Chapter 2: The Soul Beast Clone

Inside the awakening array.

Li Chang'an examined the sword in his hand.

Without a doubt, this sword was far more exquisite in appearance than his father's sword spirit.

It had the standard form of a Han-style eight-edged sword, but the blade was a jade-like translucent green, with a crystalline, artistic feel that made it seem more like a masterpiece than a weapon for killing.

The most remarkable part was the hilt, which featured intricate patterns of a strange, coiled green-scaled serpent, its head resting at the end with its mouth tightly shut, giving it an almost lifelike quality, as if it might suddenly open its jaws and strike.

'Such overwhelming pressure!'

'This spirit is definitely extraordinary!'

'It must be a high-level spirit!'

'Could this boy be from some ancient noble family with a long-standing heritage?'

The elder in charge of the awakening ritual was secretly startled by the sight of Li Chang'an's spirit. He instinctively checked the roster and quickly learned of Li Chang'an's family background.

"His father had a sword spirit, and his mother had a snake spirit… It looks like this is a spirit mutation. Moreover, it's an extremely rare positive mutation, greatly enhancing the spirit's quality. This boy is quite fortunate.

With these thoughts, the elder said, "Now, test your innate soul power."

In this world, the quality of a spirit can be determined by the level of innate soul power. The higher the innate soul power, the better the spirit's quality. While this might be a secret to ordinary people, it's common knowledge among those with some status.

Li Chang'an quietly walked over to the crystal ball and gently placed his hand on it. He felt a force drawing out the energy that had emerged in him after awakening his spirit.

"Buzz!!"

The crystal ball lit up brilliantly!

"Innate full soul power!!!!"

The elder finally lost his composure.

The other children, upon witnessing this, couldn't help but show expressions of envy, jealousy, and resentment. As nobles, they fully understood what innate full soul power meant.

It signified that, as long as this boy didn't perish prematurely, he had a high chance of becoming one of the highest-ranked soul masters—a Title Douluo!!!

Someone with the potential to become a future Title Douluo was a talent too valuable to overlook.

Following the awakening ritual, news of a noble child with a mutated spirit and innate full soul power spread quickly, eventually reaching the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire.

When the Emperor learned of such a promising talent among his subjects, he was overjoyed and immediately arranged for an audience to reward and recruit this future pillar of the empire.

…

At the Li Estate.

After returning home, Li Chang'an locked himself in his room, lay down on his bed, and projected his consciousness to another place… soul beast forest.

Inside a hidden stone cave.

Among the shattered remains of an eggshell, a small green-scaled snake had been lying coiled, seemingly at rest. Suddenly, it opened its amber-colored eyes, its gaze lively and alert.

Controlling the young snake's body, Li Chang'an raised it upright and, guided by the inherited instincts of soul beasts, immediately understood his new form—he had become a Azure Scaled Snake Emperor.

So my soul was split in half when I transmigrated to this world.

One half became human, while the other half was reincarnated into this egg as a soul beast.

And not just any soul beast, but a top-tier one—Azure Scaled Snake Emperor

To others, my spirit may seem like a fusion of my father's sword spirit and my mother's green snake spirit, but that's not the truth. This perfect mutation must have been influenced by my other half, which became a real Azure Scaled Snake Emperor.

I remember in the original story there was a Soul Spear Douluo with a special spirit that had both weapon and beast characteristics. He could summon two forms during his seventh spirit ability: a weapon form and a beast form.

Judging from the information I received during awakening, my sword spirit should work similarly. Once I obtain my seventh spirit ability, I'll be able to summon both forms—the Sword Spirit Avatar and the Azure Scaled Snake Emperor Avatar.

Moreover, since my sword spirit is a weapon-type spirit and can't merge with my body, I won't be harmed by the venom of the Green-Scaled Serpent King. In fact, I might even absorb external toxins to enhance the venom's potency. Poison Douluo Dugu Bo would be so jealous of me!

What's fatal poison to him would be an elixir to strengthen my spirit's venom!

Wait! Maybe I could use this to connect with Dugu Bo and plot to obtain some immortal herbs… If necessary, I could even become his disciple or call him my grandfather. Heck, marrying his granddaughter might not be a bad idea either.

Li Chang'an's mind raced with thoughts and possibilities.

"But for now, the key issue is what to do with this Azure Scaled Snake Emperor clone?"

"In this world, being a soul beast offers no future. You're constantly hunted for your spirit rings, and if you manage to survive for 100,000 years, you have to endure heavenly tribulations. Worst of all, soul beasts can never become gods!"

"Maybe I should have this clone focus on cultivating and sacrifice itself to my human body once it reaches a high enough age. But that feels like such a waste."

"Damn it! If the path for soul beasts in this world wasn't blocked, I could've cultivated both my human and soul beast forms, and once I became a god, I would have two god positions!"

Li Chang'an felt frustrated. If he had transmigrated to a cultivation world, he could've practiced both human and monster cultivation, but here he had no choice but to abandon one, which felt like a huge loss.

In that case, should he join forces with the Silver Dragon King?

No, that wouldn't work either!

He quickly dismissed the idea. The Silver Dragon King herself was struggling to survive. Joining her would be pointless; even her followers like Di Tian hadn't become gods in the original story. Clearly, following her offered no future.

But if not the Silver Dragon King, where else could he find a way for his soul beast form to break through and become a god?

Wait!

Li Chang'an suddenly thought of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the ancient Water and Fire Dragon Kings who had perished at its depths… Could their god positions still be there?

If he could obtain their god positions, then perhaps this Azure Scaled Snake Emperor clone might have a chance to become a god after all.

However, acquiring a god position would require not only dealing with Dugu Bo but also confirming whether anything remained at the bottom of the well. There might not even be any spirit bones left.

"Sigh, forget it. Obtaining a god position is too far off for me right now. I shouldn't aim too high." Li Chang'an sighed, then opened his mouth and began devouring the eggshell he had hatched from.

"Crunch, crunch…"

The eggshell was incredibly nutritious, dissolving into liquid upon contact with his saliva. Instinct told him that eating the eggshell was the best choice for his early development.

After finishing the eggshell, a wave of drowsiness hit him, and he yawned before curling up and drifting into a deep sleep...

(End of Chapter)