Douluo Continent: Twin Souls of the Underworld, Holding the Power of Life and Death

Douluo Continent, Martial Soul City.

"The Martial Soul Awakening has begun."

The atmosphere in the Awakening Room of the side hall of the temple was solemn and dignified.

Qian Anci stood quietly in the center of the formation.

His tall and slender figure was accentuated by a plain white robe.

At only six years old, his eyes were unfathomable, revealing a calmness beyond his years.

"Six years have passed, and I'm finally about to awaken my martial spirit."

Qian Anci whispered in her heart.

He is a time traveler.

Six years ago, he transmigrated to the Douluo Continent, just as the Spirit Hall was suppressing a rebellion of evil spirit masters. He was found in the ruins by Qian Daoliu and brought back.

For the past six years, there has always been something deep within my soul that no one else can perceive.

It was a gray and white wasteland of the underworld.

The sky was perpetually leaden gray, the earth cracked and pale, and the gray fog surged endlessly, exuding a sense of deathly stillness and majesty.

In the center of the wasteland, a colossal bone dragon, blotting out the sky, lay silently.

His bones were like jade, and a ghostly blue soul fire flickered in his eye sockets.

Atop the dragon's head, a slender figure stands eternally.

Her pale purple hair swayed gently in the gray mist, and her white and purple dress accentuated her elegant figure, with dark patterns resembling flowers from the underworld adorning the hem.

Her eyes were a gentle pale purple, containing endless compassion, yet also revealing a detached understanding of life and death.

Distant butterfly.

From the moment he traveled through time, she existed deep within his soul.

For six years, whenever the night was still and quiet, Qian Anci's consciousness would sink into that desolate wasteland.

He listened to her recount the power of Senatos, to her lament of the loneliness that meant certain death upon touching it, and to her softly humming the elegy of the Styx.

They became each other's only companions.

"The authority of Senatos should not be held by one person alone."

This was the first thing Xia Die said to him six years ago.

"By the bond of your soul, we share this breath of immortality. I will stay with you until the day your power awakens."

After six years of companionship, Qian Anci had long been accustomed to her presence.

And now, that day has finally come.

"An Ci, calm your mind and focus on the flow of soul power within your body."

Qian Daoliu's voice echoed within the hall.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gray robe fluttering even without wind, a hint of worry in his eyes.

Over the past six years, he has spared no expense in using countless rare and precious resources to improve Qian Anci's aptitude and temper his physique.

But the awakening of a martial spirit ultimately relies on bloodline inheritance.

The child's origins are unknown, and he has no way of knowing what kind of blood flows in his veins.

If a useless martial soul were to awaken today...

Fine, if his martial soul is ruined after awakening, then we'll keep him by our side. Anyway, the resources of the Spirit Hall are enough to ensure he'll live a life of comfort and ease.

Qian Daoliu shook his head inwardly, suppressing the unease in his heart.

Beside Qian Daoliu, a cardinal was intently placing the Awakening Stone, guiding the ceremony.

On the other side of the Awakener, a blonde girl stood quietly.

Her face was exquisite, and her skin was as white as snow.

She was Qian Daoliu's granddaughter, Qian Renxue.

She looked at the boy in the formation, her golden eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.

This younger brother, adopted by her grandfather, will undergo martial soul awakening with her today.

"The ceremony begins!"

With a low shout from the cardinal, six jet-black awakening stones slowly rose into the air, forming a mysterious magic circle around Qian Anci.

The array patterns lit up, but it wasn't the usual golden light.

Thick, inky black mist surged out from the center of the formation, coiling around the boy's body like a living thing.

Amidst the swirling black mist, Qian Anci's figure became indistinct.

The mist carried a deathly chill, yet strangely, it did not harm anyone else in the slightest; it simply enveloped him quietly at its core.

Just as the black mist completely enveloped the area, Qian Anci's consciousness suddenly sank, and he once again arrived at that familiar wasteland of the underworld.

But this time, it's different from before.

"The day has finally come."

Xia Die stood atop the dragon's head, looking down at him, a hint of relief in her pale purple eyes.

For the first time in six years, she showed such a clear smile.

"An Ci, are you ready?"

Her voice was still as gentle as the wind, but it carried a hint of solemnity.

"Um."

Qian Anci nodded.

Six years of companionship speaks for itself.

"So——"

Xia Die gently raised her hand, and the huge bone dragon named Polykes let out a soul-shaking dragon roar and slowly lowered its head.

"With this scythe as my guide, I will wield my authority; with your soul as my bond, I will share the breath of immortality."

Her figure began to transform into streams of light, merging with the bone dragon into the depths of Qian Anci's soul.

"We... will cross that long River Styx together."

The final sound echoed through the wasteland, carrying the tenderness of six years of companionship:

"From now on, I will no longer be your guide who can only watch from afar."

"I will fight alongside you, Anci."

……

Outside, inside the room of awakening.

"What... happened...?"

A hint of seriousness finally appeared on Qian Daoliu's usually calm face.

Although he had already prepared for the worst, he couldn't help but feel worried for Qian Anci.

"boom!"

The black mist that swirled around him was torn apart in an instant by a deathly yet magnificent gray-white light.

Qian Anci's body floated slightly, and a blazing light burst forth from his body, illuminating the entire hall.

"What's going on?"

The cardinal was horrified; he had never heard of such a large-scale awakening vision.

Qian Renxue suddenly took a step forward, her golden eyes fixed on the center of the light, her small face full of tension.

A thousand streams of soul power were quietly released to protect the entire area, and his eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

"roar!"

A deep and majestic dragon roar resounded.

A gray-white dragon-shaped phantom emerged from behind Qian Anci, circling around the scythe in his hand.

And deep within that dragon-shaped phantom, the outline of a pale purple figure could be vaguely seen.

She is no longer an unreachable ferryman to the underworld.

Rather, they are companions who connect with the soul of a young person and stand truly side by side.

The cardinal, his hands trembling, handed over the crystal ball.

"Quick, test their soul power!"

Qian Anci composed himself and placed his hand on the crystal ball.

In an instant, the crystal ball burst forth with a dazzling light like the blazing sun, and the intense fluctuations of soul power even caused tiny cracks to appear on the surface of the crystal ball.

"Heavens... innate level 20 soul power!"

The cardinal screamed, his eyes filled with fanaticism and excitement.

A hint of surprise flashed in Qian Daoliu's eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Good! Innate level 20 soul power, An Ci, you really didn't disappoint your grandfather."

However, Qian Anci was not distracted by Qian Daoliu's praise.

"It's not over yet."

He could sense that the awakening was not over.

Even as the scythe of death appeared, the deathly power within him continued to surge.

A gray glint flashed in his eyes.

A nearly transparent, grayish-white mist bloomed at our feet.

Under the cover of the deathly aura, a huge and blurry shadow flashed by behind him.

It was a solitary bone dragon, its bone wings retracted, like a silent grim reaper, exuding an aura that could end all things.

Second Martial Soul... Shadow of Polykes!

"Such a terrifying phenomenon... Young Master's martial soul is extraordinary."

The cardinal's gaze was burning with passion.

To outsiders, this was merely a strange phenomenon and afterimage produced when a powerful martial spirit awakened, an appendage that accompanied the appearance of the Death Scythe.

After all, the light emanating from the Grim Reaper's Scythe was so intense that it overshadowed everything else.

No one knew that hidden within that grayish-white death aura was a guide from the underworld, and her primordial death aura, powerful enough to end the immortal and control the underworld.

No one knew that the purple-haired figure had been with the boy for six whole years.

Qian Anci lowered his head, feeling the cold black scythe in his hand, and a ripple of emotion stirred within him.

"Xia Die..."

He whispered in his heart.

"I am here."

A familiar, gentle voice responded from the depths of my soul, carrying a hint of a smile.

A smile unconsciously appeared on Qian Anci's lips.

He withdrew his martial spirit, and the light around him gradually faded.

"Grandpa, I did it!"

Qian Anci grinned at Qian Daoliu and raised the Death Scythe in his hand, which was surrounded by a dragon-shaped death aura.

"Okay, very good."

Qian Daoliu said "good" twice and strode forward to press down on Qian Anci's shoulder.

"An Ci, you wait aside for now. After Xiao Xue awakens, I will arrange for two elders to take you to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for soul rings."

Qian Anci agreed with a smile.

He lowered his head, gazing at his scythe—a weapon entirely black, its blade gleaming with a deathly gray aura—and asked himself:

"Xia Die, tell me... would you say my Death Scythe qualifies as a divine-level martial soul?"

Deep within her consciousness, in that gray-white wasteland of the underworld, a girl with pale purple hair chuckled softly.

"God-level?"

Her voice carried the tenderness of six years of companionship, yet also a hint of pride:

"That is... an authority that even the gods should revere."

"And from now on, we will jointly hold this authority."