Douluo: Unlocking the Great Secrets of the Human Body, Becoming the Heavenly Demon

"Not bad. As expected of my disciple. You'll both be at the Spirit Pagoda in the future, and I fully support it. This little fellow is also very talented—he may even be stronger than you. It truly is a match made in heaven."

Leng Yaozhu stared blankly at Bai Xu's departing back as she spoke. Then she added, "Yue'er, if you meet someone you like, never let them slip away. Don't wait until you look back and realize that everything has come to nothing."

The more she looked, the more Bai Xu and Gu Yue reminded her of Yun Ming and herself back then. That man had been just as outstanding.

Gu Yue saw the weariness of time in her teacher's eyes. Clearly, Leng Yaozhu had her own story.

"Don't... let them slip away?" Gu Yue mulled over those words.

After the sighing came business.

Leng Yaozhu composed herself and said, "By the way, Gu Yue, your cultivation is nearly there, and there are no problems with your design skills. Would you like me to help you begin forging a one-word Battle Armor? We can finish the full set within half a year. With your design ability, I think a living alloy fused from three metals would be an excellent choice. It will also be easier to advance in the future."

"Alright, Teacher. Then I'll have to trouble you. I'm leaving first!"

Gu Yue headed after Bai Xu with light steps, while Leng Yaozhu remained where she was, trapped in the past.

Night fell.

Bai Xu awoke from meditation. Someone could no longer hold on.

It was still that pavilion in the woods. Na'er was waiting there, and these past two months had not been easy for her.

It was not as though everyone had been gossiping about her. On the contrary, Yun Ming had protected her well. Ever since he had personally stepped in that day, no one dared to mock Na'er to her face anymore.

But their gazes had not changed.

Na'er knew Bai Xu had been right, but... she truly did not want to continue. Yet if she called off the wager, she would lose, and Tang Wulin would be placed in danger.

So... she was caught in a dilemma.

"I thought you'd hold out until the end of the semester. I didn't expect you to give up in less than two months." Bai Xu's sudden voice made Na'er's body tremble.

She no longer even had enough spiritual power to sense Bai Xu approaching.

"I... I..." Na'er trembled, unable to say the words to end the wager no matter what.

Bai Xu remained silent, simply watching Na'er sink into her emotions. She hugged herself as though reliving the past month, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes as she sobbed quietly.

The girl was utterly helpless, like a small boat drifting alone through darkness. One moment, she had been the sun illuminating everything; the next, she had gone out.

Na'er grabbed Bai Xu's clothes and cried, "I've had enough of the way they look at me—the contempt, the disdain, the mockery. I... I don't want to go through this anymore!"

Actually, if those looks had come from the Shrek Inner Court disciples, she would not have cared.

But just yesterday, Yun Ming and Ya Li had sought Na'er out and spoken to her about her current situation. The Inner Court truly was no longer suitable for her. If things continued like this, it would be extremely harmful to Na'er's growth.

So Yun Ming planned to transfer Na'er to the first year of the Outer Court, where she would enter the Inner Court properly through examinations like the other Shrek Outer Court disciples, rather than relying solely on her status as Yun Ming's direct disciple.

But Na'er heard something else in those words. It seemed as if she saw deep disappointment and regret in the eyes of her master and mistress.

How could that feeling be described?

It was like taking a punch straight to the heart. Bitterness and pain instantly drowned Na'er. The second-to-last straw crushing the camel had already been placed on her back.

Bai Xu helped Na'er up and had her sit in the pavilion. With a sigh, he said, "A month has passed, and you still haven't improved at all. Na'er, you've never once used your brain to think."

?

Na'er's slightly swollen, tear-reddened eyes stopped shedding tears as she looked at Bai Xu in confusion.

"Didn't you see anything in their eyes? Most of them are looking at you now the same way you used to look at them!"

!!!

That was right. Back then, Na'er had stood so high above everyone else, looking down on everything in the Inner Court with her absolute talent and noble status. Aside from the few people important to her, she was cold toward everyone, and deep within her eyes was contempt and disdain for others.

She had been exactly like Gu Yue in the past.

But that attitude had been explained as nobility, as though a daughter favored by heaven ought to be like that.

Gu Yue had not fallen too deeply back then and could still awaken on her own, but Na'er had already sunk into it. She could find happiness and satisfaction in that feeling.

"Let me guess. For you to come looking for me in the middle of the night, your bottom line must have been touched. Did your teacher and mistress compromise as well?" Bai Xu continued.

Na'er nodded, her eyes reddening further. "Next semester, I'll be going to the Outer Court."

"Ah... have you truly never thought about it?" Bai Xu's tone was filled with helplessness, like an old father patiently guiding his child. "Try putting yourself in their shoes, Na'er. Your teacher has already made the best decision."

"Having lost your talent, you no longer have the ability to remain seated in the position of the Sea God Pavilion Master's direct disciple. It is hard to convince others. If the Pavilion Master's direct disciple could merely be an ordinary genius, then anyone in the Shrek Inner Court could become the Pavilion Master's disciple.

"Sending you to the Outer Court is only meant to let you prove yourself, to prove yourself to those in the Inner Court. Yet you think they have abandoned you.

"Na'er, it is time to wake up from your own world.

"The world will keep turning without anyone. It will not stop just because you are sad. That is all I have to say. If you truly cannot understand, then this is as far as you will ever go."

Bai Xu stood and prepared to leave. Then he turned back and added, "Oh, right. If you truly cannot enter the Inner Court on your own, perhaps Yun Ming will ensure you have food and clothing for the rest of your life. You can just stay in Shrek City and be a little Soul Master in peace."

(And then return in that great explosion.) Bai Xu did not say the rest.

As he was leaving, Na'er grabbed the corner of Bai Xu's robe again. Tears pooled in her eyes, and after struggling to stop sobbing, she asked, "Why... are you telling me this? Clearly... if I broke down, it would be better for you and Gu Yue..."

Bai Xu was silent for a moment before answering, "...This wager was meant for your growth from the very beginning. Tang Wulin's safety was never the priority. I'm leaving. Take care of yourself."

Na'er froze. She had resisted Gu Yue's assimilation so fiercely, yet Gu Yue had used the Golden Dragon Core as a wager to help her grow?

If she won, would Gu Yue not be unable to become the Dragon God for the rest of her life?

Watching Bai Xu's white-robed figure vanish into the night, Na'er truly began to reflect on herself.

More than a month had passed since school began.

The atmosphere in the first-year class had worsened by the day. Wu Sido, Luo Guixing, and the others refused to accept Tang Wulin as class monitor, while Bai Xu acted like he was invisible and ignored everything. Tang Wulin kept running into walls in class. Fortunately, Gu Yue, the vice class monitor, was still willing to help him. Otherwise, he really would have become a commander without an army.

Bai Xu occupied the vice class monitor position without doing any actual work, only collecting contribution points. This naturally made everyone dissatisfied, but no one dared say it to his face. The scene of Wu Sido's crushing defeat at the start of school was still fresh in their minds.

"More than a month has passed since school began. I believe each of you has gained something. Our first year will be holding an exchange activity with the second year. The theme of the event will be an all-around competition. It will include forging, Mecha design, production, repairs, and other areas, as well as actual combat." Shen Yi stood at the podium and addressed the students below.

"To increase every student's participation, you may form teams freely for this competition and register with me afterward. Each team may have no more than seven members and no fewer than three.

"The class committee members will represent our class in the forging, design, production, and repair contests against Class One of the second year. Please make your preparations.

"In the interest of fairness, when any team from Class One of the second year competes against us, they must reduce their number of participants by one.

"In other words, if our team has three people, the opposing team may only have two. Our class will first conduct internal selection, and the strongest team will ultimately compete against them.

"Tang Wulin."

"Here." Tang Wulin stood in response.

Shen Yi said, "After class, count the number of members in each team and report it to me."

"Yes."

Please vote and send monthly tickets!

More than a month had passed since school began, and Tang Wulin and the others had been class monitor and vice class monitors for some time. They could all sense that some students led by the five members of the Youth Genius List were deliberately isolating them, especially Tang Wulin.

Bai Xu, meanwhile, was like a block of wood, ignoring everything. Gu Yue was still on the side of Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan, after all. She was even less familiar with Wu Sido and the others.

Thus began the conflict between the class's small factions. Almost every day, Bai Xu could witness scenes of cold war. This class selection tournament could be called the battle at the foot of the mountain deciding this cold war.

The five Youth Genius List members against a team centered around Tang Wulin—it would be quite a spectacle.

Just as the class was noisily discussing things, Shen Yi, who had just left, returned. Two others entered the classroom with her.

"Everyone, quiet down," Shen Yi said solemnly.

The entire class quickly fell silent, and all eyes turned toward Shen Yi.

"Two new Transfer Students will be joining our class. Let me introduce them. This is Ye Xinglan, an assault-type Battle Soul Master. The other is Xu Lizhi, a food-type Tool Soul Master. Let's welcome them."

Sparse applause rang out, but someone murmured in dissatisfaction, "When did Shrek Academy become so lax? There are even Transfer Students being allowed in. How strange."

Bai Xu, meanwhile, was calculating, The Shrek Seven Devils are more or less taking shape. It's about time...

In private, he sought out Shen Yi and Wu Changkong.

"I hope to form a team by myself, to verify something," Bai Xu said firmly before the two teachers.

"What do you want to verify? This competition requires at least three people to participate. We cannot break the rules just for you." Shen Yi did not understand and rejected Bai Xu's proposal.

Wu Changkong fell into thought. After a long while, he said, "I can allow you to participate alone. But if you lose, it will prove that the power of a team surpasses that of an individual. You will step down from your position as vice class monitor, and every month, you must complete twice the Work-Study Student task quota."

"The power of a team surpasses that of an individual?" Shen Yi was puzzled. What did any of this have to do with anything? Why would her senior brother agree?

"Alright. Then thank you, Teacher Wu." Bai Xu left.

"Shen Yi, when Bai Xu was at Eastsea Academy, his teacher was Leng Jiuming. He was once a Shrek student as well, probably a year ahead of us. Do you remember him?" Wu Changkong explained.

"When Leng Jiuming entered the Inner Court, I seem to have heard of him. He was that student who did not understand the meaning of the Shrek Seven Devils. He failed the Inner Court examination back then. Then Bai Xu..."

"Yes. A legacy of will. Bai Xu wants to prove his teacher's ideas. Let him do as he wishes. If he loses, it will be good for both him and the class."

In the brief time Bai Xu was gone,

the classroom filled with the smell of gunpowder again. Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi's arrival did not cause much of a stir. Instead, Zheng Yiran, Wu Sido, and Luo Guixing repeatedly provoking Tang Wulin turned the podium into a stage.

Yet it was precisely this scene that caught Ye Xinglan's interest. At Tang Wulin's invitation, she joined his team.