Beside a dilapidated wooden tombstone stood a few short trees. Fine rain drifted from the sky, sliding off the leaves and onto the earth. Before the tombstone stood a very skinny boy, his gaze carrying a hint of confusion.
The boy's clothes were covered in many patches, evidence of countless repairs. They were now soaked by the rain, but he showed no reaction. After a long while, the boy's confused eyes gradually cleared as he looked at the wooden plaque engraved with "Deceased Mother, Huo Yun'er."
The boy's mouth opened and closed, finally shaking his head. He sighed internally, a strange emotion in his voice, "I don't know if it's good luck or bad luck, to have come to Douluo Continent and become Huo Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao's gaze fell upon the desolate little grave made of yellow earth and stones. Countless images flashed through his mind, finally settling on the face of a beautiful, gentle woman.
A small, low room, a dilapidated bed, and a makeshift quilt to keep warm.
The woman leaned against a cracked wall, her originally beautiful face devoid of color, her body emaciated. A smile, tinged with bitterness, played on her lips. Finally, after saying something while holding the boy's hand, she fell silent during a lonely, rainy day.
After the woman was buried, the boy cried there for three days, then fainted. Subsequently, he took over everything of this boy's.
"Hu."
Suddenly, a chilling gust of wind blew from the direction of the distant weeds, causing Huo Yuhao's already thin and malnourished body to instinctively shiver.
He looked up at the gray sky, where fine rain was falling. Not knowing if he was speaking to his new self or to the woman in the grave, he spoke softly, his voice carried away by the wind, "Leave it to me from now on."
"Plop." Suddenly, a 'heavy' raindrop fell onto Huo Yuhao's head from a bent leaf. The leaf swayed up and down, as if answering Huo Yuhao's whisper.
The grave was located within a small, overgrown forest. Due to the season, the leaves were no longer a deep green, but rather a bit yellowed.
Behind Huo Yuhao, there was a narrow path that had been man-made. Because of the rain, the muddy path was already somewhat murky and sticky, only the areas with stones on the ground might still be firm.
Huo Yuhao casually picked up a bundle of branches from the ground and carried them on his right shoulder, carefully stepping onto the path and walking out of the forest.
From the time he transmigrated to Douluo Continent until today, he would come here whenever he had free time to talk to the grave. He didn't know why, but the agitation in his heart seemed to have eased a lot at this moment.
The path was long, and because it was so difficult to traverse, plus the fact that carrying the branches was a bit heavy, it took him a full twenty minutes to get out.
The moment he stepped out of the dense cluster of trees, a blinding ray of sunlight poured down from the sky, making everything appear golden and resplendent, as if draped in a golden veil. It turned out that the rain had stopped.
The sunlight fell on Huo Yuhao. He instinctively stretched out his hand to shield his eyes. After a moment, he felt much better and realized that the originally gray sky had cleared up at some point.
The world seemed to have been cleansed, appearing exceptionally clear and bright.
"Before I encountered the big bugs, this was a tough life," Huo Yuhao rubbed his throbbing temples with his left hand.
For some reason, ever since he transmigrated into Huo Yuhao's body, his temples would ache whenever the sun came out, as if something was about to emerge.
After a few seconds, the swelling subsided a bit. Huo Yuhao then lowered his hand and walked forward.
Douluo Continent, a world centered around Martial Souls, had no flourishing battle qi or dazzling magic.
In this world, the most noble profession is that of a Soul Master, without exception.
However, not everyone can become a Soul Master. When a person awakens their Martial Soul, if they lack Innate Soul Power, then, I'm sorry, but you will have no connection with the Soul Master profession.
A farmer's crops, earned after a year of hard work, might not even equal the earnings of a low-level Soul Master in a single day.
But even if one possesses Innate Soul Power, if their Martial Soul is a useless one, then the situation is entirely different.
As for Huo Yuhao, his luck was both good and bad.
The Martial Soul he awakened was called Spiritual Eyes, a special Martial Soul that exists outside of Beast Martial Souls and Tool Martial Souls, known as a Body Martial Soul.
The power of a Body Martial Soul is undeniable, but the problem was that his Innate Soul Power was only at rank one, while the highest is rank ten, which is called Innate Full Soul Power.
Huo Yuhao examined his own body and, combined with the events that occurred in the original story, reached a simple conclusion. He had been malnourished since his time in the womb, and coupled with his Martial Soul's mutation into Spiritual Eyes, these two factors led to his failure with Innate Soul Power. If his body had been a bit better, he wouldn't have been at rank one.
But, from the perspective of someone who has read the original novel, Huo Yuhao knew that although Innate Soul Power might not be improved, there was a way to make his later cultivation speed match those with excellent talent.
That was to improve the toughness and width of his meridians.
Because he couldn't see inside himself, Huo Yuhao didn't know the exact condition of his meridians, but he knew, it was definitely just as described in those fantasy novels: blocked and difficult to pass through.
Others might complete a full cycle of circulating their soul power in an hour, but for him, it would probably take at least ten hours.
If Innate Soul Power created the difference between geniuses and ordinary people, then the condition of the meridians later on was the only chance for ordinary people to catch up to geniuses.
To put it in a single sentence: improving the strength of the meridians was, in another way, improving the strength of Innate Soul Power. There wasn't much difference between the two.
But unfortunately, the herbs needed to expand the meridians were far too expensive.
Huo Yuhao remembered that in the Mystic Nether Sect of the Heavenly Soul Empire, there was a medicine called the Mystic Water Pill. Just one pill could completely boost the strength of his meridians to the point where his cultivation speed would be equivalent to someone with Innate Soul Power of level two or three.
Unfortunately, that pill cost several hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins each, which was an astronomical sum.
This predicament wouldn't begin to change until he met Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. But now, Huo Yuhao was only a little over ten years old, still quite a while away from the time in the original story when he would go to the Star Dou Great Forest to acquire his first spirit ring.
Even because this Huo Yuhao was no longer the original Huo Yuhao, it would be difficult to grasp the timing for going to the Star Dou Great Forest in the future.
Bringing his thoughts back, Huo Yuhao lifted his right shoulder to adjust the tree branch that was about to fall because it was a little heavy. He looked towards a stream in the distance. Due to his weak body and the scarcity of food, Huo Yuhao understood the benefits of getting more meat, so…
"Whoosh."
A sudden sound of breaking air rang out. A wooden fork with an extremely sharp tip pierced into the water with terrifying accuracy. The sharp part directly pierced through the abdomen of a fish that was swimming by to forage. Crimson blood flowed from the pierced part of the fish and quickly drifted away with the water flow.
Huo Yuhao calmly watched the water. He had done this several times already. He lifted the wooden fork with force, and the fish on it was still wriggling after leaving the water, splashing a few silver water droplets.
He reached out and took the fish off, throwing it onto the grass. Huo Yuhao continued to start the second time of spearing fish. In an instant, he was like a stone sculpture, standing still in the water. His wooden fork was held high, already prepared for another strike.
Under the shimmering reflection of the water, his eyes actually revealed a kind of extremely natural blue glow, containing an incredibly clear and agile quality.
The water wasn't still; it was flowing. However, due to his Spiritual Eyes Martial Soul, Huo Yuhao's perception was incredibly sensitive, as if he could sense every ripple and movement.
At that moment, a medium-sized fish swam past underwater. Huo Yuhao gripped his wooden spear tightly, his gaze sharp, ready to strike.
When the fish entered his attack range, he thrust the spear forward. It was like a venomous snake striking with deadly precision. But just as everything seemed to go smoothly, a sudden daze washed over him. His vision blurred, and he saw countless golden specks swirling before him. Huo Yuhao lost his accuracy, and the spear went awry, piercing the muddy bottom in front of the fish. Startled, the fish darted away and quickly disappeared.
"What's going on? Heatstroke?" Huo Yuhao quickly steadied himself with the spear, his vision spinning wildly. He felt extremely dizzy, as if closing his eyes would cause him to pass out completely.
Huo Yuhao quickly reacted, his expression changing drastically. He endured the dizziness and calmly headed back to the grassy bank. If he fainted in the water, he would drown. That would be quite embarrassing.
Fortunately, the shore was only two meters away, and he soon reached it.
Once on the bank, Huo Yuhao collapsed onto the damp grass. He forced himself to turn over and lie on his back, breathing heavily, his face flushed. His agile Spiritual Eyes met the dazzling sun, and the golden light made his vision blur. For some reason, he wanted to move his head, but it felt as if he were restrained, unable to budge.
The consequence of staring at the sun for too long was... damage to his retina. Although many things had changed on Douluo Continent, making Newton weep, this remained unchanged, just like on Earth.
In a daze, Huo Yuhao gradually drifted into unconsciousness. However, as time passed and the sun began to set, casting shadows everywhere, a bizarre crack appeared between his eyebrows. A streak of golden light faintly emerged, as if he had grown a third eye.
The crack didn't last long, closing up after a few seconds as if nothing had happened.
The new book has officially begun its journey, thank you for your patience (thank you for your support).
I'm also asking for your continued reading, as it's really important.
Regarding updates, I'm currently planning to release them around noon, but this may change in the future.
(End of Chapter)