I Took Your Hand

Xu Sanshi was in even worse shape. The Xuanming Turtle Shell Shield on his back, reputed to be invincible among those of the same rank, had not even left behind a fragment the size of a fingernail. His whole body was curled up at the bottom of the pit like a cooked shrimp, and every so often, he spat out a mouthful of bloody foam mixed with black ash. The source of his martial soul had likewise been burned full of holes, and even his Xuanwater soul power had evaporated completely.

He Caitou, Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan...

Wang Yan checked them one by one. Each time he touched someone, his body trembled violently, as though an icy hand were slowly crushing his heart.

None of them were dead.

That white-clad youth named Yu Chen had indeed held back.

But this was even crueler than killing them on the spot! Their martial souls had suffered devastating damage, their meridians were utterly destroyed. This kind of ruinous blow that directly damaged their foundations meant that even if they brought out all the finest heavenly treasures from Shrek Academy's Sea God's Pavilion, these geniuses, once blessed with boundless potential and great expectations, would likely be inferior to even the most ordinary low-level soul masters from now on.

At last, Wang Yan stopped beside Huo Yuhao.

This rising star, valued by the academy's upper ranks, lay on his back amid the ruins at the edge of the pit. Even in deep unconsciousness, Huo Yuhao's handsome face was twisted like that of a vicious ghost. His ten fingers clawed desperately into the scorching earth, every nail torn back and bleeding, while the veins on his forehead throbbed violently.

The resentment and venom etched into his bones could not be concealed even by unconsciousness.

Plop.

Wang Yan's arm finally lost all strength, and he collapsed onto the scorching pile of rubble.

The crystals beneath him burned the flesh of his thighs, but he had gone completely numb. Staring blankly at the Shrek Seven Monsters' reserve team sprawled across the ground, he slowly raised his head and looked toward Yu Chen, who stood at the edge of the pit with not even a speck of dust staining the hem of his pure white robes.

"We lost..."

Wang Yan's lips trembled violently. Two muddy tears slid down his dust-covered cheeks, and his eyes became utterly vacant, like a puppet whose strings had been pulled out.

"We lost everything... Shrek's glory... ten thousand years of glory..."

He repeated those two sentences over and over like a madman, his voice as shrill and mournful as a funeral wail.

What monster academy? What foundation of the continent's number one academy?

Before those black flames that defied even common sense, it was nothing more than a joke plastered together with cheap straw paper. Yu Chen had not even fully released the phantom of his martial soul, nor had he uttered a single soul incantation. He had merely flicked out a tiny flame, casually burning every source of pride, every trump card, and every tactic Shrek had boasted of as cleanly as trash.

In the stands, tens of thousands of spectators remained deathly silent. No one mocked Wang Yan's breakdown, because every face wore the same expression as his—as if they had seen a ghost.

A strange gust carrying a heavy scorched stench swept across the ruined arena, dispersing the last traces of black smoke in the air.

Wang Dong'er stood alone at the very edge of the arena, her pink-blue short hair tousled by the wind.

She panted heavily. After the seal deep within her soul had cracked open, an unprecedented clarity crept up her spine.

The lofty blue figure in her mind—the man who called himself her father yet had treated her like a puppet, barking orders at her—now overlapped strangely with the miserable scene before her.

This was Shrek?

This was the so-called "destiny" that man had painstakingly sent her here to protect and befriend?

Wang Dong'er lowered her head, her gaze sweeping over Wang Yan, slumped on the ground as though his parents had died, then over her teammates, who normally held their heads high and constantly proclaimed, "We are monsters." Now, they lay in the pit like a pack of dead dogs, barely clinging to life.

Especially Huo Yuhao—the "child of fortune" the voice in her mind had repeatedly told her to observe and befriend in secret. The ugly look of jealousy and venom on his face, as though he harbored it even in his dreams, made Wang Dong'er's stomach churn.

Hypocrisy.

It was all disgusting hypocrisy!

That so-called ten-thousand-year glory was merely a fig leaf for a group of people with a few special talents, huddling together to flaunt their strength before the weak. The moment they encountered a truly powerful opponent, the moment that paper-thin facade was torn apart, the arrogance, fragility, and ugliness wrapped within were simply nauseating.

Wang Dong'er bit down hard on her lower lip until the thick taste of blood filled her mouth.

Her chest heaved violently. Then the last trace of belonging she still felt toward Shrek Academy, the last hesitation she held toward that false destiny, was completely ignited by those domineering black flames and instantly burned to ash, leaving not even a scrap behind for that hypocritical father.

I will never be your puppet!

Wang Dong'er spat fiercely in her heart. Her gaze changed completely. The little girl's confusion and fear receded like a tide, replaced by determination and icy resolve after every pretense had been torn apart.

At that moment, Yu Chen moved.

From beginning to end, he had not lowered his head to look at Wang Yan weeping and howling at the bottom of the pit, nor had he spared those so-called Shrek geniuses a second glance. It was as though he had merely stepped on a few bugs blocking his path, without even the slightest interest in checking the corpses.

He turned around, the hem of his white robes tracing a sharp yet carefree arc through the wind.

Facing Wang Dong'er, Yu Chen's deep, tranquil eyes clearly reflected the girl's resolute face after her complete transformation.

He slowly raised his right hand and extended it toward Wang Dong'er.

His long fingers were clearly jointed, untouched by even the slightest trace of worldly dust.

"Do you see?"

Yu Chen's voice was not loud, but it carried an irresistible force that clearly overwhelmed the heavy breathing of tens of thousands throughout the arena and struck directly at Wang Dong'er's heart.

"This is what you once believed in."

He tilted his head slightly, the corner of his lips curving into a smile devoid of warmth yet domineering to the extreme.

"Now, do you still want to go back?"

Wang Dong'er lowered her eyes, her gaze falling upon the hand suspended in the air.

Clearly jointed, long and powerful, so fair that not even a speck of dust had touched it.

Then she turned her head and looked at the smoking pit behind her. Wang Yan knelt amid the charcoal-like rubble, crying and laughing like a complete madman. Xu Sanshi, once so arrogant and untouchable, had now curled into a ball like a mangy dead dog. And Huo Yuhao, the one burdened with such great expectations, was covered in blood and filth, every fingernail torn back from clawing at the ground. It was a miserable sight.

This was Shrek. The strong devoured the weak, yet they insisted on wearing a skin of righteousness and morality.

The divine sense seal that had just been forcibly torn apart deep within her mind still ached faintly. That hypocritical voice claiming to be her father, that sickening feeling of being manipulated like a puppet, made acid rise in her stomach.