Memories (Su Yan's Childhood)

Ever since the All-Continent Elite Soul Master Tournament ended, the various factions had fallen into an eerie calm.

Yet this calm always made people feel uneasy. Still, it had nothing to do with Su Yan.

Right now, he was keeping Qian Renxue company. With a substitute at the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, there was nothing to worry about.

Su Yan linked arms with Qian Renxue and brought her to a quiet forest, a smile appearing on his face as he looked around.

"Xiaoxue, do you remember the first time we met?"

Qian Renxue let out a soft laugh. "I do, but I want to hear you tell it."

The two sat beneath a large tree. As Su Yan gazed at the clouds on the horizon, memories flooded back into his mind.

My name was Su Yan, and I was a transmigrator. Of course, I had never told anyone that secret.

My arrival here had been the standard protagonist opening: no father, no mother, raised by an old man until I was six.

When Su Yan learned that this was Douluo Continent, he had been thrilled. Since he knew the original story, as long as he kept his head down, he could basically stay alive.

Nothing happened when Su Yan awakened his martial soul, yet he could feel the power flowing from his hand, along with the description of the Spatial Martial Soul in his mind.

Su Yan had not joined any faction, but heaven seemed to have played a joke on him by allowing him to meet the most important person in his life.

It had been a rainy night. Su Yan was only seven years old then, but he was already a One-Ring Great Soul Master.

Because he had not registered with Spirit Hall, Su Yan had no way to receive subsidies. He could only fend for himself.

The rain had been pouring that day, and Su Yan had been hunting Soft-Boned Rabbits in a forest for dinner.

Just as Su Yan was about to catch that damned rabbit, an incredibly loud wail echoed through the forest and scared it away.

"Damn it, who the hell was that? Did you get dumped or something? Why were you crying so loudly? My dinner!"

Su Yan was furious. The dinner he had worked so hard to catch had just run away.

Su Yan picked up a stick and followed the crying, intending to teach that person a lesson.

When he arrived, he saw a little girl with golden hair beneath a large tree, burying her head between her knees as she wept bitterly.

Seeing this, Su Yan tossed aside the stick, walked over, and looked at her with a rather hostile expression.

"Kid, did you get dumped? Why were you crying in the middle of a forest? You scared away my dinner."

The little girl's crying abruptly stopped. She raised her head and looked at the beggar-like person before her.

"I didn't get dumped! My father died!!"

The little girl roared, tears welling in her pale violet eyes. She looked utterly heartbroken.

Yet Su Yan recognized her at a glance. She was Qian Renxue, one of the three greatest beauties on the continent.

To be honest, Su Yan's heart had skipped a beat the first time he saw her, but his instincts told him that getting too involved with her would inevitably be dangerous.

After considering it for 0.0001 seconds, Su Yan still stepped forward to comfort Qian Renxue.

"Stop crying. Your father just died, but my whole family is gone. I'm the only one left!"

As soon as he said that, the two fell into an eerie silence. The only sounds around them were the rain and the rustling of the wind.

Three seconds later, Qian Renxue cried even louder, and Su Yan realized that his way of comforting people was a little too advanced.

"Go away, little beggar! I don't want to talk to you!"

Qian Renxue cried as she told Su Yan to leave, but how could someone as thick-skinned as Su Yan possibly leave?

"The rain is so heavy here. It would be bad if you caught a cold. Come on, I'll take you somewhere to shelter from the rain."

After saying that, Su Yan tried to pick Qian Renxue up directly. But before he could get close, Qian Renxue sent him flying with a punch.

Su Yan rose to his feet awkwardly, his cheek throbbing with pain. He could not help sighing inwardly.

As expected of someone with Innate Full Soul Power Level Twenty. She really packs a punch—but I like it.

Qian Renxue looked at the Su Yan she had sent flying and realized that she might have used too much force. She knew that he had meant no harm.

She hurried over, stretched out her soft little hand toward Su Yan lying on the ground, and said,

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hit you."

In truth, this little injury was practically nothing to Su Yan. He had survived to this age without the care of parents or relatives entirely because he could take a beating.

However, Qian Renxue's string of apologies stunned Su Yan. At that moment, she seemed like a ray of light to him.

That light was warm and reassuring, and Su Yan recalled both his past and present lives.

It seemed that no one had ever asked after him so gently. In his previous life, his parents had treated him as a tool. The old man in this life had been the same. No one had ever been so gentle with him.

Without realizing it, Su Yan grasped Qian Renxue's hand. Warmth and light—those were his first impressions.

"I... I'm fine. Don't cry anymore. I'll take you somewhere to get out of the rain!"

This time, Qian Renxue did not refuse, though she did not allow Su Yan to carry or piggyback her either. She simply followed behind him.

Su Yan brought Qian Renxue into a cave. Once he started a fire, they roasted a rabbit.

Qian Renxue had caught the rabbit. Su Yan had originally wanted to show off his skills, but the rabbit ruthlessly humiliated him. In the end, Qian Renxue had to step in and catch it.

The two chatted in the cave for a long time, and they both sympathized with each other's circumstances.

"You have such a good attitude. If I had even half of yours, I wouldn't have run away so willfully."

Su Yan remained calm on the surface, but inwardly, he was overjoyed. He even thanked Qian Renxue for being willful; otherwise, he would never have had the chance to meet her.

"I envy you too. You never have to worry about food or clothes, unlike me, running all over the place every day just for a meal."

As he spoke, Su Yan tore off a large piece of rabbit meat and held it out to Qian Renxue with a smile.

"Try it. My cooking should be pretty good!"

Qian Renxue did not say anything more. She took it and bit into it, and her eyes immediately lit up.

"It's so delicious!"

Happy times always passed quickly. Once the rain stopped, two soldiers in golden armor shouted from outside.

"Young Mistress, it is time to return. Otherwise, the Grand Worshipper will be angry."

Qian Renxue lowered her eyes. She did not have many friends in Spirit Hall, and she had been very happy talking with Su Yan this time.

"Will we have a chance to meet again?"

Su Yan looked at the somewhat dejected Qian Renxue apologetically, then pinched her cheek with one hand.

"Of course. Once I make a name for myself, how about I come to Spirit Hall and marry you?"

Qian Renxue's face instantly turned red. She slapped Su Yan's hand away and ran off, though she still turned back to look at him.

"I, Qian Renxue, only like men stronger than me. If one day you can defeat my grandfather, I might consider it."

After saying that, Qian Renxue quickly left, leaving Su Yan stunned once again.

Su Yan had only been joking. He did not even know how to cultivate his Spatial Martial Soul.

However, those words also gave Su Yan motivation. He would definitely defeat Qian Daoliu and bring Qian Renxue home as his wife.

Qian Renxue did not know that her words would one day spur the birth of an expert whose strength would not lose to anyone on Douluo Continent.

Su Yan's gaze was firm. He took a deep breath as he looked in the direction Qian Renxue had left.

"Just wait. Wait for me to marry you. I won't let what happened in the original story happen to you. I'll let you remain an angel forever, instead of becoming Qian Renxue with a shattered divine core."