The Depressed Cao Longyan

Time flew by. Four years had passed since the trip to the Heaven Dou Empire.

The six-year-old red-haired boy from back then was now ten. He had grown taller and more upright, standing a full 1.7 meters tall—far taller than his peers, and nearly as tall as Bei Bei, who was four years older than him.

Though Cao Longyan had grown up, his eyes alone remained unchanged: blazing with ambition and sharpness no less fierce than before.

Over the past four years, Cao Longyan had never wasted the premium Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue he had picked up at the auction all those years ago.

He had carefully divided the chunk, which contained pure energy, into four portions, and put each one to the best possible use.

He kept one for himself, using it alongside the physique granted by his Martial God Body to focus on cultivation and bring about a transformation in both his Soul Power and his body.

He gave one portion to Zhang Lexuan, helping her stabilize her Soul Emperor cultivation and improve her Soul Power and physique.

She had been very surprised. It had been meant for him, yet he had still thought of her.

Longyan, little brother, she liked him more and more the longer she looked at him...

He respectfully offered one portion to Mu En, both to express his gratitude to the Profound Ancestor for nurturing him and to secure more support for Rakshasa Street's development.

The final portion went to Tang Tian and his wife. It served as a core resource in Rakshasa Street's early development, supporting the steady growth of this nascent force.

Over those four years, the biggest changes had taken place in Bei Bei and Tang Ya.

By now, both had successfully enrolled in Shrek Academy and become second-year students in the Outer Court.

As they spent day after day together, affection quietly bloomed between the boy and girl. Just as Cao Longyan had expected, they had fallen for each other, just like in the original story.

There was one difference, though. Tang Ya was no longer bound by hatred for her family. Her disposition had become bright and genuine, and she had accepted Bei Bei's feelings without reservation. The two were inseparable, becoming the couple everyone in the Outer Court envied.

What pleased Cao Longyan even more was that while he was still wondering how to bring Bei Bei into the fold, Tang Ya had already used the "beauty trap" to bring him into Rakshasa Street.

Brother Bei Bei, a hero really couldn't resist a beauty... Brotherhood was all well and good, but it had to take a back seat...

Bei Bei, however, knew nothing about it. He had always thought he was joining the new force Tang Ya wanted to establish, and happily helped her manage its affairs, unaware that he had long since become an important piece in Cao Longyan's grand design.

Every time Cao Longyan saw Bei Bei's lovestruck, vacant expression after a sweet moment with Tang Ya, he rolled his eyes countless times, sighed endlessly, and shook his head in helpless resignation.

Brother Bei Bei, is that all you've got? We have to be Sigma men, all right? We have to cultivate without limits, love cultivation every single day, all right...

Still, Cao Longyan had finally been able to breathe a sigh of relief.

His Sister Lexuan and Bei Bei no longer had anything to do with each other. They were just like ordinary people.

But a faint doubt had always lingered in Cao Longyan's heart.

At some point, the way Sister Lexuan looked at him had changed... There was something in her gaze that made him feel inexplicably uneasy.

At first, he kept turning it over in his mind, wondering what thoughts lay behind that strange look.

But before long, he gave up entirely, and even grumbled to himself.

A woman's heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea...

Cao Longyan's cultivation over the past four years had been nothing short of heaven-defying.

His Soul Power had surged forward without a single pause. By now, he had reached the peak of rank twenty-nine as a Soul Scholar, just one step away from becoming a rank-thirty Soul Elder.

Even more astonishingly, thanks to the innate advantage of his Martial God Body and the transformation brought about by the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue, his Second Soul Ring had a lifespan of a full eight thousand years!

He had rewritten history outright! And once again, shocked everyone!

But this heaven-defying growth had come to a halt six months ago.

For nearly half a year, no matter how hard Cao Longyan worked at cultivation, his Soul Power had remained stuck at the peak of rank twenty-nine. He had exhausted every effort, tried every cultivation method, and taken all kinds of rare treasures, but he still couldn't break through that bottleneck. It was as though an invisible barrier had pinned him firmly in place.

He didn't want to end up like Yu Xiaogang, a good-for-nothing whose Soul Power stayed stuck at rank twenty-nine!

He didn't want his great undertaking to collapse halfway through!

He was determined to become a God King and carve out a Divine Realm of his own!

At this rate, forget fighting Tang San—even Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, once they came into their own, could kick him aside like a stray dog.

What made him even more frustrated was that even Bei Bei, whose Soul Power had always cultivated more slowly than his, had broken through to rank thirty first and successfully advanced to Soul Elder.

Shrek Outer Court, beside Sea God Lake

Cao Longyan was taking a walk by the lake to clear his head. He had made a habit of it. As he looked at his right hand, his gaze grew increasingly vacant. It was as though he couldn't find a goal or direction anymore...

Just then, Bei Bei ran up behind him and patted him on the back. A rather smug smile played across his face as he teased him.

"Yan, didn't see that coming, did you? I finally caught up to your exhaust fumes and broke through to rank thirty first, becoming a Soul Elder!"

As he spoke, Bei Bei deliberately released the aura of his rank-thirty Soul Elder cultivation. It wasn't especially powerful, but it was enough to sting Cao Longyan's nerves.

At last, he had gotten to hold his head high in front of Cao Longyan.

Cao Longyan's face fell at once. His mouth twisted with frustration, but he had no way to argue back.

Bei Bei was telling the truth. He had indeed been overtaken.

He had wanted to say that he was four years younger than Bei Bei, and that in another four years he would surely be stronger. But now he wasn't so sure, and the words died on his lips.

The bottleneck of the past six months had already left him seething with frustration. Bei Bei's teasing only added fuel to the fire and made him feel even more miserable.

Just as Cao Longyan was too frustrated to say anything, a crisp voice rang out, tinged with both annoyance and anger.

"Bei Bei! What are you saying? Jie... Longyan's only temporarily stuck. His talent is much better than yours. It won't be long before he leaves you in the dust!"

Tang Ya hurried over and grabbed Bei Bei's arm, frowning as she scolded him. Her little face was full of protectiveness, and she was so flustered she had nearly let something slip.

After all, Cao Longyan had told them not to reveal his identity to anyone yet.

In her heart, Cao Longyan was the idol who had saved her family and given her hope. He was also the core of Rakshasa Street, and she would never allow anyone to tease or mock him.

Bei Bei had always been notorious for being completely henpecked. After Tang Ya scolded him, his smugness vanished at once. He could only scratch his head and defend himself with a wounded look.

"Xiaoya, don't be mad. I was just joking around with Yan. I didn't mean anything by it..."

Seeing Tang Ya stand up for him and Bei Bei take his scolding meekly, and watching the two of them walk away together, Cao Longyan felt some of his frustration fade.

What had gone wrong?

Was it a limitation of his Martial Soul's nature?

A hidden flaw in his bloodline?

Or was Tang San meddling behind the scenes?

He absolutely refused to end up like Yu Xiaogang, stuck at rank twenty-nine for the rest of his life, blessed with talent but unable to break through, and dismissed by the world as a good-for-nothing who had started strong but ended in failure. He refused to let this delay his plans to overturn Tang San's game.

After a long silence, a determined glint flashed in Cao Longyan's eyes. At last, he had figured it out.

He couldn't just sit around and wait. The harder the bottleneck was to break through, the more he had to seek out an opportunity himself.

Perhaps only when facing a life-or-death crisis, with all his potential pushed to its limit, could he gain a realization, break through the barrier, and find a way forward.

Then he would go to the Star Dou Great Forest!

Having made up his mind, Cao Longyan immediately set off for Sea God Pavilion to explain to the Profound Ancestor that he wanted to go alone to the Star Dou Great Forest for training.

Upon hearing this, Mu En's expression immediately turned grave, and he shook his head again and again.

"No. The Star Dou Great Forest is far too dangerous. You're only rank twenty-nine, Xiaoyan. Even with two Guardian Spirits at the peak of Soul Ancestor, going alone would be far too risky."

Cao Longyan patiently tried to persuade him.

"Profound Ancestor, I have to go. I can't stay trapped at rank twenty-nine forever. Don't worry, I'll be careful and won't take reckless risks."

Seeing how resolute Cao Longyan was, Mu En knew there was no talking him out of it. He could only reluctantly give in, but he still couldn't stop worrying, so he asked Xuan Zi to protect Cao Longyan in secret.

Xuan Zi agreed without a second thought. He didn't want his long-term meal ticket... the future of Shrek, to die in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Ever since he first tasted the whale glue Cao Longyan had roasted, Xuan Zi had stuck to him. If he didn't get a bite of Cao Longyan's cooking, he felt weak all over.

Cao Longyan didn't know whether this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest would break his bottleneck. He didn't know whether an opportunity for a breakthrough, a new danger, or a fresh stroke of fortune awaited him.

But he knew he had to keep going. For the sake of breaking through, for his future, and, above all, to overturn the grand game Tang San had set in motion, he had no way back.

Within the fireball, the shadow of a Warlord gave a faint, crooked smile.

Boy, you've finally come to your senses. No more brooding or wandering around lost. That's what a descendant of the Cao family should be!