Fasnuo Province, north of Nuoding City, nestled in the humble Red Maple Village, stood the local Spirit Hall.
To call it a "Hall" was a generous stretch of the imagination. In reality, it was just a cramped, slightly drafty cabin.
Inside this glorious shack stood a row of young, jittery brats. They shuffled forward one by one, anxiously waiting for the esteemed Spirit Master to call their names and awaken their Martial Spirits.
"A hoe. No spirit power."
"Blue Silver Grass. The gold standard for useless spirits. Testing your spirit power would be a waste of my time."
Su Yuntao looked utterly exhausted, though he still shoved the crystal ball forward anyway.
"Put your hand on it. Let us see... nope, no spirit power. Next."
"A radish. If you had spirit power, you could have been a Food System Spirit Master. Sadly, you are just a kid with a radish. Next."
This was the Douluo Continent. It was a world where everyone possessed a Martial Spirit, but from the exact moment of awakening, society rigidly sorted you into winners and losers based on your spirit power. As long as you had even a pitiful rank one spirit power, you earned the right to be called a "Spirit Master." Without it? You were destined to scrub floors and scrape by at the very bottom.
That was the ironclad law of this world.
"Next."
Su Yuntao sighed, thoroughly drained. Awakening spirits for a mob of village kids was a massive burden on a Grandmaster like him. Thankfully, this was the last one.
As the final boy stepped forward, Su Yuntao raised an eyebrow in surprise. The kid had a refined, handsome face, but a striking, flame-like crimson scar stretched from his forehead down across a good portion of his cheek.
Strangely enough, it did not make him look ugly. If anything, it gave the boy an undeniably intense aura.
"Lin Yang, was it? Stand in the center of the array."
Lin Yang stepped precisely into the middle of the six black stones on the floor.
Su Yuntao injected his spirit power into the array. The stones flared with a faint, golden light. Instantly, Lin Yang felt a profoundly soothing warmth surge through his body. The energy rushed through his veins and ultimately split into two dazzling streams of light, darting toward both of his hands.
Whoosh!
A pitch-black katana materialized in Lin Yang's right hand. The blade was about a meter long, gleaming with a cold, lethal edge.
A circular, hollowed-out tsuba connected the long, elegant blade to the hilt. Near the handguard, four distinct characters were deeply engraved into the metal: Destroy All Demons.
The moment his eyes locked onto those words, it was as if a locked vault in his brain had been blown wide open. A colossal flood of memories crashed into Lin Yang's mind.
Earth... the world of Demon Slayers... Sun Breathing... the Infinity Castle showdown...
Fragments of his past lives flickered past his eyes at lightning speed. He remembered everything. His pupils dilated slightly in sheer shock.
He was a transmigrator. In his first go-around, he ended up in the demon-infested world.
Saved by the Demon Slayer Corps, he naturally joined their ranks. Armed with the ultimate cheat code of knowing the plot and a frankly ridiculous amount of natural talent, he learned Sun Breathing directly from Tanjuro Kamado. From there, he sliced his way up the corporate ladder of demon slaying to become the Sun Hashira.
He effortlessly unlocked the ultimate trio of powerups: the Crimson Red Nichirin Blade, the Demon Slayer Mark, and the Transparent World. Finally, he cornered Muzan Kibutsuji, orchestrated the Infinity Castle battle, and worked with the other Hashira to ensure that absolute coward of a demon king got a glorious, fatal sunburn. It was a perfect, happy ending. He even managed to marry into the Butterfly Estate, achieving peak family bliss.
Unfortunately, the curse of the Demon Slayer Mark claimed his life at the age of twenty-five. But to his absolute shock, he had booted up a third playthrough. He had reincarnated into the Douluo Continent.
It was the exact same body, just factory-reset back to a helpless infant. Luckily, a kind old woman from Red Maple Village had found him in the wilderness and raised him. His previous memories had been firmly locked away due to his frail child body, leaving him to act like a perfectly normal, clueless kid for the past six years.
It was only now, fueled by the Spirit Awakening, that he remembered who he truly was.
His Martial Spirit was none other than his trusty Nichirin Sword, Hikan.
Even better, he could clearly sense another presence resting quietly in his left hand. Twin Martial Spirits! If this was not a one-way ticket to being overpowered, he did not know what was.
"A sword, huh."
Su Yuntao stared at the meter-long katana in Lin Yang's hand, a sudden glimmer of hope returning to his tired eyes. The weapon looked exceptionally deadly. Maybe, just maybe, this one had spirit power.
"Come here. Let us test your spirit power." He held out the crystal ball. "Place your hand on it and relax your entire body."
Having fully snapped out of his memory trip, Lin Yang kept a straight face and pressed his palm against the crystal. The moment he made contact, a powerful vacuum-like suction pulled at him. The warm energy inside him rushed into the sphere entirely on its own.
The crystal ball erupted with a brilliant glow.
"I knew it! Spirit power!" Su Yuntao's eyes widened with joy. "Not bad at all. You actually have an innate spirit power of rank five. You are quite the little genius."
Lin Yang subtly twitched his brow. He could literally feel that his innate power was much higher than a measly rank five. But naturally, he was not about to broadcast that fact to Su Yuntao.
"Lin Yang, congratulations on possessing rank five spirit power! If you train hard, you might even become a Spirit King one day." Su Yuntao leaned in, his tone suddenly eager. "Tell me, do you have any interest in joining the Spirit Hall, just like me?"
Playing the part of an innocent child flawlessly, Lin Yang scratched the back of his head with a bewildered look. "Um... I have to go home and ask my granny first."
"Ah, right. Of course."
Su Yuntao mentally kicked himself for being so impatient. What was he expecting from a six-year-old? The kid probably thought 'Spirit Hall' was a fancy type of bakery. Still, his excitement was justified. After awakening spirit after useless spirit across multiple villages, finding a genuine prospect like Lin Yang was a goldmine. Recruiting a talented kid would earn him a hefty promotion.
"Come on. Let us go meet your granny."
The moment the cabin door creaked open, Village Chief Talloo practically teleported over. For a guy in his late fifties, the old man moved with terrifying speed.
"Grandmaster Su! Did anyone in our village awaken spirit power this year?"
"Congratulations to you. We found a great seedling," Su Yuntao said, gently pushing Lin Yang forward. "Innate spirit power of rank five. His Martial Spirit is a sword."
"Rank five! Oh, heavens above!" Chief Talloo trembled, his eyes fixed on Lin Yang in pure awe. He muttered to himself, "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Red Maple Village has finally produced a true talent."
The surrounding villagers exchanged glances. While they offered smiles, it was impossible to hide the flashes of envy and disappointment in their eyes. They all knew the harsh truth. From this day forward, Lin Yang's destiny would be worlds apart from their own children's.
"Chief Talloo, I would like Lin Yang to join the Spirit Hall. Could you take me to meet his family?"
"Yes, yes, of course! No problem at all," Talloo nodded vigorously. "Please follow me, Grandmaster Su."
The elderly woman who adopted Lin Yang was named Susie. She had given him her late husband's surname. Her husband had been a soldier who died on the battlefield years ago, leaving her with no children. She had lived entirely alone for decades until she stumbled across a crying baby in the wilderness.
She treated Lin Yang like pure gold. She never once cared about the fiery red scar on his face, loving him fiercely as if he were her own flesh and blood. And despite his previously locked memories, Lin Yang's core personality had always been good. He was a filial kid who always helped out with chores whenever he could.
Thanks to the tight-knit, friendly community of Red Maple Village, the grandmother and grandson lived a peaceful, happy life, even if money was a bit tight.