Heaven Dou Empire, Fasinuo Province, Nuoding City
"Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass. No soul power. Next!"
"Martial Soul: Hoe. No soul power. Next!"
Inside the Spirit Hall, Su Yuntao was presiding over the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony.
"Next—Bai Mu."
"Here!"
Bai Mu stepped out from the line of children and stood within the awakening formation.
Six years after transmigrating to the Douluo Continent, the moment that would decide his future had finally arrived. It was impossible not to feel nervous and excited.
Even though he was a transmigrator, even though his late parents had both been Spirit Masters, and even though he had worked hard to train his body, none of that guaranteed he would awaken soul power.
After all, even the Sect Master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect could give birth to a "pig son from a dragon father"—someone like Yu Xiaogang, whose innate soul power was only Rank 0.5. Anything was possible.
"Don't be nervous," Su Yuntao said calmly. "Close your eyes and feel carefully."
He raised his hand and injected soul power into the formation. Golden points of light surged out from the awakening stones like fireflies, gathering at the center and completely enveloping Bai Mu.
Seeing how dazzling the light was, Su Yuntao's tired eyes suddenly lit up.
"Could it be… a powerful Martial Soul?"
He straightened his posture slightly, eyes locked on Bai Mu, anticipating the appearance of a sharp weapon or the phantom of a ferocious Beast Spirit.
As the light gradually faded, the expectation on his face froze, his brows knitting together.
"What… is this thing? A green slug?"
Resting limply in Bai Mu's palm was a flat, worm-like creature with a red hexagonal core at its center, resembling a translucent green cell.
Su Yuntao had conducted awakenings for many years and had seen all kinds of strange Martial Souls—but this was something he had truly never encountered before.
"?!"
Unlike Su Yuntao's confusion, the instant Bai Mu clearly saw what was in his hand, his pupils shrank violently.
That cell-like structure.
That unmistakable red hexagonal core.
How could this be a slug?
This was clearly—
Zygarde Core!
A Legendary Pokémon from the Pokémon world, the guardian of the ecosystem—revered as the God of Order!
Zygarde possessed the Dragon and Ground types, and its strength and form depended on how many cells it gathered.
At 10% Form, it became a swift Dragon Hound.
At 50% Form, it took on the serpentine "Z-Snake" form, acting as the ecosystem's monitor.
At 100% Complete Form, it transformed into a Gundam-like giant capable of sanctioning all who disrupted order!
On top of that, it could even Mega Evolve and unleash its unrivaled power, using Core Enforcer to punish its enemies!
Even if it was currently just a core with no combat power, as long as it could cultivate additional forms and learn Pokémon moves, then forget becoming a god—even making a name for himself across the Douluo Continent would be more than achievable!
Of course, that all depended on whether the Zygarde Core could divide into cells and learn moves on its own.
"Wawu~"
Zygarde straightened its soft body, looked around curiously, then hopped onto Bai Mu's shoulder. It rubbed against his cheek and let out a faint, affectionate Growl.
Bai Mu couldn't help but smile as he gently stroked its smooth, soft head with a finger.
"Wu~"
Enjoying the touch, Zygarde squinted its eyes contentedly.
"It's called Zygarde—an extremely rare and powerful Legendary Poké—Spirit Beast!"
Bai Mu tried to explain, his voice brimming with excitement.
"'Zi-ge' what?" Su Yuntao muttered, his expression complicated. "It doesn't look very impressive…"
Under normal circumstances, Martial Souls were divided into two categories: Tool Spirits and Beast Spirits.
Those that could possess the user's body were Beast Spirits. Those that manifested externally, like weapons, were Tool Spirits.
Aside from those, there was only one known special case—Luo San Pao, the external Beast Spirit of the "famous" theoretical Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
And now… another external Martial Soul had appeared?
Without even testing its soul power, Su Yuntao could tell at a glance—judging by Zygarde's harmless appearance, even less intimidating than Luo San Pao—that this Martial Soul was probably useless.
At the very least, Luo San Pao was a pig and had some combat capability.
But this thing?
Sigh… looks like another trash Martial Soul, Su Yuntao thought.
He was almost certain this child's soul power result wouldn't be any better than Luo San Pao's.
"Forget it. The procedure still has to be completed," he said lazily. "Child, place your hand on this and test your soul power."
He took out a crystal ball and handed it to Bai Mu.
"It's a Divine Beast from the Pokémon world. Even if it's only a core, it should at least have Rank 5 or 6 innate soul power… right?"
Clinging to a final shred of hope, Bai Mu poured all his soul power into the crystal ball.
Instantly, light filled the ball—
…only at the very bottom.
"Innate soul power: Rank 1."
Su Yuntao glanced at it, wearing an expression that said just as expected.
"…Impressive," Bai Mu muttered.
Even with the experience of two lifetimes, he almost lost his composure.
You're a dignified Divine Beast core! Even with the Ground attribute, isn't this starting point a little too down-to-earth?!
His gaze shifted to the little green softie on his shoulder, which was tilting its head and curiously staring at the crystal ball. He quickly calmed himself.
"That's right… In Pokémon settings, Zygarde cells and cores don't even have base stats. They only gain combat power after assembling into other forms."
"So in this world, becoming a Martial Soul and starting at Rank 1 with a single core actually makes sense."
The key wasn't how low the starting point was—but how terrifying the upper limit could be!
As long as the core could divide cells and successfully assemble into higher forms, the quality of this Martial Soul would skyrocket.
And on top of that, it might even learn those diverse and miraculous Pokémon moves!
This start was already excellent.
"Thank you, Grandmaster," Bai Mu said, regaining his composure as he bowed politely.
"According to the rules," Su Yuntao replied, "children who awaken soul power are eligible for admission to Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy. I hope you'll become a Spirit Master in the future—and perhaps even join the Spirit Hall."
He offered a few perfunctory words of encouragement and quickly issued Bai Mu's Spirit Certificate.
After all, with only Rank 1 innate soul power, it would normally take seven or eight—perhaps even nine—years to become a Spirit Master.
As for recruiting him into the Spirit Hall… that could wait until he actually succeeded.
"I'll work hard!"
Bai Mu flashed a bright, "innocent" smile and turned to leave.
It was already afternoon. The sun hung high in the sky, radiating dazzling light.
As he stepped out of the Spirit Hall and into the sunlight, Bai Mu felt more clear-headed and at ease than ever before.
In this life, his parents had been ordinary Spirit Masters in Nuoding City. They had gone out to hunt Spirit Beasts two years ago and never returned, leaving him only a small courtyard and a modest amount of savings.
Now, two years later, he had less than two and a half silver coins left.
Fortunately, his Martial Soul had awakened—and the road ahead was finally visible.
As long as he could gather nine cells and reach Zygarde's 10% Dragon Hound Form, he would have a chance to defy fate itself.
"Zygarde… I'll be counting on you from now on."
"Wawu~"
Bai Mu smiled as he walked toward home.
"Wawu~!"
Zygarde lifted its head proudly and let out a soft cry, as if declaring—
Leave the future to me!
The next second, its body turned transparent and vanished from Bai Mu's sight.