Blue Tyrant Academy.
The sun still shone brightly, but not a single person gathered on the field was in the mood to admire the beautiful weather.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on one person: Yu Xiaogang.
Today, Yu Xiaogang was completely different from how he had been before.
The face that had been hidden behind a thick beard for years was now smooth and bare.
His chin was pointy, his skin almost unnaturally fair, and even his Adam's apple seemed to have... disappeared?
Flender stared at his old friend for a long while before finally speaking up. "Xiaogang, why'd you shave off your beard? Though I have to admit, you do look a few years younger."
Yu Xiaogang glanced at him sidelong, his gaze carrying a hint of... coyness?
"Do you think everyone's as slovenly as you?"
His voice was high and strange, nothing like his usual deep tone.
Flender's brow furrowed even more. "Xiaogang, your voice? And you look a little strange, too..."
"Stop it~"
That one word left everyone utterly thunderstruck!
That shrill female voice and coquettish tone made goosebumps rise all over everyone present.
Yu Xiaogang quickly covered his mouth, a flush of embarrassment spreading across his fair face.
"Sorry, I just had the surgery. I'm still not used to it."
"Surgery?" Flender stared at him in bewilderment. "What surgery?"
Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath. Then he raised his head, swept his gaze over everyone present, and enunciated each word:
"Sex reassignment surgery. I found the most skilled cosmetic Soul Master and turned myself into a woman."
"What?!"
Flender's eyes nearly popped out of his head! His mouth hung open, and he stood rooted to the spot as if he'd been struck by lightning.
"Xiaogang... you're not joking, are you? A sex change? Have you... have you gone mad?!"
Zhao Wuji, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Tang San, and the others were all dumbstruck, frozen like wooden chickens.
The Grandmaster... had changed sex?
The Grandmaster, hailed as "the foremost theorist in the Soul Master World," that proud man who had spent his life trying to prove his theories.
He had actually turned himself into a woman?
He had turned himself into a woman just so Brother Cao would take a liking to him?
"What do a couple ounces of flesh matter!" Though Yu Xiaogang's voice had become that of a woman, his stubbornness was unchanged. "As long as I can catch Brother Cao's eye and get his guidance, as long as I can cultivate the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique, it'll all be worth it!"
He rubbed his smooth chin, his eyes gleaming with fervor. "Look at those girls on the rankings. Which one of them didn't become famous overnight? Which one of them didn't reach Soul Douluo or Titled Douluo at a young age?"
"I, Yu Xiaogang, have spent my whole life studying Martial Soul Theory, yet I've never been able to prove myself because my Innate Soul Power was too low! Now, the opportunity is right in front of me! As long as I can cultivate the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique, as long as I can become a Titled Douluo, what do a couple ounces of flesh matter?!"
The field fell utterly silent.
Everyone stared at Yu Xiaogang in disbelief, their eyes filled with shock, confusion, sympathy, and... disgust?
"The Grandmaster... sure is ruthless..." Ma Hongjun murmured, the fat on his face twitching.
Oscar hunched his shoulders and whispered, "Would Brother Cao... really like someone like this... a trans person?"
Tang San said nothing, but his face had already darkened like the bottom of a pot.
Xiao Wu and Liu Erlong exchanged a glance, both of them showing deep disgust.
Xiao Wu snorted, making no effort to hide her disdain. "What the hell is that supposed to look like? You've turned yourself into a freak just to disgust Brother Cao! Every girl Brother Cao has trained is naturally beautiful and pure as ice and snow. And you..."
She looked Yu Xiaogang up and down and dealt him another merciless blow. "You can't hold a candle to even a single strand of their hair! You still think you can catch Brother Cao's eye? Keep dreaming!"
Yu Xiaogang's face instantly flushed red. He was just about to retort when—
"BOOM!!!"
A golden pillar of light descended, enveloping Xiao Wu.
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to her.
[Genius Ranking, Third Place: Xiao Wu.] [Identity: A hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the Soft Boned Rabbit, transformed into human form; Shrek Academy student.] [Strength: Rank 95 Titled Douluo.] [Technique: Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique.] [Reward: Youth-Retaining Pill, which could preserve youth forever; Teleportation Talisman×2, which could teleport to any location on the Douluo Continent.]
Boom!!!
"As expected... Xiao Wu cultivated the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique too..."
"Teleportation Talismans! They can send you anywhere on the continent! That's way too incredible!"
"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? My god, Xiao Wu isn't human!"
"Soul Beast Transformation? How did we never notice before? She hid it so well!"
Can humans and Soul Beasts... do that, too?
The people from Shrek had long suspected as much, but seeing Xiao Wu make the rankings for real still filled them with indescribable shock.
Flender shook his head with a bitter smile. "Well, there's another one. Now our Shrek Seven Devils really have become Brother Cao's 'cheering squad.'"
Liu Erlong said nothing. She simply watched Xiao Wu in the golden light, her eyes full of pride and blessing.
Tang San, meanwhile, felt as if ten thousand arrows had pierced his heart. The pain nearly stopped him from breathing.
His Xiao Wu... his Xiao Wu, too...
The girl who had grown up with him, the one he had thought would stay by his side forever.
She had cultivated the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique too!
"No!!!"
Tang San jerked his head up, his eyes bloodshot.
"Xiao Wu! Why? Why do you have to take this path too?"
Within the golden light, Xiao Wu slowly opened her eyes and looked at Tang San. Her expression was surprisingly calm.
"I need power. Brother Cao gave me power. He... changed a lot about me. I've already become his kind of person."
Tang San's body shuddered violently.
Xiao Wu said nothing more. She reached out and accepted the Sky Screen's reward.
As she looked at the two Teleportation Talismans glowing with golden light in her hands, a gentle smile curved Xiao Wu's lips.
With these Teleportation Talismans, all she had to do was know roughly where Brother Cao was, and she could teleport straight to his side in an instant.
Besides, she had nowhere else to go...
She might as well go to Brother Cao's side and become his bed-warming maid!
At the thought, Xiao Wu's cheeks flushed faintly.
She drew a deep breath and took one last look at everyone from Shrek.
"Everyone... take care."
Whoosh!
Xiao Wu transformed into a streak of pink light and shot into the sky!
"Xiao Wu!!!"
Tang San let out a heart-rending howl and lunged forward, but all he caught was empty air.
"Xiao Wu... my Xiao Wu..."
"Damn you, Brother Cao! You've earned yourself a death sentence!"
Flender sighed and walked over to pat Tang San on the shoulder. "Xiao San, try to look on the bright side. That Brother Cao can slap even Golden Crocodile Douluo flying. We... can't afford to provoke him."
Tang San gritted his teeth, hatred blazing in his eyes.
Can't afford to provoke him? One day, I'll show him what a real death sentence looks like!
Yu Xiaogang, meanwhile, stared in the direction Xiao Wu had vanished, his eyes full of fervor.
"Teleportation Talismans... they can send you anywhere on the continent..."
Brother Cao, wait for me!
I'll make you take a liking to me, too!