Dong'er Longed for Huo Yuhao, While Uncle Niu and Uncle Tai Wanted to Beat Someone Up?

The preliminaries of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament came to an end. Just as in previous years, Shrek advanced to the second round with overwhelming strength, once again letting Soul Masters across the continent witness the weight carried by the name "Shrek." At the same time, the Sun Moon Empire became even more wary of Shrek Academy, paying special attention to the new generation of Shrek Seven Monsters—especially Huo Yuhao. In the matches after Dong'er left, Huo Yuhao showed no mercy. His eyes carried a fierce resolve, and he ended every match cleanly.

The mountain winds of the Clear Sky Sect were colder than those of Shrek.

On the first day Wang Dong'er returned, she seemed perfectly normal. She talked and ate with Da Ming and Er Ming, cheerfully calling them Uncle Niu and Uncle Tai every day, while they accompanied her in cultivation. Dong'er even recounted the remnants of the Holy Spirit Cult formation she had encountered during the tournament. She explained it clearly, and if she had not paused for half a beat every time she mentioned Huo Yuhao, they might have believed she had merely returned to recover from her injuries. Da Ming noticed something, but since Dong'er did not wish to speak of it, he did not press her.

Er Ming was not nearly as perceptive. He circled Wang Dong'er twice and frowned. "Little Dong, did someone bully you?"

Dong'er was drinking soup. Her spoon lightly touched the rim of the bowl with a faint clink. "No."

Er Ming glared. "Then why are you like this?"

"How am I?"

Wang Dong'er looked up, with even a trace of a smile on her face.

"Aren't I perfectly fine?"

The moment those words came out, both Da Ming and Er Ming fell silent.

Because she looked too much like she was "perfectly fine." Yet that night, when Da Ming passed through the back mountain, he saw Wang Dong'er sitting alone on the stone steps, clutching the soul-tool Destiny Record array fragment she had repaired together with Huo Yuhao. Her eyes were terribly red, but not a single tear fell.

She was thinking about Huo Yuhao.

She was very angry with him.

And she missed him terribly.

That was what hurt the most.

Dong'er's feelings could not possibly be hidden from Da Ming and Er Ming, who had already become deities. Once they understood what had happened, Er Ming immediately wanted to give Huo Yuhao a severe beating. Da Ming persuaded him to let Dong'er think things through and make her own decision first.

At breakfast the next day, Dong'er ate quietly and obediently as usual when Er Ming suddenly slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "I'm going to Shrek and drag that brat back here for a beating."

Dong'er abruptly raised her head. "Uncle Tai! What are you doing? You... you both know?"

Da Ming nodded gently, while Er Ming spoke even more angrily and irritably. "Dong'er, just say the word, and I'll bring Huo Yuhao back at once so you can vent your anger."

"Don't."

"You're still protecting him?" Er Ming did not understand, but he still felt indignant on Dong'er's behalf.

"I'm not protecting him."

"Then why are you stopping me?"

Wang Dong'er opened her mouth, but no words came out. Of course she hated Huo Yuhao for failing to keep his promise that there would be "only her." She hated that he had let another person enter his heart. But she was even more afraid that Er Ming would truly go. Afraid he would hurt Huo Yuhao, and afraid Huo Yuhao would truly come with him—because then she would not be able to stop herself from softening.

Dong'er lowered her head, her voice very soft. "This is between him and me."

Er Ming angrily paced in circles. Da Ming held him down, but his gaze was even darker.

"Little Dong'er, think it through yourself. Uncle Niu and Uncle Tai will always have your back. We will always stay by your side and protect you."

Warmth filled Dong'er's heart. She softly murmured in acknowledgment and gripped the record fragment even tighter.

That night, the divine-sense altar deep within the Clear Sky Sect was activated. Da Ming and Er Ming stood before the altar, both wearing grim expressions. Platinum divine light rose from its center, and the phantom of Sea God Tang San slowly appeared. That figure was gentle and distant, as though he were looking down upon Douluo Continent through countless layers of cloud and sea.

"Dong'er has returned?"

Da Ming replied gravely, "She has. But she returned this time burdened with worries. She has suffered a grievance."

Er Ming said directly, "That Huo Yuhao bullied her. I wanted to beat him up, but Dong'er wouldn't allow it. Little San, why not bring her back to the Divine Realm? Restore her memories of the Divine Realm and erase the suffering Wang Dong'er has endured on Douluo Continent. She was Tang Wutong to begin with. She should not be hurt like this in the mortal world."

The divine light upon the altar fell silent for a long time. Tang San did not answer immediately, only letting out a soft sigh. "It is not yet time."

Er Ming grew anxious. "She's already like this, and it's still not time?"

Tang San's gaze passed over the altar toward Shrek. "Dong'er still has unfinished matters on Douluo Continent."

Da Ming's expression shifted. "The Three-Eyed Golden Lion?"

Tang San nodded. "The Three-Eyed Golden Lion formed a connection with Huo Yuhao through attribute guidance and shared memories, allowing her to see scenes of the mortal world. During their guidance, I separated a thread of Wutong's divine consciousness and attached it to her. Because of that destiny guidance, she also glimpsed human emotions and came to yearn for the human world. She took human form, and her appearance happened to be that of the one she saw Huo Yuhao loved in his heart—Dong'er. That thread of divine consciousness has yet to merge with Dong'er. If we forcibly bring Dong'er back to the Divine Realm and restore all of Wutong's memories now, Wutong's divine consciousness will only become incomplete."

Er Ming froze.

Tang San continued, "Wutong's martial soul has yet to undergo its true awakening. Once that thread of divine consciousness returns to its place, Dong'er's martial soul will undergo a complete awakening."

Those words left Da Ming and Er Ming silent for a long while. They understood that even as the little princess of the Divine Realm, Dong'er would ultimately have to endure this mortal trial of love on Douluo Continent. Er Ming was still unwilling to accept it. "Then what about the pain she has suffered in this relationship? Does she just have to endure it herself?"

Tang San's unquestionable voice as a deity drifted over. "I cannot erase it for her, at least not now."

"Wang Dong'er's love, grievances, jealousy, and choices are all part of the trials and growth Wutong needs." Tang San looked into the distance. "If I erase those memories, the one who returns will not be whole. You need only understand one thing: whoever bullied Dong'er must pay the price."

Da Ming and Er Ming immediately understood Tang San's deeper meaning. Since Wang Dong'er and Wang Qiu'er both originated from Tang Wutong, it was not strange that Huo Yuhao had fallen for both of them. But as Dong'er's Uncle Niu and Uncle Tai, they had to vent this anger.

On a peak of the Clear Sky Sect, Dong'er was once again alone in the cold wind, pressing the Destiny Record array fragment against her heart.

She had no idea what had happened at the divine-sense altar.

After a long time, she quietly cursed.

"Huo Yuhao, you bastard, are you really not coming to find me?"

After cursing him, she was secretly startled, because she had not even realized how much she had been thinking about him.