Chapter Four: Gambling Fiend? Poison Fiend!

Feeling the gazes from those around him, Chen Ming’s heart stirred with a mix of excitement and helplessness.

Indeed, he was not a native of the Douluo world but a transmigrant from a certain blue planet.

Before crossing over, he had been a struggling novelist, barely supporting himself on manuscript fees. His only notable trait was a special sixth sense.

Since childhood, this sixth sense had saved him from numerous close calls—avoiding collisions with large trucks, gas explosions, more than ten incidents of electric leakage, and countless other mishaps like slipping or falling flowerpots. Among the circles, he was known as the King of Endurance.

But no matter what... a person can outlast many accidents, but one accident is enough to end a life.

One day, on a whim, while tidying his home, crouched down cleaning the unreachable corners beneath his bookshelf, the ground suddenly trembled. Before he could react, the bookshelf crashed heavily onto him.

It was a two-meter-tall solid wood floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, filled with books, chess pieces, and various decorations—its weight considerable.

Thus, Chen Ming was reborn in the Douluo Continent, and by some twist of fate, he still bore the name Chen Ming.

At first, he only knew he had arrived in a fantastical world. As he learned the language and writing, he gradually realized he had transmigrated to the Douluo Continent, that so-called fantasy cesspool of his previous life. He also learned that the continent now had the Spirit Hall, Shrek Academy, and the Tang Sect—names he had never even heard before.

In truth, Chen Ming was not overly disappointed at arriving in this martial world of Douluo Continent.

He had played Baldur’s Gate 3 and Warhammer games, had jokingly signed a “slave contract” with the development team—though only in jest—but if it were true, after death he should have reincarnated in the worlds of Baldur’s Gate or Warhammer’s cesspool, not here.

Besides, his bookshelf decorations included chess pieces from both Baldur’s Gate and Warhammer...

In comparison, Douluo Continent wasn’t so bad, was it?

When he was two years old, his parents died in a hunting accident while hunting soul beasts.

At three, just learning to speak and read, able to run and jump, starting to explore the world and think about making a living, news arrived that the Spirit Hall’s Pope Qian Xunji had been assassinated by Tang Hao of the Haotian Sect. Only then did he realize that in this life, he was just three years older than that infamous scoundrel.

The name “scoundrel” was not given lightly. Although Tang San, the first-ranked Douluo, was not as ruthless or heartless as the second-ranked Tang San, he was no saint either; his presence was purely a negative influence on the Douluo Continent.

If one did not grow strong before the continent descended into chaos, then when chaos broke out, there would be no choices left. Rather than being forced to make choices at knife-point and regretting them all life, it was better to train hard and seize the chance to act without regret.

Whether following the Seven Devils of Shrek Academy or opposing them, Chen Ming was determined to have the strength to make his own choices.

He maintained a strict daily routine, taking multiple naps to ensure sufficient rest for growth while maximizing training time. He never picked at food; even unpleasant medicinal broths, pastes, and half-dead insects were forced down. Rain or shine, he exercised daily, and before sleep, family members would tell him news from across the continent.

Upon realizing his innate soul power had deficiencies, he even had his family build a nest for him inside the Scorpion Cave, where he lived periodically, eating and cohabiting with scorpions to study their habits and mimic them.

After years of observation, he had almost created an original “Scorpion Fist” martial art. Even the brainless scorpions in the cave had grown familiar with this large two-legged “scorpion-like” creature.

He did not practice any internal martial arts like Xuantian Gong; instead, he trained rigorously without causing permanent injuries, resulting in a body larger, sturdier, and more explosive than peers.

Yet, despite his efforts, his innate soul power remained stuck at level five...

He had never dismissed this possibility but had secretly hoped for innate full-level soul power or dual soul spirits.

While he pondered his uncertain future, the slender man who had been curing others’ poison with a pearl put it away and quickly approached Chen Ming, reaching out to touch the scorpion tail unconsciously flicking behind him.

“Uncle, be careful!” Chen Ming warned.

Though his spirit had just awakened and he did not know the quality of his soul spirit, having grown up exposed to the family’s jade scorpion spirit and various poisons, he could tell by instinct that this poison was no ordinary toxin. Seeing his uncle recklessly touch his tail, he grew anxious.

“No worries. I’m at least a Soul Master; I won’t die so easily...” the man replied.

Suddenly, the man Chen Ming called “Uncle” smiled, but his face turned green, and his body trembled.

As a seasoned poison soul master, his reactions were swift. Within a single breath, he unleashed his soul spirit, four soul rings—two yellow and two purple—circling him.

With the jade scorpion spirit unleashed and soul power surging, the green tint on his face faded, though his complexion remained poor.

For the second-in-command of the Chen family, it was quite embarrassing to have been poisoned just by touching his nephew’s spirit.

“Ahem, Xiao Ming is truly a born prodigy...” the man coughed awkwardly. Onlookers wanted to laugh but dared not.

The city’s highest soul power master was the Spirit Hall’s Bishop Yan Jun, a level 67 Control-type Soul Emperor. Next was the current Chen family head, a level 54 Control-type Soul King.

Poison was not very effective at the Seal Soul Douluo stage but could easily challenge higher ranks before reaching Soul Saint. History on the continent was rife with high-level soul masters brought down by lower-level poison soul masters due to carelessness.

Even if Yan Jun were twenty years younger, at level 67 soul power, he might not gain the upper hand against the Chen family head. After all, the poison of the Chen family’s jade scorpion was notorious; even a minor scratch could cost a soul master half their life force.

Not to mention a person—an ordinary ancient soul beast could be reduced to a puddle of goo by this poison.

Thus, in Biluo City, even though the Chen family was dwindling and near extinction, they remained the city’s nominal third and actual top power. Even if the entire city longed to carve a piece from the Chen family, no one dared make a hostile move.