stonecrandall Chapter 1: The Gates of Hell?
Chapter 1: The Gates of Hell?
Starry Sky Forest.
peripheral.
Lin Yu felt like a package being violently sorted, kicked into a primeval forest.
All around were towering ancient trees that blocked out the sun, and menacing vines coiled around like giant pythons, cutting the sunlight into fragments.
"Damn it!"
Lin Yu cursed inwardly.
What kind of place is this?
One second he was enjoying life in an air-conditioned room, the next he shrank to the size of a six-year-old child and was dumped here.
His gaze was drawn to a butterfly.
The butterfly was so brightly colored it was almost eerie; its wingspan was larger than his face, and it was rapidly flying into the distance.
Something's not right with this art style.
Lin Yu muttered to himself.
"Could I have traveled through time?"
He pinched his thigh hard, and the sharp pain made him gasp.
"Ouch...that fucking hurts!"
Lin Yu's face instantly fell into a "囧" shape.
Are there so many people needing time travel permits these days? They've started forcing it! There's not even a system notification sound, what a letdown!
He was about to get up when a sharp yet effeminate voice suddenly rang out behind him, sending chills down his spine.
"Hey old man, look, isn't there a child over there?"
The next second, two figures appeared in front of him like ghosts.
"It really is. Kid, where are your parents?"
The speaker was tall and thin, wrapped in a black robe, and looked like a twisted, walking shadow, his face obscured.
The person beside him was dressed in a gorgeous golden soft armor, with a face so alluring it was unmanly, and skin so delicate it was almost unnatural. He was currently looking at Lin Yu with a playful gaze.
Seeing this iconic combination and hearing the word "Old Ghost" instantly triggered Lin Yu's memories.
Douluo Continent!
Chrysanthemum Douluo! Ghost Douluo!
"Hey kid, I'm talking to you!"
Seeing Lin Yu staring intently at them, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan impatiently raised her pinky finger.
This rebuke jolted Lin Yu awake.
He forcefully pressed down on his wildly beating heart, trying to calm himself down, his mind racing.
"I'm an orphan, and I came to the forest to collect some herbs to exchange for money."
Lin Yu himself thought the excuse was ridiculously lame.
A six-year-old child, venturing alone into the Star Dou Great Forest? To gather herbs?
However, Yue Guan merely raised an eyebrow, seemingly unconcerned.
"I see. You're lucky you ran into us." Yue Guan's tone carried a hint of condescension. "Otherwise..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was obvious.
Just then, Ghost Douluo Ghost Phantom appeared in front of Lin Yu in a flash.
A withered, twig-like hand grabbed his arm.
Lin Yu froze, thinking the other party was about to kill him, but Ghost's next words stunned him.
"Young man, don't be nervous. Let me examine your body."
A physical exam?
Lin Yu became even more nervous.
God knows if these two guys, who have a strange relationship in the original work, might have some peculiar fetishes.
He stood frozen, too afraid to move.
A chilling energy probed into the ghost's palm; it didn't seem like soul power, but rather like countless cold, shadowy tentacles, wandering and probing through his meridians and bones.
It was a feeling of being thoroughly dissected, with no secrets left to hide.
"Old Ghost, take it easy, don't scare people," Yue Guan reminded him from the side.
Ghost Douluo ignored him, and after a moment withdrew his hand. His face under the black robe seemed to turn towards Yue Guan, and his tone was full of confusion.
"Strange, I clearly felt it."
Yue Guan leaned closer: "What did you feel?"
The ghostly voice was hoarse and deep: "My martial spirit reacts to this kid, with an extremely familiar aura. But I've searched his entire body and can't find the source."
Yue Guan's brows furrowed as well.
kind?
Could he be Old Ghost's illegitimate son?
He glanced at the ghost and immediately dismissed the absurd idea.
That leaves only one possibility.
Martial Spirit.
Ghost had obviously thought of this as well, and he put his hand on Lin Yu's shoulder again.
"Boy, I'll help you awaken your martial spirit now. No matter what happens, stay calm."
"good……"
Lin Yu took a deep breath.
He also wanted to know what was hidden inside his body.
This time, the ghostly soul power was no longer cold and sinister, but instead injected with a gentle, guiding force.
A few seconds later, something unexpected happened!
Under the astonished gazes of Chrysanthemum and Ghost, visible gray mist began to surge wildly from Lin Yu's body.
That's not fog, it's deathly stillness!
It was the solidified aura of death, carrying a chilling cold!
The surrounding temperature suddenly froze, and a layer of white frost quickly formed on the ground, causing the vegetation to wither.
As the ghostly soul power continued to be injected, the deathly aura behind Lin Yu grew thicker and thicker, eventually twisting and converging to outline the silhouette of a huge building.
The playful smile on Yue Guan's face vanished completely, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.
The phantom gradually became clearer.
It is a door.
A massive, three-zhang-tall, grayish-blue stone gate phantom stood silently behind Lin Yu.
The door is covered with mottled rust and deep cracks that reveal the bone, as if it has been eroded by countless ages.
The door was tightly shut, and above the lintel, two twisted, ancient characters, exuding an endless sense of eeriness, appeared and disappeared.
—Ghost Gate.
The mere pressure emanating from the illusory spirit was enough to make Yue Guan, a Title Douluo, feel a chill run down his spine.
"What kind of martial spirit is this?"
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, both seeing the same horror in each other's eyes.
They had only experienced this feeling with one person.
Spirit Hall, Grand Elder, Thousand Paths.
That level 99 peerless Douluo who possesses the divine martial soul, the Six-Winged Angel!
But the martial spirit of this brat is clearly filled with the aura of death and annihilation, which is completely opposite to the holy light of the six-winged angel. Yet it can bring the same level of oppressive feeling in terms of quality, or even stronger!
This is simply a fantasy.
"cough……"
Lin Yu's soft cough broke the silence.
The appearance of the ghostly phantom seemed to drain all his strength, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
He looked up at the enormous stone gate floating behind him and was completely dumbfounded.
Ghost Gate?
gate of hell?!
My martial spirit is the Gates of Hell?!
Can this thing be used as a martial soul?
What a joke!
Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer is the number one weapon spirit in the world, and the Blue Silver Emperor is a top-tier control-type spirit. And what is this...? A summoning-type? An architecture-type?
"Kid, what's the name of your martial spirit?"
Yue Guan's voice was somewhat hoarse as he stared intently at the stone gate, as if trying to see right through it.
Lin Yu composed himself and honestly answered, "Ghost Gate."
"Ghost Gate..." Yue Guan murmured the name.
The ghostly figure standing to the side was in a strange state at the moment.
He didn't feel suppressed; instead, he found the deathly aura incredibly comforting, which warmed his perpetually cold body.
His ghostly martial spirit was leaping uncontrollably within his body, as if it were paying homage to a king.
"Old ghost, test your soul power," Yue Guan reminded him in a deep voice.
Ghostly figure then came to his senses, took out a crystal ball the size of a pigeon egg from his soul tool, handed it to Lin Yu, and said in a hoarse voice, "Put your hand on it."
Lin Yu did as instructed and covered it with her small hand.
He was also very anxious, not knowing how much soul power this Ghost Gate Martial Soul could bring him.
The next second, the crystal ball suddenly burst forth with dazzling blue light.
The light was so intense that it instantly illuminated the surrounding woodland, which had been darkened by the deathly aura, making it as bright as day, almost blinding people.
Click.
With a crisp sound, a crack appeared on the surface of the crystal ball.
Yue Guan's pupils suddenly contracted.
The ghostly figure, which had been shrouded in a black robe, visibly stiffened for a moment.
Innate full soul power!