Revealing Zhang Lexuan's Secret, Tang Ya Breaks Down

Lin Ye suppressed the urge to claim his rewards and closed his eyes again, already making plans.

In another two days, once they reached the edge of Star Dou Forest, he'd find an excuse to leave the main group, locate an absolutely secluded place, and claim all his rewards.

Once his strength skyrocketed, he'd enter Star Dou Forest and obtain Elex's remnant soul.

Across from him, Wang Dong'er had already seen the reward settlement in the Diary and was completely dumbfounded.

His soul power would rise by three levels directly?! Two hundred-thousand-year soul rings?! The Everlasting Spring Art would directly reach minor mastery?!

These rewards were far too good!

After her shock passed, that uncomfortable feeling rose in her heart again. Puffing out her cheeks, she shot Lin Ye another fierce glare.

Even with rewards this good, you can't just leave me behind!

Lin Ye opened his eyes and stretched, only to meet Wang Dong'er's puffed-up glare. He froze for a moment, utterly confused.

What's wrong with this girl? Why does she look like I owe her tens of thousands of gold soul coins?

He had just been about to ask when Wang Dong'er huffed, abruptly turned away, and left him with the sight of the back of her pretty head, completely ignoring him.

Lin Ye rubbed his nose helplessly, but didn't think much of it. He closed his eyes again to rest.

[On the second day of our journey to Shrek Academy, everything had been peaceful. The soul-tool carriage's amenities really were beyond reproach.

The cushions were soft, the tea stayed warm, and even the pastries came in different varieties every day. There was absolutely nothing to criticize about the living arrangements. There was just one troublesome issue: I was running a little short on Diary material.]

Wang Dong'er, who sat by the window across from him, had just picked up a piece of osmanthus cake when the contents of the Diary reorganized themselves in her mind.

Her hand paused. She secretly glanced at Lin Ye, who was resting with his eyes closed across from her, and couldn't help curling her lips.

Yesterday, this guy was still planning how to find an excuse to ditch me, and today he's worried about having nothing to write in his Diary? So this young lady and all the scenery along the way aren't enough material for even one diary entry?

[It's not like I can just pad out an entry and muddle through, right? No, absolutely not.

The Diary's rewards won't play along with me. The more substantial the content and the more information it contains, the better the rewards will be.

If I just cobble together some nonsense to fool it, I might not even get the guaranteed basic soul power increase. That'd be such a loss—a huge loss.]

[Forget it, I won't think about anything else. When it comes to finding material, I still have to rely on my reliable material repository: Shrek Academy.

After all, there's simply too much to talk about there. If I really broke it down and wrote about it in detail, I could write for a year or two without repeating myself. It's practically the savior of my Diary. Whenever I don't know what to write in the future, writing about Shrek can't go wrong.]

In the Far North, Snow Empress saw the Diary update, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion. Could this legendary number one academy on the continent truly be some den of filth and corruption?

Ice Empress beside her was equally puzzled. Even they had heard Shrek Academy's name like thunder, and its reputation was excellent, almost like a holy land for cultivation.

Although Shrek Academy couldn't avoid some petty scheming and ugly affairs, it shouldn't be as bad as Lin Ye made it sound, should it?

With their doubts, they continued reading the newly updated Diary.

[There was something I couldn't understand even when I read the original work. Why was Shrek Academy's highest authority called the Sea God Pavilion?]

[Tang San did graduate from Shrek, and no one could deny that. But from beginning to end, he'd never been Shrek's dean, nor had he been a vice dean. He hadn't even served as a guest lecturer.

To put it bluntly, he was merely an outstanding student who did well for himself after graduation.

Just because that student became a god after graduating, the academy's highest decision-making body had to be renamed after his divine title?]

[I don't get it. I really don't get it.

The whole thing sounded ridiculous no matter how I looked at it. To give the most straightforward example, it'd be like founding a sect and painstakingly teaching seven exceptionally gifted disciples.

One of them later became a god through a fortunate opportunity, so I'd have to change the sect's rules, name, and even its highest authority to match that disciple? What kind of logic is that?]

[No matter how you put it, Tang San was only one graduate among Shrek Academy's countless graduating classes. Even if his achievements were extraordinary, was the entire academy supposed to revolve around him alone for the next ten thousand years?]

In Shrek City, Tang Ya was shopping with Bei Bei when she saw the Diary update and hurriedly checked it.

After reading its contents, she fell into thought as well. She was the master of the Tang Sect, so Lin Ye's example happened to fit her perfectly.

She began to consider whether, if the Tang Sect produced an exceptionally outstanding disciple who even became a god in the end, she would change the Tang Sect's name and institutions such as the Elders' Council according to that disciple's title or history.

She didn't even need to think about it. No, absolutely not. The Tang Sect would always be the Tang Sect, and its structure would always remain as it had originally been. How could it be changed?

But after thinking it over, she also felt that Shrek Academy was indeed rather strange.

[There's no way to verify the specific details. After all, Douluo I and Douluo II are separated by a full ten-thousand-year span.

Who knew how many unknown things happened during those ten thousand years? The original author didn't write about them, so how would I know?]

[Wait, I seem to have missed an important person.

Speaking of famous figures in Shrek's inner court right now, aside from Senior Sister Ma Xiaotao, who's as fiery as her personality and incredibly powerful, there's also Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan, who is gentle, dignified, and kind to everyone.]

[But... I'm a little uncomfortable about this. I can accept the other female leads without any qualms, but I really can't bring myself to make a move on Zhang Lexuan.

It isn't because of her appearance. Zhang Lexuan is naturally stunning as well. The reason I can't accept it is that she's Bei Bei's child bride.

She's someone else's child bride. If I still had designs on her, never mind whether that'd make me human—just that identity alone makes it impossible for me to act. I'm not so desperate that I'd stoop that low.]

[There's also the matter of age. Although Senior Sister really is a little older by ordinary people's standards, soul masters don't have the same lifespan as ordinary people. The higher their cultivation, the longer they live.

An age of twenty or thirty-something is still considered young among soul masters. By soul master standards, she actually isn't old at all.]

[Speaking of Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan, I have to say that Douluo is truly full of rotten elements.

Love-brained nonsense, remnants of slavery—and when it came to Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan, there was even this child-bride plotline. The first time I saw it, I was completely stunned.]

The moment these Diary entries updated, Tang Ya, who was shopping with Bei Bei, shuddered violently. Her fingertips began trembling uncontrollably.

A child bride? Zhang Lexuan... was Bei Bei's child bride?

Her mind went blank in an instant, as though she had been struck by lightning. Her ears buzzed loudly.

She and Bei Bei had grown up together. They were childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they were young. She had never heard of this before, and Bei Bei had never mentioned a single word of it to her!

Bei Bei beside her wore a puzzled expression and was still calling to Tang Ya, but Tang Ya gave no response at all.