The colossal beast towered between heaven and earth, so vast that its size could not be described. Only its outline was visible: pitch-black all over, like a gigantic turtle entwined by a massive serpent, emanating a peculiar Dao charm.
Gu Han had never seen such a creature before, yet he somehow knew its identity. It was one of the Four Spirits of heaven and earth, known as the Black Tortoise, also called the Turtle Snake. The serpent represented Greater Yin among the Four Symbols and winter among the four seasons.
Turtles lived long and could commune with yin and yang, while snakes were nimble and drew in wealth.
The Black Tortoise could peer into heaven's secrets and divine fortune and misfortune.
"Hiss!"
Suddenly, an immense flood of memories surfaced.
Gu Han finally remembered that he came from a place called Blue Star and had been reborn in the Dou Qi Continent.
Before his rebirth, he had been a rural orphan raised on the charity of many families. After growing up, he donned a yellow uniform and served the people, spending his days dreaming of sudden wealth. He would scour street stalls for overlooked "antiques," and his only hobby during breaks was reading webnovels and watching Chinese animation on his phone.
His final memory was of watching the Battle Through the Heavens animation. The production had disgusted him, especially after he saw the Queen's new character model. It was so ugly that he lightly slapped the table—only to accidentally strike an "antique" turtle shell and lose consciousness.
"Zhuangzi Dreaming of a Butterfly, Butterfly Dreaming of Zhuangzi?"
After fifteen years, the sealed memories had awakened, leaving Gu Han somewhat dazed.
In this life, he was an orphan in a town directly administered by the Misty Cloud Sect, located at the foot of Misty Cloud Mountain within the Jia Ma Empire on the Northwest Continent of the Dou Qi Continent.
At the age of six, a Steward of the Misty Cloud Sect had discovered his excellent talent and brought him to Misty Cloud Mountain as a Probationary Disciple to begin cultivating Dou Qi. At fourteen, he had reached the Ninth Stage Dou Qi. With three months remaining until he turned fifteen, he could already attempt a breakthrough to Dou Zhe.
The Misty Cloud Sect rated its disciples much like Jia Nan Academy. Eighth Stage Dou Qi was F-Rank, Ninth Stage Dou Qi had E-Rank potential, and a One-star Dou Practitioner was D-Rank, continuing upward. The highest rank was an S-Rank Five-star Dou Practitioner, though the age limit was eighteen rather than twenty.
The difference in age limits might have had something to do with the differing nature of a sect and an academy. One was a private enterprise with training classes, while the other was a privately run university.
Those who met the standards in the training classes had to work for the private enterprise. Investments required returns, so the rules were naturally stricter.
"Whether I am the butterfly or Zhuangzi, I am Gu Han. Both Gu Hans are me."
"I never expected to be reborn in the Great Thousand World, in the Dou Qi Continent."
"Was it because I was watching the Battle Through the Heavens animation at the time?"
The clarity that came from the depths of his soul gradually calmed Gu Han's thoughts.
With the memories of two lives overlapping, his understanding of the Dou Qi Continent had deepened considerably, and he could not help pondering the road ahead.
As a disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect, he would face a future calamity brought by Xiao Yan, the Child of Fortune.
As the saying went, a gentleman judged deeds, not intentions. The Misty Cloud Sect had nurtured him because he possessed talent, but over the years, it had allowed him to eat and dress well, cultivate without distractions, and live far better than most ordinary people. He had to acknowledge that kindness and repay the favor.
But that did not mean he had to die for the Misty Cloud Sect, nor did it mean he and Xiao Yan had to be enemies.
If Xiao Yan had been Tang San instead, he would have found a way to kill him without a second word.
When facing Xiao Yan, however, there was no need to immediately place him on the opposite side.
"Five years ago, the Sect Leader accepted Nalan Yanran as her disciple. She is fifteen now. The Three Year Agreement has yet to be made, but it should not be far off."
"But even if it is made, Hun Tiandi should be the one worried—not me."
Gu Han knew that the Misty Cloud Sect and Xiao Yan would eventually reach a point of irreconcilable hostility, and the Three Year Agreement was merely the trigger.
The core reason was that Xiao Yan killed Mo Cheng, after which the Great Elder, Yun Leng, felt humiliated and used it as an excuse to make things difficult for him.
After numerous Dou Emperors and Dou Zongs appeared and confronted one another, the matter could have ended there. But Yun Leng could not let it go and went to the Xiao Family to cause trouble.
The Soul Clan took advantage of the chaos to capture Xiao Zhan, causing Xiao Yan to place the blame on the Misty Cloud Sect. That was what led to his three assaults on the Misty Cloud Sect and the life-and-death enmity between both sides.
"I'll take things one step at a time."
"As long as I ensure that the Misty Cloud Sect's legacy is not extinguished, I can consider its kindness in raising and teaching me repaid."
"As for Xiao Yan, I'll reserve judgment until I've met him. I can't let preconceptions and bias cloud my view."
"If his character is truly good, I can become his friend. Once he becomes the Yan Emperor, I can ride his coattails all the way to the Endless Fire Domain."
"If his character is poor, I'll keep a respectful distance and wait for the Realm Passage to open, then go to the Great Thousand World and seize Mu Chen's father's Opportunity."
With that thought, Gu Han prepared to cultivate earnestly.
Everything depended on strength.
Just then, his consciousness was suddenly drawn away, bringing him deep into his soul, where he saw a turtle shell.
"My transmigration and rebirth really were connected to this turtle shell!"
Gu Han's ink-black eyes lit up.
At that moment, a stream of information came to him, allowing him to understand many things.
This turtle shell had manifested from one hundred-millionth of a fragment of the Black Tortoise's shell and was bound to his soul.
As his strength increased, the shell fragment would gradually repair itself. At present, it possessed only one ability: peering into heaven's secrets.
To avoid being sensed by the Sky Ranking, this world's heavenly will, the number of times he could use it to peer into opportunities was limited.
At the Dou Qi stage, he could obtain opportunity information once per day, resetting after midnight.
Upon reaching Dou Zhe, he could obtain opportunities twice; Dou Masters, three times; Da Dou Shi, four times; and so on.
Moreover, as his strength increased, the turtle shell would recover more abilities and divine powers, offering him greater help.
The opportunities he could peer into each day would primarily be those he currently needed most and was capable of obtaining.
If it told him the location of a Dou Emperor Tomb right now, he would not have the strength to enter it.
Once his strength rose, it would no longer reveal useless information.
"Does this count as obtaining the Black Tortoise Inheritance?" Gu Han's chest rose and fell slightly.
Transmigrators really did have cheats. It seemed this life would be easier than he had imagined.
"I'll try it once first."
"Let the information be delivered in the manner used by the intelligence systems in the novels I read in my previous life."
Gu Han eagerly used this one chance to activate his cheat.
[Fair, fair cry the ospreys, on the islet in the river. A graceful lady, a gentleman's fine mate.] [The male does not dwell alone, nor does the female live in solitude. The Black Tortoise, turtle and snake, coil around and support each other.] [Thus are male and female made known; in the end, they seek each other!]
A profoundly mysterious voice rang out.
Immediately afterward, a piece of information entered Gu Han's mind.
[Because you refused to cooperate, Mo Qing failed to take first place in the Preliminary Disciple Tournament. He was extremely enraged and ordered Outer Disciple Mo Feng to teach you a lesson.] [Tomorrow, at the fourth quarter of the Chen Hour, Mo Feng will stop you on your way to the Skill Transmission Hall and teach you a lesson. He will use a special Dou Technique to leave a hidden injury inside your body, causing your first attempt to break through to Dou Zhe to fail and your cultivation to fall to the Eighth Stage Dou Qi.]
After processing the information, a cold glint flashed through Gu Han's eyes.
He was merely an orphan, unlike others who had clans or families backing them.
The reward for first place in the tournament was exceptionally generous to him. Mo Qing had wanted him to yield with nothing more than a few words, so of course he had refused.
As for Mo Qing's retaliation, Gu Han had expected it. But before his memories awakened, he had never imagined that fellow disciples would be so ruthless.
"This information came at just the right time. I need to respond carefully."
Gu Han lowered his head and considered countermeasures for a while before sitting cross-legged and immersing himself in cultivation.
All schemes and plots were paper tigers before absolute strength.
Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, it was late at night, with a bright moon hanging high in the sky and stars glittering overhead.
Gu Han sensed that the Mysterious Turtle could be used again and immediately peered into heaven's secrets.
[In Cloud Stream Valley on the back mountain of Misty Cloud Mountain, after entering and walking one hundred paces, then heading another one hundred paces south, there is a path hidden behind a boulder leading to a small Spirit Gathering Ground. It was discovered by Mo Cheng fifteen years ago. He secretly transplanted a Thousand Year Jade Spirit Fruit Tree there. Five Jade Spirit Fruits will ripen tonight at the first quarter of the Chou Hour and will be picked by Mo Yu at the third quarter of the Mao Hour.]
Before you continue