Early morning. The sky was still dim.
A light mist drifted through the manor, curling across the ground like a dreamscape, shrouding the world in a layer of unreality.
On both sides of the path, rows of green plants had unknowingly sprouted new buds. The fresh, vibrant green radiated vitality, filling the early spring air with a breath of life.
Drip...
Spring dew trickled from the tips of the leaves, silently nourishing the forest soil below.
Deep within the estate, nestled between two towering banyan trees, stood a three-story wooden house. Its weathered exterior was entwined with ancient ivy vines, exuding both the weight of time and the pulse of life.
On the second floor, by the window, sat a young boy in quiet meditation atop his bed.
He looked about six years old, dressed in a moon-white nightrobe. His black hair hung loosely down his back, and though his face was still tender with youth, his features were delicate and refined. Barefoot, he sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his breathing calm and steady.
A few moments later, faint footsteps could be heard approaching from outside the room.
Click—
The wooden door was gently pushed open.
"Young Duke, the Martial Spirit Awakening Ceremony is ready. Please prepare to dress."
The voice was aged but steady. Upon hearing it, the boy opened his eyes and looked toward the door.
There stood an old man in a black robe, his complexion healthy and ruddy, with gray-white hair and beard. In his hands, he held a tray upon which lay a full set of sky-blue silk ceremonial robes.
The boy nodded slightly, then sighed helplessly and said,
"Grandpa Yu, didn't I already tell you?"
"When there are outsiders around, you can call me 'Young Duke' and I'll call you 'Uncle Yu'. But when it's just us, you call me 'Young Master', and I'll call you 'Grandpa Yu'."
"Why do you keep forgetting?"
"Haha!"
The old man chuckled kindly and explained:
"Young Master, today is a big day. First, it's your sixth birthday. Second, it's your Martial Spirit Awakening."
"I am the steward of the Lin Ducal Estate, and you are its rightful duke. No matter what, I must still address you properly."
As he spoke, the old steward walked up and began to help the boy dress.
This young boy was surnamed Lin, given name Rong (meaning "banyan"). He was the heir to the Lin Family — the noble house that ruled over this estate. The old man, named Yu Yuan, was the long-serving steward of the ducal household.
The Lin clan had a prestigious lineage, holding the title of hereditary duke under the Heaven Dou Empire.
Their bloodline's martial spirit, Dragonvine Soul, was a top-tier plant-type martial spirit.
Such powerful spirits always came with innate soul power. The lowest possible level was usually 5, but it was common to see children born with innate level 7 or 8.
As a result, every few generations, the Lin clan would produce a Soul Douluo.
The most recent Soul Douluo of the Lin family had been Lin Rong's grandfather, whose soul power had reached level 85. Unfortunately, he had passed away before Lin Rong was born.
The title of Duke then passed to Lin Rong's father. But during a soul beast hunt, he encountered a beast tide and tragically perished.
Luckily, Lin Rong's mother had stayed home at the ducal manor due to her pregnancy, avoiding the disaster. Because his father died before he was born, Lin Rong automatically inherited the hereditary title of Duke at birth.
However, his mother, grieving the loss of her husband, fell ill from sorrow during pregnancy. Not long after giving birth, she passed away, joining her husband in death.
Thus, the once-glorious Lin clan was left with only Lin Rong, a child.
Fortunately, the old steward Yu Yuan remained steadfast and loyal. He managed all the affairs of the estate and personally raised Lin Rong with great care.
Though the Lin family held vast assets and countless industries, not a single opportunist dared to seize them during the family's lowest point.
And the reason was simple — Yu Yuan was himself a Soul Douluo. With such strength backing the young Duke, no one dared to make a move.
"Grandpa Yu," Lin Rong asked gently, still sitting upright on his bed, looking down at the steward,
"What kind of martial spirit do you think I'll awaken?"
Without stopping his hands as he dressed the child, Yu Yuan replied calmly:
"Martial spirits are passed down from one's parents. Your father's spirit was the Dragonvine Soul, a top-tier martial spirit. Your mother was the Thousand-Leaf Banyan, a high-grade martial spirit."
"When spirits are passed down, the stronger one usually prevails. So, barring any surprises, you'll awaken the Dragonvine Soul."
"Of course, since both spirits are fairly close in grade, it's also possible you'll awaken Twin Martial Spirits — both the Dragonvine and the Thousand-Leaf Banyan."
Twin Martial Spirits? Is that all?
Lin Rong narrowed his eyes and thought to himself:
"Well, unless I awaken a mutated martial spirit, Twin Spirits are the best outcome."
"Besides, most mutations are negative. Only a rare few are beneficial."
"The higher the spirit's quality, the less likely it is to mutate positively."
"But... I've been cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Sutra. Maybe my martial spirit really will mutate in a good way."
The Marrow Cleansing Sutra — one of the many spiritual manuals of the Dragon Kingdom on Blue Star.
Of course, Lin Rong knew about this Sutra because he wasn't originally from this world. He was a transmigrator.
Back in his previous life, he loved reading webnovels and enjoyed outdoor rock climbing.
The cause of his transmigration was a fall during a climbing accident. He slipped, blacked out — and when he woke up, he had become a fetus.
Being so underdeveloped, his consciousness remained weak. For most of each day, he slept — awake for only a single hour at most.
During his occasional moments of clarity, he would hear voices, blurry and indistinct. He couldn't understand the language, yet somehow grasped their meaning.
From these broken phrases, he caught keywords like: "Martial Spirit," "Spirit Hall," "Pope," and "Clear Sky Clan"...
That's when he realized — he had transmigrated into the world of Douluo Dalu.
And not just any time — this was the original Douluo timeline.
In this world, Martial Spirits reigned supreme.
Every person had a martial spirit. But only those born with innate soul power could become Soul Masters.
In most cases, the quality of one's martial spirit determined whether one had innate soul power or not.
Over generations, martial spirits were passed down through bloodlines. After countless cycles of selection, commoners had very little chance of inheriting strong spirits. Their only hope was a rare positive mutation.
But mutations were already one in ten thousand, and positive mutations even rarer.
That's why so few commoners could ever awaken innate soul power.
Thinking of this, Lin Rong felt a chill run down his spine.
"If I'd been born into a commoner family this time... and didn't awaken innate soul power... then even knowing all the plotlines and future opportunities would be useless."
So even in the womb, he quietly began thinking of ways to improve his odds.
He envied Tang San, who transmigrated with the Xuan Tian Treasure Record — an overpowered golden finger (cheat). With it came Xuan Tian Art, Purple Demon Eye, and knowledge of poisons and medicines, including rare immortal herbs.
But that gave Lin Rong an idea — maybe he could try cultivating some of the spiritual manuals he had memorized in his previous life.
Back then, out of personal interest, he had memorized many Buddhist and Taoist scriptures.
Most of them were too cryptic to understand — pure memorization with little retention.
But there was one exception — the Marrow Cleansing Sutra. He had memorized it completely on the very day he transmigrated.
So, Lin Rong began cultivating it.
At first, he felt no effect at all.
Later, he overheard people calling his mother "Duchess," and realized that he wasn't born into a commoner family after all — he would likely awaken with innate soul power.
A few times, he even considered quitting the Sutra.
But in the womb, with nothing else to do, he kept at it.
Months passed. As the fetus developed, Lin Rong finally began to sense changes while cultivating.
Seeing real effects, he dedicated himself even more to the Sutra.
A fetus naturally breathed through prenatal qi. With no obstructions, Lin Rong's cultivation proceeded smoothly, and before he was even born, he had fully opened all Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
Thinking of this, Lin Rong felt a surge of confidence:
"I don't know if my martial spirit will mutate positively..."
"But with all eight meridians cleared before birth — if that doesn't give me full innate soul power..."
"Then there's no such thing as full innate soul power in this world!"
Note from the author: The original Douluo Dalu has internal contradictions. To maintain logical consistency, this story will strictly use only the worldbuilding of Douluo Dalu I.
Later settings from Douluo II, III, IV (like Soul Cores, Ten Great Beasts, Dragon Valley, Silver Dragon King, etc.) will not appear in this novel.