Heaven Soul Empire, Anyang City.
Under the dusky night sky, a quiet and peaceful village nestled silently. The village housed many families, and warm yellow lights flickered sporadically throughout, forming scattered patches of glow. On this moonless evening, the scene appeared especially warm and tranquil. Even the frigid wind blowing in from the northern ice plains seemed to have no effect on the residents.
At the entrance of the village, one house remained lit. Unlike the other homes, this one was built with green bricks and red tiles, clearly belonging to a more prosperous family. It had three rooms and a small courtyard, where two trees had been planted, adding to the homely atmosphere.
In the central room, the yellow light glowed faintly, yet was noticeably brighter than the rest. By the window, a writing desk leaned against the wall. Sitting at the desk was a delicate-looking young boy, fully absorbed in the book he held. His dark eyes occasionally flickered with a thoughtful gleam, clearly showing how intently he was reading.
Beside his hand was an oddly shaped lamp. Though it resembled an oil lamp, there was no visible wick, yet its light shone more brightly than usual. The gentle yet radiant light fell on the book's pages.
Upon closer look, the book was brand-new, the scent of fresh ink lingering in the air. Its title was printed clearly on the page header:
"On the Impact of Soul Ring Quality on a Soul Master's Development"
"…When a Soul Master absorbs a soul ring, the Martial Soul is simultaneously enhanced... Among soul beasts of the same age, the stronger the beast, the higher the quality of the soul ring it produces. This leads to greater enhancements for the Martial Soul... If the soul beast's attributes are highly compatible with the Soul Master's Martial Soul, and their bloodlines closely aligned, the quality of the resulting soul ring will be even higher. This significantly boosts the Martial Soul and enhances the Soul Master's overall capabilities...
Take cat-type Martial Souls as an example—if the Soul Master consistently chooses soul rings from tiger-type soul beasts, the Martial Soul will accumulate strength and potentially evolve into a tiger-type Martial Soul through a second awakening...
In short, when selecting soul rings, Soul Masters must give full consideration to ring quality…"
So deeply engrossed was the boy that he didn't even notice someone entering the room.
A beautiful woman walked in quietly. Her features bore a striking resemblance to the boy's—clearly, she was his mother.
"Yangyang, it's late. Time to rest," she said softly as she walked to his side. "Tomorrow is the day you awaken your Martial Soul. Sleep early tonight and recharge your energy, alright?"
Before the boy could respond, she reached out and gently shook the strange lamp. The light went out instantly.
"Mom!" the boy cried in mild protest, a hint of frustration showing on his delicate face. But he didn't argue. Instead, he obediently made his way to the bed.
After he lay down and pulled the blanket over himself, his mother smiled in satisfaction. She leaned down and kissed his forehead.
"Good boy. Good night."
She left the room, taking the last bit of lamplight with her. Only the faint starlight streaming through the window remained, barely illuminating the book on the desk. Gradually, even that book seemed to fade under the stars, as if it had never existed.
At that moment, the boy—eyes shut just moments before—suddenly opened them again.
He sat upright on the bed, legs crossed, palms facing up. His eyes slowly closed once more, and his entire being entered a state of serenity, like a monk in deep meditation.
Fifteen minutes later, he lay down again.
His name was Zhu Ziyang. Six years old. A native of Anyang City, in the Heaven Soul Empire's northern province.
Though he had settled back into bed, Zhu Ziyang's mind remained unusually alert. Faint, long-forgotten memories—blurred but persistent—surged within him. They intertwined with his current understanding and gradually painted a wondrous picture of the world in his mind.
The Heaven Soul Empire was one of the four great empires, originally part of the three great empires of the Douluo Continent. After the Heaven Dou Empire split, it became one of two successor states. Though it retained only half of the former empire's territory, its strength surpassed that of its sibling, the Douling Empire.
On the Douluo Continent, every person possessed something called a Martial Soul. According to modern Soul Master theory, the Martial Soul originates from the bloodline—it is the manifestation of one's lineage.
It was widely believed that the purer, older, and nobler the bloodline, the higher the Martial Soul's quality and potential. Since Martial Souls were determined by bloodline, cases of switched-at-birth children were virtually nonexistent on the continent.
Around Martial Souls revolved countless terms: Soul Master, Soul Ring, Soul Beast, Soul Skill, Soul Bone, Soul Tool... One after another, these concepts flashed through Zhu Ziyang's mind.
Without realizing it, he had begun to overthink. He turned over, wide-eyed, not the slightest bit sleepy.
Although he hadn't awakened his Martial Soul yet, the position he had assumed before lying down—palms up, legs crossed—closely resembled that of soul power cultivation. But it was not meditation.
In truth, he wasn't cultivating soul power at all. He had been practicing a unique breathing technique known as the Lesser Light Breathing Method.
Perhaps it was the karmic reward of past-life virtue, but Zhu Ziyang had been born with awakened wisdom, his intelligence far surpassing that of ordinary children. He could speak by three months, walk by six, and read thousands of books by a very young age. He was already a locally renowned prodigy.
Besides that, a lingering fragment of memory from a previous life haunted his thoughts. In that broken recollection, something was constantly telling him that the Lesser Light Breathing Method was important—very important.
Driven by curiosity, he had begun practicing it at age three. After performing it once, he was shocked to find that his Shanzhong acupoint had opened—and a wisp of Qi had emerged.
Though only three at the time, he had already read extensively and understood the significance of the Shanzhong point. Known as the Golden Palace of the Crimson Chamber, it was typically only opened upon the awakening of one's Martial Soul. It was regarded as the source of one's bloodline.
What he didn't know was that along with the Shanzhong, his Niwan Palace and Huangting had also opened. All three of his Dantian centers had activated, though he hadn't yet realized it.
At the time, he only knew one thing: his Shanzhong acupoint had activated early, and it had given rise to a mysterious strand of energy—clearly not soul power. The discovery thrilled him. Eager to explore further, he immediately repeated the Lesser Light Breathing Method.
To his amazement, the strand of Qi stirred again. It left the Shanzhong point and traveled through his meridians, flowing across his entire body—from the Baihui point atop his head to the Guanyuan point in his lower abdomen, from the Shaofu points in his palms to the Yongquan points on the soles of his feet. It passed through every major meridian and acupoint.
Wherever the Qi passed, he felt a gentle warmth. It was soothing, like basking in the sun on a winter day. When the breathing cycle ended, the Qi returned to his Shanzhong acupoint and settled there, completely still.
Although Zhu Ziyang didn't understand the origin of the Lesser Light Breathing Method or the mysterious Qi, he knew one thing for certain—it wasn't harming him. That lingering past-life memory seemed to affirm this as well.
And so, following his belief in finishing what he started, Zhu Ziyang never stopped practicing the breathing method.
He never gave up.
(End of Chapter)
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