The Northern Wind Blew Toward the Village! (Seeking Recommendation Votes)

Heaven Dou Empire, Anyang City.

A quiet and peaceful little village appeared beneath the dim night sky. There seemed to be quite a few households in the village, their yellowish lights stretching together intermittently. On this moonless night, they looked so warm and beautiful. The cold wind blowing down from the northern ice fields seemed to have no effect on these homes.

A house at the village entrance was still lit. With its blue-brick walls and red-tiled roof, it looked very different from the other houses in the village and seemed to belong to a more prosperous family. It had three rooms and a courtyard, with two trees planted inside, giving it a strong sense of domestic life.

The lights in the central room were yellowish as well, but they were relatively bright compared to the others. Beside the window, a desk stood against the wall. Sitting before it was a delicate-looking boy, who was completely engrossed in the book in his hands. His dark eyes occasionally flickered with thought, making it clear that he was reading with great care.

At the boy's side was a strangely shaped lamp. It looked like an oil lamp, yet there was no lit wick to be seen, while its light was brighter than that of an ordinary oil lamp. The peculiar lamp radiated a bright yet gentle glow, illuminating the book the boy was reading.

A closer look revealed a brand-new thread-bound book, rich with the scent of fresh ink. The title was written at the top of the page: "On the Influence of Soul Ring Quality on Soul Master Development"!

"...When a Soul Master absorbs a Soul Ring, their Martial Soul is strengthened at the same time... For Soul Beasts of the same age, the stronger the Soul Beast, the higher the quality of the Soul Ring it produces, and the greater the enhancement to the Martial Soul... If the attributes of the Soul Beast that produces the Soul Ring are more compatible with the Soul Master's Martial Soul, and its bloodline is more similar to that of the Martial Soul, then the resulting Soul Ring will be of higher quality. The enhancement to the Martial Soul will be more obvious, and the improvement to the Soul Master's abilities will also be greater... Take a cat-type Martial Soul as an example. If its Soul Master continually adds Soul Rings from tiger-type Soul Beasts, the origin of the Martial Soul will constantly be strengthened and accumulated, eventually causing it to undergo a Second Awakening and evolve into a tiger-type Martial Soul... In short, when selecting Soul Rings, Soul Masters should give full consideration to quality..."

The boy was completely absorbed in his reading and did not even notice when someone entered the room. The newcomer was a beautiful woman whose appearance resembled the boy's by about seventy percent. Clearly, she was his mother.

"Yangyang, it's late. Hurry up and get some rest. You'll be awakening your Martial Soul tomorrow, so go to bed early tonight and prepare yourself, all right?" The woman's voice was full of affection as she walked over to the boy and spoke.

Then, without waiting for the boy to react, she picked up the strange lamp with her slender hand and gave it a gentle shake. The lamp went out.

"Mom!" the boy called out helplessly. A trace of displeasure appeared on his delicate face, but he did not defy his mother's words. He obediently walked toward the bed.

Only after the boy had lain down and pulled up the covers did the woman reveal a satisfied smile. She lowered her head, kissed his forehead, and whispered, "Good boy. Good night!"

The woman left the room, and the lamp inside went out with her. Only the starlight filtering through the window barely illuminated the books on the desk. Amid the starlight, the books gradually faded away, as if they had never appeared at all.

At that moment, the boy, who had already gone to bed and closed his eyes, suddenly opened them. He sat cross-legged on the bed with his five centers facing the heavens. His eyes, exceptionally bright in the darkness, slowly closed, and his entire body sank into an indescribably peaceful state, like an old monk entering deep meditation.

A quarter of an hour later, the boy lay down again.

The boy's name was Zhu Ziyang. He was six years old this year and was from Anyang City in Zhenbei Province of the Heaven Dou Empire.

After lying down, Zhu Ziyang's mind remained unusually clear. Long-forgotten memories, sealed away for ages and already somewhat blurred, surged forth and merged with his knowledge, shaping the wonders of this world in his mind.

The Heaven Dou Empire was one of the four great empires and one of the original Three Great Empires of the Douluo Continent. It was also one of the two empires formed after the Heaven Dou Empire split apart. Although its territory was only half the size of the former Heaven Dou Empire, its strength surpassed that of the other nation descended from the same source—the Dou Ling Empire.

Everyone on the Douluo Continent possessed something called a Martial Soul. Regarding the essence and origin of Martial Souls, the generally accepted theory in the Soul Master World was the Bloodline Theory: bloodlines were the source of Martial Souls, and Martial Souls were manifestations of bloodlines.

It was generally believed that the purer, older, and more exalted a bloodline was, the higher the quality and potential of its Martial Soul would be. Since bloodlines determined Martial Souls, the Douluo Continent rarely saw those melodramatic incidents of raising the wrong child.

Revolving around Martial Souls was a whole series of knowledge and subjects, including Soul Masters, Soul Rings, Soul Beasts, Soul Skills, Soul Bones, and Soul Tools. These concepts flashed rapidly through Zhu Ziyang's mind.

Before he knew it, he had thought about too much. Zhu Ziyang turned over, his eyes wide open and completely devoid of sleepiness.

Zhu Ziyang would not awaken his Martial Soul until tomorrow, so his behavior before bed, which looked much like Soul Power cultivation, was definitely not meditation.

In fact, he was not cultivating Soul Power at all. He was practicing a special breathing method called the Lesser Light Breathing Technique.

Perhaps it was the karmic reward for having done many good deeds in his previous life. Zhu Ziyang had possessed innate wisdom from the moment he was born. His intelligence far exceeded that of ordinary children. He could speak at three months, walk at six months, and had already read thousands of books at a very young age, becoming a prodigy renowned near and far.

Besides his innate wisdom, a fragment of incompletely forgotten memories from his previous life had always lingered in his mind. The Lesser Light Breathing Technique came from those memories. That incomplete recollection seemed to constantly emphasize that this breathing method was very important to him.

Out of curiosity, Zhu Ziyang began attempting to practice the Lesser Light Breathing Technique when he was three years old. After following the memories and practicing it once, Zhu Ziyang was astonished to discover that his Danzhong Acupoint had actually opened, and a thread of qi had been born within him.

Although he had only been three at the time, he had already read extensively and naturally knew the function and importance of the Danzhong Acupoint. As the source of the bloodline, the Danzhong Acupoint was commonly known as the Jiangong Golden Palace. Under normal circumstances, it opened along with a Soul Master's Martial Soul Awakening.

In fact, his Niwan Palace and Huangting had opened along with his Danzhong Acupoint. All three dantians had opened at once; it was simply that Zhu Ziyang had not realized it.

Under those circumstances, he knew that his Danzhong Acupoint had opened ahead of time, and that a mysterious strand of qi—one that was absolutely not Soul Power—had been born. This made the naturally curious Zhu Ziyang incredibly excited, and his desire to explore immediately drove him to practice the Lesser Light Breathing Technique again.

To his astonishment, he discovered that when he practiced the Lesser Light Breathing Technique, the strand of qi within his Danzhong Acupoint also began to stir. It left the Danzhong Acupoint and traveled through his meridians, flowing through his limbs and every part of his body—from the Baihui Acupoint at the crown of his head to the Guanyuan Acupoint in his abdomen, from the Shaofu Acupoints in his hands to the Yongquan Acupoints in his feet, through every meridian and every acupoint.

Wherever that strand of qi passed, Zhu Ziyang felt a faint warmth. It was very comfortable, like basking in the sun during winter—warm and cozy. When he finished one cycle of the Lesser Light Breathing Technique, the strand of qi returned to his Danzhong Acupoint at precisely the same time, settling down obediently without the slightest movement.

Although Zhu Ziyang did not know the origin of the Lesser Light Breathing Technique or the mysterious strand of qi, he realized that the qi did not harm him! The innate wisdom from his previous life seemed to be proving this as well.

Thus, with the belief that everything should be seen through to the end, Zhu Ziyang continued practicing the Lesser Light Breathing Technique and never gave up.