Reborn Tang San

Holy Soul Village, seven years earlier.

Tang San sat up in bed and opened his eyes.

Sunlight streamed through the shabby window lattice and fell on his hands. They were very small hands, with delicate knuckles and fair skin—the hands of a six-year-old child.

He stared at those hands for a long time.

Then he began to laugh.

The laughter was soft, so soft it seemed afraid of disturbing something. But his smile grew deeper and deeper, more and more twisted, until his entire face was filled with ferocity.

"Huo Yuhao..."

When he spoke that name, the sound was squeezed out from between his teeth. Every word seemed to consume all his strength, every word steeped in bone-deep hatred.

"Huo Yuhao."

He said it again.

He had spoken that name for ten thousand years.

From the moment the Divine Realm collapsed, from the moment he was swallowed by that twisted black light, he had been repeating that name. For ten thousand years, until his soul was nearly driven mad, until only one thought remained—

Rebirth.

Rebirth.

Rebirth.

Then kill that beast.

"I went to such lengths," he murmured softly, as if speaking to himself. "I went to such lengths to obtain everything so perfect, so wonderful. The Great God Circle, the position of God King, Xiao Wu, my children, my grandchildren..."

His fists slowly clenched.

"It was all destroyed."

"It was all destroyed by that selfish, ungrateful beast."

His nails dug into his flesh, but he felt no pain. Compared to the hatred in his heart, what was this little pain? Compared to the torment of drifting through the turbulent currents of time and space for ten thousand years, what was this little pain?

"What was wrong with training him into a dog?" His voice suddenly rose, filled with barely restrained fury. "I let him marry my daughter, passed the position of God King to him, gave him the very best of everything. What was wrong with him being my dog? Shouldn't he have been eternally grateful? Shouldn't he have knelt down and licked my shoes?"

His chest heaved violently, his eyes red enough to seem ready to bleed.

"But he destroyed it. He destroyed everything."

He lowered his head and looked at his hands. Those tiny hands of a six-year-old child.

Then he laughed again.

This time, his smile carried pride, relief, and the lingering gratitude of someone who had survived a disaster.

"Luckily," he said. "Luckily, I had an ace up my sleeve. I destroyed the super divine artifacts, the Shura Blood Sword and Sea God's Trident, to protect a wisp of divine consciousness and escape. Luckily, Tang San at this point had only just awakened his martial soul, and his consciousness was still unstable, allowing me to seize his body."

He paused, closing his eyes as he sensed this new body.

"Two pieces of trash," he said softly. "One Tang San from the Tang Sect, one native Tang San of Douluo. You wanted to resist me? Refining the two of you was child's play."

He opened his eyes and looked out the window.

The sun was bright, birds sang, and flowers bloomed. Distant mountains appeared and vanished amid the morning mist, while people worked in the nearby fields. Everything was so peaceful, so tranquil.

"Ten thousand years," he said. "There are still ten thousand years."

The corners of his lips slowly curled upward, revealing a cruel smile.

"Huo Yuhao, just wait. In this life, I won't let you have an easy time. I'll show you the consequences of offending a God King. I'll make you wish you were dead. I'll make you regret ever coming into this world."

"You—have—chosen—the—path—to—death."

He said each word slowly, then let out a long breath.

Then he stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

A gentle breeze brushed over his face, carrying the scent of soil and grass.

He took a deep breath, a blissful expression appearing on his face.

"Xiao Wu..." he murmured. "My Xiao Wu, I missed you so much..."

"What are you standing around for? Go make dinner!"

A large hand smacked the back of his head, making him stumble.

Tang San turned around and saw Tang Hao standing behind him, frowning impatiently.

This drunkard.

Tang San cursed inwardly. Yet there was no dissatisfaction on his face. Instead, he put on an obedient smile.

"Yes, Dad."

He turned and headed for the kitchen.

As a dutiful son, he believed every action his father took was right. That had been true in his previous life, and it was true in this one as well. If Tang Hao hit him, that was only proper. If Tang Hao scolded him, it was for his own good. If Tang Hao ignored him, it was to cultivate his independence.

As he lit the fire and cooked, he calculated in his heart.

In this life, he had to become stronger sooner. Awaken the Blue Silver Emperor sooner, obtain soul rings and soul bones sooner, become a god sooner.

And in ten thousand years, bring the grudges of his previous life to an end.

What he did not know was—

While he was gnashing his teeth and repeating that name, the child he spoke of had already been born somewhere far away.

He did not know that child existed. In his understanding, Huo Yuhao was someone from ten thousand years in the future, separated from him by a gap of a full hundred centuries. He believed he had enough time to prepare, enough time to make arrangements, enough time to wait ten thousand years and let that beast taste his power.

But he did not know.

That child was in this era.

Almost the same age as him.

He was growing as well.

He was becoming stronger as well.

Though he had no memories.

The fire in the stove burned fiercely, its orange-red glow shining over Tang San's face and casting his expression into shifting light and shadow.

He added another armful of firewood to the stove and softly began to hum.

It was a song he often sang in the Divine Realm, one Xiao Wu had taught him.

"Xiao Wu," he whispered the name, a gentle smile appearing on his face. "Wait for me. I'll come find you soon."

The fire crackled, as if answering him.

Just as he expected.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

Just like in his previous life, he was sent to Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.

Just like in his previous life, he met that middle-aged man with a crew cut and black robe at the academy gates.

Yu Xiaogang. Grandmaster.

Tang San looked at that familiar face, complex emotions rising within him. In his previous life, this man had taught him many things. Though his theories were later proven to be not entirely correct, though he was merely a useless soul master unable to break through level thirty, he truly had been a good teacher.

Would he still take him as his teacher in this life?

He thought about it and decided that he would.

Not because he needed to. With the insight of a God King, he understood the theories of soul master cultivation better than anyone in this world. What he needed was not the Grandmaster's knowledge, but what lay behind him—the opportunity that would bring him into Shrek Academy, the fateful encounters that would allow him to meet Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and everyone else.

So he respectfully knelt down, respectfully kowtowed three times, and respectfully called him "Teacher."

The Grandmaster helped him up, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

"Good child," he said. "From today onward, you are the disciple of Yu Xiaogang."

Tang San lowered his head, revealing a perfectly timed, shy smile.

Then he raised his head and looked toward the dormitory.

There, a girl was waiting for him.

The girl wore a pink dress and was charming and lively.

Xiao Wu.

His Xiao Wu.

He hurried toward the dormitory, his steps growing faster and faster until he was practically running. He pushed open the dormitory door and saw a girl dressed in pink standing by the window. Hearing the sound, she turned around.

Those eyes, that face, that smile—they were exactly the same as in his memories.

"Hello, my name is Xiao Wu," she said. "Wu as in dancing."

Tang San stood there, looking at her, looking at the face he had longed for over ten thousand years.

His eyes stung.

"Tang San," he said, his voice somewhat hoarse. "My name is Tang San."

Xiao Wu tilted her head at him and blinked.

"What's wrong? Why do you look like you're about to cry?"

Tang San took a deep breath and suppressed the emotions surging within him. He smiled and shook his head.

"Nothing," he said. "I just feel that... it's wonderful to meet you."

Xiao Wu froze for a moment, then smiled.

Her smile was brilliant and radiant, like the first flower blooming in spring.

"You're such a strange person," she said. "But I think it's pretty nice to meet you too."

Tang San looked at her, the smile on his lips deepening.

The days that followed were just like his previous life.

He studied martial soul theory with the Grandmaster, cultivated with Xiao Wu, ate with her, and fought with her on the academy's back mountain. Xiao Wu was still Xiao Wu—playful and mischievous, fond of dancing and laughing. She liked tugging on his sleeve and calling him "Little San," and liked to raise her legs high beneath the moonlight, saying that was her cultivation method.

He knew that was her secret. She was a hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit that had taken human form, and she could not reveal herself before any soul master. He had learned that only much later in his previous life, but in this life, he knew from the beginning.

Yet he pretended not to know.

He pretended to know nothing. He pretended to be an ordinary yet exceptionally gifted boy, pretended he had merely happened to meet her, merely happened to become friends with her, merely happened to—fall in love with her.

That love was real.

Whether in his previous life or this one, his feelings for Xiao Wu were real. That girl was the most important person in his life, someone he was willing to protect with everything he had. That had been true before, and it remained true now.

Only in this life, he would not let anyone hurt her again.

Including that beast.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

In the spring of his twelfth year, Tang San broke through level thirty, even faster than in his previous life.

Just like in his previous life, he and Xiao Wu left Nuoding Academy together and headed for that legendary place—Shrek Academy.

Standing at the village entrance, Tang San looked back.

Nuoding Academy appeared and disappeared in the morning mist like a pale ink painting. Xiao Wu stood beside him, tugging at his sleeve as she chattered about her expectations for the new school. The Grandmaster stood some distance away, watching them with a complicated gaze, as though looking at two young eagles he had raised with his own hands and set free.

Tang San withdrew his gaze and looked ahead.

Shrek. The place that had changed his life. There, he would meet Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing. He would form the Shrek Seven Devils, who would later shake the continent. He would rise to fame in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. He would ascend step by step toward that supreme position.

Everything would begin again.

He tightened his grip on Xiao Wu's hand.

"Let's go," he said.

The two walked forward side by side, disappearing into the morning mist.

What he did not know was—

At the very moment he left Nuoding Academy, another boy in some faraway place was doing the same.

That boy was already eleven years old.

He too was about to break through level thirty.

The ten-thousand-year gap between them no longer existed.