The Godly Taotie Bull-An Enemy Defeated at My Hands

The day after the Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament ended, all of Skysea City was still immersed in the feverish afterglow brought by the competition.

The Federation's propaganda machine continued to run, and discussions about that exhibition match could be heard everywhere, from streets to alleyways.

People slammed tables in taverns while arguing over Li Chen's sword strike, while others lowered their voices in teahouses to discuss the true origins of the three.

Meanwhile, the protagonists of the story were walking through the bright afternoon sunlight on Skysea City's busiest commercial street.

Na'er walked at the front, pointing at the headline among the comments on her communication Soul Tool. It was printed in bold red letters: "Huo Gua Battles Beast God Di Tian—The End of a Legend, an Epic Battle That Shook the World."

She had heard of this movie back when she was at Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. It was Tang Sect Cinema's biggest production of the year. Supposedly, the special effects alone had cost the annual budget of a small family.

"Look," Na'er said, holding the communicator before the other two. "Huo Gua versus the Beast God. It has an 8.5 rating across the web and has topped the trending charts for weeks. Since we're in Skysea City, it'd be such a waste not to see it."

Gu Yue took the communicator and finally said calmly, "Your choice."

Li Chen looked at the silhouette of the male lead holding an indistinct weapon that could have been either a sword or a staff, several wings of light extending from his back. After a moment of silence, he nodded.

Tang Sect Cinema's Skysea City branch stood in the busiest stretch of the commercial street. The entire exterior was built from dark marble.

The three bought their tickets and took seats together near the back of the screening hall. The lights dimmed, the massive Soul Tool screen lit up, and the movie began.

For the first ten minutes, the atmosphere was fairly normal. Onscreen, "Huo Gua" displayed astonishing talent and determination in his youth, making Na'er rest her cheek on one hand without even blinking.

But after one accident involving the protagonist, the atmosphere in the theater took a sharp turn.

Onscreen, the protagonist suddenly unleashed a set of fist techniques during battle, repeatedly emphasized through excessive slow motion and close-ups.

"Si Dong Fist, thoughts gushing forth like a spring~"

"Nian Dong Palm, never forgetting~"

"Hao Dong Palm, living on through life itself~"

The protagonist struck the Beast God apart with one palm in an utterly twisted posture, then shouted the ultimate move with a trembling voice.

Na'er went from propping up her cheek to frowning, until finally the corners of her mouth began to twitch.

For once, Gu Yue turned her head and gave Na'er a remarkably subtle evaluation.

"Your taste is truly unique."

Li Chen watched the onscreen effects expressionlessly. Only when the end credits rose did he let out a sigh as though his eyes had been burned.

"I'd rather take a day trip to the Underworld," he said.

He controlled his volume perfectly—just enough for Gu Yue and Na'er to hear, but not enough to draw anyone else's attention.

The three followed the departing crowd out of the cinema. The afternoon sunlight was glaring, and the streets had grown even more crowded.

Na'er took a deep breath, about to launch into a lengthy rant, when Li Chen and Gu Yue simultaneously placed their hands on top of her head from either side—not too heavily, not too lightly.

"What are you doing?" Na'er shrank her neck under their hands, her golden ponytail swaying.

"Si Dong Fist," Li Chen said, flicking her forehead with one hand.

"Nian Dong Palm," Gu Yue added, flicking the back of her head and leaving Na'er nowhere to dodge.

"Hao Dong Palm," the two said in unison, each giving the top of her head another pat.

Na'er covered her forehead and the back of her head, staring at the two of them in disbelief.

Gu Yue looked completely composed, as though she had merely helped remove some trash from Na'er's hair.

Li Chen withdrew his hand into his sleeve, his face as calm as ever.

"When did you two become so in sync?" Na'er looked from one to the other, then decided to retaliate. She grabbed Gu Yue's wrist and pulled her over. "Gu Yue, you actually helped him?"

Gu Yue let Na'er tug her wrist back and forth, a faint smile appearing on her lips. After shaking her for a while and realizing Gu Yue would not react, Na'er turned to glare at Li Chen instead.

Li Chen met her gaze and said teasingly, "You picked the movie."

Na'er opened her mouth, only to realize that she truly had no way to refute him. She viciously pinched Gu Yue's wrist, stuffed the popcorn into Li Chen's arms, and said, "You choose next time." (King Na'er was very angry QWQ)

"Fine." Li Chen took the popcorn bucket and casually tossed it into a recycling bin by the roadside.

Before Na'er could think of another retort, the communication Soul Tool hidden in Gu Yue's sleeve suddenly gave off a faint buzz.

She raised her hand and glanced at it. A familiar symbol flashed on the screen.

"Teacher." Gu Yue accepted the call.

Leng Yaozhu's voice came through the communicator, carrying the efficiency and brevity unique to the Spirit Pagoda's vice tower master, though her tone remained casual in the way she only was with those close to her. "Where are you three right now?"

"On the commercial street. We just got out of a movie."

"A movie? What movie?"

"'Huo Gua Battles the Beast God.'"

There was a full two-beat silence on the other end.

Na'er would swear on her Golden Dragon bloodline that she heard Aunt Leng trying not to laugh.

"You young people have taste that I understand less and less," Leng Yaozhu said helplessly, with the particular resignation of an elder. "Never mind that for now. A new milk tea shop just opened in Skysea City. It's called Farewell My Concubine, at number twenty-eight East District Street. Go there now. I'll be there shortly. I need to discuss something with you."

Gu Yue's gaze sharpened slightly. Although Leng Yaozhu's tone had been relaxed during the call, the words "I need to discuss something with you" rarely meant anything minor when spoken by the Spirit Pagoda's vice tower master. Gu Yue answered, "All right," ended the call, and exchanged a glance with Li Chen.

In that single glance, the two completed an exchange of information without needing words. Na'er also put away her playful manner, a trace of vigilance flashing through her golden eyes.

East District Street was not a main street in Skysea City, but it was quiet, with tall plane trees planted along both sides. The two o'clock afternoon sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, scattering shifting patches of light and shadow across the ground.

Number twenty-eight by the street was indeed a newly opened shop. Its storefront was small, and the four words "Farewell My Concubine" were written in flowing calligraphy on a raw wood-colored signboard. A couplet hung on either side, written in the same elegant script, though its rhythm and structure made absolutely no sense.

A faint blend of tea and milk fragrance drifted from inside. Through the open door, they could see three or four separate tables and a blackboard wall covered with elaborate milk tea names.

Gu Yue pushed open the glass door, and the three chose seats by the window.

Li Chen and Gu Yue sat side by side facing the entrance, while Na'er sat opposite them.

It was an unspoken habit—regardless of the setting, either Li Chen or Gu Yue would always face the door.

The shop attendant was a young man who looked under twenty. Seeing the three sit down, he enthusiastically handed them a menu.

Na'er took it, scanned it, and ordered the signature Sea Mist. Gu Yue asked for plain tea. Li Chen ordered nothing, merely saying, "Someone else is still coming."

When Leng Yaozhu pushed open the door, the wind chime hanging from the lintel rang out crisply.

Today, she wore a simple dark blue casual outfit, her long silver-gray hair loosely pinned behind her head. She still looked like an ordinary neighborhood aunt out shopping.

But Li Chen noticed the look she gave the inside of the shop when she entered—brief, sharp, sweeping across every corner. It was the habitual movement of someone who had held a high position for many years.

Leng Yaozhu took the empty seat beside Na'er. She first glanced at the drinks before the three, then asked the attendant for the same signature milk tea Na'er had ordered.

"Aunt Leng," Na'er said impatiently once she had settled in, "what's so urgent?"

Leng Yaozhu did not answer immediately. Her gaze swept over the three faces in turn before finally stopping on Li Chen.

"Three days from now, Shrek will send a One-Word Battle Armor Master to Skysea City to publicly challenge you in their personal capacity."

She spoke neither loudly nor softly, but every word landed at a precisely measured rhythm.

A lively pop song was playing over the shop's Soul Tool radio, but all the three could hear was what Leng Yaozhu said next.

"The location will be designated by the military. There will be no audience seating, and the recording crystal will be kept in one copy by the military and one by Shrek. The rules are to stop at the appropriate point; fighting to the death is not part of the agreement. But the opponent is a One-Word Battle Armor Master. You studied at Sun Moon, so I shouldn't need to explain how much a One-Word Battle Armor can enhance a Soul Master."

Na'er set down her milk tea, the bottom of the cup making a faint crisp sound against the tabletop.

She did not speak, but the fingers wrapped around the cup tightened slightly, the knuckles clearly standing out against the cup wall.

Gu Yue's reaction was quieter than hers. She merely lifted her eyes slightly. There was no excess emotion in her violet gaze, but that calm itself was colder than any anger or worry.

Only Li Chen's expression remained unchanged. He leaned against the back of his chair, his hands naturally folded atop the table, as if waiting for Leng Yaozhu to finish.

"Ya Li led the team here. They arrived in Skysea City this afternoon," Leng Yaozhu continued, lightly tapping the table with her fingers. "Her original plan was courtesy before force—use Shrek's ten-thousand-year legacy and sincerity to move you, so that you would willingly join Shrek. If you agreed, this duel would not happen. But Yu Guanzhi informed her beforehand that you had registered to join Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, cutting off any route for recruitment. So she formally proposed the duel."

"What if I refuse?" Li Chen asked.

"Of course you can refuse." Leng Yaozhu's tone remained calm. "Shrek will continue losing face, and the Federation's propaganda will continue running. In a month, people may forget the specific details of the exhibition match, but the phrase 'Shrek was crushed by three young people' will be carved into their school history. Given the way those old Shrek men operate, they will find an uglier way to give themselves an out—then we will be even more passive."

She paused and looked into Li Chen's eyes. "General Yu's meaning is that rather than let them trip us up in the shadows, we should draw a line in the open. Have a fair fight in the arena. Once it is over, regardless of victory or defeat, the matter will be settled."

"Is that Yu Guanzhi's intention, or Shrek's?"

"General Yu's." The corners of Leng Yaozhu's lips lifted slightly. "Shrek had originally wanted to get something for nothing, but Yu Guanzhi shut them down. He set one condition—Shrek must offer a piece of Gold Water Intertwined as the fee for challenging you."

Li Chen's pupils contracted slightly when the name Gold Water Intertwined was spoken.

Na'er leaned closer to Leng Yaozhu, curiosity filling her voice—the particular curiosity of an outsider encountering top-tier material. "Is that the god-tier ore every blacksmith dreams of touching? The one with only a single remaining vein on the entire continent?"

"Yes." Leng Yaozhu nodded. "The gold and water elements coexist and blend without conflict. Battle Armor forged from it can allow mutually conflicting martial soul abilities to merge perfectly within the same Soul Master. There are no more than five pieces in all of Shrek's treasury. Ya Li has already left the ore with me for temporary safekeeping. After the battle, regardless of whether you win or lose, this piece of Gold Water Intertwined will be yours."

She took a palm-sized milky white jade box from her sleeve and placed it on the table.

The moment the lid sprang open, a stream of intertwined gold and silver light poured out from within, reflecting across the milk tea cups and tabletop before the four of them like flowing aurora.

Gu Yue's gaze tightened slightly when it touched the ore, but she recovered her calm in an instant. Na'er leaned close to the jade box to inspect it at close range, her golden eyes full of undisguised admiration. Only Li Chen did not look at what was inside the box.

His gaze remained fixed on Leng Yaozhu's face. After several breaths of silence, he spoke. His voice was as calm as ever, but his question was so precise that Leng Yaozhu silently gave him praise in her heart.

"Shrek has put down such a heavy stake, and Yu Guanzhi accepted this duel for me. What is the price?"

Leng Yaozhu lifted her milk tea and took a sip. Her expression remained that gentle, elder-like smile, but a flash of sharpness passed through her eyes.

"The price is that if you lose, you must publicly acknowledge Shrek's strength. If you win, this matter ends here, and Shrek may not pursue you in any form. That is the visible side. As for the hidden side—if a One-Word Battle Armor Master loses to a Soul Ancestor, how far will Shrek's prestige fall? I do not need to analyze that for you. At that point, Shrek will no longer be the real concern. The concern will be those old factions within the Federation that have long disliked Shrek. They will gather like sharks smelling blood, and you, as the first hammer to smash Shrek's signboard, will become the person at the center of this vortex. This is not a simple sparring match, Li Chen—it is a formal contest in which both sides have placed sufficiently weighty stakes."

The milk tea shop fell quiet for a long while. Behind the counter, the attendant was washing cups. The sound of running water mixed with the cries of street vendors in the distance, making their corner seem all the quieter.

Gu Yue turned her head and looked at Li Chen. She said nothing, but there was a quiet certainty in those violet eyes.

The message contained in that glance was clear to all four people present—whatever decision he made, she would stand by his side.

Li Chen's gaze swept over Gu Yue's face before meeting Na'er's golden eyes, which plainly said, "Whatever you choose, I'll support you."

Then he turned to Leng Yaozhu, the corners of his lips lifting into an almost imperceptible curve.

"Aunt Leng, is the milk tea good?"

Leng Yaozhu swirled the nearly empty cup in her hand. She was not annoyed by his change of subject, merely nodding. "The name is terrible, but the milk tea is indeed good. You do not have much time to decide—Ya Li is still waiting for my reply."

Li Chen released the hands that had been folded over his lap. Leaning back against the chair, he looked past the milk tea shop's glass window toward the shade of the plane trees outside. There was no hesitation, no silence, and no performative contemplation.

His voice was faint, as though he were merely confirming an answer that had long since been decided.

"I'll take the Gold Water Intertwined. Three days from now—I'll fight."