Douluo Dalu: 1st Cycle: Dancing Panda

The second symbol deepened the mystery. "Tang San." It had a vertical golden trident, three points pointed upward. Crossing the trident was a sword, its colour was of light silver. Tang San was known as the God of Sea; and as someone who read the original novels he knew that Tang San had a second God position: Asura. The sword belonged to the god position.

The next symbol featured a beautiful eye of gold, with golden butterfly wings behind it. They seemed even more beautiful than the eye. This had to represent Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao and the Dragon Butterfly Douluo Tang Wutong, Huo Yuhao's wife.

The last symbol was the easiest to recognise. It was Earth. Drawn in a little circle. The continents were the colour of gold, while the ocean was that of silver.

Three of these symbols represented characters in the novels. The time period he was in now belonged to the story with the two dragons. The two dragons were also the only ones with any additional colour besides gold and silver. Those of the eyes.

The red and blue eyes of the golden dragon signified the Golden Dragon King, Tang Wulin. The blue was the colour of Tang Wulin's eyes, while red was the colour of the Golden Dragon King. Purple coloured eyes were the colour of Gu Yuena, Wulin's future wife, the Silver Dragon King.

It was hard to say what exactly the other three symbols represented, outside of the character representation of Tang San, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. No. Perhaps Tang San's wife, Xiao Wu, as well? She was connected to the Asura God position as well. But the most confusing thing was the fourth symbol. Earth. Why was Earth on the Martial Soul? He would perhaps accept something that represented Douluo Dalu 4, not Earth.

For starters, this meant that the symbols were more complicated than just listing characters, but then what exactly was their purpose? He tried to figure out his Martial Soul some more, before giving up. He had no ideas. He remembered that there should be more symbols on it though. A quick glance to the other side confirmed his suspicions.

But before he focused on those, he was distracted by another change. A long, thin black snake had been added as part of the design of the Bo Staff. It coiled around the whole martial soul. Among its black scales, what stood out most were the few stripes, and the eyes. Both were gold, just like Hope's.

This also added a bit of a contrast to the gold and silver Bo Staff. The snake fit well with the already existing design of the Martial Soul. It now had one big black snake and multiple small ones. Both were added after his new Spirit Soul joined him.

With the distraction over, he now focused on the other four symbols.

These four, however, he couldn't recognise. At the very least, he couldn't figure out their meaning. The first symbol was a cat. A simple cat which was coloured gold and silver. The second symbol looked like a silver fox with a single giant tail. The third symbol was a flame with wings in gold. Looking closer it resembled a phoenix.

The last symbol was that of two crossed blades, one coloured gold and the other was silver. 

If the previous symbols were anything to go by, these also represented Martial Souls. But there were many people in the series with these Martial Souls. All except for the last one that is. Yet again, the last symbol was the odd one out. He couldn't remember a person that had two blades, gold or silver. Not those kinds of blades at least. There was a person with a Moon Blade martial soul in the first story, but he didn't remember one that would have two blades. Daggers perhaps, but not blades.

More than that, the details connected this symbol to Earth. The other symbols connected to the other side in a similar manner. Each to their own symbol. The cat with the dragons, the trident and the sword with the fox, the phoenix-like flame with the eye and the twin blades with the Earth. The whole Bo seemed to be of only gold and silver with the exceptions of the dragons' eyes and the black snake.

He remembered a side character with a fox martial soul from Tang San's story. He also knew someone with a phoenix martial soul from Soul Land 2. On the other hand the cat didn't really say much of anything. He was curious whether he'd meet someone with a cat-like martial soul in the near future. There were multiple candidates that came to mind. As for the blades? He didn't have a clue.

He put the Staff of Predictions away, and summoned the Fluffy Bamboo Panda. If one Martial Soul was so mysterious, then what about the other? A sigh of relief escaped him when he realised that there was nothing special. He did not need more questions on his mind right now. Thankfully, he simply turned into a cute panda. A bit overly fluffy compared to normal bears and pandas—as if it weren't cute enough, Karni was subconsciously nibbling on a bamboo stick when he had the Martial Soul out.

The Staff of Prediction filled him with a sort of comprehension of the world. The Fluffy Bamboo Panda on the other hand, filled him with athleticism and security. He could smell a bit better, hear a bit better and see a bit better. Most Soul Beasts were able to perform these functions better than humans, so Beast type Soul Master automatically gained a tiny advantage regarding it.

There did exist a kind of instinctual connection to an element with the panda though. It originated from the bamboo he was nibbling on. Bamboo element? Wood element? Karni wasn't quite sure.

He recalled the panda and walked out of the room. His temporary host was still there, watching him. Yi Lan's face relaxed. Karni looked fine. "How did it go with the fusion?"

Karni used actions to show his progress. The Bo Staff appeared and Hope slithered out of it. She looked questioningly at Karni.

Yi Lan laughed. "It seems that the little snake has already warmed up to you. Congratulations on a successful fusion. Have you found out what your first soul ring does?" The teacher's eyes were filled with curiosity.

Karni nodded. "It seems to be a form of amplification of innate abilities, though I haven't tried it out yet. I don't know how much the amplification is."

"Good for a solid foundation, just like you wanted then." Yi Lan smiled . "Most of the first Soul Ring abilities are like that, and it's a good thing as well. If you get a specific Soul Skill at the start, there's a risk of imbalancing your Martial Soul. Of course there are some exceptions, but usually those exceptions are very well thought out, or have a different sort of foundation formed beforehand." Yi Lan again went into a little lecture, though Karni appreciated it. He needed to memorise the little things as well now that he would live in this world for the foreseeable future.

"Come with me. We should test the extent of your ability. Practical knowledge is often better than theoretical."

Yi Lan led them to a small field, then turned to Karni. "Summon your martial soul and activate your ability. Pay attention to your Soul Power consumption and how much it changes the base abilities of your Martial Soul. I will make a simple swing at you, you try to dodge it."

Karni got nervous. He's never actually been in a real fight before, not even as a spar. He was a student of computer science. He didn't have time for any sort of hobbies like martial arts along with the ones he already had. 

Since he had no choice, he summoned his Bo and the world around him seemed to change into a shade of gold.

Yi Lan moved in a simple, but fast manner. Karni almost subconsciously activated the first Soul Ring. His vision changed yet again. In front of Yi Lan there seemed to be a golden shape. It resembled the man charging at him, while Yi Lan himself was behind the golden shadow.

The shape of the golden shadow was now surprisingly clear. It was also farther up front than usually. Intricate details like face muscles and what not weren't seen on it, however, the eyes were surprisingly clear. More accurately, Karni could feel Yi Lan's gaze.

By default, there would be a shape about half a metre before the person. With the Soul Ring it increased to 2 or 3 metres. It was predicting farther into the future! The simple swing was dodged with surprising ease.

Yi Lan was pleasantly surprised. The speed he chose was something that a fresh Soul Master would have trouble with. Karni didn't seem to have any trouble with it. He would have to test Karni again.

The dodge was just as easy as the first one. Karni felt delighted. He really could predict the future! His awareness of Yi Lan's movements was surprisingly keen. Almost like a sort of sixth sense.

Yi Lan stopped and smiled. A plan formed in his head. 'If you know where and how I swing, I won't decide my move until you move.' This mindset was the core behind his next attack.

Karni freezed for a moment. Multiple shadows appeared in front of the teacher. As if there were multiple possible futures. He was overwhelmed, but thankfully, he was still keenly aware of the teacher's movements. He barely dodged. A stark difference between now and then.

Yi Lan stopped again. "If my guess is correct, you saw multiple possibilities of my attack. Correct?"

Karni's eyes went wide for a second. Yes, this was exactly what happened just now. "Mister, doesn't this make my ability a bit… useless? It gives me more options than I can process!"

"If it gives you too many options, you simply have to limit them! You said you wanted to become a control system Soul Master. The control system is the one that controls others, they don't wait for the enemies to make a move. If it's still too hard for you to tell… well you will simply have to learn to take in all the possibilities.Unless your ability is faulty, which is something I haven't heard of, it shouldn't give you wrong answers, but all versions of them. You have to be aware of the predictions that you see, then you have to choose the best one, or create a new one." There was a reason Yi Lan was considered trusted by Spirit Pagoda. He knew how to give advice well.

"Besides that, you should also start training with your Bo Staff. You need at least some form of defence. Your staff can still be used as a weapon. When you dodge someone's strike, you should also whack them on the head." He grinned at the boy.

"I have a lot to learn." Karni sighed. Yi Lan's eyes seemed to shine as the kid said that. "You can get formal training as a Soul Master in the Star Luo City Academy. I can get you in there with a scholarship so you shouldn't have to worry about money either."

'Wow. Talk about advertisements.' Though Karni couldn't deny that he needed the education. The teacher said it would be with a scholarship as well. Karni had nothing here. Not even a roof over his head. He was lucky enough that this teacher was willing to take care of everything.

"I'm willing to study. I want to become stronger. I would be thankful if you can enrol me into the Star Luo City Academy." Karni answered in a polite manner. 

Yi Lan's face was all smiles. He succeeded. He recruited future talent. There would definitely be an award for this.

"Well then, let's return and pack up. We should leave as soon as possible. The school year starts next week. We still need to take care of documentation and your dorm room."

Karni nodded, feeling actually excited. A new life was about to begin. One that was vastly different from a life he led before. 

They returned to pack up. 

"Oh yeah, I do wonder, what is your first soul skill called?" Yi Lan was curious.

Karni fell into thought. He did need to call it something, didn't he? 'Hmm, Visions of Movement? No, too on the nose. Well the shapes appear golden so maybe Golden Gaze? Hmm sounds cool. But… it doesn't have anything to do with my eyes does it? I can feel the predictions as well, not just see them. Though looking does seem most effective.'

After some time, he finally came to an answer. "I think I'll call it Golden Insight. It gives me insight on the future and it's through a golden world.

"A solid choice." Yi Lan smiled before remembering. "Right! How were the amplification abilities? Especially the soul power consumption."

"The amplification is quite great. My predictive abilities are amplified by at least 3 times. I also get a sort of sixth sense about the surrounding area. A sort of awareness of everything around me if you will. The best part is that the consumption wasn't big at all. I should be able to last for about 30 minutes with the skill activated."

Yi Lan was shocked. He mumbled to himself. "The All-Seeing Rattlesnake shouldn't give such strong amplification. Is it because of the mutated martial soul? Or is it that they are strangely compatible? It can be compared to a thousand year support ability. It might be that it works in some way where the consumption isn't large."

Yi Lan continued mumbling to himself. Karni only stared. Apparently the teacher had this side to him as well. At the very least, Karni could listen to his theories.

'Looks like you really are my Hope.' Karni sent a warm message to the snake. He felt a soft prick reacting to his thoughts positively.

Once at the apartment, the packing finished quickly; Karni had no personal belongings with him. The only thing he had was some clothes given by Yi Lan.

They went to the train station. Stepping onto the train that led to Star Luo City, Karni took one last look at the town he arrived in on the first day. So much seemed to have happened in the last week. It was now time to start a new life in Star Luo City Academy.