Two years earlier.
Lin Qing arrived in Suotuo City.
He neither went to Notting Academy nor joined Spirit Hall.
Instead, he chose a third path: striking out on his own.
In Suotuo City, he gave himself two identities.
The first was "True Lord Erlang" of the Great Soul Arena.
A twelve-year-old youth with the Spirit Eye Martial Soul—naturally, that was merely a disguise.
He concealed the Heavenly Eye Martial Soul with his First Soul Skill.
This identity was used to earn money, build a reputation, and gain practical combat experience along the way.
The second was the appearance of the eight-year-old boy he currently was.
His looks were ordinary and completely unremarkable.
It was for daily life, so he would avoid drawing attention.
Especially to avoid being noticed by that old pervert, Priest.
Lin Qing had not forgotten the lesson of the Parallel World.
That guy liked pretty little boys.
If he did not disguise this face of his, he would definitely be targeted.
And if he was targeted, the trouble would be enormous.
Thus, he had kept an extremely low profile over the past two years.
Other than going to the Great Soul Arena for matches, he basically stayed in his little courtyard to cultivate.
Still, he had gathered all the information he needed.
Lin Qing walked out of the alley and blended into the crowds on the street, silently sorting through the intelligence in his mind.
Viscount Priest was one of Suotuo City's many nobles, but he belonged to the weakest tier.
Apart from several Soul Ancestor guards, the strongest member of his family was Viscount Priest himself, a Level 32 battle Soul Elder.
His strength was not particularly impressive, but Lin Qing had no plans to make a move yet.
"There's still quite a gap between one ring and a Soul Elder. Even if I can ambush people with illusions, my frontal combat strength isn't enough. I need to wait."
He would wait until he was stronger, or until the right opportunity came along.
Besides plotting revenge to fulfill six-year-old Lin Qing's final wish, Lin Qing had not been idle during these past two years.
His Soul Power naturally had not fallen behind either. It had steadily risen to Level 20, while his Spiritual Power had grown rapidly under the nourishment of the Gold of Life.
That was also why he dared to toy with Soul Grandmasters using illusions.
He made his way back to the small courtyard he rented.
It was a secluded courtyard in Suotuo City's southeastern district.
It was not large, but it was quiet.
Lin Qing pushed open the courtyard gate, entered, and locked it behind him.
"Buzz!"
A familiar vibration suddenly appeared without warning.
Lin Qing followed the sensation into the guest room.
There, on the wooden table in the guest room, sat a familiar black Ash Urn.
It had the familiar design, the familiar sinister aura, and even a portrait painted on its surface.
The portrait showed a twelve-year-old boy with black hair and blue eyes, dressed in a peculiar silver-white uniform.
There was a faint resemblance to Lin Qing in his features, but his temperament was entirely different.
He was calmer, sharper.
His eyes carried the rational gleam unique to an outstanding science and engineering student.
"!!!"
Ecstasy filled Lin Qing's face.
It was here, it was here! The Ash Urn had finally come!
The Ash Urn, which had not appeared once in two years, had finally shown up again.
It had certainly kept him waiting.
[ Ding! ]
A cold system notification exploded in his mind.
[Received the relic of "Sun Moon Lin Qing"!]
[Would you like to view his final message immediately?]
Lin Qing froze.
"Sun Moon Lin Qing?"
The name was rather strange.
Could it simply be to distinguish him from the first two?
Lin Qing shook his head.
"Forget all that. Quickly show me everything you have!"
The next moment.
The light before his eyes shifted.
The final message's projection slowly unfolded.
[I am Lin Qing, a reincarnated transmigrator. I transmigrated into the world of Douluo Continent. When I was six years old, I awakened the "Heavenly Eye" Martial Soul and possessed Level 8 Innate Soul Power.]
A familiar final message, a familiar beginning.
Everything up to this point was not too different from the previous final messages.
Lin Qing was already prepared to hear an option like "join Spirit Hall" or "go to Notting Academy."
However.
[I was in the Sun Moon Empire. Because I possessed a spiritual-type Martial Soul and outstanding talent, I was noticed by the Sun Moon Royal Academy and specially admitted, joining the Sun Moon Royal Academy.]
"???"
The real Lin Qing was dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at the projection of that grand academy, filled with technological and metallic charm.
As well as the students' peculiar silver-white uniforms.
"What the hell? Am I dreaming, or am I hallucinating?"
Lin Qing could not help doubting himself.
The things described in the final message were simply too unimaginable.
The Sun Moon Royal Academy... wasn't that the highest institution of the Sun Moon Empire during the Peerless Tang Sect era, ten thousand years in the future?
How could it be here?!
How could Lin Qing of this Parallel World have joined the Sun Moon Royal Academy?
Wait.
Lin Qing suddenly realized something.
"Sun Moon Lin Qing... the relic is called 'Sun Moon Lin Qing'... could it be..."
He sucked in a sharp breath. His pupils contracted violently as an absurd possibility surfaced in his mind.
"This parallel version of me isn't from Douluo Continent's current timeline, but from the timeline ten thousand years later, when the Sun Moon Empire existed during the Peerless Tang Sect era!"
This guess made Lin Qing's heart pound wildly.
If that was true, then this relic's value was simply enormous!
Others might not know how far Soul Tool technology in the Sun Moon Empire had developed ten thousand years later, but he knew very well.
It was a terrifying force capable of using technology to directly contend with traditional soul masters!
Fixed Soul Cannons, Level-Ten Soul Tools... taking out any one of them in this era would be an overwhelming, generation-crushing blow!
"If this Lin Qing learned Soul Tool technology at the Sun Moon Royal Academy... could his relic contain Soul Tool knowledge? Blueprints? Or even finished products?"
At that thought, Lin Qing's breathing quickened.
His eyes remained fixed on the Ash Urn on the table, as if it contained not ashes, but a treasure trove!
The thought made Lin Qing so excited that even his fingers trembled.
After calming down, Lin Qing impatiently continued watching the final message projection.
He desperately wanted to know what this parallel self from ten thousand years later had experienced, and what kind of inheritance he had left behind.
[After joining the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, I began systematic foundational studies.]
In the image, the youth wore a silver-white uniform and sat in a bright classroom.
Complex Soul Tool circuit diagrams were drawn across the blackboard.
The teacher stood before the podium, his voice clear and stern.
"A Soul Tool is a special device that uses Soul Power as its energy source."
"Its core lies in Soul Tool circuits, energy pathways that convert Soul Power into specific effects."
"Today, we will study the most basic circuit design for a lighting Soul Tool."
The youth took notes seriously, his gaze focused.
[At first, I had many ideas.]
The narrator's voice rang out, carrying a trace of reminiscence.
[I knew this was the Peerless Tang Sect world ten thousand years in the future, and I also knew that Douluo Continent held countless opportunities.]
In the dormitory late at night.
Sun Moon Lin Qing lay sprawled over his desk, with a crude hand-drawn map spread before him.
Several locations were marked on it: the Star Dou Great Forest, the Far North, Shrek Academy... and more.
[Huo Yuhao, Huo Gua's two greatest cheats—the Million-Year Soul Beast Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Holy Necromancer, Scourge of the Undead, Electrolux—are both within the Star Dou Great Forest.]
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