The White Tiger Duke's Mansion, Star Luo Empire.
Along the path leading to the servants' quarters, a little boy of five or six trudged slowly toward the woodshed behind him.
He was small and frail, as if a gust of wind could knock him over.
His palm-sized face was adorable, but right now it was etched with indecision, his brows knotted into a deep frown.
Today was the day the White Tiger Duke's Mansion held its Martial Soul Awakening ceremony for all the children in the household who had turned six.
"A Martial Soul that's eyes, and the name Dai Yuhao, here in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion..."
With that many details lining up, there was no room left for him to delude himself that he wasn't Huo Yuhao!
Just moments ago, during the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony, the memories of his previous life—which had lain sealed away while he spent six whole years as an innocent child—had surged forth like a tidal wave, shattering the shackles on his consciousness.
"Of all the people I could've transmigrated as, why did I have to become Huo Yuhao?!"
Huo Yuhao—though later generations had bestowed him with the nickname "Huo Gua"—had lived a life that was miserable to the bone.
He was clearly a Child of Luck chosen by fate, yet that Buddha, who had personally stepped in to pull the strings, had trained him into a dog that bowed and scraped before the Tang Clan.
His beloved teacher was gone, the girl he liked had died, and the girl who loved him had sacrificed herself.
In the end, all he had left at his side was a stitched-together freak who didn't care about him at all.
Huo Yuhao had never had any desire to be anyone's dog!
But now, it wasn't a matter of whether he wanted to or not.
The one up above had no scruples whatsoever and was dead set on tying him to the Tang Clan. What could he do about it?
From the moment he was born into this world, the Child of Luck of the Douluo Plane had probably already been targeted by that humanoid creature, God King Tang.
"I should never have confiscated those two damn books back then!"
In his previous life, he had been nothing more than an ordinary teacher. During class, he'd confiscated two novels his students had been sneaking a look at.
Douluo Continent and its second installment, Peerless Tang Sect.
Who could have imagined that on his way home that evening, he would run into a neighbor catching their spouse cheating? He'd only gone over to watch the commotion and get some juicy gossip, but somehow got caught up in it and wound up transmigrating to this world in a daze.
If he was going to transmigrate, and to the Douluo World at that, then why hadn't he ended up in the first installment?
At least the previous Asura God in the first book hadn't kept an eye on him every day like God King Tang did. There would have been plenty of room to maneuver.
But...
"My Innate Soul Power is level three, two levels higher than in the original story!"
Before turning six, Huo Yuhao had lived like a little beggar. He'd never had enough to eat or wear, and had suffered from chronic malnutrition. The Duke's wife's people bullied him every few days, and his so-called older brother beat and scolded him.
Given such terrible conditions, his Innate Soul Power had somehow risen by two levels.
Could it be that being a transmigrator had come with some hidden cheat he hadn't even discovered yet?
As Huo Yuhao lowered his head, puzzling over it, his mind suddenly shuddered violently, as if a thunderclap had exploded deep in his brain.
Then, without warning, a towering, boundless Bronze Gate appeared in his sea of consciousness.
The Bronze Gate was massive and imposing, and a lifelike dragon relief was carved across it. Even standing motionless, it radiated an awe-inspiring might that seemed to lord over the ages and suppress the heavens.
"This Bronze Gate!"
Huo Yuhao's heart lurched, and his pupils contracted sharply.
Wasn't it exactly like the keychain he'd picked up off the ground in his previous life, when he'd gone to watch someone catch their spouse cheating?
It had actually transmigrated with him?
As soon as the thought arose, his mind boomed again. He stared wide-eyed, disbelief and wild joy surging in his eyes.
The gloom and misery that had clouded his heart vanished in an instant. He took off running toward the woodshed where he and his mother, Huo Yun'er, lived together.
"Mom!"
Huo Yuhao shoved open the woodshed's rickety wooden door. The room was dimly lit, and a woman was leaning against the bed.
She was frail, her face an unhealthy pallor, yet her gentle, lovely features remained unmistakable.
The woman gazed at him with a warm smile. She was his mother in this life, Huo Yun'er.
Although she already had a six-year-old son, Huo Yun'er was only in her early twenties.
"Hao'er, you look so happy. Did something good happen?"
Huo Yun'er's voice was gentle as she reached out to straighten his faded clothes, which had been patched over and over.
But when her gaze fell on the dust on his clothes and the fresh scratches on his body, the warmth in her eyes dimmed. A trace of pain and helplessness flickered through them.
As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to think of something. Her eyes suddenly brightened, and her voice held a note of hope. "Could it be... that you've awakened the White Tiger Martial Soul?"
The Evil Eye White Tiger was the Dai Family's top-tier Martial Soul, passed down for ten thousand years.
A thousand years ago, the Dai Family had been the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire, and one of their ancestors had even become a god.
So even though the Dai Family had lost the throne, they still held a lofty position in the Star Luo Empire.
Every bearer of the Evil Eye White Tiger received the finest training.
As long as Hao'er awakened this Martial Soul, even if he was only an illegitimate son, Duke Dai Hao would surely acknowledge him and bring him back.
Then she and her son would never again have to endure the servants' torment and bullying in the servants' quarters.
Huo Yuhao gently shook his head. "My Martial Soul is eyes, not the White Tiger."
A flash of surprise crossed Huo Yun'er's eyes, but then she gently stroked the top of his head.
Her fingertips were cool as she comforted him softly. "Eyes are good, too. My Hao'er is so clever. You'll surely become a powerful Spirit Master one day."
Huo Yuhao took his mother's cool hand in his and spoke with utter seriousness. "Mom, let's leave the White Tiger Duke's Mansion."
Huo Yun'er's hand stiffened. Huo Yuhao continued, "Dai Hao knows we're here. He knows what kind of life we're living, too. He just doesn't care."
"H-how could that be...?"
Huo Yun'er's voice trembled. She instinctively reached into her clothes and gripped the White Tiger Dagger tightly.
It was the token of love Dai Hao had given her all those years ago, and the spiritual comfort that had kept her going ever since.
Forcing herself to stay calm, she tried to reassure herself. "The Duke... he... he's just always busy with military campaigns. He can't help it..."
"Mom, I saw them." Huo Yuhao cut off her denial.
He couldn't let Huo Yun'er repeat the original story, continuing to suffer oppression in the Duke's cold mansion until she met a tragic end.
Her soul might even be taken away by Great God King Tang, to be used as leverage against him in the future.
"Just now, the instant I awakened my Martial Soul, it sensed two incredibly powerful auras hidden in the mansion. They're stationed here, and not a single thing that happens in the residence can escape their notice."
He paused, looking at his mother's pale face, and spoke each word clearly. "I only awakened an Eye Martial Soul, not the Evil Eye White Tiger the Dai Family values. Dai Hao will care even less about us. Mom, I don't want you to spend your whole life trapped here, being deliberately humiliated and beaten, suffering for no reason."
Did Huo Yun'er truly not know how heartless Dai Hao was?
How could she not?
But as the Duke's wife tormented and ground her down day after day, all she could do was keep embellishing her past with Dai Hao in her mind. Clinging to that empty hope was the only way she could keep going through those dark, endless days.
She had also dreamed countless times that one day Dai Hao would remember her, remember how she had cared for him day and night for years, and make Yuhao an acknowledged third young master of the Duke's Mansion.
But all those beautiful hopes had been cruelly shattered by Huo Yuhao's words.
Huo Yun'er hugged her son tightly. Her frail shoulders trembled, and hot tears slid down her pale cheeks, falling onto Huo Yuhao's hair.
She sobbed. After a long while, her gentle yet resolute voice came from above his head.
"All right, Hao'er. We'll leave."
Compared to Dai Hao, who lived only in her memories and hadn't appeared in years, this thoughtful and considerate son in her arms was everything to her.
As long as she could stay with Hao'er, she would be happy wherever they went.
"There's too many people around during the day. We'll wait until tonight..."
When he heard his mother agree, joy lit up Huo Yuhao's face. He quickly took her hand. "Mom, we don't need to wait until tonight. We can leave right now."
As soon as he spoke, a Bronze Gate less than two meters tall appeared in the cramped woodshed without warning. It emitted no fluctuations of aura, as if it had been rooted there all along.
Huo Yuhao pointed at the Bronze Gate and explained to Huo Yun'er, who was staring at it in astonishment. "It appeared after I awakened my Martial Soul. It seems to have the ability to travel through space and take us directly somewhere else."
He didn't go into detail about the gate's true power: it could transport them between worlds.
As for what lay on the other side, Huo Yuhao had no idea.
All he could sense through the gate was that the other place was safe.
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