Shrek Academy, boys' dormitory.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the wooden lattice windows, casting a scatter of dappled light across the room. Silence filled the dorm, broken only by the occasional birdsong from outside.
Tang San sat alone beside his bed, staring blankly at an ancient book.
At that moment, his thoughts were in disarray, drifting far away. He could no longer focus on cultivation or study.
Over the past few days, everything familiar around him had changed beyond recognition because of one person's arrival.
The most obvious change was Xiao Wu.
Ever since they were children, Xiao Wu had always been the one who clung to him most.
From the days and nights they spent together at Nuoding Academy to their inseparable companionship after entering Shrek Academy, the girl had always put him at the center of everything.
In their free time, she would rush to his side at the first opportunity, either dragging him to the academy's back hill to spar and practice their footwork,
or gazing at him with bright, sparkling eyes as she pestered him to tell her stories about the Tang Sect of his past life—its secrets and legends of Hidden Weapons. Her chattering figure had always been at his side.
But ever since the mysterious man named Yi Chen arrived at Shrek Academy, everything had quietly been turned upside down.
Now, Xiao Wu almost never came to see him of her own accord.
She spent all her free time with Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.
The three girls, whose personalities and interests had once been completely different, were now always together, spending their days gathered around a strange card that glimmered with a faint golden light.
They huddled close and talked in hushed, animated voices. Their clear chatter often echoed through every corner of the academy.
Strange terms wormed their way into Tang San's ears again and again: team composition, synergy, item combinations, and unit positioning.
Every one of them belonged to a system he had never encountered before.
They didn't just spend their spare time together. Even at mealtimes, the three stayed close, earnestly pointing things out on that mysterious golden card and discussing it with enthusiasm.
They looked focused and delighted, leaving behind the childhood friend who had been by their side for years as if he were a stranger.
Tang San slowly raised a hand and gently closed the ancient book. His fingertips tightened slightly, and his brows furrowed despite himself. A complicated feeling rose in his heart, impossible to put into words.
He was meticulous and far more observant than most. He had already keenly noticed the earth-shaking changes in the three girls. What shocked him most was the transformation of Ning Rongrong's Martial Soul.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had once been recognized throughout the world as the strongest support-type Martial Soul, but it was bound by a permanent limit of seven rings from birth, a threshold it could never surpass.
Yet now, the glazed pagoda rising from Ning Rongrong's palm had broken through that limit. It stood firm at nine tiers!
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!
A supreme Martial Soul that had existed only in ancient legends and secret records!
He had once read about it in ancient books in Teacher Yu Xiaogang's private study. For the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to undergo a heaven-defying evolution and break its innate shackles, it needed an impossibly rare treasure of heaven and earth as its foundation. Such resources were almost impossible to find, and the odds of a successful evolution were minuscule—an occurrence rarer than once in ten thousand years.
Yet Ning Rongrong had done it with ease.
The answer was obvious.
That unfathomable Yi Chen had given her an immortal herb capable of changing her fate against the heavens.
In an instant, Tang San's mind raced through the countless supreme treasures recorded in the Tang Sect's ancient books from his past life: Aromatic Silk Beauty, Lovesick Heartbreak Red, Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone, Eight Petal Immortal Orchid.
Every one was a divine treasure, gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and seizing creation's gifts. They could cleanse the marrow, reshape one's foundation, and alter one's fate. An ordinary Spirit Master might never encounter even one in their lifetime.
The fact that Yi Chen could casually give away an immortal herb of such caliber was proof enough of how terrifying he was.
Either this man had the backing of an unfathomably powerful force that spanned the continent, or his own cultivation was so profound that he wielded a supreme power beyond the continent's understanding—far surpassing every top expert alive today.
At that thought, deep wariness and caution quietly spread through Tang San's heart, enveloping him layer by layer.
He slowly rose and walked to the window, his steps light. He lifted his eyes toward Shrek Academy's back hill.
With senses far sharper than those of his peers, he could clearly detect several powerful auras coming from the hill. Their Soul Power fluctuations were steady and refined, at least twice as strong as before.
There was no need to think twice. Xiao Wu and the other two were surely receiving Yi Chen's personal guidance and training hard.
As he looked toward the lush, green hillside, the emotions in Tang San's eyes grew more complicated. His heart was a jumble.
Xiao Wu was the only family he had since crossing into this world. She was the close companion who had been by his side for more than a decade, the bond he valued most.
By all rights, seeing Xiao Wu surpass herself, grow stronger by the day, break free of her past limitations, and make fresh strides should have filled him with sincere joy.
But reality was the opposite.
The girl who had once had eyes only for him now admired and trusted another strange man completely, obeyed his every word, and treated him as a mentor. A sour, restless irritation churned inside Tang San, impossible to suppress.
"Yi Chen..."
Tang San parted his lips and murmured the unfamiliar, oppressive name. His long fingers came to rest on the wooden window frame and tapped it slowly, unconsciously. The dull rhythm echoed his tense state of mind.
The scene in Star Dou Forest once again came vividly to mind.
With just one indifferent glance—without releasing his Soul Power or using a single technique—Yi Chen had instantly crushed Dai Mubai, who had already reached the Soul Elder rank, forcing the leader of the Shrek Seven Devils to his knees in front of everyone, unable to move.
That unruffled ease, that air of looking down on all living things, that unfathomable power beyond comprehension—perhaps even the Tang Sect's founding master, who had once shaken an entire region in his past life, could not compare.
What exactly was this man?
He had appeared out of nowhere at Shrek, supposedly to take on disciples and teach Xiao Wu and the others. Was he truly just impressed by their talent and hoping to nurture the next generation?
Or did he have some hidden agenda, some other purpose?
Countless questions swirled through Tang San's mind, impossible to shake. A sharp glint flashed across his deep-set eyes, cold and wary.
But it vanished in an instant, forcibly buried deep within him without a trace.
The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record had long since taught him: "Against the strong, use your wits; against the weak, capture them alive."
Having lived two lives, Tang San was steadier and more calculating than anyone. He understood better than most that before he had fully uncovered Yi Chen's background and figured out his intentions, showing even the slightest hint of hostility or suspicion would be the most foolish—and most fatal—thing he could do.
Besides, Yi Chen's strength had undoubtedly reached the level of a Titled Douluo or higher.
With his own Soul Power only a little over level thirty, he was no more than an ant trying to shake a tree. If he clashed with Yi Chen head-on, it would be like an egg striking a rock: a sure path to his own destruction.
"I mustn't act rashly. I need to think this through."
Tang San repeatedly warned himself, suppressing all his agitation and wariness and forcing himself to calm down.
He drew a deep breath and pushed down every ripple in his heart. His face returned to its usual gentle, composed expression, as though none of his suspicions, wariness, or irritation had ever surfaced.
He turned and walked back to the desk, settled into his seat, and picked up the ancient book. He pretended to resume studying the intricate techniques for crafting poisoned Hidden Weapons.
He seemed calm and as focused as ever, but no one knew that beneath the desk, his hands had quietly clenched, his knuckles faintly pale. His vigilance had already reached its peak.
The training ground on the back hill.
Yi Chen was patiently guiding his three female disciples as they adjusted their positions and worked to mesh their synergy formation. Suddenly, he paused.
His senses were keen. In an instant, he caught the concealed yet persistent gaze probing from the dormitories below. His eyes lifted slightly.
He gave the direction of Shrek Academy's dormitories a casual glance. A knowing, meaningful smile touched his handsome, peerless face.
"Little Tang San."
He chuckled silently to himself. There was not a ripple in his eyes, only a trace of amusement.
To others, Tang San's restraint, scheming, suspicion, and meticulousness might seem profound, far beyond his years. But to Yi Chen, they were no more than the tricks of a child who had yet to glimpse the wider world.
In this world, strength reigned supreme.
Before his absolute power, no amount of plotting, restraint, or cunning was anything but a buffoon's performance—futile and pointless.
He couldn't be bothered with such insignificant thoughts. He turned his attention back to Xiao Wu, patiently helping her fine-tune the units' positions and sort out their synergy.
His goal had been crystal clear from beginning to end.
He would sink roots into Douluo Continent, step by step, let the Golden Spatula system flourish everywhere and sweep across the entire continent—and, in the future, spread into the Divine Realm and throughout all the heavens and myriad worlds.
As for other people's speculation and schemes?
Meet the soldiers with generals; block the water with earth. That was all.