Blessing in Disguise

"...If the foundation isn't solid, the earth will shake. Come, look at the blackboard and focus. This question is a common one from the 2026 New College Entrance Exam mock papers. It gives a piecewise function, then asks..."

"Come on, who wants to share their approach?"

"No one raising a hand? Then I'll call on someone at random."

"Third row, fourth student from the left. You there, come on, stand up and explain your approach."

"Student? He's asleep! Someone next to him, wake him up and have him stand at the back for the rest of my class!"

"Huxiao, Huxiao, the teacher's calling you~"

"Stop sleeping, Huxiao. You're in trouble..."

In his haze.

Xu Huxiao seemed to hear someone calling him. He tried hard to gather his muddled consciousness and listen carefully to who it was.

"Huxiao, Huxiao..."

His consciousness was sluggish and stiff as rust. The calling voice drifted near and far, as if it wanted to wake him, yet deliberately kept low.

Afraid of disturbing him.

Xu Huxiao slowly lifted his heavy eyelids. The faint light filtering through the gap awakened his senses.

"Huxiao, Huxiao, my poor child~"

The soft sobbing of a beautiful woman drifted over.

"Mother..."

Xu Huxiao's weak, childish voice was as light as a leaf stirred by a breeze.

Ordinary people would not have noticed it at all.

Yet to Ning Fengyu, who had been keeping vigil at his bedside, it was like a bell of hope ringing. Her wet, swollen red eyes instantly lit up with the thrilled joy of someone clutching at a lifeline.

"Huxiao is awake! My son is awake! Someone, quickly bring the three healing Soul Sages and Doctor Ding here! Hurry!!"

"Yes, Madam!"

But in only that brief moment, tidal waves of exhaustion and weakness washed over him. Xu Huxiao closed his eyes again and fell back into unconsciousness.

Not long after.

Footsteps sounded.

Streams of warmth gently flowed into Xu Huxiao's body from the outside, nourishing the source of his life and restoring his body.

The entire process felt as comfortable as soaking in a hot spring.

Xu Huxiao's consciousness gradually broke free of its muddy, heavy numbness, becoming clearer and more agile.

But he did not wake up.

Instead, he entered a wondrous state of enlightenment.

There was great terror between life and death. Those who returned from death often had their consciousness deeply cleansed and evolved.

For Xu Huxiao.

It was not only his consciousness, but also his body.

Because this was the Douluo Continent. Consciousness was also the foundational core of a Martial Soul, and Martial Souls connected to a Soul Master's bloodline, flesh, and Soul Power.

Within Xu Huxiao's body, at his dantian.

The Golden Sun cultivated through the Nine Yang Divine Skill was undergoing an earth-shattering change. At the microscopic level, the smallest energy structures of Yang Origin Soul Power twisted and reorganized like DNA double helices, while energy particles were stimulated into oscillation.

They actually gave off a vague, all-devouring dragon roar.

Boom—!

At the core of the Golden Sun, the double chains of Soul Power energy particles began an inconceivable collapse amid their violent collision.

Collapse, contraction...

What seemed like irreversible destruction appeared to be nurturing some new and powerful trait.

However.

The foundation needed to support this evolution seemed insufficient.

Still in his state of enlightenment, Xu Huxiao almost instinctively began frantically searching his body for energy that could be refined into nourishment for growth.

His consciousness flowed wantonly through his fully opened meridians like a roaming dragon.

Gongsun, Neiguan, Linqi, Waiguan, Shenmai, Houxi, Lieque, Zhaohai...

He searched through every major acupoint of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians in the human body.

At last.

At the starting point of the Ren, Du, and Chong Meridians—the Huiyin Acupoint—he found a fist-sized mass of energy carrying mysterious prismatic colors.

Prismatic Origin Soul Power!

[Separation successful. Obtained a mass of Prismatic Origin Soul Power! Can be refined independently!]

The lingering voice of the departed System Lord echoed in Xu Huxiao's consciousness. Before he could thank System Lord for this immense favor, the Prismatic Origin Soul Power was drawn by his consciousness toward his dantian like a streak of light.

Roar!

An illusory golden dragon head burst from the Golden Sun and swallowed the prismatic Origin Soul Power in one gulp, like a vast dragon devouring the sun.

Buzz—

With that nourishment, the qualitative transformation of Yang Origin Soul Power accelerated toward completion.

A tiny black dot was born at the center of the energy collision and collapse!

In an instant.

The entire Golden Sun was completely swallowed by the tiny black dot!

Then.

An even more miraculous scene occurred.

Crash—

An incomparably dense and dazzling amber-gold current surged from the tiny black dot. In less than a breath, this tangible energy gathered again into a new Golden Sun!

An instinctive piece of information entered Xu Huxiao's mind through his Eye of Omniscience.

[Newly transformed trait of Yang Origin Soul Power: Refine Poison into Nourishment!]

As its name implied, this trait could refine all toxins or external foreign energies to strengthen one's own Soul Power!

It was also at the instant the new sun appeared in Xu Huxiao's dantian.

The new Yang Origin Soul Power, now possessing Refine Poison into Nourishment, swept through his meridians and blood like a starving tiger, devouring every trace of lingering poison left in his body.

These residual toxins had been hidden extremely deeply. Ordinary treatment could not remove them at all.

But now, they had become food for strengthening Yang Origin Soul Power.

Although he had yet to obtain his first Soul Ring, Xu Huxiao could feel that after devouring the residual poison, the total amount of his Soul Power had not decreased at all. Instead, it had increased slightly!

And.

He noticed another change at this moment.

At some unknown point, his Eight Extraordinary Meridians had become completely open!

After thinking carefully.

Xu Huxiao guessed two possibilities. One was that his limit-state Hulk Martial Soul possession when he killed Sors in the cave had caused this incredible mutation in his body.

The other possibility was that it had been caused by the qualitative transformation of Yang Origin Soul Power just now.

It might have been the first, the second, or even both. But regardless of the cause, the benefit was real!

"That was truly dangerous. Looks like this disaster has turned into a blessing for me."

"Then from now on, I'll devote every moment to becoming stronger. Not only will I evolve my Martial Soul to its strongest form, I'll also cultivate martial arts to the highest level. Those who harmed me, and whoever was behind them—no matter who they are—I, Xu Huxiao, will repay them a hundredfold!!"

No one knew how much time had passed.

Xu Huxiao opened his eyes. Golden Dragons danced and roared in the depths of his black pupils before vanishing into a steadfast chill like cold stars.

The Martial Soul Celebration was held as scheduled today at the city's Great Soul Arena.

Spirit City's Great Soul Arena was located in the center of the southern district. The building stood eighty-four meters tall, less than a hundred meters, yet covered an enormous area—nearly a quarter of the entire southern district. It was likewise a grand structure of domes and pillars.

The entire building was shaped like a circular five-pointed crown. At its highest point sat a transparent diamond-shaped Crystal twelve meters tall. The Crystal had eight faces, corresponding to the eight ranks of the Great Soul Arena: Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond. The higher the rank, the larger the corresponding area.

It was said that at eight o'clock every night, the eight faces of this diamond-shaped Crystal would display the most dazzling star Soul Masters of each corresponding rank inside the Great Soul Arena.

They shone brilliantly!

But today, the protagonist atop that enormous Crystal belonged to only one person:

The Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall!

The newly promoted Jade Spider Douluo, Bibi Dong!

At noon.

The celebration began, and the image of Holy Maiden Bibi Dong's peerless figure at the very top of the Crystal was magnified.

Her graceful body was clad in a luxurious purple gown woven with golden threads, adorned with diamonds that sparkled like stars.

Bibi Dong held a Holy Maiden's scepter inlaid with gems. Her snow-white neck, like that of a swan, was slightly raised, while her beautiful eyes were half-lidded. Her domineering, indifferent gaze looked down upon the entire venue, as though a born monarch were surveying her humble subjects. She displayed noble elegance and Wushuang kingly bearing to the fullest.

Fireworks bloomed all at once, a full five hundred and twenty bursts, dazzling even in broad daylight.

In the central inner arena of the Great Soul Arena, the celebration officially began!

In the VIP seating.

The princes of the two nations, Heaven Dou Xue Xing and Star Luo Dai Lingchen, had both arrived. The leaders of the Seven Great Sects each delivered congratulatory speeches, and finally Pope Qian Xunji took the stage with the Holy Maiden for concluding remarks.

After the series of procedures ended, attendants served fine wine and delicacies. At the same time, the central Soul Fighting Platform below the VIP seats rose, and an exciting seven-man team Soul Battle began for the guests' entertainment.

Afterward came songs, dances, and bronze instrumental music.

Hosts and guests alike enjoyed themselves, and the spectacle was extravagantly luxurious.

Yet one person sat in a corner of the elders' seating, silent throughout the entire event, like a seated statue with its eyes closed. Intimidated by his gloomy, oppressive aura, no one dared approach him for conversation.

He was Xu Bayan!

He attended the celebration from start to finish, but neither the Soul Battles before him nor the songs and dances drew even the slightest bit of his attention.

Not until the celebration was nearly over.

When Holy Maiden Bibi Dong rose and walked to the main platform above the VIP seating, Xu Bayan finally lifted his eyes slightly, like a sleeping Xiong Shi awakening.

Bibi Dong stood on the main platform. Under the normal schedule, once she finished speaking, today's Martial Soul Celebration would come to an end.

However.

The Soul Guidance amplifier activated. Bibi Dong looked toward the guests in the inner arena and the Soul Masters from all across the continent in the outer arena. Her expression calm, she spoke:

"Thank you all for coming to Spirit City to attend this celebration."

The moment she spoke, thunderous applause erupted in perfect unison below. Bibi Dong paused.

"This celebration has been a complete success. Finally, I have one more major surprise program to present to everyone."

The people in the VIP seating were somewhat confused upon hearing this.

There was another surprise program?

Wasn't it supposed to be over?

Qian Xunji also looked confused as he watched his Holy Maiden. How did he not know there was another surprise program?

Bibi Dong did not keep them guessing. A mesmerizingly strange light flickered in her beautiful eyes as she looked meaningfully down at a spot in the elders' seating. "Today's Martial Soul Celebration is not only to celebrate my advancement to a Title, but also a gathering for our Soul Master world to exchange cultivation insights."

"Next, Elder Demon Bear of Spirit Hall will demonstrate a Self-Created Soul Skill he painstakingly researched for three years—Burning Ring!"

"Please welcome Elder Demon Bear!"