The world spun.
Ling Feng's eyes snapped open. A bone-piercing chill seeped up from the rough straw mat beneath him, and a choking smell of mildew mingled with the faint scent of firewood filled his nostrils.
He froze.
Above him was the low roof of a mud-brick house, supported by a few rotting wooden beams, with cobwebs swaying in the corners. Beneath him was a plank bed so hard it dug into his body, covered with dry, yellowed straw. A thin quilt lay over him, covered in patches and washed pale.
This was not his apartment.
Memories crashed over him like floodwaters through an opened sluice-he had clearly been staying up late at his computer, writing, when his vision went black. Then he woke up...
Fragments of unfamiliar memories forcibly embedded themselves in his mind.
Holy Soul Village. An orphan also named Ling Feng, raised on meals from the village's many households. Today was the village's annual Martial Soul Awakening day!
"Hiss-" Ling Feng sucked in a sharp breath and abruptly sat up.
Douluo Continent? Martial Souls? Tang San?!
He pinched his thigh hard. The fierce pain told him this was no dream. He, a flop of a writer, had actually transmigrated-and become this orphan with the exact same name!
After the tremendous shock, an indescribable elation surged through him! This was the Douluo World! A world of infinite possibilities! Soul Masters who could soar through the skies and burrow through the earth, Martial Souls of every strange variety, and those legendary gods!
But then a bucket of cold water came pouring down.
Today was the day of the Martial Soul Awakening. In the original story, aside from Tang San, Holy Soul Village had never produced any Soul Master worth mentioning. This body of his belonged to an ordinary villager. What good Martial Soul could he awaken? What if...
Ling Feng's heart sank. The excitement of being a transmigrator was swiftly replaced by the cruelty of what reality might hold.
"Little Feng! Little Feng! Get up! The Soul Master is here, and the awakening ceremony is about to begin!" Village Chief Old Jack's anxious voice rang out from outside, accompanied by urgent knocking.
Ling Feng drew a deep breath, suppressed his jumbled thoughts, and called out in reply. He quickly pulled on an equally patched set of coarse clothes and pushed open the door.
At the sight of Ling Feng, Old Jack's clouded eyes filled with hope and a barely perceptible trace of pity. "Come with me, child. May heaven bless you with good fortune."
Ling Feng nodded silently and followed Old Jack toward the largest wooden house in the center of the village.
Every villager they encountered along the way looked over. Some were curious, some wanted to watch the spectacle, but most wore an almost numb indifference. They had long grown accustomed to the yearly hope and the disappointment that followed. Aside from that child named Tang San a few years ago, Holy Soul Village had gone far too long without producing a Soul Master.
"Look, it's that child, Ling Feng." "Ah, another poor child. His parents died so young." "Let's hope he awakens a useful Martial Soul. Even a trace of Soul Power would do..." "Not likely... Apart from that boy Tang San, when has our village ever had such luck?"
The whispers reached Ling Feng's ears. He clenched his fists, his nails nearly digging into his palms. He refused to accept his fate! Since he had come to this world, he would seize every possible opportunity!
More than a dozen children around Ling Feng's age had already gathered in front of the wooden house, their faces tense and eager. A stern-faced man in a fitted white outfit stood with his hands behind his back, a sword badge pinned to his chest. A faint trace of weariness and impatience showed in his expression.
He was Su Yuntao, the deacon from Spirit Hall and the Battle Soul Master responsible for the awakening ceremony.
Old Jack stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Honored Battle Soul Master, sorry for the trouble this time."
Su Yuntao nodded slightly, swept his gaze over the children before him, and spoke in a routine tone. "All right, children, line up. We don't have much time, so let's begin as soon as possible. Remember, whatever you awaken, don't be afraid. Relax your bodies and minds."
The children hastily lined up. Ling Feng was placed in the middle, his heart pounding so hard it nearly leaped into his throat.
The ceremony began.
Su Yuntao gave a low shout. "Lone Wolf, possess!"
A powerful presence spread outward. His body swelled slightly, his hair turned gray, fur sprouted, and an eerie green light shone in his eyes. Two Soul Rings, one white and one yellow, rose from beneath his feet and circled his body.
The children cried out in fright and instinctively backed away.
Ling Feng's heart tightened as well. So this was Beast Martial Soul possession? Though he already knew the plot, seeing it with his own eyes made that wild, oppressive presence feel utterly real.
Su Yuntao's hands darted out, sending six black stones flying to form a hexagonal formation on the ground. He motioned for the first child to step inside.
"Don't be afraid. Close your eyes and feel carefully," Su Yuntao said in a low voice, sending a streak of blue-green light into the formation.
The formation lit up, enveloping the child.
"Hold out your right hand," Su Yuntao commanded.
The child obeyed, and a small sickle appeared above his hand. "A sickle Martial Soul. Barely counts as somewhat useful. Let's test your Soul Power." Su Yuntao handed over the crystal ball. The child touched it, but there was no response. "No Soul Power. You cannot become a Soul Master. Next." Su Yuntao's voice remained utterly flat.
The light in the child's eyes instantly dimmed, and he walked out as though he had lost his soul.
One child after another underwent awakening.
A hoe. No Soul Power. Blue Silver Grass. No Soul Power. A hoe. No Soul Power... Blue Silver Grass again. No Soul Power.
Disappointment spread. The children lowered their heads one after another, and even the villagers watching from outside sighed, as though they had seen the inevitable outcome. The wrinkles on Village Chief Old Jack's face seemed to deepen.
The impatience in Su Yuntao's eyes grew stronger. A poor, remote backwater like this-just as expected.
At last, it was Ling Feng's turn.
He drew a deep breath and stepped into the hexagonal formation. A faint light enveloped him, and a warm current poured into his body, flowing through every limb and bone.
"Close your eyes and feel carefully." Su Yuntao's voice remained flat.
Ling Feng obediently closed his eyes and focused all his attention on sensing it. The warm current inside him seemed to be drawing something forth. Deep within his dantian, something dormant was being awakened.
Here it came!
"Hold out your right hand."
Ling Feng's eyes snapped open, and he nervously spread his palm.
A faint blue glow appeared. The next instant, a slender, somewhat wilted little blade of blue grass quietly emerged above his palm. Its delicate leaves swayed gently.
Silence instantly fell inside and outside the house.
Blue Silver Grass again!
The villagers wore expressions of "just as expected" and shook their heads regretfully. The children, meanwhile, unconsciously breathed sighs of relief. At least they were not the only unlucky ones.
Village Chief Old Jack sighed and turned his face away.
The last trace of expectation in Su Yuntao's eyes vanished completely, replaced by deep disappointment. He did not even bother to conceal the indifference in his voice. "Blue Silver Grass. A textbook trash Martial Soul. Looks like this is all your Holy Soul Village amounts to this year, too."
Going through the motions, he took out the blue crystal ball and held it before Ling Feng. "Put your hand on it. Just a formality."
Faint sounds of mockery, sighs, and low chuckles drifted over.
"See? I knew it..." "The trash Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass. What hope could there be?" "Ah, just settle down and farm..."
Ling Feng stared at the frail little blade of grass in his palm. His heart felt as though a huge, icy hand had seized it, dragging it ever downward into a bottomless abyss.
A transmigrator's elation? Ambitions to change the world? How laughable they seemed now!
Had he gone through all the trouble of transmigrating just to repeat this mediocre, even lowly fate? To be a mortal like an ant in this world where the strong reigned supreme?
He refused to accept it! He absolutely refused!
His arm trembled slightly. Amid the despair that threatened to drown him and the faint sounds of mockery around him, he slowly pressed his right hand, holding the trash Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass, toward the crystal ball that tested Soul Power.
At the very instant his fingertips were about to touch the cold crystal surface-
An icy, emotionless mechanical voice, yet as sweet as heavenly music, abruptly thundered through the deepest reaches of his mind!
[Ding! Detected compatibility between the host's fierce, unyielding will and spacetime fluctuations... Conditions met!] ["Douluo Sign-in System" activating... Binding...] [Binding successful! Host Ling Feng, welcome to the Douluo World!] [Host detected at a special location: Martial Soul Awakening ceremony site!] [Perform your first sign-in?]
Ling Feng's movement froze abruptly, and his eyes instantly widened into perfect circles!