The Hunt's Glance, a Sudden Change

"Vengeance knew no shore; the chase knew no bounds. How many sorrows did the hunted lord bear? The star-bolt rested on the string, golden eyes blazed like fire, and the Imperial Bow never looked back."

In the fathomless dark, an ancient whisper cracked like thunder. Huo Yuhao's lashes trembled. The next instant, his eyes flew wide open—

It was a god!

A tall human torso rose above the silver-white body of a star horse treading the air. A Centaur Chariot formed his base, and divinity radiated from him.

Silver-white hair fell over his shoulders. Golden eyes burned like twin suns, while a black mask hid half his face and a starry headdress shimmered with light. Constellations covered his deep-blue and silver battle attire. His cloak surged like a rushing galaxy, blue halos trailed light behind his hind legs, and the longbow on his back gleamed with an icy, sacred radiance.

The Aeon of the Hunt—Lan!!

"Once more, you walk... the road of vengeance..."

As though sensing Huo Yuhao's gaze, Lan glanced at him. His voice was calm, yet it carried a weight that pierced the soul.

Everything abruptly went black. When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes again, he was utterly dumbfounded.

"What the hell was that?!" he blurted out. "Wasn't I just enjoying my weekend, singing while I ate hotpot tripe? How did I end up in this godforsaken forest in the blink of an eye?!"

"Argh—my head!" Huo Yuhao curled up, clutching his head. Veins bulged at his temples, and his face contorted. A flood of memories burst into his mind: common knowledge of Douluo Continent, "Huo Yuhao's" past, and the plot of Peerless Tang Sect.

A long while later, Huo Yuhao caught his breath and exhaled slowly, his expression impossibly complicated.

"So I got transported into a book? And I'm the protagonist, Huo Yuhao, who happens to have my exact name?" His mouth twitched.

"Whoever wants Tang Wutong's 'bond of destiny' can have it! I'm not buying that 'fated to be together' crap!"

Resolve flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes. "Since I've become you, I'll avenge you. I'll clear your mother's name! As for being the Tang family's lapdog? Whoever wants that job can take it. Count me out!"

At a thought, a longbow appeared in his left palm. It was blue as a frost-clear sky, with faint light moving through the constellations on its limbs and a bowstring shining like the Milky Way. It felt cold to the touch, yet held immense power. At the same time, a cloud-shaped mark on his brow seemed to open. Light stirred within it, and a mysterious sense spread outward.

"The Imperial Bow... and the Heavenly Eye?!" Huo Yuhao's pupils contracted.

The Imperial Bow might have had something to do with Lan, the Aeon of the Hunt. But where had the Heavenly Eye come from?

Nine-Turn Origin Art: Cultivates both the soul and the body, with particular strength in transformations of the soul. Its arcane power is unfathomable, its command of the Dao profound.

Light flashed, and information about a cultivation art entered his mind. Huo Yuhao scratched his head. "That's one hell of a sudden cheat... Oh well. I'm here now, so I might as well make the best of it."

He stood, gripped the White Tiger Dagger, and left.

Perhaps because he had seen the Aeon of the Hunt, his senses had sharpened severalfold. Through the Heavenly Eye, he could clearly perceive the Soul Power fluctuations and breathing of the Soul Beasts in the forest. Danger stood out at a glance.

He moved quickly along a safe route. Just after he skirted a Cloud-Patterned Tiger lying in wait, something sticky met the sole of his foot.

Huo Yuhao looked down and froze. He swallowed, and even his curse came out trembling. "Wh-what the fuck?! Is that... a human skeleton?!"

The wind carried the stink of decay through the trees. Scraps of rotting flesh still clung to the bones on the ground, though the person had plainly died years ago.

In his previous life, Huo Yuhao had been an ordinary person afraid to kill even a chicken. His stomach churned and his face went pale, but he forced himself to take two steps back. Douluo Continent was crueler than the book had made it seem.

He steadied himself and tightened his grip on the White Tiger Dagger, his gaze gradually clearing. In a world where the strong devoured the weak, if he failed to grow stronger, avenging anyone would be out of the question. He might not even survive the night.

Fighting down his nausea, Huo Yuhao searched the remains. Fragments of Soul Tools lay around them, and Soul Beasts had no need for those. So who had this person been?

His fingers touched something hard at the skeleton's waist. He felt around and drew out a cool black ring.

The ring's material resembled iron, though it was not quite iron. Fine, dark patterns covered its surface, and it carried the distinctive Soul Power fluctuations of a Soul Tool.

He focused and fed a trickle of his own Soul Power into it. The ring flashed with dark light, and an ancient, cold mental force entered his mind. A voice spoke with an old man's rasp. "Greetings, one who comes after me. I am Du Qianjue, grand elder of the Body Sect. My title was 'Eye,' and my Martial Soul was an eye. The calamity of the beast tide was never our intention. Dying here was my retribution. Our meeting is fate. This ring holds the Soul Tools and resources I gathered over my lifetime. In return, I ask only that you bury my bones here. If you meet anyone from the Body Sect in the future, please tell them what became of me."

"I am Huo Yuhao. I won't fail you, Senior." Solemnly, Huo Yuhao bowed deep before the bones.

He found a patch of soft earth and dug with the White Tiger Dagger. His movements were unpracticed, but he worked with care. He gently placed the bones in the pit, covered them, and raised a simple mound.

Only then did he examine the ring again.

As his Soul Power entered it, a space of roughly twenty cubic meters opened before him. Its contents were plain to see: a neatly stacked pile of Gold Soul Coins—at a rough count, more than a thousand—two tokens, three fruits red as blood, and a small green flower glowing softly.

"Damn, a thousand Gold Soul Coins. An ordinary person could live on that for a lifetime!" Huo Yuhao picked up the first token. "Body" was engraved on its front in bold, forceful strokes, while "Du Qianjue" was engraved on the back. It was clearly an identity token.

An ugly, almost abstract monster was carved on the back of the other token. The words "Special Admission" stood out on its front.

"A Shrek special-admission token?" He raised an eyebrow. "Whoever designed this thing had some nerve. It looks like an abstract doodle."

Combined with what he remembered of the story, he instantly confirmed it: this was the Shrek Special Recruitment Token countless Soul Masters dreamed of obtaining.

Huo Yuhao put the supplies in order and slipped the ring onto his left ring finger. He had barely grown used to its cool touch when a foul gust swept toward him from behind!

He instinctively rolled aside, drawing the White Tiger Dagger in a flash of cold light.

Almost at the same instant, a white-furred claw grazed his shoulder, leaving a sharp sting.

He looked up. Before him stood a white baboon half as tall as a man, with matted fur, dark-red eyes full of malice, and claws gleaming sickly green. A Wind Baboon!

It was only a Ten-Year Soul Beast, but it was several times fiercer than an ordinary animal and fast as a gale. In the original story, one had nearly been the end of Huo Yuhao early on!

Seriously? The plot's that determined to stick to me? Huo Yuhao cursed inwardly. The Wind Baboon lunged again, its reeking breath washing over him. Using the momentum of his roll, he drove the dagger back at it—

Squelch!

The sharp White Tiger Dagger pierced both the Wind Baboon's arms. Dark-red blood sprayed across Huo Yuhao's face.

The warm, sticky sensation made his pupils contract. Shock, fear, and visceral revulsion surged through him, leaving his hands and feet trembling. This was his first time facing violence so directly, and it was drenched in blood.

But the Wind Baboon's roar and murderous glare brought him back to his senses.

Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth, and fierceness replaced his fear. Cowering won't help! In this world where the strong devour the weak, I either kill or die!

"Sorry," Huo Yuhao said under his breath, without the slightest hesitation.

It was not a matter of right or wrong. It was survival—

The Wind Baboon meant to eat him, so Huo Yuhao had no choice but to kill it.

Soul Power flowed down his arm and into the dagger. Huo Yuhao thrust hard, driving it deeper, while the Heavenly Eye on his brow snapped open!

A violet-gold ray shot toward the Wind Baboon like a sword and shattered its chaotic mental force.

"Innate Soul Skill—Annihilation!"

The mental assault and the dagger's thrust struck together. The ferocity in the Wind Baboon's eyes went still. Its body stiffened, then crashed to the ground, lifeless.

Huo Yuhao slumped to the ground, gasping for air. Cold sweat had soaked his back, and the hand gripping the dagger still trembled.

The blood on his face had not yet dried, but he could not spare a thought to wipe it away. His heart pounded, shaken by the life he had taken and relieved to have escaped with his own.

"So... that's what killing feels like..." Huo Yuhao murmured. His expression was conflicted, but his eyes held a resolve that had not been there before.

Being gentle did not mean being weak. Having principles did not mean letting others slaughter him—

On Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao would have to survive by his own strength. And he would do more than survive.