Three Days Later, He Will Die

"Martial Soul, Dark Iron Spear. Innate Spirit Power—Level Ten."

Lin Yue lowered his head to finish writing the last entry, and pushed the registration ledger aside.

The six black stones in the awakening array had already dimmed, but Lu Yuan did not immediately put away his Martial Soul.

It was a long spear that was quite a bit taller than he was. The spear shaft was pitch-black, felt heavy in the hand, and had no patterns on the spearhead. Just looking at its appearance, it was not much different from the decently polished weapons in a blacksmith's shop.

Lu Yuan stared at it for a moment, and the string in his heart that had been taut for six years finally relaxed.

Level ten.

It was even better than he had expected.

After transmigrating to Douluo Mainland, he had thought about today many times.

Knowing when Tang San would awaken, knowing what would happen to Spirit Hall in the future, and even knowing what kind of chaos this continent would fall into later, all required one premise—that he could become a Spirit Master.

If the crystal ball did not light up at all, no matter how much one knew about those things, they could only be used as bedtime memories.

At least he no longer had to worry about that now.

"A spear-type instrument Martial Soul, no special attributes detected for the time being." Lin Yue reached out and tapped the spear shaft. "Register it as a Dark Iron Spear for now. When you attach Spirit Rings in the future, we'll change it if there are any changes."

Lu Yuan nodded and withdrew the spear.

Lin Yue used to have a good relationship with his father. He was in his thirties, with a square face, and two wrinkles always squeezed out at the corners of his eyes when he smiled. Lu Yuan was often brought to the branch hall by his father when he was a child, so he was not unfamiliar with him.

"Innate Full Spirit Power, that kind of talent is already very rare."

Lin Yue closed the ledger. "If your dad were here, he'd have to drink at least half a jin tonight."

"Half a jin might not be enough."

Lin Yue was startled, and then he laughed merrily.

"You brat, you still remember his drinking capacity?"

Lu Yuan smiled as well.

Yet just as he prepared to step out of the awakening array, his gaze suddenly paused on Lin Yue's face.

Incorrect.

Not the face.

A very faint gray shadow had covered the top of Lin Yue's head at some point, like a thin mist floating in midair.

Lu Yuan blinked his eyes.

The gray shadow was still there.

Immediately following that, a line of text slowly emerged from within it.

[Lin Yue]

His fingers curled tightly on instinct.

The second line appeared right after.

[Three days later, head to the black stone forest.]

Further down.

[Fate node: Death.]

Lu Yuan's breathing skipped a beat.

The room was still noisy.

The next child had already been led to the side of the awakening array, and a woman by the wall was coaxing her son who had just awakened a hoe Martial Soul. Another deacon was holding a ledger to urge Lin Yue to be quick, and someone outside the door was still asking when their own child could go in.

No one paid attention to this side.

Lin Yue looked even more as if he hadn't seen anything.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing that Lu Yuan lingered and did not leave, he raised a hand and wiped his face.

"Is there something on my face?"

Lu Yuan did not speak immediately.

He glanced at those lines of text again to confirm that his eyes were not playing tricks on him, before he spoke. "Uncle Lin, are you planning to go to the Black Stone Forest recently?"

Lin Yue's brow raised.

"Who told you that?"

"I guessed it."

"You guessed quite accurately."

Lin Yue didn't take it to heart. "The branch hall took on a soul hunting errand. The time hasn't been completely set yet, but I reckon it'll be in these next few days. What, just finished awakening and you're already thinking about your first spirit ring?"

Lu Yuan did not take up the topic.

The gray text still hung right there.

Three days later.

Black Stone Forest.

Death.

Just those few sentences.

Dying to a spirit beast, dying to an accident, or dying at someone's hands—not a single word about it.

"Alright, stop standing here like a post." Lin Yue gave him a push on the shoulder. "Your situation has to be reported up. With innate full spirit power, your first spirit ring cannot be arranged casually."

Only then did Lu Yuan walk outward.

Crossing the threshold, he looked back.

That layer of gray shadow had already faded a lot.

"Lu Yuan!"

Someone called to him from below the stone steps.

Old Zhou stood under the sun with his hands behind his back, obviously having waited for a while. After Lu Yuan's father died, the branch hall's relief funds had always been handled by him, and he would also come over to check in during festivals over the past few years.

"Dawdling for so long, how did it go?"

"Dark Iron Spear, innate level ten."

"How much?"

"Level ten."

Old Zhou's eyes widened all at once, and he stared at him for several breaths.

"Really full spirit power?"

Lu Yuan pointed toward the Awakening Hall behind him.

"You can go inside and ask Uncle Lin."

"Ask my foot."

Old Zhou cursed with his mouth, but the wrinkles on his face broke into a full smile. "Let's go, home. We're buying meat today."

The two walked back along the street.

The midday sun baked the stone slabs until they turned white, a fish stall by the road had just changed a basin of water, and a city patrol soldier passed by, got his boot splashed, and stopped to curse for a couple of sentences.

Lu Yuan looked over on instinct.

There was nothing.

Further ahead was a group of workers carrying tools back to the city, and he swept his gaze across several people, no longer seeing that layer of gray shadow either.

It seemed that thing did not appear for just anyone.

"What are you looking at all the way here?" Old Zhou asked.

"Just finished awakening, everything looks fresh."

"It took six years for you to find the street fresh?"

Lu Yuan let out a laugh and didn't explain, taking the opportunity to ask, "Where do I generally go to find my first spirit ring?"

"You just finished testing your spirit power, yet you're even more anxious than I am."

Old Zhou thought with his hands behind his back. "The closest place is the Black Stone Forest. The age of the outer-ring spirit beasts isn't high, and the terrain is also familiar. Most of the branch hall's new recruits hunting spirits over the years go over there. If we can't find a suitable one, we'll consider Luofeng Mountain."

Lu Yuan's feet did not stop, but his heart sank a little bit.

The Black Stone Forest was originally the most common place for new recruits to hunt spirits.

Looking at it this way, wanting to get into that team would instead not be difficult.

Returning to their residence, Old Zhou went to the backyard to tidy up the things they were going to eat that evening, while Lu Yuan stayed in the courtyard alone and summoned the Dark Iron Spear out once more.

As soon as the spear was in hand, both arms sank downward.

He was only six years old right now, and he simply couldn't wield it smoothly with one hand, so he could only grip the spear shaft with both hands together.

Lu Yuan thrust the spear forward once.

The movement was not pretty, and because the spear was too long, his steps were even half a step chaotic when he withdrew his stance.

He frowned and steadied himself again, then thrust it once more.

Practicing until his arms grew sore, Lu Yuan finally put the Martial Soul away, and a layer of sweat had already formed on his palms.

Those few lines of text from just now kept lingering in his mind.

Death.

When these two words fell on the head of someone he knew, it was completely different from seeing a certain character die while looking through the pages of a book.

Lin Yue was not a person from a book.

At least Lu Yuan never remembered such a name existing in the original work.

Yet over the years, Lin Yue had brought him candies and also drunk the wine his father had left behind. On the day his father was buried, it was still Lin Yue who helped run errands back and forth.

If he really watched the other man die in the Black Stone Forest three days later...

Lu Yuan raised a hand and rubbed his face.

Outside the courtyard gate, Old Zhou was complaining to the aunt next door that the evening meat had been bought too expensive.

These trivial, everyday sounds drifting in instead made his heart settle down a bit.

As night fell, the food was served on the table.

Old Zhou was truly generous today, putting much more oil in the meat than usual, and as soon as he sat down, he began rambling about entering the academy in the future.

Just as Lu Yuan picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, the familiar gray color floated into his vision once again.

This time it did not appear above anyone's head.

Three lines of text hung quietly before his eyes.

[Eye of Destiny has been activated.]
[Can see the destiny nodes of some important figures and events.]
[Nodes only represent the original predetermined path and are not unchangeable.]

Lu Yuan stared at it for a moment.

The Gray Text dispersed.

It didn't tell him what to do, nor did it give him anything.

Old Zhou tapped the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks.

"Why are you always zoning out today? Is it because your first awakening was full Soul Power, and it made you silly with joy?"

"Grandpa Zhou."

"Hm?"

"When the Branch Hall arranges spirit rings for newcomers, can people choose which team to go with themselves?"

Old Zhou's hand holding a piece of vegetable paused.

"It's not like you can just choose casually. If there just happens to be a suitable team and it's on the way, the Deacon generally won't block it. Why are you asking this?"

Lu Yuan shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth.

"Is Uncle Lin going to the Black Stone Forest soon?"

"Should be."

"Then if the Branch Hall comes tomorrow to ask about my Soul Hunting arrangements, please help me say a word for him."

Old Zhou raised his eyelids: "Say what?"

"I want to go with Uncle Lin's team."

"What's the reason?"

Lu Yuan didn't even think.

"He was close with my dad, and he's also familiar with the Black Stone Forest. For my first Soul Hunting, going with someone familiar is always better than going with strangers."

After hearing this, Old Zhou didn't feel there was any problem, only reminding him: "Whether you can run into a suitable Spirit Beast still depends on luck."

"I know."

Lu Yuan lowered his head and continued eating.

Of course he knew.

He also knew one other thing.

Three days from now, Lin Yue would die.

As for how he would die--

Once they reached the Black Stone Forest, he would naturally see.