In Biyou Village, west of Notting City, in the Fasno Province of the Heaven Dou Empire, on the Douluo Continent,
it was a bright and sunny morning.
Ye Qiu was seeing off the Spirit Hall branch steward with Village Chief Zhang.
Ye Qiu, who had just awakened his spirit, didn't seem very happy.
'Life is cruel. It's a pity this isn't Brother Tao's territory, otherwise I probably wouldn't have awakened a level one innate spirit power like Red Eye Disease. Sigh.'
Watching the departing Spirit Hall steward, Ye Qiu sighed inwardly. Even though he was unwilling, he had to accept reality!
"Xiao Qiu, why are you frowning? You're the only child in our village with innate spirit power. You could become a great spirit master someday!"
Old Zhang patted his head, a smile on his face.
Clearly, after so many years, another child with innate spirit power had appeared, and Old Zhang was very happy.
However, Ye Qiu knew that with only level one innate soul power, breaking through to level ten would be difficult.
"Grandpa Zhang, it's not just because of this that I'm unhappy." Ye Qiu forced a smile at him.
"Sigh!" Old Zhang sighed, his smile fading as he took a silver coin from his pocket and placed it in Ye Qiu's hand.
"This was collected by the villagers. Go back and settle Old Ye in properly. I'll send you to the Soul Master Academy in a while!"
"Thank you, Grandpa Zhang, and please thank everyone for me!" Clutching the silver coin tightly, Ye Qiu bowed deeply to him.
"No need for thanks. Old Ye has helped the villagers a lot. You go back first, I'm going for a walk!"
With that, without waiting for Ye Qiu's reply, he walked out of the village.
Leaning on his cane, he walked somewhat unsteadily, perhaps going to avenge the mockery from the neighboring village over the past few years!
Shaking his head, Ye Qiu silently walked towards home.
Six years had passed since he was injured by the dimensional truck and arrived in this world.
Douluo Continent, a world both familiar and strange to Ye Qiu, a world that previously only existed in his fantasies!
He had thought he could finally show off his skills, but it seemed he had only been relegated to a lower world.
*Slap!*
Ye Qiu slapped his forehead, stopping his wild thoughts, and hurried home.
But the closer he got, the heavier his heart became.
A stone house built of rubble, the moss on the stones and the weeds in the cracks, undoubtedly spoke of its age.
He had been adopted by Old Ye since childhood, and had no memory of his parents.
Old Ye was his only family.
*Creak!* Pushing open the fairly sturdy wooden door, he saw a simple layout, with a few wooden planks dividing the space into several different areas.
As soon as he opened the door, a hoarse, weak voice came: "Little Qiu'er~ how are you?"
Looking at Old Ye on the bed, barely breathing, Ye Qiu's eyes stung, a lump in his throat, and his forced composure began to tremble with sobs.
"Grandpa, Xiao Qiu, Xiao Qiu didn't disappoint you! Xiao Qiu can become a Soul Master!"
"Good, that's good!" Old Ye's withered face regained some color.
Ye Qiu stepped forward and stood by the bedside. Old Ye took Ye Qiu's hand, his cloudy eyes glistening with tears. "Now, Grandpa can go in peace. Remember to come back and see Grandpa when you're successful."
"I will, I will, Xiao Qiu will definitely come back to see Grandpa!" The pain in his throat made it difficult to speak.
"That's good! That's good." Old Ye slowly closed his eyes, a smile still lingering on his lips.
Noticing Old Ye's limp hands, Ye Qiu knelt before the bed, sobbing silently.
He had long been beyond saving, but he lingered on because he couldn't bear to leave Ye Qiu behind!
Sorrowful tears fell to the ground, tinged with a faint red.
After crying, Ye Qiu brought a basin of water, wrung out a towel, and began to tidy Old Ye's body, carefully wiping it clean.
Then he tidied and wiped down Old Ye's carpentry tools.
"How could this be!" Ye Qiu exclaimed in surprise.
Thud! Splash!
The basin of water was overturned on the ground. Looking at the reflection in the water, Ye Qiu couldn't help but bend down for a closer look.
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Touching his reddened eye sockets, he noticed a comma-shaped object in his previously monotonous blood-red eyes.
"This is the Sharingan!" Ye Qiu exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Is it an illusion?"
He rubbed his eyes repeatedly until they ached before accepting the fact.
After carefully sensing his surroundings, Ye Qiu realized that his soul power seemed to have increased slightly!
'If that's the case, then my innate soul power can also increase!'
"Hehe." Ye Qiu laughed,
but then he couldn't help but cry. He went to the bedside, knelt down, and kowtowed three times. "Grandpa, thank you for your spirit in heaven! Please watch over me, I will definitely become a powerful soul master!"
After Ye Qiu calmed down and tidied everything, he planned to go out to buy some offerings.
"Going out like this doesn't seem right." Before leaving, he touched his eye sockets, which still had a lingering bloodshot color.
'Is it because I didn't control the increase in soul power well?' Ye Qiu wondered.
Trying to shut down his martial spirit, the bloodlust in his eyes finally subsided after a quarter of an hour.
"All done!" he muttered, then locked the door and went out.
With the help of several villagers, Ye Qiu buried Old Ye under the peach tree by his grandfather's door, according to his grandfather's will. That was also where he often stayed.
At dusk,
Ye Qiu, who had already eaten dinner, was walking towards the village chief's house. He had a little silver coin left after spending it, and he planned to return it. He remembered everyone's help and dared not take anything more than what they had given him. He
had just arrived at the door when the village chief's daughter saw him.
"Hey, Xiao Qiu, have you eaten? Are you here to see my dad?"
"Yes, Aunt Zhang, has Grandpa Zhang come back?"
"He's back, he's back, and he brought a little girl with him! Go in and see for yourself, Auntie has some work to do."
"Okay, thank you, Auntie!"
Ye Qiu didn't pay much attention to the little girl Aunt Zhang mentioned; children from nearby villages often got lost in other villages.
After nodding to Aunt Zhang in thanks, Ye Qiu walked past her.
A little closer to the door, she heard the village chief's voice from inside, "Eat slowly, little girl, eat slowly, there are still plenty of carrots!"
"Grandpa Zhang!" Ye Qiu called out, but upon entering, she froze, stunned by the scene before her.
"This is Xiao Wu!" Ye Qiu murmured to herself, staring at the girl with rabbit ears and scorpion braids wolfing down carrots at the table. She stood
frozen in place.
Village Chief Zhang noticed Ye Qiu, his eyes lighting up! "Xiao Qiu, you've come at the right time! Let me introduce you, this is Xiao Wu, Xiao Qiu, Xiao Qiu!"
"Ah? Oh, Grandpa Zhang, you called me."
It took Zhang several calls for Ye Qiu to come to her senses, but her gaze remained fixed on the girl. Xiao Wu
, carrying a small bag and wearing a pink skirt, wasn't shy at all, and even while eating, she occasionally shook her little fist at Ye Qiu.
After inquiring, it turned out that Old Zhang had encountered bandits on his way back, and it was thanks to Xiao Wu that he was able to return safely.
He even took her to the Spirit Hall deacon in the next village to obtain a Spirit Certificate, promising to send Xiao Wu to the Spirit Master Academy as well.
Ye Qiu understood, 'So that's how Xiao Wu got her work-study student status.'
After explaining the situation, Old Zhang brought up his earlier plan.
"Xiao Qiu, you see, I don't have any extra space at home, so I'm thinking of letting this little girl stay at your place for a while, what do you think?"