Chapter 1

As night deepened, silence fell, and the night sky was filled with brilliant stars.

On the hillside, a child of about six or seven stood in a strange posture. His feet were apart, toes touching the ground, heels raised, and his hands were raised high above his head. His head was slightly tilted back, and a faint, ethereal energy continuously swirled and rotated around his body.

The moonlight was clear and bright, pouring down and enveloping the child's body.

The child maintained this posture, continuously breathing in and out. The ethereal energy entered his body with each breath, circulating through his meridians.

The night slowly passed.

When the moonlight faded and the first rays of sunlight shone upon the child, he slowly lowered his hands, opened his eyes, and a sharp, piercing light flashed in his deep eyes.

Huang Xiaolong exhaled a turbid breath, his star-like eyes gazing at the rising sun. From birth to now, he had been in this world for seven years. He had been practicing the *Yi Jin Jing* since he was three, and in four years, he had reached the third posture, *Palm Supporting the Heavenly Gate*.

In his previous life, his ancestors were inner disciples of Shaolin Temple, and the *Yi Jin Jing* was passed down from them. Huang Xiaolong still couldn't understand how he, a martial arts prodigy praised by his family, suddenly woke up in this world after a nap!

What made him even more frustrated was that he had possessed the body of a newborn child.

Huang Xiaolong looked at his small, thin arms and smiled bitterly. In his previous life, he was seventeen, and after fourteen years of hard training, he had reached the ninth posture of the *Yi Jin Jing*. He never thought he would have to start all over again.

At this moment, a soft sound of footsteps reached Huang Xiaolong's ears. The footsteps came from the bottom of the hill. Huang Xiaolong didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Sure enough, a delicate voice called out, "Big Brother, I knew you would be watching the sunrise again. Father and Mother are looking for you."

Huang Xiaolong turned his head and saw a girl of about five or six, with two long braids and big, round eyes, walking up the hill. This was his sister, Huang Min.

Besides Huang Min, Huang Xiaolong had a younger brother, Huang Xiaohai, who was three years younger.

"Father and Mother are looking for me?" Huang Xiaolong asked, "What's the matter?"

"I don't know," Huang Min's voice was still childish, "Big Brother, let's go back quickly. If we're late, Father and Mother will spank your bottom again!"

Huang Xiaolong smiled and pinched his sister's cute little face, saying, "Alright, let's go."

Huang Min touched the spot where Huang Xiaolong had pinched her, pouted, and said angrily, "Big Brother, you're so mean. I told you not to pinch my face anymore."

However, just as Huang Min finished speaking, her little face was pinched again by Huang Xiaolong. After pinching her, Huang Xiaolong laughed and ran away, and Huang Min, with her childish voice, screamed and chased after him.

"Big Brother, stop!"

Thus, the two siblings, one in front and one behind, ran and played as they made their way back to the Huang Family Village from the hill.

In his previous life, although Huang Xiaolong was already a seventeen-year-old boy, he still had a childlike heart when he was with his sister, Huang Min.

Soon, the two siblings returned to the Huang Family Village.

Upon returning to the village, Huang Xiaolong headed to the eastern hall. When he arrived, he saw a middle-aged man in his thirties, with a refined appearance, a sword-like brow, and a straight nose, sitting there. He was dressed in a white robe. Beside him was a beautiful young woman. These were Huang Xiaolong's father, Huang Peng, and mother, Su Yan.

"Father, Mother, you're looking for me?" Huang Xiaolong asked as he entered the hall.

Huang Peng's sword-like brow rose, "Where were you this early morning?!"

"Alright, don't scare the child," Su Yan said with a smile, "Xiaolong, you'll be seven in a few days. Around the age of seven, the martial soul in the body can awaken. We'll take you to the Martial Hall to awaken your martial soul."

Martial soul awakening? Huang Xiaolong was taken aback.

In this world, most people have a martial soul in their bodies. The strength of a warrior is closely related to the martial soul. Martial souls are divided into low, medium, and high levels, with ten grades. Above the tenth grade, there are even super martial souls. Only those with a martial soul can absorb the ethereal energy of heaven and earth and become a warrior.

Of course, some people have no martial soul, or their martial soul is a useless one, making them complete waste!

"Martial soul," Huang Xiaolong's eyes flickered. He was also very curious to know if he had a martial soul and what kind of martial soul it was.

Thus, under the guidance of Huang Peng and Su Yan, Huang Xiaolong arrived at the Martial Hall of the Huang Family Village. When they entered, the hall was already filled with many people. This martial soul awakening event included not only Huang Xiaolong but also other disciples of the Huang Family Village.

In the center of the hall stood a middle-aged man with a dignified and imposing presence. He had a square face and thick eyebrows, and his aura was intimidating, giving people a sense of无形 pressure. This was Huang Xiaolong's uncle, Huang Ming, the eldest brother of his father. Beside Huang Ming stood a child about the same age as Huang Xiaolong, his second son, Huang Wei. Huang Wei was one month older than Huang Xiaolong and was also there to awaken his martial soul.

Huang Peng and Su Yan led Huang Xiaolong to the center of the hall and greeted, "Big Brother."

Huang Xiaolong followed his parents and called out to his uncle.

Seeing Huang Peng and Su Yan arrive, Huang Ming's usually expressionless face relaxed slightly, and he nodded, "You're here."

In Huang Xiaolong's memory, he had never seen his uncle Huang Ming smile. Huang Ming was in charge of the Huang Family Village's laws and was known for his strictness.

After Huang Ming spoke, he didn't say anything more. Huang Peng, familiar with his brother's personality, was not surprised.

Not long after Huang Xiaolong and the others arrived, a hearty laugh echoed from outside the hall. Huang Xiaolong and the others looked out and saw an old man with a youthful appearance and a tall build, surrounded by a group of people, entering the hall. This old man was Huang Xiaolong's grandfather, Huang Qide, and the head of the Huang Family Village. Forty years ago, Huang Qide had established the Huang Family Village.

"Grandfather!"

Upon seeing Huang Qide, all the disciples of the Huang Family Village quickly bowed.

Huang Ming, Huang Peng, and Su Yan also hurried forward, "Father!"

Huang Xiaolong and Huang Wei then stepped forward, "Grandfather."

Huang Qide smiled and nodded at Huang Ming and the others, then said to the disciples of the Huang Family Village, "Alright, no need for formalities. I'm just here to take a look." Normally, Huang Qide wouldn't come to the Martial Hall when the disciples were awakening their martial souls, but this year was different because of Huang Xiaolong and Huang Wei. He had specially come out of seclusion for this occasion.

Huang Qide moved to the front of the hall, scanned the crowd, and finally his gaze fell on a gray-robed old man standing nearby. He smiled, "Since everyone is here, let's begin."

"Yes, Head of the Village," the gray-robed old man respectfully replied and then walked to the center of the hall.

The gray-robed old man was the head steward of the Huang Family Village, Chen Ying. Huang Xiaolong had heard from his father that Chen Ying was the oldest person who had been with his grandfather, Huang Qide, even before the establishment of the Huang Family Village.

Chen Ying reached the center of the hall, and his hands glowed with a terrifying force that made people's hearts race.

Huang Xiaolong's eyes flickered. This was the aura of a ninth-rank warrior. It was incredibly strong! Even in his previous life, when he had reached the ninth posture of the *Yi Jin Jing*, he would not have been a match for Chen Ying.

As Chen Ying's aura filled the hall, a hexagonal pattern in the center of the hall suddenly glowed, and then the light intensified, forming pillars of light.

"Huang Wei, go up," Huang Qide said, looking at Huang Wei.

"Yes, Grandfather," Huang Wei replied, then approached the hexagonal pattern and stepped into the pillar of light. Everyone in the hall watched Huang Wei enter the light, and even the usually expressionless Huang Ming looked tense as he watched his son.

The hexagonal pattern enveloped Huang Wei, and soon, a black glow appeared around him. The black glow swirled, and a black shadow formed behind Huang Wei, revealing a black tiger with three eyes. As the black tiger's shadow appeared, a tiger's roar echoed through the hall, causing it to tremble.

Everyone was shocked.

Huang Qide, looking at the black tiger shadow behind his grandson, Huang Wei, his eyes lit up with surprise and joy, and he burst into laughter.

"This is a tenth-grade martial soul, the Three-Eyed Black Tiger!" the head steward, Chen Ying, exclaimed, his voice trembling.

A tenth-grade martial soul, the highest level of high-grade martial souls, almost reaching the level of a super martial soul!

Huang Wei's martial soul was a tenth-grade martial soul, the Three-Eyed Black Tiger!