Chapter Two: The Sun and Moon in the Palm, Bearing the Stars on One's Back

Xu Zhao was lost in his thoughts, unknowingly stepping deep into the old mansion’s Martial Soul Awakening Chamber.

“Zhao’er?” A gentle call brought him back to reality.

Xu Minghuang looked at his grandson who had suddenly rushed into his arms, eyes filled with concern and curiosity. “What are you thinking about? You seem so absent-minded.”

Before Xu Zhao could explain, the stern elder smiled knowingly, as if he had already read his thoughts.

“Oh, Grandpa knows! You’re wondering what kind of Martial Soul you’ll awaken later, aren’t you?”

He bent slightly, placing his broad palm on Xu Zhao’s shoulder, his voice steady and comforting.

“No need to worry. Even if you don’t awaken any of the three great hereditary Martial Souls of the Xu family, inheriting the Star Saint Sword of your mother’s Ye family would still make for an excellent Martial Soul.”

After a brief pause, a sharp gleam flashed in Xu Minghuang’s eyes as he added,

“But honestly, if by chance the Ye family’s Star Saint Sword were to surpass the three great Martial Souls of the Xu family through bloodline inheritance, it would have to evolve into the legendary Star God Sword to do so.”

“So no matter which one of these four top-tier Martial Souls you awaken in the end, it will be enough for you, Zhao’er, to stand proud among your peers.”

Before Xu Minghuang’s broad hand had left his grandson’s shoulder, Xu Zhao took a small step back, breaking free from the embrace.

“Grandpa, I know that, of course.” He spoke calmly and clearly, “I was just thinking—if, as expected, I awaken both the Sun and Moon hereditary Martial Souls, which one should I focus on primarily?”

“After all, I’m still unsure if my spiritual power can sustain the soul spirit requirements for dual Martial Souls.”

Xu Minghuang chuckled and shook his head.

This grandson in front of him truly matched the mature and steadied image he had of him since childhood.

This boy had been sensible and composed from a young age, his words and actions like a little adult, hardly ever causing worry to his elders.

However, there was one thing that made this grandfather a bit “frustrated”—his grandson seemed somewhat averse to overly intimate physical contact.

Whenever Xu Minghuang was in high spirits, wanting to enjoy the sweet pleasure of doting on his grandson, trying to embrace and tease him,

The boy would either immediately fall asleep, quietly “performing” slumber in his arms, or find various polite excuses to avoid closeness, leaving no opportunity for intimacy.

“All right, Zhao’er,” Xu Minghuang urged, “Let these matters wait until after the Martial Soul Awakening. Grandpa has waited six years already, and can’t wait any longer.”

Hearing this, Xu Zhao obediently stepped into the very center of the awakening array.

For thousands of years, soul-guided technology had advanced rapidly.

Even in the era of the Peerless Tang Sect over ten thousand years ago, the Sun and Moon Empire’s Martial Soul awakening ceremony had already surpassed the original three great empires of Douluo, abandoning the traditional Awakening Stone in favor of advanced soul-guided technology.

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Thousands of years later, today.

The latest soul-guided technology for Martial Soul awakening was monopolized by the Spirit Transmission Tower. The ancient families with long-standing traditions used awakening instruments that were many versions behind those of the Spirit Transmission Tower.

But the Martial Soul awakening ritual was sufficient as it was.

After all, a person’s talent would not improve simply because the awakening instrument was updated.

The Spirit Transmission Tower offered free Martial Soul awakenings to all citizens of the Douluo Federation, so it continually updated its technology to reduce costs.

Seeing his grandson standing steady in the awakening array, Xu Minghuang extended both hands, slowly channeling his soul power into the Martial Soul awakening device.

Soon, the peculiar patterns on the walls and floor of the chamber lit up one by one, resonating with the soul power.

Then, the soul power, warm as spring sunshine, began to flow along the lines beneath Xu Zhao’s feet and into his body.

As this soul power surged through his limbs and bones, Xu Zhao felt as if something within his bloodline was being awakened.

His consciousness drifted into an unfamiliar space.

“Hm? Isn’t this the void from six years ago?”

Curious, Xu Zhao looked around. Familiar memories surfaced in his mind.

Following the memory, he looked up, but saw a scene different from what he remembered:

Beneath the starry sky, the purple-gold dragon’s vast wings that once blotted out the sky had vanished, its appearance now closer to the true dragon of ancient legends.

Thousands of stars swirled behind the purple-gold dragon. Each of its two claws held a radiant orb: the left, blazing like the sun; the right, cold and serene like the moon.

“Primordial Ancient Dragon!”

With just one glance, Xu Zhao instinctively knew the name of this purple-gold dragon from his bloodline’s resonance.

“Is this my Martial Soul?”

The four defining traits of the Primordial Ancient Dragon:

Its dragon body descended from the Purple Radiant Sky-Extinguishing Dragon;

The two light orbs symbolizing the sun and moon came respectively from the Sun and Moon;

And the myriad stars behind the dragon, if his guess was correct, originated from the Star Saint Sword of his mother’s Ye family bloodline.

“But even with a fusion and mutation of the four great Martial Souls, the dragon wings belonging to the Western dragon Purple Radiant Sky-Extinguishing Dragon shouldn’t have disappeared during the mutation,”

Xu Zhao pondered.

“It can’t be because I was born in an ancient Eastern kingdom in a past life, fulfilling the old saying that we are all ‘descendants of the dragon’…”

Yet Xu Zhao faintly sensed this might indeed be the truth.

“That’s fine too. If the Yanhuang bloodline is truly fused in, the Primordial Ancient Dragon won’t be suppressed by the Dragon God bloodline of this world.”

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Outside, in the Awakening Chamber.

After channeling the soul power, Xu Minghuang stared intently at his grandson in the awakening array.

As time passed, he soon saw a purple-gold dragon-shaped shadow slowly rise behind his grandson.

“Just the Purple Radiant Sky-Extinguishing Dragon…”

Seeing that it wasn’t the expected dual Sun and Moon Martial Souls, a hint of disappointment flashed across Xu Minghuang’s eyes.

But then he noticed something was amiss.

“Wait, where are the dragon wings? Such large wings—where did they go?”

Xu Minghuang’s heart skipped a beat, uneasy.

To him, this was a mutation of the Martial Soul, and a malignant one at that.

After all, he had never seen a true dragon Martial Soul without wings.

However, Xu Minghuang’s sharp eyes caught something else.

This “Purple Radiant Sky-Extinguishing Dragon” without wings had something extra.

What was the meaning of the stars shimmering behind the dragon’s back?

And what about the two glowing orbs held in its claws?

This discovery left Xu Minghuang confused about whether his grandson’s Martial Soul was a benign or malignant mutation.

To clarify, he glanced at the awakening device’s display showing innate soul power.

Seeing the number “ten” — a deeply reassuring figure — Xu Minghuang’s emotional roller coaster finally steadied.

“Phew!” He exhaled deeply and said with relief,

“Innate full soul power—good, it’s a benign mutation.”

At this moment, Xu Minghuang realized this was a benign mutation of a top-tier Martial Soul.

Moreover, it appeared to be a fusion mutation involving the three great hereditary Martial Souls of the Xu family and the one great hereditary Martial Soul of the Ye family, resulting in a supreme dragon-type Martial Soul.