"The Uncrowned King"

Long Yao said nothing.

He merely slowly raised his right hand.

The ancient silver ring on his middle finger, plain and unremarkable in appearance, glimmered faintly beneath the moonlight.

The next second, an invisible silver radiance, filled with powerful Spatial Laws fluctuations yet imperceptible to the naked eye, silently swallowed that petite, utterly unresisting figure like a greedy, starving vortex!

There was no scream, no struggle, not even the slightest Soul Power fluctuation.

Tang Wan'er, the top Evil Soul Master prodigy who had once shone brilliantly in the New Student Competition, vanished from this world just like that.

As though she had never existed.

Only the ugly, long-dried bloodstains on the ground, now dark red, silently told the tale of everything that had just occurred.

Long Yao completed all of this without expression.

He lowered his head and glanced at the Vast Sea Ring that held its own world within it. A cold, hunter-like gleam of amusement flickered through his calm eyes.

He knew the young girl was not dead.

She had merely been locked in an absolute, eternal... space of nothingness, colder than any prison and more despairing than any hell.

There, she would have ample time—so much time that even any Deity would be driven mad—to think carefully.

To think about how exactly she should please her one and only new... master.

He turned around, straightened his slightly wrinkled collar, then left the desolate, ruined dormitory backyard with composed, elegant steps, returning to that broad road full of life and leading toward the light.

He could clearly "see" that beyond the quiet grove of camphor trees steeped in moonlight, the girl in the sky-blue student uniform, with her beautiful pink blue short hair, was anxiously pacing back and forth like a startled little bird.

Her hands were tightly twisted together.

Her exquisite, pretty face, which always carried a trace of pride, was now filled with deep, undisguised worry and unease.

From time to time, her gaze turned toward the secluded path leading deep into the Inner Court. Her beautiful sapphire-like eyes were brimming with longing... and anticipation too deep to dissolve.

A faint, warm smile slowly formed on Long Yao's lips.

He knew this cold darkness, filled with schemes and slaughter, should come to an end.

It was time to return to the light that belonged to him, filled with moonlight and beauty...

"Long Yao!"

A clear call, filled with surprise and relief and as pleasant as a nightingale's song, suddenly came from nearby.

Long Yao looked up and saw the girl in the sky-blue student uniform running toward him like a graceful, beautiful butterfly.

Her face bore a radiant, lost-and-found smile, so beautiful it could make the entire world pale in comparison.

Beneath the moonlight, her sapphire-like eyes sparkled like the most dazzling gems, filled with stars and joy.

She ran up before him, her fair pretty face flushed with a lovely, healthy blush from the exertion, carrying with her waves of a pleasant youthful, vibrant feminine fragrance.

"Are... are you all right?" She examined him from head to toe with painstaking care, her worried eyes like the finest surgical scalpels, as though she wished to inspect every inch of his skin thoroughly.

"Mu En... he, he didn't make things difficult for you, did he? And that... that bad woman? She..."

Before she could finish, a large hand that brought an overwhelming sense of security gently settled atop her head, tenderly rubbing her soft, beautiful pink blue short hair.

"Let's go," Long Yao said as he looked at her. His ever-calm eyes seemed illuminated by the light in hers at that moment, filled with a warm, gentle smile. "Everything is fine now."

Those words were like warm moonlight filled with magical power, instantly dispelling every shadow and unease in Wang Dong's heart.

She studied him closely. The lovely blush on her proud pretty face grew even more vivid. She softly murmured, "Mm." Her voice was fine as a mosquito, yet filled with unconditional, absolute trust and attachment.

The two of them walked side by side along that shady path filled with moonlight, birdsong, and the scent of flowers.

Neither spoke again.

Yet the warm, sweet atmosphere, laden with ambiguity, was more intoxicating than any moving love words.

After an unknown amount of time, they passed through the quiet camphor grove and returned to the noisy, bustling Outer Court, where several familiar figures entered their line of sight.

It was Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and Tang Ya.

The three of them sat on a stone step beside the New Student Competition grounds, each wearing deep, undisguised concern and dejection.

Clearly, they too had learned the terrible news that Class One had been stripped of all eligibility for subsequent matches.

"Long Yao! Wang Dong!"

Sharp-eyed Huo Yuhao spotted them first. He sprang to his feet from the stone steps, his face filled with surprise and delight.

Bei Bei and Tang Ya stood as well.

They quickly walked over.

"Long Yao, Wang Dong, it's good that you're both all right!" Bei Bei looked at them, relief filling his usually refined face. He inspected them from head to toe and finally let out a breath after confirming they had suffered no injuries.

"Mu En... he didn't make things difficult for you, did he?"

Tang Ya was equally worried. She ran to Wang Dong's side, took her hand, and quietly comforted her.

Long Yao looked at them, and a sincere, warm smile surfaced on his ever-calm face.

He knew these were the bonds he truly needed to protect in this world.

"Mm." He nodded lightly at Bei Bei, then casually brushed aside a subject that could shake the entire continent, as though he had merely gone to a teacher's office for tea. "Mu En is a good person. He only spoke to me about that match."

He paused, then cast his gaze toward the massive arena, where the competition was still ongoing, and asked in a deliberately curious, regretful tone, "Hmm... looks like our class's spot was canceled. What a pity. I had wanted to win the championship for Class One and bring honor to Teacher Zhou."

That perfectly timed regret, filled with youthful spirit, was like a gentle spring breeze that instantly blew away the stagnant, oppressive atmosphere caused by their earlier nerve-racking wait full of uncertainty and worry.

The instant his words fell, the tension on Bei Bei's refined, worried face finally eased completely. As he looked at Long Yao, his eyes held heartfelt relief, along with deep, unconcealed apology and... helplessness.

He knew that with the nearly overwhelming, terrifying strength displayed by the youth before him and the equally unfathomable Wang Dong at his side, the New Student Competition championship should have been theirs for the taking.

Yet because of that sudden, strange, ominous incident, they had lost the honor that should have belonged to them in the most stifling and humiliating way possible.

They had even been dragged into a deeper, terrifying vortex that even he, the Tang Sect Senior Brother, could not touch—one he was not even qualified to peek into.

"Yes... what a pity."

Bei Bei let out a long sigh, his voice full of regret. He stepped forward and gently patted Long Yao's shoulder, soothing Soul Power slowly flowing from his palm.

"Long Yao, you've both been wronged by this."

His handsome face was full of sincere apology as he looked at Long Yao and Wang Dong.

"Though we cannot understand the academy's decision, the result of the competition is no longer important. What matters is that you returned safely. That is more important than anything."

He paused, then turned to look at the enormous arena in the distance, still packed with people and noise. A faint, undisguised mockery flickered in his eyes, which always gleamed with intelligence.

"As for the championship..."

He gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

"...Who else could it be? After the two biggest favorites—you two—withdrew because of an 'accident,' there was no longer any suspense over who would win."

"The final was Class Two, led by Dai Huabin, against Class Four, whose three Assault System Soul Elders were fairly capable. The outcome was no surprise. Dai Huabin did not even let his partner, Zhu Lu, take action. With just himself and his other teammate, he easily took that pitifully low-value... 'championship' in an almost crushing fashion."

"Hmph! What kind of bullshit championship is that?!"

A clear voice brimming with indignation and fury suddenly rang out beside them!

Huo Yuhao's handsome, stubborn face was flushed with barely suppressed rage! His fists were clenched tightly, and his ever-bright ink blue eyes, full of spiritual qi, now resembled two fully ignited, blazing flames!

"They picked it up! They stole it!"

He looked at Long Yao, his eyes filled with unconditional trust and... grievance.

"If you hadn't been disqualified, if Tang Wan'er from Class Seven hadn't been... an Evil Soul Master!... Then Dai Huabin wouldn't even be worthy of carrying your shoes!"

"Brother Long Yao, and Wang Dong, you are the true... champions in the hearts of everyone in our Class One!"

The youth's voice was forceful and resolute.

That pure, heartfelt defense, without the slightest impurity, caused Wang Dong's heart, which had only just calmed down, to fill once again with a warm current of emotion. She unconsciously straightened her slender waist, and a radiant smile of shared honor appeared on her proud, exquisite pretty face.

"Exactly! Exactly!"

Tang Ya's lively, delicate oval face now wore an adorably puffed-up expression of indignation. She ran to Wang Dong's side, affectionately linked arms with her, then pouted her rosy small mouth at Long Yao, so protruded that it could have hung an oil flask from it.

"That Dai Huabin—I saw it from below the stage just now! His victory was not honorable at all! Class Four was obviously going easy on him! And after he won, he went around spreading rumors that Class One was afraid of him, which was why you did not dare fight him in the finals and voluntarily withdrew!"

"I'm furious! If Bei Bei hadn't stopped me, I would have rushed up there and used my Blue Silver Grass to sew that filthy mouth of his completely shut!"

As she spoke, she waved her fair little fists. Her righteous indignation and adorable air of a wandering heroine lightened the oppressive mood around them considerably.

Listening to their defense and outrage on his behalf, the warm smile on Long Yao's ever-calm face became increasingly sincere.

He knew these were true friends.

The kind who would stand by his side unconditionally without needing any words.

This warm feeling, so full of lively atmosphere—of being trusted and defended without conditions—was like a warm spring flowing into his heart, which had turned somewhat cold and weary after that confrontation filled with slaughter and schemes.

It felt good.

And it was... nostalgic.

He did not explain further, because he knew any explanation now would only seem pale and powerless, perhaps even provoke more unnecessary, troublesome speculation.

He merely quietly enjoyed this hard-won, warm "ordinary life."

He turned to look at Wang Dong beside him. Tang Ya's words had angered her until her small face was bright red, and two tiny, adorable flames burned in her beautiful sapphire eyes. A soft, doting light flickered in the depths of Long Yao's usually calm eyes, one even he had not noticed.

He could clearly feel powerful, cold Soul Power within her, brimming with pure light, surging and roaring like a volcano suppressed to its limit.

Dai Huabin's provocative, slanderous words had clearly touched the inverse scale of this "little princess," who was prouder in her bones than any man...

If he had not been here, if he had not just used that gentle embrace to temporarily soothe her restless, uneasy heart...

She would likely have already charged before Dai Huabin with her Light Goddess Butterfly wings, which could easily slice through steel, and chopped that man who dared insult her and the people she cared about into... minced meat.

What an adorable little firecracker, ready to explode at the slightest spark.

Long Yao smiled helplessly to himself.

Amid everyone's good-natured, teasing laughter, he slowly reached out and once again, with utter naturalness and familiarity, gently rubbed Wang Dong's soft, beautiful, wonderfully smooth pink blue short hair.

"All right," he said softly in a gentle voice filled with soothing power. "He's just a sore loser who knows only how to bark. He isn't worth getting angry over."

Those words were like a spring of water filled with magical power, instantly extinguishing the towering fury about to erupt from Wang Dong's heart.

The moment she felt the warm hand atop her head gently caress her, her puffed-up pretty face flushed with a whoosh, becoming even more vivid and scorching than the sunset on the horizon.

She unconsciously lowered her head slightly, not daring to look into Long Yao's gentle eyes, smiling as though they could melt her completely.

She only softly murmured, "Mm," in a voice fine as a mosquito, carrying a trace of irrepressible shyness and sweetness.

That obedient, gentle, adorable appearance, so full of a young girl's charm, left Tang Ya staring wide-eyed.

Oh, heavens...

Was this... really the "Goddess of Light," who was normally as proud as a peacock spreading its tail and could beat someone half to death at the slightest disagreement?!

This was clearly a gentle, adorable... kitten completely tamed by her master!

"Ahem."

Bei Bei looked at the sweet scene before him, overflowing with Pink Bubbles and nearly blinding his 24K titanium alloy dog eyes, and could not help coughing twice. He forcefully drew everyone's attention away from this oblivious young couple.

He looked at Long Yao, a sincere smile appearing on his refined face.

"All right, now that the competition is over, let's stop sighing here."

"Come on. To celebrate Long Yao and Wang Dong returning safely! And to celebrate Class One—we may not have won the championship, but we are still the undisputed 'Uncrowned King'!"

"Today, it's on me! Let's go have a good meal!"

"Roast fish! Grilled meat! Order whatever you want! Eat your fill!"

He waved his hand grandly. His extravagant manner formed a comical contrast with his plain student uniform, washed until it had faded somewhat.

"Yay!"

Tang Ya was the first to cheer happily. Her adorable, gluttonous-cat appearance was utterly at odds with her status as Tang Sect Master.

Huo Yuhao also looked excited and expectant.

After everything that had happened, what he wanted most was to relax properly with these companions he had already come to see as family.

Long Yao looked at the warm, vibrant scene before him. The heart that had grown somewhat cold after enduring an intense confrontation full of schemes and slaughter was completely melted by this warm atmosphere of lively life.

He liked this feeling.

He liked these companions, somewhat noisy and naive, yet so genuine and adorable...

He knew it.

These were the treasures he was willing to use every means to protect.

And it was precisely because these "treasures" existed that he would not eventually become a true monster, one even he would find unfamiliar, on that long road ahead destined to be filled with darkness and blood.

He slowly nodded. A sincere, warm, expectant smile appeared on his usually calm face.

"Sure."

"Then today, we'll have to make Senior Brother spend properly."

Time: Douluo Calendar Year 2030 Season: Autumn Third Day of Enrollment 8:40 PM

Location: Shrek Academy, Central Plaza

Audience: 680,000

Equipment: Shrek Academy Uniform x1, True Vast Sea Ring (Divine Artifact), Student Emblem x1, Inspector's Token

Items: Shrek Academy Uniform x1, Dormitory Key x1

First Martial Soul: Soul Breaking Spear [Traits: Armor Breaking, Soul Devouring, Penetration]

Second Martial Soul: Chaos Holy Dragon (Hidden) [Traits: Strength, Time, Space]

Soul Power: Level 45 (Soul Ancestor) [Status: True Vast Sea Ring Shielding, external perception is Level 24]

Spirit Rings: [Soul Breaking Spear] First Spirit Ring (Yellow Hundred-Year), Second Spirit Ring (Purple Thousand-Year), Third Spirit Ring (Black Ten-Thousand-Year), Fourth Spirit Ring (Black Ten-Thousand-Year)

[Chaos Holy Dragon] First Spirit Ring (Black Thirteen-Thousand-Year), Second Spirit Ring (Black Twenty-Eight-Thousand-Year), Third Spirit Ring (Black Forty-Six-Thousand-Year), Fourth Spirit Ring (Rose Gold Hundred-Thousand-Year)

Spirit Skills: [Soul Breaking Spear] First Spirit Skill: Swift Shadow Stab, Second Spirit Skill: Whirlwind Spear, Third Spirit Skill: Armor Breaking Spiral, Fourth Spirit Skill: Thousand Spirit Spear Rain

[Chaos Holy Dragon] First Spirit Skill: Star Ring, Second Spirit Skill: Holy Dragon Claw, Third Spirit Skill: Void Claw, Fourth Spirit Skill: Time and Space Roar

Soul Bones: None

Soul Spirits: None

Temporary Storage: [Million-Year Spirit Beast Inverse Scale] x1, [Starlight Sapphire Brooch] x1, [Tsundere Princess Strategy Manual Platinum Edition] x1, [God-Bestowed Soul Ring (Hundred-Thousand-Year)] x1, [Spring of Life (Concentrated Liquid)] x1, [Calming Incense (Snow Mountain Thaw)] x1, [Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill] x10, [Space Storage Bracelet (Couples' Edition)] x1, [God King-Level Spatial Laws Comprehension Crystal] x1, [Super Divine Artifact: Time and Space Wheel Fragment] x1, [God King Godhead (Incomplete)] x1, [Playful Rabbit Ear Headband] x2