Death wasn’t what he had imagined.
There was no tunnel of light.
There was no mysterious voice asking him what he desired for his next life.
Nor did some god appear to offer him three absurdly powerful wishes.
He simply died.
And then he opened his eyes again.
At first, his mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
His vision was blurry, sounds reached him in a distorted manner, and for some reason, his body felt far lighter than it should have.
He tried to raise one hand.
A tiny limb appeared before his eyes.
“Huh?”
What was supposed to be a word left his mouth as an incomprehensible sound.
His mind went completely blank.
He tried moving his fingers again.
Five tiny fingers responded.
Am I…
a baby?
The thought was ridiculous.
Yet the evidence was literally right in front of his eyes.
Before he could process it, he heard footsteps approaching.
“He moved!”
A woman’s voice came from beside him.
Several figures appeared above him, although his poor eyesight barely allowed him to distinguish their faces.
“Young Master, it seems you’ve finally woken up.”
Young Master?
Those two words only increased his confusion.
He tried speaking again.
The result was another childish sound.
“Ah…”
One of the women smiled.
“He must be hungry.
I’ll go inform Madam.”
The woman quickly left.
The newborn remained there, staring at the ceiling.
He didn’t know where he was.
He didn’t know who these people were.
And most importantly, he had no idea how any of this had happened.
But there was one thing he did know.
He remembered his previous life.
He remembered Earth.
He remembered growing up in a world without cultivators capable of destroying mountains, without soul beasts, and, unfortunately, without women capable of living for hundreds of years while maintaining youthful appearances.
He also remembered the countless hours he had spent reading novels and watching anime and donghua.
Among all those stories, there was one he knew particularly well.
Douluo Dalu.
Soul Land.
He had followed Tang San’s story and later learned about events that would take place thousands of years after his era.
But that was fiction.
At least, it should have been.
That was why, during the following months, he didn’t jump to any conclusions.
Being reincarnated didn’t necessarily mean he had ended up inside one of the stories he knew.
This could be an entirely different world.
So he did the only reasonable thing.
He observed.
He listened.
And he waited.
Months passed.
The first thing he discovered was that he had been born into an extremely wealthy family.
His room alone was enough to prove it.
The furniture was made from wood he didn’t recognize, the fabrics were of extraordinary quality, and several people attended to him every day.
But none of those things set off the first alarm bells.
That happened roughly four months after his birth.
Two maids were talking while organizing his room.
“I heard another Soul Master arrived yesterday.”
The baby’s tiny hand froze.
Soul Master?
The second maid responded casually.
“That’s normal.
This is Spirit Hall, after all.”
Silence.
The baby resting in the cradle stopped moving entirely.
For the first time since his birth, he felt his heart begin to pound violently.
Spirit Hall.
It could be a coincidence.
It had to be a coincidence.
Then the first woman continued.
“They say he was personally received by one of the elders.”
“An elder of Spirit Hall?”
“Yes.
Apparently, he’s quite talented.”
The two continued their conversation.
He stopped listening.
Soul Masters.
Spirit Hall.
Two coincidences were possible.
But the odds were rapidly shrinking.
Over the following weeks, he paid even closer attention to every conversation around him.
He heard the names of places.
Heaven Dou Empire.
Star Luo Empire.
He heard people talk about soul beasts.
Soul rings.
Martial souls.
Eventually, he was forced to accept a conclusion that he would have considered completely impossible in his previous life.
He had reincarnated.
And he hadn’t simply reincarnated into another world.
He had reincarnated on the Douluo Continent.
This is insane.
The revelation should have excited him.
In a way, it did.
Who hadn’t imagined entering the world of a story they loved?
Cultivating soul power.
Obtaining soul rings.
Becoming a Titled Douluo.
Perhaps even attaining godhood.
But his excitement quickly faded when he remembered something important.
Douluo Dalu was wonderful when experienced from behind a screen.
Living there was another matter entirely.
It was a world where strength determined far too much.
Soul beasts could kill humans.
Soul Masters could slaughter ordinary people with ease.
Entire clans could disappear because of conflicts between powerful factions.
And if he truly had been born within Spirit Hall…
His future was even more complicated.
Because he knew perfectly well what fate awaited that organization.
Tang San.
The name immediately appeared in his mind.
Spirit Hall’s most important future enemy.
But he wasn’t the only problem.
Bibi Dong.
Qian Renxue.
Qian Daoliu.
The war.
The fall of Spirit Hall.
Too many events began racing through his mind.
He forced himself to stop.
First, I need to figure out when I am.
That was crucial.
He could have been born decades before Tang San.
Or afterward.
He might even be living in a completely different era.
His knowledge extended all the way to the events of Douluo Dalu 3, meaning there was an enormous span of history in which he could have appeared.
He also needed to discover who he was.
Until now, everyone had simply called him Young Master.
His mother occasionally used his given name.
Longyu.
But he still didn’t know his surname.
That changed when he was approximately seven months old.
That afternoon, the atmosphere throughout the residence changed.
The servants seemed more careful than usual.
Even his mother had spent extra time preparing his clothes.
Longyu, trapped inside his tiny body, watched everything curiously.
Eventually, he heard footsteps.
They weren’t the soft steps of the maids.
They were heavy.
Firm.
Strangely rhythmic.
The door opened.
A tall man entered the room.
His hair showed traces of age, but his back remained perfectly straight.
His presence was difficult to describe.
Longyu still couldn’t consciously sense soul power.
Even so, his infant instincts seemed to warn him that this person was dangerous.
Extremely dangerous.
His mother smiled.
“Father.”
Longyu’s thoughts stopped.
Father?
The man approached.
His stern expression softened slightly when he looked at the baby.
“He’s grown.”
“It’s been several months since you were last able to visit.”
“The Grand Worship needed me.”
Longyu felt as though something had exploded inside his head.
Grand Worship.
Those words had a very specific meaning within Spirit Hall.
His mother sighed.
“I know your responsibilities as a Worship are important, but you should visit your grandson more often.”
Worship?
Longyu stared at the man with an intensity completely inappropriate for a baby.
The old man seemed to notice.
Their eyes met.
For several seconds, neither looked away.
Then the man let out a quiet laugh.
“His eyes are quite alert.”
“He’s always been like that,” his mother replied.
“Sometimes I feel as though he understands what we’re saying.”
Longyu immediately looked away.
Don’t say that!
He didn’t need anyone suspecting there was something strange about him before he could even walk.
The man extended his arms.
“Give him to me.”
His mother handed over the baby.
Longyu found himself face-to-face with the old man.
For the first time, he could observe him carefully.
A Worship of Spirit Hall.
His mind began reviewing everything he remembered.
The Worship Hall had seven great Worships during Tang San’s era.
Qian Daoliu was the Grand Worship.
Then there was Golden Crocodile.
Blue Luan.
Sacred Lion.
And several other incredibly powerful Titled Douluo.
Among them were two Longyu remembered particularly well.
Two brothers.
Both possessed the same martial soul.
The Coiling Dragon Staff.
A strange feeling appeared in his chest.
It couldn’t be.
The old man lifted the baby slightly.
“Longyu.”
His expression softened.
“I hope that when the day of your awakening comes, you’ll inherit our family’s martial soul.”
Longyu held his breath.
His mother smiled.
“With you as his grandfather, I’m sure he’ll be talented.”
The man shook his head.
“Talent isn’t inherited so simply.
Even if he awakens the Coiling Dragon Staff, what he accomplishes with it will depend on him.”
Then his mother spoke the words that confirmed everything.
“Always so strict, Father.
Little Longyu isn’t even a year old, and you’re already thinking about how to train him, Qianjun Douluo.”
The world seemed to fall silent.
Longyu stared at the man holding him.
Qianjun Douluo.
One of the great Worships of the Worship Hall.
One of the two brothers who wielded the Coiling Dragon Staff.
A mighty Titled Douluo who, alongside Jiangmo Douluo, stood among Spirit Hall’s greatest powerhouses.
And this man…
was his grandfather.
It took Longyu several seconds to process the revelation.
Then another thought appeared.
Coiling Dragon Staff.
He remembered far more about that martial soul than anyone from this era should know.
Because its history didn’t end with Qianjun and Jiangmo.
Thousands of years later, the surname Qiangu would appear again.
The Qiangu Clan.
Qiangu Dongfeng.
Qiangu Dieting.
The Coiling Dragon Staff would continue to be passed down as the hereditary martial soul of that family.
Which meant his full name was probably…
“Qiangu Longyu.”
His grandfather’s voice confirmed his thoughts.
Qianjun raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked at the baby.
“I hope that one day, that name will be worthy of being remembered.”
Longyu remained motionless.
Qiangu Longyu.
Grandson of Qianjun Douluo.
A descendant of the bloodline that would still possess the Coiling Dragon Staff thousands of years into the future.
And a member of Spirit Hall.
For the first time since awakening in this world, his situation became completely clear.
He understood something else as well.
If Qianjun Douluo was already one of the Worships…
Then he had probably been born dangerously close to the beginning of the original story.
Tang San.
Bibi Dong.
Qian Renxue.
All of them might already exist.
Longyu slowly closed his tiny hands.
In his previous life, he had watched that story from the outside.
He had watched Tang San rise.
He had watched Spirit Hall’s mistakes.
He had watched as decisions, resentment, and ambition eventually destroyed what generations had taken so long to build.
But now, this was no longer just a story.
The man who had been nothing more than a powerful supporting character in the original story was carefully holding him in his arms.
He was his grandfather.
This place would be his home.
The people of Spirit Hall would be the people he grew up with.
And if history followed exactly the same path…
many of them would die.
Longyu looked at Qianjun again.
His grandfather was still talking with his mother, completely unaware of the thoughts passing through the baby’s mind.
A silent determination began forming within Longyu.
It was still too early.
He couldn’t even walk yet.
He didn’t know what martial soul he would awaken.
He didn’t know how much talent he would possess.
And although he carried memories of three eras of Douluo Dalu, remembering a story didn’t automatically give him the power to change it.
He would have to learn.
Cultivate.
Research.
Become strong.
And above all, he would have to be careful.
Because there was an enormous difference between knowing the future…
and controlling it.
Longyu slowly closed his eyes.
Tang San hasn’t begun his story yet.
Bibi Dong hasn’t destroyed Spirit Hall’s future yet.
Qian Renxue can still have a different fate.
There’s still time.
A small smile appeared on the baby’s face.
Qianjun noticed.
“What is it?”
His mother laughed softly.
“It seems he likes his grandfather.”
Qianjun gave a rare smile.
“As he should.”
Neither of them could possibly know what the child before them was truly thinking.
Qiangu Longyu had been given a second life.
And this time…
he had no intention of merely watching history unfold.