Chapter 325: The Luck That Defies Fate—Qingshan and Xiao Lan
Bai Qingshan: The Bean that Sprouted Lightning
My name is Bai Qingshan, born in the Sun-Moon Empire. Like all children of my empire, I awakened my martial soul at the age of six.
My martial soul? A bean. Not a fairy bean. Not a candy bean. Just… an ordinary, plain bean.
My innate soul power? Level two.
With such miserable talent, I should have faded into mediocrity—but my family was moderately well-off. My parents weren't soul masters, but merchants with enough savings to afford me some decent medicines and a path forward, albeit a slow one.
By the age of ten, I'd reached level ten and hunted my first soul ring. Though it was only a white ten-year soul ring, most of my peers had the same. I thought I was doing fine.
But as I advanced, I learned the cruel truth: my growth slowed. At level 30, my pace nearly halted. By the time I reached level 41, my cultivation was stuck—as if I'd slammed into an invisible ceiling.
Despite desperate efforts, I couldn't move an inch forward. Soul King? A pipe dream. Level 42? An unreachable star.
Once, I had dreams of titles and grandeur. I even came up with my own future Title Douluo name. But as the years passed—from boy to man, and man to worn-out middle age—I accepted reality: I was just another mediocre soul master, drowned among millions.
Still, life gave me one consolation. At level 41, I was eligible to be promoted within the Donghai Junior Soul Instructor College. With the current dean nearing retirement and my long tenure as a respected teacher, the position of next dean should have been mine.
Until Zhao Yuanbu happened.
The grandson of the Zhao clan's Grand Elder parachuted into the college with no teaching experience, claiming the position with three words:
> "My Elder Grandfather."
Three days of sleepless anger later, I swallowed my pride. The dean was stronger. The Zhao family had a Soul Emperor. I had nothing.
I bowed.
And I seethed.
The Child Who Changed My Fate
Then came a boy: Xiao Qiang.
He approached me with an audacious proposition. He asked me to fund his cultivation, promising that once he rose to power, he'd help me reach the Soul Emperor level.
I scoffed.
He was just a child. Yes, innate level five soul power was above average, but I'd seen many such children over the years—and none changed my life.
But Xiao Qiang wasn't like the others. He spoke of Ma Shuo's horses, the limitations of my soul ring ratio, and proposed a long-term plan I could actually believe in.
I hesitated.
He wanted everything I had. But in return, he gave me something more valuable than coin: hope.
So I did it. I gambled my life's work on one boy.
I lost everything.
Then, I gained everything.
Xiao Qiang returned—as the personal disciple of Jing Hongchen, the Hall Master of Mingde Hall.
He brought gold soul coins, rare medicines, and one impossible promise: "Soul Douluo."
That childhood dream I had buried? It resurfaced.
Thanks to Xiao Qiang, my talent evolved. My soul ring ratio was corrected. With a 100,000-year soul, I broke through again and again—Soul Douluo, then Title Douluo, bearing five black and four red rings.
In the war between the Soul Hall and the Holy Spirit Church, I wielded a replica of the Angel Martial Soul, slayed dozens of evil soul masters, and became an elder known throughout the continent.
When I returned to Donghai City, the Zhao Clan's patriarch knelt to greet me.
Zhao Yuanbu? A five-ring Soul King. I no longer held any grudge—how could I?
He was just… small now.
From Dust to Divinity
I watched Xiao Qiang's siblings rise:
His brother, Xiao Sheng, became Rakshasa God.
His sister, Xiao Lan, became the God of Emotions.
Xiao Hongchen, the God of Wealth.
Meng Hongchen—somehow—the Sea God.
I didn't understand why the Sea God chose her, but it wasn't my place to question gods. I knew one thing for certain: I, Bai Qingshan, would never become a god.
Not with innate level two soul power.
But fate wasn't done with me.
One day, a man approached me with a smile.
> "Hello, I'm Oscar, the God of Food. I think you are gifted and can inherit my god position."
"…Gifted? Who? Me?"
> "Of course."
"…"
"…"
> "What's Xiao Qiang's status in the God Realm?"
> "Shura God, one of the Five Great God Kings."
I nodded solemnly.
> "…Yes. I am absolutely gifted."
Xiao Lan: From Maid to God King
My name is Xiao Lan, and I am the younger sister of Xiao Qiang and Xiao Sheng.
My earliest memory, from the age of five, is one of terror. My parents had just died. A group of greedy relatives barged into our home, trying to steal everything.
My second brother and I could do nothing.
But my eldest brother, Xiao Qiang, stood tall. With just two soul rings and a kitchen knife, he cut off two fingers from one of them. That was enough to scare them off.
After that, life was hard—but safe.
My eldest brother trained and earned money. My second brother took care of housework. I started training under my brother's guidance.
When we reached the imperial capital, things changed. Xiao Qiang gained a powerful teacher, and money was no longer scarce. Tens of thousands of gold soul coins became monthly allowance.
One day, he gave my second brother and me two pills—Sun and Moon Divine Pills—that could grant innate fifth-level soul power. We tried to refuse, but he forced them down our throats.
My cultivation soared.
Later, I became a maid to a mysterious woman named Jingliu, repaying a favor my brother owed. It was hard. Painful. Cold. But it made me strong.
With Xiao Qiang's research and guidance, I absorbed a 6,000-year first soul ring, followed by even greater breakthroughs. Soon, I had three rings. Then four. Then five.
Then came the 100,000-year Ice and Snow Girl, the 70,000-year Ice Spirit Phantom Bird, and multiple 100,000 and 200,000-year soul beasts that became my spirits and gave me soul bones beyond any dream.
Thanks to my brother—the Master of the Soul Hall—I became strong beyond belief.
I eventually became the first female Pope of the Soul Hall, and later, Queen of a new empire. And when Rong Nianbing, the God of Emotions, offered me his position, I accepted and rose to Godhood.
My God of Emotions throne grew in power, and when the God Realm expanded, I broke through again.
> I became a God King.
Others said I was a genius.
But I know the truth.
I wasn't born powerful.
I was lucky—because I had a brother named Xiao Qiang.