Good news: I'd transmigrated and arrived on the Douluo Continent.
Bad news: I'd transmigrated into the Peerless Tang Sect era.
In this era where "you couldn't become a god unless your surname was Tang," a "Tang Buddha" kept a watchful eye on all living things from above, while Evil Soul Masters ran rampant below, slaughtering the innocent.
Su Chen felt rather helpless.
This was his seventh year since transmigrating to the Douluo Continent.
In his previous life, he'd been an extreme rock climber.
While free-soloing El Capitan, he'd been caught in a sudden downpour halfway up. His foot slipped, and when he opened his eyes again, he'd arrived in this world as an orphan.
Determined to change his fate, he'd worked like a beast for seven years, finally saving enough Gold Soul Coins for the awakening ceremony.
The result was a harsh blow from reality—
He had a Martial Soul, but no Soul Power!
Su Chen felt as if the sky had fallen.
Without Soul Power, he had no opportunities. In this world where strength reigned supreme, he was destined to be nothing more than a lowly ant.
Just as Su Chen was losing hope and even wondering whether he should find a block of tofu to start over, an emotionless mechanical voice suddenly exploded in his mind.
[Conditions met. Douluo Simulator activated successfully.] [Would the host like to begin the first simulation? Remaining attempts: 2]
Immediately afterward, a translucent, pale-blue panel popped up before him.
Su Chen stood frozen, then burst into joy, nearly jumping on the spot.
There was still hope! The golden finger that was seven years late had finally arrived!
Suppressing his excitement, Su Chen quickly examined it.
Its functions were simple and straightforward: begin a simulation, experience a different life, and receive a reward at the end. One simulation attempt would automatically refresh each year.
Including the attempt he'd saved before awakening his Martial Soul, he now had two.
Su Chen didn't hesitate any longer. He immediately chose to begin his first simulation.
He was in an unremarkable little village outside Heaven Dou City in the Heaven Dou Empire. Everyone around him was an ordinary person, so no one would notice anything unusual about him.
[Ding! One simulation attempt consumed. Life Simulator starting!] [Randomly refreshing current talent pool...] [Congratulations! You have obtained the gold talent: Extraterrestrial Demon.]
"..."
Su Chen's mouth twitched.
Extraterrestrial Demon?
Thinking about it carefully, he was a transmigrator who didn't belong to this world. Calling him a demon didn't seem entirely wrong.
[Talent system linked. Simulation begins.] [Age 0: You were born. Due to the characteristics of the "Extraterrestrial Demon" talent, you were a Heavenly Fiend Lone Star and began life as an abandoned infant.]
Well, well, well.
As expected of a demon—starting out as an orphan. That was the textbook protagonist setup!
Su Chen silently gave a thumbs-up, offering his tearful approval.
[It was the dead of winter, and frost bit into you. You instinctively opened your eyes. Looking at the unfamiliar snow around you, you felt your body gradually stiffen.]
"If nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is about to happen..."
Su Chen grumbled inwardly. "Don't tell me this first simulation ends with me freezing to death?"
[Just as you were about to lose consciousness, a pair of warm little hands lifted you out of the snow.] [It was a little girl of about six or seven, with delicate, doll-like features and a gentle, captivating air about her.] [Seeing you lying all alone in the snow, she couldn't bear to leave you there. She held you close to keep you warm and carried you back to her home.]
This opening...
Su Chen rubbed his chin. The direction this story was taking felt oddly familiar.
[Only later did you learn that this was Zhang Mansion in the Heaven Dou Empire. The girl who had rescued you and brought you home was called—Zhang Lexuan.]
What?!
Su Chen's pupils trembled.
Zhang Lexuan! The future first senior sister of Shrek Inner Court!
He'd struck it rich in his very first simulation and latched onto a powerful backer!
Judging by the timeline, the Zhang family clearly hadn't yet suffered that massacre.
[Zhang Lexuan liked you very much. Aside from cultivating, her favorite thing to do was keep you by her side.] [It was obvious that she had already come to love you as her own little brother. Her parents were pleased as well, treating you as their own.] [Time flew by, and before long, you were three years old.] [Your elder sister, Zhang Lexuan, was ten that year. She was extraordinarily gifted and had already advanced to become a Soul Elder.]
"A Soul Elder at ten... Looks like that disaster is coming."
Su Chen's expression turned grave. The original story had barely mentioned the massacre of the Zhang family, but it had been the greatest pain of Zhang Lexuan's life.
[But the good times didn't last. Disaster struck.] [One day, Zhang Lexuan took you out to play. It was because of you that the two of you escaped unharmed.] [When you returned to Zhang Mansion, all you saw was devastation. Blood ran everywhere, and not a single member of the family had survived.] [The sudden blow nearly shattered young Zhang Lexuan. Yet even in her immense grief, the first thing she did was cover your eyes, trembling as she tried to reassure you that there was nothing to fear.] [You said nothing, clutching her clothes tightly. You knew that she was more desperate than anyone else at that moment.] [The murder of her family would never go unavenged!] [Just then, an old man passing by noticed the two of you.] [He was surprised that Zhang Lexuan had become a Soul Elder at such a young age, and a glint flashed in his eyes.] [The old man introduced himself as Mu En, the master of Sea God Pavilion at Shrek Academy.] [Mu En promised that if Zhang Lexuan was willing to join Shrek Academy and swear loyalty, he would avenge the Zhang family himself.] [You had no other choice but to agree.] [Mu En acted with swift decisiveness. In just half a day, he had identified the murderers and killed every last one in front of you.]
Su Chen stared at the words, his gaze turning cold.
Mu En's timing was a little too convenient...
[Soon, you followed Mu En back to Shrek Academy.] [Zhang Lexuan was hailed as Shrek's greatest genius in three thousand years. Thanks to his affection for her, you also lived quite comfortably at the academy.] [Another three years passed in the blink of an eye. You were six.] [It was your birthday, and also the day of your Martial Soul Awakening. No matter how busy she was with cultivation, Zhang Lexuan had put aside all her duties to stay by your side.] [Although she had found you, in her heart you were the only family she had left in the world—the light that gave her a reason to keep living.] [Under the expectant gazes of the elders, you awakened your Martial Soul.] [Innate Full Soul Power!] [Your Martial Soul was a sword. Its blade was translucent gray, and faint gray mist curled around it. It radiated a deathly stillness that made the heart tremble.] [You named it—the Pluto Sword.] [Zhang Lexuan wept with joy. She was happy that you now had the power to protect yourself, and even happier that you were an unparalleled genius.] [Of course, she knew that even if you had awakened a Trash Martial Soul, she would still protect you with her life for the rest of hers.]
"...My eyes are leaking."
Su Chen rubbed the corners of his eyes as a warm current welled up inside him.
But what shocked him even more was his Martial Soul.
The Pluto Sword.
That name, those attributes...
It was clearly aiming for godhood.
Before you continue