Those Who Defied Fate

Trouble came quickly.

Early the next morning after returning to Spirit Hall, Huo Yuhao had just pushed open his door when he saw Qian Ren Jun standing in the courtyard, with a young man behind him.

The young man was half a head taller than him. Their features were similar, but their temperaments were entirely different. When Qian Ren Jun stood there, every inch of him seemed to scream the word "ostentatious," as if he wanted everyone to know he was a genius. But this young man merely stood quietly, his gaze calm, yet Huo Yuhao felt pressure from him.

That pressure was different from what Qian Daoliu gave him. Qian Daoliu's pressure was an unfathomable abyss, making it impossible for him to gauge its depth.

This young man's pressure, however, was real and tangible—it was the suppression of cultivation, the gap in their levels.

Qian Ren Duo.

Huo Yuhao had heard that name before. He was the foremost member of the younger generation in the Hall of Enshrined, eighteen years old and a five-ringed Soul King. His martial soul was the Sacred Angel. Though he had only one pair of wings and its purity was far inferior to Qian Renxue's Six-Winged Angel, he was already unmatched among his generation.

"Brother, that's him." Qian Ren Jun pointed at Huo Yuhao, his tone carrying a hint of seeking credit. "He used underhanded tricks to make me lose face. You have to seek justice for me."

Qian Ren Duo ignored him.

His gaze fell on Huo Yuhao, assessing him from head to toe.

Small and thin. Ordinary. He looked twelve or thirteen. Dressed in Spirit Hall's standard white robe, with a golden embroidered Six-Winged Angel insignia over his left chest, he stood in the morning light like an inconspicuous sapling.

He turned to look at his younger brother.

"Twelve?"

Qian Ren Jun nodded. "Twelve."

Qian Ren Duo's voice suddenly rose. "Didn't you say he was an ordinary Soul Elder who only made you lose face with underhanded tricks? So now you're asking me to help you bully a twelve-year-old child?"

Qian Ren Jun froze.

He scratched his head, and his expression turned awkward.

"Brother, he isn't an ordinary Soul Elder..."

"Then he's still a Soul Elder. A twelve-year-old Soul Elder." Qian Ren Duo cut him off. "You're seventeen, a forty-first-rank Soul Ancestor, and you couldn't beat a twelve-year-old Soul Elder. You still have the nerve to come looking for me?"

Qian Ren Jun's face flushed crimson.

"No... he really isn't an ordinary child..."

"Then he's still a child."

Qian Ren Duo's tone turned cold. He looked at Qian Ren Jun, disappointment in his eyes.

"How many times have I taught you this? If you lose, admit it. Once you admit it, train. Once you've trained well enough, win it back. But you? The moment you lose, you come to me and ask me to stand up for you?"

Qian Ren Jun lowered his head and did not dare speak.

"Go."

Qian Ren Jun slunk away dejectedly.

The courtyard fell quiet.

Qian Ren Duo turned around and looked at Huo Yuhao. His gaze became calm again, completely different from when he had reprimanded his younger brother.

"Sorry," he said. "My brother has been spoiled by the Household. He isn't bad at heart, just far too competitive. He couldn't accept losing face, so he came to find me. Don't take it to heart."

Huo Yuhao shook his head.

"It's nothing."

Qian Ren Duo looked at him, then suddenly smiled.

"You're an interesting kid. I heard about what happened yesterday. You slapped Qian Ren Jun out of the sky with one palm, without even using a soul skill. Those boys made it sound incredible. I thought they were exaggerating, but now it seems..."

He paused.

"My brother's loss wasn't undeserved."

Huo Yuhao said nothing.

Qian Ren Duo watched him for a while, then turned toward the courtyard gate. When he reached it, he stopped and looked back.

"If you run into any trouble in the future, just give my name," he said. "It might not necessarily work, but it's still better than nothing."

He smiled and turned to leave.

"Wait."

Qian Ren Duo stopped and looked back.

Huo Yuhao stood where he was, looking at his face. The morning sunlight fell across it, illuminating those youthful features clearly.

But Huo Yuhao was not looking at that face.

He saw a line.

A golden line hung down from above Qian Ren Duo's head and stretched forward. It was different from the Destiny Lines he had seen before—it was very short, so short that he could only see a few steps ahead. Even more frightening, it was gradually fading, as if it could snap at any moment.

That was what a Destiny Line looked like when it reached its end.

Huo Yuhao had seen it many times in the Star Dou Great Forest over the past few days. Not long after the Destiny Lines above those soul beasts reached their ends, they would die for one reason or another. Some were hunted by stronger soul beasts, some fell into traps, some were bitten by venomous insects, and some inexplicably fell off cliffs.

There were no exceptions.

He looked at the golden line above Qian Ren Duo's head, on the verge of breaking, and fell silent for a moment.

The Eye of Eternity could only observe one person's fate each day.

He had seen Qian Ren Duo's.

"You're about to die," he said.

Qian Ren Duo froze.

He stood at the courtyard gate, one hand still resting on the doorframe. The smile on his face stiffened for a moment.

Normally, someone being cursed like that ought to get angry. Yet as he looked at Huo Yuhao's serious face and those dark eyes, he suddenly felt that the child was not joking.

"Why do you say that?" he asked. There was no anger in his tone, only curiosity. "I feel perfectly healthy right now. No serious illness, no hidden injuries."

Huo Yuhao shook his head.

"You may not believe me if I tell you," he said. "I can see other people's fates. I saw that your Destiny Line will break before long."

Qian Ren Duo looked at him, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes.

He had seen divination-type martial souls before. Spirit Hall had several such soul masters, specifically responsible for predicting fortune and misfortune and divining the future. But he knew that for those soul masters to glimpse the future, they had to pay a tremendous price—their lifespan, their soul power rank, even their martial souls themselves.

Because that was prying into the secrets of heaven.

Mortals who tried to pry into the secrets of heaven always had to pay a corresponding price.

And this child... he had heard from his younger brother that Huo Yuhao's martial soul was an eye. When he defeated Qian Ren Jun yesterday, he had not even used a soul ring, relying purely on speed and strength. That was definitely not a divination-type martial soul.

And even taking a step back, he did not believe Huo Yuhao would pay such a huge price to examine the fate of someone he had only met once.

He looked at Huo Yuhao and suddenly smiled.

That smile carried a hint of amusement and curiosity.

"Is that so?" he said.

Huo Yuhao looked at him and knew he did not believe him.

He had not expected him to.

"My martial soul is an eye," he said. "It mutated, allowing me to see other people's Destiny Lines. I've said all there is to say. Believe it or not, just be careful."

He turned and walked back into the room.

Qian Ren Duo stood at the courtyard gate, watching Huo Yuhao's back disappear through the door.

Sunlight poured down from above, falling over the courtyard and across him. He stood there, one hand still on the doorframe, deep in thought.

"Destiny Line..." he murmured.

He recalled Huo Yuhao's expression when he spoke just now. There had been no jest, no exaggeration, only an indescribable calmness, as though he were stating a fact.

A fact Qian Ren Duo did not want to believe, yet somehow felt might be true.

Qian Ren Duo stood there for a long time.

At last, he shook his head and smiled.

"Interesting."

He turned and left, his footsteps gradually fading away.

Inside the room, Huo Yuhao sat by the bed with his head lowered, looking at his hands.

In the Sea of Spirit, Skydream Iceworm's voice rang out. "You told him?"

"Mm."

"Did he believe you?"

"No."

Skydream Iceworm fell silent for a moment.

"Then why did you tell him?"

Huo Yuhao did not answer.

He remembered the golden line he had just seen. It was short, faint, and on the verge of snapping, like a candle flame in the wind that could go out at any time.

He had seen far too many such lines.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, once the lines above those soul beasts broke, they died. Some were hunted, some met with accidents, and some simply collapsed for no reason, never to rise again.

He did not know Qian Ren Duo.

But that person had just driven Qian Ren Jun away for him. That person had said, "If you lose, admit it. Once you admit it, train. Once you've trained well enough, win it back." That person had stood at the courtyard gate, looked back at him with a smile, and said, "Give my name in the future."

He did not know why he had said it.

Perhaps he simply... did not want to see someone die like that.

"He won't believe it," he said softly.

Skydream Iceworm did not ask again.

The room fell quiet. Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a small patch of light on the floor.

Huo Yuhao sat at the edge of that patch of light, head lowered, not knowing what he was thinking.

His eyes hid too many things.

He simply closed his eyes and sank into meditation.

At dusk, someone knocked on the door.

Huo Yuhao opened it and saw a steward standing outside, holding a tray. On the tray lay a letter.

"Young Master Huo, Qian Ren Duo asked me to deliver this to you."

Huo Yuhao froze for a moment, then accepted the letter and opened it.

The letter was short, containing only a few lines:

"Regarding today's matter, I will remember it.

Whether what you said is true or false, I will be careful.

If it is as you said and I escape disaster, I will certainly repay you generously in the future.

If it was only a joke, that is fine as well.

Let us consider it the beginning of a friendship.

—Qian Ren Duo"

Huo Yuhao stared at the letter for a long time.

He folded it and tucked it into his clothes.

"Thank you," he said to the steward.

The steward bowed, then turned and left.

Huo Yuhao stood in the doorway, watching the last streak of evening glow slowly vanish from the horizon. Night descended, and stars began to shine in the sky.

He suddenly thought of that golden line, on the verge of breaking.

He hoped Qian Ren Duo could avoid it.

He turned back into the room and closed the door.