Douluo Continent. Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.
The towering structure rose straight into the sky, majestic and immense, shimmering with brilliant silver light. Eight-sided and impossibly tall, its summit vanished into a sea of clouds, lending an air of mystery to the greatest structure on the continent.
"One watermelon, cut in two. Half for you, and half for me..."
The blazing sun hung high overhead. Its rays cascaded down from the distant sky, burning away the thin mist that lingered above the training ground. The light fell upon a youthful face whose handsome features shone clearly through its tender age, and illuminated each movement of the Tai Chi form flowing beneath it, every gesture imbued with a profound, unhurried grace.
"Xuanzhen, can this slow ancient martial art really be used in actual combat?"
Not far away, two young women stood in perfect sync, arms folded across their chests, heads tilted at identical angles, staring at the boy without so much as a blink.
They were twins, so alike it seemed the Creator had carelessly stamped the same mold twice. Snow-white hair cascaded to their waists. Their features were delicate yet sharply defined, and even without the slightest effort at adornment, they were beautiful enough to look like elves who had wandered straight out of a fairy tale.
The only difference lay in their eyes. Bai Haoze, the elder sister, had irises as blue as an open sky. Bai Zhicen, the younger, had eyes as green as untouched nature. At the moment, both pairs shone with undisguised impatience.
Zhao Xuanzhen's lips curved into a slight arc. His Tai Chi shifted from 'Strike to Ears with Both Fists' into 'Turn Body and Left Heel Kick.' A few dark strands of hair fell loosely across his forehead, while the rest was gathered into a small tail at the back of his head that swayed with each flowing transition.
"It's just for strengthening the body. It doesn't necessarily have to be used in real combat.
Sister Da Bai, Sister Xiao Bai, you two seem especially restless today. You've been watching me all morning without even practicing your Spirit Fusion Skill."
"We've spent over twenty years together, day and night. Our compatibility hit the limit of our Martial Spirits long ago. No matter how hard we try, it's nearly impossible to break past ninety percent."
Bai Haoze studied Zhao Xuanzhen with a careful eye. Sunlight seemed to gild his dark brown pupils with a heavenly radiance. When their gazes met, she could see the crimson disc of the sun reflected clearly in his eyes.
"But you, Xuanzhen..."
Bai Zhicen picked up where her sister left off, her crisp voice threaded with quiet concern. "The Martial Spirit Awakening is the watershed that determines a Spirit Master's entire life. If your Martial Spirit isn't strong enough, even Her Excellency Heavenly Phoenix will have a hard time securing the Spirit Pagoda's most precious cultivation resources for you.
After all, Pagoda Master Qiangu is the true ruler of the Spirit Pagoda, and his philosophy has always been cold and unyielding: the useless don't deserve resources."
"Martial Spirits, hm? Three parts depend on mutation, seven parts depend on luck.
The remaining ninety parts depend entirely on whether your parents were any good."
Zhao Xuanzhen looked perfectly at ease, without the faintest worry that he might awaken some worthless Martial Spirit like Blue Silver Grass. His unshakable composure only made the two women more agitated, giving them the distinct impression that the emperor himself wasn't the least bit worried while the eunuchs were panicking themselves sick on his behalf.
The Bai sisters exchanged a glance. Their natural twin telepathy let them reach a wordless understanding in an instant.
Bai Zhicen activated her Starry Sky Unicorn Martial Spirit. Silver light flashed, and the pair appeared behind Zhao Xuanzhen as though they had teleported. In the same breath, both stretched out their wicked little hands, one reaching for his tied hair and the other for the top of his head.
The very instant they thought the ambush had succeeded, Zhao Xuanzhen twisted his body and slipped free from their clutches!
Predicted!
Having his little braid tugged was whatever. Getting his head patted was absolutely forbidden!
He completed the final movement of his Tai Chi form, separated his palms, exhaled, pressed downward, and settled into the closing stance. Then he glanced at the stunned sisters and asked with a quiet laugh, "Right, has Teacher come back yet?"
"Her Excellency Heavenly Phoenix went to the Xuanwu Sect. She'll be back at the Spirit Pagoda tomorrow morning." Still reeling from the failed sneak attack, Bai Haoze answered almost on reflex.
"The Xuanwu Sect?"
Zhao Xuanzhen paused briefly, then understanding dawned. 'Teacher's preparing on two fronts...'
Given Heavenly Phoenix Douluo's status as Vice Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda, visiting the Xuanwu Sect, a faction that had been in decline for a thousand years, was practically condescension. The only thing that could warrant such a trip was the sect's signature creation: the Mysterious Water Pill, refined from the essences of numerous water-attribute spirit beasts and plants.
On Douluo Continent, every human was born with a Martial Spirit as part of their body. It could take the form of any animal, plant, or object, and at the age of six, it was awakened through a formal ceremony.
Tomorrow was Zhao Xuanzhen's sixth birthday. It was also the day of his Martial Spirit Awakening.
His battle-fallen parents had both possessed above-average talent. His father had Rank 8 Innate Spirit Power; his mother, Rank 7.
According to the principles of Martial Spirit heredity, and setting aside rare cases like Huo Yuhao, whose chronic malnutrition had dragged his Innate Spirit Power down and hamstrung his Martial Spirit, Zhao Xuanzhen's future was unlikely to turn out especially poor.
Yet in this new era, where Spirit Master talent far outstripped that of ancient times, a mere Rank 7 or 8 Innate Spirit Power simply didn't live up to the dazzling, golden-legend title of 'Direct Disciple to the Spirit Pagoda's Vice Pagoda Master.' That was precisely why Heavenly Phoenix Douluo had traveled to the Xuanwu Sect ahead of time, seeking a Mysterious Water Pill capable of raising Zhao Xuanzhen's Innate Spirit Power by one rank.
"You two keep practicing. I'm heading back."
His training for the day complete, Zhao Xuanzhen waved to the Bai sisters and turned to leave.
"Get a good rest tonight! We'll be with you for the awakening tomorrow!" Bai Zhicen called loudly after him.
Zhao Xuanzhen hooked his index finger and thumb together in an 'OK' gesture without looking back.
The two sisters watched his retreating figure shrink into the distance and released long, heavy breaths.
Then, in the very next instant, their graceful, shapely bodies suddenly swelled outward, ballooning into the sort of hulking, double-door-refrigerator physiques straight out of a Korean manhwa. Beauties reforged into brawny giants, just like that.
They were secret weapons carefully cultivated by the Spirit Pagoda, future left and right ministers to the next Pagoda Master, figures whose very existence could not be known to outsiders. For that reason, they had mastered the art of disguise. Zhao Xuanzhen, however, was different. From the very day he had returned to the Spirit Pagoda, the sisters had watched him grow up. He was family.
Zhao Xuanzhen left the training ground, passed through identity verification with practiced ease, stepped into a high-level elevator, and rode it straight to the ninety-ninth floor.
The Spirit Pagoda had one hundred and eight floors in total. The top eight belonged to the Pagoda Master's Qiangu Clan. Heavenly Phoenix Douluo's Leng Clan occupied the five floors directly below, second only to the Qiangu Clan, and among those, the ninety-ninth had been given to Zhao Xuanzhen as his personal residence.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the expansive living room, as though the entire world had been gathered within its walls. Along one side stood a row of elegant bookshelves packed with ancient texts, every volume a quiet testament to its owner's eclectic taste.
Douluo Historical Annals. Continental Martial Spirit Encyclopedia. The Flower Language of Steel Wool Scrubbers. Spirit Beast Compendium...
Zhao Xuanzhen walked to the shelf, let his gaze skim across the spines, and pulled out Basic Theory of Spirit Guidance Devices. He settled onto a luxurious sofa upholstered with the pelt of a 10,000-year Flame Lion King and began to read in silence.
Reincarnator or not, there was only so much one could do before a Martial Spirit Awakening. Practicing Tai Chi daily to condition his body was a habit carried over from his previous life, while studying Spirit Guidance Devices laid the groundwork for a future Secondary Profession.
In his former life, Zhao Xuanzhen had been an orphan as well. A fortune-telling old Daoist who styled himself the Sect Master of the Liangyi Sect had taken him in. The old man discovered that the boy harbored Yin-Yang Qi within his body, a constitution that appeared perhaps once in a thousand years, and declared him a prodigy of the Dao. On his deathbed, the old Daoist passed down the full breadth of the Liangyi Sect's arts.
Sadly, Zhao Xuanzhen had been frail since childhood and was fated never to live past twenty. A decade-old soul passed peacefully into the next world.
Heaven, however, cherishes the living. Zhao Xuanzhen reincarnated on the Douluo Continent with his memories intact, granted a second chance at life.
At an age when other children were still playing in the mud, he was already leveraging a lifetime's worth of knowledge to get a head start on the world.
After reading for a while, Zhao Xuanzhen stretched lazily. The room suddenly felt unusually warm. A faint glimmer of dark blue flickered through his eyes, and he spoke in a calm, unhurried tone:
"Xun Trigram, third setting."
A gentle breeze drifted through the room at once...