Soul Power Level Ten! Breaking Off the Engagement and Awakening a Second Martial Soul!

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Stillwater Library.

"Chengyi, are you ready?"

A small blue soul stone sat before Ning Chengyi, ready to test his Soul Power.

There was a trace of anticipation in Ning Rongrong's eyes, but mostly indifference.

Ning Chengyi took a deep breath. He had lost count of how many times his Soul Power had been tested over the past five years.

Once or twice every month. His early anticipation had long since turned to numbness.

Buzz! A brilliant blue light flashed across the soul-testing stone.

"Soul Power, level ten!"

Ning Fengzhi spoke calmly, though disappointment showed in his eyes.

Ning Rongrong looked resigned. The last of her anticipation vanished, leaving only cold distance.

Ning Chengyi smiled bitterly, straightened his clothes, and began taking items from his storage ring, one by one.

"Sect Master, this is the glazed jade pendant you gave me when I awakened Innate Full Soul Power. You said it represented your presence. I'm returning it today."

"And this..."

With each item he brought out, Ning Chengyi explained why it had been given to him.

Ning Fengzhi appeared unruffled, but he understood perfectly. He merely nodded and sighed now and then.

Five years was the longest reprieve he had managed to secure.

Now that Ning Chengyi still could not increase his Soul Power at all, he could no longer remain in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

"And this is the token of love you gave me. I'm returning it too, just as you asked yesterday."

"You said you didn't want to live in a dream. I can't be the hero you imagined, much less become the Titled Douluo you hoped for..."

"You little tagalong have reached level twenty-five, while I've been stuck at level ten for five years. I'm not worthy of you. I aimed too high."

Ning Chengyi's face was expressionless, save for a hint of self-mockery at his lips.

With every sentence, his right hand clenched tighter, until his nails dug deep into his palm.

Yet he felt none of the piercing pain. His smile only grew more bitter.

Five years of affection was as flimsy as paper before the reality of strength.

"The tower of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect embroidered on this pouch still has only one level. You said you'd add another each time I advanced a major realm. I doubt it'll ever have more than one, so you might as well take it back too..."

"Today, I, Ning Chengyi, am breaking off our engagement!"

He drew a small pouch from his ring. It was somewhat crudely made, but the girl's feelings behind it had once weighed more than a mountain. The moment he handed it over, they became as insubstantial as a flower reflected in water, as weightless as a feather.

So affection was this laughable in the face of status and strength.

Our ties end here. I'll cast off these shackles and leave the past behind.

Ning Chengyi glanced at Ning Fengzhi. The man sat serenely without a word, willing to let the engagement end. So this had his tacit approval. The last glimmer of hope in Ning Chengyi's heart went out, and he gave a derisive laugh.

Ning Rongrong held the pouch in silence for a long while. Only when Ning Fengzhi sighed deeply did she come back to herself, her eyes firm and resolute.

"Five years ago, you awakened a Martial Soul and Innate Full Soul Power. That spear made countless people in the sect envy you. Now every one of them looks down on you."

"Brother Ning, I don't want this either. But the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect needs someone strong."

As she spoke, Ning Rongrong released her Soul Power.

A small pagoda appeared behind her, abruptly growing as tall as she was. Two yellow Soul Rings circled beneath her feet.

The pagoda swayed in the wind, and the girl's hair fluttered with it. Pride shone in her eyes.

She lifted her pale, slender neck and looked down at him with a hint of disdain.

But the boy stood with his back to her, as though he had heard nothing.

He gazed far into the distance, sorrow in his eyes. Yet once Ning Rongrong finished speaking, he let out a long breath and smiled for the first time in ages.

"A young man won't stay mired in mud forever. When the winds rise, you'll see what he's made of."

"Sect Master, I'll always remember that you saved my life. If we ever find ourselves at odds, I'll give way to you. That is how I'll repay the debt."

Ning Chengyi bowed deeply. The bow was not for Ning Fengzhi himself, but for the kindness he had shown.

Then, without looking back, Ning Chengyi walked out of the Stillwater Library. As for Ning Fengzhi and his daughter, they could do as they pleased.

After all, back then he had fought dogs for food and still gone hungry. He had been utterly destitute.

He had arrived at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect with scarcely enough clothes to cover himself. He had come with nothing, and now he left with nothing.

He had been using Butterfly's ultimate in Delta Force when he had inexplicably crossed into this world.

Then Soul Beasts had ravaged his entire village. His parents had protected him, allowing him to escape.

But he had ended up homeless, reduced to fighting dogs for scraps.

For a time, Ning Chengyi had wondered if he was the greatest failure ever to cross into another world.

Then Ning Fengzhi found and rescued him. Ning Fengzhi had been about to kill the dog as well, but Ning Chengyi persuaded him to spare it and brought it back to the sect.

Once there, the sect helped him awaken his Martial Soul. He possessed Innate Full Soul Power, and his Martial Soul was outstanding even among weapon Martial Souls.

It was an ink-black spear with a fearsome black dragon coiled around its head.

Its name was... the Desolation-Suppressing God-Breaking Spear!

For a time, everyone in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had envied him.

They thought good fortune had finally come to the sect.

Nearly every resource was poured into Ning Chengyi.

Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong had even spent vast amounts of time training him.

They had hoped to raise the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's first Battle Soul Master.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was famed for having the continent's foremost support Martial Soul. Only by working with a powerful Battle Soul Master could it unleash its full potential. That partnership was the sect's foundation.

But in his second year, Ning Chengyi's promise had faded, and he had become no different from anyone else.

Now all Ning Chengyi wanted was to leave with that dying old dog.

The dog had been his only comfort over the past five years.

"Woof! Woof!" The moment Ning Chengyi appeared, a large black dog, half as tall as a person, sprang from the grass.

But to Ning Chengyi, the dog looked like an old man nearing the end of his life. It had barely managed a hop, let alone a leap.

"Little Black." Ning Chengyi hurried over and embraced him. Little Black gently licked his hand.

"I'm leaving. Will you come with me?" Ning Chengyi asked softly, cradling Little Black's head.

"Woof!"

Little Black suddenly broke free and dropped into a fighting stance.

"Just like before?" Ning Chengyi asked.

Little Black answered by lunging at him, teeth bared.

Before long, the ground was churned up and spattered with blood, while the wind howled past in clouds of dust.

Wounds crisscrossed the boy's body. His clothes hung in bloody tatters, but he kept his fierce gaze fixed on Little Black.

Little Black was the dog he had once fought for food.

They traded blows until both were wounded and exhausted.

"Woof!" Little Black barked fiercely, just as he had back then.

Ning Chengyi recognized it as a final surge of strength before death. He drew a deep breath and threw the strongest punch he could muster.

Bang!

Little Black charged without fear, excitement in his eyes. His great head slammed forward. Bone cracked, and his teeth sank into Ning Chengyi's abdomen just as Ning Chengyi's fist struck his flank.

An overwhelming weariness swept over Ning Chengyi. Blood flowed from his abdomen. Little Black whimpered a few times, then went still, a smile still on his face.

He should have died years ago. Ning Chengyi had persuaded Ning Fengzhi to spare him, giving him a few more years. Now, dying at his master's hand, he had finally finished the "fight" they had begun back then.

Better to test himself against Ning Chengyi one last time than wait helplessly for his strength to give out.

Pain soon swept through Ning Chengyi's body, and death closed in. He struggled to push himself up, his arms trembling, but they gave way halfway and he crashed back to the ground. He was dying.

"Little Black, back then, win or lose, we were both going to die. It was only a question of when. At least this is a good ending. We'll have each other on the way down."

The boy lay on his side, his consciousness fading. The world before his eyes warped as his life rapidly slipped away.

Just as he was about to die, a long-dormant power within him suddenly awakened.

Light burst from the boy's body. Shimmering phantom butterflies emerged from the air around him, and a tide of spirit energy swept outward.

It was his dormant Second Martial Soul... Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide!

Butterflies filled the sky, circling the dying boy as waves of spirit energy poured into his ravaged body.

His torn flesh healed before his eyes, and the pain rapidly subsided.

Under the Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide's healing power, his gravely wounded body recovered completely in mere seconds.

But vast amounts of Soul Power continued to surge through him.

Then he heard something inside him break with a crack.

"I broke through!"

The boy's eyes flew open, light flickering in them with delight.

He had been on the brink of death, but the gift of his awakened Second Martial Soul had sent his Soul Power soaring. It shattered the barrier, carried him past one threshold after another, and brought him firmly to the realm of a level-twelve Soul Master.

He slowly pushed himself to his feet. Every wound had vanished. Feeling the powerful new energy surging within him, he looked at the black dog who had died at the end of his life, his emotions tangled.

"Butterfly's ability got strengthened in this world... It's three abilities in one now."

"Good fortune really can hide in disaster. Who would've thought Little Black would be my lucky star?"

Feeling the last warmth in Little Black's body, he gently stroked his head. He used the Desolation-Suppressing God-Breaking Spear to dig a hole beside the peach tree, carefully removed Little Black's two large fangs, wiped away the blood, and tucked them away. Then he buried him.

"Rest easy."

Ning Chengyi picked some peach blossoms and scattered them around the grave, then turned and left.

"Rongrong, are you sure you won't regret it?" Ning Fengzhi asked, looking at the daughter standing before him with a trace of regret.

Ning Rongrong shook her head and straightened proudly, her budding figure just beginning to show. "I won't. I'm the sect's heir. My future husband must be a Titled Douluo. A weakling has no right to marry me." Ning Fengzhi looked pleased. Personal feelings mattered less than the sect. He had not doted on her for nothing.

"That's my good daughter. Our duty is to strengthen the sect and bring it glory. Your marriage matters too, but what use is a man who can't protect you?"

Ning Fengzhi looked in the direction Ning Chengyi had gone, a shadow crossing his eyes. Ning Rongrong did not see it. She only felt how much her father loved her.

Being weak was a failing in itself. For a weakling to aspire to marry her was sheer arrogance.

Her older brothers and sisters in the sect had said as much often enough. Now the matter was settled.

"Sect Master, that old dog is dead." Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong hurried in, showing none of a Douluo's usual dignity.

Before Ning Fengzhi could reply, Bone Douluo Gu Rong said, "Sect Master, he beat Little Black to death. That boy is ruthless. If he'd managed to grow stronger, he would have been a formidable asset to our sect. What a shame." Ning Rongrong covered her mouth, shock in her eyes.

She knew exactly how close Ning Chengyi had been to the black dog. She had never imagined her words would drive him to lose all reason.

"Hmph! With a temperament that brutal, he wouldn't have gone far even if he still had talent, let alone now!"

Ever since Sword Douluo Chen Xin had learned that Ning Chengyi's talent had come to nothing after consuming so many of the sect's resources, he had had no patience for the boy.

With his hands behind his back, Ning Fengzhi looked toward the peach tree. "Chengyi has always been like that. He's gone down the mountain now, so let's put it behind us. There's no need to discuss him again."

"Sect Master, you're far too merciful. You let him waste several more years of resources," Chen Xin said bitterly.

Gu Rong patted his shoulder, signaling him to say no more.

Ning Chengyi returned to his quarters, packed the everyday belongings he had accumulated over the years, and set off for the Sunset Forest.