You Chen, an Ordinary Soul Master, Wanted to Make a Run for It

You Chen, initial martial soul: Wind Hatchling Dragon, Innate Soul Power level 2.

Thirty-five years old this year, a level 48 Soul Ancestor, a theoretical researcher at Spirit Hall, and a theory instructor at Spirit Hall Academy. He was a renowned martial soul theory master on the Douluo Continent.

With such talent and such achievements at his age, even within the force with the greatest concentration of soul masters, he was considered a miracle—a miracle of an ordinary man rising against the odds.

Although he had gradually become a peripheral figure with no connection to power within Spirit Hall after refusing the current Pope Bibi Dong's recruitment, it also spared him plenty of trouble. With the nominal title of "professor" and a monthly salary of one thousand Gold Soul Coins, his life was fairly leisurely.

Given the purchasing power of Gold Soul Coins in this world, You Chen's quality of life was countless times better than that of the wage-slave workers from his previous life. He was undeniably one of the privileged.

Yet despite living the life he had once dreamed of, You Chen had begun to consider leaving Spirit Hall.

Since his previous life had already been mentioned, the reason was obvious. That was right—You Chen had another identity. He was a transmigrator.

Judging by the timeline, Tang Fozu was about to awaken his martial soul. In another ten or twenty years, a war that would overturn the world's order would sweep across this continent...

He had transmigrated in the flesh, his age reverting to that of an infant, and had been picked up by Spirit Hall and raised in an orphanage. You Chen had deep feelings for Spirit Hall, but every attempt he had made to lead fate down a different path from the original timeline had ended in failure.

By now, he had given up on meddling with the original trajectory and changing Spirit Hall's fate of being destroyed by Tang San.

It was not that he believed fate could not be changed, but that he knew his own strength was insufficient to alter the direction of this great current.

He was merely an ordinary little Soul Ancestor whose potential had essentially been exhausted. Though he was quite attached to Spirit Hall, that attachment was not enough for him to willingly be swept into Spirit Hall's side and die on a battlefield destined for defeat.

However... under normal circumstances, there was no such thing as leaving Spirit Hall.

Yu Xiaogang had been expelled from Spirit Hall by the previous Pope; he had not left of his own accord.

Had that humiliating expulsion not involved the esteemed Saintess and thus been covered up, Yu Xiaogang would have become an even greater laughingstock long ago.

Still, just because there was theoretically no way to leave voluntarily did not mean there was no way at all.

The simplest example was a soul master in their teens with no potential for further growth, who found a deacon's salary too meager and quit after working for many years. Their name would probably remain listed at some branch hall, but Spirit Hall would not forcibly conscript them.

In other words, if one voluntarily became a peripheral figure and did not court death by joining another faction, Spirit Hall would not bother with them.

You Chen was, after all, a Soul Ancestor close to becoming a Soul King. His strength placed him among Spirit Hall's backbone, so he would not be let go so easily.

At this time, it actually helped that everyone in Spirit Hall's upper and middle ranks knew he was not favored by the current Pope, saving him a great deal of trouble.

After all, a man with the title of professor at Spirit Hall's main headquarters, who served as an instructor, was going to a rural branch hall to become a deacon?

You Chen's act of debasing himself was an opportunity delivered straight to the door for certain people.

Besides wanting to stay far from Spirit Hall's center, You Chen had another small motive. Thus, when applying for reassignment, he deliberately chose a branch hall near Notting City.

Naturally, he had his eye on that Blue Silver Emperor 100,000-Year Soul Bone.

A soul bone's function was not merely to grant one or two soul skills, raise some soul power, and improve physical fitness.

Its greatest function was to improve a soul master's innate foundation and aptitude!

Especially for soul masters who originally had poor aptitude and lacked resources, every soul bone possessed an effect comparable to defying fate and changing one's life.

It was like those Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in martial arts novels that cleansed the marrow, rebuilt one's foundation, and altered one's talent.

You Chen understood well that in this world of extraordinary power, the strong devoured the weak and strength reigned supreme. Even if he wanted to stay away from conflict, trouble would easily find him if his own strength was lacking.

Therefore, there was absolutely no reason to miss the easiest 100,000-year soul bone to obtain from the original story.

The period when Tang San went to Shrek and Tang Hao secretly followed him was the perfect time to take the soul bone.

For an ordinary soul master with Innate Soul Power level 2, the limit of an entire lifetime would normally be Soul Elder. But if they could absorb this soul bone, becoming a Soul King would not be difficult so long as they were not too old.

And You Chen, a soul master with only Innate Soul Power level 2, was confident that if he could absorb this 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor soul bone, he would definitely have a chance of becoming a Soul Douluo! Or even going further and becoming a Titled Douluo, truly standing at the pinnacle of the Douluo Continent!

A Titled Douluo... even when the divine war came in the future, he could simply dive into some deep mountain forest, wait out the storm, and emerge afterward.

At the thought of that wonderful future, You Chen suddenly felt inexplicably restless. He planned to head to the administrative office and ask an acquaintance how far his paperwork had progressed.

"Ding~"

The host's information has been detected. The Counterattack System is activating.

Name: You Chen

Age: 35

Martial Soul: Stardust Young Dragon (Intermediate Martial Soul)

Level: Level 48 Soul Ancestor

A gender-neutral mechanical voice rang beside You Chen's ear.

You Chen subconsciously stopped walking and widened his eyes.

His first thought was that he had been hit by some spiritual- or sound-based soul skill, but once he heard the contents clearly, a mixture of excitement and helplessness surged up in his heart. He cursed inwardly, half amused and half exasperated, Didn't you system come way too late!?

Cursing aside, he still had to open the system.

Only... before doing so, a terrible premonition suddenly flashed through You Chen's mind. Why does this development feel like something I've seen somewhere before?

This system is the Counterattack System, assisting the host in defeating everyone who looks down on the host.

Please complete the Newbie Mission to obtain the Newbie Gift Pack.

Note: As the prerequisite mission for unlocking subsequent missions, the Newbie Mission cannot be abandoned.

Newbie Mission: Ye Han, a level 7 Soul Scholar, is relying on the fact that he is the grandson of a Purple Robe Bishop from Spirit Hall's main headquarters. He intends to join forces with several classmates and secretly beat you up. Please defeat Ye Han and give him a savage beating so that he will never again entertain improper thoughts about you.

As You Chen looked at the mission description, he could not help feeling nostalgic.

Ye Han... that fellow's Innate Soul Power aptitude had been on par with his own back then.

However, You Chen had memories from his previous life. Relying on an adult's self-discipline, he carried out intensive cultivation and training every day, reaching level 10 at the age of nine with a ranking near the upper-middle of the class.

That brat had not known to work harder himself. Instead, he became jealous of You Chen and found several classmates who were equally untalented and unwilling to work hard, planning to corner him after school. They had ended up getting brutally beaten by him instead—

"Wait, wasn't that over twenty years ago!?"

You Chen nearly blurted out the complaint.

More than twenty years ago, Ye Han had indeed always resented him.

But after all these years, that brat had long since been beaten into submission. Combined with You Chen's later, miracle-like rise against the odds, Ye Han had even become his most loyal lackey.

He had even entrusted this paperwork to Ye Han!

Forget it. I was planning to make this trip anyway.

Complaints aside, You Chen still looked forward to the system's gift pack.

After all, whether for his past self or his present self, this mission posed no difficulty at all. It truly was worthy of being called a Newbie Mission—he might as well complete it while he was at it.