Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

"This peculiar fluctuation has appeared once again, and this time I have finally caught it. Tang San and Ji Dong are from here, a special place, possibly a divine star. Let me see what your true face really is!"

With a thought, a fiery red light separated from Yan's body. With a flick of his finger, a vortex appeared in the endless depths of the universe, and the red light plunged into it at top speed.

……

In a special dimension beyond the endless universe, on a certain blue planet, a fiery red meteor streaked across space and crashed onto the blue planet.

At the same moment, deep within this special cosmic dimension, two slumbering figures awoke, accompanied by terrifying energy fluctuations, and two extremely ancient auras appeared in outer space.

At the edge of the vast universe, a massive energy fluctuation instantly occurred, and two illusory figures coalesced at the edge of the universe.

These are two ancient beings, a man and a woman. The man is shirtless, with his lower body covered in black armor. His strong body is full of masculine vigor.

Every muscle was as sharp and defined as granite. He had a handsome face, with black hair flowing down his back. His eyes flashed with cold light, and a huge aura of energy constantly rose around his body.

The woman, dressed in a colorful silk dress, was so beautiful that her appearance could only be described as perfect, but at this moment her beautiful eyes were filled with surprise and doubt.

"Nuwa, you sensed it too!"

The man looked at the woman with a serious expression, his eyes filled with worry.

The woman nodded and said, "Yes, Pangu, that was an aura from outside the universe. I don't know how he got the exact coordinates of the ancestral star."

The man known as Pangu said in a deep voice, "Our children should be fine on our ancestral planet right now. However, the time has not yet come as instructed by the two great gods, so we cannot act now."

Nuwa, clad in a colorful silk skirt, said softly, "Let's continue to wait. I believe nothing will happen to our ancestral star."

Pangu sighed and could only nod helplessly, saying, "Yes, we can only continue to wait for the birth of that great god."

These two beings, whose auras were so powerful that they could influence the laws of the universe, ultimately chose not to make a move, because they had their own missions and constraints, and they dared not break the rule until the crucial moment arrived.

……

A fiery red meteor streaked across the sky and fell to the earth, its landing point being none other than the capital city of Yanhuang Kingdom, one of the most powerful nations on Earth.

The capital city is one of the most populous cities on Earth, with nearly 30 million inhabitants. Its population density is among the highest in the world, and its scale is truly astonishing.

Jingshan is the smallest district in Beijing, much smaller in area compared to the other urban districts. And 4 PM is the time when schools let out.

Just as the fiery meteor was falling, a sharp female scream rang out at the gate of Jingshan Vocational School: "Murder!"

Right here at the school gate, two thug-like young men are ganging up on a young man who looks like a rich kid.

The young man who fell to the ground was knocked down by a brick thrown by one of the thugs, and blood was streaming down his head. The two thugs, unaware of the gravity of their strength, continued to smash the bricks against the man, one of them even breaking the brick in the process.

Even so, he was still not satisfied and swung his fists repeatedly, causing the young man on the ground to scream in pain, curl up his body, and protect his head with his hands.

Beside these three, a girl exuding a certain charm was completely stunned, only snapping out of her daze when a scream rang out.

With that scream, the two thugs who were having so much fun taking pictures were startled, and their previous bloodlust was greatly reduced.

Looking down again, they saw that the young man they had knocked down was bleeding from his head. His brand-name sportswear was now stained with a strange color from the dust and blood on the ground. Although his body was still twitching, he was no longer able to resist.

"kill!"

The two thugs shuddered at the thought of what they had done, exchanged a glance, and simultaneously stopped what they were doing. These petty thugs were used to running rampant, but the idea of ​​murder was something they wouldn't even consider.

"Boss, what do we do? Is this kid really dead?"

The slightly chubby thug was still holding a brick, and a hint of panic flashed in his small eyes.

"What can we do? Well, we've already done it, so I'll take responsibility for whatever happens."

Another young thug, who was probably the main culprit, smashed the brick. After pausing for a moment, he reached out to pull down the pants that were lying on the ground without any hesitation. However, at that moment, a flash of light streaked across the sky, and the thug felt a burning sensation on his hand and quickly withdrew it.

"Let's go."

After withdrawing his hand, the young thug glared fiercely at the sensitive area of ​​the trembling woman beside him. Thugs like him had been out in the world for a long time and were extremely petty.

The whole incident started with two men fighting over a woman. The one who got beaten up stole his nominal girlfriend, but in reality, this thug never thought about having any future with her. He just felt he had lost face and wanted to get revenge.

In no time at all, the two men who had assaulted the boy ran out of the vicinity of the school, while the young man who had been beaten so badly remained curled up in the same spot, his screams growing fainter and fainter.

"Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi, are you alright!"

After the two thugs left, the terrified woman immediately crouched down and ran to the young man's side, shaking him.

The young man seemed to be startled by her rather rough actions. Despite his serious injuries, he suddenly opened his eyes, and a flash of red flame passed by.

"Yan Xiaoyi, whose surname is Yan, does seem to have a bit of a connection with me."

The young man who had just woken up suddenly said this, and the girl next to him, who had been looking worried, became even more concerned.

This young man is her newly hooked-up rich second-generation boyfriend. In order to have a better future, she decisively dumped her previous good-for-nothing boyfriend and even gave herself to this young man. However, she did not expect to provoke her ex-boyfriend's revenge.

She knew very well that her boyfriend came from an extraordinary family. His father was a big shot in the Beijing city responsible for public security. If something really happened to him, she, a girl from an ordinary family, would definitely not have a good ending.

"Nana, don't worry, I'm fine."

A glint of light appeared in Yan Xiaoyi's eyes, and the girl he called Nana felt inexplicably at ease. "By the way, from now on, don't call me Xiaoyi, just call me Yan."

"Okay, Yan."

Nana nodded. At this moment, the school security guards arrived. After receiving simple first aid from the school medical staff, Yan and Nana left the school.

……

Outside a villa district on the outskirts of Beijing, a portly figure tiptoed toward the gate. Suddenly, several screech of brakes sounded around him as several vans blocked his path.

The van's headlights shone on the chubby young man, who was one of the thugs who had earlier attacked people with a brick outside Jingshan Vocational School.

A dozen or so eighteen or nineteen-year-old youths emerged from several vans, surrounding the obese young man. Each of them held a wooden stick and looked at the fat man with a strange expression, clearly harboring ill intentions.

A handsome young man stepped out, his gaze sweeping over the fat man with a subtle yet intriguing look. "Field Mouse, is it? Enough with the small talk. Tell me, where did that bastard Qi Yue go?"

"Yan Xiaoyi, you, you, you're still alive."

When the fat field mouse saw the handsome young man clearly, he was shocked. He never expected that the person whose head he had hit with a brick earlier would recover so quickly. It was simply unscientific.

"Tell me, where did Qi Yue go?"

Yan Xiaoyi, now known as Yan, still had the same calm yet sharp gaze. Under his gaze, even the field mouse dared not meet his eyes.

"Boss, I... I would never betray you."

The field mouse's fat body trembled with fear, but it remained stubborn and refused to say anything. Yan didn't hold back either, and with a wave of his hand, the young men holding sticks surrounded it.

"I know your family is well-off, but you're in the wrong here. Now that you're in my hands, you'll have to suffer for a while!"

Fat Field Mouse had no chance of winning against so many burly men wielding sticks. Before long, he was knocked to the ground, while Yan walked up and uttered a few harsh words.

His right hand gripped the field mouse's hair, and from an unseen perspective, a red light swam across the field mouse's entire body before finally entering its heart.

"I...I can't..."

The field mouse struggled to raise its head to express its stance, but was casually thrown to the ground.

Yan casually instructed the person next to him, "Take this guy away! Lock him up for a while, and wait for his family to come and demand him back. Just remember, don't kill him."

"Yes, Young Master Yan."

The thugs who had been brought in were clearly not doing this for the first time. Although he understood that this field mouse's identity was probably not simple, he was doing this for someone else, so he didn't need to ask too many questions. The group of men lifted the field mouse up and threw him into a van, and the vans quickly disappeared from the villa area.

"The zodiac guardians, the twelve zodiac animals: the field rat, Yan Xiaoyi, and Qi Yue. That's interesting!"

Yan watched the van leave the road outside the villa area, then looked in a certain direction, and a moment later his figure disappeared from the spot.

……

Beijing is located in the north of the Republic of Yanhuang. In May, the north is already quite warm. As night falls, Beijing becomes noticeably more dazzling, with various neon lights flashing incessantly on the streets. Some professions that only exist at night are just beginning to work.

When the clock struck 9:30, Qi Yue, who had boarded the direct train from Beijing to the snowy area, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Before boarding the train, he had been filled with anxiety, fearing that if he failed to escape and was caught, he would be finished.

After boarding the train, he felt much more relaxed. For him, the word "snow region" was just something he had heard of. It was a mysterious place, and all he knew was that there was a mysterious place there called the Potala Palace.

Before arriving at the train station, he withdrew all 20,000 yuan from the card that Tian Shu had given him. For this scoundrel, this was definitely the greatest fortune he had ever had.

At that moment, he simply picked up a train manual and flipped through it. According to the manual, this direct train would take forty-eight hours to reach Tibet. Qi Yue also had some erotic fantasies about this trip to the snowy plateau.

His luck seemed to be pretty good lately, or perhaps it was the heavens looking out for him. In the same carriage as him, a beautiful girl appeared, just as he had hoped. She was a medical student, and the two quickly became acquainted through his sweet talk.

As night deepened, the neon lights grew brighter. After the girl in the same carriage fell asleep, the train gradually started moving.

As Qi Yue listened to the broadcast, his bewildered gaze drifted out the window. From the train conductor's introduction, he learned that there were eight stations from Beijing to the capital of the snow-covered region, spanning multiple provinces and cities.

The train was running smoothly, but Qi Yue's heart was far from calm. This was the first time he had left the capital, and this was also a case of running away after committing a crime. He was filled with uncertainty about the future. In this unusual environment, he unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

As Qi Yue slept, he reflected on his experiences over the past nineteen years, and his expression gradually changed. Unbeknownst to him, a figure had appeared beside his berth—a figure he would never forget.

In his dream, Qi Yue felt as if he were flying, with the earth beneath his feet and hazy clouds all around him. The feeling of soaring between heaven and earth was so wonderful.

A faint red light gradually enveloped him, and the red light, radiating a scorching aura, seemed to change his life.

"Has it already begun, Qilin?"

In the line of sight of the figure next to Qi Yue, a faint pattern appeared on the chest of the sleeping hoodlum—a beast's head that resembled neither a deer nor a horse.

The design is black, with a beautiful horn extending from the heart to the collarbone. The beast's head is slightly lowered, and as the design becomes clearer, the horn on the beast's head can be seen to have a delicate spiral shape. The beast's head and neck are covered with silver-brown fur, which, combined with the black design, makes it appear exceptionally majestic.

After the beast head appeared, it quickly became complete, and the black body began to spread down, becoming entirely black except for the head, neck, and a small portion of the forelimbs; the pattern continued to spread backward.

The complete design depicts a strange monster with lifelike silver fur on its back, while its single horn, with its black and silver colors intertwined evenly, appears even more majestic.

Beneath the black monster were four clouds, but these clouds had a dreamlike quality to them, with other colors seemingly mixed in with the pale silver color.

Side Story: Zodiac Guardian Deity (Part Two) - Qilin

The scenery in the snow area is beautiful, with snow-capped mountains soaring into the clouds and the sky as bright as a sapphire, without a trace of pollution.

Having lived several lifetimes, this was Yan's first time visiting this snowy region. It felt both familiar and strange, a normal world completely different from the otherworld, which truly captivated him.

Below the snow-capped mountains lies a flat grassland where yaks graze on the green grass. The majestic snow-capped mountains, the azure sky, the perfect clouds, and the vibrant grassland create a scene that soothes the soul.

Although this is just a parallel universe with a Blue Star background, the nostalgic era still deeply captivated Yan, making him more patient in waiting for Qi Yue.

When he caught up with Qi Yue earlier, he happened to run into that guy awakening the power of the Qilin. After observing him for a while, he was too lazy to cause trouble for this chosen one at that time, so he came to the end of the train early to wait for him.

When the direct train finally arrived at its destination, it was around nine o'clock in the evening. Qi Yue, who had just woken up, got off the train at the same time as Shui Yue, the girl he had met on the way.

Just as they were about to part ways, Qi Yue suddenly stared blankly at a certain spot, blinking and shaking his head repeatedly, completely unable to believe that what he was seeing was real.

"Qi Yue, I've been waiting for you for a long time! You've been on my lookout for ages!"

Yan's voice reached his ears, and Qi Yue, who was frozen in place, trembled, looking utterly terrified. Anyone would be scared if they saw someone they had personally cracked open suddenly appear before them the next day, completely unharmed.

"Qi Yue, is this your friend?"

When Qi Yue encountered Shui Yue on the road, she looked over upon hearing Yan's voice and her eyes lit up. Yan Xiaoyi was quite handsome, much more so than Qi Yue, that little rascal. This was partly why he was able to so easily steal her away back then.