Douluo Continent: Starting from the Fusion of My Martial Soul with Xiao Xiao

Tianzheng Academy is located on the border of the Tianhun Empire, in the northwest of the Xingdou Great Forest.

One day in June, three transfer students arrived in Class 1 of the second grade of the junior high school.

A cute little boy, a little girl, and a mature, sophisticated woman in a white dress.

In just a few days, Xue Qingwu became the focus of attention in Class 1 of Grade 2.

All three of them enrolled as commoners.

After spending a few days together, Xue Yuheng and the other two quickly gained the attention of the head of teaching staff thanks to their displayed talents.

The dean of students' office is located on the far east side of the third floor of the teaching building. The small space is filled with traces of time.

A floor-to-ceiling dark bookshelf stood against the wall, filled with yellowed Soul Master classics and neatly stacked student files.

Five faded yet still dignified portraits hang on the main wall, depicting the five founders of Tianzheng Academy. Below the portraits hangs an ebony plaque with the powerful inscription "Only the talented are promoted."

Behind the desk sat a middle-aged man nearing fifty, with a square face, thick, dark eyebrows, and temples already streaked with gray. He was dressed impeccably in a white college uniform.

He is Zhao Yan, the Dean of Studies at Tianzheng Academy, an 87th-level Attack-type Soul Douluo, known throughout the school for his impartiality and protectiveness.

He put down his pen, leaned forward slightly, and looked at the three children standing in front of him. His tone was unusually gentle: "Yuheng, Xiaoxiao, and Qingwu. Your talent surprises me greatly."

For you commoners, having such talent is also a kind of suffering.

Of course, as long as you are at my Tianzheng Academy, I will mobilize all resources to nurture you.

Next, I will introduce to you the unique grade promotion model of Tianzheng Academy.

It is the Heavenly Ranking.

"Our Tianzheng Academy was founded 2,137 years ago by five like-minded Title Douluos."

Zhao Yan's voice deepened, carrying a hint of genuine pride.

"These five seniors were all exceptionally talented individuals back then. None of them would admit defeat to the others, so they erected a stone tablet on the back mountain of the academy, engraved their names on it, and compared their abilities. This is the original Heavenly Ranking."

"Later, their competition set a trend throughout the academy, and the disciples followed suit. The Heavenly Ranking gradually changed from a ranking of Title Douluos to a ranking of all our students, and finally it was simply established as the academy's grade promotion rule."

He pointed to a huge electronic screen hanging on the wall, on which a dense list of names and numbers scrolled. "In each grade, only the top 100 students on the Heavenly Ranking are qualified to advance to the next grade."

The rest will either have to repeat a year or drop out.

"The Heavenly Ranking is divided into three types: the Solo Ranking, the Duo Ranking, and the Seven-Player Team Battle Ranking."

Zhao Yan continued, counting on his fingers, "To complement the ranking competition, the academy built a total of thirty-six arenas in different environments, ranging from plains, forests, and deserts to ice fields, volcanoes, and the deep sea."

There are also hundreds of simulated training grounds, where the concentration of soul power is three to ten times that of the outside world, and the environment can be simulated at will.

"The higher the ranking, the more resources you can get."

At this point, Zhao Yan's tone became noticeably more serious. "For each rank you improve, you will receive corresponding academy contribution points. These contribution points can be exchanged for soul tools, soul bone fragments, rare medicinal herbs, or even exclusive access to the simulated training ground."

The top three on the school's overall ranking will receive a soul bone that is over ten thousand years old!

The top-ranked player on the overall leaderboard will have an instructor at the Soul Douluo level personally hunt for the most suitable Soul Ring for them.

These rewards are extremely tempting even for noble soul masters, let alone for most of the Tianzheng students who come from commoner backgrounds.

This is why the competition on the Heavenly Ranking is so fierce, with dozens of matches taking place on various arenas almost every day.

Zhao Yan picked up the enamel mug on the table, took a sip of the warm tea, and looked at the three of them, asking, "Do you have any further questions about the Heavenly Ranking?"

After he finished speaking, the office was silent for a few seconds.

Xue Yuheng, Xiao Xiao, and Xue Qingwu didn't speak, but they exchanged glances simultaneously.

A silent fighting spirit quietly rose in the air.

Even geniuses need to hone their skills.

Xue Yuheng planned to transfer this system to Shrek Academy, which was the reason he chose Tianzheng Academy.

Soul Masters aren't ascetics; following a set routine of meditation and cultivation is too boring.

Seeing the fighting spirit in the three men's eyes, Zhao Yan nodded in satisfaction, a rare smile appearing on his face: "Very good, that's the spirit you need. Let me explain the specific challenge rules to you."

"In the individual ranking challenge, students with lower rankings can challenge students who are within ten ranks higher than themselves, but the difference in soul power levels between the two sides cannot exceed three levels, otherwise the challenge will be invalid. This is to prevent anyone from maliciously harassing the cultivation of higher-ranking students."

The challenge was successful, and the two swapped rankings.

If the challenge fails, you cannot attempt another challenge for three days.

"The duo leaderboard is a 2v2 competition where two people team up. The ranking is calculated by team. You can choose your teammates freely and you can disband and regroup at any time."

As for the seven-person team battle ranking, that's specifically used to select teams to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament. Only fifth and sixth-year students in the advanced division can participate, so it's not relevant to the three of you for now.

Time flies, and it's already the last day of June.

After school, Xue Yuheng took Xiao Xiao and Xue Qingwu to the cafeteria for a simple meal consisting of two meat dishes and one vegetable dish.

The afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the glass windows of the cafeteria, casting a warm golden hue over the bustling restaurant.

The three of them quickly finished their meal and headed towards the advanced department on the west side of the academy.

The registration office for the Heavenly Ranking is located in the arena hall of the advanced division.

The person in charge of registration was a middle-aged female teacher wearing black-rimmed glasses, who was bending down to sort through the thick stack of registration forms.

Seeing three children with small backpacks walk in, she paused for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Children, have you come to the wrong place? The junior section is on the east side."

"Hello, teacher. We're here to register for the Heavenly Ranking." Xue Yuheng stepped forward and said calmly.

Upon hearing this, the female teacher nearly poked the paper with her pen.

She looked the three of them up and down, noticing they were wearing junior high uniforms and looked to be no more than seven or eight years old. She couldn't help but laugh and said, "Stop fooling around, little kids. The Heavenly Ranking is for upperclassmen. You're too young. Go back to class."

"We're not joking, we really want to sign up," Xiao Xiao said earnestly, looking up at her.

Seeing their resolute attitude, the female teacher shook her head helplessly: "Alright, let's test bone age first. This is the rule for registration, and no one can be an exception."

She led the three of them to the bone age testing machine in the corner of the hall. It was a completely silver-white instrument with a circular groove in the middle.

Based on the strength of a person's life force, it is possible to accurately deduce the date of birth of the test subject.

"Just put your hand in."

Xue Yuheng was the first to step forward and put his right hand into the groove.

A pale green light swept across his wrist, and a line of clear text immediately appeared on the instrument screen.

Bone age: 7 years and 5 months.

The female teacher nodded and then gestured for Xiao Xiao and Xue Qingwu to take the test in turn.

Xiao Xiao, bone age 7 years and 4 months.

Xue Qingwu, bone age 7 years old.

"They are all seven years old." The female teacher frowned, but still took out three registration forms and handed them to them. "Then fill them out. Write down your martial spirit, soul power level, and element clearly."

The three people took the pens, quickly filled out the forms, and handed them back.

The female teacher casually picked up the form and glanced at it, her expression instantly freezing.

The form clearly states:

Xue Yuheng, Martial Soul: Ice Jade Scorpion, Level 15 Power Attack Type Battle Soul Master.

Xiao Xiao, Martial Soul: Soul Suppressing Cauldron, Level 26 Control-type Battle Soul Master.

Xue Qingwu, Martial Soul: Ice and Snow, Level 28 Control-type Battle Soul Master.

The female teacher glanced at it, then suddenly looked up, her eyes wide, "Did you fill this out randomly?"

"Seven years old, and only a year after his martial spirit awakened, how could he possibly have cultivated to level twenty-something? That's absolutely impossible!"

"Whether it's filled in randomly or not, we'll know by testing the soul power." Xue Yuheng pointed to the soul power testing device next to him.

The female teacher, still somewhat skeptical, led the three to the soul power testing device: "Alright, then you can take the test. If you dare to lie, I'll tell your homeroom teacher."

Xue Yuheng was the first to step forward and placed his right hand on the crystal ball of the testing device.

A pale blue light shone, and a number clearly appeared on the crystal ball: 15.

The female teacher frowned even more deeply.

Next up was Xiao Xiao.

A dazzling green light burst forth, the numbers jumped a few times, and finally settled at: 26.

The female teacher's breathing became rapid.

Finally, there was Xue Qingwu.

Her slender fingers gently touched the crystal ball, and in an instant, a chilling cold spread out, and the pale blue light almost swallowed the entire crystal ball.

The numbers jumped wildly, soaring from 20 all the way up, and finally came to a steady stop at 28.

The hall was deathly silent.

The female teacher stared blankly at the numbers on the crystal ball, then looked at the three children in front of her who remained expressionless, completely unaware that her glasses had slipped down to the tip of her nose.

She rubbed her eyes hard, thinking she was seeing things, but the three numbers were still clearly there.

"Old Li! Come quick! Something terrible has happened!" She snapped out of her daze and shouted at the venue manager not far away.

Hearing the shouts, Teacher Li, who was patrolling the area, rushed over: "What's wrong, Xiao Zhang? Why are you yelling like that?"

"Look for yourself!" Teacher Zhang pointed at the testing device and then at the bone age record on the table, her voice trembling.

Teacher Li looked in the direction she pointed, and when she saw the three soul power numbers and the seven-year bone age marked next to them, she froze on the spot, her mouth agape as if she could fit an egg in it.

"Seven...seven years old? Level twenty-eight?" he muttered to himself, his face filled with disbelief. "How is this possible? Even with innate full soul power, it's impossible to cultivate to this level in just one year!"

The two looked at each other, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

"Quick! Go get Director Zhao!" Teacher Li suddenly realized, "Director Zhao needs to know about this!"

Less than ten minutes later, Zhao Yan, the director of teaching affairs, rushed over.

After listening to their reports, he personally watched as the three of them retested their bone age and soul power. The expression on his face changed from initial surprise to disbelief, and finally to barely concealed excitement.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and looked at the three of them, his voice trembling slightly: "Good! Good indeed! I, Zhao Yan, have taught for thirty years..."

This is the first time I've ever seen geniuses like you! My Tianzheng Academy has struck gold this time!

"Since you insist on participating in the Heavenly Ranking, then I will personally arrange your first opponent." Zhao Yan pondered for a moment, a sly glint in his eyes.

Then she turned and called out towards the door, "Mengdi, come in for a moment."

As soon as the words were spoken, a girl dressed in the uniform of a first-year student in the senior division walked in slowly.

Xue Yuheng and the other two were all taken aback.

This was a very unexpected opponent for the three of them.

Angel Senior, Yu Mengdi.