Douluo Continent, my martial soul is a mushroom.

Chapter 1 Martial Soul Awakening: A Preliminary Exploration of Fungal Martial Souls

"Glowing Mushroom, Level 5 Soul Power".

"Little friend, would you like to join our Spirit Hall?"

"I'm sorry, Soul Master, I don't want to leave home."

"Oh! Then forget it."

Ming Yongqiu felt somewhat regretful.

Having innate level 5 soul power is an extremely rare talent, with a chance to cultivate to the Soul King level. It is even rarer for a food-type soul master to have this talent, making them well worth recruiting into the Spirit Hall.

It's only natural for children to not want to leave their parents. Forcing them to take in children won't end well and could very well make them resentful, potentially causing them harm later in life.

The Spirit Hall is a legitimate organization; they wouldn't do something like forcibly abducting a child.

—Anyway, this child will definitely have to go to school. The only junior soul master academy nearby is Notting City Soul Master Academy. It's not too late to recruit him under the name of the Spirit Hall after he graduates. The next village is Holy Soul Village. I wonder if we can find another good prospect there.

After packing up his awakening items, Ming Yongqiu bid farewell to the village chief and headed towards Holy Soul Village.

After the Soul Master left, the village chief arrived in front of the pond.

"Xiaoping, you have the talent to become a Soul Master. Our village happens to have a work-study student spot at Notting Academy. Would you like to go?"

Chi Ping nodded, revealing a sincere smile: "Thank you, Grandpa Village Chief. I will study hard to become a Soul Master and will never let the village down. I will definitely repay the village after I graduate!"

"Good boy."

The village chief stroked his beard, laughing heartily. He couldn't help but give himself a thumbs-up for his decision five years ago to take in the child.

"Go home. Grandpa will take you to Nottingham in a couple of days."

……

Chi Ping, a time traveler, transmigrated by soul, without any cheat codes.

Five years ago, he transmigrated into the body of a one-year-old abandoned baby in Xiaoyun Village, Fasno Province, in the southwest of the Tiandou Empire in the Douluo Continent. He was adopted by Chi Tianping, the village chief, who was in town to buy seeds for spring planting.

Six years old this year, he awakened the martial soul of the glowing mushroom.

Two days ago, the village chief sent him to the Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy to study there as a work-study student.

……

—How should one develop a mushroom-based martial spirit? According to the theories of my previous life, mushrooms belong to fungi and have two forms: mycelium and fruiting bodies. Mycelium includes spores and monokaryotic hyphae that develop from spores, while fruiting bodies are various fungi found in nature, some of which are edible and some are poisonous and inedible.

First, we need to clarify whether the Mushroom Martial Soul only includes the child form or encompasses all forms of the mushroom. If it only includes the child form, then it should stick to being a food-type logistics unit. If it's the latter, then the path ahead is much wider. Whether it becomes a True Monarch or a fungus, a Mushroom King or a Demon King, depends on this step.

In Dormitory 7, the exclusive dormitory for work-study students, Chi Ping sat on his bed, holding a plump, adorable glowing mushroom in his hand, controlling his soul power to accelerate its evolution.

Similar to button mushrooms, fluorescent mushrooms have a slight affinity for light, allowing them to absorb starlight and moonlight and emit a fluorescent glow at night. They are a common and delicious ingredient.

Having lived two lives, Chi Ping possessed a stronger will and spirit than ordinary people. After learning the method of soul power meditation at the academy, he quickly mastered the knack of controlling soul power without a teacher.

Martial Souls and Soul Power are closely related; using Soul Power can alter the state of a Martial Soul. Weapon Soul Masters use Soul Power to strengthen their Martial Souls, Beast Soul Masters use Soul Power to amplify their Martial Souls while in a Martial Soul Possession state, and Plant-type Soul Masters control the growth of their Martial Souls—all these are examples of using Soul Power to change the state of a Martial Soul. This should be an instinct, like clenching a fist to exert force.

However, this change is very slow.

It took Chi Ping half an hour to open the closed cap of the glowing mushroom. He wasn't even sure if this was the glowing mushroom's natural development or the result of being influenced by soul power.

—No wonder Soul Masters rely on Soul Skills to fight; controlling Soul Power on their own is just too slow. In the original story, Tang San's first Soul Skill, Entanglement, is supposed to control the Blue Silver Grass to grow rapidly and wrap around the enemy like a rope. But judging from the speed at which I control the growth of the Firefly Mushroom, it would probably take several hours before the less than ten-centimeter-tall Blue Silver Grass could form a noose that could restrain the enemy's movements!

A realization dawned on Chi Ping's mind.

—Perhaps things will be different at higher levels, but lower-level Soul Masters may only be able to control their Martial Soul through Soul Skills!

Chi Ping continued to channel soul power into his martial soul, focusing intently on every change in it.

When you concentrate, time seems to stretch out.

After an unknown amount of time, a white mist-like substance drifted down from under the mushroom cap.

—These are spores!

Chi Ping was overjoyed.

—Great! It's a fungus, not an edible mushroom!

"Xiaopingzi, what are you doing, laughing like that?"

A head peered into Chi Ping's hand, curiously examining the white mushroom in his hand.

Chi Ping pushed the round head away, puzzled, and asked, "Boss Wang, why aren't you meditating to break through to Soul Master? What are you looking at me for?"

Wang Laoda, whose full name is Wang Wen, is the leader of the work-study students in Dormitory 7. He possesses the spirit of a wolf and has just entered the sixth grade with a level nine spirit power.

Work-study students must have come from poor backgrounds. In the Soul Master Academy, where families are generally well-off, they are an outcast, and a vulnerable one at that. In the feudal era with its low moral standards, they are even more likely to be bullied.

The weak must band together for warmth and support if they want to avoid being bullied.

The system of having a leader in Dormitory 7 was thus established. The leader is respected by all the work-study students, can command them to a certain extent, does not participate in labor, and has their daily food expenses shared equally by all the work-study students. In return, the leader must possess the strongest physical strength and must stand up for the work-study students when they are bullied.

Every work-study student is given a rude awakening by the boss and everyone else upon enrollment. This is to better manage the students and prevent them from offending powerful people due to their youthful arrogance.

When Chi Ping joined the Seventh Dormitory two days ago, he was almost beaten up by Wang Wen. He only avoided this humiliation by showing his identity as a food-type soul master.

Logistics support staff do not participate in power struggles; this is an unspoken rule.

Even without this unspoken rule, Ikehira was already planning to slide on his knees.

Chi Ping doesn't have any cheat codes. Asking him to face a twelve-year-old kid would be asking for a beating!

"Isn't this because I care about you?"

Wang Wen was very satisfied with Chi Ping's attitude, especially the words about breaking through to become a Soul Master, which made him overjoyed. He was currently at level nine, and in a few months he would be able to break through to level ten, obtain a Soul Ring, and become a Soul Master!

"Do you have any questions about meditation? Tell me, I'll answer them to the best of my ability!"

Wang Wen values ​​Chi Ping highly, not only because Chi Ping is sweet-talking, but also because of his talent and food-type martial soul.

Food-type Soul Masters typically choose a healing-type Soul Skill as their first Soul Ring. Whether it's restoring Soul Power or healing injuries, it's crucial for improving the situation of the part-time workers. It can significantly enhance their combat capabilities.

In particular, Chi Ping's innate soul power has reached level five, and it is estimated that he will become a soul master in less than two years, which can become a new reliance for the work-study students after he graduates.

Wang Wen was responsible for all the work-study students, so he naturally took good care of Chi Ping.

Wang Wen changed the subject to cultivation, and Chi Ping readily agreed.

"Boss, could you tell me how to accelerate the flow of soul power here?"

Chi Ping pointed to the area near his right collarbone.

The martial spirit cultivation method taught by Notting Academy may be simple and not profound, but it is a complete technique, including a whole set of methods such as meditation, absorption, and circulation.

It's already a testament to Ikehira's exceptional talent that he was able to get the hang of it in just two days; there are still some details he's not yet proficient in or familiar with.

"Here, you can shift your soul power a little to the right..."

Wang Wen had cultivated for five more years than Chi Ping, and with Wang Wen's experience, many of Chi Ping's doubts were easily resolved.

(End of this chapter)