Three-Year-Old Shi Hao

"Yi'er, don't be afraid. Mother is here."

Hearing his mother's call, Shi Yi could only resign himself to his fate.

Pinching his nose, covering his mouth, and closing his eyes, he steeled himself and jumped in.

With a splash.

Shi Yi felt as though he had fallen into searing magma. An indescribable agony surged from every part of his body, as if it were about to tear him apart piece by piece.

Shi Yi could not describe the pain wracking his entire body. It hurt even more than his usual medicinal baths.

He truly could not endure hardship at all. Neither his body nor mind belonged to this world, and he lacked that unbreakable will. He was merely an ordinary person from an ordinary world.

Besides.

Unlike a certain Third, who had crossed into another world as a midway soul, devoured the original owner's soul, and seized the body to be reborn.

Shi Yi had possessed his own consciousness while still in his mother's womb, and he had grown up this way from the very beginning.

If there was anything different, it was that Shi Hao's Aunt, now Shi Yi's biological mother, had created a body capable of housing his soul.

So long as Shi Yi did not reveal it himself, even if the River of Time flowed backward, no one could find evidence that he was a transmigrator. He was a native-born person of this world.

Only.

When he turned six, not long ago, something suddenly appeared in Shi Yi's mind. Or rather, it was like fragments of memories sealed deep within his soul had been unlocked.

Those fragments were all memories from his previous life. After a nuclear bomb struck him in the head, they had followed his soul across endless space and time to this familiar yet unfamiliar world.

To put it plainly.

He was Shi Yi, and Shi Yi was him.

Body and soul alike were his own.

"It hurts... it hurts so much..."

The chaotic thoughts drifting through Shi Yi's mind only briefly suppressed the agony coursing through his body.

Very soon.

He had no time to think about such irrelevant matters. The lingering resentment within the Ferocious Beast's true blood took on the forms it had possessed in life and began invading his sea of soul.

Within the azure sea of soul, Shi Yi sat cross-legged at its center with his eyes closed. Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts poised to strike surrounded him, seeking to tear his soul apart.

Their auras were savage and violent, their gazes fierce and cruel.

These Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts formed from resentment had condensed the most intense hatred from before their deaths. Absorbing their Ferocious Beast true blood was not something one could accomplish without some skill.

Meanwhile.

Inside a quiet, elegant room in Martial King Manor, several white-haired elders sat together.

"Old Thirteenth, do you think Yi'er can withstand the resentment within the Ferocious Beast true blood?"

"Of course he can. Yi'er is the Reincarnation of an Ancient Sage and possesses the legendary Double Pupils. Could the resentment in Ferocious Beast true blood possibly do anything to Yi'er, who possesses Double Pupils?"

"Old Thirteenth, I must warn you. You used descendants for Hao'er, but for Yi'er, you used pure blood. I need not explain the enormous gap between Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts and descendant beasts. I assume you understand it well enough. Descendants are mongrels, utterly unqualified to compare with pure blood. In other words, what Yi'er must face is the resentment from Ferocious Beast true blood, resentment born from the true blood within Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts."

"So what if they are Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts? Can they compare to a Double Pupil User?"

"This isn't a question of whether he can defeat them. Yi'er is still young. He is only six years old. Are you not going to consider whether he can endure a True Blood Baptism using Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beast true blood? And you should understand that this true blood from Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts is all the remaining true blood in Martial King Manor. Are you not leaving even a single jar for Hao'er?"

"Hao'er's talent is quite ordinary. How can he compare with Yi'er? Yi'er is Martial King Manor's hope for the future. Naturally, all resources must be poured into him."

Just as the Shi Clan elders argued without end, another elder with a head of white hair appeared.

This elder was the Martial King of Martial King Manor, as well as one of the few Venerable Realm powerhouses.

He belonged to the same generation as the current Stone Emperor and had once been a powerful contender for the position of Stone Country Human Emperor. Though he ultimately lost, his bravery was known throughout the world. Thus, he had been granted the title of Martial King, sharing a nation's resources with the Stone Emperor as well as the power of faith from the people of Stone Kingdom.

"It's fine. If anything goes wrong, I will intervene. Yi'er is Martial King Manor's hope. This old man will not stand by and watch anything happen to him." The Martial King stroked the white beard beneath his chin.

"Since Old Eighth has spoken, I have no further objections." A white-haired Shi Clan elder nodded in satisfaction. This was precisely what he had been waiting for Old Eighth to say.

His surname was Shi, and he ranked ninth in Martial King Manor. Although he had been speaking up for Shi Hao, he was more worried that Shi Yi would be unable to withstand the immense resentment contained in the true blood of Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts.

It was worth mentioning.

This ninth ranking did not mean his strength ranked ninth in Martial King Manor. It referred to his seniority. Seniority and strength did not necessarily correlate.

Among their older generation in Martial King Manor of Stone Kingdom, there had originally been fifteen brothers. Although they were not born of the same mother, all fifteen shared one father.

There had been fifteen brothers in total, but unfortunately, only Old Eighth, Old Ninth, Old Eleventh, Old Thirteenth, and the youngest, Old Fifteenth, remained alive.

The others had either died young while growing up.

Or had carelessly perished in the jaws of Ferocious Beasts.

Now that they were all white-haired and nearing the end of their lifespans, what concerned them most was naturally Martial King Manor's future inheritance. Shi Yi was the one in whom they placed their hopes.

"It's been three years. Old Fifteenth has been gone for so long. Where exactly did he go?" Old Thirteenth suddenly asked.

The Old Fifteenth he referred to was Shi Hao's paternal grandfather, Shi Zhongtian, also known as the Great Demon God. In terms of strength, he was even more powerful than Old Eighth, the Martial King of Martial King Manor.

"Old Fifteenth is stubborn and refuses to admit defeat. After learning that Yi'er possessed Double Pupils while his own grandson Shi Hao did not, he insisted on entering the bloody Battlefield of Hundred Clans alone. He wanted to seek an opportunity for his grandson Shi Hao by hunting a Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beast cub and taking its true blood to baptize Hao'er," Old Ninth explained.

"You lot are something else. Hao'er is our descendant too. If you hadn't divided all the Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beast true blood among Yi'er, would Old Fifteenth have needed to take such a risk?" Old Eleventh snorted coldly.

Unlike Old Eighth, Old Ninth, and Old Thirteenth, who all favored Shi Yi, Old Eleventh had the closest relationship with Old Fifteenth and was more inclined toward Old Fifteenth's grandson, Shi Hao.

"I made that decision. Old Eleventh, if you wish to blame someone, blame me." Old Eighth, the Martial King of Martial King Manor, spoke calmly.

"Blaming you now is useless. Old Fifteenth has already left. I only hope he returns safely. Even without Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beast true blood for Hao'er, we can think of other methods." Old Eleventh curled his lips unhappily.

"There's no need to worry too much. Shi Ziling and his wife have already gone to look for Old Fifteenth. Once they find him, we can discuss it with the Stone Emperor and borrow a portion of Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beast true blood from him to baptize Hao'er."

Old Ninth began playing peacemaker. Once Shi Yi's True Blood Baptism was complete, they old fossils could personally step in and help Old Fifteenth's grandson once, for Old Fifteenth's sake.

Of course.

The prerequisite was that he absolutely could not come into conflict with Shi Yi.

After all, the Double Pupil User was Martial King Manor's future.

"Old Eleventh, you should calm your mindset a little. Ziling and Ziteng are cousins, and Hao'er even calls Yi'er Brother. We are all family," Old Thirteenth also spoke to persuade him.

As he said.

Shi Ziling and his wife had a very good relationship with Shi Ziteng and his wife. Otherwise, Shi Ziling and his wife would not have felt at ease leaving three-year-old Shi Hao in Shi Ziteng and his wife's care.