Douluo Continent: Ink Bamboo as a Cauldron to Break Through Ten Thousand Heavens

"Thank you so much, Xiao Chen. You're already a respected Soul Master, yet you still haven't forgotten us villagers."

The young man smiled and withdrew his hand, the emerald light slowly fading. "Auntie, you're joking. If it weren't for the people of Chenzhuanggou taking care of me, I wouldn't be where I am today."

The light in his hand reappeared, revealing a handful of pills which he handed over.

"Give these to Chenchen. She's still young. I made these with my soul power, so they should taste good. They'll be good for her to eat like candy. I hope she'll have soul power with her when she awakens her martial soul next year."

The aunt was flattered and accepted the gift, expressing her gratitude profusely. The young man saw her off at the doorway, then stood gazing out over the village, his thoughts drifting back to a few years ago:

The young man, named Chen Cheng, was a liberal arts college student who spent his days eating and drinking. That day, he was lying in bed in his dormitory reading a novel after a satisfying meal when he suddenly came across a post about "The Peerless Tang Sect." He remembered a cabinet full of physical books that his family had collected during his childhood, and he started browsing the post while recalling the plot.

Looking back at the works I loved in my childhood from the perspective of an adult brings a different feeling. For example, when I was a child, I thought it was a good ending that Huo Yuhao finally became a god after going through all kinds of hardships, won the heart of the beauty, and was able to connect with the protagonist of the first part. But now, when I look through the posts, I find that most of them are one-sidedly criticizing Tang San. I started to think about whether it was against human ethics to divide his daughter into three parts. Thinking about it carefully, I just feel goosebumps all over my body.

The more Chen Cheng scrolled through the posts, the more interesting they became. In no time, he had seen all sorts of "dirt on Tang San".

However, upon closer reflection, even the simple-minded Chen Cheng, who didn't like to think, gradually began to think that the death of Electrolux, who "held the sun and moon in his hands and plucked the stars from the sky, and there was no one like him in the world," might also have been part of Tang San's conspiracy. Otherwise, why did Huo Yuhao, who had already become a god, disappear without a trace? This was also one of Chen Cheng's favorite characters when he was a child.

A sense of melancholy washed over me. Seeing Tang San monopolize the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, turning it into his own backyard; cruelly manipulating his daughter's soul as a pawn in his game, subjecting her to endless trials—or rather, tests—to tame his son-in-law; his double standards, destroying the Spirit Hall and the City of Slaughter for personal revenge, disregarding the greater good, proclaiming justice while showing no consideration for future generations, cutting off the path for the poor and even commoners to rise through the ranks by awakening their spirits—a path that breaks through bloodline barriers. Without the City of Slaughter as a haven for evil spirit masters, ten thousand years later, they began to roam freely in the open, even destroying the once-powerful Shrek City ten thousand years after that…

As Chen Cheng scrolled through the posts, a sense of disorientation washed over him. He realized that his "white moonlight" wasn't as perfect as he had imagined. His hands continued mechanically scrolling down the threads, but his mind drifted to: "If Huo Yuhao, the male lead who accompanied him through his childhood, were given another chance, would he have such an ending?"

Chen Cheng was startled when his head suddenly slumped down. He quickly reached for his phone, which he had dropped while dozing off, but his hand burned with pain the next moment.

"Xiao Chen..." Looking towards the direction of the scolding voice, he saw an older woman winking at him. "Your awakening is coming soon. This opportunity was earned by the villagers pooling their money and pulling strings. Don't cause trouble here, behave yourself!"

Awakening? What the heck? Aren't I in my dorm?

In a daze, I walked up to the elegantly dressed person as instructed. I only remember a little light appearing on my body and a bamboo stick appearing in my hand. Then, as the person asked, I touched the ball of light on the table. Finally, I was pulled home by my aunt's joyful thanks and the person's impatient response.

He collapsed onto the bed and immediately lost consciousness, falling into a deep sleep.

When Chen Cheng woke up again after a night, he found himself drenched in sweat, as if he had crawled out of a water tank, with a splitting headache. Looking around, he realized he was no longer in his university dormitory. Without even slapping himself, the headache and the flood of memories proved that this was not a dream.

After reflecting on it, Chen Cheng finally understood the current situation.

First, I transmigrated into the Douluo Continent without any cheat codes, becoming an orphan in a small village called "Chenzhuangou". The villagers were very kind and took good care of me, raising me until I was six years old.

  

Secondly, yesterday, with the collective fundraising of the villagers, I went to the city to use my connections and awakened my martial soul. It's the black bamboo that's often seen in the forest, but fortunately, it has soul power, at level three, making it a rare talent in the village. If I become a soul master, I can improve the situation of the entire village.

Chen Cheng desperately tried to recall, searching for clues from the few traces in his memories of the past six years, at least to figure out when and where he had traveled through time. Later, after helping out at the village chief's house, he used the excuse of rummaging through his collection of yellowed newspapers and finally got a general idea.

Chen Cheng is currently in a small village in the southwestern part of the Heavenly Soul Empire, near the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Sometimes, able-bodied villagers would engage in small-scale cross-border trade. This village was originally a stop on the way to the border, established to facilitate travelers. However, due to changes in the continental situation, border controls have gradually tightened, and the village has become impoverished. Raising enough money for Chen Cheng to go to the city to awaken his martial soul is a painful expense for many.

However, Chen Cheng couldn't pinpoint the exact timeframe. He could only be certain it was before the original protagonist, Huo Yuhao, entered Shrek Academy, because Huo Yuhao participated in the "Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament" just eight months after enrolling, instantly gaining fame. However, there were currently no reports about him, and the Sun Moon Empire remained relatively peaceful, not initiating any war. The only ways to confirm the timeline were either to work incredibly hard to enter Shrek Academy or to use connections to visit Huo Yuhao at the White Tiger Duke's Mansion in the Star Dou Empire. Well, the latter was out of the question. How could someone as insignificant as him, easily lost in the crowd, possibly have such an opportunity?

Then he could only endure hardship. Chen Cheng was extremely unwilling: he had studied hard for more than ten years and finally got to go to university. He hadn't even had a chance to relax for long before he transmigrated. He wanted to relax but had to work hard again.

But then I thought about it again. Shrek Academy's entrance requirements were that the student be no older than 12 and have a soul power level of at least 15. So now I only need six years to level up to 12 levels, which is only two levels per year. In that case, Xiao Xiao, who only had twin martial souls at level 22 during the freshman assessment, was probably a lazy bum who didn't work hard at cultivation.

Through hard work, Chen Cheng finally became a Soul Master and entered Shrek Academy. Coincidentally, he shared a dormitory with Bei Bei and became acquainted with Tang Ya, Xu Sanshi, and others.

Every holiday, Chen Cheng returns to Chenzhuangou to use his Ink Bamboo Martial Soul to relieve the villagers' fatigue and help school-age children awaken their Martial Souls. This year marks the fourth year he has done this.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts, looked at the village that had changed because he had become a Soul Master, smiled, went back inside, stretched his muscles, popped two or three pills into his mouth, and sat down cross-legged to recover. He cleared his mind of all distractions and began to think about the plan that was finally about to begin!