(P.S. Qian Renxue and the protagonist were both adults.)
The God War reached its end.
Before Jialing Pass.
Tang San held the Asura Divine Sword, his face cold as he looked at Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue lying in pools of blood.
Spirit Hall had fallen. Two gods had died.
"It's over."
Tang San delivered his verdict without a trace of warmth.
Just then, someone who had always been kept safely behind everyone else slowly stepped forward.
Ye Yuan had no Soul Power, nor could he cultivate.
On this battlefield of gods, he was insignificant.
But when he stepped forward, near-maddening despair filled Bibi Dong's and Qian Renxue's eyes.
"Xiao Yuan! Run!" Bibi Dong screamed, her voice tearing from her chest.
"No..."
Tears filled Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes as she reached out to pull him back.
Ye Yuan turned and smiled gently at them.
"Dong'er, Xiao Xue, it's my turn to protect you."
He took a deep breath, and an ancient bell covered in cracks appeared above his head.
It was the Martial Soul that had awakened without Soul Power when he was six: the Primordial Bell.
"With my soul, I reverse yin and yang. Primordial... reset!"
The bell's toll rang across the entire continent.
Time began to race backward.
Spirit City, the Pope's Palace.
"Hah!!!"
Bibi Dong jolted awake on the papal throne, gasping for breath. Cold sweat had soaked her magnificent robes.
Instinctively, she touched her chest.
There was no Rakshasa Divine Attire. Her fatal wound was gone, too.
Soul Power... Level 99 Peerless Douluo!
"Where... am I?"
Bibi Dong's eyes sharpened as she stared in bewilderment at the Pope's Palace, at once familiar and strange.
A golden figure strode straight in through the doors.
The newcomer was a breathtakingly beautiful young woman. Her eyes were red, and her voice trembled.
"Dong'er... is that you?"
Qian Renxue!
She had not yet gone undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire.
Their eyes met. The shock and confusion in them slowly gave way to joy and the relief of having survived a catastrophe.
"Xue'er... we've... been reborn..."
Bibi Dong descended from the throne and pulled Qian Renxue into her arms.
In this world, they were not mother and daughter. One was the exalted pope and disciple of the previous pope.
The other was the Great Enshrined's own granddaughter and heir to the Angel Family.
In their previous lives, Spirit Hall's internal power struggles—and the love for Ye Yuan neither could let go of—had once set them fiercely against each other.
But after that brutal God War, their grievances and estrangement had long since vanished like smoke.
The grudges of their previous lives, after that terrible God War, had dissolved completely, leaving no hatred between them.
"It was Xiao Yuan... he used his Martial Soul to reset time!"
Qian Renxue clenched her teeth. As she spoke, her voice fell quieter.
"But... why can't I sense where he is..."
Bibi Dong drew a deep breath.
"In our previous lives, he was an orphan from an obscure town. We didn't bring him back to Spirit Hall until he was six. Right now, he should only be five and a half! It isn't time for us to take him in yet!"
Resolve flashed in her eyes. She turned to Qian Renxue and spoke softly.
"Xue'er, in my last life, I was blinded by my obsessions. In this one, I'll put all of Spirit Hall behind him to keep him safe. But first, we have to find him."
"And..." Murderous intent blazed in Qian Renxue's eyes.
"Tang San should only be... five now, shouldn't he?"
"Heh." Bibi Dong gave a cold laugh.
"Five? This time, I won't even give him a chance to awaken his Martial Soul! Xue'er, come with me to the Worship Hall."
Inside the Worship Hall.
The Great Enshrined, Qian Daoliu, sat with his eyes closed, resting.
Suddenly, the hall doors were pushed open from outside.
The Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo, and several other worshippers stumbled in, practically tripping over themselves.
"Great Enshrined! Something's happened!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo's face was deathly pale. He had lost every scrap of a Level 98 Super Douluo's composure.
Qian Daoliu frowned slightly and asked,
"Golden Crocodile, what has you so rattled?"
"Great Enshrined, listen to me..."
Golden Crocodile Douluo swallowed and gesticulated wildly as he spoke in a rush.
"I took a nap, and suddenly my head was full of memories! All of us worshippers... we die in the future! You sacrifice yourself to help Xue'er become a god! I blow myself up! And Spirit Hall is destroyed by some bastard named Tang San!"
"What!"
Qian Daoliu shot to his feet. Before he could react further, the other worshippers beside Golden Crocodile nodded one after another.
"Big brother! We have those memories too! It's the absolute truth!"
Just then, Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue entered the hall.
"Grandpa, everything Grandpa Golden Crocodile said is true."
Qian Renxue looked at Qian Daoliu, her eyes reddening.
Seeing her grandfather alive again, she could barely hold back her tears.
Qian Daoliu's heart shook at the complicated look in his granddaughter's eyes.
At his level, he could see the years of suffering and pain in her expression. Those were not a young woman's eyes.
"Xue'er... you..."
Qian Daoliu took a deep breath.
"Very well! Since heaven has given us a chance to start over, what should we do?"
Bibi Dong stepped forward, her beautiful face filled with murderous intent and commanding resolve.
"Great Enshrined, Tang San has yet to awaken his Martial Soul. But he likely has his memories too, as do some of his companions. We must launch the holy war before anyone has time to react!"
"First, send our armies against Heaven Dou and the Star Luo Empire. Those who submit will prosper; those who resist will perish."
"Second, dispatch every Titled Douluo to hunt Tang San. The moment he's found, tear him limb from limb."
"Third, devote every resource Spirit Hall has to finding Ye Yuan."
At the mention of Ye Yuan, Qian Renxue's cheeks flushed faintly. Tenderness and conflict flickered through Bibi Dong's eyes.
Fasinuo Province, Holy Soul Village.
A somewhat dark-skinned five-year-old boy sat on a hilltop, watching the newly risen sun. A purple glint flashed in his eyes.
"Sea God's Power is gone. Asura Divine Power, too."
Tang San looked at his small, childish hands, but a confident sneer curled his lips.
"It doesn't matter. With the memories of my two lives, I'll still crush Spirit Hall beneath my feet."
"Dad should still be forging iron. Once my Twin Martial Souls awaken..."
Just as Tang San smugly planned his future, a tall, rugged figure rushed up the mountain path, panic written across his face.
"Xiao San, come with me! Right now!"
Tang Hao seized Tang San's arm, gripping it so hard his bones ached.
None of Tang Hao's usual listlessness or dullness remained. In its place were an unprecedented grimness and panic.
Tang San froze and stared at his stubble-faced father. "Dad, what's wrong? What happened?"
Tang Hao drew a deep breath. His voice was low and hoarse, his eyes full of horror.
"Spirit Hall has gone mad. They suddenly mobilized all their Soul Masters and Titled Douluo and launched a war against the Heaven Dou Empire without so much as a warning! Every soldier garrisoned on Fasinuo Province's border was slaughtered within a day. The Heaven Dou Empire is about to be turned upside down! The fighting will reach us soon. We have to flee into the mountains at once!"
"What!!"
Tang San felt as though lightning had struck him. His smile froze, and his mind buzzed.
"Spirit Hall... launched the holy war outright? They're already here?"
"But... Dad, I'm only five! I haven't even awakened my Martial Soul yet!!"
Tang San stood dazed on the hilltop. The mountain wind swept past, and a chill spread through his entire body.
Why had the path of this life fallen apart completely from the very beginning?
Before you continue