Yet after the utmost fury came an even colder clarity.
Combining Wang Teng's memories with the experiences of his own previous life, a clear conclusion surfaced in his mind:
At last, he understood why Sea God Tang San had personally moved against him.
It turned out that in his previous life, for reasons unknown, he had stepped outside the meticulously woven "thread of fate."
He had not joined the Tang Sect, entered Shrek, fallen in love with Tang Wutong, or become a puppet on Tang San's strings.
He had chosen the Sun Moon Empire, created the "Heavenly Dao Contract," unified the continent, and even touched the threshold of a Self-Created Godhood... Everything had strayed completely from the script Tang San had laid out, causing his scheme to control Huo Yuhao through his daughter, and thereby control the lower realm's fortune and its future course, to fall through completely.
An uncontrollable "variable," an existence that might threaten his designs—even his position—would naturally be marked for the highest-level "elimination."
That was why Niu Tian, Tai Tan, and the Great Enshrined of Sea God Island had lain in ambush, and why Tang San's divine sense had finally descended in person to erase him.
"What a Sea God, with every move calculated... What a father, doing it all for his 'daughter's happiness'..."
Huo Yuhao's lips curved in a smile so icy it held not a trace of warmth, only endless scorn and murderous intent. "To toy with other people's lives as he pleases, to treat the fate of all living beings as a chessboard—is this how gods conduct themselves?"
Having lived a second life and gained a transmigrator's memories, Huo Yuhao now understood part of the "script." Naturally, he would never let Tang San's schemes succeed again!
In this life, he would overturn the entire chessboard! He would sever the hand that moved the pieces!
Forcibly suppressing the tempest of emotions churning within him, Huo Yuhao brought his attention back to reality.
The most urgent task was to grow stronger and survive.
He recalled Wang Teng's rather unusual "cheat"—the portal known as the "Dual-World Gate."
His consciousness sank into his Sea of Spirit. The ancient, illusory gray-white portal floated silently above the pale gray waters of his spirit, its light dim and its doors shut. It no longer possessed any of the force it had wielded when it had tried to suppress him.
In Wang Teng's memories, the information about the "Dual-World Gate" was clear:
This gate was called the "Dual-World Gate," and its main function was to let its user travel back and forth between the world they currently occupied and the world of "Douluo I."
More importantly, time flowed at vastly different rates in the two worlds, and the difference depended on which world the user was in:
If the user was in "Douluo II," then when they traveled to the world of "Douluo I," time flowed at a ratio of 10:1.
That meant ten years spent in the "Douluo I" world amounted to just one minute in the current "Douluo II" world.
Conversely, if the user was in the world of "Douluo I," then when they traveled to the world of "Douluo II," time flowed at the same ratio of 10:1.
That meant ten years spent in the "Douluo II" world amounted to just one minute in the "Douluo I" world.
What did this mean? It meant that, if used properly, this gate could become an incredible weapon for gaining cultivation time, laying plans in advance, and even seizing resources from two different eras!
If Wang Teng hadn't been so greedy and tried to possess him, the "Child of Fortune," he could have taken over some ordinary person instead. Then, using the Dual-World Gate to build up his strength across two eras, he might truly have achieved limitless potential in the future—even reaching the level of a God King would not have been impossible.
Alas, greed devoured the greedy.
Wang Teng's greed and stupidity had instead become the first "gift" Huo Yuhao received after being reborn.
The gate was now without an owner, and it belonged to Huo Yuhao.
With a thought, Huo Yuhao wrapped his mental power around the silently floating Dual-World Gate.
The portal quivered faintly but put up no resistance. It obediently transformed into a weak stream of gray-white light, merging into the depths of his spirit body and forming a preliminary connection with the origin of his soul.
He could feel that the gate was now merely an "inanimate object" containing special spatial and temporal rules. It had no intelligence or consciousness. As long as his mental power was sufficient, he could activate and use it, so he needn't worry about it turning on him.
"Traveling between two eras... Interesting." Huo Yuhao pondered. "Perhaps this can become one of my trump cards against Tang San in the future."
For now, though, he lacked the strength to activate the gate and truly travel between worlds. He needed to grow stronger first.
His consciousness returned to the outside world.
Huo Yuhao rose from the stream and brushed the grass from his clothes.
The morning mist had completely cleared. Sunlight filtered through the branches, casting dappled shadows across the forest. It was getting late.
He surveyed his surroundings and roughly identified his location using the memories of his previous life.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm... If the inertia of fate still held, or if Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's circumstances had not changed because of his rebirth and Wang Teng's arrival, then the million-year soul beast should still be somewhere nearby, teetering on the brink of death.
Huo Yuhao set off cautiously in the direction where he remembered Sky Dream Ice Silkworm might be. The outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest were relatively safe, but he could not afford to let his guard down.
As he walked, he tried to use his mental power to probe his surroundings.
But a sharp stab of pain immediately struck the space between his brows, as if countless fine needles were piercing his brain. His vision dimmed slightly.
"Ugh..."
Huo Yuhao groaned and stopped. It took several deep breaths for him to recover.
He had burned everything he had to perish together with Tang San, severely damaging the origin of his soul. Though he had been reborn and retained the essence of his Divine Origin Realm spiritual power and his vast memories, the "active" mental power he could command with ease was only equivalent to that of an ordinary Soul Elder.
Trying to probe a wide area or search with great precision would trigger a violent reaction in the injured part of his soul.
He changed tactics, no longer seeking range or precision. Instead, he used as little energy as possible, gently spreading wisps of invisible mental power around him like a spiderweb.
The pain persisted, but it was bearable.
His mental power covered an area of about thirty meters around him.
Within that area, every stirring breeze, chirping insect, and crawling ant appeared in his mind as a faint, three-dimensional gray image.
It was nowhere near as clear or expansive as the "Spirit Detection Sharing" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had granted him in his previous life, nor did it come with any built-in analysis. But it was more than enough to warn him of danger and observe the terrain.
In fact, he had used the Spirit Detection Soul Skill countless times in his previous life, and had long since committed its principles, energy flow, and mental fluctuations to memory.
Even without absorbing his First Soul Ring, he could imitate the effect of "Spirit Detection" through his own control and understanding of mental power.
He estimated that if he gritted his teeth and ignored the pain in his soul, he could gather the mental power he could currently command into a focused beam and probe in one direction, perhaps reaching a maximum distance of around five hundred meters.
But the cost would be too high, and the gain too small.
For now, he only needed to travel and conduct some initial exploration. Maintaining a basic detection range of around thirty meters was the safest choice.
The journey passed without incident.
About half an hour later, following his memories, Huo Yuhao reached the bank of another stream.
The trees here grew less densely, sunlight was plentiful, and the clear water rippled past with a soft burble.
Only then did the hunger in his belly remind him plainly—since waking up reborn, he had been through a transmigrator's attempt to possess him, digested the memories, and traveled this far without eating a single grain of rice.
His Spirit Detection silently swept across the surface and bottom of the stream.
Soon, a school of fish about the size of his palm, their scales glinting faintly silver, entered his "field of vision."
They darted nimbly among the water plants, plump and lively.
He needed to replenish his strength, and these plump fish would make a fine lunch.
Before you continue