Adaptation Isn't Fabrication

After erupting with Soul Power to force apart the vines, Zhao Wuji let out a low roar and activated Martial Soul Possession. His body suddenly swelled, the already terrifying muscles all over him nearly doubling in size. Even his height shot up by a meter in an instant, with seven soul rings appearing around him.

"Ha ha ha! Let me have some fun with you!"

Zhao Wuji laughed, then charged straight at Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San... The process would not be described in detail.

The result was beyond doubt.

Before an absolute gap in strength, even though Tang San had awakened the Blue Silver Emperor and reached the level of a Soul Elder ahead of time, he could not reveal his identity or use hidden weapons. Against a guy like Zhao Wuji, who had no sense of martial virtue... Tang San ended up beaten black and blue, turned into Pig Head Three.

Zhu Zhuqing had it a little better. Perhaps because Zhao Wuji took into account that she was a girl, he merely went through the motions and dislocated her hand.

As for Ning Rongrong, Old Zhao did not dare lay a hand on that young lady with such a powerful background, all right?

In summary, a world where only Tang San got hurt had been achieved.

In the shadows.

Ye Cheng concealed himself and had quietly watched this farce for quite some time.

When he saw Tang San being beaten black and blue, he could not help nodding and gave Zhao Wuji a look of approval. Well done. When dealing with a two-faced scourge who'll live for a thousand years, you should toss him around and teach him a ruthless lesson!

In truth, Ye Cheng had not initially held any ill will toward Tang San, the original protagonist. On the contrary, he had liked him quite a bit in his youth, believing him to be an exceptionally righteous and principled character. He was utterly loyal to his brothers and willing to die for his beloved. He was far too devoted.

Tang San during the era of Douluo I had seemed to have none of those problems. He looked extremely upright.

But all of that changed after the original author successively wrote Douluo II–V... It changed! Completely changed!

If Tang San from the era of Douluo I had felt like someone who would make a fine friend, a textbook righteous character, then the series of unbelievable things Tang San did in Douluo II–V utterly overturned that impression!

It became impossible to connect that Tang San with the Tang San from the era of Douluo I.

The original author had successfully ruined this character!

If Douluo Continent had only been a novel, then it would not have mattered much. At most, the author's writing had been poor enough to write the character out of character.

But when Douluo Continent became a real world...

As Ye Cheng lived in this world, thinking of all the things Tang San did later in Douluo II–V made him feel a chilling dread upon closer thought.

Why would one person differ so greatly before and after?

Once the possibility of the author writing him out of character was excluded, there was only one explanation.

That bastard's personality had always been like this.

At first, he might simply have been unfamiliar with this world, which was why he had behaved so cautiously. Once he later gained power—the power to control the fates of all living beings—he completely let himself go and indulged his desires to the fullest!

A hypocritical, selfish, sinister, double-standard, despicable, and vicious villain!

That was Tang San's true nature.

Thus, once he stripped away that protagonist halo and viewed Tang San's actions in the original work objectively, Ye Cheng knew that this man absolutely could not be allowed to achieve the same accomplishments as in the original work. Otherwise, it would be a catastrophe for all living beings!

That was precisely why Ye Cheng had repeatedly targeted him and those related to him while fabricating the Future Video.

Of course, what Ye Cheng did did not truly count as smearing anyone. Although he could fabricate Future Video, before doing so, he would use the Question and Answer System's deduction function to deduce the various possibilities for characters' personalities and plot developments.

This function mainly existed to patch plot holes and prevent viewers from spotting flaws.

Therefore, when he fabricated Future Video, the personalities of the characters within it—aside from his own—had not been maliciously altered. Rather, according to the deductions, if events developed normally, those characters really would act that way.

So what he fabricated was an adaptation, not groundless invention.

It was fabrication built upon reality.

He had not maliciously distorted the characters' personalities.

After being defeated by Zhao Wuji.

Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong each wore different expressions.

Tang San was unwilling and dejected. Clearly, he deeply regretted being unable to enroll.

Zhu Zhuqing was bewildered, yet relieved.

She was bewildered because being unable to enroll at Shrek Academy meant she could not push Dai Mubai to pull himself together. Where should she go from there?

She was relieved because ever since seeing Shrek's true state, she had felt that this academy was unreliable. She did not believe she could learn anything there; at most, it would only make the difference between dying early and dying late.

Ning Rongrong, meanwhile, looked utterly indifferent. This young lady had only come out to experience life in the first place. If one place would not keep her, another would. At worst, she could simply go somewhere else.

Seeing their expressions, Zhao Wuji's heart skipped a beat. Realizing that he had gone a little overboard, he hurriedly put on an act and coughed. After clearing his throat, he announced loudly, "Ahem, I declare... you have passed! Congratulations on officially joining Shrek Academy!"

The moment those words came out, aside from Tang San's delighted expression, Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong both remained calm. They apparently did not care much for this "surprise."

Obviously. They had no expectations for this academy to begin with. They had been preparing to leave when they thought they had failed, and had even felt relieved. Then they were suddenly told they had passed.

What sort of reaction did he expect from them in that situation?

PS: Only one update today. I'll make up for it tomorrow. The plot seems to have gone off track lately, so I need to sort it out first. Once I do, I'll update more often.