"Uncle Li, I'm truly sorry about what happened today." Huo Yun'er held her son, Huo Yuhao, close. Her pretty face was pale, and her eyes were full of worry.
"Awakening a Martial Soul is exhausting. This isn't your fault." Dai Li waved a hand, then looked at Huo Yuhao, who was hiding behind his mother. After a long silence, he said, "What a pity. Yuhao didn't awaken the White Tiger Martial Soul. If only he had..."
"No matter what Martial Soul Yuhao awakened—whether it's the White Tiger or his eyes—he's still our son." Huo Yun'er gently stroked Huo Yuhao's short black hair, her eyes filled with tenderness.
"Body Martial Souls rank above Beast Martial Souls and Tool Martial Souls, but they're incredibly rare. Yuhao's lucky to have one, though it's a pity his Innate Soul Power is only level one."
Dai Li sat up and declined Huo Yun'er's help. Then he walked over to Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, look into my eyes."
"..."
Huo Yuhao said nothing. He opened his dark, clear eyes and met Dai Li's gaze.
"That's strange." Dai Li furrowed his brow slightly.
"Uncle Li, did something go wrong when Yuhao awakened his Martial Soul?" Huo Yun'er asked, her face full of worry.
Dai Li didn't answer. After meeting Huo Yuhao's gaze, he stood and shook his head slightly.
"I remember when Yuhao first awakened his Martial Soul. His Eye Martial Soul was so profound, and my movements became much slower, too. There's definitely something special about Yuhao's Eye Martial Soul."
Dai Li turned to Huo Yun'er and smiled. "Don't worry. Yuhao is fine. It's just that an awakened Body Martial Soul is usually connected to an important part of the body, and the eyes are among the most important Body Martial Souls."
"Though I'm a Soul Emperor, my knowledge is limited. If Yuhao ever meets someone from the Body Sect, I'm sure they'll figure out the uses of his Eye Martial Soul. They might even be able to help him understand why he still hasn't developed his intelligence."
Huo Yun'er bowed slightly, then left with Huo Yuhao.
Eye Martial Soul, Innate Soul Power: Level One.
After learning the truth, the Duchess breathed a sigh of relief and laughed smugly.
Meanwhile, Huo Yun'er's health continued to decline. As time passed, the exhaustion of mind and body and the hardship of her daily labor wore her down.
When Huo Yuhao was twelve, Huo Yun'er's life came to an end. The only thing she couldn't bear to leave behind was her Yuhao.
"M-Mom..."
Huo Yun'er heard Huo Yuhao's voice and opened her eyes wide, her face alight with joy. His words struck her like a heavy blow, and then she breathed her last.
Tears streamed from Huo Yuhao's eyes, dripping onto the ground and kicking up dust.
"Ahhh!" Huo Yuhao clutched his temples, his eyes wide. The sound of a ticking second hand rang in his ears.
Inside the house, no more than thirty square meters in size, time seemed to stop. Tears and dust mingled; tiny gray particles entered the teardrops, and everything became crystal clear, every detail exposed.
After a long while, when everything returned to normal, Huo Yuhao was already sobbing uncontrollably.
"Mom, thank you for taking care of me and loving me for twelve years." Huo Yuhao fell to his knees in front of Huo Yun'er's bed and knocked his head against the floor three times. Blood ran from his forehead, but he remained kneeling.
Huo Yuhao had originally been a Transmigrator, and his real name had been Huo Hao.
On his way home in the rain, a large truck hit him. The system chose his soul, and he ultimately traveled through time to the Douluo Continent.
Unlike the unbelievably fortunate start of Douluo One, Huo Hao had read the entire story of Douluo Two back when he was in school.
It could be summed up in five words: Tang San's dog-training chronicle.
Huo Hao remembered clearly that just as he followed the system to the Douluo Continent, a dark red beam of light nearly pierced his soul. At the critical moment, the system saved him, then turned into a White Membrane that enveloped the entire planet.
"From now on, the Douluo Continent is yours to rule. Not even the lofty God Kings can stop you."
That was the last message the system left before sending Huo Yuhao's soul into the Duke's Mansion.
"From now on, Huo Hao is dead. My name is Huo Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao lifted his mother's lifeless body, sadness filling his eyes. Holding the White Tiger Dagger, he left the little house where he had lived for twelve years and went to a place surrounded by trees, filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers.
Huo Yuhao dug a grave with the dagger and buried his mother. Then he found a wooden board and carved on it: "Tomb of Huo Yun'er."
"Mom, no words can express how grateful I am for everything you did to raise me. I'm leaving now, leaving the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. This is a place of sorrow. The White Tiger Duke's First Madam, the beating Dai Huabin ordered his servants to give me two years ago, and White Tiger Duke Dai Hao—I'll settle every last score with them."
"This Yuhao isn't the Yuhao he used to be. Douluo Continent, here I come!"
Huo Yuhao rose to his feet and looked toward the nearby White Tiger Duke's Mansion. A flash of murderous intent passed through his eyes.
After burying his mother, Huo Yuhao returned to the little house where he'd lived for twelve years. An unexpected visitor made him furrow his brow.
"Child, you're leaving, aren't you?"
The visitor was none other than Butler Dai Li. Compared to six years ago, Dai Li was now white-haired and visibly aged.
"Uncle Li, I'm grateful for the twelve years you spent caring for my mother and me. Now that my mother is gone, I won't stay in this sorrowful place, the Duke's Mansion." Huo Yuhao's gaze burned as he spoke, each word deliberate.
"I'm saddened by your mother's passing, too."
Dai Li nodded and met Huo Yuhao's gaze. "A good man should aspire to travel far and wide. The Duke's Mansion is dangerous for you. Leave quickly, before the First Madam finds out you've regained your intelligence."
"Here are twenty Gold Soul Coins. Make them last."
Huo Yuhao didn't refuse. He accepted them calmly, packed some clothes and the money his mother had saved over the years—a total of eight Silver Soul Coins and five Copper Soul Coins—and left with his pack after bidding Dai Li farewell.
Watching Huo Yuhao walk away, Dai Li murmured to himself, "Child, being an ordinary person isn't so bad."
The White Tiger Duke's Mansion stood fifty miles northwest of Star Luo City and covered an area of three thousand mu.
Ten thousand years ago, there had been Heaven Dou and the Star Luo Empire. Now Heaven Dou had split into Heaven Soul and Dou Ling, and the Star Luo Imperial Family had changed hands.
The White Tiger Duke's ancestors had been members of the Star Luo Imperial Family.
At the border between the Three Great Empires lay a Soul Beast Forest. Once Soul Masters reached a bottleneck in their cultivation, they would enter the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain the corresponding Soul Rings.
Huo Yuhao left home alone and headed for the Star Dou Great Forest. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was waiting for him there.
Huo Yuhao had no reason to worry about Tang Shenwang's schemes. When his mother passed away and his intelligence returned, the system's voice had told him the truth.
The moment Tang San noticed the Child of Destiny's birth and began watching him, the system had broken through time and space, allowing Huo Hao to be reborn in Huo Yun'er's womb. The system had then become a White Membrane, protecting the Douluo Continent and ensuring that the lofty Tang Shenwang could never interfere with the mortal world again.
Huo Yuhao's greatest advantage was that he would never be controlled again. That was why the system had left him to fend for himself. Without Tang San interfering, Huo Yuhao would surely surpass him.
"The sky is vast enough for birds to fly, and the sea is wide enough for fish to leap."
"Sky Dream Ice Silkworm! I'm coming!"
Huo Yuhao sprinted toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
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