The Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire both bordered the Sun Moon Empire, and smuggling routes spread throughout the entire Sun Moon Mountain Range. The period before the New Year was the final peak. Huo Yuhao happened to catch the last round of transactions. He obtained his startup funds, and the abundance of rare metals allowed his restricted Soul Tool training to finally begin.
But right now, that was no longer the most important thing. It was New Year. Huo Yuhao stood atop the towering Sun Moon Mountain Range and looked down over the land. His trained Spirit Eye allowed him to see the distant scenery, and the cold winter had made the mist that blocked his vision vanish; the water vapor had long since condensed. The mountaintop was utterly desolate.
After a whole series of upheavals, Huo Yuhao finally had money. But where was he supposed to go now? An uncontrollable loneliness and desolation welled up in Huo Yuhao's heart. He was already homeless. Everyone had somewhere to go for New Year, he thought.
Certain inexplicable emotions—grievance, perhaps?—filled Huo Yuhao's heart and the bridge of his nose. Afraid he would lose control, he tilted his head up toward the sky. The stars dotted the heavens as they always did. A biting cold wind swept past. It did not harm Huo Yuhao, but it stirred the tears already brimming in his eyes.
The tears that had been held back for a moment by his lifted head still fell in the end. After leaving Huo Yuhao's body, they turned into ice crystals in midair because of the freezing weather, striking the hard rock beneath his feet with crisp ringing sounds. Then they bounced up and shattered into even more glittering crystals.
Once it began, Huo Yuhao could no longer