Just as he stepped over the threshold, someone gently hooked the back of his collar. A round, plump figure sidled up and draped an arm straight over his shoulders.
"Hey, little brother, you looked pretty calm talking to the teacher just now. What's your Martial Soul?" The speaker was a chubby boy with fair cheeks whose eyes nearly narrowed into slits when he smiled. His tone was so friendly that he sounded as though they had known each other for days.
Amused by his instant familiarity, Lu Chen raised an eyebrow and replied casually, "A dragon. Yours?"
"Me? My Martial Soul is a blade!" The chubby boy immediately straightened his back and patted his chest, his voice rising a few notches.
"The shiny kind! Little brother, how about we cultivate together from now on? When I become a Titled Douluo, I'll call myself Blade God Douluo! With that dragon Martial Soul of yours, you'll definitely be Dragon God Douluo! If we team up, we'll be stronger than anyone!" the chubby boy said, reveling in his vision of the future.
Listening to his vivid imaginings, Lu Chen gave a helpless twitch of his lips and pointed at his Soul Power test report. "But my Innate Soul Power is only rank 5."
"What a coincidence! Our Innate Soul Power is the same. Besides, how could talent be more important than dreams?" The chubby boy waved it off without a care.
He suddenly lowered his voice and leaned close to Lu Chen's ear, pointing his chin toward a corner of the classroom. "Look at that kid with the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. His Innate Soul Power is even lower than yours. No matter how you look at it, our Martial Souls are way stronger than Blue Silver Grass. What's there to be afraid of?"
Tang Wulin, who stood nearby, happened to hear every word.
Even his fingertips had gone a little pale. As he watched Lu Chen and the chubby boy with their arms around each other's shoulders, his eyes were filled with envy.
He wanted a companion he could cultivate with and talk about Martial Souls with, too. But with his Innate Soul Power of only rank 3, he did not even have the courage to strike up a conversation.
A knock came from the doorway. "Hello, everyone. I'm your homeroom teacher, Lin Mengxi. I'll be teaching you the basics of being a Soul Master. First, please introduce yourselves. Tell us your name, Martial Soul, and Innate Soul Power rank."
There were only sixteen students in the academy, so the introductions went quickly.
"My name is Lu Chen. My Martial Soul is an Earth Dragon, and my Innate Soul Power is rank 5," Lu Chen introduced himself.
"My name is Tang Wulin. My Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, and my Innate Soul Power is rank 3." Tang Wulin was next, and he spoke a little shyly.
"Blue Silver Grass? A trash Martial Soul! Hahaha!"
"A trash Martial Soul? You'd be better off in an ordinary class."
Lu Chen, meanwhile, discovered that he seemed to be absorbing the blood essence power Tang Wulin was unintentionally releasing. His eyes lit up.
He stood up to speak for Tang Wulin. "Having rank 3 Innate Soul Power with a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul means his Martial Soul isn't ordinary. He might even have the Blue Silver King bloodline. Besides, some of you might not achieve as much as he does."
To be precise, no one would achieve more than he did.
Lin Mengxi clapped her hands. "Quiet, everyone. Mocking your classmates is not allowed. All right, let's begin today's first lesson."
"First, I'll introduce the different categories of Martial Souls. This afternoon, I'll guide you through cultivation, which means meditation."
"As everyone knows, in our world, every person..." Lin Mengxi began her explanation.
The morning hurried past just like that.
That afternoon, perhaps because of his relationship with Lin Mengxi, she kept teaching him how to cultivate.
Yet, strangely, he found that his cultivation did not seem to be going very well. His rate of absorbing Soul Power was actually about as slow as Tang Wulin's.
It was very slow.
This should not have been the cultivation speed of someone with rank 5 Innate Soul Power.
Strangely enough, he also discovered that golden light kept flowing from Tang Wulin into his body.
Meanwhile, the panel in Nibelungen suddenly ticked up by 0.1, the number changing to 5.1 percent.
However, Lu Chen had not entered that world, so he discovered this change.
He only felt that his blood seemed to be constantly evolving. Though the change was slight, the sensation was unmistakably real.
To him, improving his bloodline was actually more important than increasing his Soul Power.
Moreover, he seemed to be absorbing the bloodline power leaking out of Tang Wulin.
Could the evolution of his bloodline be related to this world's dragon Martial Souls?
In that case, he was determined to get Na'er.
The bell rang to end class. Lu Chen told Lin Mengxi he would head back himself, then left.
Lu Chen did not know whether he would need a Spirit Soul when he reached rank 10, and the orphanage clearly could not afford one.
Even if a charity were willing to give him one, he would have to pay a certain price.
He did not want to be trapped in any organization.
After some thought, he decided to look for a nearby Blacksmiths' Association. He had obtained the power of the King of Earth and Mountain, so his control over strength ought to be good.
While searching for a smithing sign, he suddenly spotted a silver-haired girl crouching by the roadside.
Her bloodline seemed to hold a fatal attraction for him. Lu Chen quickly restrained that impulse.
Was that Na'er?
The Silver Dragon King?
Lu Chen's eyes lit up. If he brought Na'er to the orphanage, would he be able to test his conjecture?
Lu Chen acted as soon as the thought struck him. He immediately walked over to Na'er and held out his hand.
"My name is Lu Chen. Would you like to come to the orphanage with me?" Lu Chen asked with a smile.
Na'er raised her head, a trace of confusion appearing on her face.
Na'er did not know why, but she kept feeling that something inside this little big brother was drawing her in, making her want to follow him despite herself.
Na'er placed her hand in Lu Chen's, stood up, and followed beside him, her gaze drifting toward him every so often.
Lu Chen found it rather strange. Back when he read the novel, he had heard others speculate that Na'er had been willing to leave with Tang Wulin because he had the Golden Dragon King bloodline.
But what about him? Na'er had actually given him her hand without another word. Could the Black King's bloodline have something to do with the Dragon God?
Those two were not even from the same universe.
Still, the Dragon God and the Black King did have quite a few similarities. Forget it. He would stop thinking so much and bring her back first.
As for smithing, he would see whether he could tag along with Tang Wulin one day after he got back.
Suddenly, several hoodlum-looking youths walked up beside them. "Well, two little kids. Where are your parents?"
Lu Chen looked up at them, releasing his Martial Soul as he moved Na'er behind him to shield her.
"What do you want?" Lu Chen asked coldly.
"A Soul Master!" The youth in front froze for a moment. "Fuck, what rotten luck."
The youths turned around and ran.
After all, if a Soul Master went missing, the investigation would clearly be on a different scale.
And his Martial Soul looked like a good one.
Lu Chen clenched both hands tightly. Once again, he felt the humiliation of being weak.
He had to become stronger.
That was his sole conviction at that moment.
What he failed to notice, however, was that his eyes had already turned into crimson-gold dragon eyes.
Those dragon eyes were filled with boundless majesty, as well as the fury of having that majesty challenged.
That was not Lu Chen.
If Lin Mengxi had been standing before him, she would certainly have said so.