Butterfly Effect

"Little Huo really was down on his luck, but it wouldn't be long before he turned his life around."

Tang Ya and Bei Bei had already gone up to speak with Huo Yuhao, while Ye Chen lingered behind, lost in thought.

He had been in this world for eleven years now, and he had gradually adapted to life here.

Although he possessed the memories of his previous life and a general understanding of this world's plot, he was still filled with doubts about everything concerning himself.

That leaf had brought him into this world and given him unparalleled talent, yet it had not told him anything.

The cheat he had always hoped for had never appeared. Everything, including his two martial souls and his pair of mysterious Twin Pupils, had to be explored on his own.

Unlike Huo Yuhao, who had Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Electrolux as two massive cheats, with someone there to answer every question for him.

At that thought, a rare trace of envy rose in Ye Chen's heart.

"Big brother, please have one too." A somewhat childish voice broke Ye Chen from his thoughts.

Huo Yuhao looked at Ye Chen curiously and held out the grilled fish in his hand.

His eyes are so strange. Could they be a martial soul similar to my Spirit Eyes? Huo Yuhao thought.

Ye Chen's Twin Pupils were simply too eye-catching. Combined with his rare hair color, they made Huo Yuhao feel deeply intrigued.

Ye Chen paused slightly before accepting the golden grilled fish. Smiling, he said, "Thank you."

He would not be like Bei Bei, putting on airs and refusing again and again, only to accept the grilled fish in the end anyway.

Thinking that, Ye Chen shot Bei Bei a disdainful glance. Bei Bei was left completely baffled, having no idea how he had offended this little ancestor again.

"Little brother Huo Yuhao, you'll be at a disadvantage if you call him big brother. This guy might not even be older than you!"

Tang Ya lounged lazily on the grass and directly exposed Ye Chen's true age.

Apparently, while Ye Chen had been lost in thought, the three of them had already introduced themselves to one another.

"Hello, Huo Yuhao. My name is Ye Chen. Call me Brother Chen from now on. I've got your back!"

Sensing that things were going badly, Ye Chen hooked an arm around Huo Yuhao's shoulders and brazenly began acting like his sworn brother.

At the same time, his gaze shifted between Bei Bei and Tang Ya with a hint of threat.

Huo Yuhao stared straight at Ye Chen with his large eyes. No matter how he looked at him, Ye Chen did not seem younger than himself.

"Hello, Brother Chen."

Though somewhat confused, he still called him that after a moment of hesitation.

He could tell that none of these three people were bad, and this Twin Pupils youth carried a warm aura that made him feel especially comfortable.

Tang Ya and Bei Bei looked speechlessly at Ye Chen, who had already started calling Huo Yuhao his brother, but neither of them said anything.

The more one said, the more likely one was to slip up. Bei Bei was afraid that if he kept talking, Ye Chen might suddenly call him "great-nephew," and then he would be utterly humiliated.

And with Huo Yuhao as Ye Chen's newly acknowledged little brother, wouldn't that mean he had gained another little uncle?!

Come to think of it, Ye Chen might not actually be older than Huo Yuhao. Perhaps because of his martial souls and cultivation, his body had developed rather quickly.

That was why he looked one or two years older than Huo Yuhao.

Ye Chen only knew that Huo Yuhao was also eleven. He was not very clear on Huo Yuhao's exact age, which was why he felt somewhat guilty.

Shaking his head, he forcefully suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his heart, then took a bite of the grilled fish in his hand.

In an instant, Ye Chen's gemstone-like eyes lit up.

"My god, this is way too good!"

The Little Huo-brand grilled fish Ye Chen had been longing for truly lived up to its reputation.

Before long, Huo Yuhao left first.

Bei Bei and Tang Ya wanted to recruit him into the Tang Sect, so they planned to follow him and protect him along the way.

"Why haven't we run into Huo Yuhao yet? It's almost evening already."

Ye Chen trailed roughly two paces behind Bei Bei and Tang Ya. He raised his head to look at the evening glow on the horizon, a trace of puzzlement appearing on his face.

According to Ye Chen's memories, they should have encountered Huo Yuhao soon.

The three of them had already walked for two or three hours and had long entered the outskirts of Star Dou Forest, yet they had not even seen Huo Yuhao's shadow.

Ye Chen was not the only one puzzled.

"Strange. Where did little brother Huo go? At our speed, we should have caught up to him long ago, shouldn't we?" Bei Bei said curiously, his tone as gentle as that of his great-grandfather, Mu En.

"Don't tell me he was eaten by a soul beast. Little brother Yuhao is so weak—if he ran into a hundred-year or even thousand-year soul beast, he wouldn't even be enough to fill its teeth!" Tang Ya sounded anxious, her autumn-water eyes filled with worry.

"Don't jinx it. Little brother Huo is such a kind person, so his luck can't be that bad. Besides, we haven't found any signs of fighting along the way. Even if he was killed instantly, there would still be some traces left behind."

Although Bei Bei was comforting Tang Ya, he was worried as well, no longer looking as refined as before.

To be honest, he had no idea either.

"Xiao Ya, be careful!" Bei Bei had been about to say something, but his expression suddenly changed. His right hand shot up, making a grasping motion toward Tang Ya. There seemed to be a pulling force in his palm, dragging Tang Ya flying over to him.

What's going on? We actually ran into the Mandala Snake ahead of time! Ye Chen's heart pounded wildly.

He could no longer make sense of the situation.

Could it be that because of his appearance, the wings of that little butterfly had already begun to flap?

As poisonous mist carrying a sweet fragrance swept toward them, a pitch-black figure landed on the ground. Ye Chen recognized the soul beast in an instant.

Just as he had expected, that black figure was a thousand-year soul beast: the Mandala Snake.

Although Bei Bei did not yet know what kind of soul beast it was, he still unleashed his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, bearing three soul rings, and charged forward at once.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Ye Chen temporarily suppressed the doubts in his heart. An extreme radiance spread from his body, slowly gathering into a strange little tree that radiated a sacred aura.

This was Ye Chen's Fusang Divine Tree martial soul!

Compared to five years ago, the Fusang Divine Tree martial soul had evolved once more after acquiring its second soul ring.

It had grown to nearly the same height as Ye Chen. Its branches and leaves were also lusher than before, and several smaller branches had sprouted from its two main trunks.

The greatest change was that a Three-legged Golden Crow stood upon each of the two main trunks!

One had bright crimson feathers, while the other's feathers were a deep blue-black. Anyone who saw it seemed able to feel a chilling dread, as if they had fallen into hell.

A bright purple soul ring likewise encircled its body.

Unlike other soul masters, when Ye Chen summoned his Fusang Divine Tree martial soul, his soul rings floated above the martial soul.

The first and second soul rings: thousand-year!

At that moment, Bei Bei and Tang Ya were entirely focused on the black figure ahead and did not notice this.

Just then, after the purple soul ring flashed, the bright crimson Three-legged Golden Crow took flight from the Fusang Divine Tree. The light around its body blazed brilliantly, as though it had transformed into a miniature sun.

For a brief time, that intense light illuminated the surroundings as brightly as day, making everything clearly visible.

I'll post three chapters this afternoon and another two tonight. I'm already doing my utmost to write, but my typing speed is too slow, so I still need more practice!