Chapter 1: The Legendary Crossing

  Ink-black night, eerily quiet, a shooting star streaked across the sky and vanished into the vast darkness.

  In a simple bungalow on the outskirts of Jiuhuang City, Zong Yao felt like he had been tossed into a washing machine. He shook his dizzy head and struggled to get out of bed. The scene in front of him was familiar yet strange, giving him the feeling that this place had always appeared in his dreams.

  Even though the environment here gave him a great sense of familiarity, Zong Yao still furrowed his brow tightly. This was not his dorm! The posters of various female stars were replaced by landscape paintings, and the iron beds on both floors had disappeared, leaving only a wooden bed beneath him. The fluorescent lamp used for lighting had also changed into a strange lantern that looked like a ghost fire.

  "Soul lamp? I'm going! What is this thing! How am I supposed to know what it's called! Am I dreaming? It hurts so much!"

  Zong Yao was still sizing up his surroundings when he suddenly discovered that there were many more things in his mind. He twisted his leg in confusion, and the intense pain made him almost jump up!

  One leg was kneaded, and at the same time, he pondered what was going on. A brand new memory suddenly emerged from the depths of his mind. Zong Yao's original memory and that brand new memory were like two high-speed trains crashing into each other, shattering both memories simultaneously.

  Zong Yao's eyes suddenly went dull and he fell back onto the bed. His memories were shattered, with lighter cases resulting in memory loss and more severe cases turning him into a vegetable.

  A helpless sigh escaped from Zong Yin's soul, and a faint yellow light gradually enveloped his entire body. The fragmented memories that had been shattered were rapidly pieced together under the yellow light, even more tightly than before. Zong Yao could even recall the scene of wetting his bed as a child.

  Along with it came countless completely unfamiliar memories and scenes.

  A pale and tender baby, with closed eyes wailing loudly, was carefully pulled out of a world full of water, and wrapped in a pair of thick but exceptionally warm hands, a somewhat weak voice came.

  "Hide, from now on you'll be called Hider, Zong Hider. Mom hopes that you can learn to endure and become a great person like your father."

  Although invisible, a sense of security that cannot be put into words allowed him to sleep peacefully.

  "Haha! My mom says you're a bastard! Your mother and some wild man had a wild child like you!"

  A brightly dressed child with a runny nose pointed at Zong Yin, who was already five or six years old, and burst out laughing. The other children behind him also followed suit, laughing inexplicably. Zong Yin, however, couldn't bear it anymore and pounced on the child, gritting his teeth.

  Zong Yin's mother, Zhao Ya Jing held a hot towel in her hand and kept wiping the bloodstains and dust off Zong Yin's face.

  Simple attire, hair tied up in a bun, her face which always had a faint smile now had a hint of annoyance. No matter what expression she wore, to Zong Yin's eyes, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

  "Mom, why do they all have fathers and I don't?"

  Zong Yin seemed to feel no pain at all, loudly questioning his mother. This was the first time in Zong Yin's memory that he had expressed his greatest doubts to his mother.

  Zhao Yajing's annoyance on her face dissipated in an instant, and even her hands stiffened on his head.

  "Hide, how can you not have a father? Your father is a great man, but great men are always busy, he just didn't have time to come see us. Look at all this money and clothing that your father sent over through someone else. When you grow up a bit, mom will take you to find dad, okay?"

  After a long time, Zhao Yajing finally forced out a bitter smile and pointed to a pile of brand new clothes on the table.

  At that time, Zong Yinhui's little heart didn't have too many thoughts, and suddenly he smiled with joy, rushing out to loudly tell everyone that he had a father.

  Zhao Yajing didn't stop Zong Yin, but instead gazed at his departing back with a hint of indulgence, yet her eyes still held a tinge of melancholy deep within.

  When Zong Yin was sixteen years old, he quietly followed the servant who came to deliver goods and finally learned his father's identity.

  "Mother! Why don't you go find him? He's the city lord! The lord of Jiu Huan City..."

  Zong Yin loudly roared in front of Zhao Yajing, his face full of anger, but unfortunately his words were only half spoken before being tightly covered by Zhao Yajing.

  "Yin'er! How did you get such a high fever! You're starting to talk nonsense! Come with Mama! Mama will go and invite the soul doctor for you!"

  Although Zhao Yajing pulled Zong Yin into the inner room, the onlookers dispersed with strange expressions.

  Zhao Yajing's identity was exposed, and the two of them lived a very miserable life in the following years. Even the servants who came every month rarely appeared, and Zhao Yajing could only make a living by doing some odd jobs.

  But Zhong Hui, who had fallen into a dead end, was filled with obsession. He would often find opportunities to get close to his biological father and ask him questions, but every time he ended up in a miserable state, frequently being severely punished by the world's only Royal Soul Master, although not to the point of losing his life, but still suffering greatly.

  Fortunately, three days ago, Zong Yin and Zhao Ya Jing suddenly received good news. The old lady of the Zong Mansion, who had been insisting on not letting the two return, suddenly spoke out and wanted Zong Yin to recognize his ancestors and return to the clan, and also marry Zhao Ya Jing into the family.

  Zong Yao shook his head, and everything seemed like he had personally experienced it. Even in his heart, he deeply resented the lord of the Ninth Ring City, such an irresponsible father was simply a scoundrel!

  "I've crossed over! I never thought I'd actually cross over! And such a clichéd plot! They're all surnamed Zong, they must have been one family 500 years ago! The legendary crossing over! I'm really not dreaming, am I? Hahaha!"

  But Zong Yao quickly threw other things to the back of his mind, thinking that the elusive transmigration of his previous life had actually happened to him. Zong Yao's heart was beating violently, this feeling was just like he had won a prize of five million dollars, although he never bought lottery tickets.

  "Wait a minute!" Suddenly, Zong Yao's face changed from excitement to a parallel line between his eyes, his gaze slowly sweeping around him, and then carefully recalling the scenes in his memory, cold sweat slowly dripping from his forehead.

  "What about the five-piece suit? Where is the divine artifact? Where is the divine beast? Where is the beauty? What about the invincible martial arts? Shouldn't there be a cheat device or something? Why don't I have any of these?! Damn it! Isn't this a scam?!"

  Confirming that this was completely different from what he had imagined about crossing over, Zong Yao finally couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

  After a fit of rage, Zong Yao finally calmed down and began to ponder why he had crossed over.

  He only remembered that as a poor online writer, when the other five beasts in the dormitory went to play games, he was alone in the dormitory typing away to earn his living expenses, and then...

  Then I fainted and came here!

  "What's going on! Whatever! Since I'm here, I'll make myself at home! A whole new world! Soul Master! Feeling so cool!"

  Zong Yao was on top of his excitement when a chill ran down his spine and suddenly emerged from the depths of his soul.

  "The soul fusion is not bad, very good. From today on, you are the fourth son of the Lord of the Ninth Ring City, the illegitimate son Zong Yin. The first task assigned to you by this king is to defeat your nominal brother and become the next Lord of the Ninth Ring City. If you do well, this king will heavily reward you."

  A wisp of black mist slowly drifted out from Zonghui's soul.

  Although he didn't know who this person was, Zong Yao instinctively felt a sense of disgust towards the owner of this voice. The condescending attitude would make anyone uncomfortable. He looked around in confusion but couldn't see anyone's shadow.

  "Who are you? Are you kidding me? What makes you think so? That's ridiculous!"

  Zong Yao curled his lips, snorted in disdain, and finally had the opportunity to cross over. By rights, he should have started the protagonist halo next, embarked on a road of invincibility under heaven, and lived a life of embracing beauties left and right.

  "It seems you still haven't figured out the situation."

  In the void, that voice became even colder, and before Zong Yao could react, a severe pain spread from the depths of his brain to his entire body, as if countless fine needles were constantly piercing his surroundings.

  "Ah!" Zong Yao fell headfirst onto the bed, letting out a series of mournful cries, and even his breathing gradually lost its strength.

  "It was I, the king, who brought you here. My mark is deep within your soul. When I want you to live, you will live; when I want you to die, you will die. If you disobey me, I won't hesitate to erase your soul and replace you with a more obedient puppet."

  It wasn't until much later that Zong Yao slowly regained consciousness, and his physical strength gradually returned to his body. Suddenly, a black shadow wrapped in dark mist appeared in his mind, with countless black chains behind him, each chain covered in sharp thorns.

  A grayish figure in human form was being locked up by chains, that familiar appearance, Zong Yao knew at a glance that this was himself, and suddenly Zong Yin understood, this was the soul mentioned by the black shadow.

  "What the...! I said I was fine, how did I get transported here?! Out of all the people on Earth, why did you pick me?! Come on! If you've got the guts, kill me! What's with all this nonsense?! Fine, I'll just go back!"

  Zong Yao's face turned even uglier than before, he had never seen a soul before. To begin with, crossing over was already unacceptable to him, and unexpectedly, he wasn't even in control of his own crossing, but was instead brought over by someone else!

  Niu's anger rose up, and he cursed loudly. At this moment, he would rather believe that it was all just a dream, and the dark shadow had killed him, so he could go back in time!

  "Haha, I've chosen you, it's your good fortune. Kill you? I've spent so much effort to bring you here, how could I bear to kill you. I still have important matters at hand and don't want to talk to you more, today let you remember this for a while, believe me you will soon understand the consequences if you don't listen."

  The dark shadow shrouded in black mist seemed reluctant to say anything more to Zong Yao, stretching out his five fingers and gently grasping them. The lock chain bound to Zong Yao's soul suddenly contracted slowly as his five fingers closed together. The reverse thorns on the lock chain pulled out one ditch after another on the grayish-white soul.

  Indescribable pain spread throughout his body once again, and his strength also gradually disappeared as the chains tightened.

  "Serve me well and I won't treat you unfairly. Your first task is to become the next lord of Jiuhuan City. I don't want useless people, if you can't complete it, not only will I make you wish you were dead, but everyone will be buried with you. Don't have any other thoughts or try to notify others, I'll always be watching your every move."

  The dark shadow's voice gradually faded away, and the pain that originated from Zong Yao's soul also slowly alleviated. His strength once again returned to his body, and the bed sheet was already soaked with his cold sweat.

  Zong Yao kept adjusting his breathing, staring blankly at the ceiling, still feeling unbelievable. Was all of this just an illusion? Had I just fallen asleep and had a dream?

  A faint bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. If dreams were really that painful, then which scene was he dreaming about?

  "Yin er! What's wrong with you!"

  Zong Yao was lying in a daze, when a worried voice suddenly came from outside the house. A familiar face appeared in Zong Yao's room, it was Zhao Ya Jing, her clothes were disheveled, her hair was hastily tied up, and her expression was anxious, obviously she had heard the commotion here and rushed over in a hurry.

  Such a scene is so familiar, in another world, someone else was also treated with the same tone, the same action, and the same expression wholeheartedly.

  "Mom, I'm fine, son just had a very long nightmare."

  Zong Yao took a deep breath, forcing a faint smile on his face. Even if he was no longer her son, he still tried to make his tone as gentle and calm as possible, saying:

  "Yin'er, you scared your mother to death! Thankfully nothing's wrong. Get some rest now and tomorrow we'll head back to the clan house so you can meet your ancestors. I'm sure your father has been waiting for you for a long time!"

  Zhao Yajing gently patted her chest, and her tightly furrowed eyebrows slowly relaxed.

  Zong Yao's movements stiffened, in another memory of his, he had deep resentment towards this father. It was understandable, for twenty years, that nominal father had never given him any care that a father should have.

  "Let's do everything according to mother's wishes."

  If it were the original Zong Yin, he might have turned a blind eye at this time, or boasted that after going to the Zong Mansion, he would do this and that. Unfortunately, the current Zong Yin is no longer the child full of obsessions as before. Zong Yao nodded and replied casually.

  Zhao Yajing's heart, which had been hanging in the air, suddenly relaxed. She had thought that Zong Yin would harbor resentment towards his father and wait for an opportunity to make things difficult for him, but now it seemed that things were not as bad as she had imagined.