Mutated Martial Souls and Twin Martial Souls

Douluo Continent, Tiandou Empire, Haagen-Dazs Kingdom, Hagen-Dazs City.

"Xiaoruan, are you really coming with me?"

The speaker was a woman cradling a baby, with silver-white hair flowing down past her shoulders and a plain white dress. Her slender, upturned eyes were bright and enchanting, and a trace of worry and reluctance colored her words.

"Suxin, since we bound our hair in marriage, we should share a pillow in life and a grave in death. Let's find somewhere safe for Shuang'er, then prepare to leave."

The man was tall and handsome. As he spoke, he could not help looking at the baby in the woman's arms, a hint of reluctance and tenderness in his eyes. Then his gaze turned cold, and he looked into the distance with a measure of resolve.

"Since ancient times, imperial families have had little room for affection. I never imagined that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the illustrious Upper Three Sects, could truly be so coldhearted. They only just drove my elder brother away, and now they've abandoned me too."

"Xiaoruan, your father and your uncle aren't to blame. They have their own difficulties. This is the helplessness of being born into a clan. Even a brilliant hero like Brother Tang Hao couldn't escape it, much less the two of us."

Suxin's voice held a trace of helplessness and acceptance. With that, she placed the baby in the cradle behind her. Reluctantly, she took the man's hand and led him outside.

An elderly man with half-white hair and a hunched figure was waiting at the door.

"Uncle Wang, your Soul Power was crippled while you were handling clan affairs many years ago, and the clan made arrangements for your retirement. I never wanted to disturb your peaceful life, but now the clan has announced my expulsion and struck me from the family register. I can only entrust Shuang'er to you."

"Don't worry, Second Young Master. This old man has benefited from the clan's generosity for many years. Though I can no longer do anything for the clan, I watched you grow up, Second Young Master. I'll take good care of the Little Young Master and see him through to adulthood."

"That's good. Uncle Wang, Suxin and I will be leaving now. If Spirit Hall's hounds catch up to us here, I'm afraid innocent people will be caught up in it." With that, the couple bowed deeply to the old man. They straightened, glanced at the house, then turned and slowly departed.

Time flew, and five years passed in the blink of an eye. In a forest outside Hagen-Dazs City, the sky was just beginning to pale like a fish's belly, and dew still slipped from the leaves. A boy in plain white robes sat cross-legged in meditation, the fingertips of both hands touching before his dantian, while the energy drifting between heaven and earth slowly gathered inside him.

"Phew... I still can't break through to the second layer. Each layer of the Frozen Sky Condensing Sea Art should correspond to a realm of the cultivator. I reached perfection in the first layer long ago, so my cultivation should have reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, and I should be able to break through. But every time I try, I feel a restraint, a shackle, that has kept me from breaking through to the second layer for so long."

An ice spike then formed in his hand, and he shot it at a tree not far away.

He frowned as he looked at the tree struck by the ice spike.

"The power of my spells has also fallen sharply. It's nowhere near what it should be at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, especially when I'm cultivating the heaven-grade Ice Heaven Sword Scripture."

He thought it over but could not make sense of it, so he got up and returned to the city.

As Tianshuang walked, he recalled what he knew about this world.

Could it be because of the Martial Souls Grandpa mentioned? Everyone on the continent awakens their Martial Soul at the age of six. Martial Souls can be animals, plants, objects, or even parts of one's own body. They can help people in their daily lives, or be used in battle. And some of those who possess Soul Power can become Soul Masters, revered by countless people.

The True Qi I've been cultivating has also been turned into Soul Power by some unknown force in this world. That would explain both the drop in my spells' power and my inability to break through. As long as I successfully awaken my Martial Soul, I'll be able to break through to the second layer of the Frozen Sky Condensing Sea Art.

Lost in thought, Tianshuang walked into a general store. Behind the counter, an elderly man with graying hair reclined in a rocking chair. He had a kindly face and wore a pair of thick glasses.

"Grandpa, I'm back." Tianshuang began helping to tidy the store as he spoke.

Hearing him, the old man slowly opened his eyes, which he had closed for a rest, and took a ring from the drawer in front of him. It was blue all over and set with an ice-blue gem.

"Tianshuang, today is your sixth birthday. Grandpa has a Soul Tool for you, something I happened to come across when I was young. Don't look down on this little ring; there's a whole world inside it. It has a space ten cubic meters in size, where you can store food, weapons, and other supplies. It was one of Grandpa's treasures when I was young, and now I'm giving it to you."

The old man paused, then continued, his kindly gaze tinged with reluctance:

"Grandpa knows you go out to train before dawn every day. You're bound to become a Soul Master, so I won't stand in your way. This ring is yours. Once you've taken it, go to Spirit Hall in the city center to awaken your Martial Soul. When you're done, Grandpa has something else to tell you." The old man set the ring on the counter, waved a hand casually, and slowly settled back into his rocking chair.

Tianshuang picked up the Soul Tool ring from the counter, only to discover that all five of his fingers were too small to wear it. He could only sigh and put it in his pocket.

"Then I'm going, Grandpa."

The old man gave no reply from his rocking chair. Tianshuang did not mind, and went out toward Spirit Hall in the city.

Hagen-Dazs City's Spirit Hall stood in the city center, separated from the city lord's residence by a single street, as though the two were facing off.

A long line had already formed outside Spirit Hall. Young children stood in line accompanied by their parents. Tianshuang glanced at them, a flicker of loneliness passing through his eyes. Then he gave a self-mocking smile and joined the long queue.

What am I thinking? In my previous life, I was adopted by my sect when I was little. Having a grandpa who loves me so much in this life is already pretty good.

The June weather was like a blazing furnace. As time passed, the sun slowly climbed to the middle of the sky, and the heat steadily intensified until even the air shimmered. The adults and children around him raised their sleeves from time to time, but Tianshuang showed no sign of feeling hot, as though the scorching sun did not exist.

"Your Martial Soul is a sickle. A sickle, huh? Barely passable. Put your hand on the crystal beside you and let's see how much Soul Power you have."

"Even if you only have level one Soul Power, you can become a Soul Master."

Inside Spirit Hall, a deacon responsible for awakening the children spoke to a child standing in the formation, who had just awakened his Martial Soul.

The crystal used to test Soul Power slowly lit up, then went dark.

The Spirit Hall deacon in charge of the awakening said, "I'm afraid you have no Soul Power, child. You can't become a Soul Master."

Tianshuang watched the child who had awakened the sickle Martial Soul being led away in tears by his parents, and thought, Even after awakening a Martial Soul, someone without innate Soul Power can't become a Soul Master. In this world, people can only cultivate Soul Power if they're born with it. But if I gave them some of my sect's basic Qi cultivation techniques, could people born without Soul Power cultivate it and become Soul Masters?

Forget it, forget it. That's still too far off. I should awaken my own Martial Soul first.

"Your Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. What a pity, it's a Trash Martial Soul. Even if you have Soul Power, child, you won't be able to reach level thirty in your entire life. Come, let's test your Soul Power."

"Innate Soul Power, level one. Sigh, next."

Even with Innate Soul Power, you're still affected by the Martial Soul you awaken. A good-quality Martial Soul has an unparalleled advantage in both cultivation and combat. It's just like magic artifacts, which are also divided into grades: high, middle, low, supreme, and so on.

As the number of people ahead of him waiting to awaken their Martial Souls gradually dwindled, only a girl with sky-blue hair remained in front of Tianshuang. It would soon be his turn.

"Your Martial Soul is a Jade Dolphin, a very powerful Beast Martial Soul."

"Come, young lady, let's test your Soul Power."

The tester responsible for testing Martial Souls spoke to the sky-blue-haired girl, while casting occasional ingratiating glances at a woman beside her, who also had sky-blue hair.

"That should be Shui Xinrou, the dean of Skywater Academy, a level eighty-four Power Attack System Soul Douluo. And this girl who awakened the Jade Dolphin should be a descendant of her family."

"Innate Soul Power, level eight. Congratulations! You're sure to become a powerful Soul Master in the future."

"Auntie, I'm one level lower than my sister. Boo-hoo..." The girl with level eight Innate Soul Power did not seem very happy as she spoke to the woman accompanying her.

"Your sister awakened the Ice Phoenix, a top-tier Beast Martial Soul that's one in ten thousand across the entire continent. You don't need to compare yourself to her. Our Yue'er is excellent too." The sky-blue-haired woman gently stroked the girl, who was looking down and kicking her feet, a little dejected.

"All right. Anyway, I can just let my sister protect me in the future. Hee-hee." The girl had been downcast one moment, but the next she was full of life again, taking the woman's hand and heading for the entrance to Spirit Hall.

The sky-blue-haired woman shook her head and smiled. "This child."

"Stand in the center of the formation. Relax, open your heart, and feel for your Martial Soul. Guide it out."

Tianshuang walked to the center of the formation, closed his eyes, and slowly breathed out, calming himself.

As the formation slowly lit up, a huge ice-blue dragon appeared in Tianshuang's mind, roaring. At the same time, a longsword wreathed in cold flashed in from the horizon and plunged into the ground before the dragon.

Behind Tianshuang, the illusory image of a huge blue dragon roared, while the longsword was hidden by the ice dragon's massive body.

"A t-top, top-tier Beast Martial Soul, a Frost Dragon," the Spirit Hall official overseeing Tianshuang's awakening said, his voice trembling.

"Come, child, let's test your Innate Soul Power."

The test crystal slowly began to glow, until its light shone through Spirit Hall as bright as day.

"Innate Full Soul Power! It's actually Innate Full Soul Power! Child, would you be willing to join Spirit Hall?"

Tianshuang did not answer. Instead, he looked at the little sword that had flashed into his right hand.