Chapter 1: The Scar of the Sky That Runs Through the Heaven and EarthStar Luo City, on the outskirts of the White Tiger Dukes Mansion, in a secluded and desolate courtyard.The night was thick, yet it couldn't dispel the faint scent of blood in the air and the despair that permeated the young man's heart."Cough… cough cough…" The young man, Dai Youheng, lay on the bed and violently coughed up several mouthfuls of clotted blood. His face, though demonically handsome, was terrifyingly pale in the moonlight.He staggered, pushing open the courtyard door, and could no longer stand. He slid to the ground, leaning his back against the cold gate.His luxurious robes were covered in dust, and a delicate yet powerful palm print was clearly visible on his chest. Each breath pulled at his lungs, bringing waves of tearing pain.The scene from the small training ground outside the Star Luo Imperial Palace a few hours ago was like the sharpest ice pick, repeatedly stabbing at his heart.Before his eyes, the noble and peerless figure of Xu Jiujiu seemed to still flicker, and her cold and impatient words echoed in his ears."Dai Youheng, this princess's patience is limited." Xu Jiujiu stood tall and graceful. Although her Star Crown Spirit had not been released, a unique imperial majesty and aloofness naturally flowed around her. "I sent you to Shrek so you could earn a future with your own abilities, not to grovel and curry favor with this one and that one! It's been a year, have you made any progress?"Dai Youheng, at the time, suppressed the humiliation of being belittled, forcing what he believed was his most affectionate smile. "Princess Jiujiu, please give me another chance! I have a younger brother, he is exceptionally talented and will surely achieve great things in the future. And there's the Tang Sect, I will definitely be able to join the Tang Sect, as long as I…""Silence!" Xu Jiujiu's beautiful eyes flashed with severity, interrupting him unceremoniously. "Always talking about your brother, always talking about the Tang Sect, where are you in all of this? Your Spirit is the top-tier Evil Shadow Demonic Tiger, not a dog wagging its tail for scraps! What this princess wants to see is your own strength, not whose leg you can cling to!""I…" Dai Youheng was speechless, his face burning.Xu Jiujiu looked at his timid and spiritless demeanor, and the last shred of patience she held due to the Dai Family completely vanished.She said coldly, "Enough. Since you are so stubborn, this princess will personally test what you've learned this past year. Ten moves. If you can withstand ten moves, I will allow you another year. If not…"Her gaze was icy. "From now on, get out of my sight, and never appear before me again!"Upon hearing this, Dai Youheng not only felt no shame but a glimmer of hope arose: "Is Princess Jiujiu serious? Good! I will definitely…"His words were interrupted again, because Xu Jiujiu had already moved.Without releasing her Spirit, her slender figure merely flickered, and brilliant starlight gathered on her fair hand.The first palm strike, seemingly light, precisely shattered his hastily formed, merely superficial spirit power defense.The second palm strike, like a shadow, pierced through his flawed stance and landed directly on his blocking arm, bones cracking, the pain piercing his heart.The third palm strike was too fast for him to react; the blow, infused with the power of the stars, had already imprinted itself on his chest."Pfft—!"Dai Youheng felt an irresistible force, as if his internal organs instantly shifted. Blood uncontrollably gushed out, and his body flew backward like a broken sack, crashing heavily onto the hard training ground. His vision blurred."You couldn't even take three moves." Xu Jiujiu stood with her palm retracted, her eyes full of disappointment, her tone flat without a ripple. Her gaze upon him was like looking down at dust. "Remember your promise. Go."With that, she turned decisively, her magnificent skirt sweeping a cold arc. She never looked at him again, disappearing at the end of the training ground.It was like venomous insects gnawing at his nerves. Dai Youheng in the courtyard suddenly slammed his fist onto the cold ground. The rough stone slab scraped his knuckles, drawing blood, but it was far less than a thousandth of the pain in his heart."Why… why do I try so hard… I abandoned all my dignity to curry favor… yet this is the result…""Huo Yuhao… I took such good care of him… shouldn't he help me when he becomes a Divinity in the future…""Tang Sect… Mysterious Heaven Skill… that's Tang San's legacy…""Xu Jiujiu… I only admired you… do you trample on my feelings like this…"Incompetent rage, piercing pain, and extreme unwillingness intertwined, accompanied by the weakness brought on by his severe injuries, submerging his remaining consciousness like a tide.Finally, his head lolled to the side, and he completely fainted in the cold, desolate courtyard, unnoticed and unheeded.In his dream, he relived his past.He was not originally from this World, but a transmigrator from another World, becoming the illegitimate son of the contemporary White Tiger Duke Dai Hao, who should not have existed. He was Dai Luoli's biological elder brother, and also Huo Yuhao's half-brother in the original work, and Dai Yueheng's half-brother, two years older than Huo Yuhao.At the age of six, his Spirit awakened and mutated. It was not the Dai Family's direct lineage White Tiger. Due to a great increase in its malevolent nature, it transformed into an Evil Shadow Demonic Tiger, with innate spirit power of rank nine.This was a Beast Spirit filled with coldness, brutality, and evil, possessing extremely powerful devouring abilities. Its entire body was pitch black, with only its eyes flashing with bloodthirsty crimson, and terrifying shadow power Binding its claws and teeth.At that time, his heart pounded. As an experienced reader, he knew exactly what this meant. A top-tier mutated Beast Spirit, exceptionally talented, but… this Spirit's malevolent nature was too strong!In the World of Douluo Continent, especially in this era, evil Spirits were almost synonymous with evil Spirit Masters! They were existences to be hunted down and eradicated by the Shrek monitoring team!A chill ran up his spine, but it was immediately drowned out by an immense sense of excitement.Transmigration! I really transmigrated to the World of Douluo Continent! And I possess a top-tier Spirit and extremely high talent!After the ecstasy came deep worry. The plot of the original work was as clear as an engraving: Huo Yuhao's rise, Tang San's schemes, the Empire's conflicts."I must survive, I must become strong!" He clenched his fists, his eyes flickering. "But this World is too dangerous, especially for someone like me with an evil Spirit."A thought, like a poisonous vine, coiled around his heart. "That's right, Huo Yuhao! He is the Child of Fortune of this World, the future God of Emotion, and even the son-in-law of the God King Tang San! As long as I cling to his leg, even if he leaks a little benefit from his fingertips after he becomes a Divinity, it will be enough for me to live a carefree life forever!""Yes! That's it! I cannot be his enemy, only befriend him! Even… curry favor with him!"This soul from modern society, under the immense sense of crisis and fear of the original plot, subconsciously chose the safest and most humiliating path, abandoning the pride of his own top-tier Spirit to attach himself to a future Divinity.From that day on, Dai Youheng, the illegitimate son of the White Tiger Dukes Mansion, seemed to develop a somewhat peculiar personality.He no longer diligently studied the characteristics and cultivation methods of his own Spirit, but instead spent a great deal of his thoughts on how to invest in the future.He knew that Huo Yuhao had a miserable childhood in the Duke's Mansion, so he often secretly helped him, sending him food and necessities. Although he dared not openly defy the Duchess, he would always go and say some innocuous words of comfort after Huo Yuhao was bullied, his eyes carrying a kind of fawning expectation that the young Huo Yuhao couldn't understand."Little brother Yuhao, you are exceptionally gifted and will surely achieve great things in the future!" He often said this, patting Huo Yuhao's thin shoulders vigorously.Huo Yuhao at that time was only grateful to this older brother, the only one who showed him kindness, but he didn't know that the other party was thinking, "Be nice to you now, so when you become a Divinity in the future, don't forget to take me with you!"Years passed.Dai Youheng's cultivation progress, however, was far from matching the top-tier aptitude of his Evil Shadow Demonic Tiger Spirit and the resources allocated by the Duke's Mansion.Despite having innate spirit power of rank nine and no shortage of cultivation resources—his illegitimate son's share, though not as good as the legitimate son's, was still far superior to that of common Spirit Masters—his spirit power growth was abnormally slow.The reason was simple: his heart was not calm, and his will simply could not resonate with the evil, domineering, and bloodthirsty Evil Shadow Demonic Tiger, which craved slaughter and conquest.His mind was filled with thoughts of how to curry favor with future bigwigs and how to avoid risks. The power of the Spirit itself became dormant as a result, even developing a repulsion towards him.At a Star Luo Empire court banquet, he was allowed to attend as the Duke's son. It was at that banquet that he saw the princess, Xu Jiujiu, as dazzling as a star.Her beauty, her nobility, her wisdom, and her cunning instantly struck the heart of this transmigrator's soul. In his previous life, he had no access to high society; how could he have ever seen such a woman who possessed both power and beauty?Thus, the second "simp" path in his life began.Although the Dai and Zhu families traditionally intermarried, in this generation, the Zhu family only had one daughter, Zhu Lu, and she was already betrothed to Dai Huabin. Even Dai Yueheng didn't have a girlfriend from the Zhu family, so he naturally wouldn't get one either.Thus, he unreservedly began a frantic pursuit of Xu Jiujiu, expressing his affection multiple times in public, showering her with various precious gifts, almost exhausting all his savings and allowances.However, what kind of person was Xu Jiujiu? She was the most renowned princess of the Star Luo Empire, her heart filled only with the Empire's interests. Her love, and even her marriage, were destined to be one of the most important bargaining chips on the political chessboard.She admired strong individuals and needed allies who could assist the Empire, not an illegitimate son of a Duke who, despite having a top-tier Spirit, cultivated slowly, had a weak character, and only knew how to grovel.Every attempt Dai Youheng made to curry favor seemed particularly ridiculous and cheap in her eyes.Finally, exasperated by his persistent Binding, Xu Jiujiu, during another public display of his affections, gave him a cold-faced promise that seemed hopeful but was, in fact, a complete rejection."Dai Youheng, if you truly want to prove yourself, go to Shrek Academy. If you can become one of the contemporary Shrek Seven Devils, this princess might give you a chance to pursue me."Upon hearing this, Dai Youheng was invigorated and enlightened.Shrek Academy, yes! Not only was it where Huo Yuhao rose to prominence, but it was also the best platform to get close to him! It could also avoid external scrutiny of his evil Spirit, as once he entered Shrek, he would be a Shrek person. It was simply killing multiple birds with one stone!He completely failed to hear the perfunctory and impossible prerequisites in Xu Jiujiu's words. With his progress, becoming one of the Shrek Seven Devils? A pipe dream.Originally, his age had already passed the twelve-year-old admission age, but the White Tiger Dai Family, like the Tang Sect, had deep ties with Shrek, possessing one unrestricted admission slot to the Outer Court each year. Since Dai Huabin entered by his own merit, this slot was useless to him. Dai Youheng immediately excitedly went to request this slot. Dai Hao thought, since the slot was empty anyway, he agreed to give it to Dai Youheng.However, once at Shrek Academy, he reverted to his old ways.He was not serious about cultivation, but instead engaged in various schemes. He revolved around Huo Yuhao, curried favor with Wang Dong—after all, this was the daughter of the God King Tang San, even though she was destined to be Huo Yuhao's wife, he dared not covet her, but currying favor first couldn't be wrong, right?Additionally, he flattered Bei Bei, the Tang Sect's Senior Disciple Brother, and fawned over Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi, these future Shrek Seven Devils. He even humbly begged Tang Ya, wanting to join the Tang Sect and learn Mysterious Heaven Skill.Except for Huo Yuhao, who was still gentle with him out of old affection, and the good-natured Xiao Xiao, who was polite to him, everyone else, such as Wang Dong, Bei Bei, and Xu Sanshi, were all shrewd individuals. They saw through his true nature at a glance and treated him with superficial politeness but inner distance.At the end of the first academic year, Huo Yuhao went to the Extreme North Land to obtain his second Spirit. Dai Youheng returned to Star Luo City for the holidays. His first priority was not to visit his mother and younger brother Dai Luoli, who had high hopes for him but were increasingly disappointed, but to eagerly go and meet Xu Jiujiu, wanting to report his progress at Shrek.The result was the scene at the beginning.A miserable defeat in three moves, severe injuries and vomiting blood, met with a disappointed shake of the head and a merciless expulsion.Shortly after his consciousness completely plunged into darkness.An anomaly suddenly occurred!The originally star-studded night sky was suddenly violently torn apart by an indescribable, colossal rift that spanned the heavens! The rift displayed a bizarre, ominous dark red, as if the firmament had been ripped open into a bleeding wound. A vast, oppressive, and heart-pounding aura permeated, instantly enveloping the entire Douluo Continent.Countless powerhouses in the World were startled, awakening from their cultivation or sleep, looking up at the sky in horror, their hearts filled with doubt and unease.Immediately after, from the depths of that blood-colored rift, which seemed to connect to an unknown World, a point of extreme faint light ignited, then magnified at a terrifying speed!A gigantic meteorite, seemingly composed entirely of the purest dark crystal or eternal profound ice, carrying a soul-shaking chill and a Dark blue light tail, like a demon god bursting forth from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds, crashed down!Moreover, there was a figure in the meteorite, eyes closed, seemingly in a coma, whose appearance was identical to Dai Youheng.The landing site of the meteorite was one of the largest Spirit Beast gathering places on the Douluo Continent, the Extreme North Land!
