Speaking of which, I do have some history with Shrek...

As the crisp system notification rang beside his ears, a satisfied smile finally appeared on Qian Jue's cold face.

"Finally completed."

He murmured softly, a sharp glint flashing through his deep eyes.

All those years of elaborate preparation—faking his death and lying dormant—had not been in vain.

Qian Jue was, in fact, a transmigrator.

Long ago, he had crossed into the timeline of Peerless Tang Clan. Not only had he awakened an ultimate-darkness Fallen Angel Martial Soul on his own, but he had also possessed innate soul power at level twenty.

With such heaven-defying talent, he had charged all the way to become a Titled Douluo in less than twenty years.

Just as he had been preparing to press onward in one push toward the pinnacle of an Ultimate Douluo, the system had arrived.

The system's rules were brutally simple: complete the designated tasks to unlock the corresponding demonic powers. Once he completed every demon's trial, he would directly obtain a divine position and become a god at level one hundred!

Faced with such temptation, Qian Jue had readily accepted.

Before this, he had spent several years completing the trial tasks of the first three demons one after another.

The first demon was the Fire Demon Nama.

Task requirement: without relying on any external aid, personally burn to death one hundred enemies who harbored killing intent toward you.

For Qian Jue, who was already a Titled Douluo, this had been laughably easy—nothing more than casually raising a sea of flames.

The second was the Extreme Ice Demon Lilith.

Task requirement: give an enemy hope of escape, then brutally kill them in an instant.

For the cold-hearted Qian Jue, this was likewise easy to handle, carrying no psychological burden whatsoever.

The third was the Dark Demon Lucifugus.

Task requirement: strip yourself of sight and hearing, then survive for thirty days in the continent's most dangerous forbidden land.

Though dangerous, he had still endured it with his ultimate-darkness martial soul and exceptional willpower.

Then came the fourth: the Word Demon Zagred.

Its task requirement was exceptionally tricky: weave a monstrous lie that would deceive everyone on the entire continent.

This task truly gave Qian Jue a headache.

After much deliberation, he ultimately chose to stage a "fake death."

He meticulously arranged an earth-shattering battle of downfall, successfully deceiving every powerhouse on Douluo Continent and making everyone believe that the peerlessly gifted Fallen Angel Douluo had truly perished.

Clearly, the move had worked wonders. He had successfully deceived the heavens and crossed the sea.

As for himself, he had fallen into slumber deep underground within the Star Dou Great Forest, silently awaiting the task's completion.

Only today had the intense soul power fluctuations released by the Shrek students above as they fought a hundred-thousand-year soul beast to the death awakened him from the lingering effects of his slumber, bringing with it the final reward settlement.

His long sleep had finally ended, and he had finally weathered this exceptionally difficult trial.

Having been forced to maintain the state of "playing dead" all these years had truly stifled Qian Jue.

He had even secretly broken into a cold sweat, afraid that he might sleep for several decades in one go. If the Child of Fortune, Huo Yuhao, had already become a god at level one hundred by the time he awoke, that would have been quite a joke.

If it truly came to that, he could only lie low and keep playing dead all the way until the era of Legend of the Dragon King.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario had not occurred.

Suppressing his surging thoughts, Qian Jue slowly lowered his eyes and turned his gaze toward the tense young woman currently held in his arms.

She was breathtakingly beautiful, her refined and ethereal features carrying a touch of gentleness. She was indeed a rare beauty.

Yet even though he had saved her, the wariness in her eyes remained clearly visible.

Qian Jue naturally understood why.

In this era, any martial soul touched by the attribute of ultimate darkness would be mercilessly branded by the world as belonging to an evil soul master.

Back then, Shrek Academy, which prided itself on justice, had caused him no small amount of trouble under the banner of eliminating evil and defending righteousness.

"What is your name?"

Qian Jue spoke indifferently, his gaze sweeping over the distinctive crimson academy uniform on her body.

"Judging by your attire, you should be a disciple of Shrek Academy's inner court.

Speaking of which, I have some history with your Shrek."

He said this mainly to draw out her identity and determine exactly how far the current timeline had progressed.

Some history with Shrek?

Zhang Lexuan was slightly stunned, a trace of surprise flashing through her beautiful eyes.

But before she could ascertain his background, she still maintained the vigilance she ought to have.

After a moment of silence, she replied cautiously:

"Reporting to Senior, this junior is Zhang Lexuan, a disciple of Shrek's inner court.

One month ago, this junior led my junior brothers and sisters into the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain soul rings. Unexpectedly, we encountered this hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

Had Senior not intervened today, we would not have been able to preserve our lives."

After a brief pause, she continued probing in a respectful tone:

"May I ask Senior's honored name? Senior saved Shrek's disciples today. For such great kindness, Lexuan will certainly pay you a visit someday and repay you generously."

Although the mysterious man before her radiated an extremely dense dark aura, that power was pure and profound, lacking the nauseating bloodiness and sinister evil unique to evil soul masters.

Combined with his own mention of having ties to Shrek, the tightly drawn string in Zhang Lexuan's heart finally loosened slightly.

Upon hearing the name "Zhang Lexuan," a look of understanding flashed through Qian Jue's deep eyes.

So it was her. Shrek inner court's eldest senior sister, the proud daughter of heaven who had borne far too much in the original course of fate.

Since Zhang Lexuan was still here leading a team to hunt soul beasts and had just happened to experience this deadly calamity, it meant that the timeline was not far from when Huo Yuhao joined Shrek. The story might even have only just begun.

The timing was perfect.

He casually withdrew the arm around Zhang Lexuan's slender waist, allowing her to steady herself as the six pitch-black wings behind him gradually retracted some of their violent pressure.

"There is no need to pay me a visit."

Qian Jue looked down at her from above, his voice detached and calm. "As for my name... Qian Jue."

"Qian Jue?" Zhang Lexuan froze for a moment, rapidly searching through her memories for that name.

That name seemed familiar somehow...

Yet she could not recall where she had heard it.

Before Zhang Lexuan could think more carefully, an extremely powerful yet furious soul power fluctuation suddenly erupted from deep within the distant forest.

Boom—!

Amid the thunderous crash of countless trees being smashed apart by brute force, an elderly figure reeking of alcohol and clad in tattered clothes came charging over like a mad bull.

"Who is it?! Who dared lay a hand on my students?! I'll tear you apart!"

Before he even arrived, the violent pressure of a level ninety-eight Super Douluo had already swept over them like a tsunami.

The one who had arrived late was none other than Elder Xuan.