In the northwestern corner of the Gama Empire, within the land of Duqi, there was a small town named Qingshan.
Qingshan Town enjoyed a geographical advantage due to its proximity to the Munster Mountain Range. Additionally, the Munster Mountains were rich in medicinal veins, so special herb-gathering teams often hired mercenaries as guards.
As a result, many mercenary groups were stationed here, making Qingshan Town undoubtedly more prosperous than an average village.
There were two trees in front of my house, one was a jujube tree, and the other was also a jujube tree!
A young boy, around eight or nine years old, leaned against a jujube tree with his head resting on his hands.
He held a piece of green grass in his mouth, chewing it gently, letting the slight bitterness spread through his tongue...
The boy had a handsome face, long black hair, rosy cheeks, and a pair of deep, dark eyes. He looked quite peculiar.
Upon closer inspection, one could see three small green dots hidden in his pupils, and faint green snake scales on his wrists.
"Ah! Why did I transmigrate to this damned place?"
A sigh that sounded a bit old-fashioned escaped the young boy's lips.
The boy's name was Mu Chengfeng. There will be a time to ride the wind and waves, to sail across the vast ocean. That is my goal.
It had been nine years since he traveled to the Douqi Continent. He was the son of a human and a snake-man. Theoretically, such a child shouldn't survive more than two years, but he was an exception.
Whenever people in Qingshan Town thought of the filthy snake-man blood running in his veins, they instinctively regarded him as a curse and avoided him. Some ill-tempered folks would even hurl insults at him.
Coincidentally, he was also a very innocent little child. After all, the experience of life is not something one can choose.
But he believed that even though a person can't choose where they are born, they can change their fate through effort.
Fortunately, there were two people who didn't care about his background, his father Mu Yang and Xiao Yixian. Thanks to their presence, he found the courage to continue living in Qingshan Town.
His father, Mu Yang, was a well-known mercenary in Qingshan Town. As the deputy leader of the Qingshan Mercenary Group, it was rumored that his strength had reached the level of a Three-Star Fighter. He was considered the strongest mercenary in the town.
Mu Chengfeng's life experience was confusing. All that was known was that ten years ago, the Qingshan Mercenary Group took on an escort mission in the Tagore Desert.
Shortly after entering the desert, they were ambushed by a tribe of snake people, and his father, Mu Yang, was separated from the team.
More than a year later, in the winter, a heavy snowstorm hit Qingshan Town. The snow was about two feet thick. Mu Yang, seriously injured and on the verge of death, collapsed at the entrance of Qingshan Town with a crying child in his arms.
Fortunately, the owner of Wanyaozhai found him while gathering herbs and rescued him in time. Otherwise, Mu Chengfeng might never have had this cheap father.
"Ah!" Another sigh slipped from the boy's mouth.
There sat a young Mu Chengfeng, holding his cheeks with both hands, staring blankly ahead, his thoughts unknown to anyone.
"I didn't jump off a building, I didn't drown, so how did I end up in this damned place?" Mu Chengfeng muttered beneath the jujube tree.
He wasn't sad about this unexpected time travel. What really bothered him was that other transmigrators either had golden fingers or godlike systems to aid them, yet he had nothing at all. On top of that, he had to endure daily discrimination and contempt. Truly unlucky.
Most importantly, he had no idea that he now possessed strange pupils like the Three-Flower Green Snake Eyes.
What were the Three-Flower Green Snake Eyes?
They only appeared in the descendants of humans and snake people. The reason was that when snake people and humans interbred, the distant ancestral bloodline of the Heavenly Snake Emperor would sometimes activate in the offspring. This was a unique phenomenon called bloodline regression.
The Three-Flower Green Snake Eyes were the nemesis of nearly all serpent-type beasts. They could force snake-like beasts into a one-sided contract, allowing the user to control them.
It was also possible to store beasts or even humans in a space linked to the eyes. The size of the space increased with power, and the strength of those stored would be slowly absorbed by the user. However, the absorption rate was slow and had its limits.
Ah! It's been nine years since I transmigrated. When will Father finally teach me how to cultivate Dou Qi? He sighed again.
In the original novel, Xiao Yan began cultivating Qi at the age of four, reached the ninth stage of Qi at ten, and broke through to the Fighter level at eleven, becoming the youngest Fighter in the Xiao family in a hundred years.
Mu Chengfeng was now nine years old. If he didn't start cultivating soon, he'd miss the optimal age. And once that age was missed, catching up would be extremely difficult.
In this continent filled with constant battles, where the strong prey on the weak, strength is the only truth. If you fall behind, you'll be beaten. Dignity comes from strength. Without sufficient power, you'll be bullied wherever you go.
"Forget it. I don't want to think about it anymore. Thinking too much gives me a headache."
Oh! I'd better wait for Father to return and beg him to teach me Dou Qi. I don't want to live like a coward. Mu Chengfeng sighed and muttered to himself.
"Chengfeng! What are you thinking about sitting under that jujube tree again?" Mu Chengfeng had just finished sighing when he heard a voice call out from the nearby street.
Before seeing the person, he heard the voice. Mu Chengfeng looked in the direction it came from.
It was a middle-aged man, about thirty years old, wearing a pointed animal skin hat, a crescent-shaped sword on his back, and a knee-length robe with slits, walking slowly toward him.
At a glance, this man's face resembled Mu Chengfeng's by about seventy percent.
When he saw the man approaching, the worry on Mu Chengfeng's little face instantly disappeared, replaced by a joyful smile.
He ran toward the short-legged man and leapt into his arms, "Father! You're finally back. I'm so tired of being alone at home."
Seeing this, Mu Yang picked him up and lifted him onto his strong shoulders, saying happily, "Let's go! Let's go home for dinner!"
I couldn't have imagined that in this strange world, I'd be able to ride on my father's shoulders and go home happily, just like in my past life.
After father and son returned home, Mu Yang took a deep breath and gently set his little boy down on the wooden floor.
He looked at him seriously and asked, "Chengfeng, do you really want me to teach you how to cultivate Dou Qi?"
Hearing his father's words, Mu Chengfeng's heart began to race. A rush of indescribable excitement filled him. His father's refusal to teach him had always been his greatest concern.
"Father, why did you suddenly change your mind?" Mu Chengfeng looked at Mu Yang in confusion and scratched his head.
Mu Yang didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked with a serious expression, "So, do you want to learn or not?"
Mu Chengfeng had asked his father many times before, but Mu Yang had never agreed to teach him. It was only natural for him to be a little surprised by the sudden change.
"Father, of course I want to learn. I really want to become a Fighter!" Mu Chengfeng paused, then clenched his fists and replied firmly.
Mu Yang leaned down and said in a low voice, "At first, I hoped you would live as an ordinary person, leading a simple and happy life."
"Instead of spending your whole life fighting to become some so-called powerhouse, but after thinking it over, I realized that as your father, I shouldn't deprive you of the right to choose your own path."
He continued, "And when I was away, you were always bullied by the town's kids who had combat skills, so I decided to teach you how to fight. If your father is ever gone, you'll need a way to protect yourself."
As he spoke, tears began to gather in Mu Chengfeng's green eyes. He stepped forward and hugged Mu Yang's thighs, saying with a hint of sadness, "Father, don't say such discouraging things in the future. You promised you'd always be with me."
In truth, what Mu Yang said made sense. The job of a mercenary often involved fighting fierce beasts. The risk was extremely high. A single moment of carelessness could lead to a tragic death.
After he finished speaking, Mu Yang suddenly opened his strong arms and held Mu Chengfeng tightly. Perhaps due to his years as a mercenary, Mu Yang's body had retained its hardened strength.
"Father!" Mu Chengfeng was slightly stunned. Mu Yang's embrace was so warm. The sense of safety brought by fatherly love was irreplaceable.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just as father and son were immersed in this emotional moment, there was a sudden knock at the door. No one knew who it might be.
Little Chengfeng, are you home? Today's the day we go to Munster Mountain Range to gather herbs. A clear and sweet voice of a young girl came from outside the door.
Mu Chengfeng slowly raised his head, his brows shifting slightly, as if he knew exactly who it was.
The sadness on his face gradually faded.