Chapter Six: The Secret of the Martial Soul and the Seven Exquisite Flowers of Biling (Part One)

The Chen family resided in the Chen Estate, a complex established hundreds of years ago when the city of Biluo was first founded and the head of the Chen family was appointed as its lord. Although situated in the heart of the city, the estate spans nearly a hundred acres—roughly the size of seven or eight large football fields from Chen Ming’s previous life. One could say that a full third of the city center belongs to the Chen family.

This estate was the product of the first family head abusing his power. However, because the Chen family’s numbers were so few, maintaining such a vast area proved difficult and prone to various complications. Later generations of family heads were forced to modify the structures bit by bit, carving out streets to lease to the public. Even so, the remaining grounds were still immense for the size of the clan, allowing them to construct various specialized training grounds.

Over centuries of meticulous management, the remaining sections had been reinforced and maintained dozens of times. The Chen Estate is less of a residence and more of a fortified stronghold standing within the city—easy to defend and difficult to attack, even containing a small internal marketplace.

With over a thousand women, children, and servants, the estate houses stockpiles of spears, swords, bows, crossbows, and armor. Beneath the ground lies a maze of secret passages leading to various locations both inside and outside the city. It possesses an independent water supply, small plots of farmland, and granaries stocked with large quantities of grain and fodder, as well as poultry and warhorses.

Every lord of Biluo has viewed the Chen family with a headache. Casual travelers often mistake the estate for a city within a city. This is precisely why, while every faction covets a piece of the Chen family’s wealth, none dare to make a move. This is only possible because Biluo is a remote and rugged backwater; in any other major city, a family acting this way without a powerhouse like a Titled Douluo would have been purged and wiped out long ago.

Chen Ming’s second uncle carried him through the estate, navigating through several hidden mechanisms and secret doors until they reached a chamber deep beneath the Chen grounds. The room was furnished with rows of dark wood tables and chairs, clearly used by the family for clandestine meetings.

Hanging on the walls were oil lamps crafted by the ancestors using the fat of deep-sea whale soul beasts. They burned without smoke or scent, and a small measure of oil could last for an incredibly long time; the family had barely needed to replenish them in centuries. As a child, Chen Ming had mistakenly believed the lamps burned whale glue, feeling distressed for quite some time, only to learn later that they were not the same thing.

After lighting the lamps, Chen Ming’s grandfather, Chen Shijie, took the seat at the head of the table, gesturing for his second son, Chen Tianyun, and Chen Ming to sit on either side.

Just as Chen Ming habitually went to sit at his grandfather’s right hand, his second uncle reached out and stopped him, placing him instead in the seat to Chen Shijie’s left, while he took the seat on the right.

Although Douluo Continent lacks many of the historical allusions from Chen Ming’s past life, it shares a surprising number of similarities. In this world, the left is also considered the position of honor. Given Chen Ming’s status and rank, he would usually only sit on the right because no one else would contest it; he had never been in a position to sit on the left.

Seeing his second son’s actions, Chen Shijie was puzzled but harbored a guess. He did not object, instead giving a slight nod to permit Chen Ming to sit.

"Father, Xiao Ming’s spirit awakening today was very... smooth!"

"He awakened the Emerald Scorpion with an innate soul power of level five."

Chen Tianyun skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the crux of the matter. Upon hearing that Chen Ming had awakened with level five innate soul power, Chen Shijie’s expression froze, then shifted to one of ecstatic joy.

"Innate level five? Does our family still have a chance?"

"What do you mean by a chance? Is level five... really that high?" Chen Ming was confused as to why his grandfather was so excited. While the innate soul power levels of his family members were a known issue, he wasn't even at the full innate level, so why the fuss?

"Xiao Ming, you don’t understand. What you see and know is only the surface. You have never truly understood the problems of the Chen family." Chen Shijie waved a hand, his excitement fading into a somber tone.

"Although we usually wait until family members come of age before revealing this secret, you are naturally intelligent and possess innate level five soul power. We must tell you the truth about our family’s predicament now."

"You should know that our family originally rose to nobility through military merit, right?"

"Our ancestor, Chen Ergou, was a child from an ordinary family who luckily awakened the mutated Emerald Scorpion spirit with an innate soul power of level seven."

"At that time, localized wars were breaking out between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. After becoming a Soul Elder, our ancestor chose to join the army for training. Twenty years later, when the war ended, he had become a Soul King and was granted a hereditary title of Count for his accumulated merits."

"This is common knowledge within the family, but in reality, there is a secret hidden behind it that no one else knows."

"After the war, because he had saved some influential figures on the battlefield, our ancestor was granted the privilege of entering the Imperial Treasury to select treasures rarely seen in the outside world."

"During that selection, he discovered a treasure for poison-type spirit masters that was comparable to a ten-thousand-year spirit bone—or perhaps even more precious."

"What kind of treasure?" Hearing the word "treasure," Chen Ming’s eyes lit up, and he could not help but press for details.

"It was a seed of the Biphosphorus Seven-Absolute Flower." Seeming to fear Chen Ming might not know what it was, Chen Shijie stroked his beard and continued his explanation.

"The Biphosphorus Seven-Absolute Flower is an incredibly potent poison, an extremely rare plant-type soul beast. Among all plants, none possess a toxicity more violent than this. Among animal-type soul beasts, only a few legendary creatures could possibly surpass it."

"This plant is exceptionally rare, holding a status equivalent to that of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear among common soul beasts, perhaps even exceeding it."

"Its deadly poison can easily corrode metal and dissolve soul beasts; it is far superior to the Biphosphorus Five-Venoms."

"Although our family’s inherited Emerald Scorpion is an animal-type spirit and not a perfect match for the flower, the quality of this soul beast is so high that even a discounted version would outclass most ordinary soul beasts. Once absorbed, even if the spirit ring is only just over a hundred years old, its effect would surpass ninety-nine percent of thousand-year spirit rings. If one could harness the toxicity of the Biphosphorus Seven-Absolute Flower, the quality of the Emerald Scorpion spirit might even reach the level of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan."