Chapter 1: Awakening the Wasted Martial Spirit.
Xingluo Empire, Tomorrow Village.
"He-ha—"
In the early morning, just as the sky began to brighten, the sharp sound of practicing and exerting force rang out in a small courtyard.
The young man had a bright and resolute face, and his eyes were like cold black stars, faintly revealing a bit of heroic spirit.
"Eight Extremes Fist—eight intentions, eight forms—the power reaches the extremes of all directions."
"One limb moves, all the bones follow. One place is still, all the places are still."
"Inner movement must be reflected outside, and outer movement must be released from within."
Bear Step, Tiger Palm.
Every move and every strike was fierce and explosive, integrating all the strength of his body. In just a short while, beads of sweat as big as beans appeared all over him. His clothes were soaked, but his breath remained steady.
"The mind moves with it, and the qi moves the blood."
"The bones are smooth and the tendons are straight, and the qi is strong."
The young man's starry eyes suddenly lit up. He approached the sandbag like lightning.
It happened in a flash.
He stepped into a bow stance, thrust his right arm forward, and his body burst forth with tremendous force—
Bajiquan—Single Goat Top!
As the saying goes: "Taiji in literature can bring peace to the world, and Bajiquan in martial arts can determine the fate of the world."
Bajiquan is known for its hardness, fierceness, and explosive impact. Its force is like a bow, and its sound like thunder.
Boom!
The 100-jin sandbag flew into the air. The branch it was hanging from creaked, almost breaking.
"Sure enough..."
"My strength has increased again!"
A bright and innocent smile bloomed on the boy's face—like the morning sun—with a glint of burning determination.
His name was Su Ye, and he had recently traveled from Blue Star to the Douluo World.
He had followed his father in practicing Bajiquan since he was ten, training morning and night for four years without slacking.
After arriving in this world, Su Ye discovered that strengthening the body could increase the number of years one could absorb soul rings. So, in the past half month, he trained even harder than before.
Perhaps because of the world's elemental force, his Bajiquan had progressed faster than ever.
"Hu—"
He exhaled deeply and finished his routine.
Su Ye looked up. The sun had just crested the mountain, casting long rays across the land.
"...If only I had a good martial soul, it would be perfect."
Just as a hopeful smile appeared on his face, he sighed helplessly and scratched his head.
In his previous life, the Douluo anime had been very popular. He had even bought the entire novel set to read the original works.
In this world, people possessed martial souls, which were said to exist due to the Dragon God's blood spreading to Douluo Star after its fall.
As a time traveler, Su Ye's blood hadn't been baptized—there was no guarantee he even had a martial soul.
Even if he did, his innate soul power might be too low to be useful.
Innate soul power is drawn from the energy of both the martial soul and the body.
He had only been here for half a month, and Bajiquan wasn't a soul cultivation technique—how could he produce even level-one soul power so quickly?
Besides, he was already fourteen years old, past the golden age for soul power awakening.
"Even if I can't become a Titled Douluo, at least let me become a soul master..."
Su Ye muttered as he walked into the wooden house, knowing that everything hinged on today's spirit awakening.
He washed off his sweat and changed into clean clothes.
Not long after, an old voice called from outside.
"Ye-wa-zi?"
"Yes! Coming!"
"You'd better hurry! Don't keep the Spirit Hall soul master waiting. They'll say Tomorrow Village doesn't respect them!"
Su Ye ran out quickly in response.
Outside, the old man with white hair and beard wore a cowboy hat. He was strong and healthy at nearly seventy. His smile had become more peaceful with age.
Tom, the village chief of Tomorrow Village.
The courtyard where Su Ye now lived belonged to Old Tom's second son. After the grandson became a Great Soul Master, the family moved to the city.
Tom had been a hunter all his life and was deeply rooted in the mountains.
Su Ye had met Old Tom while he was setting traps and followed him to Tomorrow Village.
The kind old man had made it possible for Su Ye to live peacefully in the village.
"Come on, I'll take you to awaken your martial soul."
Seeing the boy's spirited demeanor, Old Tom's eyes were filled with joy.
"Okay!"
Su Ye didn't take the usual path. He dashed ahead and leapt, placing one hand on the wooden fence and vaulting over.
Bang!
He landed gracefully with a perfect posture.
Watching his energetic movements, Old Tom was reminded of his younger self. He chuckled and shook his head.
They soon arrived at the village center.
Each village had a Spirit Hall outpost to handle martial spirit awakenings.
This year, there weren't many children of age—only eight had gathered.
Not long after, a woman in a white Spirit Hall deacon robe arrived.
"Village Chief, long time no see." She smiled warmly, clearly an acquaintance.
Good! Su Ye thought. With connections like this, the awakening should go smoothly.
"Ye... Ye girl?"
Old Tom was surprised. "It's only been a few years, and you've become a Great Soul Master?"
"A few years..." Ye Ling smiled helplessly. "Village Chief, last time we met, you brought him to visit the injured Luo Ge at the Junior Soul Master Academy."
"He was only ten then. Now he's over twenty, married with children—have you forgotten?"
Old Tom slapped his forehead. "Ah! This old man's memory... It still feels like just a few years ago."
Ye Ling didn't mind. Her gaze swept over the gathered children with anticipation.
But when her eyes landed on Su Ye, clearly older than the rest, she froze.
"Village Chief, he is...?"
Her tone grew stiff. According to regulations, outsiders weren't allowed during awakenings.
Old Tom quickly explained that Su Ye was from the mountains and had never awakened his spirit before. He brought him here to try.
"I see..."
Ye Ling nodded. "For the village chief's sake, you can try too."
"With his blessing, maybe you'll awaken something good."
She turned and opened the wooden house door. Sunlight streamed through glass windows, casting a sacred glow inside.
Bang—
Everyone entered. The door closed, and the eight young faces grew tense.
Su Ye silently prayed to every god and spirit in heaven that he might awaken something powerful.
"Little ones, before awakening your spirits, let me say a few words."
Ye Ling adopted the tone of a teacher and spoke solemnly:
"Generally, the quality of your martial soul determines your innate soul power."
"But don't be discouraged. Even if you awaken a sickle or a hammer—if you have innate soul power—you can still become a soul master."
"If your talent is good, the Spirit Hall will invite you to join and train you to become a noble soul master."
As she spoke, a blue light appeared in her palms. A sharp, blue iron sword formed in her hands.
"This is my martial soul: Blue Star Sword."
"Everyone's martial soul is different. It could be a dog or a wolf. Stay calm when it awakens."
She looked at Su Ye. "You're Su Ye, right? You're the oldest—go ahead and demonstrate for everyone."
Uh...
"Alright, I'll go first."
Su Ye was a bit stunned but quickly composed himself. He twisted his wrist and stepped forward, his eyes sneaking a glance at the sword in Ye Ling's hand.
As a martial artist, he hoped more than anything to awaken a weapon-type martial soul—sword or spear.
Ye Ling was quite satisfied with the boy's composure. She took out a few black crystals and began forming the spirit awakening array.
"Step inside."
"Okay."
As the golden light of the array poured into his body, Su Ye suddenly felt something awaken deep within.
I... I have a martial soul!
He was ecstatic.
But the next second—
As his martial soul fully emerged, Su Ye's joy turned into utter disbelief.
His eyes widened. His mouth twitched.
"...F*ck!!"
"Brother Kun!?"
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(End of Chapter 1)