[Character designs are all based on the manga version, with pictures]
[There will be multiple heroines, but I won't recruit them mindlessly. The plot will also take logic into account, so my godfather readers can decide whether to keep reading without turning off their brains.]
Shrek City.
A special city at the junction of the three great empires.
At the center of the city stood a legend that had flourished for ten thousand years: Shrek, widely recognized as the greatest academy in the world.
It was the cradle that nurtured the strongest people on the entire continent!
At that moment, the city's commercial streets were bustling with people. Vendors called out one after another, and their stalls displayed all kinds of snacks and curious little trinkets.
These were the days when Shrek was accepting new students.
People arriving from far and wide to study there streamed in without end, crowding the streets. But Shrek City's public order was excellent, so it never became too congested.
"Come have a look! Snow-sweet candied hawthorns made with thousand-year-old stinger-bee honey! Eat one, and life's troubles melt away; your Soul Power will rise as easily as a breeze!"
"Uncle, will eating one really make my Soul Power go up easily?" The speaker was a petite girl in a green dress, her hair tied into two braids.
"Of course! We've been in business for a hundred years!"
"Really? Then please give me one skewer. Um... that biggest one!" She rose onto her toes and pointed at the largest skewer of candied hawthorns on the stall.
"Coming right up! Five Copper Soul Coins."
The vendor, wearing a mask and gloves, grinned from ear to ear as he deftly picked up the candied hawthorns.
"Thank you!" Xiao Xiao set down five Copper Soul Coins and happily accepted the skewer.
She turned around and impatiently tore off the plastic wrap, then reached out with her pink tongue and gave one a lick.
"Mmm~" The sweetness of the honey and the tang of the fruit mingled on her tongue.
Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up, and even her steps grew lighter.
Just then, a sudden commotion broke out behind her.
"Make way!" A figure rushed out of the crowd in a panic.
Moving at incredible speed, the person charged straight into Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao's pupils shrank. She squeezed her eyes shut on instinct.
With a sudden thud, the collision caught her completely off guard.
Xiao Xiao stumbled, and the candied hawthorns flew from her hand and landed with a splat on the ground, coated in dust.
"Ah!" Just as she was about to fall,
a hand as white as jade reached out, catching her and drawing her safely into someone's arms.
The person who had hit her offered a perfunctory apology, then ran off without looking back.
Xiao Xiao felt the world spin around her. Then she felt a firm, warm chest beneath her hand.
She slowly opened her eyes.
When she made out the silhouette of a boy,
Xiao Xiao raised her head and met Su Ling's gaze.
Years later, when Xiao Xiao thought back to her first meeting with Su Ling,
she remembered a handsome face with sharp brows and phoenix eyes, an air of faint melancholy, and a touch of defiance and carefree charm.
Just one glance had seared the name "Su Ling" into her heart, where it would remain until the end of her life.
"Are you all right?" Su Ling's voice was low and gentle, full of concern.
The commotion drew the people around them. When several girls caught sight of Su Ling's breathtakingly handsome face, they all shrieked.
"Oh my gosh, that boy is so handsome!!"
"He's even more handsome than Thunder Beibei! Does anyone know which class he's in?"
"Did he just save that girl? Ah! His chest looks so safe! I want to fall into his arms too..."
"Give it a rest. With a face like yours, that guy would see you and call the Inspection Group to come beat you with guns!"
The pockmarked woman who had been insulted jolted, a dark glint flashing in her eyes. She silently retreated and disappeared into the crowd.
Listening to the chatter around her,
Xiao Xiao froze and blinked her bright, limpid eyes, until the scent of sandalwood reached her nose.
She came to with a start and realized Su Ling had already let go of her, yet she was still standing there, dazed in his arms!
"I... I!" Like a startled fawn, Xiao Xiao sprang lightly away from Su Ling.
"I'm fine! Th-thank you!"
Her ears turned red, and the color quickly spread across her cheeks. She hurriedly lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Su Ling, while her little hands nervously twisted the hem of her clothes.
At that moment, she could no longer hear the bustle around her. All that remained was the thump, thump, thump pounding in her eardrums.
"Good. As long as you're all right. It gets crowded around here, and people sometimes rush into each other. Be more careful next time."
"Mm..." Xiao Xiao nodded obediently.
Su Ling smiled warmly and glanced down at her feet. Xiao Xiao had been sneaking glances at him, but she followed his gaze too.
There lay a skewer of candied hawthorns, covered in grime.
"Ah... my candied hawthorns!" Xiao Xiao's bashful expression vanished, replaced in an instant by heartache and regret.
"Darn it! I only got one bite!"
She crouched down, picked them up, and walked over to a nearby trash can.
Seeing that, Su Ling started to leave.
After throwing the dirty candied hawthorns into the trash, Xiao Xiao turned around, only to find Su Ling was gone.
"Huh, he left?"
Xiao Xiao's face fell, and her expression turned crestfallen.
She felt like she'd had a bit of bad luck today.
First she'd been run into, then her candied hawthorns had gotten dirty, and worst of all, she hadn't even had a chance to get to know that handsome young man!
"I'd better go back to the dorm and meditate..."
Just as she started to leave,
a skewer of candied hawthorns suddenly appeared in her view, and the sandalwood scent from earlier reached her again.
Xiao Xiao stopped in her tracks and looked over in delight.
Sure enough, it was the handsome young man from before!
Right in front of her,
Su Ling stood with a bright smile tugging at his lips. He held a skewer of candied hawthorns in each hand, and he was offering her the bigger one.
"Huh? Is that for me?" Xiao Xiao covered her mouth in surprise, her heart fluttering with excitement and a trace of anticipation.
Su Ling nodded and chuckled. "Meeting is fate. Besides, I can't just stand by and watch such a cute girl look so down."
Su Ling was like a warm breeze, with the air of a friendly big brother next door. Xiao Xiao stared at him, dazed.
She didn't even notice that she was swooning.
She'd met plenty of handsome boys, but this was her first time meeting someone like this young man, with such good looks, bearing, and grace all at once!
Xiao Xiao carefully accepted the candied hawthorns.
Her gaze seemed ready to sprout hearts, so Su Ling looked away, a trace of guilt rising in his heart.
Sure enough, trying to win over a little girl and saying something like that out loud is still way too embarrassing! Su Ling chuckled bitterly to himself.
He wasn't a native of this world. He had been reborn and transmigrated here!
In his previous life, he'd been a top-level office drone. One day, on his way home after working overtime, a cat suddenly darted out and threw him—and his car—over its shoulder.
He flew eight or nine meters before his head slammed hard into a roadside flower bed.
He died, then was reborn. And then he discovered this was the Douluo Continent, only ten thousand years after Tang San had become a god.
At the same time, a system called the Galgame System had come with him. He could earn rewards by raising the affection of targets approved by the Strategy System.
Though he had a system, his start had been a genuine catastrophe!
Su Ling had been reborn in some unknown mountain ravine. His Martial Soul was a seed, and his Innate Soul Power was only half a level.
On top of that, God King Tang was currently "inspecting" the Douluo Continent, and Su Ling was terrified.
God King Tang's ten-thousand-year plan couldn't be allowed to go wrong.
As an outsider, there was no way God King Tang would tolerate an unknown variable like him existing right under his nose.
So from the day Su Ling transmigrated,
the system had told him that God King Tang was watching him the whole time, and had even made a move to test him.
That torment continued for six years.
For those six years, Su Ling had relied on the acting skills he'd honed as an extra. During the day, he pretended to be an honest boy, raising pigs and herding cattle. At night, he acted like an idiot and pestered the neighbor's big sister.
He also often shouted about wanting to drive an excavator.
Every time God King Tang tested him, he'd gotten through by the skin of his teeth.
Su Ling had successfully made God King Tang believe he was a stupid, lecherous loser.
Finally, seven days ago,
the system notified him that God King Tang had stopped "inspecting" him. Su Ling also felt the gaze that had enveloped his whole body recede like the tide.
At that moment, Su Ling knew his chance had come!
In the Strategy Mall, there was an item called the "Plane Masking Temporary Card," which cost 600 Strategy Points.
He needed to bind a goddess and earn Strategy Points.
Before God King Tang noticed anything was wrong, he would redeem and use the "Plane Masking Temporary Card" to cut off God King Tang's live feed.
It was only temporary, but it would give Su Ling a much-needed break!
He could use that time to grow rapidly with the system!
By then, he wouldn't have to worry about God King Tang anymore!
Shrek was where all dreams began, and it gathered the top geniuses from across the continent.
After making up his mind, Su Ling had left the ravine where he'd lived for six years and traveled over mountains and ridges to Shrek City.
He'd planned to take his chances and see whether he could meet a goddess recognized by the system.
And things had gone just as he'd hoped.
He'd met the future Xiao Ding Douluo, Xiao Xiao, the empress who possessed the Twin Martial Souls Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron and Nine Phoenixes Flute!
Su Ling's thoughts returned to the present.
The system's familiar electronic voice rang out again.
[Xiao Xiao's affection +5, gained 50 Strategy Points] [Xiao Xiao's affection +3, gained 30 Strategy Points] [Xiao Xiao's affection...] [An S-rank goddess, Xiao Xiao, has reached an affection level of 20. Would the host like to bind her?]
"Bind her, bind her!" Su Ling cried out in his heart.
[Ding! Binding successful!] [Ding! The host has bound a goddess for the first time and received a mysterious gift pack!] [Xiao Xiao's affection has reached 30. Stage One strategy reward unlocked: 300,000 Gold Soul Coins; special reward—Charm Aura.] [The rewards have been stored in temporary space. Please claim them as soon as possible!]
"The system really came through!"
Su Ling's face lit up with delight, his heart pounding with excitement.
At last, after six years!!
Watching Su Ling suddenly laugh, Xiao Xiao tilted her head in confusion and asked, "Um... what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just remembered something I need to do. Take your time eating. I'll be going!"
Su Ling stuffed the candied hawthorns into his mouth, swallowed them in a few quick bites, and turned on his heel.
As if! How could a little girl compare to system rewards!?
"H-hey... wait..."
Su Ling's figure had already vanished into the sea of people.
Xiao Xiao's hand froze in midair. She opened her mouth, then stamped her foot in frustration.
"Ah!! I should've just asked him earlier! I wonder if I'll ever get to see him again..."