Gains and Losses

"Shameless!"

"Absolutely shameless!"

"How can anyone be this shameless?"

The rabbit had completely forgotten to be wary of this strange dream at the beginning. She'd also forgotten all the many things that had seemed wrong earlier,

and as time passed, she became more and more emotionally invested.

In the latest scene, Yu Xiaogang secretly observed Huang Tian's training methods, various exercises, physical conditioning, and training equipment, then compiled them into a book and published them under his own name.

The rabbit was instantly furious, cursing him out at the top of her lungs.

She'd already noticed this man's hypocrisy in the previous scenes, but she'd never imagined he could sink to such shameless depths.

Those things had all been developed by Huang Tian through years of trial and error, starting when he was a child.

Yet Yu Xiaogang had brazenly declared, "Who says that discovering Huang Tian isn't the same as discovering his methods?" and "Only a master theorist like me can bring out the full potential of these results."

He hadn't blushed, his heart hadn't skipped a beat. He'd argued his case with utter conviction, without a hint of shame.

Or else he'd acted as if he were the one who'd suffered some great injustice, full of anguish and lamentation.

Plagiarizing and stealing Huang Tian's research was bad enough. When Huang Tian went to confront him, he'd only shown a little anger—

and Yu Xiaogang had immediately accused him of having a violent temper, swearing, lacking manners, disrespecting his teacher, failing to care for his classmates, being petty, and being narrow-minded, then spread those claims everywhere.

And Yu Xiaogang's disciple, Tang San, was a shameless lackey. No matter what this guy said, right or wrong, Tang San treated it as gospel.

Even the dean, Flender, turned a blind eye to Yu Xiaogang's blatant wrongdoing, covered for him, and tried to smooth things over.

But whenever Huang Tian did even the slightest thing wrong, Flender would make a mountain out of a molehill and scold him.

If Ning Rongrong hadn't stepped in to support Huang Tian at the critical moment, a dignified Soul Saint would have used force to punish a Soul Elder.

The rabbit grew angrier with every scene, gritting her teeth as she muttered in confusion:

"What's the point of staying in a dump like this, surrounded by trash like them? Why not get the hell out of here? Does he enjoy being miserable?"

Just then, Xiao Wu in the scene asked the very same question.

Beneath a moon dotted with sparse stars, outside the village where the academy stood, Huang Tian and Xiao Wu strolled through an endless stretch of fields.

They walked hand in hand along a narrow ridge between the fields, their free hands reaching out on either side. Like people stroking an animal's fur, they let the wheat awns brush across their palms.

All around them, it was so quiet that even the sound of their shoes brushing against the grass was crystal clear.

"Xiao Wu, I want to tell you a secret. I want to tell the one person who's family to me—my little sister. A huge secret no one has ever known."

"What is it?"

"I shouldn't have had any innate Soul Power. Just like my parents, I should've had zero innate Soul Power and the lowest-grade Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Unless something unexpected happened, I would've spent my whole life farming, then died and been buried on that little hill."

"That can't be right. You clearly had Innate Full Soul Power, and Twin Martial Souls."

Xiao Wu in the dream and the rabbit watching it were both stunned.

No words could accurately describe the force of the shock they felt at that moment.

Innate Soul Power was a watershed that determined a person's fate, a hundred thousand times more important than the amniotic fluid they'd been born in. If there were some way to acquire or increase it after birth—

She couldn't make predictions about upheaving the world or shaking the balance of power like some worldly sage, but she knew it would certainly be an earth-shattering event.

Huang Tian smiled faintly.

"The most likely reason I awakened with Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls was that I accidentally ate a strange flower.

"Do you remember what I told you about my childhood?"

"Of course. Your parents died when you were four, and you cooked, did laundry, grew vegetables, gathered herbs, and even hunted all by yourself."

"Among ordinary mountain villages, Di Hun Village was relatively prosperous. The mountains and rivers nearby made it rich in resources, and Soul Masters were born there from time to time to protect the peace.

"The neighbors all got along well.

"After my parents died, the village chief came to me and said he planned to have me learn a trade. That way, even if I failed to awaken Soul Power, I'd still have a way to make a living.

"There were dozens of trades in the village: blacksmiths, carpenters, stonemasons, herbalists, sauce makers, potters, musicians, and more.

"Since my parents had both died of illness, I chose to become an herbalist. I studied under a gatherer, learning how to recognize and prepare medicinal herbs.

"From then on, I realized I was clever—far cleverer than ordinary people. Even when I deliberately held back, I still often startled my master. His eyes would bulge as he cried out that I was a little monster.

"One day, I suddenly had a bold idea. If lacking Soul Power was an illness, what kind of medicine could cure it?

"When my master had nothing left to teach me, I began secretly gathering and taking herbs that strengthened the body and had few side effects. I also kept an eye out for rare flowers and plants.

"One day, I got lost while gathering herbs and ran into a pack of wolves. I thought I was about to be eaten.

"But when I reached a certain place, the wolves that had nearly caught up with me stopped and hesitated, as if they didn't dare go any farther.

"There, I found a flower. The moment I ate it, I felt a distinct warmth flowing through my body. Later, I awakened with Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power."

Huang Tian stopped, opened his palm toward the sky, then clenched it tightly.

Then he slowly drew his fist back to his chest, his face filled with rapture.

"From that moment on, I knew I'd obtained the key to mastering this world.

"And from that moment on, I suddenly felt that the world shouldn't be like this.

"Those who kill and burn their way to wealth wear golden belts, while those who build bridges and pave roads die without a grave. Fine wine and meat rot behind the vermilion gates, while frozen corpses lie by the roadside.

"The children of slaves are slaves forever, and the children of nobles are nobles forever.

"And there are wars, diseases, slaughter, hunger, poverty... all kinds of evil, all kinds of injustice.

"I decided to change it.

"Xiao Wu, have you ever wondered why I keep getting entangled with Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, even though I know they're hypocrites and shameless?

"Have you wondered why I stay here even though I know Shrek isn't a good place and Flender isn't a good man?

"Because there are things here that I want.

"Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, as well as Ma Hongjun and Oscar, all have their flaws, but those flaws can be corrected.

"If I win them over and nurture them with care, they can become the foundation of a great enterprise, help me claim this world, and ultimately change it.

"Shrek selects these geniuses, then fails to value or cherish them, even abuses them without restraint. That's fine. I'll be the one to cherish and value them.

"And besides, Flender and Yu Xiaogang's stupidity makes my wisdom shine. Their wickedness makes my goodness shine. Their injustice makes my righteousness stand out.

"Flender thinks he's cunning, and Yu Xiaogang thinks he's clever. They don't realize they're gaining only the moment, only petty profit, while I'm gaining what lasts forever: the hearts of the people.

"To make people's hearts the battlefield—that's the grandest, most stirring strategy of all."