On the way back to Seven Treasures City, Leng Yaozhu held Gu An and the unconscious Xiao Xiao in her arms as her Sky Phoenix wings sliced through the clouds.
Nestled against Leng Yaozhu, Gu An closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into Douluo Planet within him.
The gray, dusty planet still hung quietly in place.
Most areas remained locked, but access to some of them had already been unlocked!
The World Origin he had gained by suppressing Huo Yuhao and weakening the forces around him was greater than the combined total from the previous few times.
Unfortunately, there was still no sign that Douluo Planet's consciousness had awakened.
Gu An opened his eyes and summoned the access panel Douluo Planet had given him within his consciousness.
He had indeed accumulated quite a bit of World Origin—enough to summon another bodyguard.
He glanced over the summoning options. The words "Random Summon" were glaringly clear; he couldn't choose who to summon.
Gu An curled his lip. "What a shame."
If he could choose, he would definitely pick Yun Ming, the true ceiling of combat strength in Legend of the Dragon King.
Then he could drop Yun Ming right into Shrek Academy and crush them with an overwhelming advantage!
But it was only wishful thinking.
Tang San had already intervened personally. Even if it had only been a strand of divine consciousness descending, it was enough to show that the Great God King Tang had his eye on him now.
Even if he really summoned Yun Ming, it wouldn't help much.
No matter how strong Yun Ming was, he still couldn't match a God King.
But what if he looked at it another way?
He could have the summoned Titled Douluo act as a Lone Wolf, avoid tying themselves to him, and focus on striking at the protagonist's group.
They could secretly snatch Huo Yuhao's opportunities, weaken Wang Dong's cultivation resources...
Or even go straight after the other members of Shrek's Seven Devils.
Set them to run on autopilot and harvest World Origin at regular intervals.
The more Gu An thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
He had already begun to suspect as much when he took Xiao Xiao away.
Although Xiao Xiao was a Twin Martial Souls prodigy, in the original story she had been a member of Huo Yuhao's team, one of the helpers at the Son of Fortune's side.
After he took her away, he had clearly gained some World Origin.
That meant suppressing Huo Yuhao himself wasn't the only way to gain World Origin.
Weakening the forces around him worked, too.
Those companions, those opportunities, all those things that should have belonged to the Son of Fortune—if he intercepted them, they could all be converted into World Origin.
The discovery lifted Gu An's spirits considerably.
But now wasn't the time to study it in detail.
He would return to Spirit Transmission Academy first, get settled, and then plan his next move.
"Sister Yaozhu, let's go back to Seven Treasures City first."
Leng Yaozhu nodded. With a beat of her wings, she flew even faster.
At that moment, in the Divine Realm.
Inside a resplendent palace, Tang San had just withdrawn his divine consciousness from Douluo Continent, and his expression hadn't yet fully recovered.
A black figure appeared before him.
God King of Destruction.
Destruction's gaze was as cold as ice as he stared at Tang San, his voice low.
"Tang San! Did you just send your divine consciousness down to Douluo Continent?"
Tang San's expression darkened further. He suppressed his anger and did his best to keep his voice calm.
"Destruction, I'll say it again! I was only worried about Xiao Qi. She's my daughter. I left a strand of divine consciousness to protect her, that's all."
"I didn't interfere with Douluo Continent's operation. Don't try to pin that on me!"
God King of Destruction narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Tang San's face again and again.
Meanwhile, Tang San was cursing God King of Destruction to high heaven in his heart.
He was always watching him. He had to come question him over every little thing. Damn him!
Destruction had found no concrete evidence.
He had only sensed an extremely faint fluctuation of divine consciousness, with no way to prove that Tang San had actually interfered with the lower realm.
So he gave a cold snort.
"If I catch you abusing your authority as God King of Law Enforcement to interfere with the lower realm, you know what the consequences will be."
After dropping those words, Destruction turned and left, his black figure vanishing from the palace.
Tang San watched him go, his gaze gradually turning cold.
That man had a death wish.
But for now, there was nothing he could do.
God King of Destruction held the position of God of Destruction, and his combat strength was no lower than Tang San's. If they fought, the outcome was anyone's guess.
Besides, not everyone on the God Realm Committee was on his side.
One move could stir the whole board.
He put those thoughts aside and turned his attention back to Douluo Continent.
"Just who is that brat?!"
A child with a first spirit ring that was ten thousand years old, and an Extreme Douluo by his side whose depths even Tang San couldn't fathom.
That kind of talent, that kind of lineup—it had completely exceeded his original plans.
Any destabilizing factor beyond his plans had to be brought firmly under control!
Gu An's displayed talent was so outrageous—his first spirit ring was ten thousand years old at the age of six, he had Twin Martial Souls, and he possessed the unheard-of ability called "Soul Spirit."
Tang San quickly reached a conclusion.
"That brat's talent is absolutely no less than Huo Yuhao's!"
If he was no less talented than Huo Yuhao, then he was just as valuable.
Dog Leash Plan branch: activated.
The corners of Tang San's mouth curled up slightly.
Whether he was a Son of Fortune or not made no difference.
As long as Tang San could leash him, all of Douluo Continent would remain his backyard.
A genius? A ten-thousand-year first spirit ring? The potential to become a god?
Those were nothing more than the price of admission to meet Tang San.
Two geniuses, two dog leashes, one Douluo Planet, one backyard.
It was a bargain.
His gaze seemed to pierce through the barriers of the Divine Realm and look down at Douluo Continent. He murmured to himself.
"Xiao Qi... Father is doing this for your own good, too. As for the Son of Fortune, you can choose whoever you like!"
A flash of light passed through his eyes.
"It's time to let the Soul Beasts make their move..."
Compared to Tang San's irritation with God King of Destruction and his confidence that his plans remained firmly in hand, the Shrek faction was both bewildered and aggrieved.
They were bewildered because Sea God Tang San, the founding member of Shrek Academy's Seven Devils, the legendary God King, had finally descended, only to say one sentence and then leave!
He'd said, "I think highly of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Make sure to cultivate them well," and that was it.
The academy's dignity had been trampled into the dirt!
Could he not step in and do something?!
They were aggrieved because Gu An and Leng Yaozhu, the two instigators, had actually escaped right in front of Sea God Tang San!
Tang San had descended in person, and they still dared to run!
And they had run so decisively, so casually!
They had trampled Shrek Academy's dignity and swaggered away.
The Soul Fighting Zone was dead silent. No one spoke; everyone was still trying to process what had just happened.
The tenacious Xuanzi couldn't hold back any longer.
His body was charred black as he lay sprawled on the ground, panting in ragged gasps.
The pain in his body, the humiliation in his heart, and his fury at Gu An for reopening old wounds in front of everyone had all churned together.
The fact that he hadn't died of rage on the spot was proof of his iron nerves.
He raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice came out hoarse and vicious.
"It must have been that little bitch Xiao Xiao!"
"She told that so-called Spirit Transmission Academy everything about our Shrek Academy!"
"Ungrateful little bitch!"
His shout echoed through the silent Soul Fighting Zone.
No one contradicted him.
Xuanzi's voice grew even more frenzied.
"The monk can run, but the temple can't! We have to wipe out that traitor's entire family!"
"She doesn't deserve to be a student of Shrek!"
As he said this, Xuanzi's expression twisted beyond recognition. With his face covered in charred scars, he looked every bit like an Evil Soul Master.
But not a single person in all of Shrek Academy stood up to object.
They had just suffered an unprecedented defeat. Someone had stormed their academy and humiliated them in front of everyone, and even Sea God Tang San's personal descent hadn't been enough to keep their opponent there.
Shrek Academy needed an outlet for its rage. It needed a scapegoat to bear all its fury and humiliation.
Xiao Xiao was that scapegoat.
What's more, deep down, even the higher-ups thought Xuanzi was right!
Shrek Academy had treated Xiao Xiao so well, giving her the finest cultivation resources and pairing her with the strongest teammates.
She was just a little girl from a common background. She should have been grateful just to join Shrek Academy; she should have knelt down and thanked them.
And now she actually dared to betray them!
She had a death wish!