"Dou Qi, First Stage!"
"Xiao Yan, Dou Qi, First Stage! Level: Low!"
A loud, excited voice echoed through the air, followed by the cacophony of chatter. Even through the high walls, the shock of the Xiao family members was palpable, their imaginations running wild.
However, for Chen Guan, who stood nearby, the atmosphere felt noisy and distant.
Because that was Xiao Family's joy, and it had nothing to do with him.
He pulled a tough dough from his pocket and, closing his eyes, forced it down. It was difficult to swallow, but at least it would fill his stomach, preventing him from starving to death in this world that was both familiar and strange.
Every time he thought back to his past and compared it to his current life, Chen Guan truly felt the unpredictability of life—the sudden storms in the sky, and the twists of fate that can befall a person.
That's right, Chen Guan wasn't originally from the Dou Qi Continent.
Two months ago, an accidental fall had brought him to this world.
Unlike the protagonists of the novels, he still had his clothes on!
But strangely, after arriving on the Dou Qi Continent, he had become the size of his four-year-old self.
There was no heavenly destiny or system to guide him, just endless disdain and bullying, along with the biggest problem—language barriers!
A four-year-old child, with no power, no background, unable even to communicate—his life these past two months had been nothing short of torment.
From being seen as a little madman by others to becoming silent and struggling to figure out how to get by on his meager food, life had stopped being a life and had become a fight for survival.
Two months were enough to change a person, especially in such an extremely difficult environment.
Chen Guan, who had never passed a foreign language exam, had, in just two months, carefully listened, observed, and figured out some basic words and phrases of the Dou Qi Continent. This was a massive improvement.
It was also during this time that he first learned that this place was a well-known checkpoint on the Dou Qi Continent.
The Jia Ma Empire, Wutan City!
Soon after, he found himself living near the Xiao Clan.
After all, compared to the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families, this area had a much better atmosphere. At the very least, since moving here, he had gone from being bullied three times a day to just once every three days.
As for joining the Xiao family?
That was impossible. The Xiao family was not a charity, and they had no interest in him.
Half a month ago, when Chen Guan hadn't eaten for two days and was weak from hunger, he had even considered trying to latch onto Xiao Yan. Maybe, as a fellow countryman, he would lend him a hand.
But after seeing Xiao Yan's proud, arrogant demeanor from afar, he gave up. Right now, Xiao Yan hadn't gone through any major ups and downs and was still a troublesome kid.
Leaning against the corner of the Xiao family's estate, Chen Guan began to think about his future.
Now that he could manage simple communication and was slowly starting to integrate into the Dou Qi Continent, he could start to fight for something.
The difficult two months of survival had made Chen Guan desperately want to grow stronger.
He wanted power!
If possible, he also wanted... to go home.
After all, here, he was all alone, while back on Earth, there were his parents.
The only thing that gave him some comfort was that his family was in good condition, and he had a smart and obedient little sister who would likely take care of their parents in his stead.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the bitterness in his heart, shaking off distractions, and focused on his thoughts.
Trying to steal Xiao Yan's opportunities seemed too distant. Right now, the problem before him was that he hadn't even started cultivating yet.
He needed a guide—someone to teach him how to sense Dou Qi energy and the techniques used by Dou Master!
Even if it was just a low-level Yellow-tier technique, as long as he could get started, there was hope.
But as an orphan in the Dou Qi Continent, he had no background, no support, no connections, no strength, and not even a single gold coin. How could he possibly obtain a cultivation technique?
Should he try to join the Xiao family? Or some other faction?
But that would require someone to accept him.
For an entire day, Chen Guan thought about this matter, coming up with countless plans. He even considered targeting independent mercenaries, but none of the options seemed viable. He could only hold back his impulses, continue integrating into the Dou Qi Continent, and slowly plan his next move.
Late at night.
The cold wind woke Chen Guan, who wrapped his thin clothes tighter and was about to look for a place sheltered from the wind to rest, when suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.
At that moment, he distinctly felt that something had appeared in his mind.
After carefully examining it, Chen Guan hesitated.
It was a letter.
No, to be precise, it was a will!
A will written by his future self just before dying!!!
In this will, he briefly recounted the events of his life.
"I am Chen Guan, a mercenary, a Six-Star Dou Master, and now just turned twenty. I accepted a task to search for medicinal herbs with a few teammates in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, but unfortunately, we encountered a Third-Stage Monster Beast. I was gravely injured and probably won't survive."
"I can clearly feel my life force draining. At this moment, all I want is to go home and see my parents and little sister again."
"I'm actually not from the Dou Qi Continent. This is my biggest secret, one I would never tell anyone unless I was about to die…"
"…"
"I regret it. I think back to when I was four years old and started plotting to cultivate. It wasn't until half a month later that I found the opportunity to kill an injured mercenary in the Monster Beast Mountain Range. I had waited so long for this chance. Even though I recognized him, he had once beaten me, but when I stood before him, I hesitated and couldn't bring myself to do it. But in the end, the desire to grow stronger and return home overtook me, and I did it!"
"That was my first time killing someone. I vomited for two days before recovering. From him, I found some gold coins and a Yellow-tier low-level technique, the Flame Control Technique. Unfortunately, he had already used up all his precious medicinal herbs."
"After much internal struggle, I decided to remember it, thinking that someday, I could change my cultivation method."
"Fortunately, I really am a Fire-type. I succeeded!"
"In just two days, by following the tips mentioned in the technique, I was able to feel the surrounding Dou Qi energy. It was then that I realized my talent seemed quite good."
"…"
"Half a year later, when I returned to Wutan City one night, I accidentally encountered an important figure. He could turn his Dou Qi into wings and was quite elderly. There were only a few people in the entire Jia Ma Empire who fit that description."
"Curious, I followed him from afar. Although he noticed me and scolded me, I learned his identity. It turned out to be Jia Xingtian from the Jia Ma Empire's royal family. When Xiao Xun'er had just joined the Xiao family, he had received news and secretly came to check things out. He also brought a few homeless children back with him to train them for the royal family. This time, he came because Xiao Yan's talent was growing more famous, and he passed by to take another look, bringing along a few more children."
"Though there was nothing shameful about it, I couldn't believe he told me. He said that when he first came to Wutan City, I was one of his targets. Unfortunately, I had randomly messed around and mistakenly consumed a poisonous herb that triggered my potential, so he gave up."
"After hearing this, I regretted it immensely. I remembered the poisonous herb—it was the first time I entered the outskirts of the Monster Beast Mountain Range and picked it. At the time, I thought it was a great opportunity. How foolish."
"Now, I realize that if I had been patient back then, I might have been taken to the royal family by Jia Xingtian. Even if it was just as a tool, it would've been better than my current situation."
"…"
"Three years have passed. My old acquaintance, Xiao Yan, has begun to lose his Dou Qi, and his talent has fallen. I heard mercenaries in Wutan City discussing it, but I wasn't surprised. It's just the beginning of the plot."
"I know many opportunities and had considered using this information to exchange for resources for cultivation, but when I first worked with others, I was betrayed and nearly died. This made me realize that without strength, nothing can be obtained. That's not something I can covet."
"…"
"At fourteen, I advanced to Dou Master. This was the result of my steady cultivation. Many mercenaries called me a genius, but I just smiled and pretended. In my heart, I felt bitterness."
"I know I have talent, but it has been wasted. If I had better resources, a deeper technique, and guidance, I could have done much better!"
"…"
"One more year passed. I went to the Xiao family, hoping to find something useful. Maybe I could even hitch a ride on Xiao Yan's success. But since my potential had already been unlocked, the Xiao family's offer didn't satisfy me, so I politely declined."
"As for the other two big families and the Yun Lan Sect in the imperial capital, I didn't have the heart to pursue them."
"I've lived in the Dou qi Continent for sixteen years, and I'm alone, I have never really integrated into it, and now I don't even have a person to collect the body, which is really sad."
"..."
"Meeting is fate, if someone can get here first, if there is still time, I will give you a sincere suggestion, go and hug Xiao Yan's thighs, this is the person who will become Emperor Yan in the future, everything is to become stronger, not chilling, haha."
"..."