The light was dim-if this place even had a sky.
Xu Qingjia felt as though his head had been tossed into a household soul-tool washing machine, dizzying spins engulfing him. Just as his consciousness was about to be churned to pieces, a crisp coolness suddenly flooded his mind, like a drink of icy spring water in the scorching summer, instantly soothing every discomfort.
"What's going on?"
Xu Qingjia felt that something was very wrong.
Instinctively, he reached for the button beside his pillow to summon the private healing-type Soul Master his family had assigned him.
Ever since he had shown that he was sensible enough to take care of himself, his parents had dismissed the young maid who tended to his daily needs. But to safeguard his health and make his medicinal baths after training more convenient, they had specially arranged for a healing-type Soul Master.
Yet the splash of water as he raised his forearm interrupted his thoughts.
Xu Qingjia abruptly sat up, only to freeze at the sight reflected in his eyes.
This was not his bedroom. It was beyond anything he had ever known. There was no sky, no sun, moon, or stars, only what seemed to be boundless, viscous darkness. Everywhere he looked, gray mist drifted, slowly surging as though alive, swallowing all light and sound and leaving only the oppressive weight of eternal silence.
Where the hell have I ended up?
Did I transmigrate again?
That won't do! I haven't even gotten myself three wives, four concubines, and five mistresses-uh, no, I mean I haven't fulfilled my glorious family duty of carrying on the bloodline!
Confusion covered Xu Qingjia's young face. As that cooling sensation dispersed the last trace of discomfort in his mind, memories surged back like a tide:
He had had no attachments in his previous life, but in the prime of his youth, he had struck the "jackpot"-a fatal accident that had given him a fresh start in another world, a second life.
While still in swaddling clothes, he had discovered that supernatural powers existed here. After realizing that his family was far from ordinary, he had thought that, given a second life, how could a true man bear to live beneath others? With his innate advantages, he would surely win at the starting line and grind the local natives into the dust!
Then he had learned about Martial Souls, the Douluo Continent, and the Sun Moon Federation, and his vision had gone dark.
The name Sun Moon Federation had only appeared after the Sun Moon Empire conquered the Douluo Continent. It was also called the Douluo Federation.
Hah. So this is the Tang family's continent.
Without the Divine Realm, Tang Hao and Ah Yin's family reigned supreme.
Douluo Star was practically covered in the word "Tang" already.
Later, when he learned that the current Sea God Pavilion Master was named Yun Ming, his childhood sweetheart was named Ye Xinglan, and he had a younger paternal cousin named Xu Lizhi, his heart sank even further.
The God King's world-shaking grand scheme, the Dragon King's world-shaking wisdom!
This is a high-level match.
Still, to cross endless space and time and descend into a world that should only have existed in a novel was already a miracle in itself.
Even without a cheat, surely a soul that had crossed who knew how many stretches of space and time would have something special about it. Yet aside from sharper senses and a better memory, he had found nothing else unusual, leaving him to pin his hopes on his future Martial Soul Awakening.
Even if he ultimately proved to have nothing special, in a Martial Soul Awakening where "seven parts depended on destiny, three on mutation, and ninety on your parents," his family's resources and his own efforts should at least secure him the makings of a genius, allowing him to enjoy life in peace.
If he could not find immortality, three wives, four concubines, and five mistresses, and a wonderful lifetime, were another option.
Every moment alive was a gain!
Surely he could not be shoved straight into the line of fire.
Xu Qingjia's last memory was of accepting his childhood sweetheart Ye Xinglan's usual challenge before bed yesterday. She had yet to awaken her Martial Soul. After once again winning "by sheer luck," he had collected his spoils-pinching her cheeks-then finished his customary training and medicinal bath before going to bed early, ready to rise early for the next day's Martial Soul Awakening.
Then he had closed his eyes and ended up lying here.
Xu Qingjia felt his face and arms, then inwardly sighed:
Good. I haven't transmigrated again. I'm still me.
After briefly confirming that his body was fine, aside from his missing pajamas, Xu Qingjia began examining his surroundings.
The earlier splash had not been a hallucination. He had indeed been lying in "water."
As far as he could see, there was nothing but shallow water barely deep enough to cover his ankles. Its surface was smooth as a mirror, yet its profound, inky darkness reflected nothing, defying common sense.
Xu Qingjia reached down and scooped up some water.
For some reason, he instinctively felt no fear of this unfamiliar place. He even felt a familiar warmth, as though he had returned home-as though he belonged here!
"Is this stuff really liquid?"
His sight and sense of touch told him it was.
Yet as he held it in his cupped hands, he felt no weight at all. It was cool, but even when he had been lying naked in it, he had not felt cold. When he parted his hands, the liquid actually flowed like drifting mist into the boundless, ink-black river below, leaving nothing on his skin.
Though none of the underworld's signature sights were present, this still felt like the world after death.
Did the King of Hell discover that I'd skipped the proper reincarnation procedures and drag me back to go through them?
Suddenly, Xu Qingjia's dark pupils contracted sharply, as though he had seen something utterly astonishing.
Not far away, and from beneath the water, several hazy shapes drifted out of the darkness his gaze could not penetrate. They were barely recognizable as human figures. They wandered soundlessly, like wisps of smoke that a wave of the hand could scatter, drawn by an invisible force along the water toward some unknown destination.
An aged voice abruptly rang out.
"Boy, move aside."
Xu Qingjia was puzzled, but his movements did not hesitate. He quickly stepped away, keeping his guard up against the unknown.
Then he looked toward the voice, his gaze settling on his right shoulder, where a small gray orb hovered. Yet he intuitively sensed that this orb was entirely different from the surrounding gray aura that felt so familiar and welcoming.
Xu Qingjia steadied himself. His young face was calm as he asked respectfully, "My name is Xu Qingjia, from the Xu Family of Mingdu in the Sun Moon Federation. May I ask your honored name, senior? Where are we, and what were those strange figures?"
He was a little rattled.
But not very rattled.
After all, he had died once before. He had personally experienced the feeling of his life draining away little by little.
To him, every additional second alive was a gain.
"The Sun Moon Federation?" An aged voice came from the gray orb. "I have never heard of it. As for myself... Electrolux. That was my name in life."
The expression in Xu Qingjia's eyes froze almost impercep-
tibly.
Electrolux?
The Undead Calamity, the Holy Necromancer?
My cheat has arrived?!
Will a million-year soul beast come running out next, begging on its knees to become my intelligent Soul Spirit?
Call me Xu Cheats!
Xu Qingjia shook those jumbled thoughts out of his mind.
After Electrolux's original body died, his divine consciousness had been too powerful to dissipate, instead shattering into fragments that scattered throughout the universe. If Huo Yuhao could encounter one fragment, it was perfectly plausible for him to get lucky and encounter another.
Still, it could also be someone with the same name.
Yet the little gray orb calling himself Electrolux keenly caught that fleeting unnatural look in Xu Qingjia's eyes. "What? Have you heard my name before?"
Xu Qingjia nodded lightly. Though he had lived two lives, his total years were fewer than many people accumulated in one. He did not believe he could fool an elder who might have existed for thousands of years, but he certainly could not tell anyone about his transmigration:
"I read some ancient books at home. They recorded that ten thousand years ago, the teacher of a mighty figure was a powerful being from another world, named Electrolux."
His family really did possess records of this.
Huo Yuhao had indeed made Electrolux's name known back then, but as time passed, later generations, for various reasons, had attributed all the prestige to Huo Yuhao.
"Oh." Electrolux's response was indifferent. "Perhaps it was another fragment of my divine consciousness."
He returned to the subject. "I call this place the 'Netherworld.' It is where the souls of living beings return to stillness after death."
"My soul was immensely powerful in life, and after death, it shattered into countless fragments. The one speaking to you is one of them, unfortunate enough to have been swept here by turbulent currents of space and time."
Xu Qingjia felt an invisible gaze sweep over him.
Electrolux continued, "However, you don't look dead, boy. Your soul is whole, untouched by the slightest trace of the Netherworld's aura. Rather, it seems your soul left your body and came here of its own accord."
Xu Qingjia's heart jolted at those words. "The world after death? My soul left my body?"
He examined himself. He was exactly as he had been when alive, able to breathe, with a pulse.
Electrolux saw his confusion. "I have no reason to deceive a little child. Those fragmented souls you saw earlier are the best proof. Move a little to the right. Another soul is emerging from the Nether Sea."
Xu Qingjia moved, then saw an old man with an even more insubstantial form rise from the water.
"There is no light in this world. We come from different worlds and speak different languages," Electrolux continued.
"You can see and understand what you hear because everything you see is perceived by your soul. Take the Nether Sea beneath your feet-even I do not know how deep it truly is. We are communicating through soul fluctuations, directly understanding each other's thoughts. That is why we can converse without barriers despite coming from different worlds."
As he spoke, the little gray orb suddenly blossomed with sacred golden light.
Xu Qingjia did not find it dazzling. Instead, it gave him a warm, comfortable feeling.
He looked at the water, and at last a familiar face appeared in its ink-black surface. Soft black hair framed a young face as fair as jade, its delicate features seemingly carved with painstaking care by a craftsman. Already, there were hints of the handsome, radiant man he would become. Though still young, his brow already carried traces of innate nobility and cultivated grace.
Xu Qingjia stamped on what he had taken for the "ground," then crouched to look closer. He could indeed see deeper into the water, confirming that he was not standing on solid ground. He also tried not breathing. Aside from feeling a little unaccustomed to it, he experienced no discomfort. By now, he believed most of what he had been told. Everything before him overturned his past understanding.
As for Electrolux, Xu Qingjia retained a little wariness because he did not yet know him well. Was the Electrolux in the novel the same in temperament as the one he now knew? Still, that wariness was limited. After all, if the other man wanted to harm him, Xu Qingjia did not think he currently had any means of resisting.
"Elder Yi, may I call you that?"
"You may."
"Elder Yi, do you know how to leave this world?"
Electrolux's voice remained as still as an ancient well, as though life and death were merely everyday matters. "It is beyond my power. Though this remnant soul has reached the level of a god and can transcend ordinary planes, I still cannot escape the Netherworld's restraints."
"This is the final destination of all beings, a law of the universe. Perhaps I could have managed it at my peak, but now, without relying on you, even my present circumstances would not be so stable."
"Me?" Xu Qingjia asked in confusion.
Have I done anything?
"It is indeed peculiar." For the first time, genuine interest entered Electrolux's voice. "You are no ordinary boy. Whether those fragmented souls or fragments of divine consciousness like myself, none can escape being worn away by the Netherworld's aura and laws until we become true spirits and enter the cycle of reincarnation once more."
"You alone are like a fish in water here. Not only does the Netherworld's aura fail to erode your soul, it quietly nourishes you instead. Wouldn't you call that interesting?"
"Uh..." Xu Qingjia blinked, a little bewildered by the situation. "If the Netherworld's aura is that gray aura you mentioned, Elder Yi, then all I feel is that it's familiar and welcoming. As for anything else, I don't know."
Electrolux did not press him. In his eyes, Xu Qingjia was only a child of a few years. It was already remarkable that he could face this situation without panicking, crying, or making a fuss, let alone understand a Netherworld that even Electrolux himself did not fully comprehend:
"In short, I owe my freedom from that erosion to staying on your shoulder. But I have not taken advantage of you for nothing. Before you woke, when fragmented souls rose from beneath the Nether Sea, I moved your body aside. Though the Netherworld's aura does not affect you, a collision with those fragmented souls could still badly injure your soul, or even affect you with the memories remaining within them."
Electrolux knew there was something unusual about Xu Qingjia, but he had long since emerged from his former madness and hatred. Even knowing that the boy harbored a great secret, his morals and pride would never permit him to attack an innocent person, much less a little child.
At that, Xu Qingjia hurriedly cupped his hands in thanks, his tone sincere. "Thank you for protecting me earlier, Elder Yi."
The old man and the boy traveled together through this gray, misty world. Electrolux could see farther in the Netherworld than Xu Qingjia, helping him avoid wandering remnant souls in time, while also relying on Xu Qingjia's special nature to keep himself from being worn away.
Electrolux himself could not absorb the Netherworld's
aura. Every bit of his scarce divine consciousness he used was gone for good, leaving him no other option.
Neither knew where to go, so they headed against the direction in which the souls drifted, trying to find the place these fragmented souls had come from-the world where they had lived. Though Xu Qingjia had died once before, he had never visited an underworld or anything of the sort. He had simply closed his eyes, opened them again, and become an embryo.
But they could not just stay put and do nothing. Xu Qingjia had never been one to sit and await death. Searching hard for an exit might yield nothing, but without searching, he might never get out in his entire life.
They talked as they walked.
Mostly, Xu Qingjia asked respectful questions, and Electrolux answered.
With such a powerful figure beside him, he could not waste the opportunity.
As a result, Xu Qingjia learned quite a few things.
For instance, his soul had not remotely reached the level where it could leave his body and still function like an ordinary person. His current state depended entirely on the Netherworld's aura nourishing his soul.
Nor was the Netherworld's aura entirely equivalent to the aura of death. According to Elder Yi, the components he could sense alone contained all manner of complex laws, including death, souls, and even life, space, and time. Reincarnation and similar matters might be involved.
Time passed.
To give Xu Qingjia a sense of time, Electrolux periodically announced how long it had been since he woke in this world. "Sixty seconds to a minute, sixty minutes to an hour. Eight hours have now passed."
Xu Qingjia felt neither fatigue nor hunger. In fact, his spirits kept improving, and his soul's perception of his surroundings had strengthened considerably. Yet worry was impossible to hide in his dark eyes. "I wonder whether time flows differently here than on the Douluo Continent."
If it did not, dawn would soon be breaking in Mingdu, and his parents would discover his body without any trace of a soul.
For the white-haired to bury the black-haired-what immense grief that would be.
And if too much time passed and his physical body was ruined, would he not truly become a lonely, wandering ghost?
Just as he was thinking this, a powerful pulling force suddenly seized him.
Splash- Without any warning, an intense sense of weightlessness struck. Xu Qingjia felt the solid "ground" beneath his feet suddenly turn into water, and his entire body plunged into it. His view abruptly vanished, becoming darkness in which he could see nothing.
At the same time.
Mingdu.
Inside a bedroom furnished with antique charm, nobility, and elegance.
A quilt stuffed with the feathers of a thousand-year Emerald Swan was thrown back. Xu Qingjia suddenly sat up in bed, as though startled awake from a dream.
"I..."
Xu Qingjia gazed at the familiar scene before him, momentarily dazed.