The Dayun Took Him Away, a Dayun Martial Soul Brought Him Back

Late at night, a rutted dirt road wound through the desolate mountains along the border.

Just tap the brakes. Once I'm over this slope, I'll be there...

Lu Yuan silently recited to himself and pressed his foot down on the brake pedal.

Suddenly, he felt no resistance at all.

He pushed it to the floor. Nothing happened.

The ten-ton Dayun truck hurtled faster and faster down the slope.

"The air brakes blew!?"

Lu Yuan's pupils contracted. His heart sank.

He gripped the steering wheel, trying to steady the truck, but the fully loaded Dayun surged forward like a beast broken loose.

Forty, sixty, eighty...

Trees flashed past. The cab began to buck violently.

A sharp bend lay ahead.

If he failed to make the turn, he would plunge off a bottomless cliff.

Desperation flared in Lu Yuan's eyes. He wrenched the wheel around.

The heavy truck still could not make the turn. It smashed through the roadside barrier, and the cab dragged the entire truck over the cliff.

Crash!!!

The impact shook heaven and earth.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes, and a flood of memories poured into his mind.

His name was still Lu Yuan.

He was an orphan and the village guardian of Fallen Soul Village, on the southwestern border of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The villagers took pity on him and occasionally gave him food. That was the only reason he had not starved.

Everyone in the village called him "the fool."

The original Lu Yuan had been slow to react since childhood, with a vacant stare. Children his age often bullied him, but he never fought back. He only grinned foolishly.

Lu Yuan's mouth twitched.

In his previous life, he had worked himself to the bone driving a Dayun truck, earning every penny through sweat and toil just to make a living.

Now he had woken up as a "fool of a village guardian," abandoned by his parents and scorned by everyone?

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside.

A group of children rushed in, their faces smudged with dirt, their clothes made of coarse cloth, and clumps of mud in their hands.

The chubby boy leading them was the biggest of the lot and one of the original Lu Yuan's worst tormentors.

He grinned. "Fool! You're still sleeping? Get up and let us ride you like a horse!"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"Fool, if you don't get up, we'll... we'll throw you into the ravine and feed you to the Spirit Beasts!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a fist-sized clump of mud flew toward Lu Yuan's head.

Lu Yuan's gaze sharpened, and he dodged at once.

The mud grazed his cheek and struck the earthen wall behind him with a splat.

He looked up, his eyes cold.

With the temper he had had as a driver in his previous life, he would have gotten up and kicked the chubby boy across the room.

But he quickly calmed down.

This was not his world.

On Douluo Continent, soul masters stood above all others, wielding immense power.

He was an orphan who could barely get enough to eat. Beating up a few children would do him no good.

Provoking the adults in the village would only bring him more trouble.

He put on a foolish grin and rose from the ground.

Seeing that stupid look, the chubby boy called him "trash." After throwing the pebbles in his hand, he led the others off to play elsewhere.

Lu Yuan left the dilapidated hut and sat on a rock beneath a crooked tree at the village entrance.

He narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the rustic village.

Everything felt impossibly real.

Then a commotion arose near the village entrance.

A stern-faced middle-aged man in a plain white robe entered the village, surrounded by villagers.

He carried a Crystal Ball in one hand and walked at an unhurried pace. Everything about him seemed out of place in this remote village.

"The Awakening Ceremony! Quickly, bring all the children of the right age!" Su Yuntao told the village chief and the others.

The village chief, a gaunt man in his forties or fifties, bowed and smiled obsequiously.

The villagers crowded around, their faces full of awe and nerves.

Before long, they hurried away to fetch their children.

Lu Yuan remained seated on the rock, motionless.

The Awakening Ceremony?

From the story, he knew Su Yuntao was a member of Spirit Hall, responsible for awakening Martial Souls in the empire's villages.

Lu Yuan knew that in a world where Martial Souls reigned supreme, awakening one was only the first hurdle if he wanted to survive, let alone make something of himself.

Ten minutes later, nearly all the village children had gathered.

A dozen or so children stood in the open space, nervous and expectant. Some were so excited they could hardly keep still.

Su Yuntao wasted no words. He pointed a finger, and golden light shone forth.

An ancient-looking Awakening Platform rose from the center of the clearing, light flowing across its surface.

"One at a time. Put your hand on it," Su Yuntao said evenly.

The first child stepped forward.

Light flared from the platform.

"Sickle Martial Soul. Innate Soul Power... level one! Not bad. You can become a soul master." Su Yuntao nodded slightly.

"My son! My son can become a soul master!" A peasant woman burst into tears of excitement.

The other children went up in turn. Some awakened hoes, others shovels.

Most of their Martial Souls, however, were nothing special.

Su Yuntao showed no impatience and kept a faint smile on his face.

Soon, all the children had been tested except Lu Yuan.

Su Yuntao asked, "Is there anyone else?"

The village chief shook his head, then suddenly remembered. He pointed to Lu Yuan in the corner. "Yes, yes, there's... there's him! He's our village guardian. It's just that his head is a little... heh..."

Su Yuntao glanced at Lu Yuan. "You. Come here."

Lu Yuan stood and walked over.

None of the villagers made way for him. They watched him with disdain and amusement.

A few children even shoved him from behind and mocked him.

"Fool, you think you can awaken a Martial Soul?"

"Your Martial Soul will probably be a blade of grass. A pathetic little weed that can't even stand upright!"

Lu Yuan reached the platform and placed his palm on it.

The instant his hand touched the cold stone, a chill ran through him. His pupils contracted. For a moment, he felt as though he were gripping the wheel of his Dayun truck again. Had he returned to Blue Planet?

I'm going to drive up from the bottom of that cliff!

But he had not returned.

The next moment, a vast force erupted from deep within the platform.

It surged through his palm and shot straight to the crown of his head!

Humm!!

A dazzling beam of golden light soared into the sky!

It was so bright that it lit up more than half the village!

Everyone stared, dumbfounded.

At the same time, the brilliant pillar of light engulfed Lu Yuan.

"This... this Soul Power fluctuation!?"

Su Yuntao's pupils contracted.

He had overseen awakenings for years. He had seen gifted children and useless Martial Souls alike.

But this was the first time he had seen light so immense and dazzling!

Could it be Innate Full Soul Power!?

Or some astonishing Martial Soul!?

Had he found a genius in this village today?

The once-noisy square fell deathly silent.

The light vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Something now rested in Lu Yuan's palm!

It was a battered Handcart with a twisted shaft and wheels that looked ready to fall off.

Su Yuntao's face darkened. "A Handcart Martial Soul."

He placed a hand on Lu Yuan's shoulder to test his Soul Power. His expression grew grimmer. "Innate Soul Power: zero."

A stunned silence fell over the crowd. Then everyone burst into laughter.

"Hahahahaha! A Handcart!? A Handcart Martial Soul for hauling building materials!?"

"Damn, I thought he was some incredible genius. Turns out he awakened a manure cart!"

"The fool really is a fool. Even his Martial Soul is trash!"

"Get out of here! Stop taking up space and embarrassing yourself!"

"Of course the fool's Innate Soul Power is zero. He'll never even come close to becoming a soul master!"