Holy Soul Village

Amid the boundless chaos, a multicolored sphere of light roamed without restraint. Apart from that lone sphere, nothing else existed in the chaos. It was deathly silent, devoid of life.

Suddenly, streams of murky gray chaos power began pouring into the sphere, and purple lightning appeared. The purple lightning shattered the deathly silence of the chaos with thunderous blasts, and several bolts struck the sphere directly. That purple lightning was called Purple Sky Divine Thunder, also known as Heaven's Punishment Thunder. Even sages would retreat three leagues before it. The sphere burst apart under its strikes, only to be swiftly restored by the chaos power, over and over again. Just then, an enormous black hole appeared in the chaos and unleashed a tremendous devouring pull. The sphere was sucked inside in an instant. With its disappearance, the Purple Sky Divine Thunder vanished as well, and the chaos returned to stillness.

Holy Soul Village

Early that morning, the villagers had yet to rise. But on a hillside not far outside the village, two children around six years old were already sitting cross-legged on the ground, their measured inhalations and exhalations forming an intricate cycle. Both had neat, short black hair. One wore grayish-white clothes, the other pale blue, their garments washed so often that they had faded. It was easy to imagine that their family was not well-off. They were twin brothers who lived in Holy Soul Village at the foot of the hill. The boy in grayish-white was called Tang Xuan, and the one in pale blue was Tang San. Their young faces were not particularly handsome, but they were pleasant and clean-cut.

The sun, dormant throughout the night, was slowly rising. Tang San suddenly opened his eyes and caught a trace of purple hidden within the blazing sun in that fleeting instant. An uncanny purple gleam flashed through his eyes, and he brought his cultivation to a close.

"Still no luck?" Tang San raised his head and gazed at the blazing sun on the horizon.

Beside him, Tang Xuan also finished cultivating. "Little San, what's wrong?"

"Brother, my Mysterious Heaven Skill still hasn't broken through the shackles of the first level. I don't know why. Even my Purple Demon Eye is improving slowly, yet my Mysterious Heaven Skill hasn't progressed at all. Could it be because we're not from this world?"

"My Nine-Turn God-Slaying Art has also stalled at the late stage of the first level. I think it's because we haven't awakened our martial souls or obtained soul rings yet!" Like Tang San, Tang Xuan had also crossed over from another world. The difference was that Tang Xuan came from Earth. He had awakened one morning to discover that he had inexplicably crossed over to the Douluo Continent. Everything had happened so suddenly that he could only settle in and make the best of it. His cultivation method came from the martial soul in his right hand. Although that mysterious martial soul had yet to awaken, Tang Xuan could already sense its existence. When he was three, it had transmitted a cultivation method called the Nine-Turn God-Slaying Art into his mind. Tang Xuan had also read Douluo in his previous life and roughly knew how the story unfolded. But he was now living in a genuine, tangible world. He truly had no idea what might happen in the next second. Even if events followed the story, his current feeble strength would not allow him to change anything.

When he and Tang San were three, they had confessed to each other that they had been reborn. Both had been alone in their previous lives. Tang Xuan had been an orphan, while Tang San had immersed himself in hidden weapons, cut off from the mundane world. Both deeply longed for familial affection. For two people with mature souls to meet in this foreign world and become brothers born of the same mother was a comfort in an unfamiliar land. He and Tang San both treasured their brotherly bond.

"Martial souls and soul rings? Brother, do you know how to obtain a soul ring?"

"We probably have to hunt soul beasts!" Tang Xuan answered rather casually. "All right, Little San, don't think too much about it now. We'll talk after our Martial Soul Awakening! It's getting late, and Dad should be up by now. Let's hurry home."

"Brother, let's race and see who gets home first!" With that, Tang San activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and dashed off. "Brother, I'm going on ahead!" His voice drifted back from the distance. Tang Xuan shook his head helplessly. Oh, that Tang San. He activated his own movement technique and gave chase, catching up with Tang San in no time.

By comparison, however, Tang Xuan was faster than Tang San. His Nine-Turn God-Slaying Art included not only a cultivation method, movement techniques, and sword techniques, but even alchemy. The art itself also tempered the body, making it several times superior to Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill. Tang Xuan had once suggested that Tang San switch to the Nine-Turn God-Slaying Art, but Tang San had refused, saying that the Tang Sect Secret Arts required the Mysterious Heaven Skill as their foundation. Tang Xuan's physique was also stronger than Tang San's, and he completely outclassed him in both speed and strength. The two darted along the rugged mountain path as though treading level ground, moving so swiftly that ordinary people could not make out their movements. Neither would have fallen short of a one-ring agility-attack soul master in speed. Tang Xuan, in particular, was even faster than one.

Author's note