Ten thousand years had passed since the Sun Moon Empire unified the continent and established the Federation.
In the span of those ten millennia, the various soul tool technologies of the Douluo Federation had advanced at a breathtaking pace. Certain conservative powers, unable to keep up with the current of the times, had gradually faded into irrelevance — but others had thrived in this new environment, growing ever stronger.
Among them was the Spirit Transmission Tower, keeper of the method to create Spirit Souls.
...
Eastsea City. The Spirit Transmission Tower.
Within the Douluo Federation, Eastsea City ranked among the continent's great metropolises. The local branch of the Spirit Transmission Tower was known as one of the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars — a landmark that defined the city's skyline.
Today, it had drawn a considerable crowd of adults and children alike.
The reason was Spirit Awakening Day, the annual occasion when Spirit Transmission Masters fanned out across the land to awaken children's Martial Souls free of charge. Commoner families who lived near the Tower and could not otherwise afford the awakening ceremony also brought their children here in person.
Outside the dome-shaped Awakening Chamber, the staff member handling registration looked at the small boy standing alone before him, a flicker of puzzlement crossing her face.
"Little one — where are your parents?"
The boy's eyes were unusually bright. He answered with quiet composure, producing his identification without any fuss.
"I don't have parents. I came by myself today."
The staff member was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Ah — well, I only asked because you were alone and I was a little worried. Eastsea City is safe, but there are still risks for a child on his own."
She gave an awkward smile and took the identification from his hand, her eyes lingering for a moment on the name written there. Then she turned and led him toward the Awakening Chamber.
"All right then, young Huo Yuhao — follow me. I'll take you to have your Martial Soul awakened."
Sutong did well. Every trace of my information has been scrubbed clean. Apart from the Spirit Beasts and what remains of the Duke White Tiger bloodline, I doubt anyone knows I exist.
Seeing that the staff member had shown no reaction whatsoever to his name, Huo Yuhao felt a quiet satisfaction settle over him. As he took in the surroundings, his thoughts turned inward.
When I first sensed the Heavenly Tribulation approaching, I assumed it was something else. I never expected I had genuinely become something so close to a Spirit Beast… Teacher, can your undead magic really do something like this?
The plan had unfolded smoothly enough. Ten thousand years ago, he had used undead magic to die and return — becoming a sentient undead creature, successfully shedding his identity as the continent's Son of Destiny, and gaining a lifespan vast enough to carry him to the present day.
But one thing had caught him entirely off guard.
The undead form he had taken was not quite what he had envisioned. For reasons he still did not fully understand, his life form had come out remarkably close to that of a Spirit Beast.
His longevity was intact — that much had not been diminished. But to face the Heavenly Tribulation and reclaim a human body, he would need to shed this form and recultivate from the beginning.
The latter did not particularly trouble him. The concept of "transforming and recultivating" was simply the closest analogy that fit his situation. His circumstances were far too unusual to map neatly onto any Spirit Beast's experience of doing the same — he could not generate Spirit Rings on his own, and the differences were substantial. But if he could make good use of this opportunity, it might actually allow him to fill in what had always been missing from his foundation. After all, his dominant cultivation path ten thousand years ago had been the Ice Empress Martial Soul. His Spirit Eyes Martial Soul had never been given the chance to evolve.
The problem was the Heavenly Tribulation.
The tribulation awaiting him was not one of a few hundred thousand years. It was a million-year Heavenly Tribulation.
The moment that truth landed, Huo Yuhao had gone completely numb.
Without the identity of the Son of Destiny, without Tang San's watchful gaze upon him, this should have been the ideal time to act and lay new groundwork. Instead, the million-year Heavenly Tribulation hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles, forcing him to seal himself away inside the Undead Half-Plane and sleep — lest even the faintest stir bring the tribulation crashing down. Ten thousand years squandered, with little to show for it beyond research conducted inside the Sea of Spirit — studying Martial Souls, soul tools, and every variety of magic the Electrolux had taught him. The times he had dared to venture out and act in the world could be counted on one hand.
"Ha! I never thought I'd get to see what you looked like as a child, Yuhao."
Inside the Sea of Spirit, Skydream Iceworm was laughing with unrestrained, gleeful schadenfreude.
Beside him, Electrolux — whose divine sense had, after ten millennia, been fully restored — furrowed his brow in thought before responding.
"The rules governing this continent are profoundly strange. Cultivation is ordinarily a personal matter, yet the Spirit Masters of the Douluo Continent can seize power from Spirit Beasts through their Spirit Rings. Meanwhile, Spirit Beasts must face Heavenly Tribulation to break through their age limits. It seems likely that someone arranged this deliberately."
"My conjecture is that it was the work of a deity — and one whose power far surpasses mine. This caused my undead magic to be warped by the continent's laws, turning you into something that resembles a Spirit Beast."
"Of course, the big worm has something to do with it as well."
Skydream's laughter snagged mid-breath. He had no idea how any of this had become his fault.
The Ice Emperor continued: "You never fully absorbed the big worm's Origin Energy. When you transformed into an undead creature, that stored Origin Energy fused with you entirely — which is why, in the Heavenly Tribulation's judgment, you registered as a million-year Spirit Beast."
"I see."
Huo Yuhao turned this over thoughtfully.
He had never taken the final step toward godhood, so Skydream had naturally never released his Origin Energy to elevate all of Huo Yuhao's Spirit Ring age limits. That portion of Origin Energy had simply remained within him all along.
And the Douluo Continent's definition of a Spirit Beast was remarkably broad.
Animals, plants, even something like the Snow Empress — a being born of the world's own elemental nature — fell under the category of Spirit Beast. It seemed that anything which was not human was classified as such, and those with sufficiently great age were subjected to Heavenly Tribulation.
So what was a non-human creature carrying the Origin Energy of a million-year Spirit Beast — human, or Spirit Beast, in the eyes of a Heavenly Tribulation?
Well, based on the results… the Heavenly Tribulation didn't appear to be particularly intelligent.
If he had formed as an undead creature rooted in the Origin Energy of a million-year Spirit Beast, then facing a million-year Heavenly Tribulation was, in a sense, not entirely unreasonable—
Oh, who was he kidding.
Skydream had never been struck by a single bolt of lightning, yet here he was facing tribulation in Skydream's place. This was blatant discrimination.
"Brother Skydream," Huo Yuhao remarked, in a tone of mournful reflection, "according to IElectrolux's reasoning, the Heavenly Tribulation seems to be implying that you were never worthy of a million-year tribulation to begin with."
Skydream Iceworm: "…"
So Heavenly Tribulations had standards, it seemed. Truly, live long enough and you'll see everything.
Electrolux spoke again: "All the same, misfortune and fortune walk hand in hand. This has also made the big worm's Origin Energy a genuine part of you. You can now command it completely — and as your cultivation recovers, that Origin Energy will become your own power. Combined with the cultivation you have sealed away, when you reach your former peak once more, the two lifetimes of foundation united will give you a depth that rivals the divine."
Unlike an ordinary Spirit Beast's recultivation, Huo Yuhao had sealed his former cultivation within several Spirit Souls before beginning — which explained why his Sea of Spirit now felt so vast and hollow. Those Spirit Souls, having absorbed enormous quantities of Origin Energy, were still deep in slumber.
And the cultivation Huo Yuhao had reached ten thousand years ago was the peak of the near-divine realm. With another full recultivation, aided this time by Skydream's Origin Energy, the day both lifetimes of foundation merged into one was the day that possessing the power of a deity within a human body would cease to be a fantasy.
The exchange within the Sea of Spirit moved at the speed of thought — by the time it concluded, the staff member had only just guided Huo Yuhao to his position at the center of the Awakening Chamber.
Inside, a Spirit Transmission Master was already waiting.
"Calm your mind and steady your breathing. I'm about to begin."
With that brief instruction, the Spirit Transmission Master channeled a gentle flow of spirit power into the Awakening Chamber.
In an instant, the intricate patterns covering the walls and floor resonated with it. A warm, suffusing spirit power began flowing up through the patterns beneath Huo Yuhao's feet and into his body.
Watching Huo Yuhao experience a Martial Soul awakening for the second time in his existence, Skydream set aside his sulking and tilted his head in genuine puzzlement.
"Yuhao — why bother coming to the Spirit Transmission Tower for a Martial Soul awakening? You don't need any of this."
"Registering at the Spirit Transmission Tower gives my identity a layer of legitimacy and saves me from all manner of complications. After all, I am no longer Spirit-Ice Douluo. I am a minor Spirit Master with no ability to protect himself, and I should conduct myself accordingly — setting aside whatever pride a person of power might carry."
Huo Yuhao kept half his attention on cooperating with the Spirit Transmission Master's process as he answered, handling both without difficulty.
"This era is different from the past. I have no desire to cultivate in isolation from the world again. Caution first, in all things."
Obtaining a suitable identity was trivial for Huo Yuhao. Building and maintaining one, however, was not a matter of a single day. And the world of ten thousand years later was nothing like the world he had left behind — without a legitimate identity, you could not take a single step without running into walls.
Skydream Iceworm paused. A long silence followed before he spoke again, his voice quiet.
"Yuhao… do you regret it?"
Ten thousand years of enduring, only to begin again from nothing. Did he regret it?
"Not for a moment."
Huo Yuhao's eyes were bright and clear.
"It's simply starting over. What is there to regret? I have you, Brother Skydream, and the Teacher Electrolux, and the others standing with me. Compared to a Spirit Beast recultivating after transformation, my situation is a hundred times better — no, a thousand."
And most importantly — in this lifetime, there was no God King looming above him.
This was an era where he could run as far as his legs would carry him.
"Huo Yuhao. Martial Soul: Spirit Eyes. Innate Spirit Power: Rank Ten!"