Yearning for the Sky

Six years later.

At the village chief's home in Tianhun Town.

"Hmm... Am I dreaming again? And it's this dream again." A boy's voice echoed through the void. He kept walking into the darkness ahead, yet everything around him seemed not to have moved at all. But the dreaming child knew what he was supposed to do. Since he was five, he had dreamed the same dream almost every day. The place in his dreams never changed, yet the dream itself seemed to keep progressing. Until recently, the boy had begun to feel that this unending dream was finally about to end.

In the darkness, he looked left and right as if searching for something. Then a spot of white light entered his sight. The boy abruptly ran toward it. This point of light had only appeared in the past few months. He believed it had to be closely connected to this dream. Before, whenever he saw it and got a little closer, the dream would end on its own. But he had also noticed that each time he dreamed, he got a little closer to the light. "This time, I'm definitely catching you." The boy said smugly, but...

"Brother Feng..." Just as he was about to grab the point of light, he heard a familiar voice.

"Brother Feng..."

"Huh, Ling'er?" At the same time, that brief hesitation made him miss his chance to seize the light. The dark world instantly shattered, dragging him back to reality.

With a muffled "oof," Tang Chenfeng woke to his own cry. He complained, "Ling'er, did you have to wake me up like that?"

Tang Chenfeng looked down and saw a pretty, adorable girl sprawled across his stomach. Her slightly messy brown-black hair showed that she had only recently gotten up as well, but her bright black eyes were filled with excitement.

Ling'er said with a giggle, "I had no choice, Brother Feng. You're so physically strong that I couldn't wake you any other way. You have no idea—I'd already been pushing you for several minutes."

Tang Chenfeng said helplessly, "You still didn't need to jump up and kick me in the stomach. Ow, that hurt. By the way, it's rare for you to wake up before me." Seeing the sun that had just risen outside, Tang Chenfeng exclaimed in surprise.

Ling'er smiled. "Brother Feng, did you forget that we're six this year? It's time for our Martial Souls to awaken. How could I not be excited?"

Tang Chenfeng abruptly sat up. "I actually forgot something so important. I need to finish the work first today." He got up, washed up, dressed, and rushed outside in one smooth motion.

Watching him run straight out the door without eating, Ling'er said helplessly, "He really is a workaholic."

This planet was a world called Douluo Star. The Tianhun Town where Tang Chenfeng lived would more accurately be called Tianhun Village. Everyone living in the Douluo World would awaken an ability known as a Martial Soul. A Martial Soul could be anything: a tool, an animal, or even a part of one's own body.

But the Martial Soul itself was not what mattered most. What mattered was the Soul Power awakened alongside it. Without Soul Power, even awakening an unparalleled Martial Soul would be useless. But as long as one had Soul Power, even if their Martial Soul was only a blade of grass, they could still grow stronger. Such people were called Soul Masters. No one knew why, but a person's Martial Soul usually awakened at the age of six, and the reason had never been found.

As Soul Tool technology developed, the role of Soul Masters had gradually diminished. Nearly ninety thousand years had passed since humanity began using Soul Tools for interstellar colonization. Now, even an ordinary person could rival a normal Soul Master through a mech or Soul Tool. But there was no denying that Soul Masters remained unique. Powerful Soul Masters were in demand wherever they went. This gave those living on the ground a chance to rise to the top in a single leap.

"Grandpa Ye, Grandma Ling, I'm here!" Tang Chenfeng came running over from the direction of the voice.

Grandpa Ye smiled. "Chenfeng, why are you here so early today? The sun has only just risen."

Tang Chenfeng replied, "Today is the day our Martial Souls awaken. The awakening should be in the afternoon. I wanted to finish the work first, then go through the Martial Soul awakening."

Grandpa Ye smiled bitterly. "Actually, you don't need to help us this much. You don't owe us anything."

"How can you say that? If the village chief and Grandma hadn't brought me back, I might have been eaten by Soul Beasts already." Tang Chenfeng naturally felt close to these two. Back then, they were the only two elderly people who had heard his cries and risked entering the great forest to bring him back. They had even adopted him and recognized Tang Chenfeng as their god-grandson.

Grandma Ling walked over, stroked Tang Chenfeng's head, and said affectionately, "Little Chenfeng is getting more handsome by the day. I knew when you were little that you'd definitely grow into a handsome young man. Now it seems my judgment was completely right. If you hadn't grown so quickly, I really would have wanted to arrange a childhood betrothal between you and Ling'er." Grandma Ling often said such things, since they were not blood siblings.

Tang Chenfeng smiled bitterly. "But I've always treated Ling'er as a little sister. Besides, it doesn't really look right when I stand beside her..."

Ye Hongling was the biological granddaughter of Village Chief Ye and Grandma Ling. Ever since they took Tang Chenfeng in as their god-grandson, the two had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. But Tang Chenfeng was clearly different from ordinary children. Normally, girls grew faster, but Tang Chenfeng had obviously grown much faster. Though only six, he was already 1.4 meters tall. Standing beside Ye Hongling, who was barely over a meter tall, they looked at least four years apart.

Grandma Ling smiled beside him. "Oh, as long as you truly like each other, height isn't a problem. You'll both grow taller anyway. If you can't have a childhood betrothal now, it won't be too late to settle it once you're grown up. So tell me, how do you feel about Ling'er now?"

At those words, a faint blush appeared on Tang Chenfeng's handsome yet somewhat childish face. "I think Ye Hongling is very pretty and cute, especially when she follows behind me and calls me Brother Feng. I really want to hold her in my arms, but I truly only see Ling'er as a little sister."

Grandma Ling's face immediately took on an expression of complete understanding. She said with a mischievous grin, "I understand, I understand. You may not be able to express it now, but you'll definitely get the chance later. I'll help you out plenty."

The blush on Tang Chenfeng's face instantly spread. He immediately ran away, saying, "I... I'll go work first. Grandma Ling, we can talk later." With that, he hurried off to work.

"Look at you, you scared the child." Village Chief Ye said irritably.

Grandma Ling replied somewhat irritably, "What's wrong with that? Chenfeng is just shy. Besides, today is the day Chenfeng and Ling'er awaken their Martial Souls. With the strength we once possessed, Ling'er definitely won't have a problem. But if Chenfeng can awaken a good Martial Soul, they might become an unmatched pair of experts someday. Perhaps they could even fulfill our wish."

As she spoke, Grandma Ling's voice gradually fell, as though she had recalled some unbearable memory from the past. Village Chief Ye hurriedly said, "Young people have their own choices. If the children can truly become a peerless pair, I'd be willing to teach them everything I've learned in my life."

By then, Tang Chenfeng was already working. Ever since he could remember, he had noticed that he seemed to eat far more than others. He needed three times as much food as another person at lunch to feel full. Perhaps because he ate so much, he was also exceptionally strong. When he was five, he had once lifted a millstone weighing over five hundred kilograms. The villagers all said that he was naturally handsome and possessed Innate Divine Strength, so he was surely a cultivation prodigy.

But for now, he did not need to cultivate. He used all his strength to help others instead. After all, great strength made physical labor much easier. Since he also had to attend the awakening ceremony today, he finished the work in the fields very quickly. When he looked up at the sky, it was not even noon yet.

Looks like I finished faster than I expected. Tang Chenfeng thought. After saying goodbye to Village Chief Ye and Grandma Ling, he headed straight toward the village chief's home.

On the way back, Tang Chenfeng saw someone familiar. "Huh, Ling'er? Why are you here?"

Ye Hongling replied, "I was waiting for you. I even brought you food. You left without eating breakfast." Only then did Tang Chenfeng remember that he had skipped breakfast and rushed off. Now his stomach was loudly protesting.

Ye Hongling giggled. "Let's go eat on that hillside."

Tang Chenfeng could only say awkwardly, "Sure."

The boy and girl sat on the hillside. They were both quiet as they ate. Then Ye Hongling suddenly stopped eating the pancake in her hand and said to Tang Chenfeng, "Brother Feng, do you think we'll be able to live in Sky City after our Martial Souls awaken?"

"Why ask that all of a sudden? Do you lack confidence in yourself?" Tang Chenfeng asked in confusion.

Ye Hongling said, "A little. I really long for life in Sky City. There must be so many things there that we've never seen before. But I heard that even if you awaken Soul Power, you still can't go there unless you're qualified. There must be many people in this world more talented than us. I'm a little unsure of myself. I've been wondering whether we can really live in the sky."

"Don't be so negative. If even you think you can't do it, then you'll have no chance. Even if there really is no chance, even if we truly can't make it then, I'll take you up to the sky to see it." Tang Chenfeng said confidently.

Ye Hongling looked utterly puzzled. "Really? Brother Feng, you haven't even tried yet, so why are you so confident? Where does that confidence come from?"

"This? It's actually simple." Tang Chenfeng said, "Since we don't know the result yet, just throw away everything except confidence. Believe that you can do it. Just keep believing in yourself."

After hearing that, Ye Hongling smiled. "That sounds so casual. Can you really succeed just by relying on that?"

Tang Chenfeng said, "Then I swear here that I'll definitely take you to the sky someday, Ling'er."

Ye Hongling's eyes lit up. "Then it's a promise. You have to take me with you someday."

The two laughed happily on the hillside. Perhaps children's promises were simply that straightforward and sincere.