A Life Rigged Against Him

The story could be roughly divided into two parts.

The first part: a phoenix rising from a backwater village.

Wang Chong's hometown was a village in an even more remote mountain ravine, beside a small town tucked away in some secluded valley of the Sun Moon Empire.

To leave their village, you had to climb fifty li of mountain paths. They had little farmland, and even their population was rather small.

Sometimes, not a single Soul Master would come along in ten years.

But Wang Chong was the one exception in the village in the past decade.

That year, Wang Chong was six years old.

His father had no Soul Power himself, and his Martial Soul was nothing more than an ordinary kitchen knife.

So he had no great hopes for his son. After all... according to the village records and the stories passed down through the generations, the last Soul Master in his family had appeared nearly... seven or eight hundred years ago.

One day, Wang Chong's father had a little too much to drink and got to thinking: even if his son's Martial Soul awakened as a hoe or a rake, at least the boy would save a lifetime's worth of money on farming tools. So, riding the courage of drink, he slung six-year-old Wang Chong onto his back and stumbled through the pitch-black night, covering dozens of li of mountain paths to the town to awaken his Martial Soul.

And guess what happened!

As the saying went, every three generations produced a son who could raise the family to greatness! In the seven or eight hundred years since, Wang Chong's family had gone at least thirty generations without producing anyone who could do that.

As Wang Chong awakened his Martial Soul, his father had just lit his dry tobacco outside, looking for a place to smoke. A crowd of onlookers jostled him right back inside.

The Soul Grandmaster helping people awaken their Martial Souls smiled as he looked at the middle-aged man, who stood there in a daze, and told him:

"Congratulations, you've hit the jackpot... I mean, your son has not only innate Soul Power, but a pretty good talent, too! Just look: his Innate Soul Power is six and a half ranks. Under normal circumstances, he should have no trouble reaching the fifth or sixth ring. And if he's lucky, he might even become a Seven-Ring Soul Sage."

"A Seven-Ring Soul Sage would be a big shot who could hold his head high across ten li of villages and towns—no, across the three or five neighboring towns—no, even in the nearby cities!"

At that moment, Wang Chong's father, whose back had been bent for half his life, finally stood up straight.

Under the envious gazes of the passersby, he thumped his chest and sighed that the little shake he'd given all those years ago had really been something. That one shake had produced a son who could raise the family to greatness.

And among those onlookers, there was a person with an agenda who quietly slipped out through the back door.

The second part: misfortune came far faster than happiness.

The mayor, who had only two ranks of Innate Soul Power and would never get past the third ring in his life, heard that a little prodigy with Innate Soul Power above rank six had appeared in his town. He hurried over, waddling along with his fat belly, hoping to become the first Angel Investor in Wang Chong's life.

Meanwhile, the person with an agenda who had slipped away earlier reported Wang Chong's news to a black-clothed man who was only temporarily staying in town.

Using his far greater cultivation than the mayor's, the black-clothed man scared the mayor off, then very "patiently" dangled a tempting promise in front of Wang Chong.

From then on, Wang Chong's life began to proceed along the course the black-clothed man had laid out for him.

He cultivated as normal, obtained Soul Rings, then went to Bright Capital to apply to the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, the foremost academy in the Sun Moon Empire.

Then, two years ago, when Wang Chong was twelve, he returned home for the holidays to visit his family and neighbors. From his aunts and uncles, he learned that his father had died during the previous school term.

That night, the black-clothed man appeared in Wang Chong's home without warning. He showed Wang Chong his father's soul and threatened him:

"Kid, you wouldn't want your old father and all your fellow villagers to be left dead in the wilderness, their souls unable to find release, would you?

"But don't worry. As long as you join us, your father will be free someday, and your family and neighbors will live prosperous lives."

From then on, Wang Chong lived a miserable, dazed life, spending every day either carrying out one mission or another.

"This is outrageous! Those Evil Soul Masters are utterly lawless! They've even dared to extend their black hands into my Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy! This is... damn it!"

Xiao Hongchen, who had always considered himself a man of good manners, hadn't been this angry in a long time.

As Wang Chong watched, Xiao Hongchen raised his fist in fury and slammed it into the old brick wall beside him.

With a single blow, he knocked down countless bits of rubble and dirt. Gritting his teeth, Xiao Hongchen looked at Wang Chong with pity for his misfortune and anger at his weakness, then demanded, "Over these past two years, did it never occur to you to ask the academy for help? Our Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is the foremost academy in the Sun Moon Empire, and Mingde Hall holds enormous influence throughout the empire. Why didn't you seek help from someone who could help you? Is your mouth only there for eating?"

"How could I not have thought of it? But thinking about it was no use." Wang Chong gave a bitter smile and shook his head, lamenting, "Once, I saw a black-clothed man they called an elder walk into Mingde Hall in the middle of the night."

"Ah?!"

In an instant, the whole place fell silent. Qian Yuhan, the Grey-Robed Man, and even the former kidnapping victims who had been watching the show all turned their shocked gazes on Xiao Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen: "Ah!!" This was bad! His brothers had just watched him make a complete fool of himself.

Xiao Hongchen covered his face, so mortified that his toes were practically digging out a five-bedroom, two-living-room, two-kitchen, two-bathroom, two-balcony apartment inside his shoes. After a long while, he sighed and forced down his bitterness and helplessness before speaking in a small voice:

"Since you saw that elder in black walk into Mingde Hall, how could you dare tell me everything? I'm the grandson of Mingde Hall's master, you know!? Weren't you afraid I'd turn you in?"

"Not afraid!"

At that moment, Wang Chong roared as if he'd thrown caution to the wind:

"Because I've admired Brother Xiao ever since I enrolled! You're righteous, Brother Xiao, and you often help out classmates like us who come from poor backgrounds. You're like a big brother to our year and the students in the lower grades."

"So I trust you absolutely. I know you won't betray me."

I trust you! I trust you! I trust you!

In a daze, the simple, almost hypnotic words "I trust you" made their way into Xiao Hongchen's nearly crashed brain—and brought tears to his eyes:

"o(╥﹏╥)o"

Damn, brother, after saying all that, what else was there to say? Xiao Hongchen was definitely going to help him.

"Oi, the tears are coming out. Remember to wipe them away!"

Seeing Xiao Hongchen so moved that he was crying, Qian Yuhan raised an eyebrow slightly and reminded him in a low voice.

"Don't talk nonsense. I'm not crying. The wind blew sand into my eyes and irritated them." Xiao Hongchen nodded as he raised a hand and wiped the glistening tears from the corners of his eyes—the tears of excitement at being acknowledged and affirmed.