Tiandao's Past

As Tiandao and Caroline appeared, the once hostile comment-feed atmosphere surrounding "Stellaris Prequel: Embers" changed completely.

People's topic shifted from whether a loser like Chen Kong was qualified to be the protagonist at all.

To why a character like Tiandao was not the protagonist instead.

And amid this cheerful comment-feed atmosphere, the first episode of "Stellaris Prequel: Embers" finally neared its end.

"If you eat double portions of sweets every day like I do, you might awaken your Star Core right away."

"R-Really?"

"Idiot, he's lying to you."

"S-Sister."

On-screen, Chen Xing stepped out from the crowd and looked at the protagonist, Chen Kong, as if he were trash.

Although Chen Xing's behavior at this moment was no different from those people who had bullied Chen Kong earlier.

As the saying went, looks were justice.

When Chen Xing's delicate features were paired with her signature expression of disgust.

Her appearance, just as Tiandao had expected, drew the attention of countless fans who worshipped pretty faces.

'Slurp, I'm licking, I'm licking~'

'Hiss, that's it, that's absolutely it. I want that disgusted look, like she's staring at trash.'

'A genius sister and a useless younger brother? Interesting.'

'Big Sister, I'm your dog!'

'Mommy!'

'The freshmen upstairs need to rein it in.'

Watching the collectively crazed comments, Tiandao of the Stellaris World clasped his hands beneath his chin, his sunglasses reflecting a cold gleam exclusive to a "villain."

"Sure enough, Chen Xing is my greatest rival on the road to becoming the Popularity King."

Although Chen Xing had only appeared briefly at the end of the first episode and did not have much screen time.

Through the "director's" editing techniques.

Chen Xing might have been the last to appear, but she still left an extremely deep impression on the viewers.

And Chen Xing was also a female character.

That meant Tiandao would have to put in even more effort if he wanted to surpass her in popularity.

After all, a female character only needed to put on black stockings to gain a massive following.

Male characters had far too many things to consider.

And since the premiere of "Stellaris Prequel: Embers" released two episodes at once.

Many viewers immediately continued watching out of habit after finishing the first episode.

The plot of the second episode directly picked up from Chen Xing's appearance in the previous one.

"Tiandao, are you trying to use that hole-ridden sweets theory of yours to deceive people again?"

"How can you call it deception~"

"Science has proven that sugar not only promotes brain function, but also—"

"Shut up!"

"Do you think everyone is a hardcore sweets addict like you?"

On-screen, as Tiandao and Chen Xing suddenly squared off.

Tiandao stopped indulging her and directly used his Star Energy Value, far greater than Chen Xing's, to crush her with pure numerical superiority.

And perhaps in order to more vividly demonstrate Tiandao's "strength."

In the animated footage, Tiandao's "pressure" was actually rendered by the production team as an invisible black tide, effortlessly swallowing up the "tiny" Chen Xing and plunging her into boundless darkness.

The terrifying oppression brought by that enclosed space, combined with the pair of manifested azure eyes at the end of the darkness.

Made the viewers feel Tiandao's strength even through their screens.

In an instant, the comments exploded.

'The special-effects budget is burning!'

'Holy crap, that sense of oppression! My legs are going weak through the screen!'

'Sister Chen Xing, run! There's something wrong with this man!'

'No, just his presence is this terrifying. Isn't Tiandao's strength possibly the greatest among everyone?'

'Definitely. Look at all the characters who've appeared so far—he's the only one wearing sunglasses. That kind of unconventional behavior is clearly a privilege reserved for the strong.'

'What a powerful aura. Isn't Tiandao going to turn evil later? I have a feeling the production team is up to no good. Based on my many years of anime-watching experience, the stronger and kinder a character is early on, the more fiercely they turn evil later.'

'Damn, stop talking. I'm starting to feel something's off too.'

And perhaps because they felt that this alone could not sufficiently reinforce Tiandao's image as a Natural Strongman in the viewers' minds.

The production team unexpectedly added a memory fragment from when Tiandao was eight years old.

Even Tiandao himself had not expected this scene to appear.

Because this plot had never existed in the original story.

It was a complete "accident."

In the memory, a silver-haired boy sat alone amid the corpses of Three-headed Wolf Beasts.

A bloodstained fruit knife was embedded beside him. His left arm hung limply at his side as he clumsily peeled open a dirty piece of candy with only his right hand.

Just as the silver-haired boy had peeled the candy halfway open, a figure suddenly approached.

"Did you do all this by yourself?"

"Mm."

Faced with Yun Meng's question, Tiandao did not even raise his head, continuing to peel away the wrapper around the candy.

The camera focused on Tiandao's hanging left hand. Five claw wounds deep enough to expose bone were bleeding, while his dust-covered cuff had long been soaked brown with blood.

After receiving Tiandao's affirmative answer, Yun Meng fell silent for a long time.

A moment later, she invited Tiandao.

"Well, do you want to join our organization?"

"Either way."

Tiandao's answer was casual, as if it made no difference to him where he went at that moment.

And only after he answered did the candy in his hand finally come unwrapped.

He contentedly put the cheap candy into his mouth, revealing a delighted expression.

Only at that moment did Tiandao finally display a trait fitting for a child.

"You really like candy?"

"Mm."

"Why?"

Tiandao was silent for a moment before giving his answer.

"Because Mom said that if you eat more candy, life won't be bitter."

"I see."

Yun Meng lowered her head and gazed at Tiandao's left hand, which had remained hanging at his side.

Clearly, although Tiandao had defeated three low-level beasts that did not even possess Star Cores.

He had paid quite a price himself.

It was only because Tiandao had been so calm from beginning to end that Yun Meng had not noticed it earlier.

"It hurts a lot, doesn't it?"

Tiandao calmly said, "It's alright. It hurt a lot before, but after I ate candy, it stopped hurting."

"Here."

Tiandao looked at the elaborately packaged chocolate Yun Meng offered him. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "It's expensive, isn't it?"

Yun Meng smiled. "Not for me."

And even after Yun Meng said that, the young Tiandao still did not take the expensive chocolate.

He clearly had principles of his own, sensible in a way that made one's heart ache.

Seeing this, Yun Meng simply forced it into Tiandao's arms.

"Take it. Consider it a welcome gift for joining us."

"...Thank you."

"By the way, little one, what's your name?"

"Tiandao. Tiandao Siming."

"Tiandao Siming? That truly is a fine name."

With that, the memory fragment ended.