The boy tightly gripped the hand of the girl behind him, shoved through the noisy crowd, and forced his way upstream into the sea of people.
What he held tight was the reality he already had; what he sought was that shattered, unreal dream.
Amid the crowd, Ma Xiaotao quietly watched the boy pull her through the flow of people. She could feel that the boy who would not have shown much emotional fluctuation even if Mount Tai collapsed before him had a heart in utter turmoil now.
"What's your name? Innate Soul Power level five? No wonder they bullied you."
"Be my little brother. I'll protect you from now on!"
"Chen Fu, hurry over! I got revenge for you!"
Clearly the weakest person in the class, yet for some reason, Ma Xiaotao always felt an inexplicable sense of security by his side.
"Evil Fire Phoenix?"
The youth silently wiped the blood from his face, raised his head toward the school building gleaming beneath the setting sun, and a trace of disappointment flashed through his calm eyes.
"Thanks."
The youth offered his thanks, then limped away, vanishing into the girl's memories beneath that sunset.
"Deactivate the First Protocol. Restore the regional Mental Network."
After several twists and turns, Chen Fu failed to catch up to that figure amid the agony of Soul Masters who had lost the network.
[Protocol deactivated] [Regional network restoration procedure initiated. Initiating... initiation successful]
The invisible web once again spread outward from Chen Fu, enveloping Shrek City.
Ignoring the crowd overwhelmed with the joy of regaining the network, Chen Fu spread his hand and projected a Soul Power model of the city.
With Chen Fu's assistance, [Youlan] swiftly used the Battle Soul Instruments of nearby Soul Masters to locate someone matching the description. Chen Fu then pulled Ma Xiaotao along and took a shortcut, quickly intercepting her.
"Who are you?"
[Silence Protocol activated]
Chen Fu reached out to stop the beautiful woman wandering aimlessly. Looking at that face, more familiar to him than any other, he instead calmed down.
"Huh?"
The woman had not expected to be stopped so suddenly and could not help being startled. Evidently, this was the first time she had encountered such a situation.
"Huh, you!" Once she saw the appearance of the person blocking her way, the woman was pleasantly surprised.
"Surname Chen, it's me! Me, me, my name is Jiang Nan!" The woman seemed to think for a moment before blurting out her name.
With a boom, Chen Fu felt as though his head had exploded. His vision went black, his footing faltered, and Ma Xiaotao, who had been watching him closely, caught him.
Bang!
Melting Ring and bloodline erupted with a terrifying roar. Unimaginable brute force pierced through the woman's arm, and a hand like steel pincers seized her throat and slammed her into the ground, blasting several cracks into the bluestone pavement.
"Three-Eyed Golden Lion! What are you trying to do?!"
Suppressing his emotions, Chen Fu hissed fiercely into the woman's ear. After his initial confusion and panic, he had realized that only one being in this world could know both the appearance and name of his lover from his previous life—and recognize him! The Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who possessed the Eye of Destiny!
The Great Dao had fifty; he firmly believed that he was the one that escaped!
What fucking whispers, what fucking Soul Rings? I've already explored the Divine Path—who the hell are you to meddle in my affairs?! A bunch of antiquated trash!
What do you want now? Use Jiang Nan to influence me?! Control me?! Or disgust me?!
"Ah!"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was frightened and tried to break free, but the difference in Soul Power Level made it difficult for her to resist Chen Fu's control. Even his physical body had begun to defy comprehension.
"Transform again!"
Suppressing the urge to crush the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's neck, Chen Fu tried his best to speak calmly. Yet the trembling arm with bulging veins made her feel the threat of death. He simply could not bear having someone who looked exactly like the person he had once loved most, yet was not that person, appear at his side. He would not feel joy—only fury!
This was desecration! An insult! A degradation of their feelings!
Even if she had truly died, then let her sleep within those beautiful memories rather than digging her up like some unweaned piece of trash just to show off how fucking stupid you were!
Eternity was progress's greatest enemy!
"B-but once a form has been chosen, it... can't be changed..." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion finally understood why Chen Fu was angry, but when she had transformed, she had simply followed her instincts. She had not even seen what she would look like afterward.
"Ah! No, no, no, I'll try to think of something!"
Feeling the nearly tangible killing intent in Chen Fu's calm eyes, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion could practically see her near future even without the Eye of Destiny and hurriedly changed her words.
But she truly had no choice...
Sigh...
A faint sigh quietly sounded in everyone's heart. A beam of holy radiance descended from the nine heavens, enveloping the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Chen Fu released the hand clamped around the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's throat, raised his head, and quietly glanced at the high heavens without saying a word.
The matter of the Soul Ring was considered settled.
As the radiance faded, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's appearance changed slightly. Her soft, flowing hair turned golden. Though she still resembled her former appearance by sixty or seventy percent, Chen Fu did not care.
There were many similar-looking people in the world, but recreating the image from Chen Fu's memories completely and even sharing the same name was something he could not tolerate.
"Sorry. I was a little impulsive. Also, from now on, your name will be Golden Scale."
Chen Fu had basically confirmed that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had become the pawn of certain beings. Aside from the being that had always tried to sell him things, another existence he had not previously known was watching him as well.
Looking at Chen Fu's outstretched hand, the golden-haired girl did not dare refuse. She could only take it and rise, not daring to speak.
Without paying any attention to Golden Scale, who was meek and submissive before him, Chen Fu pulled the ever-silent Ma Xiaotao toward Lin Pavilion.
A god had already placed him upon the chessboard. At this moment, Chen Fu did not feel safe in the slightest.
[Purge Protocol deactivated]
The noisy clamor of the streets once more filled everyone's ears.
"Um... Xuan Zi came to pick me up. I'll head back first, okay?"
Feeling the silence all along the way, Ma Xiaotao spotted Xuan Zi on the street. He had come to ask what the invisible mental web covering the sky above Shrek City was, and she felt as though she had seen a savior.
Chen Fu released Ma Xiaotao's hand, his thoughts in chaos.
"I'll tell you when I get the chance."
This girl did not ask anything else. She merely followed him quietly, giving him enough peaceful space.
Watching Ma Xiaotao drag Xuan Zi away, Chen Fu turned his gaze toward the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, whom he had forcibly renamed Golden Scale, startling her into shivering.
This person was a freak. Even her physical body enhanced by the Golden Dragon Martial Soul could not gain the slightest advantage against him.
"What did you come here for?"
That black dragon in the Star Dou Great Forest had never mentioned this.
"I... I was curious about the human world, so I came out to take a look."
"I wasn't familiar with anywhere else, so I came to Shrek City."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's pride had been shattered when she was slammed into the bluestone pavement.
Other Soul Masters might have worried about killing the Imperial Auspicious Beast, but Chen Fu was genuinely prepared to persuade the black dragon Di Tian.
"Sorry. I frightened you."
According to the explanation in Record of Soul Beast Transformation, Soul Beasts had always been ignorant and confused about Soul Beast Transformation.
Though Chen Fu was surprised that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had transformed with ten thousand years of cultivation, it was likely the work of that Lord of Soul Beasts. What Chen Fu cared about more, however, was the result of her transformation.
"As compensation, I'll help you break through to Soul Emperor within a year."
The material for Soul Beast Transformation stood right before him. If Chen Fu failed to seize this opportunity, he would wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to resist slapping himself.
[Banished Immortal]'s research process had brought breakthroughs in Energy Technology. Coupled with verification using Soul Beast Transformation material, it seemed as though the door to the essence of Soul Power had opened a crack for him.
"Regarding this clash, scholars throughout the ages had always judged it with praise and condemnation split three to seven. It ushered in a mad era, an epic of humanity's rise and the beginning of turbulent times. Here, the author wishes to say this: any statement that ignores historical reality is bullshit."
—Gleanings from Old Gods
Slight differences in character personalities were perfectly normal, because the people they faced were different. For example, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion took pride in her strength, while Ma Xiaotao was affected by Evil Fire, and so on.
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