The fires raged, blood flowed, and people wept.
This small town on the Federation's northern frontier had been attacked by Evil Soul Masters. People were dying everywhere.
Yun Qianzhao hid in the shadows, his expression grave.
He had once belonged to the Sun Moon Imperial Clan, a family that had lived in seclusion for ten thousand years. But he had been unable to awaken his Martial Soul, and after his family cast him out, someone had taken him in during an attack by Evil Soul Masters.
Later, his adoptive parents died during an Abyss invasion. But because they hadn't taken part in the final battle against the Abyss, they couldn't be resurrected! He had stood alone and watched the Son of God be raised to the altar, while humanity bowed its head to the Soul Beasts!
That ten-thousand-year plan had been nothing but a scheme devised by a god to keep his son alive! For six thousand years, countless people had charged into the fray, leaving heaps of bones behind, all to pave the Son of God's road to immortality!
Yun Qianzhao had thought he would never be able to avenge his adoptive parents in this life. But who could have imagined that when he opened his eyes again, he would find himself back on the very day the Evil Soul Masters attacked!
Had Heaven finally opened its eyes, or was this just a dream? Yun Qianzhao didn't know. Right now, his most urgent task was to survive! Only by staying alive would he have a chance! With the memories of his previous life to guide him, he had already escaped to the edge of town and would soon be out.
It was a pity that in this life, he probably wouldn't meet his adoptive parents again!
As Yun Qianzhao fled toward the outskirts, the clear sky suddenly filled with dark clouds. A wind sprang up, and a round shadow appeared at the edge of the sun before rapidly swallowing it whole.
The earth plunged into darkness!
A solar eclipse!
The sudden darkness threw Yun Qianzhao off stride. At this moment, when yin and yang were thrown into chaos, he felt as if something inside his body were about to burst out!
His whole body felt as though it were being scorched by flames, searing hot!
"Damn it, what's happening?"
Yun Qianzhao furrowed his brow and clenched his teeth. The burning sensation made it impossible for him to move. Gradually, a golden glow began to shimmer across his body.
The golden light stood out all the more sharply in the darkness, drawing the Evil Soul Masters' attention!
"There's a kid over here?"
"He's glowing? Looks like a fine sacrifice! He's mine!"
"Get lost! He's mine!"
Watching the Evil Soul Masters rush toward him, grinning savagely as they fought to get there first, Yun Qianzhao clenched his fists, his eyes filled with unwillingness. Had he been reborn only to die once more?
He refused to accept it!
His overwhelming unwillingness burst through the dam, and the bloodline shackles within him shattered in an instant. The golden light around Yun Qianzhao solidified, and a vast Golden Sun rose behind him, its radiance piercing the darkness!
From within the shadows, a pair of small, fair hands reached out. They covered Yun Qianzhao's eyes and mouth from behind, then dragged him into the darkness.
The golden sun behind him vanished along with him.
"Where'd he go?"
"Damn it! Is he a Soul Master? A Soul Master that young?"
The Evil Soul Masters came up empty and stared at one another in confusion. No matter how they searched, they couldn't find any trace of Yun Qianzhao. It was as if he had truly vanished into thin air!
The solar eclipse ended soon after. The Evil Soul Masters didn't linger, retreating from the town before the Federation's army arrived.
Only after the Evil Soul Masters had all withdrawn did Yun Qianzhao emerge from the shadows. But he didn't hurry to leave. Instead, he turned toward the corner of the shadow and demanded, "Who are you?"
As Yun Qianzhao's question fell, ripples stirred through the shadow, and a silver-haired girl who looked almost exactly like him stepped out. Her silver eyes reflected his image.
Yun Qianzhao was dazed for a moment. Then, utterly bewildered, he raised a hand to his head. The silver-haired girl made the same gesture.
"You're... me?"
The two of them spoke in bewilderment at the same time.
Yun Qianzhao realized that, apart from the silver-haired girl, he could also see himself! This half of his field of vision didn't belong to him, but to the silver-haired girl before him!
Seeing himself from this angle felt incredibly strange.
"It's just like looking in a mirror..."
They both raised their hands and tentatively pressed their palms together, then clasped each other's hands tightly. Never before had the warmth of touch felt so clear.
"Are we...?"
"Our thoughts are shared! Our senses are connected!"
The silver-haired girl wore the very same look of astonishment. She didn't open her mouth, yet her voice appeared in Yun Qianzhao's mind.
But why had this happened?
Yun Qianzhao looked up at the sun and guessed, "Could it be because of the solar eclipse?"
During a solar eclipse, the sun and moon hung together in the sky, the moon's shadow falling across the heavens as yin and yang fell into disorder.
Yun Qianzhao's family had passed down the Sun-Moon Martial Soul for generations. It made sense that he might have undergone a mutation because of the phenomenon of the sun and moon appearing together.
And that golden sun just now... Could it have been his Martial Soul?
With that thought, Yun Qianzhao turned to look at the silver-haired girl. Their hearts were connected, and they raised their hands at the same time, mirroring each other's movements. A light rose behind each of them.
Behind Yun Qianzhao was a vast Golden Sun, blazing and radiant. Behind the silver-haired girl was a crescent New Moon, radiating bone-chilling cold.
"Sun-Moon Twin Birth!"
Yun Qianzhao and the silver-haired girl spoke the words in unison. Just as expected, the solar eclipse had allowed light and shadow to exist at the same time!
Which one was the true body and which one the shadow no longer mattered.
"Qian Yue... Yun Qianyue!"
"From now on, I'm Yun Qianzhao, and I'm Yun Qianyue!"
The two spoke in perfect sync. As they looked at the Martial Souls behind each other, a strange stirring rose within them.
The Sun-Moon Martial Souls trembled softly. A sliver of silver moonlight spread from one edge of the Golden Sun behind Yun Qianzhao, then quickly expanded. Just like during the solar eclipse, the Golden Sun turned into a Silver Moon.
The Silver Moon behind Yun Qianyue also transformed into a Golden Sun! Their eyes and hair changed color as well.
Seeing this, the two stared in astonishment. Could they use each other's Martial Souls too?
No—strictly speaking, they were the same person. It wasn't so strange for their Martial Souls to change like this.
Just as the two were preparing to leave town and find somewhere quiet to test the connection between their two Martial Souls, the Federation's army arrived and sealed off the entire town.
According to the Federation army's count, fewer than ten people in the town were still alive!
Yun Qianzhao and Yun Qianyue were taken by the Federation army to a temporary shelter. There, they saw the adoptive parents they'd had in their previous life. Their adoptive father was a Federation soldier, and their adoptive mother was a nurse in the army.
Because of their work, the couple had no children. When they saw Yun Qianzhao and Yun Qianyue, who had neither father nor mother, they immediately thought of adopting them.
But this time, Yun Qianzhao refused.
His goal was to overturn the faith in the Sea God that dominated Douluo Continent. The road would be difficult, and he didn't want his adoptive parents getting caught up in it too!
The adoptive parents were disappointed by the refusal, but they continued to care for the two of them just as attentively as before.
The two stayed at the temporary shelter for half a month, constantly thinking about the future. In this era, personal cultivation alone was absolutely not enough to become strong. They had to join an organization!
But what organization could they join?
The Federation was one option, but Yun Qianzhao had little faith in it.
Rather, from his point of view, none of the major powers—the Federation, the Spirit Pagoda, or the others—could be trusted.
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