Douluo Continent, Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou Region, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
Within a modest courtyard nestled in the Outer Sect of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, a family of four shared their lives.
Inside the yard, a small child was immersed in a rigorous routine. Standing roughly 1.2 meters tall at six years of age, he possessed a physical sturdiness that far outstripped his peers. Though his features retained the soft, tender lines of childhood, his expression held a jarring maturity; his gaze, steady and calculating, belonged to someone far older than a boy of six.
The child gripped a barbell, his muscles tensing as he performed a series of squats with the custom-made weight braced across his shoulders. His voice broke the morning air in a rhythmic, disciplined count.
"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!"
Only after the final repetition did he guide the barbell back onto its rack. The entire apparatus was a custom build, its design alien to the aesthetics of this world, yet its structural integrity ensured that he would not be crushed under the weight of his own ambition.
His exercise complete, the boy slumped onto a seat in the courtyard. He tilted a flask back, gulping water greedily while his chest heaved, his breath coming in jagged, heavy gasps.
A woman's voice drifted from the interior of the house. "Little Xiong, come inside for breakfast. Why must you insist on hauling those iron bars at such a young age?"
"I'm coming, Mom. Just let me catch my breath for a second."
A short while later, the four members of the household gathered around the dining table. The spread was substantial, centered on steaming baozi and thick meat porridge that scented the room.
The woman paused, her eyes searching his. "Little Xiong, the Spirit Awakening arranged by the Sect is tomorrow morning. Do not push yourself to the point of injury today, or it will cause complications when the time comes."
The boy looked up, a hint of confusion crossing his youthful face. "Mom, why does the Sect insist on a collective Spirit Awakening? Aren't they concerned about privacy? Besides, both you and Dad are capable of performing the ceremony; why not just help me Awaken here at home?"
The woman reached out, stroking the child's hair with a gentle hand. "Little Xiong, the Sect has its own protocols to consider. Your father and I serve as Outer Sect personnel of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and as such, we must follow the Sect's mandates."
The child offered a noncommittal hum of acknowledgment, dropping his head to continue shoveling porridge into his mouth.
His name was Yang Xiong, and to any observer, he was a child who seemed far more sensible and grounded than his mischievous counterparts.
In truth, Yang Xiong harbored a secret: he was not a native of this world. He hailed from a place called Blue Star.
Back on Blue Star, Yang Xiong had been nothing more than a cog in the industrial machine. A university graduate in his thirties, he had remained unmarried, carving out a living as an engineering maintenance technician in a small-scale factory.
The job had been stable and the pay adequate—better than the floor workers, at least—but the stability came at a price. The factory owner was a predatory man who squeezed every drop of labor from his staff, and Yang Xiong's direct supervisor was a notorious workaholic who delighted in dumping "urgent" tasks onto his desk minutes before the end of a shift.
His end had come on an unremarkable evening. While Yang Xiong was recalibrating a faulty machine on the production line, just as the repair neared completion, his vision blurred. The machine, which he had personally locked out and powered down, suddenly spat a violent arc of electricity. The spark jumped to his frame, and his world turned to static as paralysis seized his heart.
When Yang Xiong next opened his eyes, he found himself trapped in the body of a newborn.
The shock had been profound; how could a lethal electrocution result in becoming an infant? He wondered if there had been some fundamental glitch in the universe.
He was surrounded by people draped in strange, archaic garments. Their language was a cacophony of meaningless noise, leaving him submerged in a sea of confused clamor.
It took several months of silent observation before the realization took hold: he had likely been transmigrated into the world of the Douluo Continent.
Despite his grueling overtime schedule on Blue Star, Yang Xiong had cherished his weekends, often losing himself in novels and animation. He had recently become captivated by the Douluo Continent series.
He had finished the original novel years ago, but the anime adaptation had breathed new life into the story. The world-shaking special effects and the sheer scale of the powers involved were enough to stir the blood of any viewer.
However, living in the Douluo Continent was a different reality entirely. This was a feudal society defined by rigid, unforgiving class hierarchies. Had he been reborn as a direct disciple of a Great Sect, he might have dreamed of standing atop the world. But his current reality was far more grounded.
His father, Yang Lin, served as an Outer Sect Deacon for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. At forty-five years old, the man was merely a Rank 58 Spirit King, possessing the Iron Sword Spirit. His prospects of ever breaking through to become a Spirit Saint were dim at best.
Despite the odds, his father remained doggedly optimistic. Outside of his official sect duties, he dedicated nearly every waking hour to his cultivation.
Within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, the path was clear: one reached the rank of Outer Sect Elder at Spirit Saint, and Inner Sect Elder at Spirit Douluo. Those who attained the title of Titled Douluo were the true pillars of the organization.
Compared to other powers, this school treated its disciples relatively well, ensuring even Outer Sect members had access to decent resources.
Perhaps due to the supportive nature of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda spirit, the friction between the Inner and Outer Sects was less abrasive than elsewhere. This was especially true for Spirit Masters who did not possess the pagoda spirit; their status remained respectable. It was a far cry from the Clear Sky Sect or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, where your worth was dictated almost entirely by possessing the sect's signature bloodline spirit.
Yang Xiong's mother, Sun Yu, was also a Spirit Master. Her spirit was a rarity—an eye-type—yet her spirit power had plateaued at Rank 42. She oversaw patrol matters for the Sect, her specialized spirit earning her the rank of a minor Deacon.
The family was rounded out by Yang Xiong's older brother, Yang Wei, who had also inherited the Iron Sword.
At twelve years old, Yang Wei was six years his senior, yet his spirit power sat at a lackluster Rank 21. Though he attended an Advanced Spirit Master Academy in Heaven Dou City, he had only barely cleared the minimum requirements for entry.
Surveying his family's situation and their mediocre spirits, Yang Xiong often found himself at a loss for words.
Being an "Outer Sect Deacon" in a place like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was a title that practically screamed "future cannon fodder."
The family's martial legacy was equally troubling. The Iron Sword Spirit looked respectable enough on the surface, but its Innate Soul Power was consistently low and its quality was poor. While it was technically versatile, it lacked any high-tier legacy or specialized techniques, leaving its developmental ceiling tragically low.
As for his mother's Eye Spirit, it could—under the right circumstances—be considered a top-tier soul. However, in this era of the Douluo Continent, there was no "Body Sect," nor was there a developed system for cultivating Body Martial Souls. Without the reality-bending "cheats" of a protagonist like Huo Yuhao, her potential remained locked behind a door she couldn't open.
Furthermore, Yang Xiong had calculated the timeline. He was the same age as the sect's pampered princess, Ning Rongrong. This meant he was a contemporary of Tang San, leaving him with no chronological advantage to exploit.
He often felt as though his transmigration was a cruel joke. He lacked the hidden knowledge of the Tang Sect's secret arts, and he didn't possess the powerhouse bloodline of a legendary clan. His only edge was his custom-made fitness equipment, applying the mechanical principles of Blue Star to his young body.
Yet, Yang Xiong refused to be discouraged. Even if he started with nothing, he possessed a weapon more reliable than a sword: the knowledge of the coming storm. If all else failed, he would use his understanding of the plot to convince his parents to flee before the hammer fell.
After all, they were just Outer Sect disciples. What did the life or death of the Sect truly have to do with him? When it came to the art of avoiding disaster and seeking fortune, Yang Xiong was a professional.