Cangyun City, the Li Family Residence

Li Xiaoyao opened his eyes and stared at the ancient, elegantly scented room before him. It was a room both unfamiliar and familiar, and a faintly bitter smile of helplessness appeared on his face.

"This could be considered a narrow escape from death, right?" Li Xiaoyao muttered to himself. The bitter smile vanished, replaced by a grin at the corner of his mouth.

That's right—Li Xiaoyao had transmigrated. He had originally been a newly-admitted university student in Antong City, Huaxia, on Earth. However, after a sudden car accident, he found himself in another world, the Shenzhou Continent, inhabiting the body of a family member who shared his same name.

Li Xiaoyao felt a bit annoyed and frustrated, but not because of the transmigration. On Earth, his parents had worked abroad for many years and rarely visited him. It was his grandfather who had raised him all alone.

Li Xiaoyao had always been understanding and knew how hard it was for his grandfather to raise him. He worked hard at his studies, hoping to repay his grandfather one day.

During a freshman orientation party, a rich kid got one of Li Xiaoyao's female classmates drunk and quietly led her away, disappearing from everyone's sight. Li Xiaoyao knew exactly what was going to happen, so he intervened to stop it.

The result? All of Li Xiaoyao's years of hard work went down the drain. He was expelled from the university on charges of molesting the female classmate, with irrefutable evidence since the girl herself had pointed him out.

As for the other outcome? Li Xiaoyao ended up in a legal battle. The girl he had helped and the rich kid teamed up to sue him. With both witnesses and evidence against him, penniless and powerless Li Xiaoyao didn't stand a chance in court. His fate was sealed: spending ten precious years in prison and losing touch with society.

When he saw the rich kid and the girl, arm in arm, happily cuddling in a BMW, Li Xiaoyao snapped. He stole a car and, smiling, drove straight into the BMW. His final memory was of the fear and filth on the faces of the two people who had wronged him—their dirty visages in this corrupt world.

In his previous life, Li Xiaoyao had nothing left to hold on to, so his frustration wasn't from the transmigration. Instead, he was frustrated because he had transmigrated into a good-for-nothing young master, who even possessed a useless martial spirit.

Through the memories of this useless young master, Li Xiaoyao learned that he had arrived in a place called the Cangyun Continent, where martial arts were paramount. Even the weakest martial artists possessed the strength to shatter stone and split monuments, while the most powerful could sever mountains and rivers. Those who surpassed even martial artists—the sovereigns of martial arts—could soar through the heavens and roam the great void.

In this world, martial arts determined one's fate, even life and death. The weak were bullied, while the strong ruled over all.

On the Cangyun Continent, martial spirits were innate abilities possessed by everyone and formed the soul of martial artists. The level of a martial artist's future achievements was closely tied to their martial spirit.

Martial spirits came in many types, including beast martial spirits like the White Tiger, Rhino, Wild Ape, and Dragon Serpent; weapon martial spirits like swords, spears, and halberds; elemental martial spirits like flame, frost, wind, and lightning; and various rare and powerful martial spirits like the Undying Martial Spirit or Bloodthirsty Martial Spirit. Martial spirits could evolve and grow stronger as the martial artist advanced in power.

...

This other Li Xiaoyao, who had the same name as him, had once been an outer disciple of the Canghai Sect. He had been bullied and beaten by his cousin, who eventually kicked him out of the sect. Half-dead, Li Xiaoyao had seized the opportunity and taken over his body through transmigration.

"Since I have been given a second chance, I won't let history repeat itself," Li Xiaoyao clenched his fists tightly as he lay on the bed, speaking to the lingering wisp of the original soul, "Rest assured, from now on, you are me, and I am you. I will never allow myself to be bullied again."

Having merged with most of the original Li Xiaoyao's soul, he now had a clear understanding of this world—a world where strength ruled. As long as you were strong enough, even the highest authority would bow before you, including the imperial power.

To become a strong martial artist, one needed not only extraordinary talent but also a heart of determination and an indomitable will. The former young master, Li Xiaoyao, had been somewhat cowardly, but the current Li Xiaoyao was different. He had lived through two lives, experienced suffering and death, and his resolve was far tougher than that of the original young master.

Sensing Li Xiaoyao's strong will, the lingering wisp of the original soul finally faded away, and in the end, the two souls merged perfectly.

"Boom!" At the moment of soul fusion, Li Xiaoyao felt his soul tremble, which immediately caused him to faint.

He didn't know how long had passed, but when Li Xiaoyao opened his eyes again, his brows furrowed slightly as he carefully sensed the trembling of that wisp of soul.

Sitting up, he focused his mind, and suddenly, a special aura spread throughout the space. Li Xiaoyao felt as if he were wrapped in a misty shadow—a shadow of darkness.

"Have you heard? That good-for-nothing Li Xiaoyao still hasn't woken up. I bet he's as good as dead."

"Heh, a waste like him might as well die sooner rather than later. He's a disgrace to our Li family!"

From afar, the conversation between two people reached Li Xiaoyao's ears, but he didn't get angry. Instead, a strange expression appeared on his face. The voices were clearly coming from far away, yet he could hear them clearly. Not only that, but he could also sense every movement in the surrounding hundreds of meters, no sound escaping his ears.

Furthermore, Li Xiaoyao realized that his vision had improved, and even his thinking seemed sharper. Things in martial arts that had previously been unclear suddenly became clear to him.

With another thought, the shadow of a small snake appeared behind him, its body coiled up. This was the useless martial spirit that others mocked him for—a snake of unknown species, incapable of enhancing his abilities.

"Twin Martial Spirits!"

However, Li Xiaoyao wasn't at all troubled by the small snake martial spirit at the moment. Instead, he appeared stunned, and then a bright smile appeared on his face. That's right—the dark shadow around him was also a martial spirit, an awakened martial spirit. Although he didn't yet know what this shadow was, combined with the snake martial spirit, he now possessed two martial spirits.

Those who possessed two martial spirits were known as Twin Martial Spirits, and on this continent, martial artists with Twin Martial Spirits were all geniuses. The once-mocked good-for-nothing Li Xiaoyao now possessed Twin Martial Spirits.

"I'll call you the Dark Martial Spirit for now," Li Xiaoyao smiled faintly. It seemed his Twin Martial Spirits were the result of the soul fusion. After all, his soul now contained two individuals. Having two martial spirits wasn't surprising. As for the abilities of this dark martial spirit, it appeared to enhance his physical attributes for the time being.

Closing his eyes, Li Xiaoyao began meditating and cultivating. Immediately, the vital energy of heaven and earth flowed into his body, tempering his flesh and nourishing his martial spirit.

Two hours later, Li Xiaoyao stopped cultivating and exhaled a mouthful of milky white air. He felt completely refreshed, the soreness in his body vanishing.

"This is martial cultivation—it's amazing!" Li Xiaoyao looked at his clenched fists. With a powerful squeeze, a series of cracking sounds echoed out, his hands brimming with strength.

His cultivation speed seemed much faster than he remembered. Li Xiaoyao left the room and saw a vast courtyard with wooden stakes and giant stone pillars, all tools for his training.

Walking up to the stone pillar, Li Xiaoyao activated his martial technique, Nine Waves. Instantly, a fierce wind blew from his fists, distorting the space with wave-like energy.

"Ha!"

At that moment, Li Xiaoyao let out a shout, lowered his waist, gathered his strength, and punched. The powerful punch struck the stone pillar like a shooting star. A loud bang echoed as the stone pillar crumbled into a pile of dust and debris on the ground.

Not only that, but after shattering the pillar, the force of the punch continued forward. Several blasts sounded in the air as waves of energy crashed into another pillar two meters away. With another explosion, the second massive stone pillar also shattered in succession.

"That must be at least six thousand pounds of force," Li Xiaoyao thought with satisfaction. His strength had already returned to its peak—Qi Martial Realm, Fifth Stage. Moreover, his martial technique, Nine Waves, had improved. He had broken through to the Sixth Wave, allowing him to unleash six thousand pounds of force with his Qi Martial Realm, Fifth Stage strength.

"It seems that the Dark Martial Spirit not only enhances my senses but also improves my cultivation speed and comprehension," Li Xiaoyao smiled. Previously, he had been mocked not only because of his weak martial spirit but also due to his slow cultivation and poor comprehension of martial techniques.

Now, with the Dark Martial Spirit aiding him, his cultivation speed had significantly increased. At this rate, reaching the peak of the Qi Martial Realm was just around the corner.