Douluo Dalu (A.K.A. Soul Land) is a Web Serial Novel written by wuxia/xianxia author Tang Jia San Shao. A manhua adaptation also exists for the work. In January 2018, an animated adaption based on the series, created by Starry Key (the creators of Qin's Moon) began airing. A Live-Action Adaptation, Douluo Continent, began airing in February 2021.
Tang Sect, the most famous martial arts sect of all. By stealing its most secret teachings to fulfill his dreams, Tang San committed an unforgivable crime. With his ambition attained, he hands his legacy to the sect and throws himself from the fearsome "Hell's Peak."
But he could have never imagined that this would reincarnate him in another world, one without magic, martial arts, and grudges. A land where only the mystical souls of battle lay. The continent of Douluo.
How will Tang San survive in this unknown environment? With a new road to follow, a new legend begins...
This story contains examples of:
- Acquired Poison Immunity: Tang San acquires this in good measure from consuming the Delicate Inferno Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, which gave him also an immunity to fire and ice energies.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: The manhua, and then the animation, both do this to the characters.
- Even the spirits themselves; in the manhua, many, even spirits that are supposed to be full Shapeshifters appear as pieces of armor.
- Adaptation Distillation: The manhua compresses a lot of the original novel's scenes.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: People can become strong enough that people will stop bothering to put a stop to their actions out of fear of angering them. They usually are restrained by those in the same rank or above.
- Bag of Holding: Some spirit tools are this. Tang San has the 24 Moonlit Bridges Belt, a magical tool that holds 24 pockets with capacity for 1 square meter each, and the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse, a similar item that can hold living things like plants.
- Battle Aura: Once anyone activates their spirit and have at least acquired their first Spirit Ring, the ring will make itself known by shining around their owner.
- Child Prodigy: Tang San, and the other six of Shrek's Seven Devils, are all incredibly powerful for their age, enough to be called Monsters. Tang San's called a monster between monsters for various reasons, between them his previous life's knowledge, which encompasses poison, martial arts and training, and his Twin Spirit.
- Elemental Powers: Different spirits hold different powers, but it's normal for them to be aimed to an element.
- Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting: Played with; because of Spirit Powers, martial arts haven't really developed, so Tang San's techniques come as a great surprise.
- Flight: Avian-type Spirits usually give their owners the ability to fly early on by the use of winds or special abilities.
- Fusion Dance: Spirit Fusion allows two or more masters with good Spirit Harmonization to fuse their spirits together into one powerful entity.
- Healing Hands: Tang San demonstrates acupuncture healing techniques multiple times, there's also healing-type Spirits that may require direct touch to heal wounds.
- Hidden Weapons: Tang San has the knowledge of crafting and using such weapons, along with his knowledge of poison, from his previous life. It has saved his life on multiple occasions.
- Martial Arts and Crafts: Tang Hao's Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Method is a hammer technique where one repeatedly and almost instantly hits a spot accurately. While he learned it for smithing, it also has great destructive power if used to attack.
- Master Poisoner: Tang San and Dugu Bo may be the greatest two.
- Missing Mom: Tang San never knew his mother, his father told him she died in his birth, but things point that this wasn't an unlucky event only.
- Old Master: Grandmaster, Tang San's master is over 50 years old, enough to be considered one.
- Parental Abandonment: Tang Hao, Tang San's dad, left while he was at school, coming back during the end of year's break to find only a note telling him to not look for him.
- Ultimately averted, Tang Hao was in fact watching Tang San the whole time.
- Perfect Poison: Yama's invitation is such a terrifying poison that will kill its victim in less than 5 seconds, turning them into a puddle of black sludge
- Poison Is Corrosive: Tang San's Blue Spirit Grass gains this ability along with his third spirit ring.
- Poisonous Person: Dugu Bo, also called Poison Douluo, is so poisonous that his hair has turned green and his eyes amber, which are not common in this world. Tang San also turns poisonous by consuming two extremely rare and priceless herbs.
- However, this is not a good thing for Dugu Bo. He experiences extreme pain and only manages to survive through the use of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Tang San helps him solve this problem.
- Power Levels: Everyone holds a spirit and a ranking number that equals most of their raw power, the rank goes from 1 up to 100, and a title's associated with each block of 10 ranks.
- Powerup Food: Oscar's specialty. Effects include stamina/spirit recovery, detoxification, limited flight, and temporary status buffs.
- Shapeshifting: Beast Type Spirits when activated transform their owners into a form heavily influenced by their nature, the extent of change differs as their rank goes up: Slight differences at early ranks, more distinct ones near the middle and after rank 70 the change can be radical, body size greatly changed, or even complete transformation.
- Spirit Cultivation Genre: The series takes place in a world where soul masters are everpresent in both daily life and world politics. By killing spirit beasts and taking their soul rings, soul masters aspire to become closer and closer to godhood.
- Time Skip: Happens quite a bit, especially to gloss over training periods.
- Training from Hell: Grandmaster's training was called so, and aimed to push the Shrek's Seven Devils' endurance to the limit to strengthen them.
- True Companions: Shrek's Seven Devils consider each others siblings, albeit not blood related, to the point of willingly put themselves in danger for each other.
- Weak, but Skilled: Grandmaster's own Beast Spirit Luo San Pao is very weak by the standards of his clan, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and is considered a "trash" spirit. To compensate for this, he became a master strategist and teacher.
- World's Strongest Man: Tang Hao is considered one of the strongest, if not the strongest, titled Duo Luo in the world.
