Because of my talent of Innate Soul Power Rank 8, I was sent to the main branch for training. Here, I indeed met Huo Yuhao.
White Tiger Lin Qing arrived at a spacious soul master training ground.
White Tiger Lin Qing stood at the edge of the training ground.
His gaze passed over the peers training diligently and landed on a distant corner.
There, a boy somewhat smaller and paler than his peers was practicing the most basic Soul Power guidance movements alone, over and over again, with utmost seriousness.
He was quiet and taciturn.
Against the arrogant youths from the direct line around him, he seemed utterly out of place, even somewhat lonely.
Huo Yuhao.
His Martial Soul was the Spirit Eye.
Like Lin Qing's Heavenly Eye Martial Soul, it was a spiritual-type eye Body Martial Soul.
Yet his Innate Soul Power was only a pitiful Rank 1.
In the main branch of the White Tiger Duke Mansion, where strength was revered, such talent was practically synonymous with "trash" and "having no future."
Most people looked at him with contempt, disdain, or simply ignored him completely.
But White Tiger Lin Qing looked at him with incomparably fervent eyes.
Only I know what kind of path this currently inconspicuous, even pitiable boy will walk in the future.
He will encounter Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, that Million-Year Soul Beast. He will receive the inheritance of Electrolux, the Holy Necromancer. He will obtain the Soul Rings of the Ice Empress and Snow Empress... Countless heaven-shaking opportunities that others would dream of and fight desperately for will fall upon him one after another as though arranged in advance.
He will rise step by step from a "trash" anyone could trample on into an overpowered freak who stirs the continent's winds and clouds, even if he ultimately becomes Tang San's "dog."
Seeing this, Lin Qing in reality narrowed his pupils slightly.
He understood instantly.
"So... this White Tiger Lin Qing is taking that route?"
If it had been himself, in that environment, knowing those opportunities were right there, waiting for a specific person to claim them...
When he searched his heart, he knew he would most likely choose to seize them too.
Of course!
With such enormous benefits right before his eyes, if he did not reach out and take them, was he supposed to wait for them to grow legs and run away, or let someone else have them?
Wouldn't that make him an idiot?
The scene on the light screen confirmed his guess.
When White Tiger Lin Qing thought of that possibility, his eyes lit up astonishingly, as though flames burned in the depths of his pupils.
A bold idea, nearly insane yet incomparably enticing, rose uncontrollably within my heart—
The scene gave White Tiger Lin Qing a close-up of his face.
The corners of his lips slowly curled up, determination and ambition blazing fiercely in his gaze.
The narration was even more resolute.
Intercept him!
I'll seize every one of Huo Yuhao's opportunities before he does!
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm is mine! Electrolux's inheritance is mine! Ice Empress, Snow Empress... Everything can be mine!
Lin Qing in reality could not help nodding, silently praising him. "Clear thinking, clear goals!"
This was the kind of "awareness" a transmigrator ought to have!
Returning empty-handed while guarding a treasure mountain—wouldn't that make him a complete sucker?
He continued watching intently.
No matter how good the idea is, it is empty talk without strength.
To successfully intercept those opportunities, strength is the foundation, the key that opens the door, and the basis for keeping the gains.
The scenes began flashing rapidly, like still silhouettes one after another.
Early morning.
Before dawn had broken.
White Tiger Lin Qing was already drenched in sweat on the training ground, tempering his body.
In the morning, he followed the family's instructors to study Soul Master theory and combat techniques.
In the afternoon, he underwent high-intensity sparring.
At night, after everyone else had gone to rest, he was still meditating cross-legged in his room.
His Soul Power accumulated and grew bit by bit, like a trickling stream.
His life was disciplined to an almost harsh degree, with every moment filled by cultivation.
White Tiger Lin Qing knew his advantage—his foreknowledge.
He knew the approximate timeline and the locations of those opportunities.
He also knew his disadvantage—he came from a collateral branch, and his starting point was far from exceptional.
Therefore, he had to work harder in order to outrun time and outrun that future "Child of Destiny."
My talent is far better than Huo Yuhao's was at the time, and my resources are more abundant than those of an "outsider" like him.
More importantly, I know which direction I need to strive toward.
When I was a little over ten, my Soul Power had successfully broken through Rank 20, reaching the standard needed to obtain a second Soul Ring.
White Tiger Lin Qing, having broken through to Rank 20, did not show much joy on his face.
Instead, he frowned slightly, as though pondering something.
At that time, Huo Yuhao was still struggling bitterly before the threshold of Rank 10, his Soul Power growing so slowly it was agonizing to watch.
After thinking it over repeatedly, I did not rush to hunt for my second Soul Ring.
White Tiger Lin Qing stood before the window of his room, his gaze directed toward the remote courtyard where Huo Yuhao lived.
Outside, the moonlight was cold and clear.
Yet his eyes were exceptionally profound and calm, as though he were patiently waiting for something.
I was waiting.
Waiting for Huo Yuhao to leave the Duke Mansion.
Waiting for that crucial moment that would change his fate, and the fates of many others.
Lin Qing in reality let out a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
"Smart. He knows how to wait."
If he foolishly copied the original Huo Yuhao and accepted Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's sacrifice at Rank 10,
he would not only squander the window of advantage granted by his better talent and faster cultivation,
but planning for those great opportunities with the strength of a Rank 10 Soul Scholar would also be far too risky, with a success rate far too slim.
It would be better to proceed at his own pace and first raise his strength to a more reliable level.
A Rank 20 Soul Grandmaster.
Though he still would not be considered strong.
Compared with a Rank 10 Soul Scholar, however, his ability to protect himself, his ability to act, and his room to respond to unexpected situations would all be much greater.
That was the rational choice, the one that maximized benefits.
No one had ever said Sky Dream Ice Silkworm could only sacrifice itself as a first Soul Ring.
The scene on the light screen shifted.
A considerable amount of time seemed to have passed.
White Tiger Lin Qing had grown taller.
Some of the childishness had faded from his face, but his gaze had become calmer and sharper.
Like the most patient hunter, he silently watched every move of his prey.
Finally—
I waited until I was eleven.
Thank heavens, Huo Yuhao finally broke through the Rank 10 bottleneck.
In an unnoticed corner, Soul Power rippled faintly around the frail boy.
An expression of relief mixed with confusion appeared on his face.
Rank 10 meant that he could leave the Duke Mansion and obtain his first Soul Ring.
For this boy, whose mother had long since passed away and who had endured endless cold looks and humiliation in the Duke Mansion, there was nothing here worth missing anymore.
His heart held only hatred for the White Tiger Duke Mansion.
One morning.
The sky had only just begun to brighten.
Huo Yuhao carried a shabby little bundle on his back and turned to take one final look at the cold, oppressive Duke Mansion where he had lived for eleven years.
Filled with hatred, he turned and set out on the road of departure.
His figure soon vanished at the end of the street leading out of the city.
Huo Yuhao has finally left the Duke Mansion.
From atop a high pavilion, White Tiger Lin Qing stood by the railing as the morning breeze stirred the hem of his clothes.
He watched from afar as that retreating figure gradually faded and eventually became a black dot, his face expressionless.
Yet the corner of his lips had already lifted in an almost imperceptible curve of certainty, as though everything were under his control.
He has set out.
To obtain his first Soul Ring, and to reach the true beginning of his legendary fate.
And it is time for me to set out as well!
Before you continue