Fate's Design

Huo Yuhao stood atop the academy's tallest clock tower, looking down over the entire campus beneath the night sky.

From escaping White Tiger Duke's Manor until now, the weak boy who had once been bullied could now stand here and calmly analyze everything.

"Interesting." He chuckled and activated [Thought Palace].

His entire mental space instantly lit up, countless data nodes beginning to flicker. He projected all of his experiences from this period into the center of the palace and began a thorough review.

[Reorganizing data...]

[Timeline analysis initiated]

The first node: his mother, Huo Yun'er's death.

It had seemed like an accident at the time, but looking back now, the timing had been far too coincidental. It had happened right before he awakened his martial soul, and just before the White Tiger Duke began paying attention to him.

The second node: Zhu Ruyi's scheme.

Why had she chosen to act at this particular time? Why had she been so eager to get rid of him? It seemed as though someone had been urging her from behind the scenes.

The third node: the merchant caravan encounter.

Looking back, that caravan leader, Wang Tie, had been far too helpful. Was a complete stranger really worth that kind of assistance?

The fourth node: the process of entering the academy.

The entrance test, meeting Lin Mu, being selected by Mo Fan... every step felt as if it had been carefully arranged.

"Fuck, so I was a puppet all along." Huo Yuhao cursed, but there was no anger in his voice—only a hint of excitement.

[Thought Palace] continued its analysis, linking every clue together. A massive network diagram unfolded within his mental space, each node marked in a different color.

Red represented confirmed hostile forces.

Blue represented potential allies.

Yellow represented neutral parties.

Black represented unknown puppet masters lurking behind the scenes.

And at the center of that web were two striking words: Huo Yuhao.

"Is everyone revolving around me?" He touched the pendant on his chest. "Or are they all revolving around this thing?"

At that moment, the pendant suddenly emitted an intense blue glow, brighter than it had ever been before.

Huo Yuhao lowered his head and saw that the patterns on the pendant's surface were slowly flowing, as though they had come alive.

[Warning! Abnormal energy fluctuations!]

[Forced information transfer detected!]

"What the hell?"

Before he could react, an immense torrent of information surged directly into his sea of consciousness.

They were blurry, fragmented images:

An ancient soul-tool formation operated deep underground, radiating an eerie red glow.

Dozens of black-robed figures stood in a circle, chanting obscure incantations.

At the center of the formation, a massive energy core was slowly awakening.

"This is... beneath the academy?" Huo Yuhao's eyes widened.

The images continued flashing:

He saw the headmaster, Xu Qingsong. He saw the vice headmaster, Mo Li. He saw the instructor, Mo Fan.

All of them stood around the formation, fervor written across their faces.

"Twelve hours remain." Xu Qingsong's voice echoed through the vision. "Once the ritual is complete, we'll be able to open that door."

"Is that boy really the one from the prophecy?" Mo Li sounded somewhat worried.

"Bloodlines do not lie," Mo Fan said coldly. "The mark on his body has already begun reacting. There's no mistake."

The vision came to an abrupt end.

Huo Yuhao stood frozen.

"A mark? Bloodline? Prophecy?" He spat out the words one after another. "Since when the hell did I become some child of prophecy?"

[Thought Palace] spun into overdrive, analyzing the information it had just received.

[Analysis result: You have been chosen to participate in an ancient ritual.]

[Purpose of ritual: Open an unknown space.]

[Your role: Bloodline catalyst.]

[Danger level: Extremely high.]

"Bloodline catalyst... so that means they want to use my blood?" Huo Yuhao's expression darkened. "Not a chance."

Just as he was about to formulate a response plan, he suddenly sensed someone approaching the clock tower.

Using the Spirit Eye Martial Soul's x-ray vision, he saw three men in black rapidly ascending from below.

"They came fast." Huo Yuhao sneered. "Looks like they sensed the pendant's reaction."

He swiftly put away the pendant and turned to leave, only to spot shadows flickering on the other side of the clock tower as well.

They had him surrounded from both sides.

"Now this is interesting." Huo Yuhao remained utterly calm; instead, he grew excited. "Are they finally ready to show their hand?"

Just then, faint footsteps sounded. A figure emerged from the shadows—it was Lin Mu.

"You're too late," she said to the people below. "I've already taken him away."

"Senior Lin Mu?" Huo Yuhao raised a brow. "So you're an actress too."

"An actress?" Lin Mu smiled. "I'm far more professional than those people. Come with me. If we wait any longer, it'll be too late."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I know your true identity." Lin Mu lowered her voice. "Huo Yuhao—or rather... what you should really be called."

"Oh? Then tell me. What's my real name?"

"Dai Yuhao." Lin Mu enunciated each word. "The Dai Family's eldest legitimate son, missing for eighteen years."

Huo Yuhao froze.

The Dai Family? Wasn't that the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire?

"You're kidding, right?" He gave a derisive laugh. "My mother was Huo Yun'er, an ordinary maid."

"Huo Yun'er truly was a maid." Lin Mu nodded. "But she was also the commander of the Dai Family's secret guards, responsible for protecting the true imperial bloodline."

"So?"

"So when a coup broke out in the Star Luo Empire all those years ago, she fled with you in her arms while you were still an infant. She concealed your identity and hid in the White Tiger Duke's Manor."

Lin Mu's words struck Huo Yuhao like a bolt from the blue, leaving him completely stunned.

[Thought Palace] rapidly analyzed the credibility of this information.

[Analysis Result: Logically consistent. Credibility: 83%]

[Additional Speculation: Mother's death may have been related to her identity being exposed]

[New Hypothesis: White Tiger Duke Dai Hao also knows your identity]

"Wait." Huo Yuhao suddenly thought of something. "If I'm a member of the Dai Family, then Dai Hao... that old bastard..."

"He's your uncle." Lin Mu confirmed his suspicion. "And most likely one of the participants in the coup."

"That bastard!" Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth. "No wonder he knew Zhu Ruyi wanted to harm me, yet kept standing by and doing nothing."

The footsteps below were drawing closer and closer.

"Now isn't the time to settle scores." Lin Mu urged him. "There's some kind of mark on your body. The academy has been waiting for it to awaken. Now that it has, they'll begin the ritual immediately."

"Then who are you?" Huo Yuhao stared at her. "Don't tell me you're some missing member of the imperial family too?"

"Me?" Lin Mu gave a mysterious smile. "I was your mother's student. Before she died, she entrusted me with protecting you."

"Bullshit." Huo Yuhao dismissed it outright. "Since when did my mother ever have a student?"

"Huo Yun'er was a maid on the surface, but in truth, she was the strongest commander of secret guards in the Star Luo Empire. Did you think she only knew how to serve tea and water?"

As Lin Mu spoke, she suddenly raised a hand, and a flash of silver glinted.

Huo Yuhao looked closely and saw that it was a secret guard token specially made for the Star Luo Empire's imperial family.

"This is..."

"Your mother left it to me." Lin Mu put away the token. "She said that if the mark on your body ever awakened, I was to tell you the truth."

Rapid footsteps echoed from the stairwell. The pursuers were almost there.

"Whether you believe me or not, come with me now." Lin Mu turned toward the other side of the clock tower. "If you don't, then wait to be captured and turned into a sacrifice."

Huo Yuhao looked at the stairway, then at Lin Mu's retreating back.

[Thought Palace] offered a suggestion: [Follow her for now and obtain more information]

"Fine, I'll go with you." He made his decision quickly. "But let me make one thing clear—if you're lying to me..."

"Don't worry." Lin Mu had already reached the edge of the clock tower. "If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have saved you just now."

She leaped forward, easily landing on the roof of the neighboring building.

Huo Yuhao followed close behind.

The instant they left the clock tower, three men in black charged up.

"Where is he?"

"He got away."

"After them!"

In the darkness of night, two figures darted swiftly across the rooftops.

Huo Yuhao followed Lin Mu while mulling over the information he had just obtained.

If everything was true, then the situation was far too complicated.

Not only did he have to confront the academy's conspiracy, but he also had to face the political whirlpool of the Star Luo Empire.

Interesting. He sneered inwardly. It seems this world is even more exciting than I imagined.

The two soon arrived at an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the academy.

Lin Mu pushed open the door, and there was unexpectedly a whole other world inside.