Goudan's Past

Outside the Heavenly Screen.

The high-ranking officials of the two great empires watched Bai Fan's force effortlessly seize a city, and everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

"Th-This is impossible! How could a disorganized rabble with no soul power capture a city so quickly?"

"That's right. It must be the weapon in their hands. They only won by relying on that weapon."

The ministers discussed it in disbelief, focusing solely on the new weapons in Bai Fan's force.

The two emperors, seated high above them, slammed their hands against their dragon thrones and issued new orders.

"All listen carefully. From this day forward, confiscate all ironware from every city except the imperial capital. Recruit every blacksmith in the empire into royal service. They must remain in the palace for the rest of their lives and serve the imperial family."

The two great empires had chosen the most foolish possible approach.

Inside Shrek Academy.

"How could this be? Why didn't Dong'er give her self-created soul skill to me? If she had given it to me sooner, then with my talent, I would have definitely surpassed the Heavenly Screen!"

Yu Xiaogang knelt on the ground and shouted, placing all the blame on Bibi Dong.

Tang San watched his teacher's breakdown with a grave expression.

Tang San was blindly loyal, but he was not stupid. After watching the Heavenly Screen for so long, he had already understood his teacher's true capabilities. Yet he could not speak the truth, afraid that his teacher would be unable to accept it.

The others from Shrek did not carry such a heavy burden.

"Tch. He really knows how to talk big. People who lack ability always love blaming others."

"He thinks he deserves to be compared to the man on the Heavenly Screen? He's trash. That man didn't even use his martial soul."

"Teacher, how did you even get to know Yu Xiaogang? How could you call someone like him a brother? He's completely lowering your status." Ma Hongjun looked up at Flender, confusion written across his face.

Flender flushed under the question. He had never felt particularly embarrassed before, but now, whenever he saw Yu Xiaogang, he could not help asking himself, What was I thinking back then? Why did I ever consider someone like him a brother? And how did Erlong ever fall for him?

Little did he know that Liu Erlong was currently watching Yu Xiaogang on the Heavenly Screen with her legs tightly crossed.

Inside Kamikaze Academy, Feng Xiaotian stared at the Heavenly Screen and muttered to himself, "As expected, self-created soul skills are the most badass!"

Inside the Heavenly Screen.

A group of people sat around in the city lord's mansion, drinking heavily.

"Goudan, we have your AK-47 to thank this time. Otherwise, we wouldn't have taken this city so easily." Bai Fan draped an arm around Goudan's shoulders and praised him.

Goudan scratched his head and spoke awkwardly. "It was what I should have done. I'm already satisfied just being able to contribute to our team."

Perhaps the victory in their first battle had put everyone in high spirits. They all drank deeply.

"Brothers, the empire is nothing special. It's already rotten to the core. As long as we work together, overthrowing the empire is just around the corner. Cheers!"

Their cups clinked together, and the young men's passion burned as fiercely as the strong liquor in their cups.

Bai Fan drained his cup and casually wiped his mouth. "Goudan, once our Republic Empire is established, do you have any dreams?"

"Hehe, I, Goudan, ain't got much education or much skill. I just like tinkering with things. Once the Republic Empire is established, I'll definitely set up a research institute and develop more weapons."

Bai Fan gave Goudan's shoulder a firm pat, expressing his respect. "A fine ambition."

Goudan bared his teeth and dodged away. "Boss, don't hit so hard. I'm scared of pain."

"Oh? What kind of man is scared of pain? You're the one handling guns. Being scared of pain won't do."

Goudan scrunched up his face. "Boss, I really am scared of pain. When I hold a gun, my mind is full of a beautiful future, so I'm not afraid. But normally, I'm very scared of pain."

Bai Fan was somewhat puzzled. "What's going on? From the sound of it, you seem to have a secret?"

Goudan lowered his head without speaking. A boy from the same place as him explained in his stead.

"Boss, Goudan and I used to play together all the time when we were young. He had an older sister who often bullied him and badmouthed him in front of his parents."

"His whole family refused to give him food. Sometimes I brought food from home for him. Once, when I was too seriously ill to leave the house, Goudan went hungry for three whole days."

"The day I recovered and went looking for Goudan, a group of tall soldiers blocked my path. Through the gaps between them, I saw Goudan fighting a dog for food, while people stood around watching."

"Later, Goudan moved too violently and accidentally hurt that dog. A crowd immediately rushed forward and restrained him."

"The noblewoman leading them kept slapping Goudan across the face, cursing him as a lowborn wretch for hurting her precious dog."

"Later, perhaps after tiring herself out from hitting him, she had her dog bite and tear at Goudan while she stood to the side, removed her hairpin, and repeatedly stabbed him all over his body."

At this point, Goudan, who had been hanging his head, began trembling all over. He crouched on the ground and roared, "Monkey, stop talking! Don't say any more!"

The previously cheerful group fell silent. Most of them came from poor families and had endured the hardship of never having enough to eat.

Some had been sent here by their parents. Sheltered by their families, they had never gone hungry and only knew that following Bai Fan would allow them to build a better empire.

The thin boy called Monkey had tears and snot all over his face. "Why shouldn't I say it? Those people gave you this pain. Why are you running from it? Now that Boss is leading us, sooner or later, I'll kill those people for you."

"That day, Goudan was tortured until he passed out. Maybe they felt that without his screams, it had lost its soul, so they casually threw Goudan onto the ground."

"I dragged Goudan home by myself. And what happened? His family brutally shoved both of us right back outside."

"Heh, they were nothing but beasts. Through the crack in the door, I saw a noble sitting inside. Goudan's sister was sitting on that man's lap."

"Only then did I understand. They hadn't begun hating Goudan because of his sister's lies. From the very beginning, they had poured all their attention into Goudan's sister."

"After thinking it over calmly, I guessed that Goudan's parents had called those people who played with dogs there. Their purpose was to make the nobles laugh and get their daughter married into a powerful family."

Monkey covered his face with both hands, wiped away his tears and snot, and steadied his emotions. "Back then, I carried the unconscious Goudan on my back, and he kept mumbling that it hurt."

"Why?" Perhaps the alcohol had gone to his head, but Monkey lost control and shouted, "Why is even a noble's pet more precious than us? Were we born only to entertain them with our lives?"

"We poor people name our children after pigs and dogs just so they can live steady, peaceful lives like animals."

"But what about us? We may be called dogs too, but we are worlds apart from real dogs. We can't even live the most basic peaceful life!"