It's so good to see you

"This system's full name is the World Gift Pack System. As the name suggests, whenever the host enters a new world, this system will issue a World Gift Pack. After that, whatever the host does in that new world has nothing to do with this system. This system also has no missions, lotteries, shops, or anything like that. Once the host reaches the pinnacle of the new world, the host may choose to enter the next world—or remain there forever!"

"Hmm... So whenever I enter a new world, you'll give me a World Gift Pack, and after that, everything else has nothing to do with you?" Zheng Li frowned.

Was this... just letting him fend for himself?

"Not exactly. This system said before that it would protect your soul from being destroyed! Of course, if your enemy is beyond this system's capabilities, then..."

"What?" Seeing the system pause, Zheng Li prompted it.

"Prepare to die!"

Zheng Li: "...System, does messing with me make you happy?"

The system said nothing.

"What's the pinnacle of the Douluo World? A Limit Douluo? And can I return to my original world?" After thinking it over, Zheng Li asked another question.

"No. The pinnacle of this world is level one hundred. Reach level one hundred and become a god! The moment you become a god, host, you may choose to leave this world without entering the Divine Realm. You may also choose to enter the Divine Realm! If you choose to enter the Divine Realm, the system will issue a World Gift Pack!"

"As for whether you can return to your original world, the answer is yes! Once you reach the pinnacle of a world, you can travel freely to any worlds you've experienced before."

"A reminder: once you reach the pinnacle of a world, whether you choose to enter a new world is entirely up to you. This system has no authority to interfere. Aside from issuing World Gift Packs and traveling between worlds, the host has the highest level of authority!"

"Even if you uninstall the system, this system will comply. Note: after uninstalling, the system will disappear permanently, down to its very root! If the host dies, the system will likewise disappear!"

"You are this system's first host, and its last!"

Zheng Li fell silent for a moment.

So... the angry things he'd said earlier had already brought the system to the brink of death once?

My fault, my fault...

He didn't ask how long he'd have to regret it after choosing to uninstall the system. There was no need. He wouldn't say things like that again.

Zheng Li lowered his head and pondered. A moment later, he looked up. There was something he wanted to ask.

"System, I have a question."

"Go ahead, host."

"If I reach the pinnacle of the Douluo World, but then enter a world with a much lower level of strength, wouldn't I immediately be at its pinnacle?"

"Host, keep dreaming! Please remember that the next world's level of strength will always be higher than the previous one!"

Zheng Li: "..."

He let out a breath and decided not to argue with the system. He still had a few questions, but he'd wait until he chose to enter the next world. They had nothing to do with the present.

So, next...

"System, open the World Gift Pack!"

"Ding! Opening World Gift Pack... Opened."

"Congratulations, host. You have obtained Age Regression x1, [] Martial Soul x1, Heart of Spirit Martial Soul x1, Spirit Sutra x1, Spirit Amplification x1, Physique Amplification x1, Century Spirit Ring x1, Douluo World Identity x1, Shrek Enrollment Recommendation Letter x1, Spirit Ring Age Increase of 500 years x10 (stackable), Spirit Bone Age Increase of 500 years x10, and Gold Soul Coins x10,000."

"Items have been automatically placed in the System Space. The host may retrieve them at any time. The System Space may also be used to store items, but not living creatures."

"That's it?"

Zheng Li blinked.

"What else?" the system asked in return.

"..."

"Be satisfied, host. Fusing two Martial Souls will give you Innate Full Soul Power and increase your physique and mental strength. You've also been given a cultivation method. If it weren't to give you some ability to defend yourself, you wouldn't even have gotten a Century Spirit Ring."

"In fact, Innate Full Soul Power is enough to give you the ability to defend yourself. Look at Tang San. At level ten, he was already so skilled with the Silent Sleeve Sword, Mysterious Jade Hand, Purple Demon Eye, and the like!"

"Get lost!" Zheng Li said expressionlessly.

How could you compare them? Tang San had been a Tang Sect disciple before transmigrating. And what about him?

"System, there's something I don't understand. I can make sense of the Heart of Spirit Martial Soul, but what the heck is that [] Martial Soul?" Zheng Li asked in confusion.

"As long as it doesn't exceed the system's capabilities, whatever the host thinks of when beginning to fuse this Martial Soul will become what it is after fusion!"

"That powerful?" Zheng Li exclaimed. "Would the Heaven-Opening Axe, the Ancestral Dragon, or the Zhu Xian Sword work?"

"Yes. However, a reminder to the host: no matter how powerful a Martial Soul you imagine, your Innate Soul Power will not exceed level ten after fusion."

"...I didn't think of anything." Hearing that it was possible, Zheng Li had almost wanted to kiss the system, but its final remark crushed that idea.

System: "..."

Good thing it had said something.

"By the way, I remember that you sensed my thoughts when I suspected I was dreaming. Don't do that again."

System: "..."

Good thing you were a step too late, host.

"Ding! Thought-reading disabled! The host can confirm this at any time through the system's source."

Zheng Li nodded, then asked, "What about the Heart of Spirit?"

"As the name suggests, the Heart of Spirit is a heart. You'll understand its abilities after fusing with it."

After hearing the system's answer, he didn't press further. Instead, he asked about something else. "Then what does Age Regression do?"

"Age Regression can adjust the host's body, bone age, and other traits to the state they were in at age ten. After the adjustment, the host's stamina, strength, and so on will remain unchanged."

It wasn't very scientific, but there was no point talking science with a system!

"Got it." Zheng Li wasn't too surprised. The meaning was obvious from the name.

He didn't mind becoming younger. It was a good thing: he'd gained more than ten years of life for nothing. Besides, he could still grow up again afterward.

"The host is advised to use Age Regression before fusing with the Martial Souls."

"I know."

He'd been thinking the same thing.

"Will Age Regression or Martial Soul fusion cause a big disturbance?"

"No."

"Understood."

Once he had a general idea of things, Zheng Li spent quite a while finding a shallow cave. He planned to regress his age and fuse with the Martial Souls. He wasn't far from the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, so there were still plenty of trees, bushes, little hills, and the like nearby.

After concealing the cave entrance, Zheng Li began the Age Regression.

Surrounded by a pale white light, Zheng Li clearly felt himself growing smaller. There was no pain or discomfort, and soon he was back to his ten-year-old appearance.

He had short black hair and fair skin with a rosy tint. He was actually rather cute, but he was completely naked.

Even the black robe given to him by Middle-Aged Man Number One had fallen to the ground. It was much too big. Ten-year-old Zheng Li was only a little over 1.4 meters tall, while twenty-two-year-old Zheng Li had stood 1.8 meters tall.

"That was fast!"

After exclaiming, Zheng Li picked up the black robe and wrapped it around himself. Then he said, "System, let's start fusing the Martial Souls!"

After speaking, Zheng Li raised his now-smaller hand and looked at it. He couldn't help thinking of the soft little hand he'd often held over the past six months. He felt a pang of emotion. I wonder how she's doing. I suppose I count as missing now. Does she think I ran away from our wedding? Is she angry with me? Knowing her personality... maybe she isn't angry after all...

He remembered saying that if she were a character from a two-dimensional world, she'd be beautiful...

He just hadn't expected to transmigrate himself...

As he thought about it, Zheng Li felt a wave of sadness. They'd only been together for six months, but he'd liked her a lot—his fiancée.

Wait, hadn't the system started the fusion yet?

"Ding! Fusion complete!"

Zheng Li: "?!"

"Done?"

"Mm."

"That can't be right! System, why didn't you warn me before you started?"

"I did, but you were thinking about something and didn't notice."

Zheng Li: "...Even so, why didn't I feel anything?"

"What kind of feeling did the host want? Excruciating pain? Heavenly bliss? Or..."

"Stop! Enough!"

The system was such a tease. He had to stop it before he found out what else it might say.

Rubbing his temples, he immediately realized there was a problem.

"System, were both Martial Souls fused?" Zheng Li asked tentatively.

"Yes, host."

Zheng Li: "...So what is the [] Martial Soul?"

He had a bad feeling about this.

"Don't you know what you were thinking of, host? You can release your Martial Soul and take a look~"

The system was teasing him again, but he wasn't in the mood to say anything about it.

Because... his bad feeling was getting stronger.

Then, after sensing his Martial Soul and Soul Power, he released the [] Martial Soul.

A faint phantom appeared in front of him...

Zheng Li: "..."

Chapter 4: It's so good to see you

The phantom gradually became solid. Seeing this, Zheng Li couldn't help calling out:

"Xiao Nai..."

Staring at the person before him, who looked different from the one in his memories, his eyes couldn't help welling up...

The system had said he could return to his own world once he reached the pinnacle of the Douluo World—that was, level one hundred.

But how long would that take? One year, two years, three years... He had no idea.

By then, even if he did return to his world, everything would probably have changed. And Xiao Nai might already have married someone else...

Zheng Li gazed tenderly at the "Xiao Nai" before him. "Xiao Nai" looked back at him, but her eyes were vacant. How should he put it? It seemed to be a sign that she had no intelligence...

He didn't think the "Xiao Nai" before him could really be her, either.

If he'd actually thought of the Ancestral Dragon just now, would it have gained intelligence after becoming his Martial Soul? Of course not.

The "her" before him reminded Zheng Li of Grandmaster's Luo Sanpao from ten thousand years ago. It was a very unusual existence.

However, he didn't notice that a faint flicker had appeared in those vacant eyes as they gazed at him. It disappeared a moment later, as if it had never been there.

The Xiao Nai in his memories had short black hair that fell to her shoulders, a pair of big eyes, and a cute face that never showed any emotion. She had been 1.55 meters tall... But the "Xiao Nai" before him looked different: her shoulder-length black hair had become long white hair that reached her waist, and her eyes had turned blue.

"Xiao Nai" wore a long white dress patterned with gold. A huge golden ring floated behind her head. Diamond-shaped crystals were evenly spaced around the ring, with another identical crystal floating between each pair. These were much smaller and sat neither on nor inside the ring.

The strange ring gave off a golden glow that fell on "Xiao Nai's" white hair, tinting it gold and making her long white hair look like a waterfall of platinum.

"I didn't expect even your expression to look so much like hers..."

Zheng Li reached out and touched the "Xiao Nai" before him. As he'd guessed, she felt almost completely solid.

"Ah..." Zheng Li shook his head and sighed. "So what if you look like her? You're still not..."

"So you're not dead yet after all." A flat, emotionless female voice suddenly spoke.

Zheng Li: "?!"

What do you mean, I'm not dead yet? No, that wasn't the point! Just now, was that...

"Xiao Nai's voice?"

"An illusion?"

Zheng Li hurriedly looked at the "Xiao Nai" before him, but she hadn't changed at all!