Tang San's Doubts (A test run, please follow)

Shrek Academy, boys' dormitory.

The afternoon sun filtered through the wooden window lattice, casting dappled, fragmented light and shadows. The room was silent, save for the occasional chirping of birds outside.

Tang San sat alone by his bed, staring blankly at an ancient book.

At this moment, all his thoughts were in disarray, drifting far away, unable to settle down for cultivation or study.

In these past few short days, everything familiar around him had completely changed due to the appearance of one person.

The most obvious change was in Xiao Wu.

Since they were children, Xiao Wu had always been the one most attached to him.

From their days together at Nuoding Academy to their inseparable bond after entering Shrek, the young girl had always centered everything around him.

In their leisure time, she would always be the first to rush to his side, either dragging him to the back of the academy to spar or practice movement techniques.

Or she would blink her bright, sparkling eyes, pestering him to tell her stories of the Tang Sect's secret lore and legendary hidden weapons. Her chattering figure had always been by his side.

But ever since that mysterious man named Yi Chen arrived at Shrek, everything had been quietly overturned.

Nowadays, Xiao Wu almost never took the initiative to find him.

She spent all her free time accompanying Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.

The three girls, who originally had completely different personalities and preferences, were now inseparable, spending their days gathered around a strange card that emitted a faint golden light.

They would huddle together in heated, whispered discussions, their crisp voices often echoing throughout the academy.

Those unfamiliar terms drilled into Tang San's ears over and over: lineup synergy, bond resonance, equipment synthesis, piece positioning.

Every single word belonged to a brand-new system he had never encountered before.

Not only during their free time, but even at mealtimes, the three of them would huddle closely together, pointing at that mysterious gold card and discussing it fervently.

Their expressions were focused and joyful, completely leaving him, their lifelong close friend, on the sidelines as if he were a stranger.

Tang San slowly raised his hand and gently closed the ancient book in his lap. His fingertips tightened slightly, his brows furrowed uncontrollably, and an indescribable, complex emotion welled up in his heart.

He was meticulous and possessed observation skills far beyond the average person. He had long since keenly captured the earth-shattering changes in the three girls, and the most shocking among them was the evolution of Ning Rongrong's martial soul.

The former Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, recognized as the strongest support martial soul in the world, had a permanent bottleneck of seven rings, making it impossible to break through for a lifetime.

But now, the glazed pagoda rising from Ning Rongrong's palm had broken its limit, steadily fixed at nine levels!

Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!

This was the supreme support martial soul that only existed in ancient legends and secret records!

He had once read relevant records in the private study of his teacher, Yu Xioagang. For the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to complete such a heaven-defying evolution and break its innate shackles, it required extremely rare, heaven-defying treasures as a foundation. Not only were such resources hard to find, but the success rate of the evolution was infinitesimal—a once-in-ten-thousand-years occurrence.

Yet Ning Rongrong had achieved it with such ease.

The answer was self-evident.

It must have been that mysterious and unfathomable Yi Chen who gifted her the peerless immortal herb capable of defying the heavens and changing her fate.

In an instant, many top-tier treasures recorded in the Tang Sect classics of his past life flashed through Tang San's mind: Silk Tulip, Love Sickness Heartbroken Red, Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone, Eight Petal Immortal Orchid.

Each one was a supreme divine object that gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and seized the fortunes of the world. They could cleanse the marrow, reshape the foundation, and defy fate; an ordinary soul master would be lucky to see one in a lifetime.

To be able to casually take out immortal herbs of this level and gift them to others was enough to prove Yi Chen's terrifying nature.

This meant that this person either possessed a terrifying, unfathomable background with influence spanning the entire continent, or his own cultivation was heaven-defying, mastering supreme power that transcended the continent's understanding, far surpassing all current top powerhouses.

At this thought, a deep sense of wariness and vigilance quietly spread from the bottom of Tang San's heart, shrouding his mind layer by layer.

He stood up slowly, walked to the window with light steps, and looked toward the back mountain of Shrek.

With his keen perception, which far exceeded his peers, he could clearly capture several majestic auras coming from the back mountain. Their soul power fluctuations were steady and refined, more than twice as strong as before.

There was no need to guess; it must be Xiao Wu and the others receiving Yi Chen's exclusive guidance and cultivating diligently.

Looking at the lush mountain forest, the emotions in Tang San's eyes became increasingly complex and mixed.

Xiao Wu was the only family he had after crossing into this world; she was his closest friend of over ten years and his most important bond.

Logically speaking, seeing Xiao Wu break through herself, become stronger rapidly, shed her past limitations, and gain new growth should have made him genuinely happy.

But the reality was the exact opposite.

Watching the girl who used to have her heart and eyes filled only with him now look at another strange man with full admiration and trust, obeying his every word and treating him as a mentor, a surge of uncontrollable irritation and bitterness churned in his heart, refusing to dissipate.

"Yi Chen."

Tang San's thin lips parted slightly, whispering this strange and highly oppressive name. His slender fingers tapped unconsciously and slowly on the wooden window lattice, the dull rhythm matching his currently tense state of mind.

The scene in the Star Dou Forest appeared clearly in his mind once again.

With just a calm glance, without the need for soul power to erupt or techniques to be activated, that overbearing pressure had instantly suppressed Dai Mubai, who had already broken through to the Soul Saint level, forcing the leader of the Shrek Seven Devils to kneel in public, unable to move.

That calm and composed demeanor, that detachment of looking down upon all living beings, and that bottomless, completely inscrutable terrifying background—even the founder of the Tang Sect, who had shaken the world in his past life, would likely find it difficult to match.

What exactly was this man's origin?

He appeared abruptly at Shrek, ostensibly taking on disciples and teaching Xiao Wu and the others to cultivate. Was it really just a simple appreciation of talent, wanting to nurture the younger generation?

Or was there an unknown agenda, some other ulterior motive?

Countless doubts lingered in his mind, refusing to dissipate, as a sharp, cold glint flashed briefly in the depths of Tang San's eyes—icy and vigilant.

However, this sharpness was forcibly suppressed and buried deep within his heart in an instant, leaving not a trace on the surface.

The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record had long since taught: outwit the strong, capture the weak alive.

Having lived two lifetimes, he was more aware than anyone that, without fully grasping an opponent's background and intentions, any outward display of hostility or suspicion was the most foolish and fatal of actions.

Moreover, the strength Yi Chen had displayed had undoubtedly reached the realm of a Titled Douluo or even higher.

With his current soul power of only thirty-something levels, comparing himself to such a being was like an ant trying to shake a tree; a direct confrontation would only result in throwing an egg against a rock, inviting his own destruction.

Do not be impulsive; this requires careful consideration.

Tang San repeatedly warned himself in his heart, suppressing all restlessness and vigilance, forcing himself to calm down.

He took a deep breath, smoothing out all the waves in his heart, and his face returned to its usual gentle, peaceful, and calm expression, as if all the suspicion, wariness, and irritation from moments ago had never existed.

He turned and walked slowly back to the desk, sat down once more, and reached out to pick up the ancient text, pretending to continue studying the intricate techniques of poison-laced hidden weapons.

He appeared calm and focused as before, but no one knew that his hands, hidden beneath the desk, were already gripping tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white; the guard in his heart had already climbed to its peak.

At the back mountain training ground.

Yi Chen, who was patiently guiding three female disciples in adjusting their positioning and refining their bond formation, suddenly paused.

With his keen perception, he instantly caught the obscure yet persistent gaze of investigation coming from the direction of the dormitories down the mountain, and his eyes lifted slightly.

He swept a glance, as if nothing were there, toward the Shrek dormitories, a knowing and meaningful smile curling upon his peerless, handsome face.

Little Tang San.

He chuckled inwardly, his eyes devoid of ripples, holding only a hint of faint amusement.

Tang San's forbearance, shrewdness, suspicion, and meticulousness might seem profound and far beyond his peers to others, but in his eyes, they were ultimately just the tricks of a child who had never seen the true scale of the world.

In this world, strength was ultimately the only thing that mattered.

Before his absolute power, any amount of scheming, forbearance, and calculation was nothing more than the performance of a clown, entirely futile.

He couldn't be bothered to pay attention to such trivial thoughts, so he withdrew his gaze and continued to patiently instruct Xiao Wu on fine-tuning her piece positioning and organizing her bond combinations.

His goal had been crystal clear from the very beginning.

To take root in the Douluo Continent step by step, letting the Golden Spatula system blossom everywhere, sweeping across the entire continent, and in the future, spreading even to the God Realm and throughout the myriad worlds.

As for the speculations and schemes of others?

When soldiers come, block them with generals; when water comes, earth covers it—nothing more.