What Are You? Choose Now!

Led by the person in the lead, this group soon arrived in the skies above Shrek Academy.

Looking down, the dust and fog dispersed, the lifeless scene chilling to the bone.

Nearly two hours had passed since the launch.

Yet, even with the protection of the Origin armor, the residual heat waves still made Leng Yaozhu feel uncomfortable.

One could only imagine how terrifying the energy released during the initial explosion must have been!

"Is this the power of the soul-guided shells that Mingyue improved?"

After a moment of silence, Leng Yaozhu looked at Qiangu Mingyue with a mix of shock and adoration.

"Even with the protection of the Void Archives, and my own martial soul being fire-attributed, I still feel so hot standing here."

Following closely with her own impressions, Leng Yulai also looked at Qiangu Mingyue with equal shock and adoration.

"It's alright, I suppose." He merely nodded in response, resting his chin on his hand as he observed the residual energy in the surroundings.

"It's only city-level destruction energy; it seems it can only handle those at the Limit Douluo level."

Qiangu Mingyue shook his head with a hint of regret.

"Compared to that brain-dead setting where pure iron hidden weapons can injure gods, this is nothing."

"Should I say that the Children of Destiny are all cheaters?"

After sighing once more at the fortune of Little Scoundrel, Qiangu Mingyue changed the subject.

"Aside from those two old things recovering, I can also sense over a dozen fluctuations of energy that aren't too strong."

"It seems the Golden Ancient Tree of this Shrek Academy still has some tricks up its sleeve."

Looking in a certain direction with great interest, Qiangu Mingyue turned and began to walk that way: "Follow me."

The two sisters immediately followed, and the puppets—who only regained their original memories during combat—naturally kept pace with the trio.

Soon arriving before the Golden Ancient Tree, now reduced to nothing but a charred stump, Qiangu Mingyue stopped.

"Are you two old things still playing dead?"

A playful smile tugged at the corners of his mouth behind his faceplate as he gathered two spheres of soul power and hurled them straight at the old men's foreheads.

"...!" x2

The moment the whistling sound of the air being torn apart rang out, the two lying old men erupted with speed that defied their aged bodies.

They flashed to the side of the Golden Ancient Tree stump.

"Not bad, two old things, still half-alive after taking so much energy discharge."

"It seems the function of this Golden Ancient Tree is even greater than I imagined?"

Scanning the pair with his arms crossed, Qiangu Mingyue's gaze turned fervent as he looked at the Golden Ancient Tree.

"Spirit! Pagoda!!!"

"Qiangu! Mingyue!!!"

Seeing that the other party had no intention of hiding anything and was being so arrogant right in front of them, the two old things were suddenly filled with grievance and hatred! Thinking of the top-tier combatants who had sacrificed themselves for the academy, and the entire Shrek City built upon the glory of Shrek!

The eyes of the two old things as they looked at Qiangu Mingyue were instantly filled with a blood-red loathing!

"Why shout so loudly? We aren't hard of hearing like you two old things."

Yet, facing the death glares of two half-dead Limit Douluos, Qiangu Mingyue retorted with a leisurely, mocking tone.

"How can you, a fellow human, kill the continent's top combatants of an entire city without changing your expression! The future hope of the continent! You didn't even spare the ordinary people of the city!"

"Qiangu Mingyue! You are simply a demon! You don't have a shred of human emotion!"

Unable to hold back any longer, one of the old things broke down, roaring at Qiangu Mingyue with blood and tears streaming down his face.

"You demon! You will eventually be sanctioned by the Sea God!"

Although the other old man was also weeping blood in grief, his words carried no weight in Qiangu Mingyue's ears.

"Ah, yes, yes, I am a demon. It seems that ever since I succeeded as the Pagoda Master, I have never claimed to be anything else, have I?"

"Hasn't it always been you people who have been projecting your own fantasies onto me?"

Removing his faceplate to reveal a mocking expression, Qiangu Mingyue pointed to the charred stump of the Golden Ancient Tree:

"Alright, old things, I have no interest in arguing with you."

"Tell me the function and efficacy of this Golden Ancient Tree now, and I might spare the lives of the dozen or so little things remaining in the barrier beneath the tree."

With that, he snapped his fingers to summon the Void Archives, manifesting it as the Star of Eden floating beside the stump.

The ground next to the stump instantly collapsed, revealing a barrier protected by intertwined tree roots and special metals, containing over a dozen men and women who were waking up from their stupor in terror.

"How about it?"

Watching the scene with great interest, Qiangu Mingyue signaled for the puppets to spread out and encircle the area.

"...You...!"

Pointing at Qiangu Mingyue and stammering "you" for a long time, the old thing let his arm drop dejectedly and collapsed onto the ground.

"For the sake of the children, why don't we just tell him!"

After another bout of silence, the other old thing sighed mournfully.

"But that is... that is... that is!"

"It has already come to this! Shrek Academy exists in name only! If we can't even protect these few remaining children...!"

"Sigh!"

After arguing for a long time, both old things let out a synchronized, heavy sigh, and then one of them spoke up.

"I will be the sinner then! But the condition is that you, Qiangu Mingyue, must keep your word."

As he spoke, he stared intensely into Qiangu Mingyue's eyes, his expression one of grave determination.

"Hehehe, one second you're scolding me for lacking human emotions, and the next you're demanding I keep my word."

"I have to say, you old thing really have amused this Tower Master."

Clapping his hands with a grin, Qiangu Mingyue turned his gaze toward him, his expression turning cold and indifferent:

"What kind of thing do you think you are? A half-dead old geezer like you is worthy of making demands?"

"You only have one choice now: either take your so-called secret to the grave, or use it to trade for a chance at life for those little things."

"Now, choose."

Toying with the Void Archives in his hand, Qiangu Mingyue glanced at the dozen or so men and women who were about to rush out as the barrier gradually dissipated.

"The Golden Ancient Tree was transplanted tens of thousands of years ago by a great predecessor of our Shrek Academy using supreme methods."

"Its essence is an ancient tree containing immense life force; not only can it continuously absorb the heaven and earth energy from the outside world and condense it within its own body for purification,"

"but it can even feed this purified energy back out for us soul masters to cultivate! Because of this, practicing in the vicinity of the Golden Ancient Tree yields twice the result with half the effort!"

Having reached this point, he looked at Qiangu Mingyue, only to see the other's expression remained indifferent.

He kept glancing from time to time at the restless young men and women who were about to emerge not far away.

A wave of sorrow washed over the old thing's heart, and with a long sigh, he put away his petty schemes and stopped holding anything back.