Chapter 2: The Spirit-Eyed Boy

A grand palace-like building stood before him, its golden glazed tiles shimmering under the sun, casting a dazzling glow. The palace, with its golden roof and red doors, exuded an ancient and dignified charm, evoking a sense of solemnity.

From a distance, the palace was shrouded in mist, with tiles scattered around, resembling a brick-paved area. Its vast expanse stretched as far as the eye could see. The main gate, towering at five zhang (about 16.5 feet), bore the inscription "Duke's Manor."

This enormous estate, covering over 3,000 acres, did not belong to any city but was built 50 li (about 25 miles) northwest of the capital, Star Luo City, of the Star Luo Empire. This clearly indicated the esteemed status of the manor's owner in the Star Luo Empire.

At noon, the bright sunlight illuminated the golden tiles, casting a radiant golden hue over the entire Duke's Manor, visible even from the city walls of Star Luo City.

The back door on the north side of the Duke's Manor opened silently, and a slender figure slipped out quietly.

It was a boy who appeared to be around 11 or 12 years old. He had a well-proportioned build, wearing clean, simple gray clothes and carrying a small bundle on his back. His short black hair was neat and tidy, and his handsome face bore a look of determination that surpassed that of his peers.

He gently closed the back door of the Duke's Manor, took a few quick steps, then suddenly stopped and turned to look back at the manor. His deep blue eyes were filled with intense hatred.

"Mom, watch over me from heaven. No matter how much effort it takes, one day I will return and trample everything here underfoot. From now on, I will take your surname and be known as Huo Yuhao."

After saying these words, he took another deep look at the Duke's Manor, turned, and walked away resolutely.

He did not head towards Star Luo City in the southeast, but ran north instead. His small figure gradually disappeared under the strong midday sun, though his slim build did not give off any sense of helplessness as he left.

Wide official roads extended in all directions from the Duke's Manor. As Huo Yuhao ran forward, his eyes gradually reddened.

"Mom..." The memory of his mother's reluctant and unwilling expression at the time of her death involuntarily surfaced in his mind, causing him to clench his teeth tightly.

I must be strong. Mom taught me that one can only rely on oneself. Only by being strong can one live better.

Scenes from his past flashed through Huo Yuhao's mind.

Huo Yuhao's mother was the Duke's personal maid, having grown up with the Duke since childhood. Personal maids were meant to serve their masters, and twelve years ago, Huo Yuhao quietly appeared in his mother's womb.

After ten months of pregnancy, he was born.

Regardless of Huo Yuhao's mother's status, he was ultimately the Duke's son. Although his treatment in the manor was not particularly good, it was not too bad either. His mother no longer served as a maid and had her own small courtyard due to her son's status.

Everything should have proceeded smoothly, but disaster soon struck.

The Duke represented the Star Luo Empire in battles abroad, leaving the management of the manor to the Duchess. The Duchess had a son and a daughter, and she suppressed all factors that could potentially affect her children's future. While the Duke was away, the manor became the Duchess's domain. She was also the youngest and most favored daughter of the current emperor of the Star Luo Empire.

Huo Yuhao's mother, having grown up with the Duke, was very favored by him, which made her a primary target of the Duchess's jealousy. The Duchess claimed that Huo Yuhao's mother suffered from a contagious disease and forced them to live in a servant's shed at the back of the manor, cutting off all their sources of income. At that time, Huo Yuhao was only two years old.

The harsh life gradually took a toll on Huo Yuhao's mother, whose health was already not good. Moreover, the constant oppression from the Duchess's servants eventually led to her falling ill when Huo Yuhao was ten years old, and she passed away shortly after.

The Douluo Continent, due to a collision with the Rizhao Continent from the west over 4,000 years ago, saw a significant increase in its size, leading to frequent wars.

Ten thousand years ago, the Douluo Continent had only two countries: Tian Dou and Star Luo. Today, the original Douluo Continent has become three countries. The Star Luo Empire still exists, but the royal family has changed. Fortunately, they unified the country by conquering all the kingdoms, becoming the strongest force.

The Tian Dou Empire, however, split into the Tianhun Empire and the Douling Empire due to the power of several major kingdoms.

The Rizhao Continent, located to the west, is vast and rich in resources, slightly smaller than the Douluo Continent, but it is a single country known as the Rizhao Empire.

After the collision of the two continents, war immediately broke out. The three countries of the Douluo Continent, united in their enmity, formed a joint army and fought for nearly twenty years, ultimately defeating the Rizhao Empire. The continent was then renamed Douluo, and the name Rizhao was no longer used, leaving only the Rizhao Empire on the Douluo Continent.

Although the Rizhao Empire was defeated, it was not completely conquered. Leveraging its advantages and the conflicts among the three empires of the Douluo Continent, a stalemate gradually formed, but wars continued to occur.

The Duke, due to frequent battles, spent little time in the manor. Huo Yuhao and his mother, hidden by the Duchess, were gradually forgotten by the Duke. When the Duke inquired, the Duchess only mentioned that Huo Yuhao's mother was ill.

Huo Yuhao's mother raised him with great hardship. At the age of six, he underwent his soul awakening in the manor.

A soul, or "soul power," is a capability possessed by everyone on the Douluo Continent. Although the Rizhao Empire developed differently from the other three countries, soul power is still fundamental.

Everyone is born with a soul, which can be awakened at the age of six. Souls can be anything, such as tools or animals. Animal souls are generally called beast souls, while all other types of souls are collectively known as tool souls. There are also some special variant souls that are exceptions.

After soul awakening, only a small portion of people's souls bring a special power called soul power. Only those who possess soul power at the time of awakening can become soul masters, the most prestigious profession on the Douluo Continent.

Soul masters are divided into nine ranks, from lowest to highest: Soul Trainee, Soul Master, Great Soul Master, Soul Sage, Soul Saint, Soul King, Soul Emperor, Soul Saint, and Sealed Soul Emperor.

The higher the rank, the more powerful the soul master. At the highest rank of Sealed Soul Emperor, one possesses nearly the power to move mountains and fill seas, a terrifying strength.

Soul power from level 1 to 10 is considered the realm of Soul Trainees. The stronger the innate soul power at the time of awakening, the better the talent and the faster the cultivation speed. If the soul power is at level 10 at the time of awakening, it is considered the best innate full soul power, also known as a genius soul master. As long as the soul itself is not too weak, significant achievements are possible.

Although Huo Yuhao was the Duke's son, he did not inherit the powerful soul of the Duke's lineage. If he had, even if the Duchess disliked him, she would have had to report it to the Duke, changing the fate of Huo Yuhao and his mother.

Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao's soul underwent an extremely rare mutation.

The Spirit Eyes, this is Huo Yuhao's soul.

In the classification of souls, there is a small category that is neither a tool soul nor a beast soul, known as a body soul. This means that the soul is a part of the body, such as a hand or a foot.

Almost all body souls are very powerful, but they appear with extremely low probability, making them superior to beast and tool souls. Therefore, they are highly valued when they appear.

Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao's soul is an exception.

The Spirit Eyes soul appears in the eyes and is an extremely rare mental attribute soul. Normally, Huo Yuhao should have been highly valued. Unfortunately, two factors constrained his development. First, his innate soul power at the time of awakening was only level 1, indicating very poor talent and a slow cultivation speed. Second, mental attribute souls are rare, and mental attribute soul beasts are also extremely rare. Every soul master must hunt a soul beast that matches their attribute when they reach a bottleneck at every ten levels to obtain a soul ring and break through the bottleneck.

Soul rings are not only necessary for breaking through bottlenecks but also provide a skill to the soul master, which is the root of their power.

These two constraints almost predetermined that Huo Yuhao would not achieve much in his life.

However, as the Duke's son, he still received the simplest soul power cultivation method. For a long time, it was proven that his cultivation talent was indeed very poor.

In the Duke's Manor, even the children of servants, if they had a soul at birth, could reach level 10 soul power and become Soul Trainees within three years at most, advancing to the rank of Soul Master.

Huo Yuhao, at the age of eleven, had spent five years to barely reach level 10 soul power. During these five years, he had put in nearly three times the effort of his peers!

After his mother's death, Huo Yuhao stayed in the Duke's Manor for another year. He was still young and leaving the manor without any means of living was not an option, so he had to suppress all his hatred and委屈 in his heart. Under the pressure of life, his heart matured much faster than that of his peers.

His mother told Huo Yuhao that the only way to rise in status was to become a soul master. Even as a common soul master, one would have a much higher status on the continent than an ordinary person.

Yesterday, after five years of hard work, Huo Yuhao managed to cultivate his soul power to level 10 despite his poor talent. This was also the day he had promised himself to leave the Duke's Manor.

He needed a soul ring, even a low-level ten-year soul ring would do. That way, he could become a true soul master and gain a skill of his own.

On the Douluo Continent, the level of soul beasts is determined by their age. The abilities of soul rings are closely related to the age and strength of the soul beast.

Generally, soul beasts are classified as ten-year, hundred-year, thousand-year, ten-thousand-year, and hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.

Soul masters must personally hunt soul beasts to obtain a soul ring after the soul beast's death.

Staying in the Duke's Manor, Huo Yuhao knew he had no chance of obtaining a soul ring. No one there would help him. Therefore, despite knowing that his solo journey to find a mental attribute soul beast was almost certain death, he left the Duke's Manor with the bravery of a young bull not fearing the tiger.

He headed north and soon reached the official road. Although Huo Yuhao was young, he had been preparing for a long time to achieve his goal. In his small backpack, besides a set of spare clothes, he also had some dry rations, a little money his mother had saved from doing odd jobs in the manor, and a short knife. Most importantly, he had a simple map of the continent.

The Duke's Manor and Star Luo City were located in the northern part of the Star Luo Empire. The place Huo Yuhao