BTTH: Death Letter From The Future

"Dou Practitioner level, first stage!"

"Xiao Yan, Dou Practitioner level, first stage! Rank: Low!"

After a loud and excited announcement, a noisy uproar followed. Even through the high walls, you could feel the shock of the Xiao family, imagining the scene in your mind.

However, while the sky was half sunny and half rainy, the joy and sorrow of people do not connect. Chen Guan only found them noisy.

Because that happiness belonged to the Xiao family, and had nothing to do with Chen Guan—not even worth a single gold coin.

He took out a cold, hard piece of dough from his pocket and forced himself to eat it with his eyes closed. Although it was hard to swallow, it would at least fill his stomach and keep him from starving to death in this familiar yet strange world.

Whenever he recalled the past and compared it to the present, Chen Guan truly understood what it meant by "the sky is unpredictable, and misfortune can strike at any moment."

That's right. Chen Guan wasn't originally from the Dou Qi continent.

Two months ago, it was just an accidental fall that brought him to this world.

Unlike the protagonists in those novels, he arrived still in his original clothes!

But strangely, after arriving on the Dou Qi continent, he reverted to his four-year-old self.

There was no destiny, no system to favor him. All that greeted him were cold stares, bullying, and the biggest issue—he didn't understand the language!

A four-year-old kid with no power, no background, and no way to communicate—just imagine how miserable these two months had been for him.

From being seen as a little lunatic by others to his current silent and withdrawn state, struggling to get food for the next meal—this was no longer living, but simply surviving.

Two months was enough to change a person, especially in such harsh circumstances.

In the past, Chen Guan had always failed his foreign language classes, but in just two months, by listening carefully, observing intently, and deducing, he could now understand some basic phrases and common words on the Dou Qi continent—a huge improvement.

It was then that he first realized he had ended up in a well-known place on the Dou Qi continent.

The Jia Ma Empire, Wutan City!

Afterward, he began living near the Xiao family.

After all, compared to the other two families, the Jia Lie and the Ao Ba families, the atmosphere here was a bit better. At least since coming here, he went from being bullied three times a day to once every three days.

As for joining the Xiao family?

That was impossible. The Xiao family wasn't a charity, and they didn't care about him.

Half a month ago, Chen Guan hadn't eaten for two days. Starving and weak, he even considered clinging to Xiao Yan's leg, hoping that, as fellow villagers, Xiao Yan might lend him a hand.

But when he saw Xiao Yan's proud and arrogant demeanor from afar, he gave up. Xiao Yan had not yet experienced the ups and downs of life; he was still a little brat.

Leaning against the walls of the Xiao family's courtyard, Chen Guan began to think about his future.

Now that he could communicate simply and was slowly integrating into the Dou Qi continent, he could try to strive for more.

The hardships of the past two months made Chen Guan crave power.

He wanted strength!

Taking a deep breath and suppressing the bitterness in his heart, Chen Guan cleared his mind and focused.

Opportunities seemed too distant. The immediate problem before him was that he hadn't yet begun cultivating.

He needed someone to guide him, someone to teach him how to sense Dou Qi, and the skills needed after becoming a Dou practitioner!

Even a low-level Yellow-tier technique would suffice. As long as he could get started, there would be hope.

But as an "orphan" on the Dou Qi continent, he had no background, no support, no connections, no strength, and not even a single gold coin. How could he obtain a cultivation technique?

Should he try to join the Xiao family or another faction?

But they would have to be willing to take him in first.

Chen Guan spent the entire day thinking about this problem. He came up with countless ideas, even considering targeting solitary mercenaries, but none of them seemed very feasible. So, he suppressed his impulses and continued to blend into the Dou Qi continent, planning his next steps.

Late at night.

A cold wind woke Chen Guan. He wrapped his thin clothes tightly around him and was about to find a sheltered spot to sleep when he suddenly stopped.

In that instant, he felt something appear in his mind.

After carefully examining it, Chen Guan hesitated.

It was a letter.

No, to be precise, it was a will!

A will written by his future self, moments before his death!!!

In the will, he recorded the brief story of his life.

"My name is Chen Guan, a mercenary and a six-star Dou practitioner. I just turned twenty. After taking on a mission, I entered the Magic Beast Mountain Range with a few teammates to search for medicinal herbs for our employer. Unfortunately, we encountered a third-rank magic beast. I was gravely injured, and I likely won't survive."

"I can clearly feel my life force slipping away. In this moment, memories flash before my eyes like a reel of film."

"I'm not actually from the Dou Qi continent. This has been my deepest secret. If I weren't dying, I'd never tell anyone."

"..."

"I regret it a lot. I think back to when I was four years old. I started plotting to begin my cultivation. It wasn't until half a month later that I found an opportunity. One night, I killed a heavily injured mercenary in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. I had waited too long for that chance, even though I recognized that mercenary—he had beaten and cursed me before. When I stood by his bedside, I hesitated many times, but in the end, the desire to grow stronger and survive won out, and I did it!"

"That was the first time I killed someone. It took me two days to recover from the nausea. From him, I found some gold coins and a low-level Yellow-tier technique called 'Fire Suppression.' Unfortunately, there were no precious medicinal herbs—he had used them all."

"After much internal struggle, I decided to record this event, just in case."

"In just two days, by following the technique's instructions on sensing Dou Qi energy, I was able to sense the surrounding Dou Qi. That was when I realized that my talent wasn't bad after all."

"And I was lucky—I had fire affinity."

"..."

"Six months later, I returned to Wutan City. One night, I accidentally spotted an important figure. He could transform Dou Qi into wings, and he was very old. Based on his appearance, only two or three people in the entire Jia Ma Empire matched his description."

"Out of curiosity, I followed him from afar. Although the old man noticed me and scolded me, I found out his identity. He was Jia Xing Tian, from the Jia Ma Empire's royal family. When Xiao Xun'er had just arrived at the Xiao family, he had received news and came secretly to check on her. He also brought a few orphans to raise for the royal family's use. This time, he came again because of Xiao Yan's growing reputation as a genius, passing through to see him and bringing some more children."

"Although there was nothing particularly scandalous about this, he actually told me! I couldn't believe it. He said that when he first came to Wutan City, I was also one of his targets. Unfortunately, because I had carelessly eaten a herb that stimulated potential, he gave up on me."

"Upon hearing this, I regretted it deeply. I remembered that herb. It was something I had picked during my first time in the Magic Beast Mountain Range when a second-rank magic beast forced me into a cave. At the time, I thought it was a blessing, but now it seems ridiculous."

"Looking back, if I had waited patiently, I might have been taken to the royal family. Even if I became nothing more than a tool, it would have been better than my current situation."

"..."

"Three years passed, and my fellow villager Xiao Yan lost his Dou Qi and fell from grace. When I heard mercenaries gossiping about it in Wutan City, I wasn't surprised. I simply sighed, knowing that the plot had begun."

"I knew of many opportunities and had once thought about trading this information for resources to cultivate. But I never expected that my first attempt at collaboration would nearly get me killed. That made me realize that without strength, I could forget about everything. Those things weren't for me to covet."

"..."

"At fourteen, I became a Dou practitioner. This was the result of my steady progress. Many mercenaries called me a genius, and I smiled in response, though my heart was full of bitterness."

"I knew I had good talent, but it had all been wasted. If I had better resources, more advanced techniques, or someone to guide me, I could have achieved much more!"

"..."

"One year later, I went to the Xiao family, hoping to secure a position and perhaps ride Xiao Yan's coattails in the future. But because of the marks left from the time my potential had been stimulated, the benefits the Xiao family offered me didn't satisfy me, so I declined."

"As for the other two families and the Yunlan Sect in the imperial capital, I didn't have the heart to bother with them. I decided to continue cultivating on my own."

"..."

"After sixteen years on the Dou Qi continent, I remain alone. I've never truly integrated into this world, and now there's no one even to collect my body—how pitiful."

"..."

"If someone finds this place, if there's still time, I have a sincere piece of advice: go cling to Xiao Yan's leg. This person will become the Flame Emperor in the future. Everything is about becoming stronger—there's no shame in it, haha."

"..."

(End of chapter)