Zhang Tianyu slowly opened his eyes, then his spirits lifted.
It wasn't the same time, but it was the same public restroom—no, the same street in Nuoding City.
He stood up and looked at his body. Sure enough, he had shrunk back to the state he'd been in at six years old.
Mom, I've turned young again!
Good!
That bit of nonsense was over. Zhang Tianyu's expression turned cold.
In his previous life, he'd also transmigrated here, becoming a six-year-old boy. He'd joined Notting Academy and gone undercover beside Tang San and Yu Xiaogang,
taking on missions issued by the system and using all kinds of methods to mess with those two, making them endure every sort of disaster and suffering.
In return, Zhang Tianyu had grown stronger, bit by bit.
It had all been going wonderfully,
Tang San and Yu Xiaogang had both been tortured into depression,
and Zhang Tianyu had soared all the way to Titled Douluo, on the verge of breaking through the heavens and becoming a god,
when the men behind Tang San showed up.
Asura God, Sea God, and the inexplicably appearing Douluo Will—
they played dirty and ambushed Zhang Tianyu, a mere sixteen-year-old kid.
At the critical moment, the system stepped in, taking Zhang Tianyu out of their ambush and back to the starting point of it all—the moment he'd first transmigrated, and the very place where he'd arrived.
Everyone's memories had been reset, except for Zhang Tianyu's and the system's.
The price was that all the power Zhang Tianyu had gained was sealed away for now. He'd have to complete the system's missions to unlock it bit by bit and eventually reclaim his strength.
Zhang Tianyu rolled his neck.
Starting the whole Douluo journey over again didn't bother him. He'd already planned to have some fun in Douluo, maybe play through a second or third run or whatever.
Having his strength sealed wasn't a big deal, either. He liked using cheats to instantly crush everything in his path, but he also enjoyed building up his strength and growing step by step.
What really made him angry was that those gods and the Douluo Will had openly broken the rules, joining forces to ambush him, a mere mortal.
He'd only been dealing with Yu Xiaogang and Tang San before, and he hadn't particularly hated the Gods. As long as they didn't bother him, he wouldn't go out of his way to pick a fight with them.
But he hadn't expected those gods to keep prattling on about the laws of the Divine Realm while openly breaking them to deal with him.
"You want to play? This time, I'll play along properly." Zhang Tianyu looked up at the sky, a cold glint in his eyes.
Two streets away from Notting Academy.
Yu Xiaogang had finished wandering around and was heading back toward the academy at an unhurried pace.
Watching the perfectly ordinary Yu Xiaogang from his hiding place, Zhang Tianyu's lips curled into a kindly smile.
He was finally seeing this normal Yu Xiaogang again.
The Yu Xiaogang before him might have been a good-for-nothing, but he always looked calm and collected, confident and composed, as though everything was under his control.
It had to be said, that air of his was pretty convincing. Anyone who didn't know him would probably be fooled, just like Tang San, and think he was some worldly expert.
Watching Yu Xiaogang stroll along, Zhang Tianyu rubbed his chin.
Just then, a long-missed system notification sounded: "Notice: Mission received..."
"Hold on," Zhang Tianyu said in his mind. "Are we messing with him again?"
The system replied, "Not only that. You must not only mess with him, but turn him into a laughingstock, someone everyone can ridicule and mock."
A kindly smile spread across Zhang Tianyu's face. "Just what I wanted! Tang San, too! Damn it, the men behind him dared to ambush me, so I'm getting even! This time, I won't just drive him and Tang San crazy. I'll tear them down completely, bit by bit!"
"Notice: Mission received: [I'm Back!] Mission objective: Give Yu Xiaogang a welcome-back present and make him guess who has returned. Any method is allowed, with no restrictions or consequences, but you must not kill him. You must also make him a laughingstock among those around him."
"Mission rewards: Activate [First Martial Soul · Yellow Springs], obtain Innate Full Soul Power, and receive mission item [Martial Soul Hall Certificate]."
"The Martial Soul Hall Certificate will list your Martial Soul as [Wooden Sword] and your Soul Power as level 3. The system will also disguise you accordingly, Master."
Hearing this, Zhang Tianyu opened his status list. Sure enough—
Name: Zhang Tianyu
Level: 0
Martial Soul: None
Good grief, they'd reset everything way too thoroughly. It was all back to its original state.
"Notice: Master, without this, you wouldn't be able to conceal your presence completely from the Douluo Will."
"Understood." Zhang Tianyu nodded, closed the status screen, and opened the system shop to search for an item.
Turning him into a laughingstock? That was easy. Far too easy!
He quickly picked an item.
The system was still pretty generous. Even after the reset, every item could still be tried for free once. Not bad!
He selected the item, aimed at Yu Xiaogang, and tapped Use!
Breathing in the familiar air of Third Street in Nuoding City and basking in the gentle morning sunlight, Yu Xiaogang wore a lazy, peaceful expression.
Though he was a good-for-nothing, and though he'd endured plenty of mockery, ridicule, and contempt in his younger days,
luckily, nobody here laughed at him.
Well, at least nobody dared to laugh at him openly.
In any case, it had been a long time since he'd heard anyone laughing at him. Life without people mocking him was wonderful!
Just as he was thinking this,
suddenly—
"Pfft—"
A snicker came from behind him.
He frowned and looked back, only to see a passerby covering his mouth as he laughed, looking at Yu Xiaogang as if he were some ridiculous joke.
Yu Xiaogang's frown deepened. What was wrong with this guy?
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's scowl, the passerby coughed, stopped laughing, and quickly turned to leave.
But Yu Xiaogang noticed that even after turning away, the man glanced back at him several times, laughing as he watched.
"Idiot," he muttered to himself, turning around and continuing toward Notting Academy.
He hadn't gone far when he heard another snicker from behind him.
"Look, look at that guy~"
He turned around again and saw two young women looking at him.
When they saw him turn, the two women stopped laughing and hurried away, still laughing and whispering to each other as they went.
What the hell?!
Yu Xiaogang looked baffled. He checked his clothes; nothing was wrong. Then he pulled a small mirror from his pocket and examined his face. It looked normal.
What was going on?
Right then, another snicker came from behind him.
This time, it was loud. Yu Xiaogang whipped around and saw a few children holding candied hawthorn skewers, laughing at him.
Unable to hold back, Yu Xiaogang asked, "What are you laughing at?"
The children laughed even louder, pulled a few faces at him, then ran off, howling with laughter.
Yu Xiaogang was utterly baffled. He muttered to himself, "What's wrong with everyone on this street today? What's the matter with them?"
He hadn't wanted to pay them any mind, but the farther he walked, the more snickering he heard behind him.
Every time he turned around, the people laughing at him would immediately stop and look elsewhere or turn and leave.
He asked a few people about it, but they all said they weren't laughing at him. He was starting to feel annoyed.
It felt just like back when everyone had found out he'd gone from being the young master of the Blue Lightning Family to a complete waste, and they'd pointed at him, mocked him, and laughed at him.
Like a thorn in his back!
He picked up the pace and hurried toward Notting Academy,
but all kinds of snickering kept coming from behind him.
Yu Xiaogang slowly clenched his fists, veins rising on the backs of his hands.
What was wrong with these people? Why were they laughing at him?
But he couldn't even get angry, because whenever he asked, they all said they weren't laughing at him!
What could he do?
He couldn't exactly say, "You've gone too far! I've put up with you for ages! You're clearly laughing at me! You haven't stopped once!"
If he did, he'd look like he was making a fuss over nothing.
At last, he passed the street corner. The tower of Notting Academy's main building was already in sight, and Yu Xiaogang felt a little more at ease.
But then the snickering came from behind him again.
At last, he could take no more. He whirled around and glared at the group of young men. "What the hell are you laughing at?!"
His shout was loud, drawing the attention of many people. Quite a few looked at Yu Xiaogang. Then some of their expressions changed, and all of them burst out laughing!
Yu Xiaogang was so furious he was about to speak when the shopkeeper at the corner blinked in surprise, hurried out, and said, "Isn't this Grandmaster? Grandmaster, you... there's a piece of paper on your back?!"
"What?" Yu Xiaogang froze. "A piece of paper?!"
The shopkeeper peeled it off his back and handed it to him. Yu Xiaogang took it and looked. His vision went black, and he nearly died of anger on the spot!
The paper had six big characters written on it—
I'm a big dumbass!
Beside them was a dog pissing on a lamppost, with a hilariously lifelike stupid grin on its face.
Yu Xiaogang's vision really did go black!
Damn it!
No wonder everyone had been looking at him and laughing!
No wonder!
How infuriating!
Who the hell did this?!
Who was so disgusting and bored that they'd stuck this thing on his back?!
Yu Xiaogang couldn't describe how he felt. Just a moment ago, he'd been the unhurried, all-knowing Grandmaster, brimming with confidence.
Then he turned around—I'm a big dumbass.
The contrast was ridiculous!
"What happened, Grandmaster?" The shopkeeper looked at the paper, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Yu Xiaogang said nothing. With a dark expression, he carried the paper away at a brisk pace.
In the shadow of the wall, Zhang Tianyu laughed until he could hardly breathe!
It might have been a little childish, but he hadn't expected it to work so remarkably well!
"Notice: Congratulations, mission complete! Reward received..."
"Master! Yellow Springs pays respects to you!"
Hearing that familiar voice and feeling that familiar presence, Zhang Tianyu looked up at Tang San and Old Jack standing at the entrance to Notting Academy. A kindly smile spread across his face once more.
Tang San, Ah San! We meet again.
Don't worry. This time, I'll take even better care of you!
Before you continue