Under the escort of Qiangu Dieting and Snake Emperor Douluo, Elder Gu, Yun Ming, and the others—whose limbs had been severed and who had been left on the ground—were brought to a stop in front of Ming Yue and the Leng Sisters.
"People are mostly foolish. It seems you're no exception." Looking at them gently, Ming Yue smiled faintly.
"Cough... You dress it up in such grand words, but this is nothing more than the victor becoming king and the loser becoming a bandit."
"Heh, how could a cold-blooded person like you understand the bonds between us?"
Forcibly swallowing a mouthful of blood, Elder Gu leaned against Yun Ming and sneered in reply.
"The victor becomes king, and the loser becomes a bandit... So you know that old saying too." Looking at him with interest, Ming Yue suddenly chuckled.
"To hear it from you, one of Shrek's 'pillars of support'—whose status is equal to that of Qiangu Dieting, the Supreme Elder of my Spirit Pagoda—is quite amusing."
Frowning at Ming Yue, Elder Gu continued to sneer, though he didn't understand why Ming Yue had said that.
"How is what your Spirit Pagoda is doing any different from the Spirit Hall our ancestor Tang San faced back then?"
"The Sea God Clan! The Tang Sect! Shrek Academy! Is the Sun Moon Federation next?"
The more Elder Gu spoke, the more fired up he became. He felt as though his wounds didn't hurt quite so much anymore.
"Ancestor Tang San? Hahahaha!" The old man had hit a nerve with that remark, and Ming Yue could barely hold back his laughter.
But soon, he calmed down. "You're right. My next target is indeed the Sun Moon Federation, and even the entire Douluo Continent."
"How about it? Are you furious? Do you want to kill me?"
Speaking in a teasing tone, Ming Yue slowly came to stand before him and looked down at him.
"..."
Instinctively, Elder Gu tried to swing a punch at Ming Yue's handsome face, but his arm ended in empty space, and he felt nothing.
Elder Gu simply closed his eyes. "It's come to this. You can kill me or dismember me as you please. I only ask that you let me die the same way as Elder Bei."
His voice was calm as he pushed Yun Ming away.
"Elder Gu..." Yun Ming lowered his head in silence.
"The same way as Heaven-Gifted Douluo?" His playful expression fading, Ming Yue looked toward the Golden Ancient Tree.
Watching the blue-gold thread as it was gradually devoured, he said:
"Only recognizing who he truly was at the moment of death, he struck back against the life that had been laid out for him!"
"Do you think you have the resolve to do the same?"
Crouching down to meet Elder Gu's closed eyes, Ming Yue's voice was full of authority.
"...?" Elder Gu opened his eyes instinctively, bewildered for a moment. "What are you talking about?"
"Heh, that was Elder Bei's way of dying. It represented only him and his teacher, who had committed a grave error. They went to face death."
As he rose, Ming Yue turned his back on Elder Gu, his voice languid.
"...What exactly do you mean?" Elder Gu looked at Ming Yue with even greater confusion and tried to get up.
But his limbs were empty, and all he could do was lift his chin.
Seeing this, Yun Ming returned to Elder Gu's side and helped him up.
"Heh... How about it? Do you still think you have the resolve to do the same?" Ming Yue's calm voice seemed to drift in from a distant horizon. Elder Gu and Yun Ming looked at each other in silence, their expressions complicated.
"...Heh. The two of us have been at odds our whole lives. I never thought that, even at the very end, that old man Bei would beat me to it."
After a moment of silence, Elder Gu suddenly laughed.
"Yun Ming, your teacher must have taught you that hand seal. Show it to me now."
Looking toward the Golden Ancient Tree inside the Divine Grace Barrier with a look of acceptance, Elder Gu spoke calmly.
"Elder Gu... You...!" Yun Ming looked at him with a complicated expression, words caught in his throat.
"...That old man Bei was right. Shrek, oh Shrek... It had truly perished the moment our predecessors began merging with the Golden Ancient Tree!"
With a sigh, Elder Gu raised his head, then turned to Yun Ming. "I spent my whole life competing with your teacher. Since he could atone for his own teacher's sins..."
"Then after enjoying Shrek's resources and cultivation for so many years, I too have the right to atone for the sins of our predecessors!"
"Don't say another word. Show me the hand seal, Yun Ming!"
His voice almost became a plea by the end, and a glimmer of tears appeared in Elder Gu's eyes.
"..."
After a long, long silence, Yun Ming suddenly laughed twice.
Then his expression, too, eased into acceptance. "You're right. Shrek perished long ago."
"If this is atonement, then as my teacher's disciple, I'm just like you! I, too, have enjoyed Shrek's resources and cultivation for all these years!"
"If my teacher can atone, and you can atone, why can't I, Yun Ming!?"
"It's only a Martial Soul Avatar. I, Yun Ming, can do it too!"
Picking Elder Gu up in his arms, Yun Ming looked at Ming Yue and was about to speak.
Just then, more than ten men and women behind him—every one of them at least a peak Soul Douluo—came to his side!
"Boss Yun! I can do it too!"
"It's only a Martial Soul Avatar! I can do it too, Brother Ming!"
"Hahaha! Who would've thought that, in the end, I'd get to die alongside Brother Yun and atone for our predecessors? What a joy!"
"..."
As lively and spirited as they had been when they first met, the young men and women gathered around Yun Ming, laughing.
"Everyone...!" Yun Ming's eyes reddened at once. He pressed his lips together hard.
Under everyone's gaze, he nodded with a smile. "Good! Then let's write the final chapter for Shrek, which perished long ago!"
"Good!" x10+
"I take back what I said about you being foolish." Clapping as he looked at them, Ming Yue smiled warmly in praise.
"Human nature may be fickle, but in this inevitable final act, you've shown me a rare brilliance."
"True geniuses of Shrek, just as I thought!" At this, Ming Yue's smile faded, and he continued solemnly:
"I, Qiangu Mingyue, as the master of the Spirit Pagoda, promise that your story will be recorded in the textbooks of the continent."
"As the last, and the true, members of Shrek, you gave your lives for the future of the continent!"
As though they had heard the sincerity in Ming Yue's words, Yun Ming, Elder Gu, and the dozen or so Shrek students simply nodded.
"Although I don't know why you made that request of me... I'm sorry, Miss Yao Zhu and Miss Yulai. I, Yun Ming, am a complete scumbag."
"So let us Shrek members do one last thing for this continent, Tower Master Ming Yue!"
After bowing sincerely to Leng Yaozhu and Leng Yulai, Yun Ming looked steadily at Ming Yue.
"...All right. Let's do it."
Meeting his gaze for a moment, Ming Yue nodded and turned around.
He led them to the Divine Grace Barrier and repeated what he had said to Elder Bei earlier.
And so, inside the Divine Grace Barrier, Yun Ming set Elder Gu down and laughed. "...Everyone! Are you ready?"
"Ready!" x10+
"Hahaha! Then let's charge! I'm Yun Ming, a student of Shrek!"
After forming several hand seals, Yun Ming seemed to merge with his Heaven-Propping Spear. Leaving behind one last burst of laughter, he plunged headfirst into the Golden Ancient Tree!
"We're coming too! We're the last students of Shrek! Hahahaha...!"
Their dazzling Martial Soul Avatars appeared one after another, and with laughter, the young men and women also plunged into the Golden Ancient Tree!
"Hahahaha! Youngsters, how can I let you beat me to it at a time like this? Elder Bei, I'm coming to find you!"
His final Martial Soul Avatar appeared, and Elder Gu plunged headfirst into the Golden Ancient Tree!
Brilliant light blazed inside the Divine Grace Barrier. As the 'golden paint' devouring it multiplied, the blue-gold thread disappeared completely from the Golden Ancient Tree!
Before you continue