Crossing the Starry Sky

Darkness, a void of chaos. Aside from a hazy play of light and shadow and some unintelligible white noise, there was essentially nothing to be felt.

Luo Zhiyuan had just regained consciousness from the chaos, and upon discovering this phenomenon, he had absolutely no idea what was happening. What was going on?

Could it be that he had fallen asleep while reading a novel again? But even if he had fallen asleep, what was this situation? Was he dreaming? That didn't seem right; wasn't he in the middle of reading Swallowed Star? Although it was an old book, it was Luo Zhiyuan's favorite novel because he loved its vast cosmic setting, magical treasures, and the passionate battles of its characters.

This was already his twenty-fourth time reading it. He wouldn't go so far as to say he could recite it backward, but he could clearly recall almost any plot point in the book without even looking at the pages—a feat he often used as bragging rights with his online friends.

This time, because Luo Zhiyuan had been "poisoned" by some bad book recommendations, he had decided to pull an all-nighter to revisit it, hoping to soothe his wounded soul and avoid being scolded by his boss for being dizzy, weak, and lethargic. But why was this inexplicable situation happening now?

Suddenly, a gentle, slightly hazy voice rang out: "Pingping, Xiaohai, Mommy wants to tell you something. Your father is a hero of humanity. He carried the hope of mankind and slew the terrifying Swallowing Beast, allowing us humans to continue surviving on Earth. Although you won't be able to see your father's heroic posture with your own eyes in the future, you must always remember that your father is a hero to all of humanity on Earth. His name is Luo Feng!"

Pingping? Xiaohai? Luo Feng? The terrifying Swallowing Beast? Was this the voice of Xu Xin?

This... this is... could it be that he was dreaming about the plot of Swallowed Star?

Then, suddenly, Luo Zhiyuan felt a surge of sorrow and pain. This emotion stimulated Luo Zhiyuan, and he suddenly discovered that his surroundings were no longer enveloped in darkness; instead, they had transformed into a thick liquid wrapping around him. Beside him, he could feel two faint fluctuations, like two weak candle flames flickering and jumping. He also felt an inexplicable summons coming from there.

And so, before Luo Zhiyuan could even figure out where that sorrow and pain were coming from, he was involuntarily drawn toward those two candle flames.

Luo Zhiyuan felt as if he were a jellyfish floating in water, drifting toward that direction. He randomly found one of the candle flames, approached it, and couldn't help but press against it.

In an instant, Luo Zhiyuan had an epiphany: that candle flame was actually a newborn soul, a naive and ignorant soul that couldn't even express the simplest of emotions. It could only feel some vague, unclear fluctuations—was it curiosity? Or fear? He didn't know.

Luo Zhiyuan wanted to go to the other soul to feel it as well, but he discovered that he was unable to get close. It was as if he were imprisoned by something, unable to move around as he had just done. What was going on here?

Before he could figure out the situation, that gentle, slightly hazy voice rang out once more: "Pingping, Xiaohai, your father wasn't just a hero; he was also a very cute man, hehe~

Do you know? Back in school, even though your father was quite easy to talk to with other classmates, he was like a stubborn rock around me. He would only sneak glances at me from behind, thinking I didn't know.

Actually, girls are very sensitive to those kinds of gazes. I had discovered it long ago, but he just wouldn't take the initiative to find opportunities to talk to me. When he wasn't studying, he was training. As a girl, I wasn't going to take the initiative to talk to him, hmph. I just kept ignoring him, haha~

Come to think of it, I've never seen anyone more hardworking than him. So, that must be the fundamental reason why he became a martial artist right after graduating from high school.

Later, after high school, we met again at the bar in the reception hall of the HR Underground Alliance Mall. That was also when I learned that your father had already become a martial artist. Becoming a martial artist at 18—he was quite the young talent, ha~

Your father and I only started officially dating after that meeting. Of course, it was your father who took the initiative to pursue me; I suppose he wasn't a complete blockhead after all, hehe.

Then, your father's cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. In just one year, he broke through to become a peak Warlord-level spirit reader, known as the Invincible Warlord. He was appointed as the Inspector for the Jiangnan Base City of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. He was truly glorious!

Later on, your father entered Ancient Civilization Ruin No. 9. An average person would come out in three months at most; if they exceeded three months, they were considered dead. But your father was inside for a full year and three months! They had even issued a death notice during that time. That really broke all of our hearts—that bad man!

After your father was declared dead, his former enemies actually conspired in secret to frame your grandparents and uncle. Fortunately, your uncle Luo Hua handled it well and didn't let them succeed, but it still resulted in your grandfather being hit by a car and seriously injured.

Once your father came out of the ruin and dealt with those villains who had framed our family, he broke through to become an existence beyond the Warlord level—a Planet-level spirit reader—and served as the sixth Inspector of the global Extreme Martial Arts Hall.

I thought we could finally live a happy life, but who would have known that only a year later, the terrifying Swallowing Beast would appear? In just a few short days, it destroyed most of humanity's base cities. Humanity faced a catastrophic disaster. The two most powerful martial artists, the Master of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, Hong, and the Master of the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, Thunder God, went together to fight the Swallowing Beast. They ended up severely wounded and fell into a coma, failing to kill the beast and only managing to injure it.

Your father stepped forward without hesitation at that moment. After receiving the death sacrifice of five Planet-level martial artists, he perished together with the Swallowing Beast, protecting the safety of us humans.

So, Pingping, Xiaohai, you must always remember that your father is a hero to all of humanity on Earth. He sacrificed himself heroically to protect us all, and to protect you. You must always be proud of your father. Even though you never got to see him, you must always feel the love he had for you!

Because, the fact that you can grow up safe and happy—every single day is something your father traded for with his hot blood and his life! Traded for with his selfless love, his great love!

But, but your father wasn't just a hero to humanity; he was my lover. How I hated letting him go off to be some hero!

In these past few years, we were together less than we were apart. Your father was always going out to slay monsters, and I was leading a group of employees to start a business. I cherished every moment we spent together; I couldn't bear to let him go.

But your father was right. He said, 'If the roots die, can the leaves survive?' The Huaxia nation is the root, the Earth is the root, and we are the leaves. If we cannot save the roots, then all of us leaves will die.

Before your father left, he made this ring for me out of steel wire. He said he didn't have time to buy a ring, heh, and said he owed me a wedding. He asked me if I was willing to marry him.

I just nodded while tears streamed down my face; I was already crying so hard I couldn't speak. But in my heart, I was shouting loudly, 'I do!' I think he must have heard me, right?

But I really, really didn't want to let him go off to be some hero! I really wanted him to be able to live with us, but I couldn't stop your father, because I knew that was his persistence, his responsibility.

Pingping, Xiaohai, do you know the meaning of your names? Pingping, it is my hope that you both can grow up safe and sound (ping-an), and Xiaohai, it is for you to remember that your father will forever sleep in the sea (hai)."

Luo Zhiyuan listened to this gentle, slightly hazy voice as it spoke intermittently, feeling waves of sorrow, pain, sweetness, and confusion. For a moment, he became incredibly bewildered; he didn't understand what was going on at all.

Was he dreaming? But could a dream be this clear and complex, conveying so many emotions? But if it wasn't a dream, then what was it?

Luo Zhiyuan felt incredibly confused. He discovered that ever since he gained consciousness, he had been surrounded by countless mysteries, having no idea what was happening right now. He decided to just treat it as a dream, but he needed to wake up quickly. He didn't know what time it was, and he must not oversleep. If he were late for work, his boss would definitely scold him for ten minutes—that impression was far too deep, and he didn't want a repeat of that.

Luo Zhiyuan tried very hard to wake up, but he found he couldn't do it, because he had absolutely no idea how to wake up from a dream. He had never had such an experience before; he always dreamed naturally and woke up naturally. At most, he would be startled awake by a nightmare, but how to actively wake up from a dream? This, he really didn't know!

After an unknown amount of time, Luo Zhiyuan suddenly felt an unintelligible fluctuation coming from the soul he was pressed against. Only then did he suddenly realize that there were other souls present here.

Wait, souls? Why did he know these were souls? If these were souls, then what was his current state? Could he be a soul as well? Was he having an out-of-body experience?

But how could an out-of-body soul hear what Xu Xin was saying to Luo Feng's two children? It was a mess, so messy. Luo Zhiyuan felt incredibly agitated; he felt he needed to sort things out and see what the current situation was.

First, let's think about the last thing in his memory.

Hmm, Luo Zhiyuan remembered he was reading the novel Swallowed Star, the kind where he was pulling an all-nighter. Then, oh, right, it seemed like a sudden, intense palpitation and headache had struck, followed by difficulty breathing and his whole body convulsing. Vaguely, he seemed to remember his roommate screaming, and then... well, then he woke up in the darkness.

Could it be that something had happened to his body?

The more Luo Zhiyuan thought about it, the more wrong it felt, and the more panicked he became—so panicked that he began to vibrate unconsciously.

Then, Luo Zhiyuan felt a clear sense of terror being transmitted from the soul beside him. Just as he was trying to figure out what was going on, a sudden feeling of the world spinning came over him. He felt as if he had been thrown into the drum of a washing machine, tumbling and turning, completely clueless.

"Xu Xin! Xu Xin, what's wrong? Please don't scare us! What's wrong with you?"

"I... I... I don't... know either. It's just... suddenly... my stomach hurts so much... ah!"

"Quick! Call an ambulance! Tell them Xu Xin suddenly has stomach pain! Oh my god! Xu Xin, you're bleeding! Quick, Xiao Hua, hurry and contact the hospital and a doctor!"

Bursts of panicked sounds kept reaching Luo Zhiyuan, followed by a persistent sensation of squeezing, while waves of terror were continuously transmitted from the soul right beside him.

It wasn't just the soul pressed against him; another soul not far away also emitted fluctuations of unclear meaning. All of this left Luo Zhiyuan completely bewildered. He had no idea what was happening, yet he desperately wanted to calm down—calm down, because panic wouldn't solve a single thing.

As Luo Zhiyuan slowly calmed down, he was able to hear voices drifting over: "There shouldn't be any major issues. However, Mrs. Luo, you must not be overly sorrowful. Your body is still quite weak, and you are already showing signs of a threatened miscarriage. If you remain in such a state of excessive grief, it will affect the healthy development of the fetus. You must stabilize your emotions. Furthermore, I suggest you stay in bed for three days to settle the pregnancy, otherwise, there could be greater danger next time."

"Understood, thank you, Doctor. I will be sure to pay close attention."

"Father Luo, Mother Luo, you two should also be careful. A pregnant woman is quite sensitive during this period. We are in the early stages of pregnancy, and the fetus's body has not yet fully developed, making it very susceptible to harm. There are many things to watch out for at home, such as..."

Like a bolt of lightning from the blue, Luo Zhiyuan suddenly realized what was going on: it seemed he had experienced something incredible. Could it be that he had died from staying up late reading? And then transmigrated—transmigrated as a soul into the world of Swallowed Star, into the body of Xu Xin's child, the son of Luo Feng?

Are these two newborn souls Luo Feng's twin sons, Luo Ping and Luo Hai? Then, whose body had he actually possessed?

Sigh, they haven't even fully developed yet, so who knows who is who? Honestly, I have no idea how much longer it will be until I'm born.

Uh... well, this is truly awkward. I was nearly thirty years old, and now I haven't even been born yet; this is just speechless.

Forget it. Since I have already arrived in this world, I might as well wait for my birth with peace of mind. This world is incredibly magnificent, and I am already feeling impatient.

I want to see what this world is like as soon as possible—those countless races, those wondrous treasures, that incomparably vast universe, and even the Universe Ocean and the so-called Origin Continent. I will explore them one by one!

As Luo Zhiyuan's mood stabilized, the soul beside him also transmitted waves of unclear fluctuations.