Angel!

Douluo Continent, North Sea City.

"Soul power, level two!"

"And it seems he doesn't even have a martial soul."

"Soul power but no martial soul? What a freak."

"Freak? I'd say he's just trash!"

Malicious remarks like these drifted through the classroom, the buzzing discussions all directed at one person.

A handsome six-year-old boy sat quietly at his desk, his small frame leaning against the edge, one hand propping up his chin, his gaze staring blankly ahead.

Surrounded by malicious mockery and idle gossip, he seemed not to hear a word, his expression remaining entirely unmoved.

His eyes were dull and vacant, devoid of ripples, his heart undisturbed as if he were isolated from the world. Even at such a young age, he exuded a sense of indifference and stillness that belied his years, maintaining his own pocket of silence amidst the noisy crowd.

In reality, Shen Nanxun didn't care about these comments at all; or rather, his adult soul had no interest in arguing with these children.

What he cared about was his own future. Just as those guys had said, having only level two innate soul power and no martial soul meant he was destined never to become a Soul Master.

He could only be an ordinary person.

Yet, having come to this world, who wouldn't want to be a Soul Master capable of traversing the heavens and earth, achieving a Title, and living a life of carefree freedom?

Now, even with the ambition of a man who refuses to accept his fate, it was all just empty sorrow.

Was he really going to spend his whole life selling spicy rabbit heads?

The chatter in the classroom only died down when the teacher arrived. A lean, pale-faced middle-aged man walked in.

His high, broad forehead was slightly receding, his dark hair combed back into a side part. A pair of sharp, light-blue eyes swept across the room, and he sported a signature short, straight mustache. He was wrapped in a crisp, dark military uniform, his shoulders held stiffly, radiating an inherent sense of oppression.

Even after a year of classes, Shen Nanxun still found this teacher with the surname A strange.

If this weren't the Douluo Continent, he would have suspected the man was some beer-hall leader with a small mustache.

Teacher Adolf's expression remained stern, even his daily lecture delivery feeling deliberately stiff. "Students, yesterday everyone awakened their martial souls within the Legion. I must emphasize that I suggest students with soul power below level five withdraw voluntarily; the subsequent curriculum will only become more difficult."

This class was run by the North Sea Legion, and the students were all children of military officers. These children generally possessed decent talent. Classes started at age five, and the curriculum grew increasingly strict, approaching a militarized standard. Therefore, those with low soul power levels could not withstand such intense training.

A boy with an ordinary appearance sitting in the front row suddenly stood up, saying with a gloating tone, "Teacher Adolf, Shen Nanxun only has level two soul power and no martial soul!"

Shen Nanxun recognized this guy; his name was Dong Yi'an, the son of Western Legion Commander Dong Zi'an. However, because his mother served in the North Sea Legion, he attended classes here.

He had an outgoing personality and was eager to show off, desperate to establish a leadership position in the class. But since school started a year ago, Shen Nanxun had garnered a great deal of popularity thanks to his striking looks.

This made the guy very envious. As the child of a Legion Commander himself, he refused to fall behind, so he had frequently clashed with Shen Nanxun over the past year. Now, he had finally found an opportunity to mock him.

The malicious chatter in the classroom earlier had actually come from the small group surrounding Dong Yi'an.

After all, as the child of a Legion Commander, only Dong Yi'an, the son of the Western Legion Commander, dared to act this way; others were always wary of Shen Nanxun's status.

Adolf's expression didn't change, clearly already aware of the situation, and he offered no reprimand for the behavior of Dong Yi'an and his group.

The Legion was unlike other places. Here, when faced with mockery, the only thing to do was to strike back with strength. Everything here was based on strength, even in this small classroom.

"Shen Nanxun, I am already aware of your situation. Although you are the child of a Legion Commander, there are no exceptions here. Consider my words carefully when you go back; perhaps seeking a second career early will provide a better path for your future."

Shen Nanxun finally moved, lifting his emotionless eyes to glance at Adolf.

"Understood, teacher."

The words were cruel, but they were the truth. If the path of a Soul Master was closed, the best future path to pursue was that of a mecha pilot.

Although he was told to go back and think it over, today's lessons proceeded as usual. What they were to perform today was seawater body tempering, a very common training subject in the North Sea Legion.

North Sea City was located on the northern coast, where the temperature was already low, and the seawater was bone-chillingly cold—perfect for stimulating the physique to achieve the effect of tempering the body.

The seaside was naturally in the suburbs, and they traveled from the classroom in open-top military off-road vehicles. Each vehicle had four seats besides the driver's.

Shen Nanxun found a seat by the window in the back row. Just as he was about to cast his gaze outside, the seat beside him sank heavily.

Dong Yi'an squeezed over carelessly, taking up nearly half the seat.

"Yo, Shen Nanxun, we're sitting together." He grinned, deliberately draping his arm over the back of the seat, and raised an eyebrow. "You don't need to worry. Actually, there are no trash martial souls, only trash Soul Masters."

"However, you don't even have a trash martial soul..."

Just as Dong Yi'an finished speaking, his face full of mockery, a cold and crisp girl's voice suddenly rang out from beside the vehicle, cutting off his taunt directly.

"Dong Yi'an, if your mouth is that idle, you'd better save your energy for the seawater tempering later, lest you end up crying for your parents from the cold."

Following the sound, one could see a slender yet upright figure standing by the vehicle. The girl wore a simple, standard-issue Legion uniform, her features clean and sharp, her temperament cold but not arrogant. It was Ye Xi, who was always quiet in class but whom no one dared to provoke easily.

She didn't look at Dong Yi'an again, simply bent over to get into the vehicle, and sat directly on the other side of Shen Nanxun, quietly separating him from Dong Yi'an.

The carriage instantly grew a bit quieter.

The mockery on Dong Yi'an's face froze for a moment, and he looked at Ye Xi with some displeasure: "I'm talking to him, what does it have to do with you?"

Ye Xi glanced at him indifferently and didn't respond, instead turning her head to look at Shen Nanxun, her eyes carrying a hint of imperceptible concern.

Shen Nanxun slowly withdrew his gaze, the corners of his lips curling into a faint, almost invisible smile. He finally lifted his eyes to look at Dong Yi'an, his tone calm, yet every word was clear:

"Before worrying about me, you'd better worry about yourself. Level five soul power, barely stuck on the withdrawal line. Keep being so talkative, and you might be the next one advised to leave the classroom."

"The pot calling the kettle black; we're in the same boat."

A single, lighthearted sentence struck the vital point.

The smile on Dong Yi'an's face froze instantly. His complexion shifted from red to green, then suddenly turned dark. He clenched his fists, yet he could not find a single word to refute it.

This was the point he was most sensitive about. As the son of Dong Zi'an, his brother, who was two years his senior, had also studied here at the North Sea Legion. After his martial soul awakened with innate level nine soul power, he was immediately taken back to the Western Legion for cultivation.

The seawater body-tempering site was located in a natural reef bay that curved inward along the northern coastline. The waves were gentle, and the water depth was just enough to submerge the waist and abdomen of a six-year-old child. The convertible off-road vehicle drove along the coastal highway, the sea breeze carrying a salty, fishy scent as it rushed toward them. Shen Nanxun tilted his head to look at the distant horizon, his gaze remaining vacant, as if the small confrontation in the carriage moments ago had never happened.

Ye Xi sat beside him, equally silent. She was not a talkative person; her speaking up to help just now was already rare.

Dong Yi'an, meanwhile, kept a dark, gloomy face and did not utter a word.

The journey passed in silence. The convoy had been driving along the coastal road for about twenty minutes, and just as they were about to turn into the side road leading to the reef bay, a sudden change occurred.

Shen Nanxun first heard a sharp, piercing sound, as if something had torn through the air itself. The next instant, a pillar of black light descended from the sky, striking the hood of the lead vehicle with precision.

BOOM!!!

A violent explosion rang out. Shen Nanxun only felt the world spinning as his body was thrown out by a massive force. In his ears, he heard the jarring sound of twisting metal and the screams of his classmates. He instinctively curled his body, shielding his head with his hands. Immediately after, his back slammed heavily into something hard, and a sharp pain shot from his right leg.

By the time he regained his senses, he was already leaning against the trunk of a crooked sea pine.

A piercing pain came from his right calf. His pant leg had been torn open, and a gruesome wound on his skin was oozing blood. Shen Nanxun glanced down and, confirming it was not a fracture, gritted his teeth and tore off a piece of his sleeve to tightly bind the area above the wound to stop the bleeding.

But before he could even catch his breath, he saw two soul masters in black cloaks walking slowly toward him. One was a Soul Saint, the other a Soul Emperor.

Neither of them was someone the current Shen Nanxun could contend with, especially since these guys were clearly Evil Soul Masters!

What a hellish start... Shen Nanxun gritted his teeth, unable to help but complain. It was bad enough to have two levels of soul power and no martial soul, but to run straight into Evil Soul Masters on top of that?

The leader was the Soul Saint. His scarlet eyes beneath the cloak remained locked on Shen Nanxun from start to finish, a gaze like that of a dark, venomous snake fixated on its prey.

"This is the brat. There is a delicious scent on him."

The other, a short and stout Evil Soul Master, licked his lips with a look of longing. Despite being male, he deliberately pitched his voice high and held his fingers in an affected, delicate gesture.

"Oh my, this little treasure, let this one have a good taste..."

There's a second phase?

Shen Nanxun's mouth twitched; this was more unbearable than being killed. He instinctively wanted to retreat, but the moment his body moved, it tugged at the wound on his leg, sending a jolt of intense pain surging up his spine like an electric current.

It hurt.

But the next moment, that pain suddenly began to feel distant.

It was as if someone had covered his brain with a thick layer of cotton wool, and all his senses were rapidly fading away.

Not good.

Shen Nanxun realized what this feeling was.

He was going to pass out.

A six-year-old body was ultimately too fragile. The blood loss, the impact, and the mental pressure brought by the two Evil Soul Masters had already exceeded the limits of what this small frame could endure. He fought desperately to stay conscious, digging his nails into his palms and biting his tongue, trying to pull himself back with pain.

But the dizziness surged like a tide, irresistible.

In the final instant before his consciousness plunged completely into darkness, a light appeared in Shen Nanxun's blurred vision.

A golden light.

This dazzling golden radiance was gradually condensing from the points of light constantly overflowing from his own body.

Shen Nanxun used his last ounce of strength to force his gaze upward.

Six golden wings came into view, and beneath them was the figure of a woman.

She had her back to Shen Nanxun, so he could not see her face. He could only see long, flowing golden hair cascading down to her waist. She wore a simple white dress with an archaic style, not like the attire of this era, but more like an ancient deity who had stepped down from a mural.

At the very end of his fading consciousness, he saw the woman slowly turn her face. Half of her profile fell into the interplay of light and shadow, revealing a breathtaking beauty. Her sharp, short golden hair set off skin as white as snow; her brows were slightly raised, and the corners of her eyes drooped gently.

A pair of pale purple eyes swirled quietly, becoming the last clear, stunning image he saw before falling into the darkness.

"From now on, I am your first Soul Spirit."

"My name—"

"Qian Renxue."