Martial Soul Awakening, Astonishing Everyone

Lin Qing did not know how he had made it down the mountain.

His mind was in a mess.

One moment he thought of the giant bamboo, three zhang tall; the next, of the words "I've lived a long time"; then he summoned his Lone Bamboo Martial Soul again, experiencing the wondrous sensation he had never known in his previous life.

The strangest thing was the spot on his chest. Whenever he focused his mind on it, he would enter that wondrous world.

He seemed to have entered a place where he could stand on the surface of a lake. An island lay on the lake, and the Chaos Lone Bamboo still stood upon it.

Lin Qing asked, "What's going on?" It did not answer.

But the first joint of the Lone Bamboo in his spiritual sea began to glow a vivid blue-green. The light gradually brightened and took on substance, forming a brilliant green halo around the joint...

Lin Qing pursed his lips. Didn't you say you'd moved in? Why aren't you talking?

Forget it. Maybe you've fallen asleep.

He continued on his way.

Holy Soul Village was small, with a little over a hundred households clustered at the foot of the mountain. Once night fell, there was hardly any light. But today was different: a lantern hung beneath the old locust tree at the village entrance.

An old man stood beneath the lantern.

His hair was graying, his back slightly hunched, and he leaned on a wooden stick as he peered toward the mountain path.

Lin Qing paused.

The original owner's memories came flooding back-Old Jack, the chief of Holy Soul Village, was the one who had picked him up at the village entrance and raised him to this age.

He hurried forward to meet him.

"Grandpa Jack."

When Old Jack saw him, the wrinkles on his face bunched together. Lin Qing could not tell whether he was angry or relieved.

"You little brat, where did you run off to? You vanished for three days! I thought a Soul Beast had carried you off!"

Lin Qing did not know what to say. The original owner really had fainted in the bamboo grove on the mountain. If Lin Qing had not transmigrated here, he might never have come back.

"Grandpa, I went to look for food on the mountain behind the village and got lost." Old Jack was only half convinced. "All right, all right, at least you're back. You must be starving. I'll take you home for a meal."

Old Jack lived at the eastern end of the village. He was kind and approachable, and took special care of everyone in the village.

He brought out a bowl of hot noodles. Looking at the steaming noodles before him, Lin Qing felt a sudden warmth in his heart.

After the meal, Old Jack went to bed. Lin Qing lay on his little bed, staring blankly at the pitch-black ceiling.

The ball of warm water was still in his chest. He tried calling out, "Senior Lone Bamboo?" There was no response. "Are you there or not?" Still no sound.

Lin Qing sighed and rolled over. Forget it. Time to sleep. I'll deal with it tomorrow.

Just as he was drifting off, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind, lazy, as though it had just woken up. "...You called me?"

"I was just an ordinary person in my previous life. How am I supposed to cultivate?"

"There's no need to rush. I'll first transform your natural endowments and bloodline. Once that's done, you'll be able to absorb the essence of heaven and earth with every breath you take.

"Your soul, like mine, isn't from this world.

Lin Qing froze. Like him? "You too..."

"I don't belong to this Douluo Plane, and neither do you.

"The chaotic origin of the universe fell into disorder, causing me to appear here by accident. On top of that, I was suppressed by the plane and could only survive in the form of Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo.

"Your blood accidentally awakened my divine consciousness.

"If we want to return to our respective former worlds, we can only hope to break through the barriers of space and time by joining forces and reaching the level of a God King."

Lin Qing listened, his face filled with shock. "The level of a God King?" The ball of warm water in his chest grew quiet again.

Early the next morning, Old Jack called Lin Qing up to work in the fields.

He carried a hoe on his shoulder and followed Old Jack out of the village. As they passed the entrance, he saw a crowd gathered around the notice board.

"What's going on?" Old Jack went over for a look. "Oh, the people from Spirit Hall are coming again."

Lin Qing's heart stirred.

"Spirit Hall?"

"Mm. They come around this time every year to awaken the Martial Souls of the six-year-olds." Old Jack sighed. "Unfortunately, our village hasn't produced many Soul Masters these past few years."

Lin Qing said nothing.

He recalled the original owner's memories-at six years old, he too had stood before that stone platform and pressed his hand to the crystal ball.

Nothing had happened. The deacon had announced: born without a Martial Soul, an ordinary person.

In the Douluo World, ordinary people without Martial Souls were instead the odd ones out.

He looked down at his hands.

What about now? He had a Martial Soul, and he was curious how much Soul Power his awakened bamboo Martial Soul had. He expected it to be full.

The village entrance was already packed with people. A man stood in the middle of the crowd, holding a book and reading out names.

"Tang San." The boy stepped forward and pressed his hand to the crystal ball.

Blue light shone. A stalk of Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm.

The deacon's voice was full of surprise. "Innate Full Soul Power!"

The crowd erupted. "His Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. What a pity, it's a Trash Martial Soul. But don't lose heart. You've awakened Innate Full Soul Power, so you're still qualified to study at Nuoding Academy."

"This young man is no ordinary person. I can sense a powerful force of great fortune about him," Lone Bamboo said.

Lin Qing knew that Tang San, as the protagonist, had Twin Martial Souls and later became a god, while he himself did not even know whether he had any Soul Power.

"Grandpa Jack," Lin Qing said, "I want to try." Old Jack froze. "Weren't you tested last year?"

"I think there have been some different changes inside my body. I want to try."

So Grandpa Jack led Lin Qing through the crowd, and Lin Qing placed his hand on the crystal ball as Deacon Su Yuntao instructed.

In an instant, he felt the ball of warm water in his chest suddenly begin to flow, surging along his meridians toward his palm.

The crystal ball lit up.

A soft, lustrous blue-green light.

The deacon paused. "Soul Power?"

Then a stalk of bamboo emerged from Lin Qing's palm.

Its stem gleamed like divine jade, blue-green and gold flowing together. Warm and lustrous, it was a deep blue-green, with a layer of splendid golden radiance gilding its joints and veins. The blue-green and gold blended, displaying both the vitality of plants and a noble bearing.

Its joints were broad, sturdy, and firm, with faint golden patterns climbing from one to the next. At the top, the bamboo leaves were long and sharp, their edges glowing gold. But the deacon's eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Hm? This bamboo..." He leaned closer, staring at the base of the stalk. There, a short section was a slightly darker color, almost impossible to see.

Another Innate Full Soul Power? Why does it look a little different from ordinary Lone Bamboo? The deacon was stunned too.

Suddenly, a green halo lit up on the joint of Lin Qing's bamboo. Su Yuntao was immediately astonished and stared at the blue-green ring of light for a long time.

Old Jack and the people around them also looked on in shock. "A green Soul Ring... How could he have a Soul Ring right after awakening? And it's... green!"

Although Su Yuntao did not understand this situation, the green halo did not look like a Soul Ring. Soul Rings were not shaped like that, nor were they so large.

The green halo lit up around the bamboo joint, but he sensed a powerful life force and fluctuations of power. This was certainly no ordinary Martial Soul.

Finally, he made a few notes in the book. Lin Qing, Martial Soul: Lone Bamboo, Innate Full Soul Power...

"It looks like Holy Soul Village is going to produce a genius this time."

The deacon closed the book and spoke calmly. "The Lone Bamboo Martial Soul is known for its toughness, and this is the first time I've encountered a case like this.

"I'm afraid it's a Lone Bamboo Martial Soul with a special mutation. Judging by the fluctuations of its presence, the mutation should be a beneficial one."

Village Chief Old Jack's face instantly filled with smiles, his wrinkles smoothing out.

This time, their Holy Soul Village had actually gained two places at Nuoding Academy at once!

The companions around them all looked over enviously.

Lin Qing withdrew his Martial Soul and turned to walk back. He had expected it to draw this much attention.

As he passed the edge of the crowd, he felt someone's gaze fall on him-it was the boy called Tang San, eyes wide and staring straight at him.

Lin Qing's steps faltered, then he walked away as though nothing had happened.

I'm afraid I'll be taking your place as the new child of fortune...