Bai Xiao's Expectations

Bai Xiao could sense in his mind that there was a cell emitting a blue fluorescent glow in his right hand.

Bai Xiao could clearly perceive the cell's shape. He discovered that his cell seemed to be a...

Bai Xiao thought, If my Martial Soul is just "a cell," then what the hell is there left to develop? Might as well skip straight to the ending.

Bai Xiao poured soul power into his Martial Soul and found that his Cell Martial Soul truly had not disappointed him.

Under Bai Xiao's mental control, he discovered that he could control the "division" of his Cell Martial Soul. Some cells even began to differentiate on their own; the cell walls of some cells began to thicken, while strange structures started appearing within the cytoplasm of others...

Cell division grew exponentially. In other words, it could produce an enormous number of cells in a short time.

Remember the "chessboard game"? Put one grain of wheat on the first square, two on the second, four on the third... In the end, the total number of grains on the board became an astronomical figure—one a kingdom could not repay even if it went without food or drink for ten years.

Unfortunately, Bai Xiao's Cell Martial Soul needed his soul power as the energy consumed by division. As the base number of cells increased, the soul power he expended also rose dramatically.

In the end, after exhausting all the soul power in his body, he could only grow his Cell Martial Soul to the size of an egg.

Bai Xiao knew that if he continued consuming soul power, this Cell Martial Soul would suck him dry. So, he began reducing the soul power supplied to it. Before long, he felt the Cell Martial Soul stop growing. It stabilized at the size of a flesh ball and no longer changed.

Bai Xiao extended his Mental Power and probed the flesh ball formed by the Cell Martial Soul. He could sense the wondrous nature of this Cell Martial Soul.

It was like a true living being. The surface of the flesh ball was covered in constantly pulsing blood vessels, surging with Bai Xiao's soul power and replenishing the energy needed by every cell composing the flesh ball.

In Bai Xiao's perception, this flesh ball was like a part of his body. He could feel the blood vessels and nerves on it, every surge of its pulse, as though it were another organ inside him.

If the Cell Martial Soul's division had not been restricted by the limits of Bai Xiao's soul power, he would have dared to declare, "One year to crush a Title Douluo, two years to overthrow Martial Soul Hall, capture Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong and bring them home as wives, three years to rule Douluo Continent, four years to become a god, five years to crush the Divine Realm..."

Cough, cough. Bai Xiao slapped himself, knocking away the little thought in his heart. "Calm down. I need to lie low and grow stronger. To get rich, farm first; to prosper, chop trees first."

Bai Xiao discovered that, like Food Soul Masters and Plant Soul Masters, he could condense his Martial Soul into a physical form. Yet after a while, it would disperse, leaving him completely baffled.

"Turning an energy body into a physical entity... is that quantum entanglement?"

Bai Xiao muttered to himself.

Bai Xiao gave it a try and found that, like a Beast Martial Soul, he could undergo Martial Soul Possession. After possession, Bai Xiao felt his body reach an unprecedented peak. One word: amazing!

Bai Xiao could feel his mental calculations become extraordinarily active, while his muscle tissue's energy utilization efficiency rose greatly. His vision stretched farther than ever before, and he could even feel the blood in his body surging and roiling.

It was a miraculous sensation. Only now did Bai Xiao understand how every function of his body operated—the stretching of his muscles, the writhing of his stomach, the intestines' absorption of nutrients... He understood all of it like the back of his hand.

During Martial Soul Possession, the Martial Soul seemed to adhere to every cell in his body, bonding with them so tightly that it could not be removed at all.

Bai Xiao felt that, so long as he wished it, his Martial Soul could fuse with the cells in his body—or rather, "my Martial Soul can be assimilated by the cells in my body!!!"

A startling thought flashed through Bai Xiao's mind. He closed his eyes and carefully sensed a change somewhere within his body.

Bai Xiao discovered that some cells fused with his Martial Soul were in a state between matter and energy, dazzling like starlight in the night. Understanding dawned on him, and he cried out, "Body Martial Soul!!!"

"But this is truly a huge surprise!"

Bai Xiao exclaimed, "Then can I turn my entire body into a Martial Soul?"

After a series of experiments, Bai Xiao successfully transformed some cells in various parts of his body into a Body Martial Soul.

Yet structures such as hair could never be transformed. After all, those were structural proteins. By the time Bai Xiao transformed all the cells in his body into a Body Martial Soul, he might become a "boiled egg."

Ordinary hair simply could not withstand the energy possessed by a Martial Soul. At the thought of that scene, Bai Xiao could not help shuddering. "I'll worry about that later!" After all, his body's Martial Soul transformation had only reached 0.000001% so far. The project of turning his entire body into a Martial Soul was still a distant prospect.

Bai Xiao condensed his Martial Soul once more. This time, a muscle cell appeared in his hand, and it even contained a large number of mitochondria. The instant Bai Xiao noticed this, he was shocked. "Could it be..."

Bai Xiao rushed out of the house, found a Blue Silver Grass plant in the grass outside, and brought it back indoors.

Bai Xiao covered the Blue Silver Grass with both hands and hurriedly summoned his Martial Soul to attach itself to it. Before long, he could feel his Martial Soul changing. Part of the Blue Silver Grass had already fused with his Cell Martial Soul.

It took about two hours before Bai Xiao completely assimilated the Blue Silver Grass. He felt that he could control its growth as easily and naturally as controlling his own arm.

Bai Xiao planted the Blue Silver Grass in the ground, fed it soul power, and controlled it with his thoughts. The Blue Silver Grass immediately grew wildly. As Bai Xiao continued supplying soul power, it grew taller and taller, rising from just above his feet to his knees.

Bai Xiao also discovered something that delighted him: he could actually use the Blue Silver Grass to absorb soul power from the air, then channel it back into himself through the Blue Silver Grass.

Bai Xiao gasped in amazement. "Isn't this basically a cheat?"

He even had a vague sense that he could adjust a small portion of the Blue Silver Grass's genes. Just as the brain issued an order to raise a hand, he could make this Blue Silver Grass's growth cycle far faster than its kind, increase its seed production, and enhance its resistance to adversity...

Looking at the grassland before him, a plan surfaced in Bai Xiao's mind: the "Super Blue Silver Grass Species Invasion Plan."

Bai Xiao had already imagined how terrifying the effect would be if Blue Silver Grass covered the entire planet and aided his cultivation!!!

Of course, what Bai Xiao wanted to do now was clearly impossible. No matter how he adjusted it, he could only do so within a certain limit. Once he exceeded that limit, the cell would immediately collapse and scatter into powder.

A thought surfaced in Bai Xiao's heart. He decided to give it a try. After all, there was no harm in trying.

He acted as soon as he thought of it, condensing the Cell Martial Soul in his right hand once more.

He sensed the Cell Martial Soul in his right hand.

"I want you to become that."

Bai Xiao silently recited in his heart.

Gradually, the original eukaryotic cell in Bai Xiao's mind slowly began transforming into a muscle cell.

Bai Xiao silently recited again, "I want you to become it!"

The cell in Bai Xiao's hand transformed once more, changing from an animal cell into a plant cell. Bai Xiao followed the sensation in his mind.

This was the feeling transmitted into his mind after his Cell Martial Soul assimilated the Blue Silver Grass.

Bai Xiao continuously poured out soul power. The Cell Martial Soul in his right hand began dividing and differentiating without pause. Slowly, slowly, a Blue Silver Grass plant appeared in Bai Xiao's hand.

Drenched in sweat, Bai Xiao stared fixedly at the "Blue Silver Grass" Martial Soul in his right hand.

Bai Xiao threw back his head and laughed heartily, unable to conceal the delight in his eyes. "Just as I thought!! My Martial Soul can extract the genetic material of all cellular lifeforms and completely transform into that kind of Martial Soul!"

Bai Xiao immediately began considering how to develop his Cell Martial Soul. "That means my Martial Soul has incredibly powerful disguise capabilities, and it can undergo Martial Soul fusion with nearly every living Martial Soul!

As for Body Martial Souls, I can even strengthen my body to an unimaginable degree."

"Clear Sky Hammer, Six-Winged Angel, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Evil Fire Phoenix?" Bai Xiao said disdainfully. "Only my Cell Martial Soul is a true Martial Immortal, a true God-Tier Martial Soul!!!"

Only at this moment did Bai Xiao gain the confidence to challenge everything. Yet the people of Douluo Continent—commoners, Soul Masters, and inheritors of gods alike—had no idea that within this tiny thatched hut lurked an evil dragon that would one day overturn the world!