After the turmoil at Nuoding Academy came to an end, Yu Xiaogang's reputation plummeted. The students who had once flocked around him, eager to curry favor, had long since scattered. Wherever he went, he was met with strange looks.
Tang San was even more miserable, downcast day after day. He had been punished over the medicinal garden, lost every opportunity that had come his way, and watched the girl he loved drift farther away. On top of that, my ever-present ten-level suppression kept him from holding his head up at Nuoding Academy.
The vast academy had become a place of humiliation for the master and disciple.
Meanwhile, I continued to keep a low profile, quietly regulating my breathing and never getting involved in the academy's disputes. I kept the Ink Shadow Spirit Cat Martial Soul as my only trump card in public, while the Heavy Profound Iron Sword remained firmly sealed deep within my soul. I also kept my true Soul Power of twenty levels suppressed at ten, playing the fool while waiting for the right moment.
[The memory abruptly cut off]
I remembered perfectly well that, in the original story, Shrek's admissions were a major turning point in Tang San's fate. There, he met the Shrek Seven Devils and became Flender's disciple, step by step reaching the pinnacle of life. In this life, I had prepared in advance and made my moves early. I would not only snatch away every opportunity Shrek had to offer, but make sure that even if Tang San and Yu Xiaogang reached Shrek, they would remain beneath my heel forever!
[My thoughts returned, and my gaze settled]
One morning, news quietly spread throughout Nuoding Academy: the legendary academy of the continent, Shrek Academy, was about to begin a new round of admissions.
Countless young Soul Masters were stirred into a frenzy. Shrek's rule of accepting only monsters, not ordinary people, drew talented students from all directions to try their luck.
As soon as I heard the news, I began making preparations in silence.
I discreetly packed my belongings, took stock of my savings, and looked into Shrek Academy's exact location, its admission rules, and the distribution of Soul Beasts along the way. I knew that Shrek was where the winds of Douluo Continent began to shift, and the key place where Tang San would rise again. I had to seize the initiative and prepare for every eventuality. I could not let the master and disciple have another chance to rise from the ashes.
Elsewhere, when Yu Xiaogang heard the news of Shrek's admissions, a glimmer of light instantly returned to his dim eyes.
There was no place for them at Nuoding Academy anymore. If they stayed, all they would get was daily scorn and mockery. Shrek was an academy founded by his old friend Flender. If he took Tang San there, their friendship would surely help him find his footing again.
"Xiao San, we can't stay at Nuoding any longer. We'll set out for Shrek Academy at once." Yu Xiaogang found Tang San in the middle of the night, his voice carrying a note of grim resolve. "That's where you belong. Once we reach Shrek, we'll be able to escape our current predicament. One day, we'll get the better of Lin Chen again!"
Tang San had long grown sick of life under Nuoding's oppressive atmosphere. At those words, his eyes lit up, and hope flared anew in his long-suppressed heart. He believed that once he left this place, where I kept him down at every turn, and entered a brand-new environment, he would surely reclaim his talent and surpass me.
The master and disciple secretly discussed their plans through the night, resolving to head to Shrek and leave the academy that had brought them so much humiliation as soon as possible.
Little did they know, I had already set my sights on the road ahead. Even if they fled to the ends of the earth, my permanent ten-level advantage over him would never disappear.
Xiao Wu soon learned about it and came straight to me. Her big eyes were full of determination. "Brother Lin Chen, I heard you're planning to go to Shrek Academy. I want to go with you! I don't want to stay at Nuoding, and I don't want to see Tang San and the others ever again!"
After spending so much time together, Xiao Wu's heart had become entirely attached to me. In her eyes, Tang San was nothing but a narrow-minded, dishonorable little man. Following me had become the only choice in her heart.
Before long, Zhu Zhuqing, who usually kept to herself, also came to see me of her own accord.
The cool and composed girl's expression was calm, but her tone was utterly serious. "Lin Chen, I've heard that Shrek welcomes talented people from across the land. I plan to go there and gain experience. Would you be willing to travel with me?"
During this time, she had witnessed my composure, candor, and easy wisdom with her own eyes. She had also seen through the hypocrisy and pettiness of Tang San and his master, and had come to trust me. Traveling with me to Shrek was the best choice for her.
I looked at the two graceful young women from the original story and nodded casually. "If you're both willing, then let's travel together. It'll be good to have someone looking out for one another along the way."
Without making a show of it, I had firmly kept Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing by my side, severing every tie they had to Tang San in the original story.
With the two girls beside me, we would travel together, while Tang San and Yu Xiaogang could only trail behind us in disarray, like a pair of defeated wretches, chasing our shadows step by step.
I reined in every trace of my edge and carefully concealed all my trump cards. With the two girls at my side, I quietly waited for the day we would set out for Shrek.
Tang San's glorious future had already been blocked at every turn. My own legend in Douluo Continent was about to begin anew on Shrek's grounds.
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