Countless raindrops fell from the sky, flashes of lightning reflecting as white crystal beads.
Thunder and lightning, wind and rain raged, still on Silver Screen Mountain, at the tomb of Marquis Zhao Yun of Shunping, a tomb said to be on a dragon vein.
The terrifying scene made Ma Hongjun shiver involuntarily.
In the pitch-black night, from a small hole beside the tomb, countless snakes crawled out, so numerous they were impossible to count. Thunder and lightning, torrential rain, Ma Hongjun was surrounded by the snakes.
No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't move, as if some magic had frozen him in place.
Cold sweat slid down with the raindrops, fear gripped his heart, and looking at the writhing snakes around him, Ma Hongjun felt a chill run down his spine.
Although Ma Hongjun always prided himself on his skill and courage, he was terrified of snakes.
However, these snakes did not attack him. As more and more snakes emerged from the hole, the snake hole grew larger and larger.
Suddenly, a silver spear flew out of the cave, accompanied by a dragon's roar. A golden dragon shadow followed, circling and clinging to the spear. After the spear and dragon circled in the air, the dragon shadow burrowed into the spear.
Thunder roared, white light illuminated the sky, and Ma Hongjun's inner spear intent erupted. The silver spear flew from the sky into his hand.
Standing upright, Ma Hongjun raised the silver spear, pointing it at the sky.
A bolt of lightning struck down, connecting with the spear tip. Ma Hongjun's body instantly exploded, turning into dust.
The silver spear shot towards the white sky with the lightning and disappeared.
"Ah!"
With a scream, Ma Hongjun sat up abruptly, cold sweat soaking his pajamas and the bedsheets.
"The same nightmare again. When will it end?"
Ma Hongjun pondered for a moment, then muttered to himself.
"Hongjun, another nightmare!"
A gentle voice came, and a woman dressed in simple clothes entered, looking at Ma Hongjun on the bed with concern.
"I'm fine, Mom, I'm used to it." Ma Hongjun said with a pale face and a forced smile.
"Oh, Hongjun, get up and get ready, you're going to the village's Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony today."
The woman in plain clothes sighed, then said happily.
After Ma Hongjun got up, she helped him tidy up the blankets that were soaked with cold sweat.
The sun rose in the east, and the morning light shone.
After a quick wash, Ma Hongjun ran to the back mountain and began his morning exercise as usual.
Ma Hongjun was six years old. He had been in the world of Douluo Continent for six years, and today would be a special day. Six years old, Martial Soul Awakening.
Speaking of transmigration, Ma Hongjun also felt it was magical. Perhaps it was really heaven helping him realize his dream.
In his previous life, Ma Hongjun was a dashing and handsome man; his family was powerful and had a long history. His ancestor was Ma Chao, one of the Five Tiger Generals of Shu. Although it was a peaceful era, he had still mastered the Ma family's spear technique to perfection and comprehended the essence of the spear.
Ma Hongjun frequented brothels and had countless beauties. His family background and personal strength were both dazzling, and he lived the life of a protagonist.
When online novels became popular, he became engrossed in a story called *Douluo Continent*, deeply captivated by its novel and exciting plot.
However, the character Ma Hongjun, who shared the same name as him among the Shrek Seven Devils, didn't fare well. He was the least handsome, never found love (Bai Chenxiang was only introduced to him at the very end), and his strength within the team was consistently at the bottom, his role in team battles always mediocre and unimportant. After
finishing *Douluo Continent*, Ma Hongjun thought that if he could transmigrate into Ma Hongjun's body and start over, he would definitely be a true protagonist.
It was just a fantasy, but unexpectedly, while visiting Zhao Yun's tomb at Yinping Mountain, he encountered a strange sight—a nightmare he'd had almost daily for the past six years.
The silver spear with a golden dragon shadow lingered in his mind, haunting him relentlessly.
The silver spear that emerged from Zhao Yun's tomb was likely the "Dragon Gallant Silver Spear" used by Zhao Yun. Ma Hongjun guessed that the golden dragon shadow might have been formed by the dragon vein of Silver Screen Mountain.
This Dragon Gallant Silver Spear, infused with the golden dragon shadow, was given a new name by Ma Hongjun:
Dragon Soul Spear!
Ma Hongjun had cultivated the Ma family spear technique since childhood, and due to his exceptional talent, he had grasped the essence of the spear early on.
Ma Hongjun guessed that his spear intent had triggered the Dragon Soul Spear, thus bringing his soul to Douluo Continent.
"Since I've come to Douluo Continent, I must create a brilliant life. A brilliant life that belongs to Ma Hongjun," Ma Hongjun thought to himself.
In this world, Tang San and he were both transmigrators; let's see who is more powerful.
...
On the back mountain, a wooden spear swung in Ma Hongjun's hand, sweeping out streaks of spear light.
He first practiced the Ma family spear technique, created by Ma Chao and passed down through generations. Ma Hongjun had cultivated his spear intent using this technique in his previous life, so he remembered it vividly.
Next, he would practice the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear and the Seven Probing Serpent Coiling Spear. These two spear techniques originated from the Dragon Soul Spear.
Besides that nightmare, Ma Hongjun often had images in his mind: a general in white robes, holding the Dragon Soul Spear, practicing spear techniques.
The Dragon Soul Spear miraculously imparted to him the cultivation methods of the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear and the Seven-Probe Serpent Coiling Spear.
The wooden spear swept across, creating gusts of wind; it thrust, parried, and smashed, leaving spear marks on the grass.
Ma Hongjun struck with his spear, aiming at a boulder. The spear struck, shattering the boulder into pieces, but the spear remained unharmed.
...
Besides spear techniques, there was also a cultivation technique called the "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Scripture," which had ten levels, one more than Tang San's Xuan Tian Gong.
Ma Hongjun had already broken through the first level, but he couldn't seem to break through the bottleneck of the second level.
This was likely related to the soul power of this world, requiring a soul ring to break through.
However, before awakening his martial soul, Tang San couldn't break through the first level's bottleneck. Why was he able to break through the first level? This question also puzzled Ma Hongjun; everything would only be known after his martial soul awakened. After
finishing his morning training, Ma Hongjun went home, took a bath, changed into some clean clothes, and followed his father to the Martial Soul Hall in town.
More than half the people in this village share the surname Ma, hence the name Ma Family Village. It's a relatively large village in the surrounding area because it has Soul Masters.
Soul Masters are the most prestigious profession in the entire Douluo Continent, so villages with Soul Masters are generally quite prosperous.
Ma Hongjun's father, Ma Ming, is a level 27 Great Soul Master with a wooden spear as his martial soul. He's an important member of the village's Soul Hunting Team.
The villagers of Ma Family Village generally have wooden sticks as their martial souls for the men, and poultry like chickens, ducks, and geese for the women—mostly useless martial souls.
However, because wooden sticks still possess some offensive power, and with the addition of soul rings, they can become quite powerful, so Ma Family Village has always had Soul Masters.
However, they are all low-level Soul Masters, at most reaching the Soul Venerable realm. This is unlike Tang San's Holy Soul Village, which has produced Soul Saints.
Ma Ming's father's martial soul is actually a mutated martial soul. Ma Hongjun's grandfather's martial soul was a wooden stick, but his father's transformed it into a spear, which can be considered a significant improvement.
His mother, Li Hui, has a Seven-Colored Pheasant-Tailed Chicken martial soul, but because she lacks soul power, she couldn't become a Soul Master.
The Seven-Colored Pheasant is a type of spirit beast, very beautiful but non-aggressive. It was later domesticated and became food due to its delicious meat.
Ma Hongjun's original spirit, the Evil Fire Phoenix, was a mutation of the Seven-Colored Pheasant.
Spirits are generally inherited from parents, but there's a certain probability of mutation.
The Evil Fire Phoenix is a top-tier spirit, and under normal circumstances, Ma Hongjun should awaken it soon.
Although the Evil Fire will bring some trouble, it doesn't diminish its power.
Moreover, having lived two lives, Ma Hongjun doesn't think the Evil Fire is bad. Based on his previous life's wandering experiences, the Evil Fire is a powerful ability that every man dreams of, just in a different domain.
Ma Hongjun felt a faint sense of anticipation.
"We've arrived at Musu Town!"
(End of Chapter)