Battle Spirit Empire, Spirit Battle City.
Although the Battle Spirit Empire was the weakest among the three original nations of the Douluo Continent, as its capital, Spirit Battle City was predictably prosperous. Car-filled streets, bustling crowds, and soul-guided neon lights that flickered incessantly even during the day painted a picture of grandeur.
But often, the more prosperous a place, the more filth and ugliness it hides.
This specific location was a slum.
The pungent, foul stench made it nearly impossible to breathe. Flies swarmed, and garbage and sewage flowed freely. Most of the people living here wore tattered rags, their frames gaunt and withered.
At the furthest edge of the slum, on a relatively clean step near the main street, sat a child who appeared to be five or six years old. He wore a patched-up, ragged shirt and stared blankly at the street where few people passed.
The child's appearance was ordinary—nothing particularly striking. He was the type of person who would vanish into a crowd. If one had to find a defining feature, it was the two tufts of hair sticking up high on either side of his head; from a distance, they looked like dog ears.
"Xiuxiu... Xiuxiu..."
He kept whispering those two syllables under his breath, as if chanting the name of a lover.
That's right.
Standing before you was none other than—
The second-generation Dragon God, Law Enforcer of the Universe, Ruler of the Divine Dragon Realm, and Supreme God King—Tang Xuanyu.
None of those titles mattered now. The most important thing was that he was the grandson of Tang San. Naturally, those four simple words—"Grandson of Tang San"—overshadowed every other title Tang Xuanyu had ever held.
No, he should be called Lan Xuanyu now. Because... he had been reborn.
Lan Xuanyu lowered his head, staring in bewilderment at his tiny, tender hands.
Why... why did it turn out like this?!
I was a Dragon God King! I was at max level! And you're telling me to restart?!
Memories rushed back like a tide. Lan Xuanyu remembered exactly why he was here.
As the inheritor of the Dragon God bloodline and the genuine second-generation Dragon God, Lan Xuanyu's strength and status had stood at the absolute pinnacle of the God Realm. He was hailed as the strongest God King, without exception!
He had even grasped the true essence of the Dragon God Divine Position and Universal Law, becoming a "Law Enforcer of the Universe." Even his grandfather, the Sea God Tang San, who had returned via rebirth himself, was no match for him.
Logically, he should have been an invincible existence throughout the cosmos. So why was he reborn in this era?
It all started after the return of [Reborn Tang San].
Ever since Tang San's rebirth and return, Douluo Star and the Great God Circle had been developing at high speed. Especially on the Douluo Continent—after their [Shrek Heaven Team] plan succeeded, Douluo Star produced over a dozen First-Class Gods in just a thousand years.
While the distribution of resources might have been a bit unbalanced, no one dared to raise any "unnecessary" questions.
After his cousin, Huo Zhanji, reclaimed the [Falan Star System] and the [God of Heavenly Protection] joined the Great God Circle, everyone believed the moment to impact the God Star level had arrived.
The timing was perfect, the location was ideal, and the people were united. All the gods were of one mind. The sphere of influence of the two major God Realms was broader than even the Divine Dragon Realm at its peak.
Most importantly, they had two Supreme God Kings—himself and his grandfather—sitting in command, with the [God of Heavenly Protection] in their realm as well. No matter how you looked at it, the advantage was theirs!
However, both he and Tang San had underestimated the situation.
Just as they led all the gods in a desperate effort to complete the formation of the Douluo God Star, everything ended. Before the gods of the newborn [Douluo God Star], the Giant God who brings the end of the world appeared...
Recalling that terrifying figure, Lan Xuanyu instinctively shuddered. He was certain that for the entire universe, it was an unprecedented catastrophe.
He himself had been blown apart after taking only two hits. Even Grandfather Tang San's invincible [Unfixed Storm] hadn't helped in the slightest; he and his trident were smashed into meat paste... If two Supreme God Kings were destroyed so easily, what hope was there for others?
Aside from the Emotion God King—his uncle-in-law, Dai Yuhao, who had fled at the very beginning—he didn't know who was left alive.
Likely due to the immortal nature of the Dragon God Divine Position and his own powerful cultivation, Lan Xuanyu had managed to preserve a wisp of his remnant soul.
After the gods were wiped out, the two major God Realms exploded from the inside out. Nothing was left—an explosion far exceeding the disaster during the Dragon God era. In that terrifying blast, no living creature could have survived... Every planet in the [Douluo Star System] and the [Dragon-Horse Star System] was erased. Lan Xuanyu even doubted if the [Falan Star System] remained.
Perhaps because his cultivation was deep enough and he was lucky, he had managed to travel through time and space during the explosion, arriving in this era.
Whether it was destiny or sheer coincidence, the body he inhabited was also named Lan Xuanyu. He was merely an orphan living in the slums, both parents deceased—a classic "protagonist template."
But since his rebirth, Lan Xuanyu had discovered something horrifying.
Though he hadn't awakened his martial soul yet, he realized clearly that the Dragon God bloodline in his body was... gone.
One must understand that the "unique in the universe" Dragon God Divine Position was bound to the Dragon God bloodline. Without it, it was impossible to gain the Dragon God's recognition, let alone possess the Divine Position.
As for the Dragon God's claims about "wandering the universe for countless years looking for a successor"—those were just words. Who would actually believe that? Without pure bloodline, where would one even find the Dragon God Divine Position? Just look at the Silver Dragon King or the Golden Dragon King—they didn't even get a scrap of it.
"..."
Lan Xuanyu gritted his teeth, trembling. While his strength in his past life came from his own hard work and wisdom, the Dragon God bloodline had been indispensable. But now... it was gone. Everything was gone.
As a Supreme God King, Lan Xuanyu possessed not only immense power but also the wisdom fitting his station. Even if he wasn't quite the equal of his grandfather Tang San, the "God of Wisdom," he was close.
Back in the Dragon-Horse Star System, he had used his [wisdom] to cross-dress as a girl, fooling the Dragon Knights and stealing Dragon Source Crystals from Heaven Dragon Planet, making an unrivaled contribution to the prosperity of the Douluo Federation!
So Lan Xuanyu understood: this rebirth was only a wisp of his soul landing in this dying slum youth.
According to later research, a martial soul is closely tied to one's bloodline and soul. No matter how it mutates, it remains linked to the source. Even Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao was the embryonic form of a Golden Holy Dragon; Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eye was a mutation of the Evil Eye White Tiger.
Based on this, how could the Dragon God bloodline ever reappear in him?
Thinking of this, Lan Xuanyu couldn't help but miss his real parents—not Nan Cheng and Lan Xiao, but Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena.
Based on the information gathered recently, Lan Xuanyu was certain: this was the era of his aunt, the Butterfly God Tang Wutong, and her husband, the Emotion God King Dai Yuhao.
This meant his mother was still around, but his father hadn't been born yet.
He couldn't get the Golden Dragon King bloodline for a while, but if he could first obtain his mother Gu Yuena's Silver Dragon King bloodline, he could take off...
But how could he meet her?
Actually, Lan Xuanyu faced a more immediate problem than meeting Gu Yuena.
"It costs 10 Gold Spirit Coins to awaken a martial soul?!"
Lan Xuanyu's face stiffened. Charging for an awakening? He had never heard of such a thing!
In his past life, he was born with innate full soul power, the universe's top Dragon God bloodline, the ultra-divine artifact [Heaven-Saint Abyss Spear] as a companion, and both Gu Yuena and Tang Wulin protecting him. Though his journey was "difficult," he had navigated it with wisdom.
He never expected to be worrying about how to awaken a martial soul. 10 Gold Spirit Coins! In this era, that was enough to cover a normal family's expenses for ten years!
What kind of messed-up era was this?! In his time, you could just awaken at home!
Suppressing his frustration, Lan Xuanyu shouted at the old beggar next to him: "Wait, what about the Spirit Transmission Pagoda? What are they doing? Don't they awaken martial souls for free? Where are they? And the Tang Sect? Doesn't the Tang Sect distribute the Mysterious Heaven Skill for free?"
The old beggar waved him off impatiently. "What Spirit Transmission Pagoda? What Tang Sect? What are you babbling about?! Where did you hear all that nonsense?"
"..."
Lan Xuanyu sat back down in despair. No Tang Sect, no Spirit Transmission Pagoda, no Spirit Ascension Platform...
Where was he supposed to go to blow up—err, absorb immortal energy from a Spirit Ascension Platform?
As for Shrek Academy, he was only 5 years old. Even if he went, they wouldn't take him.
After thinking it over, Lan Xuanyu couldn't find a better solution. He would have to get close to his aunt and uncle-in-law, hitch a ride on their luck, and then find a way to reach his mother in the Star Constellation Great Forest to get her bloodline.
Uncle-in-law Dai Yuhao was the Child of Destiny of this era. Although his final achievements weren't incredibly high and his status in the Tang family was low, he eventually reached the level of a God King under Tang San's guidance. If he stayed close to him, there might be a way to contact his grandfather.
And... in this era, the 80,000-year-old Xiuxiu hadn't transformed into a human yet. He could continue his destiny with her.
That's the plan for now!