Fate's Convergence

"Rumble!"

A crack of thunder tore across the night sky, and raindrops the size of beans pounded against the stone-paved road of Holy Soul Village. The old locust tree at the village entrance swayed in the gale, its leaves rustling loudly.

A boy of about six huddled behind the stone lion at the village entrance. His thin clothes had long since been soaked through by the rain. Mud splattered his pale face, yet it could not hide his bright eyes.

"Are you all right?"

A childish voice called out. The boy looked up and saw a little boy holding an oil-paper umbrella standing before him. The boy had short black hair, eyes as bright as stars, and a steaming bun in his hand.

"I... I'm fine." The boy instinctively shrank back.

"Here, have a bun first." The black-haired boy held the bun out to him. "My name is Tang Wulin. What's yours?"

"I... I don't have a name." The boy lowered his head, his voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

Tang Wulin tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Then I'll call you Little Seven from now on! Come on, come home with me. My mom's cooking is delicious!"

Little Seven froze. He had been an orphan since childhood, wandering the streets. No one had ever treated him so kindly. Looking at Tang Wulin's outstretched hand, he hesitated for a moment before taking it.

The two small figures gradually disappeared into the rain, and at that moment, the gears of fate began to turn.

"Little Seven, look!" Tang Wulin excitedly pointed at the distant Spirit Hall. "Today is the day of martial soul awakening. Let's go together!"

Little Seven nodded and followed Tang Wulin into the Spirit Hall. Quite a few children had already gathered inside, while a middle-aged man in white robes explained the precautions for martial soul awakening.

"Next, Tang Wulin."

Tang Wulin stepped forward and placed his hand on the crystal ball. In an instant, a dazzling blue light shot into the sky, and the phantom of a mighty Blue Silver Grass appeared behind him.

"Innately full soul power!" the man in white cried out. "And it's even a Blue Silver Grass martial soul!"

Watching Tang Wulin's excitement, Little Seven was happy for him, but also somewhat uneasy. When it was his turn, he placed his trembling hand on the crystal ball.

"Bzz—"

The crystal ball suddenly began to tremble violently. A pitch-black dragon shadow flickered in and out behind him. Little Seven felt as though something inside his body was about to burst free, and the agonizing pain nearly made him collapse.

"This... this is!" The man in white widened his eyes. "Twin martial souls! A Shadow Dragon martial soul and... and..."

Before he could finish, the crystal ball shattered with a crack. Little Seven's vision went dark, and he lost consciousness.

When he woke again, he found himself lying on a bed in Tang Wulin's home. Tang Wulin was leaning over the bedside. Seeing him awake, he immediately broke into a delighted smile. "Little Seven, you're finally awake! You've been asleep for a whole day and night!"

"I... what happened to me?"

"You fainted while awakening your martial soul." Tang Wulin said excitedly, "Do you know? You have twin martial souls! We couldn't see what the second one was, but it must be amazing!"

Feeling the surging soul power within him, Little Seven suddenly realized that his soul power fluctuations were completely identical to Tang Wulin's. He vaguely sensed that some mysterious connection had formed between himself and Tang Wulin.

"Little Seven, let's go to Nuoding Academy together!" Tang Wulin clenched his fist. "I'm going to become the strongest Soul Master!"

Little Seven looked into Tang Wulin's determined eyes and nodded. What he did not know was that from that moment on, his fate had become tightly bound to Tang Wulin's. As Tang Wulin grew stronger, so would he; if Tang Wulin was injured, he would feel it as well.

And so, the story of the two boys began.