Douluo Dalu: 1st Cycle: Dancing Panda

Karni looked at Hu Jie, full of hope. "What can I do? I'll gladly do it!"

Hu Jie turned to Lily the Panda. "Lily. The only way I can see you be saved is by becoming a Spirit Soul."

Karni and the two Pandas instantly fell silent.

Then Lily grumbled, as if denying the thought. Hu Jie furrowed his brows. "Lily, I can personally attest to Karni's character. He's one of the kindest people I know."

"It's not that." Karni suddenly said, confusing Hu Jie. Karni heard the tone of the Panda better. He was sensitive to these kinds of stuff. She wasn't doubting Karni's character, but his ability.

"Lily. I am already strong. I have two Martial Souls, one of which is a Panda." Karni said quickly, knowing that time was of the essence. He summoned his Royal Bamboo Panda. In that, already, he saw Lily's eyes widen, sensing the Bloodline in Karni.

But Karni didn't stop, he continued saying. "My body is also strong. It could take three basic Purple Soul Rings right now. Not only that, but just by taking them, my body would grow stronger, because the Royal Bamboo Panda would get stronger, boosting my body in kind."

He took a quick breath then continued. "And my Spiritual Power is already at the Spirit Abyss Level. I do not need to worry about taking any Black Soul Rings. I could even take a Hundred Thousand One! So please. Don't lose your life only for your worries."

Hu Jie looked at Karni in a bit of a shock. "Karni, be a bit more sensitive, becoming a Spirit Soul brings many downsides to Soul Beasts. For one, the most you could elongate her life is for a few hundred years. Then there's also the trust-" He was cut off, Lily placed a paw on Hu Jie's legs and grumbled.

Hu Jie saw the look in her eyes. And sighed. "I am sorry. It seems that I was the one who jumped to conclusions."

Lily the Brown Lotus Panda nodded and turned to Karni. A small smile appeared on her panda face.

"Good. In that case. Karni, start soon. I'll support Lily's body so she can get through this."

Hu Jie rose and placed his palm on Lily. His Martial Soul activated. An enormous amount of Soul Power was inserted into Lily, supporting her.

Karni, meanwhile, took Lily's paw and pricked his finger for blood. "I promise you on our partnership. I will find who did this, and we will destroy them. And if I ever find a way, you will live after I die." Even Karni was aware that for the contract to work with her injuries, all of Lily's being would have to be given to Karni, he could only make promises for now.

Hop did not have to do that back then. Though he too was tied to Karni in life and death, ever since he chose to help him survive the Evil Soul Masters about a year back.

Lily nodded to Karni, and opened her mind, releasing her very Soul to Karni. The two minds connected; their Souls connected.

The Spiritual Powers resonated, and an equal contract was formed, one with Karni's very words inscribed in them. Lily also added a few parts. The promise of full support and help.

A Promise of Blood. And that they would bring death to those who did this.

Lily's spirit slowly disappeared from her body and all that remained was the corpse. Her little brother looked at Karni, full of hope.

"This is Bei Bei." Hu Jie quickly introduced.

"Mm. Bei Bei. Your sister fell asleep. I'll let her out as soon as she wakes up."

The little Panda released a sound of relief, he was familiar with the Spirit Soul concept like all the other pandas in this oasis. Then he started smelling something and turned to his sister's corpse. He shuffled to her legs and made a small howl, filled with excitement. He rowed through her leg and pulled something out.

Karni exclaimed. "A Soul Bone!"

Bei Bei nodded and brought the Soul Bone to Karni.

Karni nodded. "Thank you." He patted the panda and scratched his head.

"Quickly, absorb it." Hu Jie beckoned Karni. He seemed excited for his disciple as well.

He put the bone next to his left leg and poured some blood on the bone. The bodies immediately connected and started fusing without trouble. The fact he had Lily as a Spirit Soul now seemed to influence the bone. That and his Bloodline also likely helped.

The fusion completed very smoothly for a Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Soul Bone.

He hopped up a bit and felt strength in his legs—especially in his left leg. He pulled some Soul Power in and felt the strength increase. He jumped a little…

And suddenly he was a hundred metres in the air! "Holy shit that's powerful!" Karni yelped. He even saw a crack on the ground.

He fell back and just before he hit the ground he was about to Shift, but changed his mind. He landed with most of the strength focused on the left leg, creating cracks within the cracks. And he didn't hurt one bit.

This unlocked a whole new playing field!

"Mm. Flight into the River, as I suspected." Hu Jie commented.

Karni looked at Hu Jie confused, and Hu Jie explained. "This ability is the strongest physical ability that the Brown Lotus Pandas have. In pure force, it is comparable in strength to Duskgold Dreadclaw Bears. The main difference being that obviously they don't have those kinds of claws. Instead, they have paw pads that are extremely resistant to physical attacks. It's why you bounced so high."

Then he heaved a sigh. He looked around the corpses. Karni looked as well. "Look at their legs." Hu Jie commented.

Karni's eyes widened. Every corpse had a leg opened. Sometimes the right, sometimes the left. "They… they all had Soul Bones?" And the Evil Soul Masters stole all of them?

Hu Jie nodded. "It's due to the Oasis. You'll feel its effects later on as well, but… this will be troublesome in the future. The back legs are where the strongest of their Soul Bones are, left hind legs especially…"

"But enough about that." Hu Jie turned to look at Bei Bei. "Let's gather the survivors."

Bei Bei nodded solemnly and led them behind the Oasis and to a small rock which opened up when he put his paw on a scanner—Tang Sect had some great security measures in place.

The security door opened up to a big group of survivors. Around a hundred of them. But that was incomparable to what was a thousand of them before.

Most of the survivors were children. Only a few adults were between them. Some of them in the thousands of cultivation. And only one of them was Ten-Thousand-Year-Old. Karni could recognise the Panda instantly. It was twice the size of Lily. Apparently, the Brown Lotus Pandas grew in size most during their ten thousands.

The female panda approached Hu Jie and the group, then relaxed when she saw Bei Bei. But then she wondered about his sister Lily. This big panda was their aunt. And also the new leader as she was now the oldest panda of the group.

She made the kids stay inside but brought the small group of adult pandas out. They were met with the horror of the situation. So many Pandas. Lying dead. Legs torn apart.

Karni looked to Hu Jie. "Let's bury them properly."

Bei Bei looked to Karni, thankful for him.

The adults and Karni went to work. They buried each Panda killed today one by one. Karni noticed Bei Bei stopping at the entrance, looking at one of the Tang Sect members that died there. It was the one that Hu Jie called to warn the Pandas of the danger.

Bei Bei seemed to carry the guy carefully and buried him as well. It was someone he was very close to. And it just made Karni want to kill those who did this more. Until now he'd been lucky enough not to see the terror of the Evil Soul Masters. And now he had seen it. There was a reason everyone hated and feared them.

Which made him remember. Two assholes from the enemy were killed. One by Hu Jie and one by Karni himself.

He walked toward their corpses which had been put aside already and noticed Hu Jie studying one of them.

"They're from the Green Skeleton Rebellion." Hu Jie noted. "But to think they would ally themselves with the Evil Soul Masters? This might become a problem."

Hu Jie turned to Karni. "I get what you're thinking, but there is no way for you to help with this. This is a national issue."

Karni clenched his fists, determined. "I made a promise."

"We'll get them." A voice came from inside. A female voice.

"Lily?" Karni turned his focus inward.

"Mm. Val Karni, am I correct?"

Karni did a mental nod.

"Thank you, Karni, for saving my life. And my brother's. We would not have survived if not for you and Hu Jie. None of us would have. They saw the kids go to safety."

"I'll let you out." Karni told her. "And it's time you meet the rest of the team."

He let out Lily, who reunited with her brother in a warm hug, before also hugging her aunt. Then Karni and Lily focused on Hu Jie, who sighed.

"Fine. If there is a Tang Sect mission, I'll let you know. But I'll be honest. I doubt anything will happen after this. Not for a few years at least. The Green Skeleton Rebellion are fortified in the mountains, and currently we do not have the means to breach them. It will take meticulous planning from our side. But I will promise. I will contact you even when you're on Douluo Continent with the latest news."

Karni and Lily bowed slightly, thanking Hu Jie. Karni then turned to Lily. "You must have sensed the others. It's about time I introduce you guys."

Karni let out Hop and Hope. A snake and a crow.

"Lily, meet Hop and Hope."

Lily greeted the two, but there was not a lot of time for them to get to know each other. There were many bodies in need of burying.

One of which included Bei Bei's and Lily's Father. The previous leader of the pack. A Hundred-Thousand-Year-Old Brown Lotus Panda.

The Brown Lotus Pandas already dropped Soul Bones due to this place, but a Hundred-Thousand-Year-Old Soul Beasts always dropped Soul Bones anyway. And they saw it. Or well, they saw the right front leg which used to house the Soul Bone. Used to. Of course, this one was taken as well. It was likely the first one to be taken.

"Damn it." Hu Jie cursed. "They stole Old Bao's Bone too. I'm sorry Old Ling." Old Ling was Old Bao's sister, the now new leader, the aunt of Lily and Bei Bei.

Old Ling just breathed out angrily, before she, Bei Bei and Lily carried his corpse and buried him. But Karni also worried now. Those bastards stole all the Soul Bones of Brown Lotus Pandas. But Karni felt dread about the Hundred-Thousand-Year-Old Soul Bone. His senses were telling him it was going to someone terrifying. The Green Skeleton Rebellion was about to become scarier. No wonder Hu Jie was being careful about it.

"My father was of the oldest generation, as is my aunt." Lily spoke to Karni. "He developed his Soul Bone before we arrived here, far before we made a deal with the Tang Sect for protection. He once managed to fight a Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear to an equal standstill, just with his right paw… He was one of the few who still had their blood flowing through them. The fact they have his Soul Bone…" Lily exploded with hatred… yet there was fear in there as well.

But her anger also quelled when she remembered how it happened. "Humans have become scary. A single weapon caught my father unawares while we were evacuating and ended his life. He could not even fight back. Some device."

Karni could not help but feel a shiver. That must have been at least a Rank 9 Soul Tool. With how targeted the attack was, Karni would not be surprised if it was specifically developed to finish of Brown Lotus Pandas.

This place was protected by the Tang Sect. But this time the Sect has failed these pandas. Yet even then, only this sect would protect a place filled with Soul Bones for the sake of preserving the species. Unfortunately, this place now only had a hundred or so Pandas left. It would take thousands of years to recover.

Which also made Karni wonder. Why was this place not more protected? Then he shook his head. There were a thousand Pandas here, it shouldn't have needed more protection. Many of the pandas were Ten-Thousand-Year-Old before. The enemy was powerful and prepared. One of them even escaped an almost Limit Douluo.

After another two hours, reinforcements arrived and all the bodies were buried. A grand funeral was done in the way of the Brown Lotus Panda culture. All the children and the adults gathered around the Bamboo Oasis and burst into roars, but the roars were not random. There were three specific tones Karni heard. Low, middle and high, that served as a melody to send off the dead.

"Hm. We might need to stay for even longer than we planned." Hu Jie noted. "We'll go the day before your match begins for sure. Tang Sect needs to secure this place and follow any leads we might find."

Karni nodded.

"Good. Now go to sleep and get ready. Tomorrow, we start on your training."

… … …

Karni woke up the next day, stuffed in fluff. Bei Bei's fluff. The Panda was laying on top of him, suffocating him.

Karni couldn't move or speak, so he just called out Lily. And when she saw the situation, she couldn't help but laugh.

Bei Bei got off Karni, fully satisfied that his sister was summoned. His goal was achieved, and he immediately ignored Karni to cuddle with his big sister. He might be ten thousand years old, but Bei Bei acted kind of like a child; letting himself be spoiled.

Karni rose up, letting the two siblings be. They all knew Karni would have leave with Lily eventually, so he let them hang out as much as possible.

He went outside and the Oasis looked fairly empty with only a few hundred Pandas. Karni could imagine how busy it was before. Now it was quiet and the kids that should be playing around seemed to be working on rebuilding their home instead.

What was new was a good amount of some noble's guard coming in to help fix the area. This was where Karni noticed Hu Jie, who also noticed him. Hu Jie waved him over. "So you woke up."

"Mm. I had a fluffy and suffocating awakening."

Hu Jie chuckled bitterly. "Bei Bei, eh?"

Karni nodded.

"Well, since you're awake, why don't you start with training immediately. Go into the oasis and just meditate there for today and circulate your Bloodline. I'll check on you to get a feeling on how far you've progressed every now and then."

"Um, before that… who are these people?"

"Oh right, haven't told you yet. These are the duke's men. One of the two dukedoms in the Empire is located nearby, and I know them well, so I asked for their help. The Wei Family, and their leader the Snow Body Duke. Hm. For you it will be easier to think of them as a branch family of the Body Sect, that lives in the Star Luo Empire and connected with the Heaven Soul Empire ten thousand years ago before it was destroyed. They eventually joined forces to evacuate here."

Huh. That wasn't part of a history Karni knew of. How interesting.

"Dai Yun'er's mother belongs to their clan, hence why one of her Martial Souls is a Brain." Hu Jie pointed to the head. "Most of their Martial Souls are either Snow types or Spiritual types. They also…" Hu Jie grumbled as one of them approached.

"Have been trying to recruit me for years. Go now. The duke is here. Go practice."

Karni did as told, though he could not help but listen to their conversation. The Snow Body Duke was trying to offer Hu Jie riches in return for abandoning the Tang Sect. It was all in good fun though, they seemed to be friends. It seemed like this conversation was a regular Tuesday for them.

Karni took off his clothes which revealed his body that had already gone through a change compared to yesterday. He was thicker and… at the same time he was softer. Squishier. He sat in the oasis in a meditative pose.

While he did fight in here yesterday, it was only now that he realised how shallow the Oasis was. It barely reached his knees. The top of his chest was outside of the oasis when he sat down.

It was also only now that he felt the purifying energy of the oasis. He could not focus on it before, but his whole body felt refreshing. For a slime that claimed he sucked on pure energy, Karni could understand why the bastard was nigh invincible inside this.

But Karni put that aside and focused on meditation. On his Bloodline.

His Bloodline was boiling. Lively, yet serene and balanced. Rich. Thick and in collaboration with his Soul Power.

He could sense Lily's being now attached to his Bloodline. She was intricately connected with it and the Bloodline already started affecting her in some ways. And now that he felt it… she was a Forty-Thousand-Year-Old Soul Beast!

This made him curious as well. What were his new Soul Skills? He could approximately tell, but without trying them out, he wouldn't be able to see. And right now, he was given an order to meditate. What he did feel however was that he got three skills instead of four.

Based on his current power, and the endurance of his body, he could have taken another black Soul Ring. So why didn't he get a fourth one? Black Spirit Souls should be able to give four Soul Rings.

He focused on Lily's vitality again and saw that her power was completely fused with his already. This was the most she could offer, which was unusual.

Two reasons were possible as to why he couldn't get four. One was compatibility, which should not have been the case. There was even a chance that a Black Spirit Soul could only give two Soul Rings if the compatibility was bad enough. Theoretically, there was even a chance that such a Spirit Soul would only give a single Soul Ring, but that would usually mean that the Martial Soul and Spirit Soul were almost completely incompatible.

The other reason that a Spirit Soul might not be able to offer enough Spirit Souls was its vitality. Vitality was the reason why a Black Spirit Soul offered four Soul Rings and a Purple Spirit Soul offered three. The difference in vitality.

And there Karni found the reason. Lily had her vitality sucked out to such a degree that the most she could offer was three Soul Rings. But Karni didn't really mind. From what he could tell, he got three incredibly powerful abilities.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Hu Jie's palms on his back.

"Mm. Incredible. The power of your Bloodline cannot even be compared to what it was before. It was just a puddle before, now it feels like a lake. Good. I know what I'll do with your training regimen now, but before that. Use your Relaxing Aura on me."

Karni looked at his teacher and circulated the Bloodline once more, releasing his Aura.

The relaxation exploded and the whole surroundings felt different. Everything felt like a friend. Or to be more exact, the surroundings made him feel like he belonged with them. It wasn't he who became one with the world, but the world that accepted him as one with it. What an odd feeling.

"I… wow." Hu Jie shook his head. "I actually had to use four percent of my power to dispel that. That bloodline of yours is terrifying. But then again, the legends of the Royal Pandas do seem to live up to their name. Here is the plan then. Your training will be split into three." He put up three fingers.

"First will be special training by me. That new body and change you feel? We'll turn it into a weapon. This will be what you'll start immediately after this." He put down the first finger.

"Second. Train that Relaxing Aura. As you released it now, you should be able to charm everyone under the power of a Soul Sage for a short time and a Soul Sage will need to be in Avatar state to be able to resist from the start. Learn to limit it, but also learn everything that you can affect."

Karni added. "Mm. I did seem to affect the world around me as well."

"I know. I'm also connected with it. It's why I'm telling you to experiment." He put down the second finger, ending the conversation.

"Finally, get familiar with your Soul Rings. I don't think I need to say anything more there. We'll split it into seven hours of training for both your aura and body, and two hours for your Soul Skills."

Karni nodded. That would leave him with eight hours of sleep a day. It was a fair deal.

"Good. Now the first training program. Like I said, we'll turn your body into a weapon. This squishiness," Hu Jie squeezed Karni's muscles, "and that flexibility need to work in tandem. You'll be forbidden from using Soul Power, only your muscles. Now hit me."

Karni didn't question it and did a simple punch at his teacher. Hu Jie took the hit but then bounced it off like it was nothing. It seemed as simple to him as walking. "Describe what I did."

Karni repeated what Hu Jie did in his mind. "When I hit, I connected, but not perfectly. It was just slight movement, but I your muscles made me hit it at an angle which lessened the power of my punch. Then you tensed your muscles and pushed my arm out."

Hu Jie smiled, proud of his disciple. "Excellent observation. You'll practice doing that as well. But it won't be as simple as doing what you described. While you do it you will have to think about multiple things. Where do you want to send the attack for the best result? How do you send it so that a follow up attack cannot connect? If there is a follow up attack anyway, how will you be fast enough to deflect the next one? You'll figure out the subtleties as you go."

Hu Jie whistled and a three of the kid Pandas looked at him, asking with their eyes if it was time. Hu Jie nodded, and the Pandas approached, excited to put their minds off the tragedy.

"These three kiddos will constantly pounce at you. Like I said: no Soul Power and no attacks and no dodges. Every time you dodge, I will dunk your head under the water." Hu Jie said seriously. That dunk would probably be violent.

Karni nodded and Hu Jie nodded to the kid Pandas again. The three pounced at Karni with excitement.

Karni watched as the first one jumped at him and he braced himself, trying to shift his body sideways. They collided and Karni tried to push the little Panda off, but the Panda only pushed him into the water of the Oasis instead.

But the Pandas didn't stop there. No, the next one was already on him. And Karni was covered in wet fluff all over again.

This was going to be fun!

… … …

Karni moved from left to right, and at the end pushing the Panda off, but not throwing it. Just enough to cause some imbalance. The next one was already upon him, and he slightly changed the position of his upper body, relaxed, got hit, then tensed, rebounding. Again, he imbalanced the little Panda without facing much force at all.

Then the third one came, and Karni crossed his arms and basically led the third Panda in a circle, spinning him, crashing into the first one which tried to bounce at Karni again.

It really was surprisingly simple to do, especially now that he learned to control his muscles. His bounciness. And he only needed four days! It basically felt instinctual now. His body was different than before. Naturally bouncy, which made this redirection business surprisingly easy.

Hu Jie clapped his hands. "Alright enough. Karni, kiddoes. Get over here."

The four looked at Hu Jie and approached. "Mm. Karni you're doing well, but you're too reliant on having that good footing. Your balance is scary when you're like that, and this technique of body control works perfectly together with that. What I need you to do more is get control over your muscles."

He looked to the Pandas. "Thank you for your hard work. You're relieved of your duties." The Pandas nodded and said goodbye to Karni, before going to help the other kids with rebuilding their home. After four days, there was still quite a bit to fix.

"Today you start training with me. I'll only be using the pressure I create with my punches." Hu Jie smiled, and then punched the air, sending a wave of Wind at Karni, knocking him into the Oasis.

… … …

Karni grumbled as another wave of Wind hit him, and he barely managed to redirect it into another wave coming from a different side.

It was only with this training, with realising how fast the wind was, that Karni started to hate this Oasis. Well, that wasn't completely true. He hated the water in it. It made him slow and sluggish.

With Pandas, the sluggishness didn't bother him. Everyone was sluggish then! It was only the next three days of suffering now that he realises just how disadvantaged he was. Knowing his teacher this was done on purpose!

"Alright stop."

Karni breathed in deeply. Sometimes he stopped breathing during this exercise. He actually had to time his breaths! If he didn't time it right, a push of wind would knock him into the water at the first chance!

But why did they stop? Karni had definitely not mastered the winds yet.

Hu Jie could tell what Karni was thinking. "You're right. You haven't mastered this yet, but you need more pressure. And I still don't like the control in your legs… hmm. What to do, what to do? Take a ten. I'll need to consider this carefully."

"Everything okay?" Karni couldn't help but ask. It was unusual for Hu Jie to be so unsure of how the training should progress.

"I'm making you learn a technique that will give you the same benefits as one of Body Sect's Inner Body Techniques but using your unique body to do it. I obviously cannot use the Body Sect techniques anymore, since they belong to the sect, hence why I need to think carefully. You should be thankful of your natural talents. It's only because of your unique body build that I can even think of alternatives. Now, take a break while I think of how to continue this."

Karni nodded, not minding it. He hadn't had a proper break in a week. He called out Hope and Hop, who usually preferred to stay within his Spiritual Sea.

Hop jumped out excitedly. "Karni, Karni! Finally, you have some time. Look at Hope! I wasn't sure I was seeing it correctly at first but look at her!"

Karni looked at his first Spirit Soul. His little, long snake. Wait. Did she grow? Karni closed his eyes and focused on his Soul Rings. She did! By at least 600 years in fact! She was around 3200 years old right now!

"How's this possible?"

"I think it's the oasis." Hop quickly said. "Even I feel my body being purified."

"So you've increased your cultivation as well?"

Hop shook his head. "No. I only feel like my quality increased. Easier to control. Hope has residual energy from all the energy she couldn't absorb before."

Whatever defect Hope seemed to have; it was being healed this very instant. Her being an Artificial Spirit Soul of her species which was already constrained was no longer a problem! Perhaps… perhaps he could even help her reach the Ten Thousand mark now!

Hu Jie snapped his fingers. "Right, the bamboo. Karni, help me gather some of it. We'll place it in the water."

"Why?" Karni called his Spirit Souls back in, deciding to keep track of Hope's progress.

"You'll balance on top of it while you'll be deflecting the wind."

"Oh. In that case, no need to gather bamboo." Karni slammed his hand into the ground, his Royal Bamboo Panda Martial Soul appearing with three deep Black Soul Rings. His third shone.

Veins spread from his palms to the Oasis in a crossing pattern, like the branches of a tree. Across the Oasis sprouted Lotuses. Fixed and durable. Their tips an earthen yellow colour.

"Lily's skill. Blooming Loti?" Hu Jie asked.

Karni nodded. This was the skill that Lily gave him. Now he had the tips of Lotus leaves to balance on. One could even say it was a more complex field that the bamboo sticks would have created.

"Mm. That will do. Let's continue then. Oh! But I must say something. That fight you have after you return to the tournament. It's against the Royal Star Luo Academy, right?"

Karni was confused. Why bring that up now? "Yes, if we make it back in time."

"We will. Hehe. In that case. Go into the 1v1s. You'll defeat the enemy with some limits. I will tell you the details by the end of your training, to decide how limited you should be."

Karni just stared at Hu Jie, slightly shocked. Hu Jie knew that Karni was likely to face a Soul King, right? Right?

Of course he was. Karni jumped onto the Lotuses. "Fine. Then let's up the ante. Otherwise, I won't be able to win."

Hu Jie smiled and punched. "That's what I like to hear."