Douluo Dalu: 1st Cycle: Dancing Panda

The first person he looked to was the middle aged man. The man's eyes were shining, his previous tiredness seemed to have vanished completely as he looked at Karni with awe.

"Twin Martial Souls! Full Innate Soul power! Hahahaha, I found a genius!" He seemed to have been looking at exquisite food while he stared at Karni,but he was a professional. He quickly calmed himself and looked closer.

"Hmm, A Panda-like martial soul. It's much fluffier than other Panda souls, and looks like that bamboo stick is also part of it." He analysed Karni's arms which grew fur.

"This Bo Staff on the other hand looks incredibly intricate. It doesn't resemble the design of the usual Bo Staff Martial Souls. Looks like both of these are mutations. I can't even tell what martial souls they mutated from. They do seem to be around the high level ones though. Kid, you are incredibly lucky!" The middle aged man looked at Karni.

Karni also had an astonished face, he knew what twin martial souls meant, and knew what kind of advantage it would give him, looks like his misfortune of coming to another world wasn't without cause. In the future, he would essentially have double the variety in battle, double the abilities.

Twin Martial Souls was something that only the protagonists usually got in the novels. Maybe some important side characters as well. This also meant that his chances of returning just doubled, he had the initial talent of the protagonists. Some of the pressure seemed to have fallen off his shoulders.

He felt these martial souls. They were deeply connected to his soul and they appeared incredibly profound to him, as if they were part of his very thoughts. 

He concentrated on the staff. It felt like everything around him showed a picture of the immediate future. What was 'now' lacked behind for a split second.

"With your talent you can even ask the Spirit Pagoda for a free hundred year spirit soul. If you let me, I would be glad to help you over this problem." He looked hopefully at Karni.

Karni simply nodded. He knew that he alone wasn't good enough to get through this part. Not only was he from a different world, but he was a 6 year old child at the moment. He almost subconsciously brought the martial souls back inside of him and stepped off the platform. Soon after, tears started rolling down his face.

This was real. It wasn't a dream, he could tell the shape and the nature of his martial souls, he could feel them residing in his soul, they were there, silently a part of his very being. Everything felt… real.

He knew this world was cruel and he was alone in here. 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+? That was only under the assumption that he finds a way to go back at all. He might become the most powerful soul master in the world yet still not have a way to go back home.

Since this wasn't a dream, what was with that small golden stream of water in the pitch black space, and what was with that deep red voice? Were they somehow connected with his reincarnation? However this wasn't important to him right now.

He was happy that he was talented, however the sorrow he felt at this moment of realisation was 10 times more powerful. His face was completely covered in tears. His heart was running wild.

The middle-aged man misunderstood. He thought that these were tears of happiness; no one would think that a child would cry with sadness because of such luck. But was it really luck? For Karni this was better perceived as misfortune with a silver lining.

Twin martial souls came with many advantages. One of them was that his inner cultivation was at the maximum that he could handle at the moment. He had maximum soul power, as the people of this world called it. That was the 10th level. With this he didn't need to cultivate to get the first soul ring.

He'll be able to become a soul master instantly. The way to his second ring should be quite smooth.

As one added Soul Rings, they would get abilities that could wary from support to combat based ones. Which means one could have a total of 9 abilities. The highest level possible to obtain the last ring was at rank 90 of soul power.

Twin Martial Souls meant he could get 18 abilities in total, more if he fused with a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Soul. But first he needed a normal Spirit Soul.

At the moment he didn't feel like getting a Spirit Soul, he knew that they were special existences. He needed to be mentally prepared to fuse with one. 

He needed to calm himself. He took one 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 rested for quite some time. I wish to be in top condition for fusing with a Spirit Soul."

The middle-aged man was caught off guard but nodded anyway, "Do you have a place to stay?" Karni simply shaked his head at this question.

"In that case 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." As he said this he showed a token with the Star Luo Crest. His face was a bit embarrassed as he showed the badge. He felt like he was trying to steal a child. It was a truly uncomfortable feeling.

Karni didn't doubt him. He was sure there would not be a bad person which would awaken the martial souls of 6 year olds. In fact, while Karni has forgotten this in the moment, only the people of Spirit Pagoda were even allowed to awaken Martial Souls in the first place.

On the way the man introduced himself. He was named Yi Lan and he was a Soul King, a formidable existence among the soul masters. This spoke to the strength of the Star Luo City Academy, even their junior academy had teachers at the 50th level. Let's not even mention the Spirit Pagoda, they were an influential existence in the whole world.

Karni also found Tie Tiao. When the boy heard what happened inside the awakening chamber he was shocked. "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!" 

He was weirdly excited about seeing this weird child who came from god knows where having such talent. Though of course there was a bit of jealousy as well.

Karni reluctantly agreed to his requests. The boy waved before he went away with his parents. "Hope we see each other in the academy!" 

Karni continued down the road with teacher Yi Lan. He asked him a few questions about the Spirit Soul fusion process and a bit about the surrounding Junior Academies. 

At the latter question Yi Lan awkwardly told him that no academy near here can compare to the Star Luo City Academy. Though he didn't invite him directly, how could a previously 20 year old young man not know that he was advertising the Star Luo City Academy to him. The reason he didn't advertise Spirit Pagoda is that Karni was too young. However once he's older, it might be a different story.

The teacher wasn't as subtle about it either, since, in his eyes, he was talking to a six year old.

The place that they arrived at wasn't too shabby, but it wasn't anything great either. Yet it felt quite cosy to Karni. The fact that technology wasn't behind comforted him as well. He knew 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. On the other hand the period of Douluo Dalu and the Unrivalled Tang Sect were quite behind earth in terms of technological advancement.

He settled in quite quickly and was fast asleep. The teacher didn't expect this, so he simply covered Karni with a blanket. He was wondering where this kid had come from? Why was this child so mature while they conversed? He was barely 6, and based on what the kid told him, he wasn't anywhere close to his home right now.

Not only that, but his martial souls intrigued him. Mutations weren't that uncommon, but mutations on Twin Martial Souls were. The famous Spirit Ice Douluo had mutated martial souls! Usually they would occur on people with equally ranked Martial Souls that they gained from their parents and ones which aren't closely related. Even more so if they are completely opposite in some aspects.

This was clearly seen with Karni's Twin Martial Souls. One was a Panda while the other one was a Bo Staff. They had practically nothing in common with each other. On top of that, 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 has already decided he has to get this child to Star Luo City Academy. With him, their academy will have two genius children, and one of them would be the one that he had discovered! 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. He looked outside and 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 scared him as he flinched. "Hey kid, you're already awake?" It was Yi Lan's voice. Karni greeted him back. A Soul King was very sensitive to many things at their level, he found out practically immediately when Karni woke up.

They had early morning breakfast and afterwards they went towards the Spirit Pagoda without wasting much time. 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 then soon said "The panda is very fluffy and constantly has a bamboo stick in its mouth. I'll call it Fluffy Bamboo Panda." The martial soul looked surprisingly cute when he released it, friendly, like it was a friend, the fluffiness definitely enforced that feeling. Yet it also made Karni feel protected.

Yi Lan laughed and said "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 incredibly light.

Yi Lan heard the name and was surprised. "How come for the prediction part?" his eyes were full of curiosity.

Karni answered immediately, "When I take it out I can see a glimpse of a prediction, of what one will do, for example," he took the Bo Staff out, "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."

While Karni was thinking about this, he had a thought. He remembered the things he wrote back home. It was a Guardian Greatsword. He was fond of that type of weapon. He had a small thought that maybe he should've gotten what he wrote back then? Looks like it didn't work that way.

On the other hand Yi Lan was astonished about the Bo Staff. So 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 Staff Martial Soul did analyse the situation and made a prediction out of it, there was indeed an aspect of time included in it.

Thinking about the abilities of future sight Yi Lan said: "You have to decide which martial soul will be your main 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. Choosing which one shall be your main martial soul will decide part of your future cultivation as a soul master!" He looked seriously as he talked about this. It was clear that it was an important matter.

The reason for cultivating only one martial soul at the start was quite simple. When beginning cultivation one can't fuse strong soul rings. However if one gave a ring to the second martial soul when they were really strong already, they can immediately give that martial soul a strongly cultivated, and thus stronger soul ring instead of starting small.

Karni also understood this as it was a key part of the novels, and coincidentally he has already decided about it. "Yes, I think I will go in the direction of a Control Master, which would mean that 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 will always be welcomed in teams as they are the key to teamwork, they connected the team and were the brains of how the team should work. 

Similarly, the auxiliary system soul masters were always welcomed. They passively supported the team from behind, boosting their individual capabilities and with it making everyone stronger.

The second reason was more childish. All of the main characters started as control system Soul Masters and he found it the coolest. To control the situation and having the control over everything in your hands, wasn't that just an awesome thing to do?

Yi Lan nodded at the child's assessment. "That is a wise idea, and in today's world of Soul Masters, thinking about teamwork is also important. In this case your Staff of Predictions is more suitable. Have you thought about what kind of a Spirit Soul you want to have, what kind of abilities do you think you should increase first?" He was already talking to him as his teacher, as if giving him a test. He already considered him a student of the Star Luo City Academy.

Karni said almost instantly. "In my opinion, it should first increase the prediction abilities, this way, the predictions will actually become useful. Currently they are not useful in the staff form. I also need it to actually offer me some sort of control, otherwise it might become completely auxiliary, which is not something I want. However I don't know what kind of Spirit Soul would give me such a Soul ring."

He said that the predictions as they are now are not useful, but this was wrong. One should always get used to all of the bonuses a Martial Soul gives, no matter how small. It is simply that he didn't have such a mentality yet. Instead Yi Lan thought it more important to give him Spirit Soul options for now, learning could come later.

Spirit Souls enabled Soul Masters of this era to gain Soul Rings. They were spiritual existences that were directly connected to the martial soul. Because of that, the abilities of Soul Rings would usually be a combination of a martial soul and the Spirit Soul's innate abilities.

Yi Lan quickly gave Karni a few options he considered suitable. "There are a few spirit souls. There is the One-Eyed Lizard. It would definitely increase the predictions immensely, however it wouldn't increase the awareness much, nor would it offer control abilities but more likely assault ones. It is however Spiritually powerful which would suit your Staff of Predictions very well." He paused there to give Karni some time to take this in.

 "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, so you would have to fulfil that part later in your cultivation. Most likely after you achieve Soul Elder Rank." That was the 30th rank of Soul power. A long way from now.

At this point he stopped again to see if Karni had already decided, however he only saw a look of waiting for continuation.

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." This was undoubtedly a good option, but the way Yi Lan said it was hinting that there was another option coming, hence, Karni was 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."

Karni took some time to think about all of the options. The first two were good all round increase in abilities, however they both didn't offer one of the requested aspects, the snake offered all of them but was the weakest and had no attacking abilities in sight. Meanwhile the Tree Crawling Spider would probably transform one of the aspects, so it can technically be considered fulfilled, yet also not fulfilled, as it would likely change the way of his cultivation completely.

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 I am not willing to do. 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." 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 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. For solid foundations, it is well worth it."

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.

They soon came next to a Spirit Pagoda with 7 stories. They stepped next to the reception desk as Yi Lan addressed the receptionist. The place was mostly empty, so they didn't have to wait for long. "Greetings, Soul Master, 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, however they too could be fused with. The defective ones were usually 10 years old.

The Soul Master looked doubtfully at Karni 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 answered, "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."

"For that you will have to pay a million Federation Credits." Answered the receptionist politely.

This was 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 inner 10th rank Soul Power."

The receptionist had a blank look on his face until it completely changed into that of astonishment. He took a quick look at the documents Yi Lan showed and led the two to a back room.

As they were walking, Yi Lan slowly explained to Karni. "Don't worry they will first have to test your Spiritual Power to assess what Spirit Soul you can fuse with. As you are born with inner full soul power, you should have no problem fusing with a 100 year old Spirit Soul."

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

Karni sat down, oblivious to Yi Lan's thoughts. Everything still seemed so magical to him after all.

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

Soon after he sat down, the screen above the chair lit up as numbers started raising.

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 haven't 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 and one could also clearly distinguish them by rank.

Karni asked. "Sir, what exactly does my Spiritual Power tell me exactly?" He knew this was explained before, but he forgot the details by now. He 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 100 year old Spirit Soul, and we need this 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? They simply continued walking next to all the Spirit Souls.

The Spirit Souls 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, however, 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. Of course to fuse with a Spirit Soul required more effort, the stronger it was.

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 and then red for 100k. But to get Spirit Souls above 10k years of cultivation? It was currently but a pipe dream.

Soon they came to a specific section in the 100 year old Spirit Souls.

"This is the All-Seeing Rattlesnake. They are a cunning species and quite hard to kill in the wild. They are also one of the few species who aren't as endangered as other ones due to their overall balanced survival abilities. Here, it's yours now."

Karni took the ball-like cage handed to him by Yi Lan. The Spirit Soul resided in it. He watched the little spirit inside. He could only see a rough shape of a snake in it as the whole ball was full of bright yellow mist.

They slowly went back to their residence and while walking, Yi Lan suddenly spoke as Karni was watching the ball. "You know, you are very talented. I wish I could make you a formal student in the Star Luo City Junior Academy." He stopped and 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 you can ask them tomorrow, for now take it as a simple reminder." He smiled gently. 

He knew that the kid was talented, however he also noticed his maturity, to take an aggressive approach wouldn't do him well. He regretted his original assertive attitude. If Karni was interested, he hoped that the child would ask him about it himself.

Karni simply acknowledged the proposition with a small nod while he focused on the mysterious ball of yellow.

They got inside the temporary cosy residence and the teacher smiled. "Come here. Let me explain to you the process of the fusion."