Rebirth!

P.S.: The author is revising the protagonist's name throughout the entire text, so you may notice Huo Yu in some places and Huo Yuhao in others. Don't worry about it! It will be fixed as soon as possible!

Also, there will be multiple female leads! If you don't like that, don't click in! If you curse because of it, don't blame me for muting you. (The possible female leads are listed at the end of Chapter One. If you don't like it, then don't read it. Don't come into the comments just to make your presence known.)

---Main Text---

"Soul Power Level 1?"

On the platform, the steward in charge of awakening Martial Souls frowned slightly. Looking at the Soul Power Crystal Ball that emitted only a faint glow, he still recorded the Soul Power Level.

"Tsk, as expected of a bastard. Only Level 1 Soul Power!"

"Hah, a maid gave birth to him. It's already good enough that he managed to awaken a Martial Soul!"

"..."

The piercing mockery reached the young boy's ears, yet he seemed completely unaware of it. His eyes widened slightly as countless memories and a thousand unsaid words surged through his mind, until only one sentence remained in his heart:

I... was reborn?

He raised his head slightly. A trace of golden light appeared in his azure eyes, and an almost imperceptible spiritual ripple spread outward, instantly enveloping the awakening hall.

I was reborn at the time of my Martial Soul awakening?

Huo Yuhao fell silent. His somewhat oversized coarse clothes hung over his frail body, making him look rather ridiculous. Yet no matter how those around him whispered among themselves, a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

His memories had stopped at the moment when he and Tang San fought to the death, perishing together and falling into the turbulent currents of space and time.

He had thought they would perish together, yet he had actually been reborn.

Ha. How interesting.

"Level 1 Soul Power, and he can still smile? Is there something wrong with this kid's head?"

"Better than having nothing, isn't it?"

"A bastard born to a maid should be grateful just to awaken a Martial Soul. Does he expect to ask for more?"

Contempt, disgust, scorn.

Huo Yuhao instinctively caught the emotional fluctuations. They gathered bit by bit in his Spiritual Sea, transforming into rings of different colors that surrounded the golden vertical eye at its very center.

The Seed of Emotion, and... the Eye of Destiny!

The former was the power he inherited after receiving the divine position of the God of Emotion. It could even be regarded as the prototype of the God of Emotion's divine position.

As for the latter, it was the Eye of Destiny that had evolved through the Gold of Life and Qiu'er's help. And now, had these two powers actually been reborn alongside him?

The golden light deep within his azure eyes grew even more brilliant. Under the guidance of his spiritual power, threads of Power of Emotion began tentatively filling the deficits in his body.

In just an instant, Huo Yuhao felt his body becoming fuller, his constitution strengthening bit by bit.

It was real.

"Can I leave now?"

Huo Yuhao raised his head and looked at the steward overseeing the Martial Soul awakening.

The steward fell silent for a moment. He could clearly sense that the boy before him seemed somewhat different, especially his eyes. They seemed...

The steward's gaze suddenly froze as a thought arose in his mind.

A drastic change in temperament after awakening a Martial Soul was reasonable, right?

The thought took root in his mind, and his initial hesitation vanished. He nodded and said, "You may leave."

Huo Yuhao nodded and turned to leave without hesitation.

Putting aside the joy of being reborn, the person Huo Yuhao most wanted to see right now was his mother.

Outside the Duke's Mansion was where the mansion's servants lived.

At that moment, a frail figure swiftly darted past one obstacle after another. Before long, he arrived outside a somewhat dilapidated house.

His footsteps stopped. Reality overlapped with distant memories, and his heart began pounding uncontrollably.

He was truly afraid that all of this was merely an illusion born at the moment of his death. But in the next instant, the door of that rundown house suddenly opened.

She was a somewhat haggard woman. Her pale face and thin body showed that she was not in good health, yet even so, they could not conceal her beautiful features.

When she saw the figure suddenly standing outside the door, the woman froze. But the next moment, heartfelt joy appeared in her slightly lifeless eyes.

"Yuhao, you're back?!"

A familiar form of address, a familiar face, a familiar voice.

Huo Yuhao choked up slightly. An inexplicable sense of grievance welled up in his heart. He wanted to say something, but when the words reached his lips, all he could manage was a soft murmur:

"...Mom."

"Yuhao?"

Huo Yun'er noticed that something was wrong with her son. She hurried to his side and began checking him over, turning him this way and that.

Only after finding no wounds or bruises did Huo Yun'er let out a slight sigh of relief.

"Mom, I'm fine."

"Did they bully you again?"

As Huo Yun'er spoke, her voice was filled with deep self-blame.

The most helpless thing for a mother was knowing her son had been bullied outside, yet being powerless to do anything about it.

Huo Yuhao shook his head without saying anything. He merely stepped forward and embraced Huo Yun'er.

"I'm fine now, Mom. I just suddenly don't want to stay here anymore. Mom... can we leave this place?"

This was something Huo Yuhao had already decided on during his journey here.

If they continued staying in the Duke's Mansion, leaving aside how that bitch would target his mother, if he wanted to prevent her from dying young as she had in his previous life and ultimately becoming a bargaining chip in Tang San's hands to threaten him, he had to take his mother away from here!

Even if he had to deceive her, even if he had to knock her unconscious, he would definitely take her away!

Determination flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes, but it quickly sank back into silence.

"Leave this place..."

Huo Yun'er pressed her lips together, feeling conflicted.

The reason she had remained here all this time, besides the fact that she had originally been a maid and her contract of servitude was still in First Madam's hands...

Was Yuhao.

She hoped Yuhao could receive Dai Hao's recognition, gain better resources, and have a better future.

Besides, no matter how bad things were in the Duke's Mansion, they could at least ensure food and clothing. She had gone from being an ordinary person to a maid in the Duke's Mansion. She understood better than anyone how difficult life was for ordinary people, and that was precisely why she did not want her child to suffer outside.

But now...

Over the years, Dai Hao had not failed to return to the Duke's Mansion, but every time he came back, he had never once come to see her.

Whatever lingering hopes she had held for Dai Hao had long been buried beneath disappointment, leaving behind only a faint obsession.

And now, Huo Yuhao's words, along with the grievance he had shown when they met just now, completely erased the last trace of that obsession.

Yuhao was right. I really shouldn't keep waiting so foolishly...

The confusion in Huo Yun'er's eyes gradually faded. A mother's reason ultimately overcame everything. Huo Yun'er took a deep breath, and determination flashed through her eyes.

She loosened her hold slightly and forced a smile onto her face.

"Yuhao, where do you want to go? Mom will go with you! We'll leave the Duke's Mansion, find a new place, and start over together, all right?"

"I'll listen to Mom!"

At that moment, a smile appeared on the young boy's face. His youthful features carried a seriousness beyond his years as a promise crossed time and space, crossed memory, and appeared once again in this moment:

"From now on! I'll protect Mom!"

—No matter the cost, by any means necessary!

A quick note beforehand: since the author has only read the original novel once, and stopped reading carefully after Qiu'er and Dong'er were gone and that patchwork monster appeared, this book's plot and character portrayals will draw more heavily from the comic adaptation. After all, the characters in the comic really are beautiful. The female leads already confirmed include Gu Yuena, Dong'er, Qiu'er, the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, Ling Luochen—who is incredibly beautiful in the comic—Meng Hongchen, Ju Zi, and others. There will only be more, not fewer, depending on the plot. Finally, please keep reading!