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"Big sis, he didn't mean it! Please stop yelling, seriously!"
Meteor looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he tried to stop the blue-haired woman from cursing. He was genuinely worried that if she kept going, a divine lightning bolt might come crashing down from the heavens and silence her—permanently.
People who got too mouthy in the real world usually didn't end well!
"You're such a sweet little thing."
The blue-haired woman reached out and gently patted Meteor on the head, her face full of emotion. Left all alone in the middle of nowhere, yet instead of complaining, he was still speaking up for someone else. So mature, so thoughtful… it made her heart ache a little.
As she thought about it, she took a closer look at Meteor and Liuying. The more she looked, the more she liked what she saw—two adorable little angels with silver hair and bluish-pink eyes, looking like they'd stepped out of a painting. So cute, so well-behaved… it made her girlish heart stir again.
The woman squatted down and pulled the two kids into her arms, rubbing their cheeks like a total fangirl. With a blissful expression, she cooed, "Aww, you two little munchkins, how can you be this cute?!"
Meteor just looked up at the sky, soul half gone. But hey, what could he do? Right now, he was just a tiny kid. Meanwhile, Liuying clenched her tiny fists, then slowly relaxed them. If the lady hadn't meant well, she would've already punched her.
"I've decided—I'm adopting you two."
"Huh?"
Meteor and Liuying both froze, turning to stare at the blue-haired woman in surprise.
She smiled warmly. "You've got no living relatives, and who knows if that irresponsible person will ever come back. I can't just leave you kids behind, can I? You're still so young—how would you survive on your own? Besides, I really like you both. I never planned on getting married or having kids anyway, so I guess I'll count on you two to take care of me when I'm old."
Meteor and Liuying exchanged a glance. Yep, she was a good person. Lucky break for them. Then they turned back to the woman and called out sincerely, "Big sis."
This time, they meant it from the heart. Even though they were hiding a lot, and this blue-haired big sis probably suspected something, she still chose to take them in. Just that alone earned their respect.
Their thoughts were simple—this was a brand-new world, and having a proper identity was crucial. Getting help from a local to integrate and understand the world better? Absolutely invaluable.
And for Meteor, if he wanted to learn about this world's soul power cultivation system quickly, having a guide would make everything so much easier. He wasn't some chosen protagonist with access to top-secret ancient techniques right from the start. There was no Xuan Tian Record or any kind of cheat skill here.
He used to be just a regular guy in his past life. Liuying was an artificial human created for breeding purposes—cultivation techniques were completely foreign to her.
The blue-haired woman gave both of them a big kiss on the cheek and said excitedly, "From now on, we're a family!"
Meteor and Liuying were stunned. "Family"—those words hit deep. Meteor had been an orphan in his past life, and Liuying… well, she'd never even had a family to begin with.
The two of them exchanged a smile—genuine, heartfelt.
Seeing that, the woman also smiled gently. She hadn't fully believed Meteor's story at first, but now, looking at their expressions, she did.
Because someone who's lying… can't smile like that. Not so pure and real.
"My name's Luan Yu. I'm a Level 9 Soul Engineer, titled Douluo—Ice Phoenix. What about you two cuties?"
She looked super proud, clearly hoping to see admiration in their eyes.
"I'm Meteor," he replied, a little speechless. Showing off in front of little kids, huh? Some people never grow up… wait, no, big sis isn't old at all! Meteor quickly shoved that potentially face-slapping thought out of his mind.
But—Level 9 Soul Engineer? Ice Phoenix Douluo? Okay, so this clearly isn't the timeline of the first series. Soul Engineers… could this be the second part?
Meteor started thinking. He remembered seeing some online discussions about the second season of Douluo, though not much. What he did recall was that the protagonist had a pretty tragic time—ridiculously overpowered but constantly getting beat down, basically trained like a dog. Among all the main characters across the series, this one might've had it the worst.
Meteor didn't know much about the sequel's plot—he was just a casual reader. All he could do now was take things one step at a time. He sighed inwardly.
If this had been the timeline of the first series, he would've had way more options to work with.
"I'm Liuying. Big sis, what's a Level 9 Soul Engineer? Is that super strong?"
Liuying tilted her head in confusion, looking adorable.
Having absorbed Meteor's memories, she'd picked up a lot of knowledge—and also instinctively started acting cute like a pro.
Luan Yu's face twitched for a second, but she quickly recovered and chuckled. "Haha, Meteor and Liuying, such nice names!"
"But sis, what exactly is a Soul Engineer? Is Level 9 really powerful?"
Liuying kept pressing the question.
By now, she'd realized what was up—she was collecting useful info, fishing for keywords. This was reconnaissance.
Luan Yu felt like crying inside. Her big brag moment totally flopped. She sighed and said, "You'll understand when you're older. You must be hungry, right? Let's go to Dragon City and get something delicious!"
Liuying snuck a playful wink at Meteor. Meteor just rolled his eyes at the sky. Great—Liuying's corrupted now. Who the heck taught my sweet little Ying this stuff?
Then he paused. Oh, right. That would be me.
...Fair enough.
Luan Yu took the two kids and soared off toward Dragon City. She was born in the Sun Moon Empire—a proper, full-blooded Level 9 Soul Engineer of the empire. As for why she was currently in the Heavenly Soul Empire? Just a coincidence, really.
Her Martial Soul was the Ice Phoenix Sword—an ice-type weapon soul. She specialized in creating ice-based soul tools. Her stop in Dragon City was only temporary. Her real destination was the Great Northern Wastes beyond it.
The Great Northern Wastes were rich in ice-type soul beasts and ice-elemental ores—tons of rare treasures. Though the climate there was brutal and it was considered a forbidden zone for humans, she was a Titled Douluo. Not a problem.
Dragon City sat in the northeastern corner of the Heavenly Soul Empire, separated from the Great Northern Wastes by only one mountain ridge. Bitter cold winds sliced through the city like knives.
Snow fell constantly, turning the world into a frozen wonderland that seemed frozen in time. The city walls were tall and thick, ancient and majestic, each brick and stone etched with the marks of history.
When they were about ten kilometers from Dragon City, Luan Yu landed with the kids. After all, she was from the Sun Moon Empire, and here in the Heavenly Soul Empire, she had to keep a low profile.
In the world of Douluo, the original three kingdoms and the Sun Moon Empire had a very tense relationship—border skirmishes happened all the time. A full-blown war could break out at any moment.
As a high-ranking Soul Engineer from the Sun Moon Empire, Luan Yu personally didn't want to get involved in any of that. But the fact remained—she carried the marks of her homeland.
So while traveling in the original Douluo continent, she usually kept a low profile.
"....."