"Y-You... who are you?"
Xiao Wu asked loudly, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
The young man slowly rose to his feet. With a single step, he appeared three feet in front of Xiao Wu.
"Who I am doesn't matter."
"What matters is, why has a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit like you left the Star Dou Great Forest and come all the way to Heaven Dou City?"
Long Yun's expression was calm as he revealed Xiao Wu's greatest secret.
At the words "Soft Bone Rabbit," Xiao Wu's face turned deathly pale.
She stumbled backward, her hands protectively raised in front of her chest, her eyes filled with fear.
"Y-You... how do you know who I am?"
Looking at her frightened expression, Long Yun helplessly pointed toward the sky.
"Weren't you watching the scenes on the Sky Screen just now?"
Xiao Wu froze, then blankly looked up. A world-shaking thought flashed through her mind.
She stared at Long Yun, her wide eyes filled with shock.
"Y-You... you're that Primordial Rainbow Dragon from the Sky Screen?!"
Long Yun smiled without confirming or denying it, which was confirmation enough.
The moment Xiao Wu understood, her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Good heavens!
That godlike being from the Sky Screen, who had lived for who knew how many tens of thousands of years, casually fed Immortal Herbs as snacks, and snapped the Evil Emperor's tentacles with a single slap, was standing right in front of her!
After her initial shock, a thought suddenly flashed through Xiao Wu's mind.
The people from Shrek, especially Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, were outside discussing how to deal with Rainbow Academy and seize its inheritance and Immortal Herbs.
"The person they're planning to go after... is this god?!"
Xiao Wu cried out in terror inside her heart.
How was that any different from seeking death?
Before a being this powerful, Shrek Academy wasn't even an ant. If he merely blew on them, they would be reduced to ashes.
Although Yu Xiaogang and Tang San's actions this time had disappointed Xiao Wu, her love-addled heart made it impossible for her to stand by and watch Tang San walk to his death.
"No, I have to warn Brother San and tell them to leave right away!"
Xiao Wu thought anxiously. Her body had already begun instinctively edging backward, trying to leave this space.
Long Yun watched her quietly. His deep eyes seemed capable of seeing through every thought in her heart.
"Trying to tip off that Tang San?"
Long Yun's voice was soft, yet Xiao Wu's steps halted at once.
Xiao Wu turned around, her face awkward. Her hands fidgeted with the hem of her clothes.
"I... I just..."
She stammered, unable to think of any way to explain herself.
Long Yun sighed and looked at her with pity.
"For his sake, you're willing to expose your identity and even die alongside him."
"But do you really understand him?"
At Long Yun's words, Xiao Wu paused.
"Brother San treats me very well. He'd risk his life to protect me!"
Xiao Wu stubbornly argued back.
Long Yun said nothing more. He simply raised his right hand and lightly tapped the empty air.
A nine-colored ice mirror quietly took shape in midair. Ripples spread across its surface, revealing a scene from outside.
The scene showed the people from Shrek searching for Immortal Herbs.
But what made Xiao Wu's eyes widen was that Tang San wasn't searching among the bushes or buildings like the others.
He stood alone beneath the shade of a dark tree, his expression gloomy.
Tang San glanced around in the scene, and after making sure no one was nearby, a cold smile crept across his lips.
"Xiao Wu is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form. She belongs to nature, so she must be more sensitive to the aura of Immortal Herbs than anyone else."
"She'll definitely find the best Immortal Herb this time."
Tang San muttered under his breath in the scene, his eyes brimming with scheming intent.
"She's completely devoted to me. Once she finds one, she'll hand it over to me right away."
"Heh. With an Immortal Herb, I can resolve the conflict between my Twin Martial Souls."
"Once I become a god, I'll find a way to take her Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone. Then my strength will reach its peak."
"She's just a Soul Beast. Being able to contribute to my path to godhood is her good fortune."
Tang San's face in the scene was twisted with greed. He looked nothing like his usual gentle, refined self.
Watching the scene in the ice mirror and hearing those selfish, heartless words, Xiao Wu felt as though she'd been struck by lightning.
Her body trembled violently, and tears streamed down her face.
"No... this can't be real..."
"Brother San wouldn't do this to me. This has to be an illusion you created!"
Xiao Wu shook her head frantically, trying to deny everything before her eyes.
But Tang San's little gestures in the scene, and the expression on his face as he spoke, were all too familiar to her.
There was no way an illusion could imitate them so perfectly.
"He knew you were a Soul Beast all along."
Long Yun's voice sounded beside her, devoid of emotion, yet it struck Xiao Wu's heart like a heavy hammer.
"He never brought it up because he was waiting for the perfect chance to wring every last bit of value out of you."
Xiao Wu collapsed to the ground, her face as pale as paper. All the light vanished from her once-bright eyes.
In that moment, her world fell apart.
She'd never imagined that the person she'd given her whole heart to had always seen her as a tool—and a future Soul Ring.
And yet, even with the truth laid bare before her, her heart, blinded by love for so many years, continued to writhe in anguish and indecision.
Just as Xiao Wu sank into endless pain, a thunderous roar suddenly rang out in the sky beyond.
The everyday scenes previously playing on the Sky Screen slowly faded away.
Dark red clouds churned and gathered, forming enormous golden characters.
[Ranked Fifth: Ice Empress, Iridescent Ice Jade Emperor Dragon Scorpion. Review complete.]
[Rewards will now be distributed.]
The moment these words appeared, the attention of the entire continent was drawn to the Sky Screen once more.
[Reward One: Perfect Human Transformation.]
[Reward Two: Cultivation raised to six hundred thousand years.]
[Reward Three: One Godhead Fragment.]
When the three rewards appeared on the Sky Screen, the entire Douluo Continent erupted after a brief silence.
Comments flashed wildly, like a raging storm.
"Perfect Human Transformation? Godhead Fragment? What are those?"
"Cultivation raised to six hundred thousand years? This reward is absurdly powerful!"
"My heavens, these rewards are making me green with envy!"
Amid the countless shocked reactions, the Sky Screen began explaining the rewards.
[Perfect Human Transformation: A Soul Beast can freely switch between human and Soul Beast forms. In human form, its physical strength will not diminish and its power will not weaken. It will also no longer face the dangers of childhood.]
[Godhead Fragment: Contains fragments of the highest Laws of the God Realm. It can help a Soul Beast break through the Hundredth Level limit, condense a Godhead, attain Godhood, and further increase its strength.]
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