"Do You Believe in Gravity?"

As soon as the words fell...

Dugu Bo casually swept his gaze around, and it inadvertently landed on Qin Moyu, whose exceptional bearing stood out not far away. His expression paused slightly.

Xue Ke? Why is she standing with an unfamiliar young man?

Dugu Bo quietly assessed Qin Moyu.

The young man before him displayed nothing remarkable in terms of Soul Power, yet he showed not the slightest restraint under his Titled Douluo pressure. That level of composure was indeed unusual.

Dugu Bo silently grew wary.

Flender stepped forward beside him to lead the way, preparing to take Dugu Bo to the inner courtyard to rest.

At that moment, Dugu Bo turned to look at Dugu Yan, his tone overflowing with affection. "Yanyan, would you like to go inside and rest with me?"

"Grandpa, I won't be going in." Dugu Yan shook her head and looked toward Xue Ke in the distance. "I already made plans with Xue Ke. I'll head back on my own later."

Dugu Bo had always doted on his only granddaughter. Moreover, having formed an unlikely friendship with Tang San today had put him in an especially good mood. He casually reminded her, "Fine. Go have fun without worry, Yanyan. If you run into any trouble, just give them your grandfather's name!"

"Got it, Grandpa!" Dugu Yan obediently replied.

She watched Dugu Bo and Flender leave, waiting until they had completely vanished from sight. Then the obedient expression Dugu Yan had been wearing quietly faded.

Ugh, he's impossible to persuade. Grandpa trusts Tang San too much. I wonder if Lord Mo Yu can...

With that thought, she turned to look at Qin Moyu in the distance...

Dugu Yan: ???

Huh? Where did he go?

Dugu Yan froze. All she could see were Xue Ke and Ning Rongrong chatting and laughing, but Qin Moyu was nowhere to be found, as though that figure had never existed from beginning to end...

At the same time, a strange atmosphere quietly enveloped the entire Shrek Academy.

At some unknown point, the sound of wind by her ears gradually weakened. Dust floating through the air hung suspended in midair, and everything between heaven and earth began slowing down in defiance of all reason...

Yet strangely, Dugu Yan could feel time around her gradually slowing to a halt, while her consciousness became increasingly clear. Within her spiritual sea, the replica of the Myriad Heavens Diary shone ever more brightly...

Elsewhere, Tang San was surrounded by teachers and students as they discussed their recent experiences, completely unaware of the inexplicable changes quietly taking place around them...

Shrek Academy remained as lively as ever.

Tang San stood warmly surrounded by teachers and students, with conversation flowing one topic after another.

"Tang San, you're finally back! While you were away from the academy, my goddess, Sister Xiao Wu, was gloomy every day. Even her favorite carrots didn't taste good anymore QWQ~"

"Awesome? When Tang San runs out of strength later, remember to give him a push..."

"Tang San, after training with Dugu Bo on this trip, how much did your Soul Power increase?"

"Tang San, how did you make Dugu Bo willingly come to our academy as an advisor?"

"Tang San, I heard Dugu Bo's poison arts are unrivaled across the Douluo Continent. Did you learn a trick or two from him?"

"Tang San, that's incredible! With a Titled Douluo guarding the academy from now on, Shrek is going to soar!"

"Tang San, could you help us get Senior Dugu's autograph..."

"Tang San... Tang San... Tang..."

All manner of calls came one after another without end.

Surrounded by the crowd, Tang San maintained a polite smile and occasionally answered his classmates' questions.

Yet gradually, everything around him began to quietly collapse and distort...

The clear voices by his ears gradually warped. Though everyone stood right beside him, their words became fragmented and indistinct.

Countless cries of "Tang San" overlapped, eventually blending into an indistinct hum that slowly faded away...

Tang San's eyes turned blank. The sun still hung high in the sky, but its light brought no warmth when it fell upon him. Instead, it carried a piercing chill that made his heart shudder.

"This... isn't right. An illusion? When did it happen?"

Tang San's expression instantly froze, his brows knitting tightly as alarm bells rang in his heart.

In an instant, Soul Power quietly circulated within him. He raised a hand to the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night at his waist, and the hidden weapon Zhuge Repeating Crossbow stood ready to fire.

Just as Tang San tensed every nerve and guarded against his surroundings with complete vigilance, a detached, ethereal voice sounded without warning from directly overhead...

"An illusion? It is not..."

"This is merely an insignificant method—using interference with gravity, one of the fundamental forces of the universe, to bring about a pause in the flow of time."

The ethereal voice was clear and calm, as though it were casually describing something trivial. Yet every word overturned the common understanding of the Douluo Continent's Soul Master cultivation system!

After a slight pause, the ethereal voice took on a trace of amusement as it posed a soul-searching question steeped in philosophy:

"Tang San, do you believe in gravity?"

The philosophical weight of that question was equivalent to asking, "Why do birds fly?"

In an instant, those words exploded through the depths of Tang San's consciousness like thunder.

Tang San's pupils violently contracted. He abruptly looked up, his face utterly filled with shock and disbelief.

High above, he saw two bizarre figures. More accurately, one was a strange half-man, half-horse creature, while the other was a flickering, uncanny human silhouette.

Under the sunlight, the young man who had just spoken never remained stable for even a moment. Blurred outlines and afterimages of time constantly alternated, making it impossible to discern his true form.

It was a phenomenon Tang San had never seen in either of his two lives, something he could not comprehend.

He immediately activated his Purple Demon Eyes, violet light flashing in his gaze as he attempted to pierce the haze. Yet the Purple Demon Eyes, which had always been invincible, could do nothing at this moment. He could not make out the other party's face...

For some reason, a completely new concept suddenly emerged in Tang San's mind--

"Time."

The birth of that concept was abrupt, yet incomparably real.

It was like a mortal rashly gazing upon an indescribable Cthulhu deity, causing the brain to passively receive knowledge of the occult...

Only, the dimensional concept of "time" had a relatively mild effect and would not bring about the mental corruption found in the Old Gods system.

At that moment, the confusion in Tang San's heart vanished, and he understood the truth behind the blurred figure:

The young man's silhouette in the sky appeared unstable precisely because the flow of time was too fast. Overlapping temporal afterimages caused his form to flicker repeatedly until it became blurred and indistinct.

The only figure Tang San could see clearly was the strange creature with a human upper body fused to the body of a white horse. It wore a mask with a single giant clock eye, showed no unnecessary expression, and emanated an eerie aura. Golden-white clocks were engraved across its surface...

Herrscher of Reason Divine Core's sixth Soul Skill—Made in Heaven