Death Canyon.
The night was pitch-black, the air cutting cold.
Xiao Yan sat cross-legged in the darkness. Only the faint sound of his breathing and heartbeat echoed through the still night.
"I died... yet I did not. Instead, I've been reborn into the world of Douluo, as Yan of the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation."
Immersed in his thoughts, Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel a deep and complex emotion rise in his chest.
In his previous life, he had been a man who lost himself for love—a coward who poured everything he had into a manipulative woman who only knew how to take. In the end, he perished together with her, dragged into death by his own blind devotion.
Having experienced death once, Xiao Yan's heart had undergone a complete transformation.
"Fortunately, I didn't truly die. I've merely begun anew, in another form."
He began to examine his new body.
This body was vastly different from before—his strength had multiplied, and boundless energy surged within him, waiting to be unleashed.
Now possessing the memories of both lives, Xiao Yan clearly understood who "Yan" was in this world.
Yan—gifted with extraordinary talent, possessed a top-tier ancient beast spirit with dual attributes of fire and earth: the Flame Lord. He was one of the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, standing alongside Xie Yue and Hu Liena as one of the "Three Stars of Spirit Hall."
He was supposed to have an incomparably bright future.
Yet, because of his infatuation with Hu Liena, he had degraded himself into a pitiful simp—throwing away his potential and ultimately achieving nothing.
Hu Liena, in turn, betrayed the Spirit Hall for Tang San, becoming a traitorous white-eyed wolf.
What was worse, Yan had repeatedly lost to Tang San.
At the thought of this, Xiao Yan shook his head with a bitter smile.
"So, I've actually been reborn into another man who was a simp? Is this coincidence… or fate's cruel joke?"
"But since I've been given a second chance, I, Xiao Yan, will never again live as anyone's lapdog—never again will tragedy repeat itself!"
"This time, I live for myself!"
Through his inherited memories, Xiao Yan learned that he was now sixteen years old.
At this very moment, he was in Death Canyon—a domain under Spirit Hall's control.
Compared to other soul beast territories such as the Star Dou Great Forest, Sunset Forest, or Icebound Forest, Death Canyon rarely produced soul beasts above the ten-thousand-year level.
Yet for the young Spirit Masters who came here to train, it was still an extremely terrifying place.
Here, soul beasts often hunted in packs, and were ferocious beyond measure. Without the protection of a mentor, the young Spirit Masters who ventured here could rely only on their own strength and will to survive.
For them, every trial here was a struggle between life and death.
Every year, many young Spirit Hall disciples met their end in this place—hence its name: Death Canyon.
But where danger lay, opportunity followed. Under pressure, one could best awaken their hidden potential.
At this point, Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena had all reached Spirit Power Level 39.
This time, under orders from Pope Bibi Dong, the three had entered Death Canyon to train, hoping to break through to Level 40 and obtain their fourth spirit ring.
There were less than three years remaining before the next Continental Advanced Spirit Master Tournament.
As a reincarnator, Xiao Yan knew that Spirit Hall was determined to seize the championship in this upcoming tournament.
This generation of Spirit Hall students was exceptionally gifted—praised across the continent as the Golden Generation.
Among them, Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena had distinguished themselves through their remarkable individual abilities, earning the collective title of the Three Stars of Spirit Hall.
As the brightest talents of their generation, they carried the hopes of the entire Spirit Hall.
Pope Bibi Dong herself had prepared three precious spirit bones as rewards for the tournament champions.
Each one was almost tailor-made for them:
The Wisdom Skull of Spiritual Focus
The Left Leg Bone of Swift Pursuit
The Right Arm Bone of Blazing Flame
Among them, the Wisdom Skull was the most valuable—an artifact over sixty thousand years old, obtained by the former Pope Qian Xunji after slaying a powerful soul beast.
As Bibi Dong's beloved disciple, Hu Liena was naturally chosen to receive the Wisdom Skull.
The Left Leg Bone that enhanced speed and agility was prepared for Xie Yue.
And the Right Arm Bone that amplified fire-type attacks, beyond doubt, was meant for Yan.
For any Spirit Master, obtaining a spirit bone was a dream beyond measure.
Absorbing one not only strengthened the body and increased spirit power, but also granted an additional Spirit Bone Ability—a tremendous boost in combat power.
However, spirit bones could only be found through extraordinary luck—they were rare drops from slain spirit beasts, impossible to obtain by ordinary means.
That Pope Bibi Dong was willing to put forth three such priceless treasures for this tournament's reward showed just how much faith she had in the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation.
Yet Xiao Yan, with the knowledge of his past life, understood that things would not unfold as Bibi Dong envisioned.
Tang San, the twin-spirit prodigy, would lead the Shrek Academy Team, becoming the greatest obstacle in the tournament.
In the original timeline, Tang San had used the venomous fragments of his Eight Spider Lances to poison Hu Liena and Xie Yue, rendering them unable to fight.
Yan, left alone, could not stand against six opponents—and the Spirit Hall team was utterly defeated.
In the end, those three priceless spirit bones all fell into the hands of the Shrek team.
But now—none of that had yet happened.
Everything could still be changed.
Xiao Yan swore silently to himself:
"This time, I won't let that brat have his way! The spirit bones that should be mine will never again fall into another's hands!"
Author's Note:
This story will follow the path of Fire and Earth dual attributes, with Fire as the main focus and Earth as support.
The protagonist will walk the path of solitary strength, not forming a team.
A quick clarification: many readers compare their levels with Dai Mubai's. In the original, Xie Yue reached level 40 at sixteen and level 50 at nineteen. Yan, being a few months older, had roughly equal strength. So his current level is entirely reasonable. After obtaining his fourth spirit ring, Yan will reach level 42 at around sixteen or seventeen—no weaker than Dai Mubai.
Enjoy and Happy reading!