Douluo Dalu: Path of Power

Since Yulin had arrived early, Beixuan decided not to rely on the power of the Martial Soul Hall to awaken his martial soul.

He estimated that his martial soul would at least be a Pixiu, and not just any Pixiu, but a King Pixiu. Even if it retained only a tenth of its power, it would still surpass the Six-Winged Angel, a god-level martial soul. Perhaps, because it wasn't a God-bestowed Martial Soul, he wouldn't receive the divine gift of innate rank ten soul power, but he was confident that he would at least have full innate soul power.

Even if the people overseeing the awakening weren't knowledgeable, the Pixiu, as a mighty and awe-inspiring mythical beast, was clearly a formidable martial soul. Coupled with full innate soul power, the awakening master would undoubtedly report it to the Martial Soul Hall.

Beixuan had no intention of joining the Martial Soul Hall, nor did he want to attract their attention.

Dugu Bo had once said that, over the years, the Martial Soul Hall had secretly dealt with many talented soul masters who refused to join them. Beixuan didn't want to unknowingly become a thorn in their side.

Of course, this didn't make him biased against the Martial Soul Hall. He understood better than anyone that great power always casts a shadow. No organization could develop without its fair share of darkness. In fact, the hidden corruption within the Upper Three Sects and the Two Great Empires might be even worse than that of the Martial Soul Hall.

Beixuan simply didn't want to become someone else's subordinate.

In reality, the Martial Soul Hall's contributions to the continent were widely recognized. They even sent people to remote villages like this to provide free martial soul awakenings and issue recommendation letters for poor children, allowing them to study as work-study students at soul master academies. This had given countless commoners a chance to change their fates.

Additionally, the Martial Soul Hall played a crucial role in defending against beast tides from the Soul Beast Forest and eradicating dark soul masters.

Dark soul masters did exist in this era, though their numbers weren't as high as in later generations. Under the relentless pursuit of the Martial Soul Hall, they were constantly on the run, never able to establish a faction like the future Holy Spirit Cult.

However, the definition of dark soul masters in this era was slightly different from that of the future.

In later generations, dark soul masters were classified based on their martial souls. But now, they were judged based on their actions.

In other words, it wasn't about what martial soul one had but how one used it.

Even if someone possessed the most sacred martial soul, if they committed atrocities, they would still be branded as a dark soul master. Conversely, if someone had the most sinister and bloodthirsty martial soul but remained law-abiding, they were still considered legitimate soul masters.

Beixuan believed that this method of judgment was correct.

If the future standards were applied, then figures like Ghost Douluo Gui Mei from the Martial Soul Hall or Bone Douluo Gu Rong from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might have been executed long ago. Even Pope Bibi Dong… Well, in her case, if she was the anime version who cultivated by sacrificing living beings, she truly would be a dark soul master.

Of course, such a fair judgment system wasn't established by the incompetent Qian Xunji or the love-struck Bibi Dong, but by Qian Daoliu—the true greatest Pope the Martial Soul Hall had seen in the past century.

Unfortunately, after he stepped down as Pope and became the Grand Arbiter, both of his successors turned out to be unqualified. They were obsessed with personal strength and neglected governance, leading to widespread corruption within the Martial Soul Hall.

While the lower ranks were still relatively stable, the middle-level Martial Soul Palaces and even the upper-level Martial Soul Temples became filled with corrupt bishops like Miles and Salas, who exploited the people.

Beixuan wanted nothing to do with them.

If the person awakening his martial soul turned out to be a corrupt lunatic, Yulin could easily eliminate them midway. But if it was someone like Blind Douluo Su Yuntao, an honest and law-abiding individual, Beixuan—while not considering himself a good person—didn't want to kill an innocent soul.

Thus, the best solution was to avoid letting the Martial Soul Hall handle his awakening altogether.

Yulin wasn't foolish. As a Titled Douluo who had lived on this continent for fifty years, he immediately understood Beixuan's concerns. He nodded and said,

"Alright, don't worry, Xiao Xuan. I'll awaken your martial soul right now. But the awakening might cause some commotion, so let's find a quieter place."

With that, Yulin grabbed Beixuan and took him to a small forest.

This was a place Yulin knew very well. In his past life, as a renowned playboy, he often visited such locations. It had practically become a habit—whenever something important happened, he instinctively sought out these places.

And indeed, this place was quiet enough, far from the village, making it an ideal spot for an awakening.

"This will do, Xiao Xuan. It's secluded, with no one around. We can do whatever we need to here. Now, focus your mind and steady your breath!"

Yulin enveloped Beixuan in his vast soul power. As a Titled Douluo, he didn't need an awakening stone to help someone awaken their martial soul.

Wrapped in Yulin's soul power, Beixuan felt as if he had entered a warm world, where energy surged through his organs, limbs, and bones, filling him with an indescribable sense of comfort.

"Yo, Xiao Xuan, you look like you're enjoying this." Yulin smirked. "Well, since it's your first time, I'll be as gentle as possible."

Beixuan immediately broke into a cold sweat. This guy had flirted with too many women in his past life—he couldn't even go a few sentences without saying something suggestive.

But Beixuan didn't bother complaining. He could feel two distinct forces within him struggling to break free.

In his left hand, a force overflowing with masculine strength surged forth.

In his right hand, an eerie and mysterious spiritual power stirred.

Seeing this, Yulin smiled. As expected of the Pixiu royal bloodline's heir, Beixuan had awakened Twin Martial Souls.

One was the King Pixiu, inherited from his father Bei Luo.

The other was Nightmare, inherited from his mother Yun Wuyue.

Beixuan had always assumed that he would only inherit King Pixiu, as it was superior to Nightmare. Typically, stronger martial souls would consume weaker ones, making Twin Martial Souls extremely rare unless both were of equal quality.

However, he had overlooked something—when his father Bei Luo sent him away, he had only transformed his Pixiu and Nightmare bloodlines but had left his third bloodline untouched—the Blood of the Shaman.

Since this bloodline was merely inherited and lacked the source blood, it had always been suppressed by his Pixiu and Nightmare bloodlines. But now that these two bloodlines had transformed into martial souls, their power had significantly weakened, allowing the Blood of the Shaman to keep them separate and balanced.

Thus, even though King Pixiu was stronger, it didn't consume Nightmare.

Both martial souls had manifested perfectly within Beixuan.

As Yulin withdrew his soul power, Beixuan slowly landed. Yulin then pulled out a soul power testing crystal ball from his wrist guard.

His wrist guard was actually a storage soul tool.

"Xiao Xuan, this is the crystal ball I used back in the day. It can measure up to a Soul King's soul power. I know your innate soul power won't be low, but let's test it just to be sure."