In Star Luo City, on the outskirts of the White Tiger Duke's Estate, stood a secluded, desolate courtyard.
The night was thick, yet it could not dissolve the faint scent of blood in the air or the despair suffusing the boy's heart.
"Cough... cough, cough..." The boy's name was Dai Youheng. Lying on his bed, he violently coughed up several mouthfuls of clotted blood. His features were sinister yet handsome, but beneath the moonlight, his face was frighteningly pale.
He staggered out and shoved open the courtyard gate, then could hold himself up no longer. With his back against the cold gate, he slid to the ground.
His luxurious robes were covered in dust. A delicate yet devastating palm print stood out clearly on his chest. Every breath tugged at his organs, bringing waves of tearing agony.
The scene at the small training ground outside the Star Luo Imperial Palace a few hours earlier stabbed his heart again and again like the sharpest icicle.
Xu Jiujiu's incomparably noble figure seemed to linger before his eyes, while her cold, impatient words echoed in his ears.
"Dai Youheng, my patience has its limits." Xu Jiujiu stood tall and graceful. Although she had not released her star crown martial soul, the majesty and aloofness unique to the imperial family naturally flowed around her. "I told you to go to Shrek so you could earn a future through your own ability, not scurry around like a fly and a dog, currying favor with one person and flattering another! It's been a year. Have you made even the slightest progress?"
Dai Youheng had swallowed the humiliation of being belittled and forced what he believed was his most devoted smile onto his face. "Princess Jiujiu, please give me another chance! I have a younger brother with extraordinary talent. He's certain to achieve great things in the future. And there's the Tang Sect-I'll definitely join the Tang Sect. As long as I..."
"Enough!" A sharp look flashed through Xu Jiujiu's beautiful eyes as she cut him off without mercy. "Every other word is your brother or the Tang Sect. Where are you in all this? Your martial soul is the top-tier evil shadow demon tiger, not a dog wagging its tail and begging for pity! What I want to see is your own strength, not whose leg you can cling to!"
"I..." Dai Youheng was at a loss for words, his face burning.
Seeing his cringing manner and utter lack of fighting spirit, Xu Jiujiu exhausted the last shred of patience she had afforded him for the Dai Family's sake.
"Enough," she said coldly. "Since you refuse to see reason, I'll personally test what you've learned this past year. Ten moves. If you can last ten moves, I'll allow you to waste another year. If you can't..."
Her gaze turned icy. "Then get out of my sight and never appear before me again!"
Instead of feeling humiliated, Dai Youheng felt a spark of hope at her words. "Do you mean that, Princess Jiujiu? All right! I'll definitely..."
He was interrupted again, because Xu Jiujiu had already moved.
She did not release her martial soul. Her slender figure merely flickered, and brilliant starlight gathered over her fair, delicate palm.
Her first palm strike drifted out lightly, yet it precisely shattered the hastily assembled soul power defense that was all form and no substance.
Her second strike followed him like his own shadow, pierced his stance riddled with openings, and landed directly on the arm he raised to block. Bone cracked, and searing pain stabbed his heart.
Her third strike was too fast for him to react. The blow, imbued with star power, had already stamped itself onto his chest.
"Pff-!"
Dai Youheng felt an irresistible force slam into him. His organs seemed to shift out of place in an instant, blood sprayed uncontrollably from his mouth, and his body flew backward like a torn sack. He crashed heavily onto the hard training ground as his vision darkened in waves.
"You couldn't even withstand three moves." Xu Jiujiu lowered her hand and stood still, her eyes filled with disappointment. Her voice was utterly flat, and she looked at him as though looking down at dust. "Remember your promise. Leave."
With that, she turned away decisively. Her ornate skirts traced a cold arc, and she vanished beyond the training ground without sparing him another glance.
It was like poisonous insects gnawing at his nerves. In the courtyard, Dai Youheng suddenly slammed his fist into the cold ground. The rough stone scraped his knuckles bloody, yet that pain did not amount to even a ten-thousandth of the agony in his heart.
"Why... why, when I've worked so hard... when I threw away all my dignity to please them... did it end like this...?"
"Huo Yuhao... I took such good care of him... shouldn't he give me a hand once he becomes a god...?"
"The Tang Sect... the Mysterious Heaven Skill... that's Tang San's legacy..."
"Xu Jiujiu... I only admired you... how could you trample my feelings like this...?"
Impotent rage, heart-piercing anguish, and overwhelming resentment tangled together. Along with the weakness caused by his severe injuries, they surged like a tide and drowned what remained of his consciousness.
At last, his head tilted to one side, and he passed out completely in the cold, lonely courtyard. No one noticed. No one cared.
In his dreams, he dreamed of his past once more.
He was not originally from this world, but a transmigrator from another world. He had become a son born to a concubine of the current White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao-a son who should never have existed. He was Dai Luoli's full older brother, Huo Yuhao's paternal half brother from the original story, and Dai Yueheng's younger paternal half brother. He was two years older than Huo Yuhao.
When he was six, his martial soul had awakened and mutated. Instead of the White Tiger passed down through the Dai Family's direct line, its greatly intensified evil nature had transformed it into an evil shadow demon tiger, with innate soul power at rank nine.
It was a martial soul steeped in cold, brutality, and evil, possessing an extraordinarily powerful devouring ability. Its entire body was pitch-black, with only its eyes gleaming a bloodthirsty crimson. Heart-chilling shadow power coiled around its claws and fangs.
His heart had pounded wildly then. As a longtime reader, he knew all too well what this meant. A top-tier mutated beast martial soul and unparalleled talent, but... this martial soul's evil nature was far too strong!
In the world of the Douluo Continent, especially in this era, an evil martial soul was practically synonymous with an Evil Soul Master! Such people were hunted down and exterminated by Shrek's Inspection Corps!
A chill shot up his spine, only to be swallowed by tremendous excitement.
Transmigration! I really transmigrated into the world of the Douluo Continent! And I have a top-tier martial soul and incredible talent!
After the ecstasy came deep anxiety. The original story's plot was clear as an engraving in his mind: Huo Yuhao's rise, Tang San's schemes, and the conflicts between empires.
"I have to survive. I have to become strong!" He clenched his fists, his eyes flickering. "But this world is too dangerous, especially for someone with an evil martial soul like mine."
A thought coiled around his heart like a poisonous vine. That's right, Huo Yuhao! He's this world's child of destiny, the future God of Emotion, and even God King Tang San's son-in-law! As long as I cling tightly to his leg, once he becomes a god, even a few benefits slipping through his fingers will be enough for me to live carefree for all eternity!
Yes! That's it! I can't become his enemy. I have to befriend him! Or even... curry favor with him!
Faced with an enormous sense of danger and fear of the original plot, this soul from modern society instinctively chose the safest, most humiliating path
and abandoned the pride of his own top-tier martial soul to attach himself to a future deity.
From that day onward, Dai Youheng, the concubine-born son of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, seemed to develop a somewhat peculiar personality.
He stopped diligently studying his martial soul's characteristics and cultivation methods, instead pouring much of his attention into how to invest in the future.
Knowing that Huo Yuhao had endured a miserable childhood in the Duke's Mansion, he often secretly helped him with food and other necessities. Although he dared not openly oppose the Duchess, he would always run over after Huo Yuhao was bullied and offer a few hollow words of comfort. His eyes held an almost fawning expectation that the young Huo Yuhao could not understand.
"Little brother Yuhao, you're exceptionally gifted. You're sure to accomplish great things someday!" he would often say, firmly patting Huo Yuhao's thin shoulders.
At the time, Huo Yuhao was simply grateful to this older brother, the only one who had shown him kindness. He had no idea that the other boy was thinking, If I treat you well now, don't forget to take me soaring with you when you become a god!
The years passed.
Yet Dai Youheng's cultivation progress fell far short of the exceptional potential of his evil shadow demon tiger martial soul and the resources the Duke's Mansion lavished on him.
His innate soul power was clearly rank nine, and he lacked no cultivation resources. Although his allotment as a concubine-born son was less than that of a legitimate son, it still far exceeded what commoner Soul Masters received. Even so, his soul power grew abnormally slowly.
The reason was simple: his heart was unsettled, and his will could not resonate at all with the sinister, domineering evil shadow demon tiger that craved slaughter and conquest.
His mind was filled with thoughts of how to flatter future powerhouses and avoid risks. As a result, his martial soul's own strength fell dormant, and it even began to reject him.
At a court banquet in the Star Luo Empire, he was permitted to attend as the duke's son. It was there that he saw the princess who shone as brilliantly as the stars: Xu Jiujiu.
Her beauty, nobility, intelligence, and political skill struck straight at the heart of this transmigrator's soul. In his previous life, he had never had access to high society. When had he ever seen a woman who possessed such power and beauty?
And so began the second path of a "simp" in his life.
Although the Dai and Zhu Families traditionally intermarried, the Zhu Family had only one daughter in this generation, Zhu Lu, and she had already been promised to Dai Huabin. Even Dai Yueheng had no girlfriend from the Zhu Family, so naturally, Dai Youheng would not get one either.
With nothing holding him back, he began a frantic pursuit of Xu Jiujiu. He declared his love in public on several occasions and presented her with all manner of precious gifts, nearly exhausting all his savings and allowances.
But what sort of person was Xu Jiujiu? She was the Star Luo Empire's most renowned princess, and her heart held nothing but the empire's interests. Her love, and even her marriage, were destined to be among the most important bargaining chips on the political chessboard.
She admired the strong and needed allies who could help the empire, not a weak-willed, concubine-born duke's son who possessed a top-tier martial soul but cultivated slowly and knew only how to wag his tail and beg for pity.
Every attempt Dai Youheng made to please her seemed especially ridiculous and cheap in her eyes.
Finally, thoroughly sick of his pestering, Xu Jiujiu coldly offered him a promise during yet another public display of devotion. It appeared to offer hope, but in truth, it was an outright rejection.
"Dai Youheng, if you truly want to prove yourself, go to Shrek Academy. If you can become one of the current Shrek Seven Devils, perhaps I'll give you a chance to pursue me."
At those words, Dai Youheng felt as though he had been injected with chicken blood, and enlightenment poured over him like sacred nectar.
Shrek Academy, of course! Not only is it where Huo Yuhao rises to prominence, it's also the best place to get close to him! I can even avoid the outside world's scrutiny of evil martial souls. Once I join Shrek, after all, I'll be one of their own. It's killing several birds with one stone!
He completely failed to hear the dismissiveness in Xu Jiujiu's words or recognize the impossible condition she had set. With his rate of progress, becoming one of the Shrek Seven Devils was a fantasy.
He had already passed the admission age of twelve, but like the Tang Sect, the White Tiger Dai Family had deep ties with Shrek and received one unrestricted admission slot to the outer court each year. Dai Huabin had passed the entrance exam on his own, so the slot was of no use to him. Dai Youheng eagerly went to beg for it. Dai Hao figured that leaving it unused would be a waste anyway and agreed to give it to Dai Youheng.
Yet once he arrived at Shrek Academy, he soon fell back into his old ways.
Instead of focusing on cultivation, he schemed and sought favor everywhere. He revolved around Huo Yuhao and flattered Wang Dong. After all, she was the daughter of the great God King Tang San. Although she was destined to become Huo Yuhao's wife and he dared not harbor any designs on her, surely there was nothing wrong with getting on her good side first.
He also ingratiated himself with Bei Bei, the Tang Sect's senior disciple, and flattered Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi, future members of the Shrek Seven Devils. He even humbly begged Tang Ya to let him join the Tang Sect and learn the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Apart from Huo Yuhao, who treated him fairly warmly for old times' sake, and the good-natured Xiao Xiao, who exchanged a few polite words with him, the others-Wang Dong, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the rest-were all shrewd judges of people. They saw through him at a glance and remained outwardly courteous but inwardly distant.
At the end of the first school year, Huo Yuhao headed to the Far North to obtain his second martial soul. Dai Youheng returned to Star Luo City for the holidays. Instead of first visiting his mother and younger brother Dai Luoli, who had placed great hopes in him yet grown increasingly disappointed, he rushed impatiently to seek an audience with Xu Jiujiu, hoping to report his progress at Shrek.
The result was the scene at the beginning.
A crushing defeat in three moves, severe injuries, and vomiting blood earned him only a disappointed shake of her head and a merciless dismissal.
Not long after his consciousness sank completely into darkness,
A sudden upheaval erupted!
The night sky, once glittering with stars, was abruptly torn apart by an indescribable, enormous rift stretching across the heavens! The rift was a sinister, ominous dark red, as though a bleeding wound had been ripped into the sky. A vast, oppressive, heart-chilling aura spread outward, instantly enveloping the entire Douluo Continent.
Countless powerful figures across the world were alarmed. They jolted awake from cultivation or sleep and stared at the sky in horror, suspicion and unease rising in their hearts.
Then, deep within the blood-red rift that seemed to connect to an unknown world, a point of profoundly dim light appeared and rapidly swelled at a terrifying speed!
An enormous meteor, seemingly formed entirely from the purest dark crystal-or perhaps eternal black ice-plummeted with a thunderous roar! Trailing a ghostly blue tail of light and a chill that made souls tremble, it resembled a demon god charging out of the depths of the Nine Netherworlds!
And within that meteor was a figure with his eyes closed, seemingly sunk in deep sleep. His face was actually identical to Dai Youheng's.
The meteor was falling toward one of the largest gathering places of soul beasts on the Douluo Continent: the Far North!
Before you continue