Child Born from an Egg

Su Yuntao was taken aback, then broke into a smile. "Don't worry, we have a professional matchmaking corner. When you turn eighteen, we'll handle everything from start to finish."

"I am willing to join Martial Soul Hall." Su Yan bowed.

"Welcome aboard!" Su Yuntao beamed with joy, handing Su Yan the register for recording martial soul information.

Grandpa Jack's cloudy eyes shimmered with hope, and his deeply wrinkled face bore a smile unseen for years.

"Another Soul Master has finally emerged from the village!" Grandpa Jack laughed, his face blooming like a chrysanthemum, unable to close his mouth.

"Let's rest for a day and set out from here tomorrow morning," Su Yuntao said, then turned to the village chief. "Chief Jack, children without soul power can also enter Martial Soul Hall. The hall grants them half the subsidy of a Soul Master. Please discuss it with their families today. If they want to go, gather here early tomorrow as well."

"Understood, Battle Soul Master." Grandpa Jack led Su Yan back home.

Six years ago, Grandpa Jack had found Su Yan wailing in the fields and brought him home to raise.

The two walked side by side, their silhouettes like those of a real grandfather and grandson. Before long, they reached the front door.

"Xiao Yan." Grandpa Jack opened a wooden cabinet, pulled out a small wooden box from the very bottom and deepest corner, and said, "There's something it's time to tell you."

"Grandpa, what's this?" Su Yan looked at the small wooden box, sensing a very warm feeling from within.

Grandpa Jack carefully opened the box. Inside, wrapped in cotton cloth, was an eggshell split into two halves.

The eggshell was entirely orange-yellow, with neat patterns, and only four red five-pointed stars printed on the outside.

"Xiao Yan, this was your swaddling back then." Grandpa Jack handed the small wooden box to Su Yan and continued, "When I found you in the field, there was only this eggshell."

"This... eggshell?" Su Yan found it hard to believe.

"Your parents placed you inside and left. Over all these years, no one has ever come to the village looking for you." Grandpa Jack sighed. "This is the only clue your parents left behind."

Su Yan was startled.

He might not have been placed inside it.

He might have come out of it.

Recalling the moment he first transmigrated six years ago—the sticky sensation on his body, the closed-off feeling of confinement—

It was so similar to the world inside an egg.

A human, coming out of an egg.

Then who laid this egg?

It couldn't have been an old hen... right?

"Now that you've joined Martial Soul Hall, maybe you can find your parents," Grandpa Jack said. "Xiao Yan, your grandpa is old too. Fallen leaves must return to their roots."

"Grandpa..." Su Yan's eyes grew moist.

For six years, this old man had raised him.

The family he had lost once, this old man had given back to him in full.

Su Yan turned away, afraid of being seen with tears he couldn't hold back.

He didn't know how to explain that he might have been born from an egg, so he simply put his shell away.

The moment his hand touched the eggshell, a flash of orange light burst forth, enveloping him.

"Xiao Yan!" Grandpa Jack exclaimed. Before his hand could reach Su Yan, the light had already dissipated.

"Xiao Yan, what happened?" Grandpa Jack asked with concern.

Su Yan frowned and shook his head, but when his eyes fell on the small wooden box, they went wide.

The eggshell was gone.

"Huh?" Su Yan turned the box over and shook it, but found no trace of the eggshell, as if it had never existed.

At that moment, like a certain monkey surnamed Sun, he had lost his birth memento.

"As long as you're fine, that's what matters." Grandpa Jack breathed a sigh of relief. His aged heart had a rare moment of youth, but his body couldn't take it, and he sat down on a stool, panting heavily.

Su Yan understood. He closed the empty wooden box and put it back in its place. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something new on the back of his hand.

Looking closely, the four red five-pointed stars from the eggshell had appeared on his hand.

He touched them with his fingers—no sensation, not even a bump. They were perfectly integrated, like a custom-made birthmark.

Having transmigrated, Su Yan knew the drill even if he hadn't experienced it firsthand. He sensed something unusual about this.

Best case scenario, it was a precursor to some kind of golden finger, but the conditions for activation hadn't been met yet—the key was still missing.

Second best, it might be the emblem of some mysterious family. That family must be powerful, since birthing humans from eggs probably meant they weren't purely human.

Worst case, it was a tracking method from an enemy. Some grudge from the ancestors would be settled by this generation, and meeting them would mean a storm of bloodshed.

Could it be a system?

Su Yan guessed, but there was no mysterious pop-up window before his eyes, no mysterious voice in his mind. Everything was still unknown.

He suddenly raised the back of his hand and asked, "Grandpa, look at the back of my hand."

"Xiao Yan, what's wrong?" Grandpa Jack looked over and smiled. "The stars on the back of your hand are very well drawn."

He thought it was one of Su Yan's mischievous pranks.

Su Yan laughed too. "I worked on it for a long time."

"Alright, you stay home. I'm going out for a bit." Grandpa Jack rested a moment, then picked up his cane and headed out the door.

Su Yan was alone in the house. He found some bandages and wrapped them around the back of his hand, covering all four five-pointed stars completely.

Anyone could see these five-pointed stars. Until he figured out what this thing was, he couldn't let anyone else spot it.

After that, he casually gathered a few coarse cloth garments, bundled them into a small pack, and tossed it aside. That was all he owned.

The next morning, just as the sky was barely light, Su Yan jogged his last lap around the small wooden cabin.

The morning exercise habit he'd kept in his old world still held strong.

When he'd first crossed over, Su Yan had refused outright. His philosophy was: if he could lie down, he wouldn't sit; if he could sit, he wouldn't stand. He just wanted to coast.

But habits die hard. Not exercising made his whole body ache; exercising left him refreshed and clear-headed.

It wasn't just physical. More than anything, it was a mental shackle. In the end, he was forced to discipline himself.

"Let's call it here for today." He stretched, changed clothes, ate breakfast, and went with Grandpa Jack to the front of Martial Soul Hall.

Su Yuntao had already arranged for the dozen or so children from yesterday to board the carriage. When he saw Su Yan and the old man approaching, he raised a hand in greeting.

"Battle Soul Master, I entrust Xiao Yan to your care." Grandpa Jack bowed.

"Of course. You can rest assured." Su Yuntao turned to Su Yan. "Get on."

"Grandpa, I'm off."

The group was ready to depart. Just then, not far away, a little girl came rushing over with a small pack on her back.

"Wait for me!" the girl called out. "I'm going to Martial Soul Hall too!"

Su Yuntao recognized her as the little girl who had awakened Blue Silver Grass yesterday. Seeing Village Chief Jack nod, he arranged for her to board the carriage as well.

"Village Chief Jack, I'll have someone deliver the subsidy. When it comes, please trouble yourself to give it to the girl's family."

"Ah, just give it directly to her." Village Chief Jack lowered his voice. "Her parents went up the mountain half a year ago to gather firewood and were taken by a Soul Beast."

"My apologies..." Su Yuntao patted Village Chief Jack on the shoulder. "I'll report back to Martial Soul Hall and request a patrol team to come take a look."

"Thank you, Battle Soul Master." Village Chief Jack bowed in gratitude.

"No need to be so polite, Village Chief. If you want to thank someone, thank Martial Soul Hall. I came from poverty myself—I was just lucky enough to become a Soul Master." Su Yuntao smiled, watching the rising sun. "Then we're off."