Qin Xu! (Please bookmark! Please vote!)

Douluo Continent.

Yongdu City.

Early morning.

Six-year-old Qin Xu woke up in his bed in the palace. With the help of his fifteen-year-old fiancée, he dressed and washed, then enjoyed breakfast as the palace maids waited on him.

Ruler of the Black Dragon Duchy, the Black Dragon Grand Duke—this was Qin Xu's identity in his current life, a position of extraordinary prestige.

For a transmigrator, this was absolutely a heaven-blessed opening hand.

That was right. Qin Xu was a transmigrator—or, more precisely, a reincarnator. And this was his second reincarnation.

Originally, Qin Xu had merely been a prospective university student on Blue Planet. Down on his luck, he had caught a raging plague and died~

But he had not died completely. Somehow, he had transmigrated to the Holy Demon Continent and become a Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon, and the youngest son of Demon God Emperor Feng Xiu at that. He had been overjoyed.

Yet before he could reach adulthood, an accident had left him imprisoned by the God of Light. And so, he had died again~

Once, twice, but never a third time. After being born into this life, Qin Xu had secretly sworn to himself that he would stay alive and live well. Then another disaster had struck: a sudden royal coup had taken his grandfather and parents.

Still, perhaps his terrible luck over his previous two lives had finally reached its limit, and fortune had turned at rock bottom. Qin Xu had survived in the end, becoming a grand duke of the Heaven Dou Empire at just two years old and growing up healthy to the age of six.

"Sister Lexuan, you look so pretty today too, and you smell lovely!" Qin Xu gazed at the stunning girl sitting beside him and rubbed his head against her soft, delicate body, his heart brimming with delight.

"Your Highness!" Sister Lexuan smiled gently, raising her lovely hand to give Qin Xu's cheek a light pinch. Her voice was soft and sweet. "Hurry up and eat. Today is your martial soul awakening, remember? Your great-grandfather has already sent someone to remind us once."

"Uh~ all right." Qin Xu immediately sat up straight and focused on eating.

On the Douluo Continent, martial souls reigned supreme.

Awakening a martial soul, possessing soul power, and becoming a soul master was the only chance ordinary people on the Douluo Continent had to defy heaven and change their fate.

In this world, soul masters held a transcendent status, and the higher their cultivation, the more exalted they were. From the lowest Soul Scholars to Soul Masters, Soul Grandmasters, Soul Elders, Soul Ancestors, Soul Kings, Soul Emperors, Soul Saints, Soul Douluos, and even Titled Douluos, there were no exceptions.

Many factors determined a person's martial soul, but bloodline inheritance was universally recognized as the most important.

Fortunately, Qin Xu's family possessed not only illustrious status but also exceptional martial might. It was recognized across the continent as a top-tier soul master family, having endured from the final years of Spirit Hall's era to the present, passing down a darkness-attribute true dragon martial soul: the Dark Demon King Dragon!

Qin Xu's parents had been powerful soul masters, as had his grandparents, while his great-grandfather was an even more powerful soul master. Thus, Qin Xu could almost declare that a place among the powerful soul masters had already been reserved for him.

Barring any accidents, there was a ninety-nine percent chance that his martial soul would be his family's inherited Dark Demon King Dragon.

Why not a hundred percent? Mainly because someone in this world whose circumstances had been remarkably similar to Qin Xu's in every respect had once suffered an unexpected outcome. That person had likewise come from a renowned dragon martial soul family, yet his martial soul awakening had been a spectacular failure.

In short, as long as Qin Xu's martial soul did not turn out to be an extreme case like Yu Xiaogang's, and as long as his innate soul power exceeded rank one, the Qin Family's reserves would be enough to pile him up into a high-level soul master through sheer resources, even if that was what it took.

A dragon martial soul family with ten thousand years of heritage—the Black Dragon Qin Family!

Around five thousand years ago, the Black-White Alliance formed by the Black Dragon Qin Family and the Bailian Wei Family had raised the banner of rebellion in Yongdu City, swept across Western Heaven Dou, and established the Heaven Dou Empire. The Heavenly Soul Founding Emperor had granted Yongdu City, where their rise had begun, as a fief to the founding grand marshal Qin Fei, conferring on him the title of Black Dragon King and commanding the Qin Family to guard the northwest forever, generation after generation.

The Black Dragon Duke had thus become the Heaven Dou Empire's only duke from outside the imperial family.

Around four thousand years ago, the continent had undergone a tremendous upheaval. The arrival of the Sun Moon Empire had turned the western Heaven Dou Empire into the front line against it. The Black Dragon Duke, stationed in the empire's northwest, had grown increasingly important and gradually gained control over a third of the empire's army.

The Black-White Alliance had remained as firm and unshakable as a mountain for more than two thousand years.

Yet no alliance in this world was indestructible. Over the past few centuries, although the Black Dragon Qin Family and the Bailian Wei Family had maintained their alliance, centuries of friction had riddled their mutual trust with holes.

Then, five years ago, a royal coup had completely shattered the trust between the two families.

Year 4441 of the New Calendar—the Heaven Dou Rebellion!

Even now, the Heaven Dou Empire's officials remained deeply evasive about the Heaven Dou Rebellion, for the incident, officially classified as a rebellion, had claimed the lives of an emperor, three imperial sons, four princes, and a large number of other imperial family members.

Most crucially, the previous Black Dragon Duke had died in the rebellion along with his heir and the heir's wife—Qin Xu's grandfather and parents. Only the one-year-old Qin Xu had escaped with his life under the protection of family retainers, surviving to become the sole variable.

This rebellion had not only broken the pitifully fragile trust between the Qin Family and Wei Family, but also brought unpredictable changes to the future.

Upon learning that his only son and only grandson had both died, the Black Dragon Duke from two generations earlier—Qin Xu's great-grandfather, Qin Tianji—had stormed Heaven Dou City. Had he not seen that his great-grandson was still alive, this Super Douluo might truly have dragged the Heavenly Soul Royal Family down to destruction with him.

After ascending the throne, the new emperor had issued two successive edicts, conferring on Black Dragon Duke Qin Xu the title of Black Dragon Grand Duke and turning the Heaven Dou Empire's Xihe Province into the Black Dragon Duchy. He had established the first duchy since the empire's founding in an earnest attempt to mend relations between the two families.

But it was already difficult for the two families to return to what they had once been.

Back in the present, Qin Xu soon finished breakfast and lifted his handsome little face, so lovely that it was difficult for anyone to dislike him. "Sister Lexuan, I'm full."

"All right," Sister Lexuan answered with a smile. "Then let's let your food settle before we set off."

Qin Xu nodded, turned, and took Sister Lexuan's lovely hand, gently rubbing and squeezing it as though trying to figure out why her hand was so pretty.

Zhang Lexuan—she was none other than the future senior sister of Shrek Academy's inner court.

Now, she was the fiancée of Black Dragon Grand Duke Qin Xu, the future lady of the Black Dragon Duchy. She could no longer become the senior sister of Shrek Academy's inner court.

In the future Qin Xu knew, Zhang Lexuan had only been discovered by a teacher from Shrek Academy after her entire family was massacred. She had then caught the attention of Dragon God Douluo Mu En and become the child bride of his great-great-grandson, Bei Bei.

In reality, however, Zhang Lexuan's family was not only intact but flourishing.

Why had things turned out this way? The reason was simple: the Qin Family still existed.

Zhang Lexuan's family was the Zhang Family of the Radiant Moon Earl, a direct vassal of the Black Dragon Duke. The first Radiant Moon Earl had been the maternal uncle of Qin Tianji, the Black Dragon Duke from two generations earlier, making their ties close. The current Radiant Moon Earl, Zhang He, was the fourth to hold the title and was Zhang Lexuan's father. Thus, by generation, Qin Xu and Zhang Lexuan were younger and older cousins.

Because the Black Dragon Duke still held the northwest, the Zhang Family had not faced a reckoning at the hands of its enemies. And so, when Qin Tianji had chosen a child bride for Qin Xu, he had selected Zhang Lexuan.

After all those twists and turns, Zhang Lexuan had still failed to escape the fate of becoming a child bride. Compared with becoming Bei Bei's child bride, however, becoming Qin Xu's was clearly a much better bargain: the cost was extremely low, while the rewards were extremely high.

Reality had diverged enormously from the future.

There was only one factor behind this divergence: Qin Xu!

The logic was simple. Qin Xu's existence had preserved a sliver of breathing room between the Qin Family and the imperial family, preventing an immediate clash. Otherwise, Qin Tianji would have erupted into a fight with the imperial family right then, and the Black Dragon Duke would naturally have ceased to exist.

As a direct vassal of the Qin Family, the Zhang Family would inevitably have faced a reckoning at the hands of the Heavenly Soul Royal Family. Then the events of that future would have unfolded, with its enemies seizing the opportunity to slaughter the entire family.

Fate was wondrous like that. One tiny change could cause an enormous divergence.

So, in a sense, Zhang Lexuan and her family ought to thank Qin Xu. Without him, their future would not have been bright at all.

"Sister Lexuan, is there anything else scheduled today besides my martial soul awakening?" Qin Xu asked.

"Your great-grandfather instructed that Your Highness need only undergo your martial soul awakening today. All your other lessons have been canceled." Zhang Lexuan smiled gently, her voice as soft and flowing as a slender stream, soothing the heart. "Let me tell Your Highness a little secret: not only have today's lessons been canceled, but all the lessons after this have ended too."

Qin Xu nodded, a trace of delight appearing on his face.

As the ruler of a nation, he had received extensive and rigorous instruction since the age of three. From soul master theory to national history, from military affairs and politics to etiquette and literature, his education had covered almost everything, leaving every day of Qin Xu's life thoroughly packed.

"Oh, right. Am I the only one awakening a martial soul today?" Qin Xu asked again.

"Yes," Zhang Lexuan said. "Ever since your great-grandfather issued the 'National Martial Soul Awakening Decree' in Your Highness's name three years ago, founded the Martial Soul Bureau, and established the Martial Soul Awakening Conference, all the children of the clan have awakened their martial souls together at the conference.

"Your Highness's status is exalted, and your martial soul awakening is also confidential, so it must be conducted separately. Apart from your great-grandfather, only a few of Their Eminences will attend."

"Oh." Qin Xu nodded. "No wonder we have to go to the Offering Hall."