Suotuo City at dusk, as the lights first came on.
Compared to Shrek Village outside the city—with no streetlamps and nothing but the smell of dirt and sweat—Suotuo City's streets were practically heaven on earth.
The enormous rose-shaped building of the Rose Hotel glowed with alluring pink lights in the night. The tempting scent of perfume reached you from far away, carrying the aroma of money and hormones intertwined.
Su Yun fanned himself with a folding fan as he led the three girls back into the Rose Hotel lobby.
At the moment, the mischievous and charming Xiao Wu stood to his left, brushing against his arm every so often;
the cool and aloof Zhu Zhuqing followed at his right, her fiery figure enough to make anyone's nose bleed;
and behind them trailed Ning Rongrong, the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, wearing a haughty expression but eyes full of curiosity.
The so-called nobles and Soul Masters in the hotel lobby were instantly dumbstruck by the sight.
"W-who is that young master? He's got three beauties all to himself?"
"Shh! Didn't you see? He's the one who scared Young Master Dai into kneeling. He's not only rich, his strength is terrifying!"
The front desk manager came tumbling out, his face piled high with an almost obsequious smile.
"Young Master Su! You're back! We've cleaned your room from top to bottom, just as you instructed. All the sheets and bedding have been replaced with the finest Cloud Silk. It's absolutely up to your standards!"
Su Yun nodded in satisfaction and casually flicked him a Gold Soul Coin as a tip.
However, Ning Rongrong's official addition to the group made the hotel's atmosphere rather strange.
With just Su Yun, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing, there had been a delicate balance of sorts.
But as soon as Ning Rongrong, that little witch who could turn the world upside down, joined them, the domain known as the Shura Field was activated.
"Brother Su Yun, I want to sleep in the middle!"
Xiao Wu clung tightly to Su Yun's left arm, her big eyes challenging the other two girls. Her rabbit ears stood straight up, making her possessive intentions perfectly clear.
"Sleep in the middle? Aren't you afraid you'll get squashed?"
Ning Rongrong put her hands on her hips and gave a soft snort. Her gaze swept over Zhu Zhuqing's impressive curves, then turned to Su Yun, her tone dripping with sourness.
"I paid for my room, so why should I listen to you? Besides, I've never tried one of those pink, heart-shaped waterbeds."
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, but her cold eyes also stole the occasional glance at Su Yun.
Though she was aloof by nature, the incident last night when he applied medicine to her had brought her dependence on Su Yun to a tipping point.
In this city where she had no one to turn to, Su Yun was her only shelter from the storm.
Feeling the different sensations against each of his arms and the three scorching gazes on him, Su Yun wasn't flustered in the slightest. On the contrary, he was having the time of his life.
Now this was the proper way for a transmigrator to start his new life!
People cheering him on in a fight, girls fighting over where to sleep—how could a block of wood like Tang San, who only knew how to guard his scrap-metal hidden weapons, ever understand this kind of life?
"All right, all right. Stop arguing."
Su Yun put on the airs of the head of the household and blithely spun them a tale.
"The Red Ocean Suite is spacious enough. Four people can easily fit on that waterbed. We're all sisters here, so let's get along."
"Who's her sister!"
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong spoke in unison.
Zhu Zhuqing, meanwhile, quietly blushed.
Back in the outrageously luxurious and indecent Red Ocean Suite, Su Yun first sent the three girls, all vying with one another, off to bathe. Then he stretched out comfortably on the sofa and summoned the system.
This trip to Shrek had brought in a bountiful harvest.
[ Ding! The host has completed a major side quest: The 'Shrek Seven Devils' plan has completely fallen apart. ]
[ The plot has deviated significantly: Tang San has lost his core teammates (Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu). Shrek Academy's reputation has been ruined, and Tang San has suffered a severe loss of Luck Value. ]
[ Law of Causality assessment: A complete victory! Issuing rewards... ]
[ Reward received: External Soul Bone—Eight Spider Lances (purified version). ]
[ Note: This Soul Bone has been stripped of its negative attributes, including evil, poison, and grotesque appearance. After fusion, it will be renamed 'Wings of Light' or 'Wings of Judgment,' at the host's discretion. Formed from sacred flames, it has three effects: extreme-speed flight, energy purification, and physical penetration. ]
[ Reward received: Soul Power increased by several levels. Host's current Soul Power: Level 45 (Soul Ancestor)! ]
[ Reward received: One God-Given Soul Ring (for the fifth Soul Ring). It can automatically generate a Soul Ring of the highest possible age based on the host's physical limits! ]
"Holy crap!"
Even though Su Yun had been prepared, he couldn't stop himself from swearing under his breath.
These rewards had practically stripped Tang San down to his underwear.
The Eight Spider Lances!
They were one of Tang San's most important early-game cheats, his ticket to defying fate and surviving death time and again.
Now, I've pulled that backbone right out from under him.
And the system's products were always top-notch.
When Tang San's Eight Spider Lances first grew in, they were bloody, barbed, and poisonous—ugly as a spider monster.
But his was the purified version: Wings of Judgment!
Su Yun eagerly closed his eyes, feeling a warm yet violent force rise from the spine in his back.
"Hss—!"
A faint tingling sensation spread through him. Then, behind Su Yun, eight dazzling streams of golden light burst out through his body!
They weren't hideous limbs, but wings made from pure golden feathers and sacred energy!
Each wing glowed faintly. With a gentle flutter, it seemed to purify the air in the room. The lingering scent of sultry incense vanished in an instant, replaced by the fresh air of a snowy mountaintop.
"Awesome! This is incredible!"
Su Yun clenched his fists. Level-forty Soul Power surged through him like a great river.
Now he felt like he could kill three Zhao Wujis with a single punch!
He eagerly took out the black Diary and began recording things that would twist the knife once again.
[X year X month X day, night, Red Ocean Suite, Rose Hotel.]
[Current mood: It's lonely at the top.]
[The system just gave me Tang San's Eight Spider Lances. Tsk, tsk. Is this the joy of stealing the protagonist's thunder?]
[But honestly, I really couldn't care less for Tang San's original Eight Spider Lances. They look like some giant spider. Anyone seeing him walking down the street would think he was a mutated Soul Beast. What a downgrade.]
[This purified 'Wings of Judgment' from the system is the perfect fit. Golden wings, a sacred aura, and my face—handsome enough to shake the heavens. If I take to the skies, it'll look like a divine miracle.]
[I bet when Qian Renxue sees these wings one day, she'll think I'm her long-lost angel god brother.]
[Ah, Tang San, Tang San. Are you hiding in that drafty dorm right now, feeling a chill down your back?]
[Of course you feel cold, because your backbone—that divine gear that should have belonged to you, the thing that would let you fight opponents several levels above you—is now glowing and burning on my back.]
[You can't hold on to your Luck Value. Because those dark little schemes of yours don't deserve this destiny.]
[There's nothing fun left in Suotuo City. Since I've taken Tang San's Soul Bone, that 'Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well' in Sunset Forest—and all the Immortal Herbs there—should have a new master with the surname Su.]
[Aromatic Silk Beauty, Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Blazing Delicate Apricot... Tang San, I'll gladly take these life-saving treasures off your hands!]
After writing in the Diary, Su Yun put it away, his eyes gleaming with confidence that victory was his.
At the same time.
In that dilapidated dormitory at Shrek Academy, where the wind howled through every crack.
Tang San sat cross-legged on a rotten plank, trying to calm his frustration by practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Yu Xiaogang sat beside him, his corpse-like face clouded with gloom.
"Xiao San, don't lose heart."
Yu Xiaogang offered dryly.
"Increasing your Soul Power is what matters most. That Su Yun is only strong because of external advantages..."
"Cough, cough!"
Tang San's eyes flew open, and he suddenly began coughing violently.
Just a moment ago, an inexplicable feeling of emptiness had swept through him. His back, where he had always felt a faint ache—as if something full of vitality lay beneath it—had suddenly turned ice-cold.
It was as though something destined to belong to him had left him forever in that very instant.
The grief of losing a priceless treasure made Tang San's heart spasm.
"Teacher, I feel so cold."
Tang San's face was deathly pale. He instinctively touched his back.
"My back feels... empty."
Yu Xiaogang froze. He reached out and felt Tang San's back, but found nothing.
"Empty? Xiao San, you're under too much pressure. You're imagining things. Get some rest. Tomorrow we still have to discuss how to hunt for a Soul Ring..."
Tang San nodded woodenly.
He lifted his head and looked at the cold moon outside the window. A despair unlike anything he had ever felt suddenly welled up in his heart.
He didn't know why.
He only knew that the world seemed to be growing crueler and crueler toward him.
Meanwhile, in the Rose Hotel suite, the bathroom door clicked open.
"Brother Su Yun, we're done bathing. Come see if this outfit looks pretty!"
Xiao Wu's sweet voice rang out.
Su Yun snapped back to his senses. Looking at the three stunning young women, each with a different style, who had emerged through the steam, he curled his lips into a devilish smile.
"Come on. Tonight, I'll show you some high-difficulty moves that respectable people don't try."
Tang San was crying; Su Yun was laughing.
Now this was the real Douluo script.
Before you continue