As the evening approached, the sun set in the west, and the sunset's glow blended beautifully with the buildings of Nuoding City, creating a stunning view.
"Knock knock." The sound of knocking woke Lan Si from his meditation.
Lan Si slowly opened his eyes, stood up, and opened the door, seeing the familiar figure of Otto.
"Why have you been staying in your room all day? You didn't even eat the lunch I prepared for you." Otto rubbed Lan Si's little head. Although he was reprimanding him, his tone was very gentle.
"After you left, I went to the Martial Soul Hall to ask Master Su Yuntao about how to increase my soul power. He said that meditation alone was enough, so I followed his advice. I didn't realize how quickly time passed—it's already dark now." Naturally, Lan Si wouldn't reveal his true cultivation method, so he made up an excuse to brush it off.
"I'll let it go this time, but don't forget to eat next time. You're still young and growing." Otto didn't scold him much and smiled, "Alright, go eat. I've reheated the food for you; it's on the table. I'll go to my room to get something for you."
While speaking, Otto turned and walked toward the room next door.
Lan Si nodded, touched his flat stomach, and left the room. He was indeed a bit hungry.
In the hall.
By now, the sky had completely darkened.
Under the dim candlelight, Lan Si was devouring the food in the bowl.
At this moment, Otto returned with a brocade box in his hand.
"Ah Si, this is for you." Otto handed the brocade box to him.
"What is it?" Lan Si put down his bowl and chopsticks, curiously asking.
"It's something your father left behind." Otto's voice was somewhat heavy.
Hearing this, Lan Si paused slightly. His past life's memories had only awakened two months ago, and before that, he was just an ordinary person. As a result, he had little recollection of his parents in this world. When his parents left, he was less than two years old, so how much could he remember?
Seeing Lan Si's expression, Otto thought he was too sad, so he quickly changed the subject. "Open it and take a look. It's said to be a storage soul tool, a gift from your mother to your father. As long as you infuse it with soul power, you can store items inside."
Lan Si nodded, opened the brocade box, and saw a wristband embedded with a blue gemstone, three fingers wide, and of a neutral silver-gray design.
As he tried infusing soul power into it, Lan Si was surprised to find that the soul tool had a storage space of about seven or eight cubic meters. Inside, there was also a full bag of gold coins and some books.
With a wave of his hand, several books appeared out of thin air. Flipping through them, he found they were all about soul beasts and martial souls.
"It seems to suit you well." Otto smiled with satisfaction upon seeing this.
"Does it have a name?" Lan Si put on the wristband, which wrapped around his slender left arm, and asked Otto.
Otto thought for a moment and replied, "I think it's called... Oh right, it's called Heart of the Ocean."
"Heart of the Ocean, huh?" Lan Si murmured, smiled, and then stored the books back into the soul tool.
"Heart of the Ocean, it's indeed a lovely name."
The next morning, Lan Si sat cross-legged in the courtyard, eyes closed, forming hand seals as he practiced the Sacred Universe Art and the Five Thunder Heavenly Heart Technique.
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It had been nearly three months since his Martial Soul Awakening.
It was late autumn, and fallen leaves fluttered in the wind.
The small courtyard was covered with dead leaves.
Only the area around Lan Si was clear, as the falling leaves were repelled by the electric arcs and energy he emitted.
"I've completed the first layer of both the Sacred Universe Art and the Five Thunder Heavenly Heart Technique." Lan Si suddenly opened his eyes, which flickered with blue electric arcs and white energy.
"But I feel like there's still room to improve my soul power. It seems I haven't reached level ten yet."
Determined, Lan Si raised his right hand and activated the Sacred Universe Art, summoning his martial soul as usual.
With a flash of white light, an ordinary green lotus engulfed in white flames appeared in his right palm.
"It feels like the quality of this lotus has improved since breaking through the first layer of the Sacred Universe Art. Its colours are more vibrant." Staring at the green fire lotus in his right hand, Lan Si pondered. Then, raising his left hand, he activated the Five Thunder Heavenly Heart Technique, summoning a small hammer with spiral patterns in his left palm.
"This is..." Lan Si's pupils shrank as he looked at the two martial souls in his palms.
After breaking through the first layer of both the Five Thunder Heavenly Heart Technique and the Sacred Universe Art, he was able to use both martial souls simultaneously.
In the original Douluo series, neither Bibi Dong nor Tang San could release two martial souls at the same time in battle, but now he could use both.
Does this mean he's going to become incredibly powerful?
However, using both martial souls simultaneously consumed a huge amount of soul power, so he'd better avoid it unless absolutely necessary.
Just then, there was a knock on the courtyard door, and Otto's voice came from outside. "Ah Si, are you done meditating? It's time to go enroll at Nuoding Academy."
"Uncle Otto, I'm ready." Lan Si stood up, opened the courtyard door, and walked up to Otto.
"Then let's head out. By now, quite a few people have already registered." Otto rubbed Lan Si's head, closed the door, and they walked towards Nuoding Academy.
Soon, they arrived at Nuoding Academy.
Thanks to Otto's good connections in Nuoding City, Lan Si didn't face the same treatment as Tang San from the original story. After showing his martial soul certificate, he easily entered Nuoding Academy.
Since Otto wasn't a soul master, he couldn't enter the school grounds.
After giving a few words of advice, he left.
Following the gatekeeper's directions, Lan Si headed to the registration office.
A teacher, who looked to be in his sixties, was in charge of registering new students.
Lan Si placed his martial soul certificate on the table and said in a childish voice, "Teacher, this is my martial soul certificate. Please help me register."
The teacher glanced up and down at Lan Si before taking the certificate and looking at it.
What he saw stunned him.
Innate soul power at level five and a mutated green fire lotus martial soul.
This kind of talent was rare even in the entire Nuoding Academy.
Anyone with innate soul power above level five would usually join the Martial Soul Hall.
"Your name is Lan Si, right? I'm the director of education here, Director Su. Can I take a look at your martial soul?" Director Su gazed at Lan Si gently.
Lan Si nodded, raised his right hand, and released the green lotus martial soul.
"As expected, a mutated martial soul with fire attributes, and a plant-type martial soul at that—truly rare." Director Su smiled and took out a blue crystal ball from under his desk. "Lan Si, let's also check your soul power."
Following his instructions, Lan Si withdrew his martial soul and touched the blue crystal ball with his right hand. Immediately, the crystal ball glowed brightly.
"Level ten soul power… No, it's level nine. Your soul power has reached level nine, almost level ten."
Director Su was dumbfounded, looking incredulous.
The certificate said that Lan Si's innate soul power was only level five, so how could it have reached level nine?
Just then, footsteps sounded from the open doorway of the registration office.