Ancient Void Dragon

The room was silent, with no one there besides Li Mu and Li Mingzhu.

Years ago, Li Mingzhu had asked Li Mu why he had never married when he was young.

"Li Mu only drank and did not answer."

The room was small, with tables and chairs standing silently along either side.

The two stood opposite each other, heads lowered, neither speaking. The wind outside swept in through the window, as though trying to disperse the stifling air between them.

Li Mingzhu's lashes trembled against his delicate features. He had already expected Li Mu's silence.

He had long since learned the answer to that old question from people of Li Mu's generation.

Li Mu's silence now was fear, worry, and remembrance.

He feared that the sword which had pierced his heart fifty years ago would stab him again!

Sixty years ago, Li Mu and that girl had been childhood sweethearts, deeply devoted to each other!

They had undergone their martial soul awakening together at six.

She had been a little luckier than Li Mu, possessing half a level of innate soul power.

After ten years of hard work, she had finally reached level ten soul power a week before their wedding. Hoping to add joy upon joy, she planned to hunt for a Soul Ring before they married!

But fate toyed with people, and good things rarely came in pairs!

That joyous day had become a horrific tragedy. Li Mu waited a week without seeing the girl whose smile bloomed like a flower. All that returned was a cold corpse.

Even now, he remembered what she had said before leaving: "Mu, once I have a Soul Ring, I'll collect a Gold Soul Coin every day. Then you won't have to work so hard anymore. Once we have children, we'll move to Nuoding City too!"

He hated himself for not stopping her, for not going with her!

He thought that if he had gone along, at least he could have kept her company.

For thirty years, he had drifted through life in a daze, caring for both sets of parents. Once he was left all alone, he would go and join her!

Some people wanted to live but died, while others wanted to die but lived.

Li Mu had miraculously survived three suicide attempts. Whenever he sought death, her martial soul, the Lucky Spirit Flower, bloomed throughout the courtyard, as though wishing for him to live on!

Li Mu reached for the teacup on the table, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

His gaze settled on Li Mingzhu. He had long known of Li Mingzhu's yearning to become a soul master, and he was happy that the boy possessed innate full soul power.

But the soul master world was not safe, and he feared that something might happen to Li Mingzhu.

Still, he respected his aspirations!

Li Mingzhu's heart felt heavy. He did not want Li Mu to sink into those despairing memories again!

"Mingzhu, what do you intend to do about Master Su's suggestion that you join the Spirit Hall?"

Li Mu's question finally broke the silence.

"Grandpa, I don't intend to join the Spirit Hall. I just want to study and cultivate properly."

Li Mingzhu's answer undoubtedly set Li Mu's mind at ease.

After all, wherever people gathered, trouble followed. He did not want Li Mingzhu to join the Spirit Hall either.

Li Mu turned and walked into the inner room. Crouching down, he took the family's money out of a box with trembling fingers.

"Mingzhu, I know you yearn to walk the path of a soul master. The village has a place for a work-study student too."

"But a work-study student will inevitably be burdened with chores. Take this money and enroll as a regular student instead. I hope you become a powerful soul master."

With that, Li Mu gently rested his rough palm on the boy's head.

Li Mingzhu paused. In the six years since he had transmigrated to the Douluo Continent, he had felt as though everyone he met was an NPC in a game.

Only now did he realize that he had found a sense of belonging.

Because of Li Mingzhu, Li Mu no longer drifted through life in a daze;

Because of Li Mu, Li Mingzhu had formed a bond.

Tears glimmered deep in Li Mingzhu's eyes as he carefully accepted the soul coins the old man had saved for half his life.

Then he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and said firmly, "Grandpa, I'll definitely do it. We'll live in the best house and eat the best food together."

That night, the bright moon hung high in the sky, its pure light spilling across the faded window.

Li Mingzhu sat cross-legged on his bed, guiding the power he had awakened that morning.

As he guided it, soul power surged around him. Ripples of distortion spread through the void behind him, and the phantom of a purple-gold ancient dragon slowly emerged. Interwoven spatial patterns covered its body, its horns were sharp as blades, and its purple-gold eyes were deep and dark. An immense draconic pressure spread outward, making even the surrounding air tremble faintly.

"Ancient Void Dragon!"

One glance was enough for Li Mingzhu to recognize the overlord of magical beasts from Battle Through the Heavens in his previous life!

The emergence of twin martial souls undoubtedly gave Li Mingzhu confidence, especially when one of them was the Ancient Void Dragon!

This Ancient Void Dragon martial soul truly was different. Li Mingzhu activated Martial Soul Possession and discovered that it came with an innate domain and a Dragon Flame skill.

After deploying the domain, Li Mingzhu spent a long time figuring out its effects.

He picked up a pillow and tossed it into the purple ripples in midair. The pillow vanished instantly.

"At least for now, this Ancient Void Dragon martial soul is far stronger than the Angel martial soul."

Li Mingzhu carefully compared it with the Angel Domain from the original story.

"In short, it's strong as hell!"

First, the domain: 1. Increases all the user's attributes by 50% and boosts the power of all spatial soul skills by 15%.

2. Reduces all attributes of enemies with beast martial souls or dragon martial souls within the domain by 45% and slows their movements; weakens soul masters of other attributes by 20%.

3. Increases spatial control within the domain by 20%.

4. Active abilities: freely distort, fold, and compress the domain's space; conceal one's presence and hide within space; create independent void spaces for storage or imprisoning powerful enemies; at higher levels, tear space apart and unleash torrents of the void to destroy opponents.

For now, the domain was only in its most basic form. Its effects would improve as his soul power increased.

By this hour of the dark night, the people of Greenleaf Village were already fast asleep.

Li Mingzhu gently pushed open the door and stepped outside into the moonlight.

With his martial soul possessing him, Li Mingzhu seemed to rise into the air upon the moonlight. Needless to say, this was another ability of the Ancient Void Dragon.

Airflight!

Floating in midair, Li Mingzhu had barely begun to savor the joy of flying before he plummeted!

Thud!

Li Mingzhu cut a sorry figure after hitting the ground, lying there covered in dust and dirt.

Looking up at the hanging moon, he reflected that his soul power was simply insufficient. He had run out of steam in less than seven minutes.

"Sigh!"

"A man needs stamina. Once I have enough soul power, I'm going to fly to my heart's content!"

Dark clouds covered the moon, and Li Mingzhu returned to his room.

Lying quietly on his bed, he could not help feeling restless. After all, he was going to school tomorrow.

To think I'm almost thirty-five across my two lives, yet I still have to go to school. Life really is unpredictable!

Going to school in Nuoding City inevitably reminded him of Tang San, the protagonist of the original story.

How old is he now? And how should I treat him?

Li Mingzhu had a fairly favorable impression of the Spirit Hall.

In a place as remote as Greenleaf Village, no one had bothered about taxes for years, yet a deacon of the Spirit Hall had made a special trip to help awaken their martial souls.

I'm no saint, but the Spirit Hall helped awaken my martial souls. I can't fill my belly and then curse the hand that fed me, deliberately targeting them!

Besides, the Spirit Hall fought evil soul masters and gave commoners at the bottom a chance to defy heaven and change their fate. Neither sentiment nor reason would allow him to take the initiative in becoming their enemy.

Those who call the Spirit Hall corrupt should think about which faction is completely free of corruption.

Still, joining the Spirit Hall is out of the question. Their average intelligence is low, and there are far too many ridiculous things going on.

An enemy faction's good-for-nothing stealing away our holy maiden; someone with the potential to become a god insisting on gallivanting everywhere; an ungrateful wretch of a disciple; Qian Daoliu's obstinacy and Bibi Dong's extreme temperament!

When the time comes, the Spirit Hall's factions and I will stay out of each other's waters. If you don't provoke me, we can all live in peace. If you strike first, I'll fight back head-on!

Before transmigrating, he had read quite a few Douluo fan novels on QQ Reading, so he had accumulated some experience.

Sigh! Come to think of it, will I get the protagonist treatment tomorrow? Will a beautiful hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast come knocking on my door of her own accord?