A grand, palace-like estate stood tall, its golden glazed roof tiles casting a dazzling glare under the brilliant sun. The gilded palace and its ancient, vermilion gates evoked an involuntary sense of solemnity in anyone who beheld them.
Viewed from afar, the estate stretched out endlessly in all directions, occupying a vast expanse of land that seemed to have no end. The main outer gate stood over five zhang high, adorned with a massive plaque bearing three large characters: "Duke's Manor."
Spanning over three thousand mu, this grand residence did not belong to any city. Instead, it stood isolated in the countryside, less than fifty miles north of the capital of the Xingluo Empire. This alone was testament to the exalted status its master held within the empire.
It was now midday. The brilliant sunlight reflecting off the shimmering glazed tiles enveloped the entire Duke's Manor in a golden halo, making it faintly visible even from the city walls of Xingluo City.
The northern side gate of the Duke's Manor creaked open silently, and a small, slender figure slipped out.
It was a boy of about eleven or twelve years old, with a well-proportioned build. He wore a clean, gray cloth robe and carried a small bundle on his back. His short black hair was neatly trimmed, and his handsome young face bore a look of determination far beyond his years.
The youth gently closed the gate and turned to leave. But after only a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back at the Duke's Manor, his eyes burning with deep resentment.
"Mother, if your spirit is watching from heaven, please wait for me. No matter the cost, I will work hard. One day, I will return here to demand justice for you. From this moment on, I will start anew. I will take your surname, Huo, and change my name to Huo Yuhao."
With those words, he cast one last glance at the Duke's Manor, turned around, and walked away with resolute steps.
He did not head toward Xingluo City to the southeast of the manor, but instead set off toward the north. His small figure gradually receded under the midday sun, yet his slender frame evoked a poignant sense of helplessness in anyone who might have watched him go.
Broad highways led away from the Duke's Manor in every direction. As Huo Yuhao ran, his eyes gradually grew red.
"Mother..."
His mother's sorrowful, reluctant face as she lay dying flashed through his mind once more. Clenching his teeth, he whispered to himself, "Be strong. I must be strong. Mother taught me that a person can only rely on themselves. Only by being strong can I live a better life."
Fragments of memory flooded Huo Yuhao's mind.
***
Huo Yuhao's mother had originally been the Duke's personal maid. The two had grown up together since childhood, and as a personal maid whose sole purpose was to serve her master, she conceived Huo Yuhao one night twelve years ago.
After ten months of pregnancy, he was born.
Regardless of his mother's status, he was still the Duke's son. Although they were not treated particularly well in the manor, they were not utterly neglected either. His mother was no longer a mere maid; rising in status through her son, she was eventually granted a small courtyard of her own.
Things proceeded peacefully for a time, but who could have foreseen how swiftly disaster would strike?
The Duke led the armies of the Star Luo Empire into battle, leaving all affairs of the estate to be managed by the Duchess. The Duchess had two children, a son and a daughter. She ruthlessly suppressed anyone who posed a threat to her children's future. Although the Duke's mansion had remained peaceful before he went to war, it subsequently became the Duchess's personal domain. Furthermore, she was the person whom the current Emperor of the Star Luo Empire favored most.
Because Huo Yuhao's mother was the Duke's childhood sweetheart and had always been deeply favored by him, she immediately became the Duchess's primary target. Under the pretext that Huo Yuhao's mother carried an infectious disease, the Duchess ordered both of them to be banished to the wood shed and cut off all their stipends. At that time, Huo Yuhao was only two years old.
The hardships of their life took a heavy toll on his mother's already frail health, and she gradually grew weaker. Compounded by the constant harassment and abuse from the Duchess's servants, she finally succumbed to a severe illness and passed away when Huo Yuhao was ten years old.
***
More than four thousand years ago, the Douluo Continent drifted across the vast Western Ocean and collided with the Sun Moon Continent. This collision more than doubled the landmass of the continent, bringing drastic changes to every corner of the land.
Ten thousand years ago, there were only two nations on the Douluo Continent: Heaven Dou and Star Luo. Ten thousand years later, the original Douluo Continent had split into three nations. Among them, although the Star Luo Empire still existed, its imperial family had changed. Fortunately, the succeeding imperial family successfully pacified and unified the country, making the Star Luo Empire the most powerful empire at this time.
As for the Heaven Dou Empire, due to internal division and lack of unity back then, it had now split into two empires: the Heaven Soul Empire and the Douling Empire.
The newly merged Sun Moon Continent possessed a vast territory and abundant resources, though it was still smaller than the Douluo Continent. It was ruled by a single nation: the Sun Moon Empire.
As soon as the two continents collided, war broke out. Fortunately, the three great nations of the Douluo Continent united against their common enemy, forming a coalition. After twenty years of bitter warfare, they finally defeated the Sun Moon Empire and annexed the territory of the Sun Moon Continent into the Douluo Continent. From then on, the name "Sun Moon Continent" ceased to exist, leaving only the Sun Moon Empire.
However, despite their defeat, the Sun Moon Empire was not completely conquered. Leveraging their unique advantages, they stoked tensions among the three empires of the Douluo Continent. Through this, the four empires eventually reached a tense stalemate, stabilizing the overall situation. Nevertheless, minor wars still broke out every few years.
Because the Duke was constantly fighting on the battlefield, he spent very little time at the estate. The plight of Huo Yuhao and his mother was thoroughly concealed by the Duchess, gradually fading into oblivion. Whenever the Duke inquired, the Duchess simply claimed that Huo Yuhao's mother had contracted a terminal illness.
Huo Yuhao's mother endured countless hardships to raise him. When he was six years old, he underwent his Martial Soul Awakening right there in the Duke's mansion.
Martial Souls—everyone on the Douluo Continent possessed this ability. Although the Sun Moon Empire had developed in a different direction from the other three nations, Martial Souls still existed there; they were the very foundation of life.
Everyone is born with a Martial Spirit, which can be awakened at the age of six. A Martial Spirit can be anything, such as a tool or an animal. Animal-type Martial Spirits are called Beast Spirits, while the rest are collectively known as Tool Spirits. Of course, there are also exceptions, which are known as mutated Martial Spirits.
Upon awakening, only a small number of people possess a special kind of energy—a unique power known as Spirit Power. Only those who possess Spirit Power when their Martial Spirit awakens can cultivate and become a figure of noble status on the Douluo Continent: a Spirit Master.
Spirit Masters are divided into nine ranks, from lowest to highest: Spirit Scholar, Spirit Master, Grand Spirit Master, Spirit Elder, Spirit Ancestor, Spirit King, Spirit Emperor, Spirit Sage, Spirit Douluo, and finally, Titled Douluo.
The higher a Spirit Master's rank, the greater their strength. Once someone reaches the rank of Titled Douluo, they can practically move mountains and drain seas, shift the stars and change the constellations—their power is utterly terrifying.