Mo Ling's Birth

With the Goddess of Life's help, the life force within Gui Mei instantly overwhelmed the death force and began transforming his body.

Lin Ze'an clearly noticed the sudden appearance of this power, too.

After thinking for a moment, he quickly realized who had intervened.

In the Douluo Universe, aside from him, probably only the Goddess of Life possessed such powerful life force.

But why was she helping him?

Lin Ze'an couldn't figure it out. But since it didn't seem harmful, he simply turned his attention back to Gui Mei.

At that moment, nine Soul Rings slowly appeared beneath Gui Mei.

But under the cleansing of the life force, even his Soul Rings seemed to have grown much gentler.

The most astonishing changes were happening to Gui Mei himself.

His formerly pale skin was visibly regaining its healthy color.

The chilling aura that had long surrounded him was gradually fading, replaced by a warm, vibrant feeling.

"Th-this... what is..." Gui Mei stared at his own hands in disbelief.

They no longer felt cold and stiff. They had regained the warmth and suppleness of a living person's hands.

He could even clearly feel the warmth of blood flowing through his veins.

At the same time, the ghostly shadow that had always followed him like a shadow was changing under the life force's nourishment, its blackness turning pale green.

Yue Guan stared at the scene, stunned, and said in disbelief, "Old Ghost... you!!!"

As friends for so many years, they knew everything about each other's lives. Seeing Gui Mei come back to life filled Yue Guan with genuine joy.

Meanwhile, Lin Ze'an raised a hand. The death force escaping from Gui Mei seemed drawn to it, gathering in his palm.

This was all Uncle Ghost's Soul Power that had escaped. The more he reclaimed, the less his strength would decline.

Under Lin Ze'an's purification, the energy in his hand gradually lost its black color, becoming pure life force.

"Uncle Ghost, I'm going to return the power you released. Brace yourself," Lin Ze'an warned, then injected the energy back into Gui Mei.

The next moment, Gui Mei's whole body went taut, and he began to tremble violently.

"Gaaahhh—!"

Lin Ze'an felt reluctant watching this, but there was nothing for it. He could only continue.

The whole process lasted about the time it took an incense stick to burn.

By the time Lin Ze'an withdrew his power, his face had turned somewhat pale, but excitement shone in his eyes.

Because... it had worked!

Just then, Lin Ze'an abruptly looked up, his pupils contracting!

"Not good!" Alarm bells rang in his mind. Instinctively, he crossed his arms in front of his chest to block, and his Soul Power instantly condensed into an emerald-green shield of light.

Almost at the same instant—

Gui Mei's tightly shut eyes flew open.

Boom!!!

A terrifying surge of Soul Power erupted from Gui Mei's body.

It wasn't pressure—it was a real blast of Soul Power.

The violent energy swept outward in every direction, centered on Gui Mei.

"Pfft—"

After all, Lin Ze'an was still only a Soul Elder, and the gap between his Soul Power and Gui Mei's remained enormous.

Though he had defended himself in advance, he was still blasted away. The shield before him shattered instantly, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Yue Guan, standing some distance away, had just started toward them to check on the situation when the Soul Power hurled him away before he could react.

He steadied himself and glared at Gui Mei, roaring, "Old Ghost, what the hell are you doing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he darted over to Lin Ze'an and carefully helped him up.

Then he gently pressed his palm against Lin Ze'an's back, channeling warm Soul Power into him to calm the turbulent energy inside his body.

"Cough, cough... Master, I'm fine." Lin Ze'an waved a hand, signaling Yue Guan not to worry too much.

By then, the bewilderment in Gui Mei's eyes had gradually faded, and his gaze had cleared.

He stared down at his hands in disbelief, then hurried over to Lin Ze'an.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, all he managed was an apologetic, "...Sorry."

Looking at Gui Mei's guilty, helpless expression, Lin Ze'an shook his head. "It's fine, Uncle Ghost."

As he spoke, he sat cross-legged on the ground. Life force began to circulate through him, quickly healing his injured body as the color gradually returned to his pale face.

While regulating his breathing, he quietly explained, "Uncle Ghost, you've only just completed the transformation. Your body and Martial Soul are both entirely new and unfamiliar to you."

"It's normal for your Soul Power to get out of control for a while. You'll probably need some time to adjust to your new state."

Even after hearing his explanation, Yue Guan still looked displeased with Gui Mei.

Even with Lin Ze'an's explanation, Yue Guan still glared at Gui Mei in annoyance, reproaching him, "You old ghost, why don't you check how many levels of Soul Power you have left?"

Even he hadn't reacted in time to that blast. Had Gui Mei's Soul Power really fallen?

At that, Gui Mei silently moved a few steps farther from them, closed his eyes, and began examining his body from within.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and said hesitantly, "Still level 97... It hasn't dropped. I've even improved a little?"

At that, Lin Ze'an opened his eyes as well.

His strength hadn't declined—in fact, it had improved?

After thinking for a moment, he recalled the power the Goddess of Life had sent earlier.

Lin Ze'an knew very well that with his current strength, he couldn't transform Gui Mei's state without any loss.

But why had she done it? Could it really be because...?

With the two of them looking at him in confusion, Lin Ze'an quietly explained, "I reclaimed Uncle Ghost's scattered Soul Power and returned it to him, so his strength didn't decline."

Gui Mei nodded thoughtfully, then released his Martial Soul with a thought.

The eerie, sinister ghostly shadow had vanished completely, replaced by a pale-green apparition.

Though it still retained a humanoid shape, it radiated a warm aura of life, with tiny specks of light faintly circling it.

He looked at Lin Ze'an, his expression complicated. "Ze'an, thanks to you, my Martial Soul isn't Gui Mei anymore."

"It looks like a completely new Martial Soul. You can name it."

He couldn't bring himself to express his gratitude in words. He would show his thanks through his actions from now on.

Lin Ze'an knew what Gui Mei was like, so he played along. "Then, Uncle Ghost, I won't stand on ceremony."

He rested his chin in his hand and studied the pale-green spirit carefully. Then he froze.

Wait... I didn't get a good look before. How did this Martial Soul turn into this? Does it have even the slightest resemblance to Uncle Ghost's old Martial Soul?

The corner of his mouth twitched. He said, at a loss for words, "Let's call it Mo Ling. The 'Mo' comes from my Martial Soul, Mo Ruier."

After all, no matter how he looked at it, this Martial Soul was a spirit... right?