Twin Martial Souls! Bodyguard's Choice!

Ranked in first place was, surprisingly, Yuan'en Yehui's Fallen Angel martial soul.

"It's not the original version, no wonder it's ranked first."

Gu An's gaze fell upon the icon of that martial soul, his pupils dilating slightly.

It was a twelve-winged Fallen Angel martial soul, with ten of those wings being a pure, solid black.

The remaining two wings had edges shimmering with a faint golden hue, carrying a distinct sense of divinity.

Fallen was the dominant trait, yet divinity remained.

A line of small text floated beneath the icon: Contaminated by Abyss origin power and divine power, resulting in an unknown mutation.

Was there even a need to choose?

Gu An locked in this martial soul in his mind immediately.

His gaze shifted downward.

Ranked second was neither the Golden Dragon King martial soul nor the Silver Dragon King martial soul.

It was a flute.

Gu An was stunned for a moment.

A flute?

He looked again to confirm he hadn't misread it.

The icon depicted a flute that was translucent white throughout, with golden patterns coiled around both ends and faint phantoms of dragons and phoenixes flowing across its body.

For a flute to be ranked second, what on earth had this thing fused with?

Just as Gu An was about to click to view the detailed description, his mother's voice suddenly reached his ears.

"Xiao An? Xiao An!"

Gu An's mother's tone carried obvious anxiety.

Gu An pulled his focus back and, without further hesitation, selected both the first and second martial souls.

The ranking alone was proof enough of their strength.

Moreover, his mother's martial soul was also a flute—a Magic Flute.

He was in the middle of awakening his martial soul; it wouldn't do to inherit neither of his parents' martial souls.

Twin martial souls were powerful in the first era, but only average in the second.

The real monsters came later; his situation was still relatively modest.

Suppressing his excitement, he prepared to return to his senses.

As for the choice of a bodyguard, he would look into that after his martial soul had fully awakened.

Gu An opened his eyes, the light of the hexagram array beneath his feet slowly fading.

His mother stood before him, hunched over with her hands clasped so tightly her knuckles had turned white, her eyes full of worry.

Gu An looked at her and spoke.

"Mother, my martial soul is the same as yours—it's a flute."

Upon hearing this, his mother's shoulders visibly relaxed.

Her own martial soul, while not weak, was not strong enough to exact revenge.

Awakening a martial soul like hers meant her son would not have to walk the path of licking blood from a blade.

She crouched down, pulled Gu An into her arms, and finally let her tears fall.

"As long as you're safe, as long as you're safe."

"It was worth giving you that name."

"We mother and son will live a good life, a peaceful one."

Her voice trembled, and warm tears landed on Gu An's neck.

Gu An felt the warmth of his mother's embrace and the slight tremors of her body as she wept.

He sighed inwardly.

In this world, you couldn't just have peace because you wanted it.

The second era not only had the troublemaker that was Shrek Academy, but also those truly deranged Evil Soul Masters.

Could they live a peaceful life just by hiding in this small village?

Impossible.

Strength was the only thing that could truly bring him peace of mind.

Gu An raised his hand and patted his mother's back like a little adult, his movements very gentle.

"Mom, my martial soul is a flute, but it seems a bit different from yours."

As he spoke, he manifested his martial soul.

Gu An's mother froze, loosening her embrace to look down.

A flute appeared in Gu An's small hand.

It was indeed different.

Gu An's mother's pupils constricted sharply.

Her own martial soul was a Magic Flute, pitch-black throughout with only simple markings.

Yet the flute in Gu An's hand was as lustrous and white as jade, with phantoms of a dragon and phoenix coiling around its body, vivid and breathtakingly beautiful.

Just one glance made her feel as if her spirit were being drawn in, compelling her to stare at it endlessly.

After a few seconds, her eyes began to ache and swell, feeling quite uncomfortable, while an inexplicable sense of irritation surged in her mind.

Gu An's mother hurriedly looked away.

She was a soul master; although she was injured, her basic discernment remained.

This was a mutated martial soul.

Moreover, it was far, far stronger than her own—it existed on an entirely different level.

Gu An's mother stood rooted to the spot, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes staring blankly.

Gu An tilted his head, watching his mother's expression and nearly thinking she had lost her wits.

He spoke again.

"Mom, I think I have another martial soul."

He couldn't tell others, but he could tell his mother.

Gu An had felt Gu An's mother's maternal love since he was small, that unreserved devotion; there was no need to hide anything.

Gu An's mother's neck turned stiffly as she looked toward Gu An's other hand.

An angel martial soul appeared in that small palm.

Twelve wings were spread wide: ten were as black as ink, while two shimmered with a faint golden light.

Two vastly different auras—the sacred and the fallen—existed simultaneously, intertwined and tangled together.

Gu An's mother could not identify exactly what this martial soul was.

But she knew at a glance that it was incredibly powerful.

The overwhelming pressure radiating from it made even her, a former soul emperor, find it difficult to breathe.

She looked back at Gu An's face.

His bright eyes were the same as before, clean and clear, carrying a calmness that didn't match his age.

His appearance hadn't changed either; he was still the child she had watched grow up.

But these two martial souls...

Tears the size of beans rolled down from Gu An's mother's eyes, one after another.

She pulled Gu An into her arms abruptly and burst into loud sobs.

"It's Mom who failed you!"

"It's Mom who is incompetent!"

"Mom doesn't want you to suffer so much!"

"It's all Mom's fault!"

Gu An's nose stung, and his own eyes turned red.

He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and kept his voice as steady as possible.

"It's alright, Mom. Strength is everything."

"If I want to protect you properly, I have to work hard to become stronger."

"I will get revenge."

Gu An's mother didn't speak; she only cried louder.

She buried her face in Gu An's small shoulder, her sobs muffled in her throat, her entire body trembling.

After a long time, Gu An's mother cried herself into exhaustion.

She was already injured and physically weak; after such intense emotional upheaval, she went completely limp.

Gu An helped her onto the bed, tucked her in, and pulled the quilt over her.

With red and swollen eyes, Gu An's mother held onto Gu An's hand, refusing to let go, until she finally drifted into a deep sleep from sheer fatigue.

Gu An stood by the bedside, looking down at his mother's sleeping face, still streaked with tear marks.

He gently pulled his hand away, walked to the other side of the room, and sat down cross-legged.

Now, it was time to take a good look at this Douluo Planet from the Legend of the Dragon King.

His consciousness sank back into his body, where that grayish-white planet remained suspended in silence.

Gu An muttered to himself.

"I wonder if there's still a chance to snatch Huo Yuhao's cheat."

After all, they were destined to be enemies.

He didn't think he could change Huo Yuhao.

He wasn't as good at training dogs as Tang San.

After some thought, Gu An sighed again.

He recalled another ability left behind by the consciousness of Douluo Planet before it fell into slumber: he could choose a powerhouse from Douluo III to serve as his bodyguard.

His mother's current strength was practically non-existent, so the household really needed someone who could fight.

Just like the martial soul list, the bodyguards were also ranked and categorized.

Gu An's gaze skipped over all the options from Shrek Academy.

The consciousness of Douluo Planet hadn't made it clear exactly how these bodyguards worked.

If he chose someone from Shrek, it would be a joke if they didn't help him fight but instead sold him out.

Evil Soul Masters were out of the question; he didn't even need to consider them.

After a series of screenings, his eyes rested on one name.

Spirit Pagoda, Leng Yaozhu.

She was powerful, a woman, not from Shrek Academy, and not an Evil Soul Master.

Gu An tapped his finger in his consciousness.

A translucent panel immediately appeared before him, displaying two options.

Option 1: Leng Yaozhu with all her original memories.

Option 2: A completely loyal Leng Yaozhu.

Seeing these two options, Gu An felt a twinge of regret.

He regretted his choice.

If he had known it would be like this, he should have chosen Yun Ming.

That guy was the strongest.

Forget it.

Gu An tapped on Option 2.

Leng Yaozhu was great too; big sisters were the best—easy on the eyes and capable in a fight.

The panel vanished.

A beam of light flared in front of Gu An, and once it faded, a woman stood there.

She had a tall, slender figure with exquisite curves, long hair cascading to her waist, and facial features so refined they were beyond reproach.

She truly lived up to her reputation as the greatest beauty of the Spirit Pagoda; she was stunning.

Gu An gave his silent assessment.

Leng Yaozhu lowered her head to look at Gu An, then raised her hand to clench her fist, inspecting her own body.

"Is this the Douluo Continent of ten thousand years ago?"

She spoke, her voice cold and tinged with a sense of scrutiny.

Gu An was stunned.

Wasn't it supposed to be the version without memories?

Why did it feel like she knew everything?

Leng Yaozhu seemed to read his thoughts and tilted her head slightly.

"I possess all my normal memories and strength."

"But I have no emotional attachment to the people in those memories."

"I am completely loyal to you."

Having said that, she placed one hand over her chest, bowed slightly, and performed a standard salute.

Gu An looked at her, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.