Dual-Star Arrival

Quan Cangtiang stood at the entrance of the Awakening Hall, his palms covered in sweat. 6 years. Having transmigrated for 6 years, he had waited for this day for 6 years. If the awakening failed today, he would be good for nothing. The young patriarch of the Quan family, heir to the noble house guarding the northwest border of the Tianhun Empire—a waste without a Martial Soul. By then, inheriting the family business aside, whether he could even survive was a question. He took a deep breath. He pushed open the door. Three people were inside. His grandfather sat in the center. White hair and beard, his posture straight. A ninety-ninth-level Semi-God, the strongest in the family. The old man wore new clothes today, which was rare. His father stood to the side, not sitting. A ninety-ninth-level Limit Douluo, the current patriarch, very busy, yet he had specifically returned today. His eldest uncle was in the corner. His face smelled foul, as though someone owed him money. A ninety-ninth-level Titled Douluo, the vice patriarch, whose bloodline was insufficiently pure, getting his rank stuck. "Cangtian." His grandfather spoke. "Go, touch the stele." Quan Cangtian walked up to the stele. A black stele, two meters tall, its surface smooth. It had been passed down in the family for hundreds of years. He reached out his hand. His fingertips touched the stele. No response. One second. Two seconds. The stele shook. Hum— Radiance burst forth. Not a single color. Two. Bright gold. Emerald green. Blooming simultaneously, intertwining and wrapping around each other, they surged into the sky. His grandfather stood up. The chair was knocked over, crashing to the ground. "Two-colored radiance..." His voice trembled slightly. "This is Twin Martial Souls!" His father took a step forward. His hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white. He didn't speak. But the corners of his mouth trembled. His eldest uncle was in the corner. His expression changed again and again. Finally, it settled into a strange look. Hard to describe. It looked like joy, yet also like something else. In the center of the radiance, two seeds emerged. One Bright Gold seed, its surface covered in flame patterns, looking as though it were burning. One Emerald Green seed, its surface covered in vine patterns, looking as though it were growing. They drilled into Quan Cangtian's glabella. Hot. Seeping outward from the gaps in his bones. From his glabella downward, following his spine, spreading through his entire body. A voice. Violent, icy. Rang out from the depths of his consciousness sea. "The birth of the universe is an error..." "If civilization is a cancer quietly arising among the vast stars..." "Conflict is the sole universal language spoken among intelligent living beings." Yet another voice. Gentle, merciful. Rang out from the other side of his consciousness sea. "May all sentient beings obtain whatever they seek." "I am the nurturer of all living things, the god of the paradise, aiming to make life flourish unceasingly." "Never rejecting prayers, unable to bear the sight of decay and illness." Both voices poured into his consciousness sea simultaneously. One wanted to destroy everything. One wanted to heal everything. The two wills conflicted with one another. Quan Cangtian felt sharp pain in his consciousness sea. These two voices... A thought flashed through his mind. Are Nanook and Yaoshi? The Star Gods from Honkai: Star Rail? Dual Paths? His vision went black. He lost consciousness. A patch of chaos. Black. No light, no sound, no direction. Quan Cangtian stood within the chaos. Beneath his feet was empty space, yet he managed to stand. Is this... the consciousness sea? Within the chaos, two seeds emerged. One Bright Gold seed, its surface covered in flame patterns, looking as though it were burning. One Emerald Green seed, its surface covered in vine patterns, looking as though it were growing. They hovered in front of Quan Cangtian. They did not speak. They merely existed. The Bright Gold seed shook. A piece of information drilled into Quan Cangtian's mind. [Destruction Martial Soul] [Hellfire Transformation] [To the Death] [Scorched Earth Warfare] ... There were seven more. Quan Cangtian's mind was somewhat chaotic. He didn't have time to look closely. The Emerald Green seed also shook. Another piece of information. [Abundance Martial Soul] [White Flower Bloom] [Vital Breath] [Impermanence] ... There were seven more. Quan Cangtian's mind grew even more chaotic. These two seeds... Images of Star Rail flashed through his mind. Are blessings from Nanook and Yaoshi? Path of Destruction... Path of Abundance... Dual Paths? Aren't these settings from Star Rail? I played Star Rail before transmigrating, and after transmigrating... I brought Star Rail's settings over with me? No, these two seeds only drilled in just now... Was it the stele? Or... He hadn't figured it out. The Bright Gold seed and the Emerald Green seed leaned close to each other. They did not fuse. Instead, they repelled one another. Quan Cangtian felt a stabbing pain in his consciousness sea. They... are fighting? Destruction wants to burn everything away, Abundance wants to heal everything... The two powers conflict? Then I... He didn't finish thinking. The consciousness sea began to shake. Quan Cangtian opened his eyes. The lounge. The bed board was hard, the quilt thin. The family's style: save wherever possible. "Awake?" His grandfather's voice. Quan Cangtian sat up. His head still felt somewhat dizzy. "Grandfather." "It's good that you're awake." His grandfather looked at him, his gaze complex. "Twin Martial Souls. Two-colored blessings. Cangtian, your talent... exceeds my expectations." Quan Cangtian didn't speak. "Get up. Let's go to the testing grounds." "Test your abilities." The testing ground was in the family's backyard. An open space, paved with stone slabs, surrounded by spectator stands. Quan Cangtian had just woken up when he was brought here. His grandfather sat in the spectator stands. "Cangtian, you've just awakened, you need to test your abilities." "Canghai, you come." A teenager walked over. Seventeen or eighteen years old, two heads taller than Quan Cangtian. Quan Canghai. A collateral branch descendant, a rank-thirty Soul Master. "Young Patriarch." He cupped his fists, a smile on his face. "Please enlighten me." Quan Cangtian looked at him. Rank thirty. He himself had just awakened, rank ten. A difference of twenty ranks. Yet Quan Cangtian wasn't afraid. The information from his consciousness sea earlier flashed through his mind. [Hellfire Transformation] [To the Death] [White Flower Bloom] ...

Never tried.

Quan Canghai stepped back ten meters.

"Young patriarch, I'm level thirty, you just awakened."

"I'll suppress myself to level twenty, to be fair."

Quan Cangtian didn't speak.

He looked at Quan Canghai.

Quan Canghai moved.

The Dragon Spear thrust forward.

Fast.

Quan Cangtian sidestepped, dodging.

But not entirely.

The spear tip grazed his arm.

Blood.

Pain.

Quan Cangtian gritted his teeth, taking two steps back.

The gap between level twenty and level ten couldn't be made up by talent alone.

He could feel that Quan Canghai was holding back.

Otherwise, that thrust wouldn't have targeted his arm, but his throat.

"Young patriarch, you just awakened, why don't we..."

Quan Canghai withdrew the spear, a smile on his face.

"Forget it, I'll let you have a few moves."

Quan Cangtian didn't speak.

He looked at the wound on his arm.

The wound was healing.

Fast.

In dozens of seconds, the wound scabbed over.

Thirty times the recovery speed?

This thought flashed through his mind.

The Abundance's [Echo of Vitality]?

No, this is a passive effect...

He raised his head, looking at Quan Canghai.

"Continue."

Quan Canghai was stunned for a moment.

"Young patriarch, you..."

"Continue."

Quan Cangtian clenched his fists.

Bright golden flames wrapped around his fists.

[Hellfire Transformation]

He knew this punch would consume health points.

But the damage would turn into area-of-effect spread.

He needed to try it.

He needed to know just how far he could fight.

He rushed forward.

His fist blasted out.

Quan Canghai raised his spear to block.

Clang--

The Dragon Spear vibrated.

Quan Canghai took two steps back.

"This--"

He froze.

"You just awakened, how--"

Before he finished speaking.

A crack appeared on his chest.

Not a wound.

It was embers.

Bright golden flames burned within his body.

"This is..."

Quan Canghai's expression changed.

"My wounds can't heal?"

Quan Cangtian didn't give him time to react.

A second punch.

A third punch.

Every punch carried bright golden flames.

Every punch left behind embers.

Quan Canghai retreated step by step.

"This is impossible--"

He roared, sweeping the Dragon Spear horizontally.

Quan Cangtian sidestepped, his fist blasting toward Quan Canghai's chest.

Bang--

Quan Canghai flew backward.

Slamming into the ground, he slid three meters.

He couldn't get up.

The entire arena fell dead silent.

Three seconds later.

"This... how is this possible?"

"He just awakened, he's level ten!"

"A level ten beating a level thirty?"

"And... he didn't even use a soul skill!"

"Purely relying on innate ability?"

Grandfather stood up.

His hand pressed against the armrest, his knuckles turning white.

"Twin Martial Souls... Twin Blessings..."

His voice trembled slightly.

"My Quan Family... has successors!"

Father clenched his fists, the corners of his mouth twitching. He didn't speak, but his eye sockets were red.

Uncle stood in the corner, his face ashen. He didn't speak, but his gaze was complicated.

Quan Cangtian withdrew his fist.

The bright golden flames dispersed.

Yet he felt a stabbing pain in his chest.

"What's going on..."

He pressed a hand to his chest.

"The Dual Seeds... fighting again?"

"Destruction consumes life, Abundance restores life..."

"Are they resonating?"

He looked down at his hands.

Beneath the skin, his blood vessels pulsed.

Fluctuating high and low.

Like an electrocardiogram.

The price.

This was the price.

Quan Cangtian walked out of the testing grounds.

At the end of the corridor stood a girl.

Purplish-black hair tied in a high ponytail.

Deep purple pupils.

Around ten years old.

A head taller than him.

She leaned against the wall, watching him.

She didn't speak.

Quan Cangtian stopped in his tracks.

"You are..."

"I saw your fight just now."

She spoke.

Her voice was cold and aloof, devoid of emotion.

"Twin Martial Souls?"

Quan Cangtian nodded.

"Yeah."

"And Twin Blessings?"

Quan Cangtian was slightly stunned.

"How did you know?"

She didn't answer.

She just looked at him.

Her gaze somewhat complicated.

"Interesting."

She turned and left.

After taking two steps, she stopped again.

"My name is Quan Zixiao."

"You can just call me Zixiao."

"We... met before."

"You don't remember."

She left.

Quan Cangtian stood in place.

Met before?

He couldn't remember.

He pressed his chest.

The Dual Seeds were still vibrating.

Forget it.

I'll go back and rest first.

Tomorrow...

I still need to figure out what these two seeds actually are.

He turned and left.

At the end of the corridor, Zixiao stood in the shadows.

She hadn't left.

She merely watched the direction he had gone.

"Twin Blessings..."

She said softly.

"Destruction and Abundance..."

"Is he..."

"Also a chosen one?"

She didn't finish.

She turned and vanished into the shadows.

Quan Cangtian stopped in his tracks.

He glanced back.

No one.

Yet he always felt as though someone was watching him.

"Whatever."

"Must be my imagination."

He turned and left.

Unbeknownst to him, however—

In a place beyond his sight, a pair of deep purple eyes was observing him from the shadows.

"Interesting."

"Destruction and Abundance..."

"Dual Paths..."

"Who on earth is he?"

Quan Cangtian returned to his room.

He lay down on the bed.

The ceiling was dark.

He stared up at it.

"Six years."

"I've finally awakened."

"Dual Martial Souls. Dual Blessings."

"Destruction and Abundance."

"Nanook and Yaoshi."

"Star Gods from Honkai: Star Rail."

"How could they appear on Douluo Mainland?"

"The stele..."

"The ancestral stele passed down for hundreds of years..."

"Could there be something hidden inside it?"

"Or..."

"Was this world connected to the Star Rail universe to begin with?"

He could not figure it out.

Yet he was certain of one thing.

"These two seeds..."

"They are my Golden Finger."

"Destruction grows stronger the more one fights, fiercer the more one is hurt."

"Abundance heals everything, restores everything."

"The two powers conflict..."

"Yet conflict might just be balance."

He closed his eyes.

Inside his Consciousness Sea, the two seeds were still repelling each other.

Bright Golden and Emerald Green.

Destruction and Abundance.

"I'll sleep first."

"I'll study them tomorrow."

He rolled over.

The bed board was hard, and the quilt was thin.

Typical family style.

Save where they could.