Title: Future Possibility 6 — Martial Souls
Warning: Do not read this if you do not want spoilers!
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"Our martial souls?" Huo Zhanji said, staring at Xu Sanshi confusedly. "Why?"
"Well, we're curious!" Xu Sanshi replied. "Although the lives of our alternate selves sound awesome and all....but we're more curious about you guys! We wanna know how much you guys got from your parents."
"Sanshi." Jiang Nannan said, smacking the back of his head.
"Ow! Wha—" Xu Sanshi rubbed his head sheepishly and went defensive upon seeing the others staring at him, "What? Aren't you guys curious as well? The mothers! Plus, Yuhao, we all know you're the most curious among us."
Huo Yuhao opened his mouth to answer but smartly closed his lips. Yeah, he was curious of what kind of powers his kids got from him and...their respective mother.
Sea Gods above knows he's got a lot of powers his kids might've gotten from him.
Huo Zhanji rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed, "Uh, sure? I mean, we kinda don't use them much until we turn twelve and get sent to the mortal realm to officially begin our cultivation journey."
"Except for Huo Yin here," Huo Chen interjected, with a smirk on his face, he pointed at Huo Yin who narrowed her eyes at him for mentioning her. "She's so much like auntie Feng that even a year before she awakened her martial soul, she was already starting to do some physical training."
"Hey! What's so bad about training?"
"It's bad when you start out so young! Even auntie Qiu'er didn't start training Zhanji until he was seven years old." Huo Chen sighed deeply and ruffled her head, irritating her. "It's going to affect your physical growth—which means you're going to stay a pipsqueak forever. I mean, look at Shui'er, she's two years younger than you and she's almost the same height as you."
Huo Yin slapped his hand, looking completely flustered, she cried out,
"No she isn't!"
"Hm. No, she totally is."
"I'm gonna be taller! I...I'm just a late bloomer, that's all! Just you wait, in a few years, I'm gonna be so tall that I'd be the same height as daddy!"
"Doubtful." Huo Chen smirked.
"I....I..." Huo Yin went teary eyed and did the mature thing.
Kicking Huo Chen's shin.
"Ahhh!"
"Bleh!" She then ran towards Wu Feng, hugging her.
Wu Feng subconsciously hugged her back and started rubbing her head whilst glaring at Huo Chen.
Although the logical side of her brain told her that Huo Yin wasn't "her" daughter and thus had no responsibilities to her, but something inside of her stirred when she saw the latter's vulnerability.
It reminded her of her childhood.
"Ugh, that little...It was just a joke..." Huo Chen mumbled, only to stumble as he was smacked at the back of the head and then had his right ear pulled. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Who—"
"You're going to apologize to her." Ning Tian coldly said, leaving no room for argument.
"...Yes, mum."
"They're going to be great mothers in the future." Zhang Lexuan said, a smile on her face.
"Yeah..." Zhu Lu nodded, then her mouth twitched upwards into a teasing smirk. "But to whose future?"
Zhang Lexuan shared the same expression. "I wonder~" she then glances at a confused Bei Bei, some spark of hope lit up within her.
Just as they were having some light chatter, some bonding with their alternate future kids, Huo Yuhao blinked and said, "Wait, who's the oldest among you?"
"I am," Unexpectedly, Huo Ying was the one to answer him. Surprising most of them, they thought that Huo Zhanji was the oldest among them with how mature he was. "I'm eleven years old!"
"I'm eleven years old as well," Huo Zhanji said. "But I'm a couple weeks younger than her."
"And I'm ten years old." Huo Chen said.
"I'm nine." Huo Yin said.
"And I'm seven!" Huo Shui'er excitedly joined in.
Xiao Xiao cooed and hugged her tightly, "Yes sweetie, we know. We know."
Huo Ying got down from her mother's lap and walked a few meters in front of the group, before stopping and taking a pose with her hands on her hips, "You wanna see what our martial souls are? Behold!"
With a slight twirl, her body radiated a divine blue glow that radiated her body and then converged at her back, and everyone quickly realized what her martial soul was, making Wang Dong'er immediately beamed with pride.
Beautiful divine-like butterfly wings sprouted from behind her shoulders, with a flap of the wings, and Huo Ying levitated in the air with a bright smile on her face.
"Hehe. My martial soul is the Bright Goddess Butterfly, the most beautiful beast-type martial soul in the whole world! The same one that I got from my mom!"
"That's my girl!" Wang Dong'er said as she also activated her martial soul and flew towards her possible future daughter, hugging her tightly.
"Hehe." Huo Ying giggled.
"So that means I'm next," Huo Zhanji said, rubbing the back of his head. "Fair warning, it's not as...flashy as my sister's."
Unlike his sister, he just walked a few steps and turned to face the group.
"My martial soul is my eyes called the Sharingan, which I inherited from my father," Huo Zhanji explained, his eyes changing into a deep red with one golden tomoe in each eye.
Huo Yuhao and the others widened their eyes in surprise. Sharingan? What does that mean? Wasn't it supposed to be the Spirit Eyes?
"Is that a variation of the Spirit Eyes?" Huo Yuhao asked.
Huo Zhanji blinked, confused. "The what?"
'So the difference between our realities already started from the beginning,' Huo Yuhao thought, having already guessed the main deviation between their realities.
But, even if he had a different martial soul, how did it lead to him taking over Tang Sect and remaking it into a different one? While also marrying many women? Huo Yuhao and others were filled with so many questions.
(AN: During Huo Zhanji's introduction of the Huo Family to them, he had explained that Tang Sect had completely fallen and was remade into the Akatsuki)
Huo Yuhao then told Huo Zhanji about his martial soul.
"Huh. It sounds like the Spirit Eyes is an inferior version of the Sharingan." Huo Zhanji said.
Huo Yuhao's lips twitched, feeling a little irritated since this was his martial soul that he had relied on for most of his life, he then asked, "Really? Then what can the Sharingan do, exactly?"
Huo Zhanji said, "Well, first off, the Sharingan is unlike other martial souls. I actually got quite lucky that I awakened it artificially then the natural process."
"Natural process?"
Huo Zhanji nodded. "The Sharingan could not awaken naturally unless the user underwent some sort of emotional trauma, dad awakened mine with his own ability, saying that he doesn't want me to experience the same he went through in his childhood just for power."
'Emotional trauma...'
While the rest looked worried and concerned for such a harsh requirement to awaken his martial soul, Huo Yuhao had a look of realization.
His childhood was never an easy one, but if there's one very scarring event that would lead to the awakening of this so-called Sharingan....it would've been the death of his mother.
Now this led to a lot of cans of worms in Huo Yuhao's mind, one was since he didn't awakened it in this timeline—does that mean he didn't love his mother as much as his parallel self? For it to traumatized him to awakened a variant of the Spirit Eyes....
"Such a harsh condition..." Wang Qiu'er said, looking worried at her son.
Huo Zhanji smiled and said, "Don't worry mom, but dad fixed this problem for us. The reason why this condition happened was because the first one who awakened the Sharingan, our ancestor, went through an emotionally traumatizing event when he awakened it."
"Then, like some sort of curse, the awakening procedure was passed down to his descendants. It wasn't until dad decided to fix such a curse when he had big sister Xiaoyu."
Huo Yuhao and the rest let out sighs of relief upon hearing that the alternate Huo Yuhao fixed the curse.
'Wait, I had an ancestor who awakened the Sharingan? It can't be someone from my father's side, right? Or...' Huo Yuhao thought.
Huo Zhanji then continued, "So anyways, the Sharingan offers two innate broad abilities: Eye of Insight and Eye of Hypnotism, the former basically grants the user enhanced vision to the point of seeing others' energies and copy their techniques, to a certain extent, as well as figuratively "see the future". While the latter, as the name suggests, can perform hypnosis and illusions on others."
"Moreover, there are certain stages to the Sharingan. See this tomoe around my pupil?" Huo Zhanji pointed at the tomoe in his eyes. "This is the lowest level of the Sharingan and it doesn't offer much, but when it reaches the mature state, when I get three tomoes specifically, the energy required to use my eyes and the abilities diminish greatly."
"And there's three more evolved forms of the Sharingan! The Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, Rinnegan, and the Rinne-Sharingan, each of them grant new abilities to the user."
"Damn! No wonder your dad is cooler, he's got a more busted form of Spirit Eyes!" Xu Sanshi commented, and the rest felt the same way.
Huo Yuhao's lips twitched, feeling envious of the Sharingan. Sure the method in order to awaken it was worrisome, but considering his past, it would only be a matter of time until he got it.
"Bro! Show them your other martial soul!" Huo Ying said loudly.
'He's got another martial soul? What would...wait, considering who his mother is...' Huo Yuhao and the others turned towards Wang Qiu'er, who had a serious look on her face.
'Will it be the golden dragon? Or will he...' Wang Qiu'er nervously thought, she had a secret that she'd been trying to hide from everyone else. Especially to Huo Yuhao.
Golden dragon scales started to appear on Huo Zhanji's right arm, turning his own human arm into a golden dragon arm with sharp claws!
Wang Qiu'er inwardly sighed in relief and as the rest looked on in awe.
"Little Zhanji is such a little monster..." Xu Sanshi said, looking a little slacked jaw.
Huo Ying, who now landed with Wang Dong'er on the ground, slightly pouted and sighed resignedly. "Yeah, little bro was praised highly by not just our parents, but also our older siblings. By their estimation, brother Zhanji could likely surpass daddy in the future."
Wang Dong'er smiled and pinched her cheek, "Don't be so glum, Ying'er. I'm sure, if you and the others work hard enough, you could be as strong or even stronger than your brother!"
Huo Ying smiled brightly. "Hm!"
On the side, Huo Chen smirked and said, "Nah, big bro Zhanji is just built different. After all, he still hasn't completed his transformation."
Ning Tian raised an eyebrow. "What—?"
Huo Shui'er, who'd been cuddling with Xiao Xiao, went stiff and turned towards Huo Zhanji. Her closed eyes opened up, revealing her purple colored eyes with black rings.
"Big bro opened it..."
At that moment, the people of this world were then shocked at what came next! Especially Wang Qiu'er.
A split appeared on Huo Zhanji's forehead before opening up to reveal a blood-red pupil, but despite its terrifying appearance, it radiated a regal aura that brought a profound sense of divinity and might.
At that moment, the energies of Heaven and Earth in the area surged with abundance.
Everyone could feel their cultivation increasing.
Elder Xuan was even more shocked to feel that the next level, which had eluded him for decades, was now slightly opening!
What was this power?!
As Huo Yuhao stared at the third eye on Huo Zhanji's forehead, he suddenly had a sense of familiarity.
'I felt like I've seen that third eye before...but where?'
Huo Zhanji, not realizing the looks he was getting, then explained, "This is my second martial soul—Three-Eyed Golden Dragon, a variant martial soul that I had inherited from my mother. It has similar abilities to the Golden Dragon, but I could get spiritual type skills as well. Moreover, I could also use my Sharingan in this state."
"T-That third eye of yours...." Huo Yuhao said.
"Oh, right! My third eye grants me a sort of passive domain ability that controls fate and luck around me to act upon my favor, which also makes the energies of Heaven and Earth surge, making anyone around me would have their cultivation progress much faster than normal." Huo Zhanji casually explained.
Huo Yuhao and the others went slacked jaw, eyes wide as they tried to process everything.
Xu Sanshi, ever the loud one, was the first to speak up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! You're telling me you've got the variant type of the most powerful soul beasts in the world, a superior version of Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes called the Sharingan that can cast hypnotism and illusions, and now a third eye that controls fate and luck? And it boosts cultivation? What the hell, man!"
Huo Yuhao was also floored, but his thoughts ran deeper. A third eye that controls fate and luck....isn't that like his third eye, the Eye of Destiny? But why didn't Huo Zhanji say that he inherited it from both him and his mother?
Something told him that Huo Zhanji's third eye held the secret to Wang Qiu'er's background.
Huo Zhanji closed his eyes and both his martial souls disappeared. "Unfortunately, at my current level, I could only use the Three-Eyed Golden Dragon in under a minute. Mom told me that unless I get two soul rings, I shouldn't force myself to maintain its transformation for too long."
Wang Qiu'er visibly relaxed, the tension leaving her shoulders. She hadn't expected him to awaken "that" ability, but seeing him handle it with such maturity reassured her.
Even so, seeing the suspicion in Huo Yuhao's eyes, she knew there were deeper truths that would eventually need to be revealed.
"So I guess I'm next," Huo Chen said with a deep sigh and walked forward before turning to face the group.
He stretched out his hand and a black and white light emanated from his palm, quickly taking the shape of a nine tiled pagoda that exuded the energies of both Yin and Yang. The first four floors of the pagoda was white and radiated a calming, gentle light, while the upper four floors were black, exuding an intense, oppressive aura.
The last floor, on the other hand, was a complete blend of black and white—of Yin and Yang swirling together in perfect harmony, creating a balanced, yet powerful atmosphere around Huo Chen.
And for a brief moment, two eastern dragons, white and black, appeared behind him.
"My martial soul is the Yin-Yang Ninefold Pagoda," Huo Chen explained. "It's a variant of the support-type martial soul that I inherited from my mother, but it also has a unique cultivation capability because of its dual nature—it enhances my physique and my body cultivation."
"Y-Your physique? How?" Ning Tian stammered, her eyes wide with surprise at the revelation that her son's martial soul that he inherited from her, not only had nine floors, but also a variant version that helps his body cultivation.
Huo Chen rubbed his head, "Eh, I'm not completely sure. But from what my father said to me..."
He coughed and recited thoughtfully, "From Yin-Yang, Five Elements emerge. Each nature inherits its unique creation, each form embodies a universe."
"...What?" Huo Yuhao, Ning Tian and others deadpanned.
Huo Chen shrugged and unsummoned his martial soul, "Dad says that my pagoda is the medium through which I can channel the balance of Yin and Yang to affect my body, soul, and the environment around me."
"My body cultivation technique, the Eight Inner Gates, has now reach five gates." He proudly proclaimed.
"Eight Inner Gates?" They tilted their heads, confused.
"Uh, it's the name of the body strengthening technique I'm using."
"Alright, alright! My turn, big bro!" Huo Yin pushed past Huo Chen with a determined look in her eyes, clearly eager to show off her own martial soul.
She took a deep breath and activated her martial soul, she suddenly grew a few inches taller, with a fierce red glow surrounding her body as fiery red scales began to appear on her arms and legs.
Suddenly, flames erupted around her, coiling up like living serpents, forming into the shape of a massive fire dragon that loomed behind her.
Wu Feng's eyes widened in shock, her body trembling, the martial soul inside of her whimpering in fear. 'This feeling...bloodline suppression! What kind of martial soul does my alternate daughter have!?'
"My martial soul is the Fire Dragon King!" Huo Yin announced proudly, her voice filled with excitement. "It's a fire-attribute beast martial soul that I got from my mother!"
Wu Feng smiled at her daughter's display, filled with pride as she watched Huo Yin's strong aura flare. Though there was some confusion within her.
Fire Dragon King? Her martial soul was the Red Dragon, a top-tier martial soul, sure, but it wasn't at the level of a Dragon King!
Was it variation because of her union with Huo Yuhao?
Huo Yin clenched her fists, her flames flaring up even higher for a moment before she dispelled them and let out a content sigh. "See? I can do some pretty cool stuff too, big bro."
"Not bad," Huo Chen said with a teasing grin and ruffled her red hair. "But you're still a shorty."
"Stop messing with my hair!"
"Aah! Don't light me up on fire!"
While everyone laughed at the sibling banter, a high-pitched cute voice cut through the atmosphere.
"Oh! Oh! Me next!" Huo Shui'er excitedly raised her hand up and jumped down from Xiao Xiao's lap.
"Uh, Shui'er, I don't think..." Huo Zhanji began but stopped upon seeing her excitement.
Huo Yuhao, noticing his hesitation, asked. "Hey, is something wrong with Shui'er? And I've noticing this for a while now, but why are her eyes always closed?"
Huo Zhanji was silent for a moment until Huo Shui'er turned to face them. With a heavy sigh, he then said, "....Despite what Chen said about me, there's one person more talented than I am. It's to the point that she had been born with a spiritual power that some people dubbed as the Spirit Sea Realm."
"Plus...she had also awakened a far more advanced form of the Sharingan when she turned six..."
Huo Yuhao's eyes widened in realization and turned towards Huo Shui'er.
At that moment, Huo Shui'er's eyelids opened, revealing the strange purple eyes and black rings that seemed to see through one's soul.
Everyone gasped as they looked into Huo Shui'er's eyes, and they all felt a sense of unease and suppression from her eyes.
It was like they were looking at the eyes of a deity.
Huo Zhanji had a serious look on his face as he said, "Shui'er had awakened the second advanced form of the Sharingan....the Rinnegan, or in modern words, the Samsara Eyes."
"Look! Look! Impressive, right?" Huo Shui'er giggled at the looks she was getting before closing her eyes and going back towards Xiao Xiao.
Everyone was stunned into silence as they took in the information of Huo Shui'er's eyes.
The aura radiating from her Rinnegan was palpable, an almost divine pressure that seemed far too mature for a child of her age. Despite her youthful enthusiasm, there was something undeniably powerful about her, as if her martial soul was destined to stand above even the most elite of martial souls.
Xu Sanshi rubbed his head and mumbled, "This family is completely on another level…"
"Indeed." An old voice spoke from behind, startling the group. "Which is why...we have to do this."
"Everyone, get behind me!"
Elder Xuan's eyes widened and he quickly got in front of the group, soul rings erupted out of his body as he underwent a drastic transformation—activating his martial soul. He raised his right hand and sweep his hand, destroying the dark energy that had begun to seep into the area.
The group looked around in alarm as a swirling dark mist surrounded them, seemingly emerging from nowhere.
"Elder Long, what's the meaning of this?!" Elder Xuan demanded, his voice cutting through the chaos as he kept his hand raised to maintain the barrier.
The dark mist continued to swirl and pulse ominously, and the figures within it took on a more defined shape.
There were three figures.
Long Xiaoyao, the Dragon Emperor Douluo, a rank 99 Ultimate Douluo.
Du Busi, the Body Douluo, a rank 98 Transcendent Douluo.
Lastly, was a mysterious figure cloaked entirely in dark clothes, however, the aura she was emitting was not any less than Long Xiaoyao. In fact, Elder Xuan was horrified to realize that—she was much stronger!
Elder Long sighed deeply, "Hand over these kids, and I promise—no one will be hurt."
"But if you resist, that's a totally different story." Du Busi added.
The dark remained silent, but her intention was clear as she stood by them.
Elder Xuan gritted his teeth, feeling completely pressured by them. There was no use in bartering with these fellows, no matter how despicable they are, together, they're the stronger party.
In this world, the strongest naturally had the power to do whatever they want!
However, he was not going to give up these children without a fight!
"I will not let you have these kids!" With a loud war cry, his body grew exponentially and the sound of a bull was heard.
Huo Yuhao and the rest watched with baited breaths, is this how they're going to die?
Wang Dong'er, Wang Qiu'er, Xiao Xiao, Wu Feng and Ning Tian instinctively hugged their "kids".
Huo Yuhao clenched his hands, cursing his inability to do anything and help protect the people he cares.
Just as things were about to escalate, various high-pitched voices sounded out.
"Auntie Snow! We're getting bullied!"
At that moment, the entire arena was completely encased in ice, also freezing Long Xiaoyao, Du Busi and the mysterious figure.
"My, my~ What's this I hear about my precious children being bullied?" The voice, melodious yet authoritative, rang through the arena as a figure emerged from the ice.
A stunning woman with flowing silver hair and piercing blue eyes stepped forward. Her presence radiated a powerful yet serene aura.
Huo Yuhao's eyes went wide.
'Snow Empress?!'
.....
AN: The internet connection here has been getting slow...
Also, I'm still pulling for C2 Raiden and building up pity...
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