Five Seconds to Noon

The most amazing thing was the moon overhead.

It suddenly moved the moment Yun Jingheng opened his eyes.

It trembled slightly, as if flicked by something, and then plummeted westward at a visible speed, tearing a silvery-white gash in the night sky with its trajectory, from which Moonlight spilled out.

At the same moment, in the East.

A golden line rose from below the horizon, galloping like a horse, and in an instant covered half of the sky.

The sun bursts forth from beneath the sea, achieving a chillingly precise synchronization with the setting moon.

The moon set.

The sun rises.

The entire process lasted less than five seconds.

The sky changed from midnight to noon.

The sky was cloudless, and the sun blazed overhead.

The last wisp of silver mist on the Sea God Lake evaporated completely under the sunlight, and the leaves of the Golden Tree stretched out under the midday sun, with a faint silver edge flowing between the veins of each leaf.

Yun Jingheng sat in the center of the pavilion and looked down at his hands.

Then he slowly raised his head and looked at the eight speechless faces around him.

"... It's the second day?"

No one could answer him.

The entire Sea God Lake Heart Pavilion was as quiet as a painting.

Feng Wuyu's mouth was open, and Long Yeyue's cane was suspended in mid-air without falling.

The only one who made a move was Ya Li.

She pushed past everyone, rushed to the pavilion, and grabbed Yun Jingheng's wrist.

He placed his fingertips on his pulse for three breaths, then turned his palm over to look at the lines, then lifted his eyelids to look at his pupils, and finally pulled him into his arms, holding him very tightly.

"You scared me to death." Her voice was muffled in Yun Jingheng's hair.

Yun Jingheng was struggling to breathe from the tightness, but he still raised his hand and patted Ya Li's back. "Mom, I'm fine."

"Eight people stayed up all night watching over you. After you finished condensing your Soul Core, wasn't it the next day?" Ya Li let go of him and tapped his forehead.

Eight pairs of eyes simultaneously fell on Yun Jingheng.

He felt like an exhibit, being scanned inside and out at least three times.

Then he saw Yun Ming's lips move, as if he wanted to say something, but before he could speak—

A sudden burst of urgent alarms blared over Sea Cucumber Island.

Shrek Academy's highest-level Communication Array has been triggered.

Long Yeyue's expression changed instantly.

The old lady slammed her cane on the ground, then leaped into the air and soared towards the Council Hall. Her speed was so great that even the wind was cleaved in two.

Seven people followed behind.

Yun Jingheng sat in the pavilion, blinked, and then looked down at his feet.

With a thought, a wisp of silvery-white light surged from his Soul Core, supporting his feet. He tentatively took a step forward—

He darted forward twenty feet.

He plunged headfirst into the lake.

Ya Li flew halfway over his head and then turned back to pull him out of the water. His face was flushed red, whether from choking or from embarrassment, it was hard to tell.

"Mom, my speed—"

"It's noon and you're still not used to your new body. Stop flying, I'll take you."

Then she grabbed Yun Jingheng by the back of his collar and, like lifting a drowning cat, caught up with the group ahead.

Council Hall, the projection of the Communication Array floated in the very center.

On the other end of the projection was the duty officer of the Supreme Soul Guidance Communications Agency of the Sun Moon Federation. His face was as white as paper, and his lips were trembling. The moment he saw Long Yeyue appear on the screen, he almost lunged in front of the camera.

"Elder Long... Elder Long! Starting three minutes ago, all the observation stations in the entire Sun Moon Federation simultaneously reported an astronomical anomaly—the moon fell below the horizon from its zenith within five seconds, and the sun rose to its noon position prematurely at the same instant!"

"The entire Federation's timekeeping system is now paralyzed! Thirty percent of the large soul-guided arrays that rely on the day-night cycle have automatically broken down! Major cities are in chaos, the streets are packed with people, and there's widespread panic among the populace—"

"I know," Long Yeyue interrupted.

"You—you know?"

Long Yeyue turned her head and looked at Yun Jingheng, who was soaking wet, his hair still dripping, and being held down in a chair by Ya Li to have his head wiped.

All eyes in the Council Hall turned to them once again.

Yun Jingheng shrank his neck. "... Should I remind it to slow down next time?"

"You want a next time?!" ×8

On the other end of the communication projector, the officer on duty watched the screen as eight Sea God Pavilion leaders simultaneously roared at the same boy. His lips trembled twice more before he silently cut off the communication.

What did Shrek say?

"Have no idea."

"Have no idea???"

"They seem to know about this..."

"Nonsense! The entire Sun Moon Federation saw it, how could they not know?! I told you to ask how to solve it? And whether they can even help?! You idiot!"

Shrek City, Spirit Pagoda, an office on the top floor.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the midday sun was so bright it was almost blinding, making one wonder if they had missed a whole morning's sleep.

Qiangu Dongfeng sat behind his desk, an unlit cigarette between his fingers, tapping it absently on the surface.

Three reports were spread out on the table.

The first document is the abnormal log of the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters 'Pagoda Spirit array.

Records show that a few minutes ago, at some point, all the soul-guiding nodes inside the tower that relied on the "Rhythm of Heaven and Earth" simultaneously experienced violent fluctuations, with twelve nodes directly burning out their circuits.

He glanced at the estimated repair costs, his jaw tightening slightly.

The second document is the loss statistics transmitted from the branch tower.

Within those five seconds, all the Spirit Pagoda towers of the Federation experienced varying degrees of disruption in the transmission of Soul Power, and thirty-seven customers who were receiving the Pagoda Spirit's inheritance were forcibly interrupted.

The compensation and rescheduling for 37 cases was another number he didn't want to see.

The third document is the observation report.

The astronomical description of the event matched what he had heard from the Communications Authority—the moon had fallen, the sun had jumped, and within five seconds it went from midnight to noon.

Qiangu Dongfeng put the unlit cigarette in his mouth, took out a lighter from the drawer, lit it with a snap, brought it to his lips, took a drag, and then slowly exhaled a wisp of smoke.

The smoke dissipated slowly in the midday sun, like a grayish-white thread hanging down from between the fingers.

He Shrek the three words twice, as if he were holding a piece of candy that didn't taste right in his mouth.

He had a general idea of what Shrek and his gang had been up to lately.

He had heard about the God Trial; his family even worshipped a wicked god. He had met Yun Ming Yun Jingheng, twice; he was quite spirited, and his talent was indeed rare.

But he didn't expect the God Trial to be so commotion-inducing that it would even bring out the Sun Moon, and stars for a spin.

"There's no direct evidence. Even if it really was God Trial, they probably wouldn't admit it."

He muttered to himself, flicking cigarette ash from between his fingers into the crystal ashtray on the table with a soft "pop," "Should I try to see if I can make a penny?"

Of course, he wouldn't go looking for Long Yeyue.

The sound of an old woman's cane hitting your head is more convincing than any other evidence.

He was looking for Yun Ming —a person who held a half- Godhood, one of the de facto leaders of Shrek, and also a reasonable person.

Reasonable people are good at negotiating compensation.

Qiangu Dongfeng stubbed out his cigarette in the jar, picked up the Communication Soul Tool on the table, and dialed an encrypted channel.

Beep--beep--beep--

The other end answered on the fourth ring.

"Ancient times... cough cough, ancient times of the East?"

... You were just about to call him the Eternal Thief, weren't you?

"Cough."

"Pavilion Master," Qiangu Dongfeng leaned back in his chair, his tone relaxed as if he were discussing the weather, "The weather's nice today, isn't it?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end. Then Yun Ming said, "Master of the Ancient Tower, please speak plainly."

"Speak frankly? Okay."

Qiangu Dongfeng stacked the three reports on the table together, tapped the papers with his fingertips, and said, "Today's celestial disturbance damaged twelve nodes of the Spirit Pagoda Spirit's array, and the entire Federation's branch towers lost thirty-seven customers currently undergoing inheritance. I've calculated the losses, and they're approximately—"

"The Qiangu Dongfeng," Yun Ming interrupted him.

"Um?"

Why are you telling me all this?

"You dare say it has nothing to do with you?"

The person on the other end paused for a moment, then said, "It's alright. Today is the day my son condenses his first Soul Core. I remember your son at this age would be the kind who would come crying to you if he got a beating."

The Qiangu Dongfeng:...

His finger hovered over the edge of the ashtray, where the cigarette butt he had just stubbed out was still emitting its last wisp of smoke.

His lips twitched, then twitched again, before he slowly removed the Soul Guidance Communicator from his ear, glanced at the call icon on the screen, and confirmed that the person on the other end was indeed Yun Ming himself, and not some imposter who had heard some rumors and was causing trouble.

He opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again.

His son.

Condensing the Soul Core.

An unusual astronomical phenomenon.

Shrek, that thirteen-year-old kid, locked the moon above his head all night and all morning, then made the sun jump up to accompany his curtain call.

Qiangu Dongfeng switched the Soul Guidance Communicator from his right hand to his left and glanced down at his desktop.

The cigarette he had just lit was already partially burned, with ash hanging at the end, about to break off.

"Yun Ming."

He spoke, most of the slickness and ease in his voice gone, "You know why I made this call."

"I have no idea."

"..."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Yes."

"Clouds--! Darkness--!"

Yun Ming moved the phone about a hand's width away from his ear, and only put it back after he finished yelling.

The voice remained steady, even carrying a hint of genuine confusion. "I'm listening, please continue."

"You're saying it's okay after your son caused this?!"

"I never said my son did this."

The Qiangu Dongfeng, but Yun Ming ignorance!

He was about to say something when Yun Ming's voice came first, "I'll hang up now. There's a riot of Soul Beast along the Federation's coast. It's a serious matter. I'm going to check it out."

"No, it's not that --"

"Beep--Beep--Beep--"

What does the Sea Soul Beast uprising have to do with Shrek? That's something the Federation army can handle!