Chapter 1

In the small village of Holy Soul on the Douluo Continent, a little boy of about four or five years old was earnestly talking to another little boy standing opposite him.

"Do you know what a Soul Sage is? Let me tell you, they are such great figures that we can't even imagine. It's said that our village once produced such a great person."

The little boy opposite, who looked as adorable as a porcelain doll, sighed helplessly.

"Li Dan, you've been fooled by Grandpa Village Head again, haven't you? I've told you so many times, it's impossible. If a Soul Sage really came from here, we wouldn't be so poor now."

"That's not true, Grandpa Village Head would never lie to me. Tang Chen, if you don't believe me, you can ask Grandpa Village Head!"

Li Dan immediately widened his eyes, as if being questioned was something very hard to accept for a child his age.

"I'm not going to ask Grandpa Village Head, he'll just give me a bunch of lectures..."

Tang Chen muttered a few complaints in his mind, too lazy to deal with this thoroughly brainwashed kid, and turned to walk towards the back mountain.

"Tang Chen, where are you going, Tang Chen?"

Li Dan wanted to say more, but Tang Chen didn't give him a chance to speak and quickly left the village.

This is a world of martial souls, where everyone has their own unique martial soul. The powerful can even move mountains and fill seas, which is not surprising. However, when Tang Chen first saw an uncle summon a scythe out of thin air, he was still startled.

If a child born and raised in this world wouldn't react this way, but Tang Chen was different.

He was a穿越者 (穿越者 means "a person who has traveled through time or space," but in this context, it refers to someone who has been transported to a different world, so I'll translate it as "a transmigrant").

In his previous life, Tang Chen came from a purely technological world with no magic, no spiritual energy, and no martial souls. In that world, Tang Chen was just an ordinary college student. While organizing club materials, he accidentally fell asleep and woke up in this strange world.

No, it wasn't really that strange. This world of martial souls seemed to match a fantasy novel from Tang Chen's previous life.

That novel was the first one Tang Chen read, and its name was "Douluo Continent"!

At first, Tang Chen wasn't quite sure, but...

"Brother, what are you doing here again?"

In a spacious area on the back mountain, a boy who looked somewhat similar to Tang Chen but with a more ordinary appearance saw Tang Chen and showed a helpless expression.

His name was Tang San, the younger brother who was born a few seconds after Tang Chen.

It was because of him that Tang Chen could confirm he had come to the world of Douluo Continent, because his younger brother was the protagonist who eventually became a god in the original story!

"Brother, you're spacing out again."

Seeing Tang Chen staring blankly at him, Tang San shook his head. He was already used to this absent-minded brother who often said things like "I'll rely on you in the future" that sounded impressive but made no sense. However, this brother was indeed very good to him, and...

"Bang!"

A not-so-loud collision sound echoed nearby. Tang San looked at Tang Chen helplessly again and said,

"Brother, can't you control this ability of yours?"

"I don't know why it happens like this!"

Tang Chen picked up a rabbit that had been knocked unconscious from a nearby wooden stake, his eyes twitching slightly.

This had happened countless times. Whenever Tang Chen approached the wooden stake, all sorts of incredible things would happen, like rabbits, chickens, and small soul beasts under ten years old would run into trees and be easily captured by him.

Tang Chen suspected that he had a "small animal killer" aura, similar to Conan's "death god" aura, always attracting various small animals to their doom.

"Looks like we'll have another feast today, but why is it always rabbits?!"

Recalling the female protagonist Xiao Wu from the original "Douluo Continent," Tang Chen couldn't help but feel the world's deep-seated malice towards him...

"Yeah, rabbits are delicious, but eating them all the time..."

Tang San also showed a troubled expression. Rabbits were indeed too common, and now he felt nauseous just looking at them. If he remembered correctly, this was the seventy-sixth time they had caught a rabbit, and he now missed the taste of the chicken they had caught before.

"Alright, stop complaining. You know our situation. It's already good to have meat."

Tang Chen skillfully skinned the rabbit and cleaned it in the nearby river, quickly removing the internal organs. He then tied the rabbit's two long legs with reeds and walked over to Tang San.

Rabbits are so cute, why can't they be more delicious?

Tang Chen muttered to himself while forcefully rubbing Tang San's face, which was frozen in a forced smile, and said,

"Let's go back, or the old man will starve to death."

"Brother!"

Tang San forcefully shook off Tang Chen's "evil hand," put on a serious face, and said,

"Brother, no matter what, he's our father who raised us. Don't you think it's a bit too much to say that?"

"Alright, alright, you're becoming less and less adorable as you grow up."

Tang Chen muttered, pulling Tang San's hand and leaving the back mountain. He seemed not to notice, or perhaps deliberately ignored, a small palm print, about a centimeter deep, on the trunk of a nearby tree.

Tang Chen, who knew the plot, of course, understood what was happening. Even their father, Tang Hao, was aware of this. Perhaps only Tang San himself still believed his secret was safe.

Soon, the two brothers returned to their home—a dilapidated blacksmith's shop in the corner of Holy Soul Village. Their father, Tang Hao, was the village's only blacksmith, so even though his temper wasn't very likable, the villagers still had to tolerate him and ask him to forge tools. The family's income was stable, but most of the money was spent on alcohol by Tang Hao, leaving very little for daily living.

Tang Chen knew why Tang Hao seemed so depressed, but knowing didn't mean understanding, so his relationship with Tang Hao was never very good. The family atmosphere was maintained by Tang San.

After cooking, Tang San still placed the largest and fattest piece of rabbit meat in Tang Hao's bowl and poured the few grains of rice in the porridge into Tang Hao's bowl. Tang Chen pursed his lips but said nothing.

Soon, a drunk and reeking Tang Hao came out of the inner room, unceremoniously grabbed the rabbit leg, and started chewing. Tang Chen's eyebrows furrowed, and he wanted to say something, but Tang San, sitting beside him, forcefully held him back.

Tang Hao quickly finished his meal and returned to the inner room to lie down, snoring loudly again.

"Xiao San, you..."

"Brother, that's our dad!"

The argument outside the room ended as soon as it began. Tang Chen stirred the clear rice soup in front of him, speechless for a long time.

No one noticed that in the inner room, the supposedly sleeping Tang Hao clenched his fists tightly.

Ai Yin, our children have grown up!