A Journey to Douluo: The Spirit Bamboo Martial Soul Mutates

Heaven Dou Empire, Northern Province, North Sea City.

This was the northernmost city on the Douluo Continent. Farther north lay the boundless North Sea, where bitter winds raged. To its east was the Far North, one of the continent's three great gathering places for Soul Beasts. This was the most remote corner of the Douluo Continent.

In the rear courtyard of the Azure Bamboo Pharmacy in North Sea City, a fair-skinned, adorable little boy held a Soul Master meditation manual and read it over and over. His expression shifted between delight and worry, making him look, from a distance, like a little adult.

"I'll be awakening my Martial Soul soon. I hope my Innate Soul Power is fairly high. Otherwise, I'll have to spend the rest of my life here in North Sea City."

Mo An put down the meditation manual he had read countless times and lay back in his bamboo chair. His thoughts drifted to six years ago.

He had been a university student fresh out of school and starting an internship. On his way to work, he had encountered the legendary vehicle of transmigration: a heavy truck. When he opened his eyes again, he had become a newborn. He was still taking in the well-appointed courtyard around him when a group of people charged in, Martial Souls unleashed and Soul Rings blazing.

The moment those distinctive Martial Souls and yellow, purple, and black Soul Rings appeared, how could a bookworm like Mo An fail to recognize the world he had entered?

The Douluo Continent: a fantasy world with a Western-fantasy flavor and a touch of online gaming, known as the lowest rung of fantasy worlds.

After six years here, Mo An had figured out what had happened that day and why those people had suddenly come to kill them.

The Soul Masters who had come to wipe out the Azure Bamboo belonged to Spirit Hall.

Spirit Hall had attacked because Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect had "killed" its pope, Qian Xunji. When Tang Hao vanished without a trace, Spirit Hall turned its sights on the Clear Sky Sect, demanding an explanation and pressing them to hand him over.

Faced with Spirit Hall at their door, the Clear Sky Sect—the number-one sect under heaven—took advantage of Qian Daoliu's excessive sense of honor. They sealed their gates, withdrew from the world, and hid like turtles in their shells.

Then the misfortune fell on families affiliated with the Clear Sky Sect. Every family and faction that followed the sect met with catastrophe. Mo An's Azure Bamboo was one of the many unlucky ones, and quite possibly the unluckiest of all.

The Azure Bamboo's Spirit Bamboo Martial Soul could sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and locate rare natural treasures within a small area. They had searched for such treasures on behalf of the Clear Sky Sect and ranked among the wealthiest of its followers.

That wealth made the Azure Bamboo a priority target for Spirit Hall. With two Soul Saints leading the assault, Spirit Hall all but annihilated them and carried their treasured collection away to its vaults.

Mo An's father in this world had been the head of the Azure Bamboo. He arranged for their steward, Uncle Fu, to take his son through a secret passage and for the younger members of the family to escape by other routes. Then he led the Azure Bamboo's combat-capable Soul Masters in staying behind to hold off Spirit Hall's forces and buy everyone time to flee.

Uncle Fu was not a Soul Master. After escaping through the secret passage with Mo An, he headed straight for remote North Sea City without looking back. His reasonably good medical skills had kept them living here for six years.

Mo An's father had been a Power Attack System Soul Emperor, and his mother a support-system Soul King. As the child of two capable Soul Masters, the only thing Mo An needed to worry about was how much Innate Soul Power he had.

He had already decided: if his Innate Soul Power was above level seven, he would give it his all for the sake of his birth parents and Uncle Fu. He would demand an explanation from the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall on behalf of his parents in this world and the Azure Bamboo.

If his Innate Soul Power was below level seven, he would stay put in North Sea City, take several wives, and carry on the Azure Bamboo bloodline until its branches spread far and wide.

Without talent, how could he hope to grow strong before the future God King Tang and demand an explanation from Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Sect? That would be a joke. He had no desire to hear a certain someone declare that he already had a path to death, then have that same someone come to assassinate him in the dead of night.

And without talent, demanding an explanation from Spirit Hall? Did he think his life was too long?

"Young master, have you fallen asleep?"

An elderly voice interrupted Mo An's thoughts as he considered his future.

"I'm awake, Uncle Fu."

Mo An rose from the bamboo chair and looked at the white-haired, white-bearded elder standing nearby in a physician's everyday robes. He had once protested being called "young master," but it had done no good. Uncle Fu insisted on using the title, saying that propriety must be upheld.

"Young master, it's time to awaken your Martial Soul. The Soul Master who will perform the awakening is waiting out front."

Uncle Fu had been taken in by the Azure Bamboo and raised among them since childhood, so he harbored a deep hatred for Spirit Hall. Although Spirit Hall offered free Martial Soul awakenings, he had paid a Soul Master to come to their home instead. He refused to owe Spirit Hall even that small favor.

When they fled six years ago, Uncle Fu had brought a fair amount of his own money. It had given him the means to open a pharmacy in unfamiliar North Sea City and, today, to hire a Soul Master specifically to awaken Mo An's Martial Soul.

"Then let's hurry. We shouldn't keep him waiting."

At Uncle Fu's words, Mo An trotted over to him, and together they headed for the pharmacy's front courtyard.

The pharmacy's front courtyard was where medicinal herbs were laid out to dry. A middle-aged man stood there. When he saw the elder who had hired him arrive with a child in tow, he smiled and nodded in greeting.

On the way from the rear courtyard, Uncle Fu had already told Mo An a little about the man. Li Daniu was a level-eighteen commoner Soul Master with one Soul Ring and an Ice Silkworm Martial Soul. He was not much of a fighter and usually took easy jobs through the Soul Master Association to make a living. Awakening Martial Souls for children of the right age—easy work that paid well—was his favorite kind of job.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Li Daniu, Uncle Fu asked him to awaken Mo An's Martial Soul.

Li Daniu agreed and activated Martial Soul Possession. Two little feelers sprouted from his head, and a white Soul Ring appeared out of thin air around him. He channeled his chill-radiating Soul Power into the Awakening Stones Uncle Fu had rented. The six stones slowly rose and gave off a pale golden glow.

The pale golden light gradually seeped into Mo An's body, carrying warmth through him. Drawn along by it, he felt something inside him break open and surge toward his right hand.

Knowing what to do next, Mo An opened his right hand. A Black Jade Nine-Section Bamboo Martial Soul appeared in his palm, radiating a powerful aura.

When Mo An realized his Martial Soul differed from the Spirit Bamboo Martial Soul, he looked at Uncle Fu. Uncle Fu was looking back at him—or, more precisely, at the black jade bamboo in his hand.

Ordinarily, the Azure Bamboo's Spirit Bamboo Martial Soul should have been a green bamboo plant, not one the color of black jade.

After exchanging a glance with Uncle Fu, Mo An hurriedly withdrew his Martial Soul. Uncle Fu took two Gold Soul Coins from his pocket and handed them to Li Daniu, making it quite clear from his words that the visit was over.

Li Daniu knew when to take a hint. Realizing the household had private matters to discuss, he accepted the money, promptly said his farewells, and left for the next home where he would perform a Martial Soul Awakening.