Tenth Place: Wang Yan

Above the Sky Screen, light burst forth.

It condensed into several massive characters!

[First Ranking—Top Ten Hypocrites List!]

Hypocrite!

The moment these three words appeared, the entire world seemed to fall silent for an instant.

Countless people looked at one another, their expressions turning strange.

Some were curious, while others were gloating.

But many more, especially those in high positions who prided themselves on being righteous, felt their hearts skip a beat, struck by a sense of foreboding.

Was this... a public execution in front of everyone from both eras?

[Douluo I Era]

Within Martial Soul Hall, the corners of Bibi Dong's mouth curled into a cold arc.

"Hypocrites? Interesting."

"I'd like to see if it's those old fossils from the Upper Three Sects or that bunch of trash from the two great empires who spout nothing but benevolence and morality who make the list."

Tiantou City.

Crown Prince Xue Qinghe held his teacup, maintaining the composure expected of a crown prince.

Yet, deep within his eyes flashed a strange glint that no one could detect.

[Dou Er Era]

At Shrek Academy, many students had already begun whispering, guessing who the first "lucky winner" would be.

"Hypocrites, they must be talking about those sanctimonious guys, right?"

"Like those politicians from the Sun Moon Empire who talk about building peace while invading us?"

"Shh, keep it down, the list hasn't even started yet!"

Right under the gaze of the masses, the golden light on the Sky Screen swirled, and a line of large characters slowly took shape.

[Top Ten Hypocrites List, Number Ten!]

Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at the sky, waiting for that name to appear.

Who would it be?

Was it a world-renowned powerhouse, or some conspirator hidden behind the scenes?

Was it an ancient figure from ten thousand years ago, or someone from ten thousand years in the future?

The golden radiance continued to gather; the name that was about to shock both eras was about to be revealed.

Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at the sky.

Tension, anticipation, schadenfreude... all sorts of emotions spread to every corner of the continent.

Finally, under the gaze of the masses, the name that was about to shock both eras slowly emerged.

The golden radiance continued to gather, the strokes becoming clear.

[Number Ten: Wang Yan]

The moment the name appeared, a clear light-projection of a face also manifested beside it.

It was the face of a young man wearing glasses, with an ordinary, even somewhat frail appearance, his eyes filled with a scholarly air.

In an instant, the entire continent fell into an eerie silence once again.

[Douluo I Era]

Inside the valley.

Tang San and Tang Hao looked at the unfamiliar name and face on the Sky Screen, both of them furrowing their brows.

"Wang Yan? I've never heard of him."

Tang Hao said in a deep voice.

"Judging by his appearance, his soul power fluctuations shouldn't be strong; he doesn't look like a powerful figure. Who is this person?"

Tang San's Purple Demon Eye flickered; he felt that this list was filled with strangeness, and he dared not underestimate it in the slightest.

Martial Soul City.

A flicker of doubt flashed through the eyes of Bibi Dong.

"Investigate! Go and investigate! Find every soul master on the continent named Wang Yan!"

She ordered in a cold voice.

Deep down, however, she had a premonition that this list would be far from simple.

[Dou Er Era]

When that name and that face appeared on the Sky Screen simultaneously.

Soul masters in the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Luo Empire, and other regions remained completely bewildered.

Wang Yan? Never heard of him.

However, at Shrek Academy, the atmosphere exploded in an instant, only to freeze just as quickly.

"It... it's teacher Wang Yan!"

"Am I seeing things? The person on the Sky Screen is teacher Wang Yan!"

Cries of shock rose one after another.

On the outer courtyard plaza, thousands of gazes were drawn like iron filings to a magnet, all turning in unison toward a corner of the faculty group.

The young teacher standing there was none other than the man whose face appeared on the Sky Screen.

Core teacher of Shrek Academy, Wang Yan!

"Hum—"

At this moment, Wang Yan felt his mind go blank; it was as if all the blood in his body had rushed to his head, only to freeze into ice the very next second.

Fear, like the giant hand of an abyss, gripped his heart tightly.

The color drained from his face in an instant, leaving it as pale as paper.

Behind his lenses, his eyes were filled with unprecedented terror and panic, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks.

"No... impossible... this is impossible... how could it be me..."

His lips trembled, and his body shook violently and uncontrollably, making it nearly impossible for him to stand.

Cold sweat soaked his back.

He instinctively took a step back, turned, and pushed through the crowd, desperate to flee this place, to escape these countless scrutinizing gazes.

Above the Sea God Pavilion, Elder Xuan hovered in the clouds, taking in everything below.

He saw Wang Yan fleeing in a state of utter despair, and a complex look flashed through his cloudy eyes.

Should he just let him go?

However, just as this thought arose in the mind of Elder Xuan, an old and majestic voice resonated directly within his sea of consciousness.

[Xuanzi, stop him.]

It was Elder Mu!

Elder Xuan felt a jolt, instantly casting aside all hesitation and reluctance.

He gritted his teeth, his figure flickering as he appeared in front of the fleeing Wang Yan as if by teleportation.

A hand like an iron pincer clamped onto his shoulder.

"Wang Yan."

The voice of Elder Xuan was as deep as an abyss, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"What are you running from?"

Wang Yan's body went completely rigid.

He turned his head with great difficulty and saw the bottomless, profound gaze of Elder Xuan; his heart nearly stopped beating.

His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

"I... I didn't... Elder Xuan! This is a misunderstanding!"

"It must be someone with the same name! Or... or someone is framing me! Yes, it's a frame-up!"

He babbled incoherently, his voice becoming sharp and piercing due to extreme terror.

But his reaction had already said it all.

Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, and the others watched this scene, feeling a deep sense of disbelief.

"How could it be teacher Wang Yan?"

Xiao Xiao murmured, her small face filled with shock.

"He is such a good person..."

Before she could finish speaking, the golden Sky Screen in the sky shone brilliantly, beginning to broadcast the past of Wang Yan.

A narrator's voice rang out, and that voice was none other than Wang Yan himself.

[My name is Wang Yan, and I was born in a remote village on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire. Our village was so small that it didn't even have a single decent soul master.]

In the scene, a dilapidated little mountain village appeared.

The thin, frail young Wang Yan was in the middle of awakening his martial soul.

[I awakened an artifact soul—the Panlong Staff, but my Innate Soul Power was only level five.]

[The village elder patted my head and sighed, saying it was a pity for this child; level five Innate Soul Power was considered a genius in this small place, but out in the world, I would at most manage to become a soul king, and that would be the extent of my life.]

In the image, there was no disappointment in the eyes of the young Wang Yan; instead, they burned with a stubborn flame.

[I do not believe in fate! Why should one's background determine everything? Why should talent dictate one's destination?]

[I firmly believe that knowledge can change destiny! I want to go to the holy land for all soul masters on the Douluo Continent—Shrek Academy!]

The scene shifted, and the young Wang Yan, carrying a simple pack, bid farewell to his weeping parents. His youthful face was filled with determination as he walked out of the mountains step by step.

He relied on delivering letters and doing odd jobs, walking for months until he finally arrived at the Shrek City he had dreamed of.

[When I stood in front of the gates of Shrek Academy for the first time and saw those seven large characters, I swore that I would stay here.]

In the scene, Wang Yan, with his excellent theoretical grades and unremarkable strength, barely managed to pass the entrance exam for the Shrek outer courtyard.

[I knew my talent was mediocre, so I had to work harder than anyone else.]

[If others meditated for one hour, I would meditate for two. While others were resting, I was working a work-study job in the library.]

The images on the Sky Screen switched rapidly.

In the library late at night, he was the only one writing furiously amidst mountains of books, with candle after candle burning out on his desk.

On the training grounds, he was knocked down by powerful classmates time and time again, yet he gritted his teeth and stood up every single time; even covered in wounds, his eyes never yielded.

[At Shrek, I studied with an insatiable thirst.]

[I accidentally obtained a classic work by Master Yu Xiaogang and treated it like a precious treasure.]

[The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul and other theories recorded within deeply inspired me!]

[I memorized every single word in that book until I knew it by heart.]

[Building upon that foundation, I studied tirelessly, attempting to perfect those theories and create a martial soul research system of my own.]

In the scene, the walls of his dormitory were covered with dense diagrams and notes, all of which were analyses and conjectures regarding various martial souls.