Yes, It Was Just This Miserable

"You'd better explain yourself. Who's your niece? Get away from me!"

In a garden bursting with flowers, a little girl of about three or four shoved at the ball in front of her with a look of utter disgust.

The ball did not mind in the slightest and persistently scooted closer, trying to snuggle against her.

Looking at the wriggling ball in her hands, the little girl sighed and asked it with confusion in her eyes, "Are you really the Heavenly Dao of this world?"

"Of course!" The ball's voice was ethereal yet childish. Staring at the girl's skeptical gaze, it explained, "I'm only this small because I'm injured. Besides, you felt it too, didn't you?"

The little girl sighed again and slowly nodded.

The instant the little ball had pounced on her, she had sensed the origin power unique to the Heavenly Dao.

"Then why were you injured, and why did you ask me to help you?" The little girl kneaded the ball, and after feeling how soft it was, her eyes curved pleasantly.

She would hear it out first. It probably would not be too difficult. She had been in this world for over three years before the "task" finally came knocking; it should be easy enough to handle.

"Um, I just fought an outsider Heavenly Dao. I beat it, but I was injured too..." The ball froze for two seconds at the question before mumbling quietly.

The little girl burst into laughter. Then, seeing the ball in her hand gradually turn red, she laughed even harder.

"So you came to me because you want me to help you recover your strength? I'm not good at repairing the Heavenly Dao's origin." The little girl's voice was full of laughter as she poked the crimson little ball.

"You can do it!" Forgetting its embarrassment, the little ball excitedly bounced up. "The Grand Dao helped me win this time. They told me to come find you. Good niece, please help your little uncle. Please help me..."

The little ball bounced all around her, deliberately drawing out its voice in a sticky, whiny plea.

Watching the shameless little ball throw a tantrum, the girl covered her face. She knew it—there was no way she could have transmigrated for no reason. So this was her father's doing!

The little girl was not from this world. Her previous life had been in a high-martial world, while the life before that—her first life—had been in a technological cultivation world.

Thus, when spiritual energy had revived in her first life, Tang Ling had learned her identity—the Daughter of the Grand Dao.

She was the "tool" who helped the Grand Dao inspect and repair unhealthy Heavenly Daos.

"Rustle..." The wind swept up fallen rose petals and scattered them across Tang Ling's hair.

"All right, all right, I know You love me. I was only calling You that." Tang Ling plucked off a petal, smiling as she raised her arms in an embracing gesture.

"Whoosh..." A warm breeze wrapped her in an embrace.

Tang Ling smiled and leaned back slightly.

She had already lived through two small worlds. Although helping the Heavenly Dao according to the Grand Dao's guidance was quite tedious, her father was a good father, and he had ensured she lived well in every life.

For example, in this life, she had been born a kingdom's Princess. Though her parents had died young, they had left behind abundant wealth. Though she was an orphan, her parents had died for their country, and she had never been bullied.

Therefore, Tang Ling was more than willing to shoulder her responsibility.

"Phew!" The little ball's sigh came from the bushes, after which it cautiously poked itself out.

"You're that afraid?" Tang Ling picked it up and smiled as she poked it.

"I got scolded before..." The little ball's voice still carried lingering fear. "Though it was my own fault."

"Then it really was your fault. They're very kind. I've never even seen Them scold anyone." Tang Ling continued poking it.

She then placed it on the round table beside her, took out a pen and notebook from her spatial storage, and spoke with a serious expression. "Although I'm not skilled at repairing origin power, since They told you to come find me, that means I can help you. Now, tell me what happened."

The little ball quickly wobbled twice and began its account. "Because this world established the God Realm, I rarely interfere and have been in seclusion all this time.

"A few days ago, the Grand Dao suddenly descended and woke me. I hurriedly emerged from seclusion, only to discover an outsider Heavenly Dao wreaking havoc in my small world.

"Since some things could not be corrected in time, I defeated the outsider Heavenly Dao first. I was injured as well. The Grand Dao then told me to seek you out."

"What do you need me to do?" Tang Ling briefly recorded its words before asking.

The little ball bounced and repeated the Grand Dao's words. "The Grand Dao said this world has undergone a restart. Although the outsider Heavenly Dao was defeated, its origin power has already been lost. The only way to advance further is by correcting its course of operation and evolving."

"How do we correct it?" Tang Ling set down her pen. A chill suddenly ran through her, and she instantly looked at the little ball, waiting for its answer.

No way. I can't possibly be this miserable, can I?

When the little ball said, "I don't know," Tang Ling's heart died completely.

Previously, the Grand Dao had always guided her while the Heavenly Dao assisted her. But this time, the Heavenly Dao had come directly to her. She knew something was wrong! There really was a problem!

"You don't know how I'm supposed to help you?" Tang Ling was on the verge of losing it.

"The Grand Dao said that once I tell you what the outsider Heavenly Dao did, you'll know what to do." The little ball wobbled guiltily and mumbled in a tiny voice.

Tang Ling took a deep breath and silently comforted herself. Don't get angry, don't get angry. A restart affects the Heavenly Dao's operational course. It's just simple-minded. Don't hold it against it.

She then turned to the next page of her notebook and heavily poked the ball. "Please begin your account."

Sensing a hint of danger, the little ball rubbed against her finger and began speaking with resentment in its voice. "That outsider Heavenly Dao was too vile!

"My small world is the Soul Master World. Everyone awakens a Martial Soul at birth, then captures Soul Beasts, absorbs Spirit Rings, and increases their Soul Power. Soul Beasts feed on lower-ranked Soul Beasts, humans, and the essence of the sun and moon. They cultivate according to their inheritances and increase their Soul Power.

"But it advocated that Soul Beasts and humans were equal. It even wanted them to interbreed, eventually turning them into one big family.

"But Soul Beasts are different from humans. Even if they become human, they still aren't human!"

"And, and they have reproductive isolation! They can't interbreed!" By the final sentence, the little ball's voice was furious, but its entire body had turned pink with embarrassment.

"So it wanted humans and demons to live together, then produce a bunch of mixed-blood offspring?" Tang Ling's mouth twitched after hearing this.

What kind of terrible idea was that? Humans hunted Soul Beasts, and Soul Beasts ate humans, yet it wanted mortal enemies to coexist peacefully?

Even in the orderly great world of her first life, humans and demons had been governed separately and forbidden from marrying each other.

"Yes!" The little ball bounced excitedly.

Tang Ling pressed it down and pondered for a moment. "The world restarted, so it didn't succeed. And now we need to correct its course, which means its Son of the Heavenly Dao has already been born?"

"Yes." The little ball instantly wilted.

"Didn't you say there was reproductive isolation?" Tang Ling stared intensely at the little ball.

To reverse the world's operation, the Son of the Heavenly Dao was extremely important.

The outsider Heavenly Dao wanted humans and beasts to become one family, so the first human-beast hybrid to be born would become the Son of the Heavenly Dao. If the Son of the Heavenly Dao then had a child with a Soul Beast, the next generation's Son of the Heavenly Dao would also be a human-beast hybrid.

The world's course would then be set.

Therefore, with reproductive isolation in place, the birth of the first-generation Son of the Heavenly Dao would require outside interference.

Under her increasingly intense gaze, the little ball scooted backward and explained, "It brought in a soul from another world."

"As expected!" Tang Ling nodded. That kind of external force was the most reliable.

Then she frowned in confusion. "No, if it was a human-demon hybrid from another world, it couldn't have failed."

There were three thousand Great Daos, and plenty of bizarre worlds existed among them.

Bringing in someone from a world where humans and demons lived harmoniously to drive this world's course would most likely have succeeded. But it had failed, so there could only be one answer.

"It didn't bring in a human, did it?" Tang Ling widened her eyes and looked at the little ball.