The Descent of the Twin Dragons

In the 2637th year of the Douluo Calendar, on the southwestern border of the Heaven Dou Empire, lay Starfall Town.

The late-autumn night wind swept past the old locust tree at the town entrance. Withered yellow leaves spiraled down, pattering softly against the flagstone road. The town was small, with just over a hundred households, and most had already put out their lights. Only a blacksmith shop at the eastern end still glowed with the dim yellow light of an oil lamp.

Inside the smithy, the forge had gone cold, and a half-finished hoe lay on the anvil. A burly middle-aged man sat on the threshold, puffing on a dry tobacco pipe. Through the curling smoke, his brow remained tightly furrowed. From inside came a woman's quiet sobs, mingled with a child's indistinct mumbling in his sleep.

"Husband... tomorrow, do we really have to go tomorrow?" The woman came out, her eyes rimmed red and a coarse cloth handkerchief clutched in her hand.

The man took a hard drag, knocked his pipe against the sole of his shoe, and said in a muffled voice, "We do. The Spirit Hall's deacon only comes once a year. If Tian'er misses tomorrow, he'll have to wait another year. He's six. It's time for his Martial Soul Awakening."

"But... but Tian'er..." The woman stopped herself, her eyes full of worry.

The man rose and patted his wife's shoulder, his rough hand smelling of rust. "I know what you're afraid of. Don't take what those loose tongues in town say to heart. Tian'er is our son. No matter what Martial Soul he awakens, even if it's a blade of grass, he's still my flesh and blood, Long Tieshan's son!"

Even so, when he turned to look at the little bed inside, a shadow he couldn't shake still lurked deep in his eyes.

A six-year-old boy slept soundly on the bed. His name was Long Tian. He was a sturdy, lively-looking child, with thick brows, large eyes, and a straight nose. Even at his young age, there was something heroic about him. His brows were slightly knit, as if he were dreaming. In his dream, he saw a golden dragon surging through the clouds, its golden light shining for ten thousand feet and illuminating heaven and earth. Then he saw a black dragon sink into the deep sea, churning up towering waves and devouring every ray of light. The two dragons faced each other in his dream, their roars deafening. At last, they transformed into a pillar of intertwined gold and black light that shot straight into the highest heavens and tore the sky in two.

"Ah!" Long Tian jolted awake, fine beads of sweat on his forehead. He panted as he looked around. The familiar little room and the familiar smell of the blacksmith shop slowly calmed him. Outside the window, moonlight streamed through the lattice and fell across his young face.

"Tian'er, what's wrong?" His mother heard the commotion and hurried in. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she gently wiped the sweat from his forehead with her handkerchief.

"Mother, I had that dream again." Long Tian rubbed his eyes. "Those two big dragons... they seemed to be arguing, but they also seemed to be talking to me. I couldn't hear them clearly."

His mother's hand trembled slightly. Forcing a smile, she said, "Silly child, it was only a dream. Go back to sleep. You still have to attend the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony in town tomorrow."

"Martial Soul..." Long Tian's eyes lit up. "Mother, what Martial Soul will I awaken? Will it be a really powerful one? A dragon Martial Soul, like the ones in books?"

His mother's smile froze for a moment. She opened her mouth, but in the end, she only stroked her son's head gently. "Whatever it is, you're still my precious boy. Go to sleep."

Long Tian nodded obediently and lay back down, but his eyes remained wide open as he stared at the pitch-black ceiling. The images of the golden dragon and the black dragon still circled in his mind. He clenched his little fists and thought to himself, I have to awaken the strongest Martial Soul, so people won't look down on Father and Mother anymore.

The next day, Starfall Town came alive as soon as the sky began to lighten.

A stone platform had been erected in the town square, engraved with an intricate Soul Guidance Array whose lines shimmered faintly silver in the morning light. Almost every resident had come, the adults bringing their children and crowding so tightly around the platform that not even a drop of water could have slipped through. Today was the day a Spirit Hall deacon came to awaken the Martial Souls of the town's children who had turned six.

Starfall Town was remote and poor, and over the years, the children who had awakened high-grade Martial Souls could be counted on one hand. Most received nothing more than farming-tool Martial Souls such as hoes and sickles, or Beast Martial Souls such as chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs. Their Innate Soul Power was usually half a level or level one. A child with level three would cause a sensation throughout the town. As a result, the townspeople greeted the annual awakening ceremony with both anticipation and indifference.

Long Tian followed close behind his father, looking around curiously. Beside the stone platform stood a young man in the white robes of a Soul Master, with a palm-sized purple badge pinned to his chest. A longsword was engraved on it. It was the badge of a Spirit Hall deacon, signifying that he was at least a Soul Grandmaster.

"Quiet!" The white-robed deacon cleared his throat. His voice was not loud, but it carried a pressure unique to Soul Masters, and the crowd fell silent at once. "Today, I, Spirit Hall deacon Lin Feng, will preside over the Martial Soul Awakening for Starfall Town's eligible children. When your name is called, come up in order and place your hand on the Awakening Stone."

He took a crystal ball the size of a fist from inside his robes, then brought out a roll of names and began calling them.

"Wang Tiezhu."

A thin, dark-skinned boy timidly walked onto the platform and placed his hand on the Awakening Stone. The array glowed faintly, and a ball of earthy yellow light gathered in his palm, forming a small iron hammer. Deacon Lin Feng held out the crystal ball. The boy grasped it, and a faint halo lit up within it.

"Martial Soul: iron hammer. Innate Soul Power: half a level." Lin Feng recorded the result without expression. "Next, Li Cuihua."

A girl with two pigtails stepped onto the platform, and a dandelion appeared in her palm. Innate Soul Power: level one.

And so it went. More than a dozen children went up in succession, and all their Martial Souls were ordinary objects or weak plants. The highest Soul Power among them was only level two. The villagers below gradually lost interest and began whispering among themselves.

"Alas, it's the same again this year."

"What good Martial Soul could come out of a poor backwater like ours?"

"I heard someone in neighboring Bluestone Town awakened Blue Silver Grass last year, and had Innate Full Soul Power too! Their ancestors' graves must have been smoking..."

Listening to the discussion, Long Tian grew nervous too. He secretly clasped his father's rough hand and whispered, "Father, will I awaken a hoe too?"

Long Tieshan looked down at his son, and the unease in the boy's eyes softened his heart. He crouched to meet Long Tian's gaze, his voice low but firm. "Tian'er, remember, what your Martial Soul is doesn't matter. What matters is the person who uses it. Even if it really is a hoe, you can still use it to hoe out a world of your own."

Long Tian nodded, half understanding, but his tightly clenched little fist loosened a little.

"Next, Long Tian."

When Deacon Lin Feng read the name, his gaze lingered on the list for a moment. As if recalling something, he looked up and swept his eyes over the crowd.

Long Tian took a deep breath, released his father's hand, and strode onto the stone platform. He was slightly taller than other children his age, and standing on the platform beneath the morning sun, his small figure bore a striking air of dignity.

"Place your hand on the Awakening Stone, close your eyes, and feel the power inside you." Deacon Lin Feng's voice carried an unusual hint of gentleness.

Long Tian did as he was told, placing his right hand on the smooth stone. It was cool to the touch, but a warm current immediately surged from it, flowing up his arm and through every limb and bone. He closed his eyes and felt as though he had returned to that dream-the golden dragon and the black dragon circled and faced each other in the sky, their roars shaking the heavens.

The array on the stone platform suddenly blazed with dazzling light! The light split in two: one golden beam shone like the blazing sun, while the other was as dark and deep as midnight. The two beams shot into the sky, intertwined in midair, and transformed into two lifelike, illusory dragons!

One was brilliant gold from head to tail, its scales as though cast from molten gold, each reflecting a sacred radiance. Its dragon eyes opened with boundless majesty, like a deity descending from the nine heavens. The other was black as ink, dense dark mist coiling around its body. Its scales were so deep and dark they seemed capable of swallowing light, and a savage, tyrannical presence spread from it, like a demon lord awakening in the abyss.

The two dragon shadows circled and roared above Long Tian's head, their golden and black radiance dyeing the entire square a strange pair of colors. On the stone platform, the Awakening Stone trembled and hummed, while the array shone so brightly that people could scarcely keep their eyes open.

The entire square fell deathly silent.

The villagers stared, dumbstruck, their mouths hanging open without a word. Even Deacon Lin Feng, who had remained indifferent throughout, sprang to his feet, a brilliant light of disbelief shooting from his eyes. He was a Soul Grandmaster and had seen countless Martial Souls, but the sight before him exceeded his understanding-two Martial Souls awakened at once! And both were dragons! Their attributes were even the polar opposites of light and darkness!

"Twin... Twin Martial Souls!" Lin Feng's voice trembled slightly. "Two dragons... light and darkness... this..."

He instinctively placed the crystal ball in Long Tian's hands. The moment Long Tian grasped it, dazzling light burst from within. Gold and black light spun and mingled inside the sphere, illuminating it like a star held in his palms. It shone far brighter than it had for any of the previous children, even brighter than at any awakening Lin Feng had ever witnessed.

Innate Soul Power: full level!

Level ten!

Whoosh-!

The crowd finally erupted. Gasps, cries, and excited chatter mingled until the whole square was like a boiling cauldron of oil. Long Tieshan stood among the crowd, his body trembling slightly as he stared at his son on the platform, his eyes reddening. Long Tian's mother had long since covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

"Twin Martial Souls! Innate Full Soul Power!"

"Those are dragons! Two dragons! Heavens, a dragon has come out of Starfall Town!"

"Twin Holy Dragons of Light and Darkness... this child, in the future..."

Yet while everyone was beside themselves with excitement, Deacon Lin Feng's expression gradually changed from shock to gravity. He stared fixedly at the two dragon shadows still surging through the air, his brows drawing ever tighter. As a Spirit Hall deacon, he understood better than the villagers what Twin Martial Souls meant, especially when their attributes were the mutually opposed light and darkness.

He took a deep breath, stepped down from the stone platform, and came before Long Tian. Crouching, he looked solemnly into the child's eyes.

"Long Tian, your Martial Souls are very special, and extremely powerful. But there's something I need to tell you, so listen carefully." Lin Feng kept his voice so low that only Long Tian and Long Tieshan beside him could hear. "Light and darkness are the two most extreme forces in heaven and earth. Their coexistence in your body is both a gift bestowed on you by the heavens and a sharp sword hanging over your head. If you can't find a balance and make them coexist peacefully, sooner or later they'll clash and tear your body apart."

Long Tian's eyes widened. He didn't quite understand what those words meant, but he could sense the seriousness in the deacon's voice. He instinctively turned to look at his father. Long Tieshan stepped forward, shielding his son behind him, and asked gravely, "Deacon, then... what should we do?"

Lin Feng stood, looked at Long Tian with a complicated expression, then at the golden and black dragon shadow still slowly fading away, and sighed. "What should you do? All I can say is, send him to a Soul Master Academy as soon as possible, so he can study Soul Power control systematically. Perhaps he'll find a way out. Otherwise..." He didn't continue, but his meaning was clear enough.

Long Tian stood behind his father, his little hand clutching the hem of his father's clothes. He raised his head and watched the last strand of intertwined gold and black light slowly disperse in the sky. For some reason, a powerful thought welled up in his heart-

I'm not afraid.

Since heaven gave me these two dragons, I'll make them both listen to me. Light or darkness, I, Long Tian, will become someone who can command them both!

On the distant horizon, clouds churned, as though something long asleep had been roused by the presence of the twin dragons' descent.

What Long Tian didn't know was that, at the very moment his Martial Souls awakened, deep within an ancient hall in Spirit City, a thousand miles away, a white-haired elder resting with his eyes closed suddenly opened them. He looked southwest, a glint flashing through his cloudy eyes, and murmured to himself:

"Light and darkness share the same origin... the sign of a dragon emperor... has the unpredictable factor of this generation finally arrived?"

Outside the window, a fierce wind suddenly rose, and high above the nine heavens, thunder rumbled faintly.