The System Ran Away

"Eldest Brother, the Ninth Prince is set to awaken his martial soul tomorrow. Shall we dispose of him?" a guard asked, bowing respectfully toward the young man sitting in the wheelchair.

Xu Tianran set down his book and replied with perfect calm, "Enough. The age gap between Yanli and the rest of us is vast. Furthermore, he is despised by the Emperor and has been raised within my own manor; it is better to cultivate him properly. Besides, he is my younger brother."

"But what if his talent is exceptional? Would that not pose a threat to you, Your Highness?" a strategist sitting to the side, playing a game of chess against himself, suddenly interjected.

Xu Tianran paused, his fingers tapping lightly against the tabletop: "He will not."

What they were entirely unaware of was that Xu Yanli was sitting right outside their door, listening to their conversation.

However, he did not care about that; he was far more concerned with the voice that had suddenly emerged within his mind.

It was a system.

He had transmigrated six years ago and assumed he would never possess such a thing; he had not expected it to appear the day before his martial soul awakening.

What he found even more unexpected was why he had transmigrated as a member of the Sun Moon Empire royal family, and a prince despised by the Emperor at that.

The only silver lining was that his other brothers, seeing his youth and the fact that he possessed Star Luo Empire blood—meaning he had no claim to the throne—found him tolerable enough.

After all, they had never attempted to assassinate him or plot against him, simply letting him grow up wild.

He had not expected Xu Tianran to suddenly show kindness and bring him into his manor to cultivate him.

Xu Yanli actually had his suspicions; perhaps Xu Tianran wanted to use him, a prince with zero threat, to show others that he could treat his siblings with benevolence.

But that was not certain either; after all, Xu Tianran's legs had not yet suffered their grievous injury at that time. One could say that the Xu Tianran of that era was still a normal person.

There might have been exploitation involved, but it was also possible he simply pitied him.

Regardless, it didn't matter. Given his status, he could never inherit the throne anyway, unless he committed treason.

Moreover, as someone who knew of the conspiracies within the God Realm, he also knew that the Sun Moon Empire likely would not have a good ending in the later stages.

Xu Yanli had originally planned to just lie low for his entire life, and in the future, prevent Xu Tianran from marrying Ju Zi, simply living out his days under his brother's protection.

But he never expected to actually have a system. Did that mean he might have a chance to become a god in the future?

Xu Yanli's eyes lit up instantly. As for becoming the Emperor? Forget it.

Rising earlier than a rooster, sleeping later than a dog, and working harder than a donkey.

Most importantly, he felt he lacked the temperament to scheme against the entire world.

[Ding, system binding in progress. Host, welcome to the Peerless Tang Sect era of the Douluo Continent.]

[Oh no, energy depletion... Beep beep beep, system crash. Host, I am... sorry...]

[Reconnecting... Host, you possess two martial souls. As compensation, I shall modify your other martial soul.]

[Ding, copying Holy Spirit Douluo Yali. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Prayer Angel. The original martial soul attributes are retained and fused. Congratulations, your martial soul now possesses duality. I wish you a pleasant journey on the Douluo Continent. Please leave a five-star review, dear.]

[A hint for you: go to the Star Dou Great Forest in six years and snatch Electrolux. Do not forget the five-star review, dear.]

[Bye-bye now~]

Xu Yanli stared in disbelief. The system had just run off like that, and the golden finger it left behind was a healing-type martial soul? What use was this thing?

Healing Xu Tianran's legs?

Still, it should at least guarantee him the rank of Limit Douluo, and perhaps he could even strive for the position of God of Life.

However, snatching Electrolux might be a bit dangerous, as that would likely involve close contact with Huo Yuhao.

Xu Yanli hugged his legs, looking utterly despairing. Life felt hopeless.

Why did it have to be the Peerless Tang Sect era? The current Douluo Continent could practically be called the backyard of the "Buddha of Tang."

Unless he could obtain the favor of the God of Life or the God of Destruction, being chosen by any other god would be useless.

"Yanli, why are you sitting here? Aren't you cold?" Xu Tianran pushed his wheelchair out and asked gently upon seeing Xu Yanli sitting on the steps at the door.

"Imperial Brother," Xu Yanli looked up and said respectfully, "Will Father allow me to awaken my martial soul?"

Xu Yanli suddenly recalled that the system had mentioned he had two martial souls, and one of them seemed to be an Angel martial soul.

It appeared this martial soul must have been inherited from his mother, who had died young.

It seemed his mother must have been quite pitiful and quite unlucky.

An Angel martial soul, and according to the old servants in the palace, she had been a woman of peerless elegance.

It was a pity she had caught the eye of that old beast, the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, and ended up with such a fate.

"He will. Even if Father forgets, Imperial Brother will take you to awaken your martial soul," Xu Tianran said with a smile, patting Xu Yanli's head.

The next morning.

A eunuch with a sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked appearance waved a horsetail whisk and said in a shrill voice, "Ninth Prince, follow this servant to the Awakening Chamber."

Xu Yanli nodded and followed the eunuch toward the Awakening Chamber with heavy steps.

Perhaps because his lineage as a prince was considered questionable, there were no outsiders present when he awakened his martial soul.

Only the Emperor, Xu Tianran, and an Awakening Master were present to witness his awakening.

Xu Yanli was somewhat nervous; after all, he was certain one of his martial souls was an Angel, inherited from his mother.

If his other martial soul was not the royal martial soul of the Sun Moon Empire, it was very likely he would not walk out of this Awakening Chamber today.

Xu Yanli sighed, then stood in the center, looking at the Awakening Master with a hint of nervousness.

The Awakening Master gestured for Xu Yanli to stand in the middle of the six black stones.

Clutching his sleeves tightly in his hands, Xu Yanli took a deep breath and walked into the center of the six black stones.

The Awakening Master struck out with both hands, sending six faint golden rays of light into the stones on the ground.

Instantly, a hazy golden radiance erupted from the six stones, forming a pale golden barrier that enveloped Xu Yanli.

The pale golden energy slowly seeped into Xu Yanli's body, and an indescribable power surged forth from within him.

A streak of dark purple energy wrapped around his entire body, and at the same time, a massive dragon roar manifested behind him.

Xu Tianran was stunned, looking at his weak younger brother in disbelief; he had never expected this brother to inherit the exact same Martial Soul as his own.

Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon!

The expression of the Emperor sitting at the head of the hall softened, losing some of its sternness.

"Oh no, Your Majesty, it seems there is another Martial Soul devouring my soul power!" the Awakening Master suddenly shouted.

A flash of excitement crossed the Emperor's eyes; although this child was born without the right of succession, he might well become a pillar of the Empire once he grew up.