Origins, Summoning, Ultimate Darkness

"Twin-Winged Bird... Innate Full Soul Power!"

Seeing the brilliant light inside the crystal ball, Yue Guan's heart pounded wildly.

The slight dissatisfaction he'd felt toward Qian Ni earlier had long since vanished.

The boy was Qian Daoliu's adopted son, and the Grand Priest Qian Daoliu supported Bibi Dong. There was no factional conflict between them.

Moreover, Qian Ni's awakened Twin-Winged Bird martial soul was an exceptionally rare top-tier support martial soul.

It also ranked first on the improper list of martial souls most coveted by male Soul Masters.

In terms of utility, it was no inferior to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda or the Nine-Heart Begonia.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda supported combat and possessed a wide variety of functions, enhancing both speed and strength.

The Nine-Heart Begonia focused on healing support; as long as one had Soul Power, one essentially had health.

The Twin-Winged Bird, meanwhile, supported both cultivation and combat.

Without needing to attach Soul Rings, its martial soul's innate ability, [Entwined Branches], could temporarily add its owner's Soul Power to another Soul Master.

While affected by Entwined Branches, a Soul Master would possess the combined total Soul Power of both parties for the duration of the soul skill, using it for all activities.

For example, if Qian Ni's Soul Power was level ten, and the target of his soul skill also had level ten Soul Power—

Then after the two were added together, their total Soul Power Level could reach level fifteen.

During the duration of [Entwined Branches], the recipient could be treated as a level fifteen Soul Master, possessing the cultivation speed and total Soul Power appropriate to level fifteen.

In other words, once Qian Ni's Soul Power Level rose high enough, he could harmlessly accelerate the growth of lower-level Soul Masters, provided their bodies could withstand the corresponding Soul Power Level.

This was a top-tier martial soul that increased cultivation speed!

With both the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and Nine-Heart Begonia having their own flaws, it was hard to say which was superior!

Yet like those two, the Twin-Winged Bird martial soul also had its own shortcomings.

First, a Twin-Winged Bird Soul Master could only use [Entwined Branches] with someone of the opposite sex.

Second, during [Entwined Branches], the Twin-Winged Bird Soul Master's own Soul Power Level dropped to zero.

It was precisely because of the first flaw that the Twin-Winged Bird became the number one martial soul envied by male Soul Masters.

A male Soul Master possessing the Twin-Winged Bird martial soul was destined to never worry about food or clothing for the rest of his life. Countless female Soul Masters would come knocking on his door.

Unlike Bibi Dong and the others, Qian Ni looked at his lone left wing and felt somewhat disappointed.

"Twin-Winged Bird?"

He'd read about this martial soul in books and understood it to some extent.

But what he'd wanted was a powerful assault-type martial soul, one that let fists strike flesh—not this purely supportive martial soul that sacrificed itself for others.

The Twin-Winged Bird martial soul could help others cultivate, but it offered no boost to its owner's cultivation.

Fine. Support it is. At least it's a top-tier martial soul.

Looks like I'll have to rely on my body and teammates in battle!

At least I have Innate Full Soul Power! My efforts weren't wasted!

Qian Ni swiftly adjusted his mindset. After retracting his martial soul, he nodded to Yue Guan and slipped into the crowd without looking back.

He didn't care in the slightest about the pope's upcoming speech and the rest of the formalities.

They were a waste of time and meaningless. He still had things to do.

Yue Guan raised a hand, hesitated for a moment, then lowered it again.

There was no need to rush to recruit Qian Ni. The boy was Qian Daoliu's adopted son and already belonged to Spirit Hall.

He turned to glance at the high platform and saw that Bibi Dong wore a smile as well.

Yue Guan knew that the pope already had plans, so there was no need for him to worry.

The Twin-Winged Bird martial soul... support that accelerates cultivation...

His gaze swept to the side, where he spotted several young men and women standing at the edge of the plaza.

They were Bibi Dong's disciple Hu Liena, her brother Xie Yue, and their teammate Yan.

How wonderful. Once he grows up, you'll be blessed. An ability that speeds up cultivation, tsk...

Outside the residence of the Grand Priest on Spirit City's Sacred Mountain.

Qian Ni stood at the platform's edge, overlooking half of Spirit City before him.

All of his attention was fixed on the symbol that had suddenly appeared in the corner of his vision.

It was the symbol of a star-shaped stone.

Behind the stone was a number: 21.

This thing had appeared in his eyes ever since his martial soul awakened.

"What is this? A system? My cheat?"

[The Summoning System is at your service, Master.]

Qian Ni remained outwardly calm, though doubts surged within him. "What does that mean?"

Only when a stream of information entered his mind did he understand.

The star-shaped symbol represented Fate Stones, while the number represented their quantity.

The Summoning System could use Fate Stones to summon things from other worlds. One Fate Stone allowed one summon.

This included, but was not limited to, skills, items, and living beings...

Even his future soul skills could be re-summoned using Fate Stones if he wasn't satisfied with them.

As for acquiring Fate Stones, that required causality.

As long as he formed connections with living beings, causality would arise.

So I need to socialize extensively? Only then can I create more causal entanglements, turn them into Fate Stones, and use them to cheat?

Fine. At least it's not one summon for 160, let alone 500 or 600.

Being able to summon things from other worlds was undoubtedly a good thing for a Soul Master.

After all, Douluo Continent had always enjoyed the reputation of being the "sewer of fantasy settings."

The native humans of Douluo were even called "hydrogen people."

If he could use the system to summon something like a Rider Belt or a Beta Capsule from the special-effects studio next door, wouldn't he be unstoppable?

Qian Ni narrowed his eyes, his gaze landing on the "21" behind the Fate Stone symbol.

According to the rules, forming Certain Causality with a one-ring Soul Master would earn one Fate Stone.

A two-ring Soul Master would yield two.

Ordinary people produced none.

Perhaps that was discrimination. Fine by him; at least he wouldn't have to interact with ordinary people with ulterior motives.

What counted as Certain Causality? A chance meeting didn't count. At the very least, they had to become an "important memory."

Then these twenty-one Fate Stones meant Qian Ni had already formed Certain Causality with others.

That old bastard must've contributed some of them.

He dropped at least nine Fate Stone coins for me. Not bad. You haven't forgotten that we're father and son.

After you sacrifice yourself for Qian Renxue someday, I'll remember to burn incense for you every year.

Of course, that's assuming the summons actually produce something good.

If all I get is blue skies and white clouds, then go in peace. You're such a grown man—be self-sufficient down there.

[The Summoning System is at your service, Master.]

The system interface remained on those words, seemingly not possessing particularly high intelligence.

After thinking for a moment, Qian Ni gave it some feedback.

System, change how you address me. Don't call me Master.

[Please define.]

Qian Ni's lips curved upward. Call me Dad.

[Okay, Dad.]

Oh? It really works!

Qian Ni grinned, and the faint gloom from awakening a support martial soul was swept away.

System, open the Fate Stone acquisition record.

[Command received.]

Several messages appeared one after another.

'Fate Stone +6'

'Fate Stone +6'

'Fate Stone +9'

Qian Ni stared silently at the first two records.

Both +6 entries came before his adoptive father Qian Daoliu's +9.

What did that mean? They could only be the causality from his biological parents.

Were my parents in this life Soul Masters? Six-ring Soul Emperors? Are they still alive?

As he pondered, steady footsteps sounded behind him.

The steps were calm and unhurried, carrying an elegant air of deliberate pretension.

He recognized the sound from hearing alone. It was his adoptive father, Qian Daoliu.

"A-Ni, what's wrong?

"Are you unhappy about having Innate Full Soul Power?"

Qian Daoliu strolled over. He didn't seem at all surprised by Qian Ni's martial soul.

There wasn't the slightest surprise or joy at seeing a top-tier martial soul capable of aiding cultivation.

That old bastard knew I'd awaken the Twin-Winged Bird!

Qian Ni calmly blinked.

"It's alright. It was expected."

After all, he'd cultivated for so long without daring to waste even a moment.

This Innate Full Soul Power was what he deserved.

It was the fruit of his labor. What was there to be happy about?

At that moment, Qian Ni's attention remained on the Summoning System. Twenty-one Fate Stones made his hands itch.

Should I do a ten-pull first and see what I get?

Hearing that answer, Qian Daoliu laughed briefly.

But he soon regained his composure. Having made a decision, he spoke.

"Regarding your origins and your parents, there are some things I need to tell you."

Qian Ni's attention returned. He casually tapped the Fate Stone symbol.

The number of Fate Stones instantly dropped by ten.

A void formed on the interface, invisible to Qian Daoliu.

Qian Ni raised his head.

"Dad, go ahead."

Qian Daoliu looked straight into his adopted son's eyes.

"Six years ago, I went overseas for certain reasons and accidentally disturbed a sea soul beast. The commotion it caused destroyed a fleet.

"I rescued you from the wreckage of one of the ships.

"Your parents were buried at sea along with that fleet."

Qian Ni froze. Then he heard Qian Daoliu slowly say, "In some ways, I...

"Am the enemy who made you an orphan."

On the system interface, ten rays of light leaped out from the void.

[Summon: Ultimate Power (Daguva)]

[Summon...]

Ten messages came in, but Qian Ni had no mind to inspect them.

Qian Daoliu's words were like a small hammer, striking his head until it buzzed.

At the same time, an icy, profound power spread from his abdomen throughout his body.

An aura of darkness erupted in an instant, completely engulfing Qian Ni in an indescribable chaos of colors.

"A-Ni!"

"This is bad!"

Two cries rang out as two figures shot toward Qian Ni in an instant.

One was Qian Daoliu. The other was unexpectedly the pope, Bibi Dong!