In the awakening array.
Li Changan looked at the sword in his hand.
There was no doubt—this sword was far more exquisite than his father's sword-type martial soul.
It resembled a standard eight-sided Han sword, but its body gleamed with a jade-like blue sheen, crystalline and elegant—more like a work of art than a weapon. Yet, it exuded a deadly aura that revealed its true nature as a killing instrument.
The most peculiar feature was its hilt.
The grip was coiled by the carving of a strange green-scaled snake, its body twisting around the hilt. At the end, the snake's head rested at the pommel, mouth tightly shut. It looked so lifelike that one could almost imagine it opening its jaws to strike at any moment.
What a powerful sense of oppression...
This martial soul is absolutely extraordinary.
It must be a high-level martial soul.
Is this child from some ancient noble clan with a deep legacy?
The old man overseeing the martial soul awakening was silently shocked by what he saw. He instinctively checked the list in his hand and quickly found Li Changan's background.
The father had a sword martial soul, and the mother, a green snake martial soul...
A mutation, it seems. A rare, benign mutation that significantly improved the martial soul's quality. This boy is incredibly lucky.
The old man sighed inwardly and then said aloud, "Now, test the innate soul power."
In this world, the quality of a martial soul could often be gauged by the level of innate soul power it awakened with. The higher the soul power, the better the martial soul's potential.
This was something civilians rarely understood, but among those with status, it was basic knowledge.
Li Changan stepped silently toward the crystal ball and placed his palm gently on its surface. At once, he felt a suction pull from the orb as the power awakened within him surged outward.
"Buzz!"
The crystal ball lit up brilliantly.
"Innate soul power!!" the old man exclaimed, finally losing his composure.
The other noble children turned to stare, their expressions shifting to envy and jealousy. They understood exactly what innate full soul power meant.
As long as this boy didn't die prematurely, he would almost certainly become a Titled Douluo in the future—a supreme existence among soul masters.
A genius with the potential to stand at the peak.
No wonder the old man couldn't remain calm.
After the awakening ceremony, word quickly spread through the noble districts: a mutated martial soul with innate full soul power had appeared among this year's awakened noble children. The report made its way up the chain of command, eventually landing on the desk of the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire.
When the emperor saw the details, he shouted in excitement.
A youth of such talent among his people?
He immediately ordered his ministers to arrange a meeting. He planned to reward and win over the child personally.
...
At the Li Mansion.
After returning home, Li Changan locked himself in his room, lay down on the bed, and cast his consciousness into another place—the wild and ancient soul beast forest.
In a hidden cave.
Inside the broken shell of a massive egg, a small green snake coiled in slumber suddenly opened its amber, beast-like eyes. They sparkled with intelligence. Li Changan, connected to this creature, made it raise its tiny body upright.
A strange but instinctive knowledge filled his mind.
He now understood what this creature was—a Green-Scaled Snake Emperor.
So, when my soul transmigrated into this world... it was split in two.
One half became human—me. The other was reborn in this egg, taking the form of a soul beast.
And not just any soul beast. A top-tier existence among all soul beasts—the Green-Scaled Snake Emperor.
Others may think my martial soul is a perfect fusion of my father's sword soul and my mother's snake soul, but that's not the truth. The reason my martial soul mutated so flawlessly... is because my other half became the real Green-Scaled Snake Emperor.
I remember Snake Spear Douluo from the original story. His martial soul was special—both weapon and beast soul. His seventh soul skill, Martial Soul True Body, had two forms: one as a weapon and one as a beast.
Based on what I sensed during my awakening, my sword martial soul should be similar. When I activate my seventh soul skill in the future, I'll likely be able to transform into either the Sword Martial Soul form or the Green-Scaled Snake Emperor's true body.
And since my martial soul is a weapon, I can't possess it, which means the toxicity of the Green-Scaled Snake Emperor won't affect me. In fact, I can absorb external poisons to enhance my own!
Dugu Bo would be so envious if he knew. What's deadly to him is just nourishing to me!
Wait... maybe I can use this to approach Dugu Bo and get access to the immortal herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. I could even offer to become his disciple—or his adopted son, if needed. Just not his grandson-in-law!
Li Changan laughed to himself, letting his imagination wander.
"But for now, the question is... what should I do about this clone—the Green-Scaled Snake Emperor?"
In this world, soul beasts faced grim futures. Not only did they have to stay vigilant against humans hunting them for soul rings, but once they reached 100,000 years, they risked being struck by divine lightning at any moment.
And the worst part? They could never become gods.
"Should I just let this clone cultivate until it's powerful enough to sacrifice itself and grant a soul ring and soul bone to my main body?"
He frowned.
"But that feels like a waste."
"Damn it! If soul beasts weren't locked out of the path to godhood in this world, I could've cultivated both paths—human and beast—and achieved a dual divine status!"
Li Changan groaned.
"If this were an immortal cultivation world, I'd have practiced both human and demon cultivation. But here, I have to give one up... what a loss."
"In that case, isn't this clone just... wasted potential?"
Should I try to contact the Silver Dragon King?
No, that's not feasible. She's barely surviving herself. Joining her now? In the original story, even Di Tian and the others never became gods. Clearly, following her leads nowhere.
But if not her... then where else can a soul beast ascend to godhood?
To become a god in this world, one needed a divine position. But where could he find one?
Wait a minute!
Li Changan's eyes lit up.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well! Beneath it lie the ancient remains of the Water and Fire Dragon Kings. Their divine thrones might still be there!
If I can acquire one of their god positions, maybe my soul beast clone—the Green-Scaled Snake Emperor—can ascend after all.
Of course, to claim those divine thrones, I'll have to deal with Dugu Bo first. And it's not guaranteed they're still there. There might not even be a soul bone.
He sighed again.
"It's too soon to aim that high. No need to rush."
Yawning, Li Changan turned his focus back to the little green snake, which had begun licking the inside of the eggshell.
"Click... click..."
The eggshells melted as they mixed with the snake's saliva, turning into a nutrient-rich liquid. His inherited instincts told him that this was the best nourishment he could absorb at this stage.
Once he finished eating all the eggshells, a wave of fatigue washed over him.
Li Changan yawned once more, curled up, and drifted into a deep sleep...