"Four-Star Dou Ling, with Soul Power at the early-stage of the Heaven Realm, heh, but what use is it? It can't bring Yun'er back."
Guarding the coffin of his deceased wife, Xiao Lin's face showed no joy over obtaining Heaven Realm Soul Power; instead, it revealed endless heartbreak.
His wife's death was currently Xiao Lin's greatest mental knot.
Because Xiao Lin's wife, Wen Lingyun, was an ordinary person herself and had been physically weak and prone to illness since childhood, coupled with her constant worrying over his safety while he was away at war, it resulted in a difficult labor.
Ultimately, after barely giving birth to the child, she passed away, unable to even wait for Xiao Lin's return. Therefore, even though he had awakened his past wisdom, Xiao Lin's heart still felt that he had failed his wife, leading to her difficult labor.
"If I hadn't gone to that Great War this time and had stayed home to accompany Yun'er, perhaps nothing would have happened to her."
Leaning against his wife's coffin, Xiao Lin couldn't help but murmur to himself.
At this moment, Xiao Lin had too many things he wanted to say to his late wife. However, his wife could no longer hear anything. Just like that, Xiao Lin accompanied his deceased wife for several days, not even letting a drop of water pass his lips.
It wasn't until his condition alarmed the current Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Dongcheng, who arrived carrying the son Xiao Lin hadn't yet had a chance to look at—Xiao Zhan—that Xiao Lin finally began to slowly recover.
"Xiao Lin, you are the next Clan Leader of our Xiao Clan. Although I know you are deeply grieved by Yun'er's passing, the dead cannot be brought back to life. We who are living still have things we need to do. Do you intend to remain dejected like this forever, and even abandon your son?"
Looking at Xiao Lin, who leaned against the coffin with hollow eyes, Xiao Dongcheng couldn't help but try to persuade him. At first, Xiao Lin had no reaction, until Xiao Dongcheng mentioned his son.
A flicker of light finally reappeared in his eyes.
"My... my son? Xiao... Xiao Zhan?"
Because he hadn't consumed food or water for several days, Xiao Lin's voice had become raspy. Had it not been for the existence of Dou Qi in this world, he likely would have fainted again long ago from his hunger and thirst.
As for why he could call out his son's name despite never having seen him since his return. That was because long before he went off to war, the couple had already decided on names for the child. If it were a son, he would be named Xiao Zhan!
Seeing that Xiao Lin finally had a slight reaction, Xiao Dongcheng hurried to bring Xiao Zhan before him. Xiao Lin reached out with trembling hands and took his son from the Clan Leader into his arms.
Looking at the tiny person whose features somewhat resembled his own, Xiao Lin's heart, which was about to wither away, finally came back to life. Just as Xiao Dongcheng said: those who are living have things that those living need to do!
At the very least, his son had lost his mother from birth; he couldn't let him lose his father as well. Even if only for the sake of his son, he couldn't continue to be so decadent!
"Sigh, Xiao Lin, I won't say too much else. Many things require you to figure them out yourself. Do you know what you need to do next?"
Looking at Xiao Lin, who had finally regained a bit of vitality, Xiao Dongcheng asked earnestly.
Pursing his lips, Xiao Lin held his son—who was neither crying nor making a fuss—and slowly stood up from the ground.
"Whew~"
Exhaling a mouthful of turbid air, Xiao Lin knew that for his own sake and his son's, he had to continue living well.
"I understand, Clan Leader. I will pull myself together!"
After closing his eyes in silent thought for a moment, Xiao Lin spoke with a firm tone.
"Good! That is a true son of our Xiao Clan!"
Seeing this, a smile finally appeared on Xiao Dongcheng's face.
Over the next few days, Xiao Lin personally completed the funeral arrangements for his wife. This was the only thing he could still do for his deceased wife. Afterward, Xiao Lin kept a piece of black jade—the token of their engagement—on his person.
This served as his remembrance of his late wife.
After handling the funeral, Xiao Lin remained quietly at home for two or three months.
Knowing that Xiao Lin's wife had recently passed, the Emperor of the Jia Ma Empire not only brought condolences but also refrained from assigning him any duties during this time, treating it as a long vacation.
During these two or three months, Xiao Lin finally came to understand his current situation.
How should he put it?
Actually, when he first learned his name was Xiao Lin and the country he resided in was the Jia Ma Empire, he had guessed based on some memories of his past life that he might have transmigrated into that world known as Battle Through the Heavens.
But that was as far as it went.
He didn't even know what point in time he was currently at; at most, he knew he came from the Xiao Clan of the original story. After all, the name Xiao Lin was a "bit character among bit characters" in the original story.
His face never even appeared in the main story before he became a legendary "background character" who was already dead. Under such circumstances, how could Xiao Lin possibly realize who he was immediately?
It was only when he learned that his newborn son was named Xiao Zhan that he finally remembered who he was. Wasn't he that background character from the original story?
The one rumored to have led the Xiao Clan to establish a foothold in the capital of the Jia Ma Empire, and who even arranged a childhood marriage for his protagonist grandson, Xiao Yan?
Upon realizing this, Xiao Lin finally knew: so the future Flame Emperor, Xiao Yan, was actually his grandson!
Unfortunately, at this point in time, his son was only a newborn infant, let alone his grandson—that wasn't even a shadow yet.
What was the ending for the original Xiao Lin?
It was said that before the protagonist Xiao Yan even began his cultivation, Xiao Lin was heavily injured during a fight with enemies and eventually died from his wounds.
In other words, the original Xiao Lin had kicked the bucket about ten years before the plot even started. By the time the story began, the grass on his grave would have turned yellow season after season.
Thinking of this, Xiao Lin, who had just recovered from his wife's death, felt a chill in his heart. Fortunately, there was good news: he had awakened his past wisdom. Not only did he have the memories of his past life and know the subsequent plot of Battle Through the Heavens.
But at the moment his wisdom awakened, the fusion of his past and present lives caused his Soul Power to undergo an evolution. He had directly stepped into the Heaven Realm, a level most people could only dream of for a lifetime!
One must know that a Heaven Realm soul is not something just anyone can possess. Even many Dou Sheng fail to reach the Heaven Realm in Soul Power. It could be said that the current Xiao Lin had reached the sky in a single step.
A cultivation of Four-Star Dou Ling combined with early-stage Heaven Realm Soul Power allowed Xiao Lin to be fearless against any powerhouse below a high-level Dou Zong.
Correct: current Xiao Lin, even if he encountered an early or mid-level Dou Zong, would have the strength to fight and remain undefeated. This was the powerful boost the Heaven Realm soul provided to Xiao Lin.
This was the greatest cheat—the only cheat—brought to him after twenty-some years of transmigration upon awakening his past wisdom! As for a system or something, he wanted one too, but unfortunately, there wasn't any...
But starting with Four-Star Dou Ling cultivation and early-stage Heaven Realm Soul Power already surpassed 99% of transmigrators; he wasn't dissatisfied. With such strength, Xiao Lin believed living until the start of the plot should be no problem.
"The next goal should be to live until the grand finale, then hug the thigh of my grandson, the Flame Emperor, and ascend to the Great Thousand World."
In his courtyard, Xiao Lin contemplated his future.
His late wife had been buried for three months, and Xiao Lin had naturally recovered fully. After recovering, he naturally began to consider his future. To this end, Xiao Lin thought a great deal.
"It seems that if I want to live until the finale, I must strengthen my power by 'just a little bit' more!" Xiao Lin couldn't help but sigh.
Speaking of increasing strength, there was one thing Xiao Lin needed to do immediately.
Thinking of something, Xiao Lin directly began to circulate the cultivation technique he practiced. Soon, as Xiao Lin operated the cultivation technique, the surrounding Dou Qi surged into his body. Just like that, Xiao Lin cultivated for an entire day.
At the same time, through this day of cultivation, Xiao Lin gained an understanding of the cultivation technique he currently practiced.
"Starlight Art, a Low-Level Xuan Grade cultivation technique. However, if practiced at night, it can exert an effect comparable to a Mid-Level Xuan Grade cultivation technique."
"But, it still feels too ordinary; it completely fails to satisfy my needs... If I continue practicing the Starlight Art, my upper limit will likely only reach Dou Huang, or perhaps only Dou Wang."
Even though he had only practiced for one day, with his completely mismatched Soul Power, Xiao Lin instantly saw through the help the Starlight Art could provide him.
The Dou Huang and Dou Wang realms could be said to be the pursuit of most people in the entire Northwestern Region. These two realms could already be considered the top small fraction of the Northwestern Region.
Don't you see that even the Yun Lan Sect and the Jia Ma Imperial Family currently only have one Dou Huang each? As for Dou Wang, as far as Xiao Lin knew, the two combined couldn't possibly exceed five!
Aside from them, there was Hai Bodong of the Mittel Clan and Mo Ya of the Yinter Clan. Beyond that, rogue Dou Huang within the Jia Ma Empire were non-existent, and Dou Wang wouldn't exceed a handful.
Hmm, excluding the Snake-People Clan here.
You say there's also the Alchemist Association? Sorry, they are a neutral force and do not participate in any struggles!
Therefore, in this remote Northwestern Region, Dou Huang and Dou Wang were already completely sufficient. However, for Xiao Lin, who knew the original story, this was clearly unacceptable.
After all, although his realm hadn't reached it yet, his current combat power was not at all inferior to a below-mid-level Dou Zong. As long as he raised his realm a bit more and coordinated it with his Heaven Realm Soul Power.
While a Dou Huang fighting a Dou Zun might be unlikely—he would at least have the power to resist. But now, the cultivation technique he practiced had become the greatest obstacle to Xiao Lin's continued improvement in strength.
The Low-Level Xuan Grade Starlight Art could no longer satisfy Xiao Lin's cultivation. Since that was the case, what should he do?
"Either I start looking for a higher-level cultivation technique directly, or I can only rely on myself..." Xiao Lin whispered while studying the Starlight Art.
But in the entire Jia Ma Empire, even the current Yun Lan Sect and the Imperial Family only had High Level Xuan Grade cultivation techniques. Where would Xiao Lin obtain a higher-level one?
Never mind that these two forces would never give a High-Level Xuan Grade cultivation technique to Xiao Lin; look at Mo Ya of the Yinter Clan—he currently practiced a Mid-Level Xuan Grade cultivation technique, yet he had no way to obtain a High-Level one.
Even if these two forces were willing to give Xiao Lin a High-Level Xuan Grade cultivation technique, he actually looked down on it slightly...
It wasn't that Xiao Lin was being overambitious, but even if he practiced a High-Level Xuan Grade cultivation technique, it was estimated that he would at most become a low-to-mid-level Dou Zong, and further breakthroughs would be impossible.
"It seems there is only one choice left!"
Thinking of this, Xiao Lin also made a certain resolution.
Correct: Xiao Lin wanted to use the Starlight Art he was currently practicing as a basis to research and create a stronger cultivation technique. Fortunately, with his Heaven Realm Soul Power—although his realm was still a bit lacking—
While he couldn't say he could research a Heaven Grade cultivation technique, Xiao Lin was confident in researching an Earth Grade cultivation technique. Furthermore, a cultivation technique researched by oneself for oneself was actually the most suitable!
After all, throughout the ages, since so many cultivation techniques existed in the world, weren't they all created by people?
So, at this moment, Xiao Lin was prepared to spend a certain amount of time to create a cultivation technique suitable for himself.
Heaven Realm Soul Power was his greatest reliance!