The next moment—
A speck of golden light quietly appeared at the spot corresponding to Huo Yuhao's spiritual space between his brows.
At first, it was as faint as a spark, but in the blink of an eye, it blazed like the midday sun!
Amid the golden radiance, an upright eye slowly emerged—and opened!
The eye was formed entirely from pure golden energy. Mysterious runes flowed along its edges, and deep within its pupil, a galaxy seemed to turn as the river of fate surged.
It did not exude the crushing pressure of overwhelming power, but rather an imposing aura of supreme authority—one that looked down upon all living beings and held the cause, effect, and fate of the world in its grasp!
It was the Eye of Destiny, Huo Yuhao's natal divine artifact in his previous life, forged upon the foundation of the Eye of Life, fused with the power of destiny, and tempered through divine tribulations!
Though the Eye of Destiny's appearance here was merely a projection within the depths of his origin soul, with less than one percent of its power, its nature—transcendent above the mortal world—was already more than enough!
The Eye of Destiny turned slowly. Its golden gaze, almost tangible, swept lightly over the gray-white phantom of the Dual-World Gate.
Without a sound, the power of spatial-temporal confinement permeating the gate melted away like snow beneath the sun!
The gate itself began to tremble violently. Its light flickered, and cracks appeared across its markings, as though they had been struck by a force they could not withstand!
"Th-this is... the Eye of Destiny?!" Wang Teng shuddered as if struck by lightning. His entire soul trembled violently, and the color drained from his face, leaving only boundless terror and disbelief.
He pointed at Huo Yuhao, his voice shrill and broken with shock and panic. "You... you're not the eleven-year-old Huo Yuhao! You... you were reborn?! How is that possible?! This should've been the safest time... How could I be this unlucky?!"
He finally understood! Why his opponent's spirit was so solid and extraordinary! Why he could so easily break free of the Dual-World Gate's restraints!
It all made sense—he hadn't possessed an ignorant, unsuspecting boy at all. He had possessed someone who had been reborn!
Wang Teng, who knew the "original story" inside and out, regretted it so deeply his guts twisted. Boundless terror swallowed him whole.
He had thought he was the chosen one, transported to another world with a cheat ability, ready to seize the child of fortune's opportunities and climb to the pinnacle of life.
He had never imagined he'd kick a steel plate harder than titanium alloy!
Huo Yuhao had no interest in listening to his panicked monologue, and he had no intention of wasting words.
Mercy for the enemy was cruelty to oneself.
"Bzz—"
The aura that had been held in check around him erupted!
He no longer maintained the calm he had deliberately projected. Instead, he released without restraint the terrifying imprint buried in the deepest part of his soul!
A vast phantom of bloodlust surged behind him. It was no real blood, but a spiritual vision formed from endless killing intent, the baleful aura of battlefields, and the resentment and hatred of fallen gods!
The illusion of mountains of corpses and seas of blood flickered into view. A bone-piercing chill and an aura of destruction filled the entire Sea of Spirit!
To Wang Teng, the figure walking toward him step by step was no longer a frail boy, but an unparalleled god of slaughter who had crawled up from the lowest level of the netherworld!
The icy killing intent seemed ready to freeze his soul. Boundless terror left him unable even to think of fleeing.
"N-no... don't! Huo Yuhao! Sir! I was wrong! Please, spare my life!"
Wang Teng broke down completely. His legs gave way, and he fell to his knees on the illusory "surface of the water" in the Sea of Spirit, kowtowing frantically. "I'm useful! I really am! I know a lot of secrets! I know all of Tang San's plans!
"I know the locations of many future opportunities. Tang Wutong, Ju Zi, Qiu'er... I know all about them!
"I can help you avoid every trap. I can help you deal with Tang San!
"Keep me alive! I can be of great use to you!"
He pleaded incoherently, desperately throwing out every bargaining chip he had, just to grasp at the faintest chance of survival.
Huo Yuhao stopped in front of him and looked down at the tear-streaked, utterly wretched soul.
His expression did not waver. His eyes held only the stillness of death.
"Sorry," Huo Yuhao finally said, his voice frighteningly calm. "I have no habit of keeping around a soul that tried to kill me and knows so many secrets."
Before Wang Teng could beg again, Huo Yuhao's spiritual power had already transformed into countless tough, icy, translucent tendrils. They instantly wrapped around Wang Teng's soul, completely sealing off his ability to move or speak.
Wang Teng's eyes widened to their limit, filled with despair, hatred, and unwillingness, but all he could manage was a muffled whimper.
Huo Yuhao reached out and gently touched his brow with a fingertip.
The devouring began.
There was no earth-shattering commotion, only the plundering and digestion of the soul's very essence.
Wang Teng's soul crumbled like weathered sand sculpture, starting from the point of contact. It rapidly turned into faint specks of light and was absorbed by Huo Yuhao's spirit.
The entire process lasted about the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
When the last speck of light merged into Huo Yuhao's spirit,
Huo Yuhao's Sea of Spirit returned to calm. Its boundaries seemed to have expanded ever so slightly, and the "water" of his spiritual power seemed a little more refined.
Huo Yuhao stood silently, eyes closed as he digested the fragments of Wang Teng's memories—more than twenty years of them—that had poured into his mind.
The images were jumbled and chaotic:
An ordinary young man in the modern world, repeating the dull routine of "996" workdays, commuting through crowded subways and throngs of people, his face etched with exhaustion and uncertainty about the future.
His only comfort and escape came late at night, in his rented room, as he stared at a computer screen and lost himself in the fantasy worlds of online novels.
He envied the protagonists their freedom to take revenge, their invincibility, and their harems. He argued with people about plotlines on forums and imagined what he would do if he ever crossed into another world...
Then came a blinding red light. The enormous characters "Great Fortune" rapidly filled his vision. Pain. Darkness.
When he regained consciousness, he had become a fragile soul drifting beyond the barriers of the Douluo Continent. A stream of information called the "Dual-World Gate" had appeared in his mind.
The gate granted him the ability to cross through space and briefly stabilize his soul. It also vaguely guided him toward places where "fortune was most abundant and fate's turning points most vulnerable," so he could possess someone, steal their destiny, and replace the original owner.
He had been overjoyed, believing his luck had finally turned and that he had become the protagonist of a story.
He had carefully chosen the moment when "eleven-year-old Huo Yuhao first entered the Star Dou Great Forest"—the point in the original story when the protagonist was at his weakest and completely unguarded. Using the power of the Dual-World Gate to pierce through space, he had launched his possession attempt...
He had never expected that the "Huo Yuhao" before him was no longer an ignorant boy, but a vengeful soul returned with boundless hatred and countless memories.
Wang Teng's attempt to possess him was no different from a moth flying into a flame and bringing about its own destruction. One could only say he had drawn the worst possible lot.
But none of that mattered to Huo Yuhao now.
The devouring was over, and Wang Teng's soul had become a small amount of nourishment for Huo Yuhao's battered divine soul.
What truly plunged Huo Yuhao into a long spell of contemplation after he finished digesting the memories was neither Wang Teng's unremarkable memories of modern life nor the bizarre tale of how he had crossed worlds.
It was a strange body of information hidden deep within those memories, which Wang Teng had regarded as an "original script" and called Douluo Continent.
This information was not a complete, continuous book. It was more like a collection of jumbled fragments—scenes, text, and settings—combined into a patchwork of knowledge. It covered what was supposedly the "Douluo Continent" series, which had no fewer than four installments.
Huo Yuhao instinctively skipped the others and focused on the section marked "Part Two: Peerless Tang Sect"—the story starring "Huo Yuhao."
He "read" through this "plot" from the perspective of an outsider from another world.
The more he read, the tighter his brow furrowed.
This so-called "original plot" diverged drastically from the previous life he had personally experienced!
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