The sky over Aolai City was gray and gloomy, just like Tang Wulin's mood.
The Spirit Pagoda's doors slowly closed behind him. Clutching the glass bottle in his hand, Tang Wulin walked down the steps, his legs feeling unsteady.
His father, Tang Ziran, followed behind him. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
Just moments ago, the Spirit Master had announced Tang Wulin's random draw result in a tone tinged with regret.
"This is a defective product!"
Tang Wulin had spent all the thirty thousand Federal Coins he'd saved over three years of blacksmithing. Full of anticipation, he had stood before the Soul Spirit drawing platform, only to draw a tiny, ten-centimeter-long snake Soul Spirit with a dark-gold body.
The Spirit Master had said it was an experimental product made using non-Soul Beast genes. It ranked dead last among all Soul Spirits and didn't even have Soul Beast blood.
Three years of sweat, more than a thousand days and nights swinging a hammer at the forge, his hands worn raw again and again, every coin he'd saved soaked in his sweat and blood—in the end, all he had to show for it was the Spirit Master's regretful sigh and the words "defective product."
For any child Tang Wulin's age, this would have been a crushing blow.
When they got home.
"Son, don't be sad." Tang Ziran's voice was a little hoarse. He gently rested his rough, calloused hand on Tang Wulin's shoulder. "Dad will find a way to earn more money. Don't worry. I'll get you a suitable Soul Spirit as soon as I can."
Tang Wulin said nothing and went straight to his room.
Na'er had watched it all from the side. She followed him in.
Once back in his room, Tang Wulin could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
Na'er sat down beside him and gently wrapped her arms around him, her voice growing choked with emotion.
"Brother, don't cry."
A long while passed before Tang Wulin's sobbing gradually stopped. He sat up in Na'er's arms and said softly, "Na'er, go outside for a bit. I'm going to fuse with the Soul Spirit."
Na'er looked at Tang Wulin seriously. "But isn't this Soul Spirit bad?"
"Mom and Dad work so hard. I can't let Dad go and earn all that money to buy me a Soul Spirit. It's weak, but it's still a Soul Spirit. Once I fuse with it, I'll become a Soul Master. I'll worry about what comes after that later." Tang Wulin smiled.
Na'er didn't say anything more. She slowly left the room and gently closed the door behind her.
Tang Wulin released his Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, and slowly brought it closer to the little snake.
"A Trash Martial Soul paired with a defective Soul Spirit does seem like a perfect match." Tang Wulin gave a rueful, self-mocking laugh.
So far, everything had gone smoothly. Defective Soul Spirits like this hardly ever put up any resistance.
But just as his Blue Silver Grass was about to touch the little snake—
A dazzling dark-red light erupted without warning from the desk drawer nearby. Then a strange, bone-white flame surged out of the light and quickly gathered into a hazy human form in the cramped room.
"Stop!"
An old voice rang out, interrupting Tang Wulin.
The figure took the form of an old man, his body hazy, as if seen through a layer of mist. His hair and beard were completely white, and he wore a plain white robe. He looked at Tang Wulin with a strange smile.
"If you really fuse with this Soul Spirit, your future achievements will be greatly diminished." The old man glanced at the little snake in the glass bottle, sounding somewhat surprised. "I never thought this world could create a living creature out of nothing."
Tang Wulin opened his mouth, but it took him a good while to find his voice. "Y-you are...?"
"Hmm, you can call me Yao Lao." The old man stood with his hands behind his back and looked out the window. "The Douluo Continent, Aolai City, Soul Masters, Soul Beasts... This place is rather interesting. It's just a shame there's no Dou Qi here."
"Are you a Soul Master too?" Tang Wulin asked.
Yao Lao stroked his white beard and smiled. "I'm no Soul Master, and I don't belong to this world."
Tang Wulin's heart jolted. "You don't belong to this world? Then where are you from?"
Yao Lao's gaze grew distant, as though he'd remembered something. "My world is called the Dou Qi Continent. The name is a little like your Douluo Continent. As for how I got here, I'm not quite sure. But it seems it'll be difficult to return."
"If you want to go home, you could look for a Titled Douluo in our world. I've heard they can do anything, whether it's flying to the heavens or burrowing underground," Tang Wulin suggested.
Yao Lao burst out laughing. "Though I haven't left your family's home in the few years I've been in this world, I've sensed a few powerful figures passing nearby. I imagine they were the Titled Douluo you mentioned. But they can't send me home. Perhaps the gods of your world could."
"Do you know Tang San, the founder of the Tang Sect? Dad told me he became a god tens of thousands of years ago. I also heard that his Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass, just like mine, when he first started out." Tang Wulin asked another question.
Yao Lao shook his head and looked at Tang Wulin. "I don't know him. But speaking of gods, isn't that old fellow hiding inside a child's body going to come out?"
"Yao Lao, what are you talking about?" Tang Wulin was completely lost.
But just then, a warm sensation spread without warning from Tang Wulin's chest.
Immediately afterward, a golden figure slowly emerged from within him.
The light wasn't blinding, but it carried an indescribable majesty. The figure gradually took shape, becoming a tall, slender silhouette. Long blue hair spilled over its shoulders, and it wore a luxurious golden robe. Its features were too blurred to make out, but its deep-blue eyes gazed calmly at Yao Lao.
Tang Wulin's whole body stiffened. How could there be someone else inside him?
"Who are you?" Tang Wulin asked dumbly.
The golden figure pondered for a moment, then spoke in a gentle voice. "You can call me Old Tang. The person who left me inside you hopes I can look after you for a while."
"Then who left you inside me?" Tang Wulin asked.
Old Tang shook his head. "I don't know. I'm only a wisp of divine consciousness."
Yao Lao looked at Old Tang. "I can sense that the person who left this wisp of divine consciousness behind isn't ordinary. If I'm not mistaken, it was a god from your world. But I can't sense the presence of a Divine Realm in your world."
Old Tang didn't answer Yao Lao's question. "You're not from this world!"
Yao Lao nodded. "You know now, so there's no need to keep saying it! I'm not much better off than you. I'm only a soul, too. If I hadn't absorbed some of Little Wulin's life force over the years, I might still be unable to gather into this form."
"You've gone too far. You can't absorb any more of his life force!" Old Tang said sternly.
"Don't worry. Can't you tell that his life force is absurdly strong? It's as if the entire plane favors him."
Old Tang's indistinct eyes fixed on Yao Lao. He said nothing.
"All right, all right, don't worry. I won't absorb any more. There'd be no point anyway. Life force isn't what I'm lacking now." Yao Lao looked at Old Tang.
Only then did Old Tang turn his gaze to Tang Wulin. "Since I've appeared, I'll explain things to you now!"
"The reason I appeared inside you is that the essence of the Golden Dragon King is sealed within your body. The eighteen layers of seals will gradually break over time, so before that happens, you must absorb the Golden Dragon King's power within the seals. Otherwise, you'll die! The first seal will break before you turn ten."
"Die!"
For a nine-year-old like Tang Wulin, that word had always felt impossibly distant. But Old Tang's words seemed to drag it infinitely closer—as if he had only half a year left.
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