Transmigration

"Ha~~~mm!"

Hodan's eyelids twitched. Then his fingers moved, and he slowly opened his eyes, gazing around in confusion. Stars glittered overhead, and the aurora drifted gracefully across the sky, its light fading and brightening in shades of red, blue, green, and purple. The stars streamed across the heavens like a waterfall. Once he had gathered his wits, he realized he was lying on his back in the middle of a vast lake.

"What's going on?" Hodan was utterly bewildered.

Hodan remembered traveling to Norway with a few close buddies. He was getting married soon, and they'd planned one last getaway before he settled down for good and took on the responsibilities expected of a man. The woman he'd spend the rest of his life with was someone he'd always gotten along well with. She wasn't especially beautiful, but she was thoughtful and dutiful. Both their families were pleased with the match, and so were Hodan and his fiancée.

Hodan remembered drinking quite a bit that night. He and his buddies had joked and teased one another, then gone out to watch the aurora. They'd chatted until the alcohol went to their heads, then pitched a tent by the lake and settled down to rest. When Hodan woke up again, he found himself in the lake, lying near the shore.

Hodan wondered if his buddies were playing a prank on him. He was the first among them to walk down the aisle, while the rest were still bachelors. They claimed that being single was the best and that they wanted to have a few more years of fun, but their eyes and voices betrayed their envy. Still, there was no point forcing things when the time wasn't right.

Thinking about all that, Hodan decided not to hold the prank against them. After all, they'd been buddies for over twenty years. Once he'd finished reminiscing, he shouted, "Lao Gai, Li Hao, come out already! So what if I'm getting married first? Your day will come too. When it does, I'll make sure you have a miserable time. I'll get you so drunk you'll pass out, strip you naked, hang you up, then soak you with water and leave you out in the cold! Hmph!"

Hodan got up from the lakeshore and walked around, calling out several times. When no one answered and the surroundings remained completely silent, he gathered his wits and carefully surveyed the area. Something was wrong.

December in Norway was bitterly cold, but Hodan hadn't felt cold at all while he was in the water. It had felt like taking a cool bath in summer. He also remembered that the place where he'd camped to watch the aurora had been open and flat, with no trees or high mountains nearby.

But now there was a wide lake in front of him and a towering forest behind him. It was obvious that he wasn't anywhere near his campsite.

"What's going on?" Hodan shook his head and tried to remember. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through him, and a flood of unfamiliar memories poured into his mind. Unable to withstand the pain and the deluge of memories, Hodan passed out.

The moon set and the sun rose. Time passed. After an unknown while, Hodan slowly awoke, and three questions instinctively rang through his mind: Who am I? Where am I? What's going on?

"I'm Hodan. No, I was already Hodan. I'm Hodan." His mind was still a mess, and he muttered to himself.

"No, I'm Hodan. This is Hell, one of the Four Supreme Planes. So this is the Coiling Dragon World?" Hodan froze. He had lived through the information explosion of the modern age and often read novels on his commute. Coiling Dragon was one of his favorite books. He loved its vast world, its thrilling battles, and its heartwarming family bonds.

But Hodan had never imagined that he would become the Hodan of the Coiling Dragon World. Sure, they had the same name, but he had been an ordinary citizen of the Zhonghua Family on Little Broken Ball! This was the Coiling Dragon World, where gods roamed and the Chief Sovereigns stood high above all, along with Oufu, the secret mastermind, and Hongmeng, the ruler of this world.

He had been an ordinary person with no grand ambitions. All he'd wanted was to live a good life, marry someone he could share that life with, treat his parents well, and pass his days in peace. That was the greatest happiness an ordinary person could ask for.

He had no interest in those people who dreamed of grand adventures, thought about transmigrating every day, battling heaven and earth, and building a huge harem. That was completely unrealistic! Wasn't it enough just to live a good life? A real, peaceful life was what so many people dreamed of, and what countless ancestors had shed blood and tears to secure.

Besides, Hodan hadn't wanted to transmigrate at all. He was his parents' only child. His plan had been to return from Norway, marry Xiaoyan, live a good life, spend more time with his parents, have children, grow old with dignity, and quietly reach the end of his life.

Hodan thought of the faint white in his parents' hair, and Xiaoyan waiting for him to come home and marry her. The greatest sorrow in this world was when a child wanted to care for their parents, but their parents were already gone. His parents were still alive, but their only son was no longer by their side. If they found out that their only child had disappeared, how worried and heartbroken would they be? Hodan knew he couldn't just sit around and wait. He had to find a way to return to his parents.

Hodan sorted through his memories. First of all, he himself was Hodan. His original self had been an ordinary person from Little Broken Ball. Here in the Coiling Dragon World, he had taken the place of another Hodan. The Coiling Dragon World's Hodan had already died, but for some unknown reason, Hodan from Little Broken Ball had transmigrated and possessed his body, becoming a new person with the memories of both worlds.

The Coiling Dragon World's Hodan had originally been an ordinary member of the Renars Clan, a prominent family in Hell. His parents had both been Highgods, but they had died in the war against the Four Divine Beasts Clan, leaving him all alone.

Yulan Continent had originally had a Plane Overseer, but a powerhouse who descended there to fight over a Sovereign Spark had casually killed him. As a result, Yulan Continent had no Plane Overseer now.

Hodan was on his way to Yulan Continent to take up the post of Plane Overseer. One reason was that the Chief Sovereigns' Necropolis was located there. His clan had sent him to see if there were any opportunities to be found. If there were, he was to notify the clan's powerhouses and let them come try their luck. If not, then so be it.

The other reason was that several members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan with highly concentrated bloodlines had emerged from Yulan Continent, and his clan had sent him to keep an eye on them.

Ideally, he would trick them into going to Hell and eliminate them before they could grow powerful, reducing the number of potential enemies. After all, Yulan Continent was Beirut's territory. Although Hodan was only a Mid-God, his clan wouldn't sacrifice one of its members for no reason.

While Hodan was on his way to take up the post, he had run into someone from the Four Divine Beasts Clan: Jiawei, an elder of the Azure Dragon Clan. Although Muli, an elder of the Renars Clan, had stopped Jiawei, Jiawei had still casually sent a soul attack Hodan's way.

Even a casual attack from a Seven-Star Fiend was more than an ordinary Mid-God like Hodan could withstand. His parents had left him a common Soul Defense Divine Artifact, which blocked part of the attack, and he had fled with all his might, but he still succumbed to the soul attack.

He had died in this lake. Then, for some unknown reason, Hodan from Little Broken Ball had possessed his body, leaving things as they were now.

"Jiawei. It was Jiawei again. The Hodan of this world lost his parents to Jiawei." Hodan narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them. "Don't worry. I'll avenge you." He felt a wave of resentment within him and made the promise in his heart.

At that moment, Hodan had accepted everything from the Hodan of the Coiling Dragon World, including the grudges and entanglements of his clan. It was a kind of karmic inheritance, after all. The Hodan of the Coiling Dragon World had to die for Hodan from Little Broken Ball to possess his body.