"Here, take a look at this piece of Gold Crystal Ore."
"Its toughness and hardness are both top-notch among low-grade ores. It's usually used to make high-grade farming tools or the cutting edges of weapons. One Silver Soul Coin, and that's my final price."
Gold Crystal Ore!
Xiao Xuan's gaze fell on the faintly glowing yellow ore, and his heart burned with excitement.
He silently contacted the system and immediately received feedback in his mind.
The ore fell into the [two-star material] category and possessed outstanding metal-attribute and hardness properties. It was a perfect match for fusion with his current One-Star Lone Bamboo Martial Soul!
"I'll take it!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Xuan reached into his pocket, pulled out a Silver Soul Coin his grandfather had given him yesterday, and slapped it down on the counter.
His movements were quick and decisive.
The blacksmith stared at him.
He had only been teasing the child on a whim, but he hadn't expected the little fellow to be so decisive about spending money, taking out a Silver Soul Coin just like that.
"All right, nice and straightforward!"
The blacksmith put away the Silver Soul Coin and handed over the hefty piece of Gold Crystal Ore.
Xiao Xuan took the ore in both hands. It felt cold and hard, with a satisfying weight.
He carefully tucked the ore against his body inside his clothes, thanked the blacksmith, then turned and hurried out of the smithy.
Walking along the bustling street, Xiao Xuan rubbed the hard lump of Gold Crystal Ore against his chest through his coarse cloth clothes, his heart pounding uncontrollably.
"First step taken care of! Now it's time to witness a miracle..."
This was his first step toward breaking through the commoner class's ceiling and defying the heavens to change his fate. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong!
With wind at his feet, Xiao Xuan headed straight across the street and raced toward the outskirts of Nuoding City.
Although Lone Bamboo wasn't as common as the Blue Silver Grass weeds found everywhere, it wasn't a rare plant in the southern Heaven Dou Empire either, and it reproduced prolifically.
Outside Nuoding City, large patches of wild Lone Bamboo were scattered through the dense groves on the outskirts.
Xiao Xuan plunged into a quiet, deserted grove and swept his gaze over the surroundings like a hawk.
Before long, he spotted two stalks of wild Lone Bamboo at the foot of a shaded hillside.
Both stalks were lush and green, their stems only as thick as a thumb. They were plainly ordinary wild bamboo that had grown for just a few years.
System, scan the targets! Xiao Xuan said silently.
[Targets locked: two wild Lone Bamboo plants.] [Quality assessment: one star.] [Conditions for Three-in-One Fusion met!]
Hearing the mechanical notifications in his mind, Xiao Xuan let out a long breath, his eyes suddenly blazing.
It was finally starting!
Without further hesitation, he took a deep breath, calmed his pounding heart, and decisively raised his right hand.
Hum-
A pale cyan glow appeared in his palm, and the thin, frail One-Star Lone Bamboo Martial Soul slowly emerged.
Immediately afterward, Xiao Xuan crouched down and reached out with both hands, gripping the stems of the two wild one-star Lone Bamboo plants tightly. At the same time, he locked his mental focus onto the two-star Gold Crystal Ore inside his clothes.
Fuse!
The instant the word fell, an incredible sight unfolded!
Hum!
The two wild Lone Bamboo stalks in Xiao Xuan's hands instantly transformed into two pure streams of emerald light and surged into the Lone Bamboo Martial Soul he had summoned above his head.
At the same time, the piece of two-star Gold Crystal Ore inside his clothes dissolved into thin air, turning into a mass of rich, brilliant golden specks of light that entered the Lone Bamboo Martial Soul!
Green and golden light intertwined madly over the Martial Soul above Xiao Xuan's head, compressing and transforming!
A moment later.
[Ding!] [Three-in-One Fusion of All Things complete! Main materials successfully fused! The properties of the auxiliary material, "Gold Crystal Ore," have been extracted and are being perfectly added!] [Congratulations, host! Martial Soul Fusion and star-rank advancement successful. Obtained-Two-Star Lone Bamboo!]
It worked!
His face alight with wild delight, Xiao Xuan hurriedly looked closely at his palm.
The thin, frail, pale cyan bamboo that had seemed ready to topple at a gust of wind had completely changed its appearance!
The entire bamboo stalk had grown considerably thicker, and an extremely subtle pale golden metallic sheen now seemed to flow beneath its once purely cyan-green color.
Xiao Xuan reached out and gently flicked the bamboo stalk.
"Clang-!"
A clear metallic ring, like a piece of refined steel being struck, suddenly echoed through the grove!
Hard as iron, with vastly increased toughness!
Not only had it retained the vitality and flexible resilience of a Plant-type Martial Soul, it had also fully acquired the hardness of Gold Crystal Ore!
Before Xiao Xuan could recover from the immense surprise of his Martial Soul's transformation, another sudden change occurred!
Boom!
The Soul Power inside Xiao Xuan erupted from the sea of Qi in his dantian, surging like a mighty river and sweeping through his limbs and bones with ferocious force!
Xiao Xuan's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief and shock.
"This... what's going on?!"
He could clearly feel his innate level-one Soul Power, once as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, rising at an absurdly frantic speed!
Level one... level two...
The violent Soul Power surged without end, finally settling firmly at a new height!
Xiao Xuan hurriedly turned his attention inward to examine himself, his breath stopping for half a beat.
Innate Soul Power... level three!
"Holy shit?!"
Even having lived two lives, Xiao Xuan couldn't help swearing. He was so excited he nearly jumped on the spot!
Advancing his Martial Soul's star rank could actually make his Innate Soul Power soar along with it?!
That was it!
The fundamental logic of the Douluo Continent was that a Martial Soul determined Soul Power!
The level of Innate Soul Power was, at its core, a reflection of the Martial Soul's quality at the time of awakening!
Which of those freaks with Innate Full Soul Power in the original story didn't have a top-tier Martial Soul?
He had forcibly fused his one-star trash Lone Bamboo into two-star hard bamboo, transforming the very essence of his Martial Soul.
Naturally, his Innate Soul Power had risen with it, jumping straight from a pitiful level one to level three!
From one star to two, and he had gained two levels of Innate Soul Power for free!
What if he went from two stars to three?
Xiao Xuan swallowed hard, a golden light bursting from his eyes:
"Three-in-One Fusion... if I gather two more stalks of Two-Star Lone Bamboo and push my Martial Soul straight to three stars, wouldn't my Innate Soul Power shoot straight up to level six or seven?"
"Maybe... even Innate Full Soul Power isn't just a dream?!"
In the little grove outside the city, the fresh scent of earth still lingered in the air.
Xiao Xuan stood where he was, looking down at the long, slender stalk of Two-Star Lone Bamboo in his palm, its entire length faintly flowing with a dark golden sheen. The wild joy in his eyes refused to fade for a long time.
Still, as a rational transmigrator who had lived two lives, he knew that however happy he was, he absolutely couldn't skip a practical test.
Xiao Xuan strode to the side of the path and fixed his gaze on a piece of exceptionally hard blue granite, as large as a person's head.
"Let's see just how hard Lone Bamboo gets with Gold Crystal Ore added!"
Xiao Xuan held his breath and focused, drawing on none of the Soul Power in his body and relying solely on the brute strength of his arms.
His arm muscles abruptly tightened. Gripping the Lone Bamboo like a short javelin, he aimed at the blue stone on the ground and stabbed down hard!
"Bang-!"
With a dull, grating crack, the palm-thick piece of blue granite burst on impact, splitting with numerous cracks in an instant!
As for the Two-Star Lone Bamboo in his hand, there wasn't the slightest sign of a rolled edge or wear on its tip. Its pale golden metallic sheen remained as cold as ever.