Martial Soul Nervous System and Immune System

"Thud!"

"Hiss!"

The man in black threw Lin En back into the dungeon. His back slammed against the cold stone bricks, making him cry out involuntarily. Before transmigrating, he had at least barely counted as a boss and had rarely experienced humanity's most primitive form of violence.

"Oh, you're back."

"Out of a hundred children I've seen, you're the third to return."

The homeless uncle next door spoke with a hint of teasing and relief. Lin En crawled over to lean against the wall, as if hoping the cold stone would ease the fever raging through his body.

"Here."

The black-haired girl's cell was on the other side of the wall. She passed a tube of ointment through the gap in the iron bars. Her small, pale wrist had been pressed red from exerting too much force against them.

Lin En felt a little embarrassed. After all, he was the reason this girl had been captured and brought here.

Though the memory was distant, he vaguely remembered that without his appearance, the black-haired girl named Zhang Lexuan could have escaped. She seemed to have even made it to Shrek Academy.

The ointment was cool, likely a specialty of this world, and remarkably effective. Almost as soon as he applied it, the redness and swelling began to fade. Of course, it might also have been the effect of his Martial Soul.

After giving Lin En the ointment, the little girl curled up in a corner of her cell like a tiny black hedgehog.

"Just as expected of a little genius. Those people actually let you keep something as unnecessary as ointment."

"Hey, boy, what did you awaken during Martial Soul Awakening? You should have Innate Soul Power, right? Those without Innate Soul Power never come back."

The homeless uncle was very interested. In a dungeon devoid of sunlight, any variable or unexpected event always drew attention.

When he had been taken away earlier, Lin En had memorized the conditions of the cells along the way. There were sixty-four cells within sight, forty-two of which held prisoners. Including the homeless uncle, there were ten adults in total.

Most of them were children, and they were all unconscious.

"Why should I tell you?"

Leaning against the wall, Lin En's voice was somewhat hoarse. The pain of Martial Soul Awakening was still etched into his heart. His fragile meridians had been forcibly stretched open, and many places had ruptured.

"Heh, you brat."

"Not just your size—even the way you talk doesn't sound like a three-year-old. It would be great if my son were as mature as you."

There was a trace of melancholy in the homeless uncle's voice, but he quickly composed himself and continued.

"Come on, tell me. Everyone's curious about your Martial Soul. After all, very few children return alive, and even those who do won't live much longer."

"Maybe I can even give you some advice. This uncle is very strong, you know."

Lin En smiled and shoved the ointment back into Zhang Lexuan's cell.

"How strong?"

"Can you beat those guys in black robes?"

"Hahahaha!" The moment Lin En finished speaking, laughter erupted from a more distant cell.

"Brother Yu, you got mocked by a child! Hahaha!"

The one speaking was a burly man nearly three meters tall. Chains pierced through his chest, and the muscles in all four of his limbs had atrophied.

There were many strange instruments in his cell, seemingly suppressing the big man's breathing and the circulation of his meridians.

Lin En withdrew the spiritual power he had just extended and stopped observing him. Judging by his condition, he had probably been imprisoned for a year.

"Wait, that was spiritual power, wasn't it? You can release spiritual power right after awakening your Martial Soul? Are you kidding me?!"

The laughing brute abruptly stopped smiling, shock flashing through his eyes. What kind of child could use spiritual power immediately after awakening a Martial Soul? Even a rare spiritual-attribute Martial Soul would find that difficult, wouldn't it?

The homeless uncle called Brother Yu leaned against the wall and smiled.

"You can release spiritual power right after awakening, and it can reach ten meters. Impressive."

"Even Soul Masters with spiritual-attribute Martial Souls need to obtain two Soul Rings to achieve that."

"To answer your question, if I really fought them, even if you multiplied those black-robed men by a hundred, they still wouldn't be my match. They're just Soul Kings at best."

Lin En's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed again.

"Then why are you locked up here?"

Brother Yu smiled and shook his head.

"You're absolutely right. No matter how strong I am, I'm still locked up here."

"My name is Yu Mu'en. Yu as in jade, Mu as in admiration, and En as in kindness."

"Just call me Uncle. We're all locked up here, so we're in the same boat.

"Tell me. We might die tomorrow in this place, after all. I'm also one of Shrek Academy's top students. Although my great-grandfather often scolded me, my grades were barely decent enough."

Lin En became interested. Zhang Lexuan, curled into a ball next door, quietly revealed her eyes as well. Shrek Academy's name was renowned across the continent, while the Supervisory Group was praised as the nemesis of Evil Soul Masters.

"Shrek Academy?"

"You're from the Supervisory Group?"

Lin En sent his spiritual power into Yu Mu'en's cell. Yu Mu'en sensed it and raised his head toward the ceiling, as if staring back at that spiritual power.

"Looks like you aren't completely ignorant. You actually know about the Shrek Inspection Corps? We're not well-known among commoners."

"Heh. A member of the Supervisory Group captured by Evil Soul Masters, without even having the chance to self-destruct. If my great-grandfather found out, he'd probably be furious to death."

Yu Mu'en struggled to raise an arm and pointed at the insignia on his chest, already obscured by dark brown bloodstains. One of his fingers also bore a ring covered in dust.

The ring was silver-white, with an emerald set into its center. A special totem was carved upon the gem. This was an Inspector's Ring, an item that represented one's identity in the Supervisory Group.

"My son is a year younger than you. I wonder how he's doing now."

Lin En said casually, "It's fine. Your wife isn't here, so she can still take care of your son. What are you worried about?"

Yu Mu'en's voice was melancholy. "She's dead."

"My wife died the day our child was born. It was a difficult birth, and she lost too much life force. Even a healing-type Titled Douluo couldn't stop it."

Lin En: "..."

"It's fine. His grandparents are still around, right? Grandparents spoil their grandchildren, you know. By the time you get back, he might be so chubby that you'll be able to enjoy the good life."

Yu Mu'en's expression grew even more melancholy. He said helplessly, "How can anyone in the Supervisory Group expect a good ending? Of every ten inner courtyard disciples, only five survive to graduate."

"My father and mother died while carrying out a mission. It was a beast tide. They died beneath the claws of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

"Even though my great-grandfather later avenged them, death was an established fact. Revenge couldn't reverse it."

Lin En: "..."

He no longer knew what to say. Should he ask whether Yu Mu'en's grandfather and grandmother were still alive? If he kept going, he would really become Sun Xiaochuan.

Yu Mu'en did not care much about those old memories. He had cried all the tears he needed to long ago. The dead never wanted the living to grieve for them.

"All right, kid, your mouth is really vicious. You always manage to pick at other people's sore spots."

"My son has his great-great-grandfather looking after him. His great-great-grandfather is incredibly strong, so taking care of a child is no problem."

Lin En withdrew his spiritual power. His head felt a little dizzy as he looked at the dim yellow lights in the corridor and said softly, "My Martial Souls are the Immune System and the Nervous System."