The stone floors were too cold for bare feet. That was Ye Tian's first thought as he padded deeper into the grandiose halls of Spirit Hall's central temple. Torchlight painted every column in gold and crimson. The symbols of angels loomed above him—wings spread, halos shining, swords raised toward the heavens.
If he had been a normal child of Spirit Hall, he would have knelt in reverence. But Ye Tian was not normal. His wide eyes took in every detail not as worshipper, but as a reincarnator, a spy of time.
"This is insane," he whispered softly to himself, clutching his tiny fists. "I actually time‑traveled. If the kids back on Earth knew, they'd choke on their instant noodles."
He stifled a laugh that turned into a cough. A passing priest paused, raised a brow. Ye Tian instantly crossed his arms like a saintly child reciting scripture and mumbled, "Praise be to the Angel God."
The priest blinked, nodded approvingly, and walked away.
Ye Tian exhaled so hard his bangs flopped into his face. "That was close… Ugh, I really can't help making things worse for myself."
Still, he kept walking. He had only one day, he remembered. At Rank 11, the Eternal Door permitted him 24 hours here—no more. One slip too far or too late, and he'd vanish midsentence in front of someone who might not forgive such mysteries.
He decided to play the role of a "wandering disciple child" and mixed with other temple brats in the outer courtyards. It wasn't too difficult—golden hair peeked beneath his hood, and the Angel bloodline pulsed cleanly through his veins. Nobody questioned that aura.
What he didn't expect, though, was the voice.
Deep, commanding, resonant. Not aimed at him directly, but echoing from the heart of the temple like a sermon.
"All who walk the path of light must understand sacrifice. To inherit divine might is not to rise for oneself—but to burn so others may shine beneath heaven."
Ye Tian's heart jerked. He knew stories. He knew this was no ordinary teacher. Slowly, inconspicuously, he slipped from the group of children and followed the sound.
The path led him to the doors of the Angel Temple's innermost sanctum. Two armored guards, spirits brimming with sharp aura, stood like statues. Ye Tian swallowed hard. There was no way he could just walk in.
So he crouched behind a pillar, peered through the crack where the massive doors didn't quite meet.
Inside, golden light flared like a miniature sun. Kneeling before a towering six‑winged angel statue, a line of white‑robed spirit masters chanted hymns. And at the very front, facing the statue with wings unfurled…
Qian Daoliu.
His presence nearly burned Ye Tian's eyes. The pressure of an angelic Titled Douluo filled the sanctum. But beneath that pressure was something deeper—something Ye Tian had not expected.
A resonance.
The statue itself responded faintly to his own awakened Angel martial soul, even through the crack. His chest vibrated with it. His bloodline recognized its source.
"This…" Ye Tian murmured nervously. "…is the Angel God's inheritance ground."
He shook, gripping the stone pillar tightly. On Earth, when he had read Soul Land, this had been abstract. Now, here he was, breathing in the aura of the divine. The very place where the Qian Clan communed with their god.
The chanting rose. Qian Daoliu's voice thundered again:
"One day, one among us shall guide the clan to true divinity. That light will not falter, not bend before mortal fear. The Angel God awaits a soul worthy of wings eternal."
The Angel God.
The words scorched Ye Tian's veins. This was the very inheritance that would one day pass down to Qian Renxue. A girl crushed beneath destiny, manipulated between gods, and ultimately robbed of joy. Ye Tian bit his lip until it ached.
Could he… change that fate?
"Twenty‑three hours left," he reminded himself, glancing at an inner clock that the Eternal Door seemed to whisper into his mind. "I can't do anything yet. Just remember. Learn. Grow. When I reach higher ranks, that's when I change it."
Still… he wanted one closer look.
He edged forward. But as he shifted around the pillar, his shoulder brushed a loose tile. The faintest clink echoed.
One of the guards whipped his head around instantly. Soul power flared.
Ye Tian's heart jumped into his throat. For a split second he considered running—but at that very moment the Eternal Door pulsed in his sea, warning him: return is always possible.
Almost instinctively, Ye Tian touched that pulse.
The guard's footsteps came swift. "Who's there!"
And in the next breath—Ye Tian vanished.
When he opened his eyes again, it was night in the forest. The campfire burned low, Guyi snored lightly, and the elders remained on vigil. The present had not moved forward a single heartbeat.
Ye Tian sucked in a trembling breath, hand clutching his chest. He was back.
The memory of golden sanctums and burning hymns rattled through him. The weight of Qian Daoliu's words pressed onto his heart.
"Angel God… inheritance…" he whispered into the night sky. "If I can prepare Spirit Hall, prepare Renxue, then maybe… maybe the future won't be a tragedy."
He failed to notice Guyi stirring. She peeked at him fuzzily, then muttered half‑asleep: "Tian… stop talking to yourself at night. You're too weird."
Ye Tian froze, panicked, then laughed nervously. "Haha, just… practicing my heroic speeches for when I save the world."
Guyi groaned and rolled over, pulling a blanket over her head.
Ye Tian exhaled again, laying back on the grass. His eyes stayed open long after. He had only stayed for a single day, but the Eternal Door had shown him enough to rattle his path for years.
And soon… soon he would meet the boy whose fate mattered most alongside his own.
Huo Yuhao.
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips before he drifted off. For some reason, Ye Tian had a feeling that their story together would be… chaotic, ridiculous, and maybe great beyond measure.
🔥 End of Chapter 4 🔥