“Who are you?”
“Where is this?”
“Why am I here?”
A series of weak but majestic questions echoed in Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea.
“Teacher!”
Huo Yuhao’s voice trembled with uncontrollable emotion and tears.
His spiritual consciousness, shaped like a small boy, knelt heavily before the faint gray light.
“Teacher, how are you?
Do you still remember me?
I am Yuhao!”
The gray light, addressed as “Teacher,” flickered.
Its voice sounded even more puzzled.
“Teacher?
I do not remember…
having a student like you.
Your spiritual sea…
why is it so…
strange?”
“Teacher, you…”
A sharp pain shot through Huo Yuhao’s heart as understanding dawned on him.
This was not the Calamity of the Necromancer, Electrolux, from his previous life, who had already recovered a portion of his strength.
This was merely a remnant soul, a fragment of a divine spirit that had drifted into this world by a stroke of luck, its memories shattered and incomplete.
Suppressing his tears, he answered respectfully, “Teacher, your divine spirit is severely damaged.
You are currently in a safe spiritual sea.
I am your disciple, Huo Yuhao.”
“Huo Yuhao…”
The fragment of Electrolux’s divine spirit murmured the name, seemingly searching its sparse remaining memories, but ultimately found nothing.
“Forget it…
I am extremely weak and must sleep to nourish myself.
Do…
do not disturb me lightly.”
“Yes, Teacher!”
Huo Yuhao bowed his head deeply.
“Your disciple understands.
Please rest easy, Teacher.
Once I find Life Gold, I will surely help you restore your origin!”
“Life Gold…”
Electrolux’s voice grew even fainter, as if the name had struck a chord, but he lacked the strength to investigate further.
“Very well…
I shall…
wait for you…”
With those words, the gray light went completely quiet, no longer emitting any radiance.
Like a speck of dust, it floated silently in Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea.
In his spiritual world, Huo Yuhao stood up.
He looked at the sleeping Electrolux, then turned his gaze to another part of his spiritual sea.
There, a colossal vertical eye was bound tightly by countless gray chains.
It was the Eye of Eternity.
It lay completely still, like a dead object, but Huo Yuhao could feel the terrifying power contained within it.
This was what the Mother of the Plane had risked everything to bring back with him.
Aside from these two things, a trace of extremely cold origin power lay dormant in the deepest depths of his body.
It was the seed left behind by the Snow Empress, who had poured everything she had into him at the very last moment.
In his previous life, it had taken him a long time to elevate the Eye of Eternity to a pseudo-super divine artifact.
In this life, he was confident he could master it perfectly.
Huo Yuhao’s consciousness withdrew from his spiritual sea.
He snapped his eyes open.
What greeted him was a dilapidated wooden ceiling, with several rays of morning light squeezing through the cracks in the window, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.
The room smelled faintly of herbal medicine and mold.
The furnishings were extremely simple: a wooden plank bed, a table missing a corner, and two chairs.
That was all.
He looked down and saw his thin, calloused little hands.
These were not the hands of a twenty-something God King, but those of a six- or seven-year-old child.
He was back.
He had truly returned.
He had returned to the day that changed the trajectory of his entire life—the day of the Martial Soul Awakening.
He closed his eyes and carefully felt the state of his body.
A weak but pure stream of soul power was flowing slowly through his meridians.
Based on his past experience, it was exactly innate rank three.
His brow warmed slightly, and his Spirit Eyes martial soul quietly awakened.
Everything was exactly the same as in his previous life, yet entirely different.
He possessed the complete memories of his rebirth, and a combat awareness and knowledge far surpassing anyone in this era.
Deep in his spiritual sea slept the future Calamity of the Necromancer, sealed within was the god-tier Eye of Eternity, and slumbering in his body was the origin of a seventy-thousand-year soul beast.
These were his true trump cards in this life.
“Creak.”
The dilapidated wooden door was pushed open, and a figure walked in hurriedly.
“Yuhao, you’re awake!”
Huo Yuhao looked up at the newcomer.
It was a haggard woman with slightly yellowed hair.
Her coarse clothes were washed thin and frayed, but her eyes were as gentle as water.
Seeing Huo Yuhao awake, a look of relief washed over her face, and she smiled warmly.
It was his mother.
His young, still-living mother, Huo Yun’er.
Huo Yuhao’s eyes grew wet instantly.
In his previous life, his mother had died in his arms due to overwork and the chronic illnesses left behind by the Duchess’s constant abuse.
That was a pain he could never make up for in his entire life.
He had cultivated desperately and become a god, yet he could never bring back his mother’s smile.
“Mom…”
With a slight choke in his voice, Huo Yuhao leapt off the bed and threw himself recklessly into his mother’s arms.
“Mom, I missed you so much…”
He buried his face in his mother’s thin, not-very-warm embrace, greedily breathing in her familiar scent, which was mixed with the smell of herbal medicine.
Huo Yun’er was startled by her son’s sudden embrace, but she quickly patted his head gently.
She smiled and said, “Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about?
Doesn’t Mom stay with you every day?
Did you have a nightmare?”
Huo Yuhao didn’t answer, only holding her tighter.
*Yes, you stay with me every day.*
*I am very greedy in this life.
I will make sure you stay with me every day, and I will give you the best life possible.
No one will ever bully you again.*
Only after a long while did he let go, wiping his eyes with his sleeve and offering a smile.
“Mom, I’m fine now.
Let’s go.”
“Hmm?” Huo Yun’er was somewhat confused.
“Isn’t today the day of the Martial Soul Awakening?
Let’s go quickly, we can’t be late.” Huo Yuhao’s tone was calm, but his eyes were exceptionally firm.
Looking at her son, who seemed to have grown up overnight, Huo Yun’er felt a bit puzzled but nodded with relief.
“Alright, get dressed quickly.
Mom will wait for you outside.”
…
The Martial Soul Awakening ceremony of the White Tiger Duke Mansion was held in a side hall, serving specifically the servants and the low-status branch descendants of the estate.
The person conducting the ceremony was an elderly Soul Master of the Duke Mansion, with a stern expression and rigid movements.
When it was Huo Yuhao’s turn, he walked up calmly and placed his hand on the black crystal ball.
The elderly Soul Master channeled a strand of soul power into his body, guiding the awakening of his martial soul.
Huo Yuhao felt a warmth at his brow, followed by a cool sensation in his eyes.
The world before him instantly became incredibly clear, to the point where he could see the tiny cracks on the distant walls.
“Martial soul, Spirit Eyes.
A spiritual-system martial soul,” the elderly Soul Master announced in a flat voice.
Next, he brought out another blue crystal ball and gestured for Huo Yuhao to place his hand on it.
A faint blue light lit up within the crystal ball.
It was weak, but it climbed steadily, finally stopping at the “three” mark.
“Innate soul power, rank three,” the elderly Soul Master announced, his tone carrying a trace of imperceptible pity.
A wave of hushed whispers immediately broke out around them.
“Spirit Eyes?
What kind of martial soul is that?
I’ve never heard of it.”
“Whatever it is, innate rank three is just trash aptitude.”
“As expected of a maid’s child.
He’s nothing but trash who can’t represent the family.”
“Shh, keep your voice down.
Don’t let the Duchess’s people hear you.”
These discussions drifted clearly into Huo Yuhao’s ears, but his face remained expressionless.
Trash?
In his previous life, hadn’t he climbed to the divine throne step by step while bearing this very title of “trash”?
Aptitude was indeed important, but to him—who possessed two lifetimes of memories and countless trump cards—this innate rank three soul power was merely a starting point.
What he truly cared about was his mother’s reaction beside him.
Listening to the surrounding whispers and hearing the words “rank three,” Huo Yun’er’s face turned somewhat pale.
She tightly squeezed Huo Yuhao’s hand and comforted him in a low voice, “Yuhao, it’s alright.
Even if it’s only rank three, as long as you cultivate hard, you will surely make something of yourself in the future.”
Huo Yuhao held his mother’s cold hand in return and looked at her seriously.
“Mom, do you believe in me?”
Huo Yun’er was stunned.
Looking into her son’s clear yet deep eyes, she saw no disappointment or low self-esteem, only an unspeakable calmness and confidence.
She couldn’t help but nod.
“Of course Mom believes in you.”
“That’s good.” Huo Yuhao smiled.
“Let’s go home.”