In a strange space, Soul Power surged wildly toward a single point, condensing into a golden cocoon of light.
A moment later, the cocoon split open, and Ye Guchen crawled out, naked.
His face was pale, and his body trembled slightly.
He had died again!
Every time he died, it felt as though his body were being torn apart while he was still alive.
That pain didn't lessen one bit just because he was reborn.
Still, after dying a few more times, he'd gotten used to it!
He sensed his Soul Power. Sure enough, it had dropped from level 49 to level 48.
"Damn it, down another level."
Ye Guchen cursed as he got dressed.
"Good thing I can reshape my body in this Bead Martial Soul space as long as the two bodies don't die at the same time."
He took a deep breath, tamped down his fear of death, and returned to Gengjin City.
The auction house before him had been reduced to ruins.
Ye Guchen looked down at the wreckage, his gaze utterly unmoved.
"Fourteen years." He murmured to himself.
Fourteen years ago, he had crossed over. During the journey, a mysterious bead had collided with his soul, splitting it in two.
One half had landed in Dou I, the other in Dou II.
He had crossed over into two different bodies, but they shared the same consciousness and memories.
When they awakened their Martial Souls, both bodies had awakened Twin Martial Souls. That bead had become the second Martial Soul shared by both bodies.
It contained a space. That very space let him send goods from Dou I to Dou II to sell.
The Martial Soul unique to Dou I was the Shark Tooth Sword, which came with a set of Zongheng Sword Technique.
The Martial Soul unique to Dou II was the Contract Grimoire.
"This much commotion is bound to attract people." Ye Guchen glanced at the ruins and turned to leave.
"Looks like I'll have to do what I did in Dou II and find a faction to work with long-term. Otherwise, trouble like this will keep coming."
"Spirit Hall is out of the question. I don't want to deal with that crazy woman."
He turned his gaze toward Heaven Dou Imperial City.
"Perhaps she'd be a good choice..."
Dou II timeline
By the shore of Sea God Lake at Shrek Academy.
Ye Guchen was enjoying the evening breeze when a red figure crept up behind him.
He sensed her, of course, but pretended not to notice.
Ma Xiaotao reached him from behind and clapped a hand over his eyes.
"Guess who?"
At once, Ye Guchen felt something soft press against his back.
"Sister Xiaotao."
Ma Xiaotao hopped around in front of him and pouted. "How boring. You guess right every time."
"You haven't even come close, and a wave of heat has already reached me. It'd be strange if I couldn't guess."
Ma Xiaotao leaned against his shoulder and gave a couple of dissatisfied hums. "Couldn't you pretend you didn't know?"
Ye Guchen smiled but didn't answer.
The two fell silent for a while before Ma Xiaotao suddenly spoke. "Oh, right. Your sister came to see me a few days ago."
"Sister Guyi?" Ye Guchen was taken aback. "What did she say?"
"She told me to keep an eye on your cultivation and make sure you don't slack off." Ma Xiaotao rolled her eyes. "She also said you've been slacking lately. You've been stuck for three months and still haven't broken through to level 50. Those old monsters in the inner courtyard have their eyes on your pets."
She paused, her tone turning serious. "You're the only one in all of history with a Contract Soul Beast that can grow."
Ye Guchen smiled bitterly.
He did have reason to be proud.
When he awakened his Martial Soul, he had Innate Full Soul Power and the Contract Grimoire.
Three years ago, when he was eleven, he joined Shrek Academy with Ye Guyi.
At twelve, he broke through to level 35.
He had three contracted pets, each more outrageous than the last.
His first pet was an Ice Jade Scorpion. By then, it had already grown to the six-thousand-year level and could even help Ma Xiaotao suppress her Evil Fire.
The two of them had grown closer because of it.
"Guyi also said..." Ma Xiaotao's voice suddenly dropped a little. "When her parents found you by the roadside, you were only this big." She held up her hand to show him. "You were so skinny you looked like a monkey. She thought you wouldn't survive."
Ye Guchen was silent for a moment.
Those had been the two hardest days of his life in the Dou II timeline.
He had crossed over, his soul had split, and both bodies had to start from zero.
In the Dou II timeline, Ye Guyi's parents had found his body. The situation had been much harder for the body in Dou I, which had to struggle to survive alone in a small village.
"So," he said softly, "Sister Guyi is my real sister. She always will be."
Ma Xiaotao glanced at him without replying, simply leaning a little closer.
The two fell silent for a while.
"Sister Xiaotao, I'm going out tomorrow, probably for about ten days. Don't worry, I'll be back before your Evil Fire flares up again."
Ma Xiaotao didn't ask where he was going. She only hummed in acknowledgment.
She never asked about his affairs. But he knew she'd remember them all the same.
"It'll just be around the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. It won't be dangerous."
Ma Xiaotao lifted her head, back to her fiery senior-self, and slapped away his hand as he reached to pat her head.
"Little brother, who do you think you are, putting your hand on your big sister's head?!"
Ye Guchen smiled, withdrew his hand, and set it on her waist.
The next day, at the gates of Shrek Academy.
Ye Guchen watched Beibei and Tang Ya playfully bickering as they headed toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
He knew that the plot of the Dou II timeline had begun.
At the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, Ye Guchen concealed his presence all the way, following the two of them to the area.
"It should be almost time—the starting point of Huo Yuhao's cheat in the original story!"
There was only one reason: within the range of Ye Guchen's mental perception, a ten-year Wind Baboon was raising its fist and swaggering at a squirrel.
Ye Guchen had no plans to meet the two of them yet. He kept his presence concealed and continued toward the Wind Baboon.
"Going by the original story, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm has already escaped and should be somewhere around here."
Ye Guchen looked at the Wind Baboon before him, too frightened by his aura to move.
Ye Guchen decided to use the mental attack of his fourth pet to kill it. That might draw the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm out.
Ye Guchen's fourth pet came from the Evil Demon Forest: a ten-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant.
When it broke through to the ten-thousand-year level, it evolved into the Evil Eye Sovereign. Its spiritual power was greatly refined, and it gained control over a sliver of the power of time!
As the holder of the Contract Grimoire, Ye Guchen could use eighty percent of his pet's abilities!
A powerful mental attack shot from Ye Guchen's eyes, piercing the Wind Baboon's mental sea in an instant.
The powerful mental disturbance immediately caught the attention of a ridiculously huge silkworm beneath the ground.
At once, Ye Guchen felt a powerful mental force sweep over him.
"It worked!"
"What a fine seedling! What a truly fine seedling!"
An excited voice rang directly in his mind.
The voice was filled with indescribable delight. "Too bad your big brother can't cry. Otherwise, tears would be streaming down his face right now!"
Before the words had even faded, a plump white worm suddenly appeared before him.
It was a Soul Beast shaped like a silkworm, its body white as jade and about a foot long. Ten ancient golden patterns were evenly spaced along its body.
It hovered in midair, its round body swaying slightly as its little bead-like eyes curiously examined Ye Guchen.
That formidable mental power from before had come from this harmless-looking little fellow.
Just as Ye Guchen's eyes met the little creature's bead-like eyes, a series of roars came from the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The sounds came rushing over, carrying violent fluctuations of Soul Power and making the surrounding Soul Beasts tremble in fear.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's round body suddenly shuddered. Its bead-like eyes widened, and it cried out urgently:
"Not good! They've noticed I'm gone!"
"There's no time to explain. I'll tell you later!"
Then it transformed into a streak of light and shot straight into the center of Ye Guchen's forehead.
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