A gentle glow brushed the clouds' delicate skin like a mother's hand.
The ethereal space felt strangely tangible.
Not far away stood a towering palace, both unreal and solid beneath the glow's soft caress.
A figure stood motionless among the clouds, gazing into the endless distance. What was he looking at?
He—or rather, this thing—was the Divine Realm's enforcer, the Asura God and Sea God: the Pure and Innocent Tang God-King!
"A new star blessed by destiny has actually appeared on Douluo Continent. Good thing I made preparations long ago."
The Tang God-King cackled as he watched a dazzling point of light on Douluo Continent below.
"As long as I bring him under my control, Father and Mother can replace Douluo Continent's planar will and live forever!"
"Then all of Douluo Continent will become my Tang family's private property! Heh heh heh!"
But in the next instant, a brilliant beam of light shot toward him, nearly blinding the Tang God-King.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Xiao Wu, come look! There's a meteor shower!"
Douluo Continent, Star Luo Empire, White Tiger Duke's Estate.
"Yuhao, don't worry. Leave hunting your first soul ring to me!"
"But you've got to put in a good word for me with Aunt Yun'er. You know what I mean..."
In a servants' room at the duke's estate, a tall young man stood before a scrawny boy, waggling his eyebrows as he spoke.
The scrawny boy nodded obediently, but the moment he turned away, he rolled his eyes.
He was Huo Yuhao, the child of the plane—and a newly arrived transmigrator.
As the saying went, a transmigrator had three treasures: a system, foreknowledge, and an old master.
Huo Yuhao figured he at least had the foreknowledge part covered.
In his previous life, he had read the original Douluo Continent story and its spinoffs many times.
He had even revisited that famous scene from the fourth installment, Ultimate Douluo, where Lan Xuanyu slapped his own grandfather Tang San across the face.
The problem was, he had neither of the other two advantages!
No system. No old master in a ring. And the body he had transmigrated into was as skinny as a bean sprout.
His Spirit Eyes Martial Soul was a rare Body Martial Soul on Douluo Continent, but his Innate Soul Power was only level one. His cultivation speed was painfully slow.
The tall young man grinning lecherously in front of him was named Ye Beixuan.
A year ago, Ye Beixuan had been an ordinary servant at the White Tiger Duke's Estate.
His Soul Power had been below level ten. He and Huo Yuhao had started on roughly equal footing.
But in just one year, his Soul Power had shot up like a rocket.
Now he was a genuine Soul Grandmaster and a proud... security guard at the White Tiger Duke's Estate!
Technically, he was an estate guard.
His absurd cultivation speed was bad enough, but Ye Beixuan also never missed a chance to show off.
Last month, Ye Beixuan had sneaked into the kitchen at midnight to steal some roast chicken. The cook caught him red-handed.
A normal person would have apologized or accepted the punishment.
Instead, Ye Beixuan declared:
"Why should I, Ye Beixuan, explain myself to anyone?"
Luckily, the estate's cook was kindhearted. He couldn't bear to see Ye Beixuan punished over one roast chicken, so he waved him off.
Worried Ye Beixuan might still be hungry, he even stuffed a big sausage into his mouth before he left.
Around the other servants and maids, Ye Beixuan held his chin so high it nearly touched the sky and called them "a bunch of ants" at every opportunity.
None of them dared provoke a Soul Grandmaster, though. They could only seethe in silence.
What a show-off. He really knew how to put on an act!
Huo Yuhao had also secretly watched Ye Beixuan train.
He drew a circle with his right palm, Soul Power churning like a furnace. When he struck, dragon-shaped energy surged from his hand!
A wooden post as thick as a bowl snapped under the force of his palm strike!
And before every strike, Ye Beixuan had to shout theatrically:
"Dragon-Subduing Palm: Regretful Dragon!"
No one on Douluo Continent had ever heard of "Dragon-Subduing Palm: Regretful Dragon."
Elementary, my dear Watson! There was only one explanation!
Ye Beixuan was a transmigrator too.
And his cheat was straight out of an old-school Douluo fanfic.
After all, modern fanfics rarely handed out powers like the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms anymore.
Besides, the name "Ye Beixuan" was ridiculously over-the-top!
It sounded exactly like the name of a protagonist who crushed every peer he met until even the final boss had to call him Daddy.
They were both transmigrators, but the comparison stung.
Huo Yuhao couldn't pretend he wasn't jealous.
To be fair, though, Ye Beixuan had always treated Huo Yun'er and her son well.
Whenever servants sent by the duchess came to bully them, Ye Beixuan usually threw them out before they could get a single insult out.
Every few days, he brought them food, too.
But a few days ago, Huo Yuhao's opinion of Ye Beixuan had changed completely.
It started when Huo Yuhao, Ye Beixuan, and a few estate servants played Werewolf together.
Naturally, Werewolf was a piece of "new culture" introduced by the transmigrator Ye Beixuan.
How could these Douluo Continent natives have played anything so thrilling before?
They got so worked up on their first try that they nearly started fighting for real in the courtyard.
They played until late into the night. Huo Yuhao didn't want to disturb his mother, who was staying up to mend clothes, so he made himself a bed on Ye Beixuan's floor.
That night in the same room revealed another important trait of Ye Beixuan's.
The guy talked in his sleep!
And the things he said were downright horrifying!
His sleep talk was full of "building a harem" and "getting Huo Yun'er first."
Clearly, Ye Beixuan had been a fan of harem-style Douluo fanfics before transmigrating.
Huo Yuhao lay on the floor, instantly wide awake.
Huo Yun'er was his mother!
So Ye Beixuan had never approached mother and son with good intentions.
Standing up for them? Bringing them food and drink? He was obviously after some twisted "friend's mom" plotline!
Still, if that had been all, Huo Yuhao would only have found him repulsive.
What truly shook him to the core was what Ye Beixuan said next.
First, Ye Beixuan sighed in his sleep, "Why couldn't it be girl Huo?"
Then he cackled a few times and mumbled something indistinct.
"Take that kid to the Love Valley of Heaven and Earth... turn him into a girl..."
Huo Yuhao went numb on the spot.
Seriously? I thought you were my friend, and you want me?
Huo Yuhao knew exactly what kind of place the Love Valley of Heaven and Earth was.
In the original story, Ning Tian had been forcibly turned into a man there.
Ye Beixuan even dreamed of sending Huo Yuhao there. His intentions couldn't have been clearer!
Girl Huo?
You're asking to die!
But Huo Yuhao's Soul Power had only just reached level seven.
Facing a Soul Grandmaster head-on—especially a transmigrator with a cheat—he had no chance of winning.
But if he could quietly kill Ye Beixuan and loot what he left behind...
Then Huo Yuhao could join the proud ranks of those with cheats!
He had to find a way to kill Ye Beixuan, the other transmigrator!
Before you continue