Chapter 2 – I Heard the Echo of Strong Luck
"Haha, finally! I've come across a human with a spiritual attribute. If I could cry, I'd be in tears right now!"
It's here.
Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered slightly as he suppressed the excitement rising in his heart. His gaze locked on the cracked ground ahead.
The temperature around him dropped sharply. A massive ice silkworm over seven meters long emerged. Around its body glowed ten radiant golden rings of light, dazzling to the eye.
Even though Huo Yuhao had mentally prepared himself, he was still deeply shocked the moment he saw the legendary Tianmeng Ice Silkworm.
"So fat~"
A few black lines seemed to appear on the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's forehead. 'Did this brat just call me fat? Don't try to deny it—I heard you loud and clear.'
"Ahem…" After adjusting her emotions, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm began her grand self-introduction, attempting to show off her majesty. "Allow me to introduce myself. I've cultivated for over a million years—"
Her elaborate, ego-filled monologue made Huo Yuhao twitch slightly. Still, he played along, putting on a properly astonished expression.
"So, Tianmeng... what exactly do you want from me?"
The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm squirmed and looked at Huo Yuhao with a touch of arrogance.
"Listen up! I'm going to become your soul ring. That's right—you're about to obtain the first wisdom soul ring in the history of the Douluo Continent!"
"Surprised? Excited? You should be thrilled. Even I feel a bit jealous of you!"
But Huo Yuhao suddenly fell into thought. As the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm floated closer, he raised his hand, his expression turning solemn.
"Tianmeng… are you saying you're going to sacrifice yourself to become my wisdom soul ring?"
Tianmeng paused for a beat. "Of course. Meeting me is your great luck! Enough talk, I'm going in now~ Don't worry, kiddo, I'll be gentle. Your first time won't hurt that much."
"Wait!"
Huo Yuhao knew exactly what such a sacrifice would entail. He hurriedly summoned his second martial soul.
"Tianmeng, there's something I forgot to tell you. The reason I possess a spiritual attribute is because my first martial soul is Spirit Eyes, a body martial soul encompassing the eyes, brain, cerebral cortex, and central nervous system. But I also have a second martial soul, which I call The End-Time Bell."
That instantly threw Tianmeng into confusion.
Twin martial souls?!
This skinny, obviously malnourished little brat—actually had both a body and a weapon martial soul? That was nearly unheard of.
Was this the universe's way of compensating her after all the suffering and energy drained by those forest tyrants for so long?
But as she pondered, Tianmeng fell into silence. This was getting a bit tricky. If this kid were a twin Martial Soul Wielder, should she still use her remaining, limited soul power origin to create an exclusive second Martial Soul slot for him?
But if she didn't… What would happen to her precious Bing Bing?
At that moment, Huo Yuhao spoke again.
"Tianmeng, my second martial soul, has the ability to imprint unique traits. In other words, every time it absorbs a soul ring, it inherits the attributes of the soul beast that provided it."
He had come to understand this ability after the Bell Sound of the mysterious bell, when he saw the word Destiny engraved on his second martial soul. Ever since that resonance, he had been able to faintly sense and even manipulate a power beyond comprehension: the power of destiny.
He still didn't fully understand the mechanism behind these echoes, but the ability to engrave traits into his martial soul was as instinctive as breathing.
In simpler terms, every soul ring added to his second martial soul would permanently embed a portion of the soul beast's origin power—be it ice, fire, life, space, or beyond.
Tianmeng's eyes lit up.
"You're saying... if your second martial soul absorbs a soul ring from a soul beast with the ultimate ice attribute, then it will gain that attribute itself?"
"That's right."
At those words, Tianmeng finally relaxed. Perfect! This meant she wouldn't need to open a second martial soul slot after all, and could instead preserve her dwindling origin power.
She had lived for countless years. Even if she lacked combat prowess, her knowledge was vast. This situation? Totally manageable.
"Kid, I have to admit, I underestimated you earlier. You look so weak and scrawny—I almost missed the monstrously talented person!"
"Alright, enough talk. I know what I'm going to do now. Brace yourself! I'm going all in—accept this gift of destiny!"
This time, Huo Yuhao didn't stop her. Everything he had said earlier was meant to signal to Tianmeng that she didn't need to waste energy opening a second soul ring slot.
Torrents of spiritual energy erupted like tidal waves, flooding outward. The terrifying pressure knocked Tang Ya and Bei Bei unconscious. Nearby soul beasts fled in terror, howling as they scattered.
And then, from the sky, a gray-white sphere pierced through the clouds and plunged directly into Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea.
"I never imagined… a trace of my divine sense would survive…"
A raspy voice echoed in the void before falling silent again, as if it had never existed.
But the transformations weren't over. The majestic and fateful bell sound rang out again.
[I heard the echo of strong luck!!]
This time, destiny's power did not respond. Instead, the vast force of luck began to manifest.
Luck—normally an intangible force—took on visible form. The eleven years of latent luck Huo Yuhao had unknowingly accumulated now surged into his being.
Just like with the destiny echo, this echo of Strong Luck was also engraved into his second martial soul.
Far away, Di Tian—who had been tracking the earlier Echo of Destiny bell sound—suddenly changed direction and flew straight toward Huo Yuhao.
---
Within the Spiritual Sea
After a brief, nerve-wracking face-off with the mysterious gray orb—during which she instantly realized she was no match—the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm wisely backed off and calmed herself.
Cohabitation it is. No shame in playing it safe. Survival is my forte, after all.
Still, she was bursting with excitement.
"Hahahaha! I finally found my destined host! Damn those bastards deep in Star Dou Great Forest—just wait! One day, I'll come back with Little Yuhao and crush you all!"
"…Weird. Why did the bell ring again? And why can't I access parts of Yuhao's memory? Never mind. Everyone has secrets. I'm not nosy… but, wow, his childhood was tragic."
---
Huo Yuhao slowly awakened. As he opened his eyes, he saw the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm wiggling excitedly like a hungry little silkworm.
Seeing him awake, she couldn't wait another second and immediately began bragging.
"Hahahaha! Yuhao, you won't believe what kind of benefits I've just bestowed upon you! Your talents, your appearance—everything's been completely transformed! Plus, you've received incredible soul skills."
"Oh, and by the way—originally, I was planning to open a second martial soul slot for you. But since your second martial soul is so special, I decided to redirect all that leftover origin power to enhance your body and talents. I even gave you a soul bone—no, two! Along with their respective soul skills!"
Huo Yuhao began checking his body. Almost immediately, he could feel the staggering difference.
He had grown taller. Still slim, but now upright and elegant. His face—previously plain—was now chiseled and almost ethereally handsome.
His hair had turned ice-blue. His facial features were sharp and regal. His eyes were lake-blue, carrying a shattered glow—cold, aloof, and distant.
The malnutrition and weakness that once plagued his body had been completely healed. His innate soul power… no longer just Level 1.
He also noted the most critical part: the soul bone and its skills.
He clearly remembered that in the original timeline, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm had no strength left to provide either. Has fate been altered?
Still, this change was for the better.
Meanwhile, Tianmeng carried on enthusiastically.
"Ahem! Yuhao, while you were daydreaming, let me tell you more. I've granted you a total of five soul skills! That's five, got it? Three from your soul ring, and two from your soul bones. One of those is even a domain skill—something most soul masters can only dream of!"
"Do you know what this means? With your second martial soul, your new talents, and the sealed million-year spiritual origin power I left in your body—which will help raise your spiritual power and soul ring levels—you are now the most gifted soul master on the continent. No contest!"
Tianmeng nearly squealed with pride.
Yuhao smiled, genuinely grateful and excited.
"Then let me take a look… at the power you've granted me."
"Hehe, don't worry! I promise, you're going to be very impressed!"
—
(T/N: Tian Meng is a girl in this fic)
End of Chapter