him, the man in black narrowed his eyes, a flicker of surprise and uncertainty crossing his gaze.

He casually shattered the three incoming Snow Arrows, took a step forward, and bit down on Xue Mingqing's trail, pursuing the fleeing youth.

"Are you a twin martial soul user?! Wasn't it just flying darts a moment ago?"

The voice behind him drew closer. Xue Mingqing's expression darkened. He glanced at the snow bow in his hand and felt the remaining soul power in his body, his face growing even grimmer.

The transformation from Snow Dart to Snow-Cast Longbow, plus the three Snow Arrows, had already consumed most of his soul power.

He could only transform one more time, and this time... it had to be something that could shake him off.

Only he knew that this was no twin martial soul.

The reason his snowflake martial soul could change into a thousand forms was entirely due to his self-created soul skill—Snow Transforms Into All Things.

It allowed him to convert his snowflake martial soul into anything he could imagine, but the drawback was obvious: transforming the martial soul's form consumed a massive amount of soul power.

This was why Xue Mingqing only had one final chance to act.

As for why he could create such a soul skill immediately after awakening his martial soul:

First, Xue Mingqing was not a native of the Douluo world; second, Xue Mingqing had been a master of playing with snow long before he awakened his martial soul.

Seemingly thinking of something, Xue Mingqing suddenly released his grip, and the crude snow bow abruptly dissipated in his hands.

Then, the scattered snowflakes condensed once more, forming a dense Snow Net in his grasp!

Seeing this, the Evil Soul Master, who had been intentionally trailing behind just to see what other tricks the boy had up his sleeve, instinctively paused.

Then, his pupils constricted!

"You little brat! How on earth did you do that?!"

The Evil Soul Master's question went unanswered; his only response was a dense, spiderweb-like white fishing net!

"What?!"

Before he could react, the Evil Soul Master crashed headlong into the Snow Net, and for a moment, he was actually held back by it.

And what of Xue Mingqing?

Three snowflake transformations had exhausted all his soul power; throwing that final Snow Net had been his absolute limit.

At this moment, his face was deathly pale, his internal soul power completely overdrawn and depleted.

Logically, someone whose soul power was exhausted should fall into a state of weakness or unconsciousness.

Yet, despite being on the verge of collapse or even fainting, he was still gritting his teeth and sprinting for his life!

He could not stop. Having exhausted every trick in his arsenal and still failing to defeat the Evil Soul Master, if he were to fall into the man's hands, he feared...

Even death would be a luxury!

Forcing himself to stay alert, his consciousness grew increasingly blurred.

Realizing this, Xue Mingqing bit the tip of his tongue, trading the sharp pain for a moment of clarity.

However, the speed of his feet became uncontrollably slower.

"Heh... run, why aren't you running? Out of soul power?"

The shrill voice rang out again, this time from right behind Xue Mingqing!

Hearing this, even with his consciousness nearly fading, Xue Mingqing's pupils constricted, his mind jolted awake by sheer terror!

He whipped his head around!

But the moment he turned, a withered hand clamped onto his throat, lifting his entire body into the air!

"Ugh...?"

He clawed at the Evil Soul Master's hand, feeling the suffocation set in, his legs kicking instinctively at the air.

Yet, nothing could change his fate.

And the Evil Soul Master?

As he gripped Xue Mingqing's neck, a greedy light flickered in his eyes.

He had realized it; Xue Mingqing was no twin martial soul user.

That bizarre martial soul transformation was clearly a self-created soul skill!

"Hehe... I won't ask you... once I extract your soul, I will naturally know everything I wish to know..."

Hearing this, Xue Mingqing's pupils shrank. He wanted to resist, but...

It was already too late.

The Evil Soul Master summoned the Ten Thousand Soul Banner into his hand, releasing a thick, swirling black mist that coiled around Xue Mingqing's body, intent on tearing his soul from his flesh!

"Urgh—aaahhh!"

Amidst the soul-shaking agony, Xue Mingqing let out an instinctive, harrowing scream.

Could it be... am I truly going to meet my end here...?

I refuse... I truly... refuse to accept this...!

Though he roared in defiance within his heart, Xue Mingqing's consciousness was being stripped away from his body, bit by bit.

However...

Just as his soul was on the verge of being completely torn away.

Deep within the furthest reaches of Xue Mingqing's mind, a soul that had lain dormant for six long years...

At this very moment, in the face of the crisis where Xue Mingqing's soul was about to be stolen, it suddenly snapped open a pair of cyan-green eyes!

"What petty vermin! You dare display such parlor tricks before me?!"