"Cold winds blow through Fallen Valley; the Spring Autumn Cicada sings, and the young boy returns..."
"Buddha Tang... I, Zhao Tao, have returned!"
Douluo Continent, Sun Moon Federation, Aolai City, Qidian Orphanage.
A slightly boyish-looking child suddenly opened his eyes, a glimmer of delight flashing in them.
Unlike the other children in the orphanage,
Zhao Tao wasn't a native. He was a Transmigrator from Blue Star.
After an unexpected encounter with a truck, he had transmigrated to Douluo Continent in the Legend of the Dragon King Era.
However, that wasn't even his biggest secret!
Because...
At that moment, Zhao Tao wasn't merely a Transmigrator—he was a Transmigrator who had returned from the River of Time!
This was no coincidence.
It all came from his Martial Soul—the Spring Autumn Cicada!
An extraordinary being capable of traversing the River of Time, reversing time, and allowing people to travel upstream through the years.
The Zhao Tao of today
had indeed returned through the Spring Autumn Cicada, reborn with the memories and legacy of his future self!
Before his rebirth,
though he had relied on the Spring Autumn Cicada's power and his knowledge of history as a Transmigrator,
years before the Abyss's final invasion, Zhao Tao had already successfully broken through to the Quasi-god realm and become the Great Love Douluo.
He had also possessed Spiritual Power at the Divine Origin Realm, as well as strength surpassing Yun Ming's.
Relying on his overwhelming power, he had planned for every eventuality, established the Great Love Alliance, and made thorough preparations.
But Zhao Tao was only a Transmigrator, not an all-knowing and all-powerful god.
Faced with the Abyssal Sage King, Tang Hao, Tang San's Divine Sense, and all the other True God-level enemies,
he had ultimately been outmaneuvered by one move. He had failed to thwart Tang San's Ten Thousand Year Plan and had been forced to leave the stage in defeat!
Fortunately, Zhao Tao had long anticipated the worst.
He had prepared plenty of contingencies and trump cards.
Confronted with Divine King Tang's crushing reckoning—
Zhao Tao had resolutely activated the Spring Autumn Cicada and reversed time!
Although the Spring Autumn Cicada's reversal of time wasn't guaranteed to succeed,
Zhao Tao had been quite lucky.
Not only had he successfully been reborn,
he had also been fortunate enough to return to the age of six!
That was the very age at which, during his first life, he had broken through the mystery of the womb and awakened his memories from before transmigrating!
"It's just a pity that the Spring Autumn Cicada's rebirth came at a cost..."
With a long sigh, Zhao Tao summoned his Spring Autumn Cicada Martial Soul once more with a thought.
Before his rebirth, his Spring Autumn Cicada Martial Soul had been like an exquisite work of art, crafted by a master from precious materials and brimming with life.
But now, the Spring Autumn Cicada before Zhao Tao exuded a heavy aura of death. Its body looked dull and withered, while its wings had turned yellow and ragged like fallen leaves, as if they might crumble away at any moment.
This was the sacrifice the Spring Autumn Cicada had made to carry Zhao Tao through the River of Time and bring him back to life—a grievous blow to its very source, and the loss of its power!
As a top-tier Martial Soul,
the Spring Autumn Cicada had given Zhao Tao Innate Full Soul Power when he awakened his Martial Soul in his first life.
But now,
Zhao Tao could sense that the damage to his Spring Autumn Cicada Martial Soul's source had temporarily lowered his Innate Soul Power as well.
"Though my Innate Soul Power has temporarily been damaged..."
"I have the memories of my previous life, and the legacy I prepared especially for this. I have the advantage!"
"Besides, the damage to the Spring Autumn Cicada's source isn't irreversible. It just needs time to recover."
Looking at the lifeless, dispirited Spring Autumn Cicada, Zhao Tao felt a pang of sorrow and drew it back into his body.
Although its source of power had been almost completely depleted by his rebirth,
the Spring Autumn Cicada could continuously absorb the Power of Time from the River of Time to restore its vitality.
However, this recovery wouldn't happen overnight.
If the Spring Autumn Cicada relied solely on its own recovery, it would take a total of nine years to return to its peak!
During those nine years, Zhao Tao's Innate Soul Power would also rise by one level each year, until he regained his peak state of Innate Full Soul Power.
At the same time, finding heavenly treasures that contained the Power of Time, such as Time Sand, could also speed up the Spring Autumn Cicada's recovery.
They could even be refined by the Spring Autumn Cicada to directly increase Zhao Tao's Soul Power and cultivation.
Unfortunately, heavenly treasures containing the Power of Time were extremely rare and expensive.
Even Titled Douluo powerhouses would struggle to obtain them.
Of course, Zhao Tao's previous contingencies could come in handy here!
After all, although he couldn't bring any cultivation or possessions with him when he was reborn,
before his rebirth, Zhao Tao had used the Spring Autumn Cicada's perception to locate many unmined deposits of Time Sand.
Once his cultivation reached a certain level, he could visit those places and collect the Time Sand, speeding up the Spring Autumn Cicada's recovery!
"The Spring Autumn Cicada's recovery can only be taken step by step."
"For now, the most important thing is to get to the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena—or rather, Na'er—before she has just entered the human world!"
"In this life, I'll take back everything I've lost with my own hands!"
"Buddha Tang, just you wait... I'm going to turn the tables!"
Sorting through his thoughts, Zhao Tao quickly grasped the main task at hand.
Just as in his first life, he had to get to Na'er before Tang Wulin, save her, and "kidnap" her back home.
Everything was ready now. He just had to wait for Na'er to enter the human world!
"Children, it's time to get up."
"Today is the day your lives change."
"You'll be going to Red Mountain Academy to awaken your Martial Souls."
"If you have Innate Soul Power, you'll have the potential to become Soul Masters—"
"Then the Sun Moon Federation will arrange for a Soul Master to adopt you, and you won't have to stay at the orphanage anymore!"
Just then, a loud woman's voice rang through the orphanage room.
It was Zhang Mei, the director of Qidian Orphanage.
Hearing Zhang Mei's voice, the children at Qidian Orphanage got up one after another and began to dress and wash.
After eating a breakfast of just one bowl of thin porridge, Zhao Tao and several other children who had just turned six followed Zhang Mei to Red Mountain Academy.
"Children, when we get to Red Mountain Academy, a Spirit Transmitter will help you awaken your Martial Souls."
"When that happens, be sure to behave and follow the Spirit Transmitter's instructions. Do as you're told."
With Zhang Mei's reminders all along the way, Zhao Tao and the others entered Red Mountain Academy and arrived at a round Awakening Room, where they began to wait patiently.
"Before my rebirth, when I awakened my Martial Soul, the Spring Autumn Cicada was at its peak, and my Innate Soul Power reached level ten—Innate Full Soul Power."
"Now that the Spring Autumn Cicada's source has been damaged and my Innate Soul Power has fallen, the butterfly effect could be much greater than I imagined."
"Besides, Innate Soul Power also determines talent!"
"Although my Innate Soul Power can recover as the Spring Autumn Cicada's source does, the impact on these first few years will be very real."
"Still, the contingencies I prepared in advance should be enough to make up for most of the difference!"
As he waited for the Soul Power test, Zhao Tao fell into thought once more, considering his plans for the future.
"Zhao Tao!"
Just then, a teacher from Red Mountain Academy strode out of the Awakening Room and called Zhao Tao's name aloud.
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