After the Soul Contract Master Tournament wrapped up, Ye Cheng finally had some time to breathe.
Since it wasn't yet time for the usual Q&A announcement, he found himself with a rare moment of leisure. With nothing better to do, he activated the Abyssal Overlord's power at 20% completion and began exploring the Douluo Universe. What started as a casual probe out of boredom ended up revealing a shocking secret—something even he had never discovered before!
The universe he was in… was actually multi-layered.
Put simply, this universe was like a set of identical siblings—multiple universes stacked together, nearly identical in structure and history. Ye Cheng felt that calling them parallel universes would be a more accurate description.
The Douluo Universe he currently resided in was just one of these many parallel layers.
This astonishing discovery instantly reignited his curiosity. From his observations, the other parallel Douluo Universes were like twin stars, each potentially harboring timelines and people almost exactly like those in his own.
"Interesting. Very interesting."
Ye Cheng hadn't expected that even after everything, this universe still held secrets he hadn't unraveled.
"I've got to check this out. I wonder… do any of those parallel universes have another me?" With that thought, he flicked his will, casually selecting one of the parallel layers. A silent rift opened—a portal through which he began observing.
.....
Parallel Universe
Douluo Continent II
At the rear gate of a residence bearing the nameplate Duke's Mansion, the door creaked open slowly. A small figure slipped out quietly.
It was a boy—about eleven or twelve years old. His build was lean but proportionate, dressed in simple gray linen clothes that were clean and tidy. He carried a modest bundle on his back. His black hair was cut short and neat, and his handsome young face bore a look of determination far beyond his years.
After gently closing the door behind him, the boy took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped and turned to look back at the estate. Deep hatred burned in his dark blue eyes.
"Mother, watch me from the heavens. No matter how hard I have to work, one day I will come back—and crush everything here beneath my feet. From this moment on, I'll take your surname. From now on, my name is Huo Yuhao."
Having said this, he cast one last long glance at the Duke's Mansion, then turned and strode away without hesitation.
He didn't head southeast toward Star Luo City, but instead ran northward. Bathed in the scorching midday sun, his small figure grew smaller in the distance. And though he was thin and young, there wasn't even the faintest trace of helplessness in his stride.
All roads from the Duke's Mansion connected to wide official highways. As Huo Yuhao ran, his eyes began to turn red.
"Mother…" The memory of her final moments—her unwillingness to let go, the sorrow in her expression—flashed once more in his mind, and he clenched his jaw. Be strong. I must be strong. His mother had always told him, A man can only rely on himself. Only by being strong can one survive in this world.
One memory after another flickered through his mind like scenes from a play. Huo Yuhao's mother had once been the Duke's personal maid, raised in the estate since childhood. A personal maid existed solely to serve their master, and one fateful night twelve years ago, she had quietly conceived Huo Yuhao.
Ten months later, he was born.
No matter what status his mother had, he was still the Duke's son. Though his treatment within the estate was neither good nor terrible, it was enough. His mother no longer served as a maid. Thanks to his birth, she was given her own small courtyard.
It should have b'en a quiet life. But disaster came far too soon.
The Duke left to lead battles on behalf of the Star Luo Empire, leaving control of the household to the Duchess. She already had two sons and a daughter, and ruthlessly crushed any potential threats to her children's future.
While the Duke was around, things were manageable. But once he left, the estate became the Duchess's personal domain. She also happened to be the beloved youngest daughter of the current Emperor of the Star Luo Empire. Jealous of the Duke's affection for Yuhao's mother—who had grown up by his side—the Duchess made her the primary target.
Using the excuse that she carried a contagious disease, the Duchess exiled Yuhao and his mother to a servants' shack behind the estate. She then cut off all their sources of income.
Yuhao was just two years old.
Their life was unimaginably hard. His mother's health, already frail, deteriorated rapidly. Worse still, the servants under the Duchess's orders often harassed them. By the time Yuhao was ten, she fell gravely ill and died.
The collision of the Douluo Continent and the western Sun-Moon Continent over four thousand years ago had greatly expanded the landmass. But it also brought unending war.
Ten thousand years ago, there were only two nations on the original Douluo Continent: the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Today, that land had fractured into three.
The Star Luo Empire still stood, though its royal family had changed. Fortunately, it had conquered the smaller kingdoms within its borders and unified its power, becoming the continent's strongest force. The Heaven Dou Empire, on the other hand, had splintered into the Heaven Soul Empire and the Dou Spirit Empire due to unrest among its vassal kingdoms.
The Invading Sun-Moon Continent, vast and resource-rich, was slightly smaller than Douluo but housed only one nation—the Sun-Moon Empire.
As soon as the two continents collided, war broke out. The three native nations of Douluo allied to form a joint army and waged war for nearly two decades. Eventually, they defeated the Sun-Moon Empire and reestablished a united name: "ouluo. The name "Sun-Moon Continent" was lost to history. Only the Sun-Moon Empire on Douluo remained.
Although the Sun-Moon Empire had lost, it was never fully conquered. With its technological edge and the internal conflicts between the three native empires, a fragile but stable balance of power emerged.
But war still flared year after year. The Duke, frequently at the front lines, was rarely home.
Under the Duchess's deliberate suppression, Huo Yuhao and his mother were slowly forgotten. When the Duke asked about them, she simply claimed Yuhao's mother was terminally ill.
Despite everything, his mother worked tirelessly to raise him.
At age six, Huo Yuhao underwent his Martial Soul Awakening within the estate.
Unfortunately, even though he was the Duke's son, he didn't inherit the powerful martial souls common to that noble bloodline. Had he done so, the Duchess would have been forced to report him, and his fate—as well as his mother's—might have changed completely.
Instead, Yuhao's martial soul was an extremely rare mutation.
Spirit Eyes — that was the name of Huo Yuhao's spirit.
From the moment of his Spirit Awakening, no spirit ring had appeared, and no energy had surged in his body. In the eyes of others, it was simply a failure.
But to Huo Yuhao himself, he felt something change. His eyesight had grown sharper, his perception more refined — it was as if he could capture things that others couldn't.
Of course, back then, he didn't understand what this meant. He simply remembered what his mother had taught him: never give up. Even if others called his spirit useless, he had to keep trying.
Thus, from the age of six to ten, he practiced in secret every day. He couldn't afford to hire a teacher, couldn't afford cultivation resources. He had no one to guide him, and no books to learn from. All he had was his own perseverance.
Even if he didn't understand what soul power was, he meditated every day in the little corner of the woodshed. And over time, unknowingly, a faint soul power really did begin to form within him.
It wasn't until he turned ten and his mother passed away that he finally understood — his martial spirit wasn't truly useless. It was just that no one else could see its potential.
By then, his Spirit Eyes spirit had already begun to evolve.
And now, as he walked away from the Duke's Mansion with that vow in his heart, a faint light flashed through his deep blue eyes.
A power long dormant — hidden, weak, and unknown — was beginning to awaken quietly within him.
…
Back in the original Douluo Universe.
Ye Cheng's gaze moved away from the image of Huo Yuhao and narrowed slightly.
"Interesting… his martial spirit mutated into the Spirit Eyes? And it's developing its own soul power autonomously?"
A faint smile curved on Ye Cheng's lips. As a supreme being with dominion over the Abyss Lord's power, he could naturally perceive the minute fluctuations of spiritual force within the boy's soul.
"This is no ordinary spirit mutation. There's a trace of 'Origin' in him. Is it coincidence… or is something guiding this?"
With a thought, Ye Cheng continued peering into the events of this parallel universe.
"Let's see how far this version of Douluo can go."
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