Bamboo Heart Bloodline Awakening - Heaven Dou City: First Glimpse of Brilliance
Heaven Dou City's walls stood a full five zhang high, built from layer upon layer of blue-gray stone bricks, with dark green moss growing in the cracks. The empire's banners fluttered above the gate, snapping in the wind.
Twelve guards in silver helmets and armor stood straight-backed with spears in hand, their eyes showing the numbness of their profession. They inspected hundreds upon thousands of people entering the city every day and had long grown accustomed to the mechanical repetition.
Lin Qing followed the crowd through the gates of Heaven Dou City.
This was Heaven Dou City, the empire's capital and one of the most prosperous cities on the entire continent.
Meng Shenji, a level 86 control-system Soul Douluo and chief of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Education Committee, stood at the window of the dean's office, overlooking the entire academy.
"Dean, has the child Grandmaster recommended arrived?" Douluo Zhi Lin asked, standing behind him.
Meng Shenji shook his head. "I don't know. He should be here soon."
He paused, his tone indifferent. "If Yu Xiaogang recommended him, he probably isn't a particularly outstanding genius. After all, his own theories are nothing special. What promising talent could he possibly raise?"
Douluo Zhi Lin smiled. "Don't be too disappointed. Perhaps there'll be a surprise this time?"
"A surprise?" Meng Shenji sneered. "The biggest surprise of Yu Xiaogang's life was taking in a disciple with Innate Full Soul Power. Too bad his Martial Soul was the Trash Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass. The one he's recommended this time is probably cut from the same cloth."
Outside the window, Lin Qing had just entered the academy gates.
He carried a travel pack on his back. In their eyes, this boy of around ten was far too ordinary. He had no powerful presence, no dazzling halo; he looked like a poor child fresh from the countryside.
Pushing open the door to dormitory 302, Lin Qing saw a young man sitting on the edge of a bed, polishing a sword.
The young man heard the door open and looked up at Lin Qing. Their eyes met, and both froze for a moment.
Yu Tianheng was the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, a level 37 Soul Elder, and a top third-year student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. His hair and eyes were both dark blue, the latter like two bottomless lakes. He wore fine noble attire and maintained an elegant posture even in the dormitory.
"Are you new here?" Yu Tianheng spoke first, his voice cool but his gaze appraising.
"Yeah. Lin Qing, Martial Soul Lone Bamboo, level 25."
Yu Tianheng raised a brow. "Level 25? You're lucky to have gotten into Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
Lin Qing smiled and offered no explanation. He put down his luggage and sat on the other bed.
Yu Tianheng stared at Lin Qing for a long time, then said, "You'd better not drop the ball in tomorrow's combat assessment."
Late at night, dormitory 302.
Yu Tianheng was already asleep, breathing evenly. Lin Qing sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyes closed in concentration.
Inside him, that familiar Chaos Qi was surging.
"Ah Zhu, is now the time to awaken the second Bloodline Soul Ring you mentioned?" Lin Qing asked in his heart.
The presence in his chest, warm as water, responded. "The time has come. Your body is ready to receive the second Bloodline Soul Ring-Bamboo Heart."
"Bamboo Heart?"
"Sense all things in heaven and earth, and bring bamboo into being with a thought." Ah Zhu's voice was soft, yet it carried an ancient majesty. "With Bamboo Heart, you will no longer need to summon your Martial Soul. With a single thought, you can create bamboo. You can even absorb your opponent's abilities and use them as your own."
"Let's do it." Lin Qing took a deep breath.
The next second, the second joint of the Lone Bamboo in his sea of consciousness began to glow.
The emerald light was more brilliant and dazzling than the first time. It gathered and became tangible, forming a ring of emerald light around the bamboo joint that slowly rotated.
In the real world, Lin Qing's body trembled slightly.
An unprecedented power surged from his sea of consciousness throughout his body. He felt his field of vision expanding-no, his perception was expanding. He seemed able to enter and attach himself to the perspective of every plant.
Ten meters... a hundred meters... a thousand meters...
He "saw" it.
Not with his eyes, but with his heart.
He "saw" every inch of space and every object in the dormitory. He "saw" the Soul Masters patrolling the corridor and "saw" birds flying above the training ground.
He even "saw" the entire outline of Heaven Dou City, the distant city walls, and the mountains farther away.
This was Bamboo Heart-sensing all things in heaven and earth.
"Try creating a piece of bamboo," Ah Zhu said.
Lin Qing willed it.
His right hand grasped at empty air.
A stalk of green bamboo appeared out of nowhere in his palm, three chi long and as thick as his thumb, lush and verdant, its leaves swaying.
He hadn't summoned his Martial Soul or stirred his Soul Power. He had simply... brought bamboo into being with a thought.
"That's only the most basic application," Ah Zhu said. "Try creating other forms."
Lin Qing willed it again.
Countless bamboo leaves emerged from the air and floated around him, their edges gleaming sharply.
He willed it once more.
The bamboo leaves gathered into a bamboo blade, its body slender, its bamboo-joint patterns distinct, its edge incomparably sharp.
He willed it yet again.
The bamboo blade scattered into countless stalks of green bamboo, which then came together to form an indestructible bamboo wall.
Lin Qing was stunned.
Was this the power of Bamboo Heart's ability to create bamboo with a thought?
"There's one last ability-absorbing your opponent's abilities and using them as your own. You can only truly understand it in battle."
Lin Qing nodded and put away the bamboo and bamboo leaves.
Inside him, the emerald Bloodline Soul Ring slowly faded, merging into the depths of his bloodline.
The next morning, the new students' training ground.
Qin Ming stood in the center of the grounds, his face resolute and a powerful presence radiating from him. "I'm Qin Ming, and I'm responsible for training you new students. Since this is the first day, I'll start by assessing your strength. Come up one at a time, from left to right, and show me your Martial Souls and Soul Rings."
The new students stepped forward in turn. Most had Soul Power around level 30, and their Martial Souls came in all varieties: Frost Blades, Heaven-Shaking Halberds, Thunder Apes, Blazing Lions, Gale Wolves, and others.
When Lin Qing's turn came, he walked to the center of the grounds and took a deep breath.
He could have summoned his Martial Soul, Lone Bamboo, but now that he had Bamboo Heart, he decided to try it out.
His right hand grasped at empty air.
A stalk of green bamboo appeared out of nowhere in his palm, four chi long, with distinct joints and emerald leaves.
He willed it, and the green patterns on his back abruptly lit up. A green-gold light slowly emerged across his back.
The first Bloodline Soul Ring, "Bamboo Breath," had long since merged into his body, becoming intricate blue-green patterns that covered his entire back-proof of the passive ability's ongoing transformation of his body; the second Bloodline Soul Ring, "Bamboo Heart," slowly emerged from his back, a deep emerald green.
Immediately afterward, his first and second Soul Rings-Lone Bamboo Pole Vault and Bamboo Shadow Startling Swan-gradually spiraled up from beneath his feet: two green-gold Soul Rings!
"Green Soul Rings?" "Why is there an extra one behind him?"
He pointed at a stone pillar nearby. "Since you're here, show me what you can do."
Lin Qing walked up to the stone pillar without using a Soul Skill.
He willed it, activating Bamboo Heart.
A bamboo sword formed out of thin air, its blade verdant, its bamboo-joint patterns distinct and its edge incomparably sharp, floating in midair.
Unlike the Bamboo Shadow Sword he held in his hand, he controlled it with Bamboo Heart. He pressed his index and middle fingers together, directed it with a thought, and waved them gently toward the stone pillar. The flying sword whipped up a mighty wave of air and slashed at the pillar.
"Crack!"
The stone pillar broke, its severed surface as smooth as a mirror.
The entire grounds fell silent, but only for a moment.
Qin Ming nodded. "Not bad. Such powerful spiritual power. Next."
Over the next month, Lin Qing cut his way through every challenge in combat class.
The discussions among the others were full of shock, curiosity, and doubt. The initial disdain in their gazes gave way to deep scrutiny and unease.
Lin Qing didn't care. He knew the real test was still to come.
Moreover, through a month of battles, his Bamboo Heart ability had continued to improve. He began creating bamboo in more forms: bamboo spears, bamboo nets, bamboo walls, bamboo cages...
"Lin Qing versus Yu Tianheng!" Qin Ming's voice rang across the training ground.
The crowd instantly erupted.
Yu Tianheng! A level 34 Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, a genius of Heaven Dou Royal Academy! He came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the Upper Three Sects. A top-tier Beast Martial Soul.
Yu Tianheng walked to the center of the grounds, looked at Lin Qing, and smiled. "Lin Qing, I won't hold back."
Lin Qing smiled too. "Just what I wanted."
"Begin!" Qin Ming shouted.
The two released their Martial Souls at the same time.
Yu Tianheng's Martial Soul was a blue-violet dragon, lightning coiling around its body, its pressure astonishing. Three Soul Rings, two yellow and one purple, circled the dragon.
Lin Qing's Martial Soul was a stalk of green bamboo, its leaves swaying as two green-gold Soul Rings slowly emerged.
"First Soul Skill-Thunder Dragon Claw!" Yu Tianheng shouted, and a bolt of blue lightning shot from the dragon's claw.
Lin Qing didn't dodge. He willed it, activating Bamboo Heart.
A bamboo wall formed from several stalks of bamboo materialized out of nowhere, shielding him.
"Clang-"
Sparks flew. Yu Tianheng's lightning was blocked by the bamboo sword.
"Second Soul Skill-Divine Dragon Tail Swing!"
Yu Tianheng roared, his entire body transforming into a massive dragon that charged at Lin Qing.
Lin Qing took a deep breath, and his First Soul Ring lit up-Lone Bamboo Pole Vault!
The bamboo leaves created by Bamboo Heart formed countless footholds. Lin Qing stepped on them and launched himself into the air.
His second Martial Soul's Soul Ring lit up at the same time-Bamboo Shadow Startling Swan!
Three effects activated at once!
Bamboo Shadow Clone appeared in an instant, Lin Qing's figure splitting into three afterimages that circled Yu Tianheng simultaneously.
The burst of speed turned Lin Qing's figure into an almost indistinct blur, and Yu Tianheng's dragon claw caught only an afterimage.
A sword-
The hundreds of bamboo leaves created by Bamboo Heart gathered at once, forming a gigantic bamboo sword that descended from the sky.
"Boom-!"
Yu Tianheng screamed as his enormous dragon body was sent flying by the bamboo sword, crashing heavily to the ground.
"Winner-Lin Qing!"
A deathly silence gripped the grounds. Everyone stared dumbfounded at the center of the arena-a Soul Master in his twenties had defeated Yu Tianheng, a level 34 Soul Elder!