Core Area, A Dark Place
A figure knelt on one knee, bowing respectfully toward an unseen presence deeper in the darkness. In the depths of the darkness, a silver glow flickered faintly.
"Di Tian greets the Master," the tall figure knelt on the ground, his face stern and imposing, his eyes glowing gold. That familiar face—who else could it be but Uncle Tian?
"Di Tian, do you have something important to report?"
A crisp, cool female voice came from the darkness, carrying an air of authority.
"Reporting to the Master, as per your command, I have been looking after Xin Yu for the past six years. Yesterday, Xin Yu successfully awakened his martial soul, and it is indeed the power of the Dragon God."
Di Tian lowered his proud head, his expression respectful.
"I already sensed it. Yesterday, I felt the Dragon God's power stirring," the voice from the darkness responded calmly.
"Master, could you confirm whether Xin Yu's identity is real?"
Di Tian asked.
"The power of the Dragon God would not appear in an ordinary human. And the fact that he was born in the Dragon Valley and resonates with the Dragon God's core confirms that his identity is genuine," the voice responded.
"Master, does that mean Xin Yu really is...?"
Di Tian's voice trembled slightly with excitement.
"Yes, it is now almost certain. He is indeed the reincarnation of the Dragon God's remnant soul," the female voice replied, her tone carrying a trace of complex emotion.
"Is there anything else to report?" the voice asked again.
"There is one more thing. During Awakening of Xin Yu..... "
Di Tian recounted the events in detail, withholding nothing.
"Triplet Martial Souls, the blessing of heaven and earth, the choice of the world's will?"
The voice murmured as if lost in thought.
After a brief pause, the voice spoke again,
"Di Tian, from now on, Xin Yu is to be considered the young master of our soul beast clan. Ensure you protect him at all costs."
"Yes!"
Di Tian was momentarily stunned, but then he nodded heavily.
"I will do everything in my power to protect the young master. Please rest assured, Master."
"Good, you may go."
"Understood, I take my leave!"
Di Tian bowed respectfully before retreating.
"The power of the Dragon God... the child of destiny... Xin Yu, perhaps this child will be the hope of our soul beast clan."
A soft murmur echoed in the darkness.
.....
By the Lake of Life, Xin Yu sat by the lakeside, his feet soaking in the water. The cold water seeped into his pores, bringing a sense of indescribable comfort and relaxation.
"Chaos Dragon... I possess the power of the Dragon God. No wonder Uncle Tian and Aunt Bi have taken such good care of me since I was little," Xin Yu thought as he splashed water lightly, his mind racing.
Uncle Tian, Aunt Bi, golden eyes, and the green dress—they were both exceptionally powerful beings.
With all these obvious clues, if he still couldn't guess their identities, he might as well find a rope and hang himself.
Xin Yu had already figured it out long ago but was always somewhat confused. He was just a human and a transmigrator at that—there was no reason these two would treat him so well. He had eaten all sorts of rare and precious things throughout his life.
But after the awakening of his martial soul today, he suddenly realized why. Perhaps everything was tied to the Dragon God's power within him. As for the exact details, he couldn't figure them out, but it was likely related to the system.
"Dragon God's Power... It seems my life won't be peaceful from now on," Xin Yu thought to himself. With such power, his future was bound to be full of ups and downs; living a quiet life would probably be impossible.
But that was fine. He hadn't transmigrated here just to lead a peaceful life. When he had no resources, he could only lie low. But now, with the system's help, how could he not have some ambition? Who wouldn't want to bask in luxury, with power over the world? How could he not want to become a peerless powerhouse who could control the tides of fate?
"System, check in!"
Xin Yu called out in his mind.
[Ding! Check-in successful. Congratulations to the host for receiving 100 gold soul coins. You have now checked in for two consecutive days. Keep up the good work!]
The system's voice echoed in his head.
"100 gold soul coins. As expected, the rewards aren't anything special after the first day."
Xin Yu wasn't surprised. Checking in was always like this—the daily rewards were usually ordinary. To get something truly valuable, he'd likely have to rely on the monthly or yearly check-ins. As for the weekly rewards, he didn't have high hopes. He had already prepared himself mentally for that.
"System, do you have some kind of status panel or something?"
[Yes, host.]
"Then open it up."
[Ding! The host's status panel is as follows.]
[Host: Xin Yu]
[Age: 6]
[Martial Soul: Chaos Dragon, Star Pagoda, Spirit Eyes]
[Level: 10 (Innate Full Soul Power)]
[Mental Power: 365 (Spirit Connection Realm)]
[Fate: Child of Destiny]
[Cultivation Technique: Supreme Divine Art]
[Soul Rings: None]
[Soul Bones: None]
[Skills: None]
[Items: None]
[Gold Soul Coins: 10,000,100]
[Status: Under Beginner Protection]
A very basic panel, but since he had just started, this was normal.
"So my Tool Martial Soul name is Star Pagoda? Is it some mutation of Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?"
"No soul rings, no soul bones, no skills, no items... Four nothings," Xin Yu thought to himself with a wry smile as he looked at the panel.
"Huh, why is my mental power so high?"
Xin Yu was surprised. His mental power was an impressive 372, which placed him in the Spirit Connection Realm. Mental power was generally classified into Spirit Origin Realm, Spirit Connection Realm, Spirit Sea Realm, Spirit Abyss Realm, Spirit Domain Realm, and Ordinary Divine Origin Realm:
Spirit Origin Realm Realm (0–100)
Spirit Connection Realm (100–500)
Spirit Sea Realm Realm (500–5000)
Spirit Abyss Realm (5000–20000)
Spirit Domain Realm (20000–50000)
Ordinary Divine Origin Realm (50000+).
Typically, humans were born with mental power in the Spirit Origin Realm. Even soul masters and grandmasters usually had mental power around the Spirit Origin Realm. Only when one reached the rank of Soul Elder could they potentially have Spirit Connection Realm mental power.
For example, in the Douluo Continent series, Tang Wulin only had a mental power of 38 when he obtained his first soul ring, which was in the Spirit Origin Realm. But Xin Yu's mental power was as high as 372, nearly reaching the upper levels of the Spirit Connection Realm—mental power usually found in Soul Ancestors or even Soul Kings.
Incredible!
"Not only do I possess innate divine strength, with just a casual slap capable of delivering a force of several thousand to nearly ten thousand kilograms, but my mental power is also this high. Is this because of my martial souls? But effects of martial souls shouldn't be this high" Xin Yu thought, wondering if something unknown had happened to him. Perhaps he had encountered some sort of fortune he wasn't even aware of? Otherwise, there was no way to explain his current situation.
With these questions in mind, he continued to examine the panel. When he saw the section about his Fate, he was stunned.
"Child of Destiny? What's that?" he finally couldn't help but ask the system.
[Child of Destiny means that the host is blessed with immense destiny.]
"So, does that mean I'm like some kind of chosen one, or the embodiment of an era?"
[...More or less.]
"So, I can understand it as me being the Child of the World in the Douluo Continent right now?"
[You can.]
"Then what about Huo Yuhao? Isn't he supposed to be the Child of Destiny?"
Xin Yu asked.
[The host is now the primary candidate. Huo Yuhao has been relegated.]
"So, I've taken the position that was meant for Huo Yuhao, and now he's ranked after me?"
[Pretty much.]
The system's mechanical voice responded after a pause.
"So, I've replaced Huo Yuhao's role, which means Huo the Cheat will now become Xin Yu the Cheat?"
Xin Yu couldn't help but laugh to himself. But as he laughed, a sudden thought struck him, and his face changed drastically.
"Huo Yuhao was originally targeted by a certain God King. Now that I've taken his place, doesn't that mean I'll be the one getting targeted by that God King?"
"Oh no, Tang San is coming after me and giving me his daughter?!"
Xin Yu's expression turned to one of shock. Being targeted by a God King wasn't exactly a good thing. Huo Yuhao had a pretty rough time in the original story—constantly toyed with by a certain God King until he was eventually subdued. Now, did that mean Xin Yu was going to be the one getting toyed with?
"Damn it!"
A sense of urgency welled up in Xin Yu's heart. He didn't want to be toyed with like that.
[Host need not worry. Currently, you are under Beginner Protection, meaning no one in the God Realm can detect you or anything related to you.]
The system chimed in.
"Under Beginner Protection?"
Xin Yu breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he was afraid of the God King, but he was too weak at the moment. If he could buy enough time to grow stronger, there wouldn't be much to fear.
"How long does the Beginner Protection period last?"
Xin Yu asked the important question.
[Approximately five years.]
Xin Yu: !!!
"Five years isn't enough. That's too short," Xin Yu muttered to himself.
"It looks like I'll need to start preparing early."
As he thought about it, memories from the original story began surfacing in his mind. He started recalling how Huo Yuhao had been toyed with in the original plot. He needed to learn from those experiences.
"There's no point wasting any more time on all this," he muttered, looking at the sparkling Lake of Life. "The future will come whether I'm ready or not—and I'll deal with it as I go."
He let out a long breath, letting the tension drain from his body.
"From now on, I just have to move forward one step at a time," he whispered to himself, already feeling more at peace as his gaze softened.