Chapter 1: The Beginning

The sun is warm and the breeze is gentle; the afterglow shines down.

As the last trace of the setting sun gently brushes across the horizon, the entire ancient city is draped in a layer of golden veil, appearing exceptionally mysterious and solemn.

The towering city walls are sturdy and thick; every crack, every mark, seems to be silently recounting stories of the past and its former glory. The rise and fall of eras and countless past events seem to have been recorded and inherited upon these walls, flowing through the hearts of every citizen of the Star Luo Empire.

Star Luo City is known as the Imperial Capital that never falls. As the capital that the Star Luo Empire has used for ten thousand years, its status on the Douluo Continent is self-evident. Even in today's ever-changing era, Star Luo City remains the largest and most prosperous city on the entire Douluo Continent, still holding a pivotal and lofty position.

As night falls, the lights of ten thousand homes in Star Luo City shine bright, illuminating the entire night sky. The streets remain busy, and the flow of traffic and people acts as the flowing blood of this giant city, providing it with a constant stream of vitality.

Over the past ten thousand years, Star Luo City has been expanded several times. By now, it spans over a hundred miles in both length and width. In terms of prosperity, even Shrek City, controlled by the so-called number one academy on the continent, Shrek Academy, can hardly compare to it. In the entire continent, perhaps only Mingdu, the capital of the Sun Moon Empire, can barely surpass it.

Today, the permanent population within Star Luo City has already exceeded eight million. If one were to add the floating population, the number would far exceed double that.

Supported by such a massive population, the daily expenditure required by Star Luo City is a terrifying figure. However, in contrast, the tax revenue that Star Luo City brings to the Star Luo royal family every year is also an astronomical number. The revenue of a single city is even enough to rival some of the top-ranked provinces of the Empire, which is sufficient to prove the prosperity of Star Luo City.

And in the center of Star Luo City, a majestic palace complex is situated; this is precisely where the imperial palace of the Star Luo Empire is located.

The Star Luo Imperial Palace, like Star Luo City, has been passed down from ten thousand years ago, and it has only reached its current scale after ten thousand years of continuous repairs and expansions.

Looking down from high above, the Star Luo Imperial Palace is located at the very center of Star Luo City. Surrounded by important institutions and facilities of Star Luo City, there are numerous royal secret guards scattered within. The city walls are also equipped with many early-warning soul guide devices and anti-air offensive soul guide devices. Coupled with the multiple Guardian Douluo who take turns on duty within the palace, the entire Star Luo Imperial Palace can be said to be truly heavily guarded, to the point where not even a sparrow could easily fly inside.

In this palace, which symbolizes the pinnacle of imperial power, the most noble existence is naturally the current Star Luo Emperor, Xu Jiawei.

But beneath Xu Jiawei, there is another royal family member who also stands at the forefront of imperial power, and this royal family member is the current Emperor Xu Jiawei's beloved younger sister, Xu Jiujiu, known as Princess Jiujiu.

As the only remaining princess of the current Star Luo royal family, Xu Jiujiu possesses outstanding talent and stunning wit, and is deeply loved and valued by Xu Jiawei. Although there is little news about this princess circulating in the outside world, this is exactly what the Star Luo royal family wants to see. A talented princess with a slightly lower profile in the outside world is far safer than a talented princess who is long exposed to the public eye. This can also be considered a protective measure Xu Jiawei has taken for his younger sister.

……

As the residence of a princess of the nation, Xu Jiujiu's Princess Mansion occupies a huge area in the palace where every inch of land is worth gold, and it is decorated extremely luxuriously. The style of all the buildings is mostly constructed according to Xu Jiujiu's preferences. Inside the Princess Mansion, there are also large amounts of rare treasures rarely seen in the outside world placed casually, but here, these rare treasures have lost their aura from the outside world and have become ordinary.

Xu Jiujiu has always been elegant and noble. The education she received since childhood has made her rational and good at socializing. Her own wisdom has allowed her to display her charm and talent in various occasions without restraint, and by doing so, she has been active in various important occasions of the Star Luo Empire, slowly climbing toward higher positions.

Logically speaking, it would be very difficult to make someone like Xu Jiujiu have real feelings, but who would have thought that this Star Luo princess, who has always been elegant and noble in the outside world, would be so coquettish and soft in front of her lover.

On the soft chaise longue, Xu Jiujiu's golden hair is stuck to her skin due to the sultry environment. Her face, which is usually beautiful and moving, now carries a startling blush. Even if it is just a fleeting moment of charm, it is enough to melt the hardest ice in the world.

After embracing the youth for a moment, Xu Jiujiu suddenly raises her head and gently bites the youth's lip. Her tone is lazy, and her cheek is pressed against the youth's sturdy chest.

"A-Yan, I discussed it with my imperial brother today. He has already agreed to our marriage. In a few years, we will get married, okay?"

The youth looks at the golden-haired beauty in his arms and just nods gently, appearing as if he doesn't care much about this matter.

Seemingly dissatisfied with the youth's casual attitude, Xu Jiujiu uses a little force with her jade hand, and the youth's collar is pulled aside, revealing his fair chest. Xu Jiujiu opens her small mouth and bites the youth's chest, and a clear, perfect tooth mark appears on the youth's chest just like that. The youth only pauses slightly at this, as if he is already accustomed to the girl's mischievous habits. After symbolically rubbing the girl's head, he continues to play with her smooth, long golden hair.

Xu Jiujiu clicks her tongue, raises her eyes, and stares at the youth's increasingly delicate and handsome face for a moment. A touch of tenderness flashes in her eyes, and then she suddenly says: "Within three days, my imperial brother will have the Shattering Star Douluo take you to the Extreme North Land to obtain your fourth soul ring. At that time, I will have Grandma Manyi go with you so that if any accident occurs, there will be someone to look after you."

Shu Yan is slightly stunned, then says softly:

"Grandma Manyi needs to guard your safety. The Shattering Star Douluo is already at the Super Douluo cultivation level, which is enough to handle most troubles. If it really doesn't work, we can just call the Giant Strength Douluo."

The corners of Xu Jiujiu's lips curl into an imperceptible arc. She seems to enjoy the youth's concern immensely. Feeling satisfied in her heart, she speaks softly again:

"I won't leave the palace recently. You don't need to worry about my safety. There are many strong people in the palace who can protect me. Compared to me, my imperial brother actually values you more."

"You are likely the only genius in the world who possesses a super martial soul like the Ice Sky Snow Maiden. For ten thousand years, you have been the first human to possess the Extreme Ice attribute. My imperial brother has long regarded you as the future of the Empire to cultivate. Compared to this, even I, his younger sister, seem to have lost quite a bit of favor."

At the end of her words, Xu Jiujiu hums softly, as if she is a bit dissatisfied, or perhaps acting like a spoiled child.

Shu Yan just chuckles and shakes his head, not saying anything more, but his thoughts drift away involuntarily, as if he has fallen into memories...

Thirteen years ago, he was a miserable dark-skinned sports student on a blue planet. Because he made a bet with his roommate to eat canned herring and ended up being stunk to death, when he opened his eyes again, he had already arrived in this strange yet familiar world of the Douluo Continent.

Why say it is strange yet familiar? Because in his previous life, Shu Yan was half an anime fan, so he understood the plot of Douluo I, but as for the plot of the Peerless Tang Sect period he traveled to, he really only knew a little bit of the surface.

As a standard transmigrator, Shu Yan was naturally an orphan. If his parents, as high-risk individuals and extras in the transmigration industry, had really existed, Shu Yan would naturally be happier, after all, he had never experienced what fatherly or motherly love felt like in his previous life. But since they didn't exist, he didn't really care. Life in the official welfare institution of Star Luo City wasn't easy, but it was passable, and he was already very content.

Speaking of which, his meeting with Xu Jiujiu seems a bit cliché.

These welfare institutions set up by the Star Luo officials, on one hand, raise orphans like Shu Yan until they can make a living for themselves, and on the other hand, hope to find children with cultivation talent among these orphans to take away and cultivate, making them the emerging power of the Star Luo Empire.

At that time, Xu Jiujiu was attending the ceremony to awaken martial souls for children of the appropriate age as a representative of the royal family, and Shu Yan was naturally among them.

At first, everything went smoothly, but when Shu Yan awakened his martial soul, a biting cold air suddenly erupted from his body, instantly freezing the entire hall. The originally sunny weather was also affected, becoming overcast with dark clouds, and before long, snowflakes began to fall.

The Star Cloud Douluo, Manyi, who was accompanying and protecting Xu Jiujiu's safety, instantly sensed the anomaly and struck out, confining everyone who noticed the anomaly, including Shu Yan, to the spot. Later, the royal secret guards and the Giant Strength Douluo who was guarding nearby intervened, and Shu Yan was taken directly into the palace.

As for those who witnessed with their own eyes that the anomaly was caused by Shu Yan, to be honest, Shu Yan didn't know what happened to them either. But judging from Xu Jiujiu's later account, they were just wiped of their memories by a spirit attribute soul master, but who can really say for sure...

……

PS1: The book's internal submission has passed, and the author has a stockpile of one hundred thousand words, so feel free to collect and invest 【dog head】. PS2: This book has multiple heroines, please do not treat the protagonist as a completely good person or a moral model.

PS3: New author, new book! Please take care of me! (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 2 =====