Chapter 2: Reverse-Edge Demon Armor, Golden Crocodile Douluo Takes a Disciple
With Golden Crocodile Douluo's furious shout—
His martial soul manifested.
Golden Crocodile King — Martial Soul Possession!
Golden scales surfaced across every exposed inch of his skin, and his pupils instantly transformed into vertical golden slits.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red.
Nine soul rings rose behind him, and an overwhelming pressure erupted, suffocating the entire area.
Fan Chen was startled by the sudden display. A powerful force wrapped around him, rendering him completely immobile.
"Who are you? Why have you appeared here?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo strode toward Fan Chen, the oppressive aura radiating from him locking down the entire surroundings.
"Wait—don't attack! Didn't we just meet earlier?"
Fan Chen shouted anxiously. It was obvious Golden Crocodile Douluo was targeting him.
But… they had just parted ways a moment ago. How could he forget so quickly?
Hearing the familiar voice, Golden Crocodile Douluo's tightly knit brows finally eased a little.
"You're that little brat who was playing with Xiao Xue just now?"
He asked uncertainly.
"That's me! Senior, please don't attack—your own people here! I definitely wasn't trying to offend you."
Fan Chen exhaled in relief the moment Golden Crocodile Douluo recognized him.
That was close—he almost died from a misunderstanding.
Just because his martial soul snuck out and gave him a little sneak attack… Was there really a need to retaliate this hard?
Wait— Martial soul!
Fan Chen suddenly remembered— his martial soul had run out earlier. Who knew where it had gotten to now?
"Senior, could you step aside for a moment? I need to go chase my martial soul!"
Even as he said it, Fan Chen felt how absurd the sentence sounded.
Whose martial soul… runs away on its own!?
It had just awakened. He hadn't even seen what it looked like before it bolted.
On the entire Douluo Continent, this had to be unique.
"No need to rush. First, explain what that thing on you is."
Golden Crocodile Douluo turned to look at the white little beast curled in Qian Renxue's arms— shivering violently, clearly terrified by his earlier aura.
That must be the martial soul Fan Chen claimed had escaped.
Externally manifested martial souls were rare, but Golden Crocodile Douluo had seen them before. That alone didn't shock him.
What concerned him far more… was the strange thing currently covering Fan Chen's body.
"My body… something? This thing is—what!?"
Following Golden Crocodile Douluo's reminder, Fan Chen finally looked down at himself.
A full suit of armor had appeared on his body at some unknown moment.
The armor was pitch black, glowing faintly with blue-green light— like a knight emerging from the abyss, imposing and ominous.
Every movement Fan Chen made caused the armor's glow to pulse rhythmically—
as if it were breathing, brimming with life.
The metal plates clinked crisply with each motion. At that moment, a flood of information surged into Fan Chen's mind.
"Reverse-Edge Demon Armor…?
This is my martial soul!?"
Through those inherited memories, Fan Chen instantly understood the origin of the armor on his body.
"Twin martial souls?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo clearly heard his mutter, and the term immediately flashed through his mind.
He stepped quickly to Fan Chen's side and pressed a large palm onto his shoulder.
A surge of pure soul power poured into Fan Chen's body.
Fan Chen felt something unknown sweeping through him— but the sensation vanished almost instantly.
"Just as I thought—twin martial souls."
Golden Crocodile Douluo's expression shifted several times, but in the end, only pure excitement remained.
"Child, would you be willing to become my disciple?"
Fan Chen hadn't even fully digested the memories from his martial soul awakening when Golden Crocodile Douluo suddenly threw this question at him.
"Who? Me?"
He was still trying to process everything happening in his mind, and the abrupt offer left him momentarily stunned.
"Yes, you."
Golden Crocodile Douluo straightened proudly and introduced himself, "Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Golden Crocodile Douluo, Second Worship of the Douluo Hall—a Rank 98 Super Douluo. Would you be willing to become the disciple of this old man?"
As far as he was concerned, unless the boy was brain-dead, he wouldn't refuse.
Twin martial souls—this was rarer than innate full soul power. Someone born with twin martial souls was destined to have full innate soul power. Even across the entire Douluo Continent, such people were exceedingly few.
{T/N: This statement isn't entirely accurate. Having twin martial souls does not automatically grant full innate soul power—Tang San is a perfect example. His original innate soul power should have been around rank 6 or 7. After cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill for three years, he pushed it to the peak of the first layer, which corresponds to approximately rank 10 soul power, if I'm remembering correctly.
From what I understand, a person can only possess twin martial souls if both martial souls share similar qualities and either have matching attributes or mutually opposing ones. Therefore, if a person's twin martial souls are only mid-tier, their innate soul power wouldn't start at full rank. At most, it should be around rank 7 or 8.}
Encountering such a genius in a random orphanage? If he didn't snatch the boy up immediately, he would regret it forever.
At this moment, Golden Crocodile Douluo was ridiculously thankful he had agreed to Qian Renxue's request to stay longer.
Otherwise, he would have missed a once-in-a-lifetime treasure.
He still didn't have a successor for his legacy—until now.
"So, will you provide meals?"
"???"
Golden Crocodile Douluo blinked, completely thrown off by this bizarre, out-of-nowhere question.
"What did you just say?"
"Yeah. If I become your disciple, will you feed me? I eat a lot."
Fan Chen scratched his head awkwardly, smiling in a foolish yet endearing way.
Golden Crocodile Douluo's identity was something Fan Chen knew well. Becoming his disciple brought nothing but benefits.
A Rank 98 Super Douluo—there were barely a handful like him on the entire continent. And he was the second-highest authority in the Douluo Hall, with power second only to Qian Daoliu. Even the Pope couldn't order him around.
With someone like this backing him, Fan Chen's future goals would be far easier to accomplish.
"I'll feed you. You can eat however much you want."
Golden Crocodile Douluo responded boldly without hesitation. Feed him in exchange for a twin-martial-soul disciple? That was a bargain beyond imagination.
Looking at Fan Chen's thin and frail body, Golden Crocodile Douluo could see the signs of malnutrition immediately.
Although awakening potential depended on talent, physical condition still played a part.
And twin martial souls required more resources than ordinary ones.
But this condition was clearly not because the orphanage mistreated him—especially in Spirit City, where no one would dare pocket such petty funds.
Anyone who dared skim food from an orphan under Spirit Hall's care would be signing their own death warrant.
"Grandpa Second… this little guy is…"
Qian Renxue approached, the white little beast still in her arms. The moment she saw Fan Chen—now covered head-to-toe in black armor—she froze in place.
The little beast also wriggled out of her embrace and rushed toward Fan Chen.
It hopped onto his shoulder and affectionately rubbed its small head against the armored cheek.
"Gululu~"
"Gululu~"
Both Fan Chen's stomach and the little beast's growled in unison.
A wave of intense hunger flooded his mind, and at that moment, Fan Chen felt like he could eat an entire cow by himself.
The armor covering him dissolved on its own, revealing his original appearance.
"Um… Master, can we eat first? I'm starving."
—
End of Chapter