Chapter 72: Gamble... Compulsive Gambler?!
"Golden Dragon, Boss, your martial soul is unreasonably powerful!" Zheng Xiaolong exclaimed with genuine admiration.
Compared to Lin Yun's martial soul, his own had virtually no combat capability, instantly reduced to dust.
I want a martial soul as strong as Boss's!
"It's passable. Under dual-state amplification, overwhelming a Soul King isn't an issue." Lin Yun waved his hand casually. "Your turn."
"My martial souls are the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron and Nine-Phoenix Auspicious Flute. I'm at Rank 21. My first martial soul has two soul rings, both control-type techniques. My second martial soul has no soul rings yet and can't be used in combat," Xiao Xiao explained.
"Twin martial souls?!" Zheng Xiaolong's eyes widened in shock.
Truly, monsters surround monsters?
"This is my first time seeing twin martial souls. I never expected you to have them, Xiao Xiao! No wonder you can stay by Boss's side constantly!" Zheng Xiaolong gave a thumbs-up.
"What 'constantly by his side'... Don't talk nonsense!" The young girl blushed, stealing a glance at Lin Yun before quickly looking away.
Absolutely adorable.
Lin Yun ruffled Xiao Xiao's hair and turned to Zheng Xiaolong with a smile: "Alright, Longzi, explain your martial soul's abilities too."
"Yes, Boss! My martial soul is called Lucky Coin. I'm currently Rank 18!" Zheng Xiaolong nodded, extending his right hand. After a flash of silver-white light, a coin the size of a gold soul coin appeared in his palm.
The coin spinning slowly in Zheng Xiaolong's palm allowed Lin Yun and Xiao Xiao to see both sides clearly.
The obverse depicted a merciful-faced, sacred maiden in gold. The reverse showed a middle-aged beautiful woman with an eerie smile, appearing sinister, in purple.
"This martial soul of yours... is something else!" Lin Yun stared at Zheng Xiaolong's martial soul, momentarily stunned.
What kind of bizarre martial soul is this?
"Go on, demonstrate!" Lin Yun extended his right hand in a welcoming gesture.
The coin landed lightly in Zheng Xiaolong's palm. He raised it with a grin: "Boss, my martial soul's effect is simple. My soul techniques are all support-type. Each soul ring corresponds to one side of the coin."
"For example, my first soul ring corresponds to the obverse, so the second corresponds to the reverse, the third to the obverse again, and so on."
"Whenever I use a soul technique to assist others, I must first flip the coin. If the corresponding side lands face up, my support effect increases by one hundred percent. If the wrong side appears, my support effect reduces to twenty percent of its original power."
"For instance, my first soul technique boosts your attack by thirty percent, Boss. If the obverse lands, it becomes sixty percent. Conversely, if the reverse lands, it drops to six percent."
Sixty percent amplification versus six percent—a tenfold gap!
When the correct side lands, Zheng Xiaolong's support ability nearly rivals the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. But when the wrong side appears, his support ability falls below even ordinary auxiliary martial souls.
After hearing Zheng Xiaolong's explanation, Lin Yun was completely floored. While Douluo Continent had countless bizarre martial souls, he'd never encountered one so absurd!
This... a compulsive gambler?
"There's no child who cries every day, and no gambler who loses every time!" Zheng Xiaolong clenched his lucky coin, face full of defiance. "Boss, you must believe in my luck. The Goddess of Fortune favors me!"
"Ah yes yes yes..." Lin Yun replied dismissively, his tone dripping with perfunctory agreement.
Luck?
Relying solely on luck is no different from courting death!
No wonder Zheng Xiaolong didn't even deserve a name in the original work—it turns out he had such an absurd martial soul.
"Alright, I'll be honest, Boss." Zheng Xiaolong suddenly deflated, his expression turning bitter. "My luck really isn't great. Every time I use a soul technique, getting one amplification out of ten attempts is already lucky. Sometimes I use ten techniques without a single enhancement."
"Boss, I'm grateful you chose me as your teammate, but my strength will hold you both back. My elders said the freshman assessment is extremely important. You should find other teammates instead."
After speaking his heart, Zheng Xiaolong looked somewhat relieved. Though his eyes still held helplessness, there was little reluctance.
He understood his shortcomings. That was how the Douluo Continent worked—martial souls were unchangeable from the moment they awakened at age six, accompanying a soul master for life.
Compared to Lin Yun and Xiao Xiao, his disadvantages were overwhelming—not just his flawed martial soul, but also his soul power deficiency. Between the two, Lin Yun possessed a super-dragon martial soul with an abnormally high cultivation of Rank 37. Xiao Xiao's martial soul might not be as monstrous as Lin Yun's Golden Dragon, but she was born with twin martial souls, and her second could potentially configure nine ten-thousand-year soul rings.
How could Zheng Xiaolong possibly compete? He was pure dead weight.
Zheng Xiaolong was painfully self-aware, yet his whitened knuckles clutching the lucky coin betrayed his unwillingness to accept this fate.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Does this king look like someone who goes back on his word?" Lin Yun slapped Zheng Xiaolong's head playfully, grinning. "As long as you follow this king, you'll be the undisputed top auxiliary in the outer academy!"
"Do you have any idea how valuable this king's Golden Dragon martial soul is?!"
Top auxiliary in the outer academy...
Could his useless, trash-tier martial soul finally earn recognition?
Zheng Xiaolong slowly lifted his head, meeting Lin Yun's smiling face. A faint metallic tang of blood spread across his lip where he'd bitten down too hard.
Zheng Xiaolong's family wasn't well-off. His main city recommendation letter was nearly bankrupting them to buy from their city lord—all for a sliver of hope that he could become a powerful soul master. Zheng Xiaolong couldn't bear to disappoint his family, so he'd swallowed his pride and adopted a smooth-talking demeanor to interact with others.
But he was still just a boy. Who didn't yearn for recognition?
"Thank you, Boss." His voice was hoarse, but the title "Boss" rang with heartfelt sincerity.
Perhaps Zheng Xiaolong had initially played along with Lin Yun's chuunibyou antics out of politeness, but now he truly felt that chuunibyou spirit awakening within him.
With a boss like this, what was laying down his life?
"Don't overthink it. Just cultivate diligently. Only when you believe in yourself will the Goddess of Fortune turn her gaze upon you." Lin Yun chuckled softly, giving his shoulder an encouraging pat.
"If even you don't believe in your own martial soul, why would the Goddess of Fortune in your heart favor you?"
Lin Yun couldn't read minds, so he didn't know Zheng Xiaolong's exact thoughts. But he could see the boy was emotionally fragile and conflicted.
It was just a small gesture of encouragement, but Lin Yun didn't mind extending it.
Yet for some people, what others see as trivial words of encouragement and validation become the brightest light in their lives.
(End of Chapter)
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