Sun Moon Empire, Ming Capital.
For the imperial family, today was a rather special day.
Fourth Prince Xu Tianming had just turned six. After a series of ancestral blessing rituals, Kong Deming, the Silver Moon Douluo and the imperial family's chief enshrined, would personally awaken his Martial Soul.
Before the awakening officially began, a lavishly dressed young man stepped forward to reassure him:
"Fourth Brother, relax. The grade of our Martial Souls doesn't matter much. As long as you awaken one, our imperial family can pile on enough medicine to get you to the Titled Douluo level!"
The one speaking was Xu Tianming's second brother, Xu Tianran.
But unlike the Xu Tianran in Xu Tianming's memories, he wasn't lame yet. He looked sunny and cheerful—in fact, he seemed like an entirely different person from the calculating Sun Moon Crown Prince Xu Tianming remembered.
So I've transmigrated to a time before Xu Tianran's assassination... At this moment, the chosen one of this era, Huo Yuhao, must still be living a miserable life with his mother, Huo Yun'er, in the White Tiger Duke Mansion...
But I never thought it would take me six years after transmigrating to finally recover the memories from my previous life.
Xu Tianming sighed inwardly, then smiled and answered Xu Tianran as if nothing had happened:
"Don't worry, Second Brother. I've been ready for ages!"
He said that, but deep down, Xu Tianming still felt a little uneasy.
He had no idea what Martial Soul he would awaken.
Would it be the Sun or Silver Moon Martial Soul inherited by the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family?
Or the same Mutated Martial Soul as Xu Tianran, the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon?
Although the strength of one's Martial Soul wasn't all that important in the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianming naturally hoped his would be as powerful as possible.
"Tianming, hold out your hand and place it on this orb. Focus and feel."
At Kong Deming's words, Xu Tianming nodded, then obediently stepped forward and did as instructed.
In truth, any Soul Elder around level thirty could easily perform a Martial Soul Awakening.
The reason Kong Deming, the imperial family's chief enshrined, was performing the awakening himself came down to Xu Tianming's status.
Besides being Xu Tianran's fourth brother, Xu Tianming—the transmigrator—was also the blood nephew of Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming.
The only Level 10 Soul Engineer in the future of Douluo Continent was his own uncle!
Xu Tianming's family background was already as impressive as it could get. Now all that remained was to see what kind of Martial Soul he would awaken!
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, carefully following Kong Deming's guidance.
A moment later, a wave of heat spread through his body, and a tiny but dazzling sun appeared in his left hand.
"It's the imperial family's inherited Sun Martial Soul!"
Xu Tianran was the first to speak. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as it wasn't the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon like his own...
"Don't rush. There's more."
Kong Deming's voice trembled with excitement. The next moment, Xu Tianming's other hand, which had been resting on the orb, turned palm-up of its own accord. A tiny moon, just as small but filled with a mysterious aura, appeared in his palm.
Before Xu Tianran could speak, the sharp-eyed ministers invited to witness the ceremony blurted out their praise:
"The Silver Moon Martial Soul! It's the Silver Moon Martial Soul! The Fourth Prince has twin Martial Souls! What a prodigy—heaven truly favors our Sun Moon Empire!"
With that minister leading the way, a chorus of congratulations soon rang through the great hall.
Even Kong Deming, usually so cold and distant, couldn't keep a faint smile from appearing at the corners of his mouth.
He was clearly delighted by his blood nephew's exceptional talent.
But Xu Tianming, the one being praised, wasn't moved by any of the words around him.
The instant the Silver Moon Martial Soul appeared, two voices—ones only he seemed able to hear—rang out in his mind:
"Xilonen! My car... Huh? What is this place?"
"Traveler? Where are we?"
The first woman's voice was hearty and full of energy. The second sounded gentler and softer.
Those voices were so familiar!
As soon as the thought crossed Xu Tianming's mind, two women appeared in his Mental Sea of Consciousness.
One wore a red-and-white dress, with vivid scarlet hair falling to her waist. Though she merely stood there, she radiated a dashing, confident presence.
The other wore a moon-white short dress and kept her eyes closed behind a delicate openwork blindfold. She, too, was simply standing there, but her aura was more like that of a frail, helpless girl.
Xu Tianming let his consciousness sink into his Mental Sea of Consciousness. When he saw their faces, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief, feeling as if he were dreaming.
Otherwise, how could Mavuika and Columbina be in his Mental Sea of Consciousness?
Sensing his gaze, Mavuika and Columbina turned to look at him in perfect unison.
After the three of them stared at one another for a moment, Mavuika was the first to speak, her voice full of confusion:
"Your appearance has changed a little, but my instincts from fighting alongside you tell me you're still the Traveler I know—the Dumanie who saved Natlan!"
Columbina nodded and spoke softly:
"Kuuvahki tells me the Traveler before me is the one I know... But where is this? Why has my control over Kuuvahki weakened so much?"
Hearing the two women's voices again, Xu Tianming still couldn't quite believe it. He stepped closer, braced himself, then reached out and took both their hands.
Though they were in his Mental Sea of Consciousness, the touch felt so real that there was no mistaking it.
Caught off guard by the intimate gesture, Columbina's pretty face turned red. She tried to pull away, but when she couldn't free herself, she simply let him hold her hand.
Mavuika glanced in surprise at their clasped hands, then a knowing smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
That settled it. They were both real...
Xu Tianming took a deep breath and forced his jumbled thoughts to settle. Then he gave the two women a brief explanation of the situation.
After hearing him out, Mavuika nodded thoughtfully:
"So we all transmigrated to this world called Douluo Continent? But why do you have a body, Traveler, while Columbina and I can only exist through your... Martial Soul? Was this Phanes's doing?"
Phanes, the supreme ruler of Teyvat Continent, was also known as the Heavenly Principles. Faced with such a bizarre situation, Mavuika could think of no other explanation.
But Columbina had a different opinion:
"No. The Heavenly Principles may be powerful, but they can't do this. I inherited some of my older sisters' memories along with their power. The Dragon King Nibelung lost to the Heavenly Principles, but the gap between them wasn't all that great. If even Dragon King Nibelung couldn't do this, then the Heavenly Principles certainly couldn't either."
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