Douluo Dalu: 1st Cycle: Dancing Panda

The man's eyes were shining. The exhausted face disappeared. In its place appeared a face full of awe.

"Twin Martial Souls! Full Innate Soul power! Hahahaha, I found a genius!" He looked at Karni with the same eyes one would look at their favourite meal. But he was still a professional. He coughed to release the tension and calmed down a bit, taking the time to analyse Karni's Martial Souls.

"Hmm. A Panda-like Martial Soul. It's fluffier than the average variations. Ah. You have a bamboo stick in your mouth." Karni's body was thoroughly analysed for the changes. Even Karni himself didn't realise that he had a bamboo stick in his mouth just then. It felt natural to have it.

"Your second Martial Soul is a type of Bo Staff. The designs on it are incredibly intricate. Lines flowing seamlessly together. It does not resemble a known design of Bo Staffs. Both of your Martial Souls seem to be mutations. Outside of their basic shapes, I can't tell what they mutated from. Their uniqueness speaks of their high quality. You're one lucky kid." The middle aged smiled at Karni approvingly.

Karni was astonished, in a way. He knew what twin martial souls meant. He also knew what kind of advantage they would give him. The misfortune of coming to another world wasn't without cause. In the future, he would have double the variety in battle, double the abilities.

Twin Martial Souls. Only the protagonists and their close compatriots had them in the novels. Important side characters occasionally had them as well. His chances of returning just doubled. He had the initial talent of the protagonists. Some pressure vanished, and in its place was now hope.

He could feel the Martial Souls. Deeply connected to his soul, the connection seemed so profound, so otherworldly, yet they were a part of his very being. 

He concentrated on the staff. It felt like everything around him showed a picture of the immediate future. No. It did that. It didn't just feel like it. What was 'now' lacked behind for a split second.

"You should be able to ask the Spirit Pagoda for a free Hundred Year Spirit Soul. If you'd let me, I would be glad to help you with this." The man wore a hopeful look.

Karni nodded. Not just this, he would have trouble going through many things alone. He was a child at the moment. 

He subconsciously brought the Martial Souls into him and stepped off the platform.

Then it hit him. Tears started rolling down his face.

It was all real. It wasn't some stupid lucid dream. He could tell the shape and the nature of his martial souls. He could feel them residing in his very soul. They were there, silently a part of him. The world around him wasn't oddly realistic. The smells weren't oddly realistic. The feeling on his skin wasn't oddly realistic. Everything was just… real.

He was alone in a cruel world, where power matters most. Who knew how long it would take for him to get back home? 30 years if he is an incredible genius? 50 years if he is talented? Or, if his talent in cultivation is average? 100? More? And all of that under the assumption that he finds a way to go back at all. He could become the most powerful Soul Master in the world, yet still not have a way to go back home.

Yet this being reality brought up more questions. What was with that small golden stream of water? What was the pitch black space? And what was with that deep red voice? Were they somehow connected with his reincarnation? Likely. However it really didn't matter to him right now.

He was happy that he was talented, yet the sorrow he was feeling at this moment of realisation took over his emotions. His face was completely covered in tears. His heart was beating irrationally.

An outsider like the middle-aged man misunderstood this. He mistook them for tears of happiness; no one would think that a child would cry with sadness when he had such luck. But for Karni this wasn't luck. For Karni this was better perceived as a disaster with a silver lining.

Twin martial souls came with many advantages. One of them was that his inner cultivation was at the maximum. Maximum Soul Power, as the people of this world called it. That was the 10th level. With this, he wouldn't need to cultivate to get his first soul ring.

If he wishes, he can immediately become a Soul Master. The way to his second ring should be quite easy as well.

Each Soul Ring offered a unique ability; those could vary from support to combat based, to defensive ones. A total of 9 abilities. Rank 90, when one would get the final ring, still wasn't the very top. His aim would have to be above that.

Because of Twin Martial Souls he could get 18 abilities in total. More if he fused with a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Soul. But that was far away. First he had to get a Spirit Soul at all.

But his mind wasn't in the right space to get a Spirit Soul at the moment. They were special existences, requiring a proper procedure. His mental state had to be stable. 

Karni took a big breath, just enough to clear his mind. "Senior, is it alright if I find a place to rest first? I have come from far away and haven't found the time to rest yet.I should be in my top condition for a Spirit Soul."

The man was caught off guard for a second. "Do you have a place to stay?" 

Karni shook his head.

"Hmm. If you wish, you can stay with me for the time being… Oh! Don't worry! I am a teacher from the Star Luo City Junior Academy and am affiliated with the Spirit Pagoda." He showed a token with the Star Luo Crest, wearing an awkward smile. It felt like trying to coerce a child. A greatly uncomfortable feeling.

Karni didn't doubt him. The fact this guy had the role of awakening children was enough to speak of his character. Only the people of Spirit Pagoda were allowed to awaken Martial Souls, though Karni didn't really think about that.

The man smiled and finally introduced himself. "The name's Yi Lan. I'm a Soul King, only staying here temporarily for this event." He showed his Soul Rings as well. Five of them, as he said. It spoke of the strength that the Star Luo City Academy had. Even their junior academy had teachers at the 50th level. The fact the man belonged to the Spirit Pagoda also spoke of their influence.

Outside, Karni found Tie Tiao. He told the boy what happened. "Looks like I really will get front seats to another legend being born after 10.000 years. When you get strong, you best mention me in the future! Oh right, give me an autograph!" 

Tie Tiao was excited about meeting a weird kid that came from god knows where and had such talent. Though as he received an oddly written autograph, Karni also noticed a bit of jealousy.

The boy waved before he went away with his parents and another older girl. "Hope we see each other in the academy!" 

Yi Lan took Karni to his temporary residence. On the way, the teacher explained some of the process regarding the fusion with a Spirit Soul. Yi Lan also mentioned the surrounding Junior Academies. 

"Of the surrounding academies, Star Luo City Academy is by far the best". Karni glanced at the comment. Though not a direct invite, how could Karni overlook the blatant advertising of the academy to him? Interestingly, Yi Lan didn't advertise Spirit Pagoda. Perhaps he found Karni too young for that.

In Yi Lan's eyes, he was talking to a 6 year old. He didn't need to be too subtle about things.

They arrived at a building that resembled the others around it. Nothing special. When they entered, Karni had to admit that it felt quite cosy. The fact that technology was similar to Earth's own comforted him. He probably couldn't survive easily in another time period. The period of Soul Land 4, also known as Ultimate Douluo, was too advanced for him and he didn't know much about it. On the other hand, the period of Douluo Dalu and the Unrivalled Tang Sect were behind Earth in terms of technological advancement.

He settled into the bed of the room assigned to him and was fast asleep. 

The teacher covered the boy in a blanket. Where did this kid come from? Why was the child so mature while conversing? The reaction to his offers were lukewarm at best. Barely 6, yet based on what the kid told him, he wasn't anywhere close to his home.

His Martial Souls were also intriguing. Mutations weren't that uncommon, but mutations on Twin Martial Souls were. The famous Spirit Ice Douluo had mutated Martial Souls! Usually, for this to happen, Martial Souls would have to be of similar quality, as well as very different in nature.

Karni's Twin Martial Souls were a perfect example of this. A Panda and a Bo Staff. One was a Beast Martial Soul, while the other one was a Tool Martial Soul. He might even have a chance to use them both at the same time in the future.

Yi Lan had already decided he had to get this child into Star Luo City Academy. With him, their academy will have two genius children, and he would be the one to discover one of them! The future looked incredibly bright to him.

The day turned to night and night turned to day. When the first semblance of light was outside, Karni woke up. Looking outside, he was filled with a sense of loss. It has been a morning just like this before he came here. He really wanted to hear the sound of his mom asking him: "You're still awake?"

Instead he heard a different sound, a more masculine one which momentarily made him flinch. "Hey kid, you're already awake?" It was Yi Lan. Karni nodded absentmindedly. Yi Lan, as a Soul King, could immediately tell that Karni woke up.

They had early morning breakfast before going to the Spirit Pagoda. On the way, Yi Lan suddenly asked a question. "Since your Martial Souls are both mutated, they are solely unique to you. You should decide on a name for them."

Karni fell into thought. "The panda is very fluffy and gives me a bamboo stick, which is quite odd. I'll call it Fluffy Bamboo Panda." He turned surprisingly cute when he released it. He looked friendly and approachable, the fluffiness definitely enforced that feeling. It also made Karni feel protected.

Yi Lan laughed. "Nice and straightforward, what about the Bo Staff?"

"The staff will be called the Staff of Predictions." This name was chosen for its effect instead of its appearance. The martial soul gave him a feeling of time, control, and knowledge. But there was no strength felt in it, as if it was almost hollow, or at the very least, incredibly light.

Yi Lan was taken aback. "Predictions?" His eyes were full of curiosity.

Karni answered honestly. "When I take it out I can see a glimpse of a prediction, of what one will do." He took the Bo Staff out, his world immediately turned slightly gold with shapes walking in front of people. "I can see a shape of you around 50 cm in front of you, and then you fulfil that shape by doing exactly as it did."

Karni had a thought. Back home, just before getting here, he wrote in a document: Guardian Greatsword. He was fond of that type of weapon. He felt almost sad that he didn't get that as his martial soul. The world wasn't that convenient.

Not knowing what the kid was thinking about, Yi Lan was astonished about the Bo Staff. 'It shows the future? Or perhaps analyses the situation and makes a prediction out of it? Looks like his Martial Souls are quite unique. Since this one is so special, maybe the Panda had a special effect as well?'

While the Bo Staff Martial Soul did analyse the situation and made a prediction out of it, there was indeed an aspect of time included in it. The analysis did not work in traditional ways.

"You have to decide which martial soul will be your primary one and which one will be auxiliary. Getting soul rings for both at the same time is a waste. I think you can figure out why yourself. At least for the time being. Choosing one to be your main Martial Soul will decide your future path as a Soul Master." Yi Lan's face was serious and his voice was clear. This was important.

Cultivating a single Martial Soul first has been a practice since long ago for Twin Martial Soul Masters. When beginning cultivation one can't fuse with strong Soul Rings. However, if one gave a ring to the second Martial Soul when they were already strong, they can give that Martial Soul a better Soul Ring. Of course, today, with the introduction of Spirit Souls, the system, as well as timing for when to give a Spirit Soul on the second Martial Soul was different, but the starting principle was the same.

Karni was familiar with this thought. It was a key part of the novels, and coincidentally, he had already made his decision. "I think I'll go in the direction of a Control Master. My main martial soul is going to be my Staff of Predictions. I can feel that the Fluffy Bamboo Panda has defensive capabilities, and in my opinion, I should first nurture control."

There were two reasons for this. Firstly a Control System would always be welcomed in teams. They were the key to teamwork. They connected the team and were the brains behind tactics.

In a similar vein of thought, the Auxiliary System Soul Masters were also always welcomed. They passively supported the team from behind, boosting their individual capabilities, and with them making everyone stronger.

The second reason for why Karni went this route was more childish. All of the main characters started out as Control System Soul Masters. He found it the coolest. To perfectly control the situation; everything working as you designed it to. Wasn't that just an awesome thing to do?

Yi Lan agreed. "A wise idea. In today's world of Soul Masters, thinking about teamwork is also important. Your Staff of Predictions is more suitable for that. Have you thought about what kind of a Spirit Soul you want to have, what kind of abilities do you think should be increased first?" He was already talking to him as his teacher— as if giving him a test. He already considered Karni a student of the Star Luo City Academy.

Karni answered instantly. "I should first increase my predictive abilities. This way, the predictions will actually become useful. As they are, they are not useful in the staff form. I also need the Bo Staff to offer some actual control, otherwise it might become completely auxiliary. I don't really want that. The problem is that I don't know what kind of Spirit Soul would give me such a Soul Ring."

Karni thought that his predictions, as they were, weren't useful. This was wrong. One should always get used to all of the bonuses a Martial Soul gives, no matter how small. Karni had yet to develop such a mentality and Yi Lan was aware of it. Instead, Yi Lan thought it more important to give Karni Spirit Soul options. Learning about other things would come later anyway.

Spirit Souls could give Karni multiple Soul Rings, based on its attributes. It would be a superior way to a now obsolete system of killing a Soul Beast that would offer a Soul Ring. This also meant that today, Soul Masters had to choose their Spirit Souls more carefully, because just like Soul Rings, those stayed forever, but unlike Soul Rings, they couldn't choose a Soul Beast for each individual ability.

Yi Lan thought of a few options that might be suitable. "There are a few spirit souls. There is the One-Eyed Lizard. It would definitely increase the predictions immensely, however the awareness would be left behind. It also wouldn't offer control abilities, but more likely assault ones. That being said, it is Spiritually powerful which would suit your Staff of Predictions very well." He paused, letting Karni understand every word of what he said.

"Another good option would be the Ghostly Vine. It would for sure offer you control abilities, and powerful ones at that, however it wouldn't give you prediction abilities. You would have to find those later on, most likely after you achieve Soul Elder Rank." 20 ranks from now—a long way from now.

Karni nodded a bit, but showed his interest in listening further. He wasn't completely satisfied with these options.

Yi Lan smiled and continued. "There is an option of a weaker Spirit Soul that would offer you all of the aspects you want, but they wouldn't be as powerful. It's called the All-Seeing Rattlesnake. It uses sounds for control with a spiritual aspect to them. The 'all-seeing' part comes from the combination of future sight and spiritual awareness of the soul beast. It will, however, offer no offensive prowess. But as I said, it belongs to the weaker side overall. They aren't known for being very strong." This was undoubtedly a good option, despite the weaker aspect of it, but the way Yi Lan worded it, he was clearly hinting that there was another option coming. Hence, Karni stayed silent.

"Lastly is the Tree Crawling Spider, which will most definitely give you high spiritual awareness of the surroundings, as well as high quality control abilities. But, it again wouldn't increase predictions at all, it might even transform that aspect of the martial soul into something else. It is, however, undoubtedly the strongest of the ones I told you about. His abilities would be strong no matter what."

Karni took some time to think about all of the options. The first two were good all round increase in abilities, however they both lacked one of the requested aspects. The snake offered all of them, but being the weakest. The skills likely wouldn't be too powerful. Meanwhile, the Tree Crawling Spider would probably transform one of the aspects, so it can technically be considered fulfilled, yet also not fulfilled. There was a high chance that his path would be completely altered.

Karni's eyes became determined as he decided on a choice. "I'll choose the All-Seeing Rattlesnake. While the others are good, two would make me wait to fulfil the other strong parts of the martial soul, while the last one would transform it, which is something I don't want. The snake however will establish my foundations, so that they can smoothly increase in the future, and as an added bonus, a snake is a good fit for the bo staff, based on its body. I don't mind that the skills might turn out weaker or more general than the others." He looked at Yi Lan's eyes so as to see if his answer was correct.

Yi Lan nodded happily. "There were no wrong choices, really. The first two would also give you a solid foundation, but instead of all the aspects, they would add certain combat prowess. You also have to consider all of the strong points of your Martial Soul. While the very last one was a matter of choice, you chose not to transform the Martial Soul and instead sacrifice a bit of combat prowess. You'll have to be patient to become truly strong, but this is definitely the choice for the best foundation."

Little did either of them know that this choice would bring quite some hardships for Karni. The All-Seeing Rattlesnakes had a most peculiar flaw in them. One which Karni would discover later on.

They soon came next to a Spirit Pagoda with 7 stories. The place was mostly empty, so they didn't have to wait for long. Stepped next to the reception desk, Yi Lan addressed the receptionist. "Greetings, this child here has reached 10th rank and would like to get a Spirit Soul."

These particular Spirit Souls were developed by the Spirit Pagoda because of the waning Soul Beasts. They were a replacement. Artificial. Being artificial, some of them were also defective, most of them of the Ten year old variety. However, they too could be fused with.

The Soul Master showed his doubt, seeing that Karni was so young, but explained anyway. "The Spirit Souls we offer range from 10 to 1000 years old. We have 443 Ten year old ones and 79 Hundred year old ones. We also have 9 which are a Thousand years old."

Yi Lan interrupted. "No need to explain, I myself am a Soul Master of the Spirit Pagoda," he pulled out some documents. "We would like to ask for a 100 year old Spirit Soul."

"You will have to pay a million Federation Credits." The receptionist answered politely.

A huge amount of credits. Only wealthy families or rich merchants could afford it.

"No need. This child is exceedingly talented and can apply for a free first Spirit Soul from the Spirit Pagoda. He awakened with Full Innate Soul Power."

The receptionist had a blank look on his face for a moment, which was quickly replaced with astonishment. He took a quick look at the documents Yi Lan showed, and led the two to a back room.

While walking, Yi Lan turned to Karni. "Don't worry. They will first test your Spiritual Power to assess what Spirit Soul you can fuse with. Since you are born with Inner Full Soul Power, you should have no problem fusing with a Hundred year old Spirit Soul."

They came to a room with multiple odd looking chairs. The receptionist told Karni to sit in one. Meanwhile, Yi Lan gave the receptionist a weird look. These were chairs that tested both Spiritual Power and Soul Power. The receptionist didn't completely believe him.

Karni sat down, oblivious to Yi Lan's thoughts. He was admiring the architecture and the technology instead. This bordered on Sci-Fi levels of technology. Better than Earth.

"You will feel a small prick in your head and will feel a bit dizzy after this. You shouldn't worry as it is completely normal."

After Karni sat down, the screen above the chair lit up as numbers started rising.

They eventually stopped and the end result astonished both the receptionist and Yi Lan.

"Spiritual Power rank: 43, Soul Power Rank 10."

The receptionist bowed to Yi Lan. "I'm sorry for doubting you, sir."

"Don't worry about it, I have yet put his awakening into the records, so this isn't your fault either."

After a bit more discussion, and after Karni's dizziness subsided, they went to the Spirit Soul storage. There were hundreds of them, easily distinguishable by rank. The casings were coloured. White for Ten year old ones, Yellow for Hundred and Purple for Thousand.

Karni was curious. "Sir, what exactly does my Spiritual Power tell me exactly?" He knew this was explained before, but he forgot the details by now. It felt like this wasn't a lot of Spiritual Power, but really, his opinion was skewered by the strength of the protagonists in the novels.

"For now, all you have to know is that your Spiritual Power is strong enough to have a Hundred year old Spirit Soul… And that we need it for keeping track of young Soul Masters. You will learn more details in school later on."

Karni wasn't quite happy with that answer, but what could he do?

The Spirit Souls and consequently, Soul Beasts, had different ages of cultivation, ranking from the bottom of 10 years old all the way to 100k years of cultivation. The artificial ones here could only reach 1k years of cultivation. Each major year gap would provide a different coloured Soul Ring, and the stronger the cultivation, the stronger the abilities of said ring. But this also meant that the stronger the Soul Ring, the harder it was to fuse with.

The colours of the Soul Ring followed the same scheme that the Spirit Pagoda used. A 10 year Spirit Soul would give White coloured soul ring. The 100 year one would give Yellow coloured ones. It was also the highest rank which a beginning Soul Master could fuse with. 

The Purple Colour of a 1000 year old Spirit Soul was followed by Black which represented 10k. Finally, there was Red for 100k. But to get Spirit Souls above 10k years of cultivation? In the current world, it was barely possible.

Soon, they came to a specific section in the Hundred year old Spirit Souls.

"This is the All-Seeing Rattlesnake. They are a cunning species and quite hard to kill in the wild, despite their weak constitution and lack of combat abilities. They are also one of the few species who aren't as endangered as other ones due to their balanced survival abilities." The receptionist grabbed a yellow ball and offered it to Yi Lan, who then gave it to Karni.

Karni took the ball-like cage handed to him by Yi Lan. The Spirit Soul resided in it. The little spirit had a rough shape of a snake that could be seen, as the whole ball was full of bright yellow mist.

… … …

They returned to the residence. Yi Lan spoke while Karni was watching the ball. "Kid, you are very talented. I wish I could make you a formal student in the Star Luo City Junior Academy." He gave Karni a sincere look.

"Think of this proposition for now and we will talk more once you fuse with the little snake. If you have any doubts and questions regarding the academy, you can ask them tomorrow. For now take it as a simple reminder." His tone changed from the previous direct one into one of subtlety and openness.

The kid was talented, however he was also mature. To take an aggressive approach wouldn't do him well. He regretted his original assertive attitude. He was hoping that Karni was interested and would approach him about it himself.

But all Karni did was acknowledge the proposition with a small nod. He focused on the mysterious ball of yellow.

The teacher of the academy sighed, before sitting on the ground cross legged. "Come here. Before you fuse, you need to know how to actually do it."