Douluo: Starting with an Engagement to Zhu Zhuqing

Chapter 19: The Anomaly of the Azure Lotus

Zhu Zhuqing is going to be my wife? Dai Yao felt an overwhelming sense of disbelief.

Not long ago, he had been struggling for survival; now he was a royal prince and about to marry a stunning beauty. He couldn't help but smile at the thought.

Wiping the corner of his mouth where he'd started to drool, he reminded himself that he had more pressing matters to handle. Reflecting on his recent duel, he still felt a lingering sense of dread. If not for Dai Mubai's eagerness to win, he likely would have lost.

"I still lack real combat experience," he concluded. "Once I'm at the academy, I'll need to engage in as many real fights as possible."

Then, there was his second martial soul, the Azure Lotus.

The thought of it darkened his expression. When he obtained his first soul ring not long ago, the Azure Lotus had forcibly absorbed a seven-hundred-year soul ring, nearly killing him in the process. Although he had managed to fuse with it thanks to the Lotus, the pain of that experience was etched deeply into his memory.

With a thought, he focused his soul power, and a faint, glowing Azure Lotus appeared in his palm.

"Huh?" Dai Yao stared, his eyes widening in shock.

"No way...this!" He was so stunned he could barely form the words.

A yellow soul ring had appeared on the Azure Lotus.

"What the... Why does the Azure Lotus have a soul ring? I didn't attach one to it!" Dai Yao racked his brain but couldn't come up with an answer.

"At the time, there was only the one soul ring from the Xuan Water Turtle. No other soul beast was killed," he mused, rubbing his chin in contemplation.

Then, an unbelievable thought struck him: "Could it be...did the Lotus generate its own soul ring?"

"Then what advantage is left in having twin martial souls?"

Everyone knew that the biggest advantage of twin martial souls lay in the potential to add a series of powerful soul rings to the second martial soul after the first reached the level of a Title Douluo. This allowed each soul ring on the second martial soul to have a base of over fifty thousand years.

Dai Yao felt crestfallen. Losing that core advantage of twin martial souls would be a bitter blow to anyone.

But then a plan dawned on him: "From now on, I'll just attach all my soul rings to the Azure Lotus. I won't bother advancing the White Tiger martial soul. I'll treat it as my secondary martial soul."

"Since I won't be using the White Tiger anymore, I can't keep my status as Fourth Prince. From now on, I'll hide my identity and create a whole new persona," he declared, resolute.

"It's a shame, though—I've already wasted one soul ring slot on the White Tiger martial soul."

Dai Yao gazed at the Azure Lotus, his feelings complicated and difficult to express.

"Well, let's see what ability this soul ring provides."

He extended his right hand, gathering soul power within it. The first soul ring on the Azure Lotus lit up, radiating with a brilliant glow.

The Azure Lotus began to expand, its soft stalk straightening and hardening, the petals gathering into a spearhead-like point, with the surrounding leaves forming the spear's tassel.

After casting the first soul skill, the Azure Lotus transformed into the Azure Lotus Spear.

"I wonder how powerful it is," Dai Yao mused.

He headed to the back of the Cold Palace, where there was plenty of open space. The ground was lined with half-foot-thick slabs, supposedly brought from the extreme northern lands, tough enough to withstand a Soul Elder's full-force attack. The foundation of the entire palace was reinforced with these slabs.

In a corner at the back, a pile of extra stone slabs remained. He'd trained here before with his Eight Extremes Strike technique, but even its strongest form hadn't made a mark on these slabs.

Dai Yao gripped the spear with both hands, crouching slightly and focusing his strength before thrusting the Azure Lotus Spear forward.

As the spear tip made contact with the stone, it slid through like a hot knife through butter, seemingly without resistance.

These were the slabs strong enough to withstand a Soul Elder's attack, yet they were pierced by the Azure Lotus Spear with ease!

"No, it's not cutting through like a blade; it's actually disintegrating the stone's structure. That's why there's no resistance at all," Dai Yao realized in awe.

Disintegration—a terrifying ability!

This was the power of laws. With a single strike, the material was broken down into nothingness.

In the context of the Douluo world, such power was something only gods could wield.

Yet, instead of joy, Dai Yao felt an overwhelming dread. Initially, he had feared revealing his twin martial souls, knowing it would draw assassins from all sides.

But now, his Azure Lotus martial soul's first soul skill touched on divine power. If anyone discovered this, the ones hunting him might not be human—they might be gods.

While the gods themselves couldn't intervene directly in the mortal realm, they had their representatives: Poseidon's priestess Bo Saixi, Angel God's representative Qian Daoliu, and Asura God's successor, Tang Chen, the peak Douluo.

Sweat trickled down Dai Yao's face as he considered the consequences of revealing such power. If exposed, he would truly face certain death.

"According to ancient novels, the Primal Chaos Lotus was shattered by the Heavenly Dao after Pangu's act of creation, its parts transforming into several supreme treasures. The stem became the God-Slaying Spear."

"The domineering nature of this power does fit the name 'God-Slaying Spear.' Could it be that my spear is the real God-Slaying Spear? And that the Azure Lotus is truly the Primal Chaos Lotus?" Dai Yao thought, elated.

Previously, he had named the Azure Lotus as "Primal Chaos Lotus" simply because it sounded grand. But with all these strange occurrences, it seemed the Lotus might truly be the Primal Chaos Lotus of legend.

Hiss—

Dai Yao sucked in a cold breath.

Just as he was basking in excitement, a wave of weakness swept over him, and he collapsed to the ground, blood spattering from his mouth.

Panting heavily as if he had just endured an intense battle, he felt utterly drained.

The God-Slaying Spear in his hands faded into points of starlight and vanished.

Left without even the strength to stand, he crawled back to his room, inch by inch. At the side of his bed, he gritted his teeth and, using what remained of his energy, managed to pull himself onto it.

"So this is the backlash from using the Primal Chaos Lotus's first soul skill? It's terrifying," he thought, shivering as he recalled the earlier wave of weakness and the draining of his spiritual energy.

"The side effects are too severe. Using the God-Slaying Spear recklessly is out of the question. In a battle, if I end up in this condition after one strike, I'd be completely vulnerable." Yet he couldn't deny that this soul skill was incredibly powerful—a rule-breaking attack that could be his trump card.

Feeling exhausted, his eyelids grew heavy, but an intense unease gnawed at him. If anyone attacked now, he'd be dead without question. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to sit upright, folding his legs and beginning to cultivate.

As if responding to his determination, the Primal Chaos Lotus in his spiritual world started to emit a faint green glow, replenishing his depleted energy.

And without his noticing, one of the lotus petals quietly unfurled…

Time passed quickly. After a full day of cultivation, Dai Yao felt his energy and spirit return.

At that moment—

Knock, knock, knock—

A knock echoed through the room.

(End of Chapter)

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