Arbitrary Eternity Desolate Heaven Emperor

Four in the morning, the back hills of Shrek Academy.

Shi Hao opened his eyes and climbed down from the bed he had repaired after its frame cracked.

He glanced at his roommates. Han Li's breathing was steady, but he was clearly awake. Xiao Yan was curled up in the corner, snoring, while Wang Lin leaned against the wall like a statue.

He didn't say goodbye. He climbed straight out the window.

Xiao Yan mumbled in his sleep, "Thirty years east of the river... Don't steal my chicken leg..."

Han Li opened his eyes, glanced out the window, then closed them again.

Shi Hao went to the back hills.

He picked a mountain—not too big, not too small, just right for practicing his punches.

"Arbitrary Eternity!"

His first punch slammed into the mountainside, sending rocks flying.

"Suppress everything!"

His second punch caved in the mountainside, cracks spreading outward.

"Across the eternal heavens, I'll shatter them with one punch!"

His third punch made the entire mountain tremble.

Shi Hao stood before the mountain. His bare upper body gleamed bronze in the moonlight, and his fists were already a bloody mess, but he didn't care.

He punched. He kept punching.

No form, no routine, no technique.

Just one punch after another, each heavier and faster than the last.

Every punch came with those four words: Arbitrary Eternity.

On the first day, the mountain was still standing.

Hundreds more fist marks covered the mountainside, packed together like a honeycomb. Blood dripped from Shi Hao's hands and pooled on the ground. He stared at the mountain, dissatisfied.

"Not enough."

He kept punching.

On the second day, Shi Hao came back.

Cracks had appeared in the mountain, stretching from its peak to its foot as if an invisible blade had cleaved it in two.

Flender stood at the office window, frowning as he watched the commotion in the distance, but he didn't think much of it.

Young people exercising was normal.

On the third day.

Bombs away!

The mountain collapsed.

Rocks poured down like a waterfall, dust billowed into the sky, and the ground trembled for miles around.

Everyone at Shrek Academy was jolted awake.

Dai Mubai leaped out of bed. "We're under attack?"

Oscar clutched a sausage and trembled. "Has Spirit Hall attacked?"

Xiao Wu rubbed her eyes. "Was that an earthquake?"

Tang San rushed outside at once. When he saw the dust rising from the back hills, his expression turned grim.

And Shi Hao stood amid the ruins, covered in dust, his hands dripping with blood. He threw back his head and laughed. "Good! Good! Good! Now that's Arbitrary Eternity!"

An hour later, in Flender's office.

A village representative sat in a chair, crying so hard his nose was running. "Headmaster, that muscle-bound lunatic from your academy punched our mountain to pieces!"

Flender's hand trembled as he poured tea. "Punched... it to pieces?"

"It's gone! There isn't even a scrap left! That mountain was our village's blessed land. Our ancestral graves are at its foot! Now they're exposed to the elements, and our ancestors are going to come into my dreams and curse me!"

The villager sobbed even harder.

Flender took a deep breath and turned to Shi Hao, who stood in the corner. "Shi Hao, why do you punch the mountain every day?"

Shi Hao stood bolt upright, his expression earnest. "I'm practicing Arbitrary Eternity."

Flender's mouth twitched. "...What does Arbitrary Eternity mean?"

Shi Hao's eyes lit up, as if someone had finally asked about the subject he knew best. "It means that with one punch, all eternity withers and heaven and earth are reborn. The past, present, and future—all of it vanishes beneath that one punch. That's true power, true—"

"Stop, stop, stop." Flender raised a hand to cut him off, then turned to Yu Xiaogang, who was flipping through a book beside him. "Xiaogang, what do you think?"

Yu Xiaogang pushed up his glasses, his expression blank. "Signs of a split personality. I recommend isolation."

Flender nodded. "I think so too."

Shi Hao looked at them in confusion. "I'm not sick."

"People who are sick always say they aren't." Flender sighed. "How about this? From now on, don't punch the mountain. The village owns it, and you'll have to pay for any damage."

Shi Hao thought about it. "Then what should I punch?"

Flender looked out the window and pointed to an empty lot. "There's an open space over there. Go punch that."

"An empty lot has no target."

"Punch the air."

"What's the point of punching air?"

Flender took a deep breath, fighting the urge to throw Shi Hao out of the room. "Then punch wooden posts. The academy will make some for you."

Shi Hao reluctantly agreed.

But his eyes told Flender he wasn't satisfied.

When Shi Hao went to find Zhu Zhuqing, he was covered in blood.

His fists were still bleeding, and as he walked, drops fell behind him, leaving a red trail along the corridor.

Ning Rongrong jumped in fright when she saw him. "Shi Hao, are you hurt?"

Shi Hao lowered his eyes to his hands, as if only just noticing them. "Oh, this? It's nothing."

"Your bones are showing, and you're saying it's nothing?"

Shi Hao ignored her and walked straight up to Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing was practicing her claw techniques in the courtyard. Her Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul required extreme speed and strength, and she trained here every morning.

Shi Hao stopped in front of her. "You're an agility-type Soul Elder?"

Zhu Zhuqing lowered her claws and looked at him coldly. "Yes."

"Fight me."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't fight lunatics."

Shi Hao tilted his head and studied Zhu Zhuqing.

This woman was cold—colder than anyone he had ever met. Her eyes were like ice, her expression was like ice, and she was like a walking block of ice.

But there was something about her that interested him: her killing intent.

Shi Hao grinned. "Are you scared?"

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes narrowed slightly.

The expression lasted on her face for only a fraction of a second, but anyone who knew her well would recognize it as a sign she was about to get angry.

"...Fine."

The training ground.

All of the Shrek Seven Devils were there, purely to watch the spectacle.

Han Li, Xiao Yan, and Wang Lin had come too. They stood in the distance, each leaning wherever they pleased, their postures different but their expressions the same: they were there to watch.

Dai Mubai frowned. "Is Senior Sister Zhu really going to fight him?"

Ma Hongjun gnawed on a chicken leg. "Let them fight. That lunatic deserves a beating."

Tang San looked worried. "Brother Shi Hao hasn't recovered yet. He got hurt badly punching the mountain yesterday..."

Xiao Yan scoffed. "Why do you care? He wants to do it."

On the field, Zhu Zhuqing and Shi Hao stood facing each other.

Zhu Zhuqing released her Martial Soul and merged with her Hell Spirit Cat. Her speed instantly increased severalfold, her figure blurring as if she had merged with the air.

Shi Hao stood where he was, feet planted apart and fists clenched.

He didn't release a Martial Soul. He didn't have one—or perhaps he simply disdained using it. He stood there like an iron tower.

The fight began.

Zhu Zhuqing struck first. She moved so fast that the naked eye could barely follow her. In an instant, she appeared behind Shi Hao, her claws stabbing toward the back of his neck.

An ordinary person would have dodged or blocked.

Shi Hao twisted around and punched.

No form, no routine—just one punch.

Zhu Zhuqing's pupils contracted. She forcibly withdrew her attack and dodged to the side.

Shi Hao's fist swept past her cheek, its wind scraping painfully against her skin.

"Barely..." Zhu Zhuqing thought, shaken. If that punch had landed, she might already have been down.

But as an agility-type Soul Elder, her greatest advantage wasn't her attack power. It was her speed.

Zhu Zhuqing changed tactics. Instead of trying to finish the fight with one strike, she used her speed to keep moving and harass him. Every attack was a quick touch before she retreated, giving Shi Hao no chance to counter.

Shi Hao stood in place like a trapped beast.

He swung and missed. Then swung again and missed again.

Each of Zhu Zhuqing's attacks skimmed past him, leaving a shallow streak of blood before she swiftly disappeared.

More than a dozen wounds appeared on Shi Hao's body, but he didn't seem to notice.

He closed his eyes.

Everyone was stunned.

"What's he doing?" Oscar asked.

Dai Mubai shook his head. "I don't know."

With his eyes closed, Shi Hao felt the way the wind flowed, the currents of air Zhu Zhuqing stirred as she moved, and the faint pulse of killing intent that came just before each of her attacks.

Then he punched.

It wasn't a wild swing. His fist shot precisely toward a certain direction.

Zhu Zhuqing was about to attack from the right when she suddenly saw Shi Hao's fist already waiting there. Cold sweat broke out across her body. She forced herself to change direction and barely dodged it.

"Instinct?" Zhu Zhuqing couldn't believe it. This wasn't prediction. It was pure combat instinct.

The fight grew even more intense. Though Shi Hao kept his eyes closed, each punch put Zhu Zhuqing in mortal danger. His fists seemed to have eyes, always finding her position.

But the difference in speed was real.

An hour later, Shi Hao ran out of strength.

He stood there, covered in wounds, his hands dripping blood, panting like an ox.

Zhu Zhuqing was tired too, but she was in far better shape. With her final attack, she struck Shi Hao in the chest with her claw, knocking him to the ground.

Shi Hao lay on the training ground, staring at the sky.

Then he smiled.

He laughed loudly.

"Good! That was exhilarating! Let's fight again tomorrow!"

Zhu Zhuqing stood at the edge of the field. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at the boy lying on the ground, laughing like a lunatic.

"Lunatic." She turned and left.

But the corner of her mouth seemed to lift ever so slightly.

Tang San had watched the entire fight.

He walked over to Shi Hao, crouched beside him, and said earnestly, "Brother Shi Hao, you need to use a proper fighting style. You can't just throw punches wildly."

Shi Hao lay still. "What style?"

Tang San thought about it. "For example, use Soul Skills, calculate distance, predict your opponent, control the pace..."

Shi Hao cut him off. "That's too much trouble. One punch from me will solve everything."

Tang San patiently explained, "But you didn't solve the problem with one punch today. You lost."

Shi Hao finally turned his head to look at Tang San. His eyes were so clear that Tang San felt his own words sounded ridiculous.

"It's because I'm not strong enough yet," Shi Hao said, his tone as calm as if he were stating a fact. "Once I'm stronger, one punch will be enough to blow everything apart."

Tang San opened his mouth. He wanted to say, "Combat isn't that simple," and, "Skill and strategy matter too."

But as he looked into Shi Hao's eyes, he suddenly felt there was no point in saying anything.

This person had nothing in his world but fists.

If one punch wasn't enough, then two. If two weren't enough, then a hundred. If he couldn't win, he'd train until he could.

It was that simple.

Tang San got up and walked away in silence.

Xiao Wu was waiting for him. "Third Brother, did you convince him?"

Tang San shook his head. "No. I realized... I'm not really in a position to convince him."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't refute what he said." Tang San looked at his hands. "I used to think that if I had enough strength, I could solve anything too. But later I realized that strength alone wasn't enough. You also needed skill, strategy, and hidden trump cards..."

Xiao Wu said, "So you were right."

Tang San gave a bitter smile. "But he's right too. He's getting stronger in his own way, and I'm getting stronger in mine. Who says that a slower, clumsier way can't be the right one?"

Xiao Wu paused, then smiled. "Third Brother, you're awfully articulate today."

Tang San smiled too, but then he added, "Resurrect, my—"

Xiao Wu slapped him. "Shut up!"

Shi Hao was still lying on the training ground.

He looked at the sky. It was blue, and the clouds were white.

"Arbitrary Eternity," he murmured.

Then he rolled over, got to his feet, and started doing push-ups again.

"Ten thousand and one... ten thousand and two..."

Han Li watched from afar and silently wrote a line in his ledger: Shi Hao, battle maniac, impossible to defeat by force; outsmart him.

Xiao Yan took one look and left, muttering, "A lunatic. Even crazier than me."

Wang Lin leaned against the wall. As he watched Shi Hao, he felt a little perplexed:

"This venerable self has seen plenty of lunatics, but never one this crazy."