South of Nuoding City, in the Fasno Province of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Holy Soul Village.
"Four years already..."
Dressed in coarse linen clothes, Zhou Qing had gathered a basketful of mushrooms from the forested hillside near the village. During a brief rest, he looked out across a vast stretch of lush green farmland. Not far beyond the fields, dozens nearly a hundred houses were scattered in clusters.
"Just two more years... then I can awaken my Martial Soul."
This land was known as Douluo Continent. Here, every child, upon turning six, could awaken a unique Martial Soul.
Martial Souls could be anything animals, plants, even man-made objects. No one knew exactly where they came from, but they made life easier in many ways.
However, among all children, a rare few would also awaken innate soul power alongside their Martial Soul. These children could cultivate their soul power through meditation and become Soul Masters.
Soul Masters were ranked by power: Soul Scholar, Soul Master, Grand Soul Master, Soul Elder, Soul Ancestor, Soul King, Soul Emperor, Soul Sage, Soul Douluo, and the most powerful of all—Title Douluo.
It was said that Title Douluo possessed immense strength, and those above level 95 had power great enough to shake mountains and rivers.
Zhou Qing longed to become one of them.
But unlike others, Zhou Qing was not native to this world. He was a transmigrator from Earth. One moment he was buying vegetables, and the next—after getting hit by a dump truck—his soul had crossed into this new world.
Unlike most lucky transmigrators with cheats or golden fingers, Zhou Qing had none. His only advantage was that he retained his modern memories and scientific way of thinking.
Which meant...
By age two, once he could walk and run steadily, Zhou Qing had already begun exploring the real world around him.
The layout of Holy Soul Village...
The roads, the forests, the farmland...
The various flora and fauna...
And most importantly—the story timeline: Is Tang San really in Holy Soul Village?
As luck would have it, yes.
Tang San, protagonist of Douluo Dalu 1, really lived here. He was the same age as Zhou Qing—actually, based on what old Jack said about Tang Hao's arrival, Tang San was one month younger.
But unlike Tang San, Zhou Qing was a true orphan. He didn't even have a father in this life.
His father, during the autumn harvest, had taken grain to sell in Falling Star City of the Star Luo Empire. On that trip, he died at the hands of a Soul Master.
The reason? "Offending" a Soul Master. A noble.
Zhou Qing refused to believe that the parents he had never met would recklessly challenge a Soul Master.
Unless they were insane.
Moreover, the villagers of Holy Soul Village—while often stingy, petty, and prone to long-winded quarrels—still retained a farmer's simple decency.
When trouble came, they helped each other.
For example, if someone was bullied by people from another village, the men would put down their tools, grab sickles and hoes, and stand up for their own.
There had even been major village brawls.
According to old Jack, when he was young, this happened twice. A poorer village nearby had coveted Holy Soul Village's better land and repeatedly provoked them. Twice, bloody fights broke out, and over ten of the aggressors were killed by Holy Soul villagers working together.
It wasn't until the City Lord of Nuoding and the head of the local Martial Soul branch intervened with Soul Masters that peace was restored.
Since then, the two villages had severed ties.
So yes, Holy Soul villagers might gossip behind your back—but if something happened, they'd still try to help however they could.
People are complicated like that.
Only when facing Soul Masters—those noble, revered figures of the continent—did the villagers abandon their unity and turn a blind eye to right and wrong.
Commoners. Soul Masters. Nobles.
The three main classes of this world.
Commoners had the lowest status. A Soul Master or noble could kill a commoner and rarely face any consequences.
The law existed, yes—but in a world ruled by power?
A Soul Master killing a commoner?
That's barely worth mentioning.
It's always the commoner's fault.
So most people bowed and scraped before Soul Masters. Though not all Soul Masters were nobles, they often held similar status.
As for Zhou Qing's childhood—
His parents' land and home were left to him. Old Jack managed it on his behalf, renting it out to other villagers for half the harvest and paying Zhou Qing ten silver coins each season—about a hundred copper coins.
In a sense, Zhou Qing grew up eating from a hundred households.
Still, never meeting his parents didn't mean he accepted their death so easily. He was a man with principles.
Transmigration—
Was it reincarnation? Possession?
Zhou Qing wasn't sure.
But he was certain of one thing: Once he had strength, he would uncover the truth behind his parents' deaths.
If they were truly at fault, he would accept it.
But if not...
That noble Soul Master from Falling Star City—he had better live quietly and carefully... until Zhou Qing came knocking.
With that thought, Zhou Qing looked back at the path leading down to Holy Soul Village. Carrying a basket full of mushrooms, he started down the mountain.
Revenge could wait. For now, he had to focus on the present.
He didn't gather mushrooms to fill his stomach. It was just an excuse—an opportunity to bump into Tang San.
Sure enough—
"Yo, San'er! You out collecting mushrooms too?"
Just as expected, Zhou Qing spotted Tang San coming up the path, holding a basket half-filled with mushrooms.
"Yeah, Brother Qing," Tang San replied calmly. "It rained recently, so mushrooms started popping up in the forest. Thought I'd pick some."
His voice was flat, but Zhou Qing knew this was already unusually friendly—especially considering how much the villagers gossiped about Tang Hao.
Whether for investigating his parents' deaths in the future, or for cultivating after awakening his Martial Soul, Zhou Qing believed one thing:
He had to befriend Tang San.
Why?
Because he didn't have any cheat ability. At least, none he knew of yet.
So even the slightest chance to gain Tang San's trust was worth it.
After all, according to the original novel, anyone who treated Tang San well even if their talent was average generally ended up okay. At the very least, they wouldn't end up on his "people who must die" list.
From the moment Zhou Qing could walk, run, and speak the local language at age two, he had started working toward this.
This very hillside was where Tang San would one day cultivate Xuan Tian Gong, Purple Demon Eye, and other Tang Sect arts...