Martial Universe: The Eyes That Determine the Fate

Chapter 1 The Man in the Pond

Qingyang Town, back mountain.

Inside a secluded cave, Lin Dong was studying the stone talisman in his hand, unaware that the blood he had previously dripped into the stone pool was spreading rapidly.

The blood seemed to possess a life of its own, spreading through the pool water in ever-increasing circles. The once clear water began to change color, from pale red to deep red, and finally to a thick, dark red, as if the entire pool had been soaked in blood.

Lin Dong finally realized that something was wrong.

He looked down and his expression changed drastically.

The pool water began to boil, then suddenly exploded. Dark red spray shot into the sky, the entire cave began to shake violently, and pebbles rained down from above. Lin Dong was so frightened that he stumbled backward and fell to the ground with a thud.

He saw a person rise from the bottom of the pool.

The man had his eyes closed, and his entire body was covered with intricate golden runes, densely packed like a seal. The runes glowed faintly and emitted a chilling aura.

Lin Dong was stunned.

He had been soaking in this stone pool since he was a child, and now suddenly a person has surfaced. He doesn't know who this person is, why he is at the bottom of the pool, or even whether he is dead or alive.

Just then, the man opened his eyes.

Lin Dong looked into the man's eyes, his hair stood on end, and cold sweat poured down his back, as if he had witnessed something terrifying.

A normal person has one pupil, but that person had two, purple pupils, side by side, one large and one small.

Within the pupils, it seemed as if a river of stars was flowing, blue, purple, and white, swirling in circles until reaching the deepest point, where the bottom could not be seen.

However, this phenomenon only lasted for a moment before returning to normal.

Then the man walked out of the stone pool. With each step he took, a crack appeared in the stone slab beneath his feet. After three steps, he was already standing in front of Lin Dong.

"Who are you? Where is this?" His voice was extremely hoarse, as if he were asking a question, or as if he were talking to himself.

Lin Dong swallowed hard and asked, "This is Qingyang Town. Who...who are you?"

The man was silent for a moment, then said, "Li Yi."

After saying that, he stopped talking and just stood there, his strange eyes scanning his surroundings.

While he wasn't paying attention, Lin Dong quietly stuffed the stone talisman into his inner pocket, placed it close to his chest, and then began to scrutinize Li Yi.

He seemed to be about the same age as me. The runes on his body had disappeared. When his gaze moved down to a certain place, his expression changed subtly. Then he noticed that he wasn't wearing any clothes. He quickly picked up his own coat from the ground and handed it to Li Yi: "Put this on first."

Li Yi looked down at himself, then at the clothes in Lin's hand, and took them to put on.

"How did you end up in the pool?" Lin Dong asked.

"have no idea."

"Where are you from?"

"have no idea."

"You don't remember anything?"

Li Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "I only remember being locked up for a long time."

Lin Dong looked at him, unsure what to say. This person knew nothing, yet remembered his own name—how strange.

In the utterly silent atmosphere, the sound of rolling stones suddenly came from outside the cave, followed by a clear voice: "Hehe, Brother Lin Dong, I knew you were here."

Li Yi and Lin Dong looked over at the sound and saw a little girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old skipping in; it was Qing Tan.

She was wearing a light-colored dress, her face was delicate, and her bright eyes blinked, making her look extremely cute.

She saw Lin Dong as soon as she came in, and was about to speak when she saw Li Yi standing to the side.

"Brother, who is this?"

Lin Dong opened his mouth, unsure how to explain.

Qingtan tilted her head and looked Li Yi up and down, but her gaze fell on the clothes Li Yi was wearing.

"Brother, aren't these your clothes?"

"Uh...yes."

"Why did you give him your clothes?" Qingtan blinked, then looked at Li Yi, and whispered to Lin Dong, "Brother, was he not wearing any clothes?"

"...Could you please stop asking?"

Qingtan covered her mouth and laughed, then secretly glanced at Li Yi. Li Yi remained silent throughout, simply standing to the side with an expressionless face.

But his mind was filled with blurry, fragmented images, impossible to piece together. A pair of eyes, a qilin, a beam of light descending from the sky…

But he seems to be missing something.

Lin Dong looked at Li Yi, then at Qing Tan, and was about to say something when Li Yi suddenly spoke.

Can I come to your house?

Lin Dong was stunned for a moment, "What?!"

"I have nowhere to go," Li Yi paused, "Can I come to your house?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Dong fell silent.

This person's origins are unknown; he doesn't even know where he came from. His eyes are also strange. Bringing him home rashly... who knows what he is?

He was about to refuse when Qingtan interjected, "Great! We have a spare room, let him stay here!"

Lin Dong glared at Qing Tan, who stuck out her tongue, but her eyes were still sparkling as she looked at Li Yi.

Li Yi didn't look at Qing Tan, but only at Lin Dong, waiting for his answer.

Lin Dong thought for a long time, then looked at Li Yi again, thinking that although this person was strange, he didn't seem to have any ill intentions. Besides, he had just come out of the pool, remembered nothing, and didn't even have a place to go...

"Hmm... Let's go." Lin Dong finally nodded. "Let's go home first."

"Thank you," Li Yi said to Lin Dong.

Lin Dong waved his hand, turned and walked towards the cave entrance, with Qing Tan following behind, glancing back at Li Yi every now and then. Li Yi walked at the back, his eyes still looking around, surveying this unfamiliar world.

The Lin family, to which Lin Dong belonged, was just a small clan, not even considered top-tier in Qingyang Town. Lin Dong's family lived on a remote hill deep within the Lin family compound.

As Lin Dong led Li Yi into the courtyard, they ran into his father, Lin Xiao, coming out of the house. Lin Xiao was in his forties, tall, but his face was somewhat pale.

He saw Li Yi, frowned, and asked, "Who is this?"

Before Lin Dong could speak, Qing Tan interjected, "Dad, he's a friend we just met. He has nowhere to go and wants to stay at our house for a few days!"

Lin Xiao glanced at Qing Tan, then looked at Lin Dong.

Lin Dong nodded and said, "I met him in the back mountain. He... ran into some trouble and has nowhere to go for the time being."

Lin Xiao stared at Li Yi for a long while. Li Yi stood in the courtyard, still wearing Lin Dong's clothes, looking at Lin Xiao.

"What's your name?" Lin Xiao asked.

"Li Yi".

"Where did it come from?"

Li Yi did not answer.

Lin Xiao glanced at him again, then turned to Lin Dong and said, "Come with me."

Lin Dong followed Lin Xiao to the side.

"What is this person's background?" Lin Xiao asked in a low voice.

"I'm not too sure either," Lin Dong said, not intending to hide it from his father. "He surfaced from the pool in the cave behind the mountain. He doesn't remember anything, except that his name is Li Yi."

Lin Xiao frowned even more: "In the pool?"

"Um."

Lin Xiao was silent for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "Let him stay here for now, but keep an eye on things."

Lin Dong nodded.

He walked over and led Li Yi to the room next to his own. "You can stay here."

Li Yi walked into the room, looked around, and then turned around.

"Thank you."

Upon hearing this, Lin Dong waved his hand and said, "No need, get some rest."

He then turned to leave.

"Lin Dong."

Li Yi suddenly called out to him.