The Longevity Sect Master Descended, Turning the Protagonist into a Puppet

Star Dou Great Forest, outskirts of the core region.

The once-tranquil forest was now filled with a murderous chill. Countless streaks of light tore through the sky from every direction, racing toward this area. They were Titled Douluo and Soul Sages from the Two Great Empires of Heaven Dou and Star Luo, as well as the major hidden sects.

"The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft-Boned Rabbit is up ahead! We can't let her escape!"

"Whoever dares fight me for her is making an enemy of the entire soul master world!"

Greedy roars rose one after another, scattering the birds in the forest.

Within a dense thicket, Tang San's face was deathly pale as he desperately dragged Xiao Wu along in a frantic run. Xiao Wu had already cried herself into a pitiful state, her legs weak. If Tang San had not forcibly pulled her onward, she would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

"Third Brother... I'm scared... They all want to kill me..." Xiao Wu's voice trembled, her eyes filled with despair.

"Don't be afraid, Xiao Wu! Even if it costs me my life, I'll never let them touch a single hair on your head!" Tang San gritted his teeth, bloodshot madness flickering in his eyes. The Clear Sky Hammer faintly appeared in his hand, but before the overwhelming pressure of all those Titled Douluo, his meager strength seemed laughable.

Just as the two were about to be discovered by a Soul Douluo-level pursuer—

Bzz!

An indescribably terrifying pressure descended from the heavens without warning!

This pressure was not Soul Power, but an even older and more tyrannical power of laws. Like an invisible giant hand, it instantly froze all space within a hundred-mile radius. The Titled Douluo who had been speeding through the air stiffened all over, their Soul Power seemingly forcibly suppressed by some supreme existence. One after another, they fell from the sky like dumplings dropped into a pot, crashing miserably onto the ground.

"Th-this... What kind of power is this?!"

"My Soul Power... My Soul Power won't move!"

"Could the Divine Realm have descended?!"

Soul masters across the entire continent looked up at the sky in terror.

Above the previously dim forest, a golden gate of light slowly opened. A young man in a moon-white robe strode through the air with his hands behind his back. His features were striking, his eyes as deep as the starry sky. There was not the slightest trace of Soul Power around him, yet he gave off an indifferent air, as though he looked down upon all living things and regarded all beings as mere grass and dogs.

It was none other than the Longevity Sect Master, Li Xuan!

Li Xuan looked down at the soul masters struggling below like ants, and a disdainful curve rose at the corner of his lips.

"A pack of ants, and you dare act presumptuously before me?"

He slowly raised his right hand and lightly pressed his slender fingers against the void.

Boom—!

A golden shockwave surged outward from him like a landslide and tsunami. Those once-aggressive Titled Douluo did not even have time to scream before they were blasted thousands of meters away like kites with severed strings. Blood spurted from their mouths, their martial souls dimmed, and they instantly lost all ability to fight!

Just one move!

Just one glance!

And he had suppressed the strongest experts on the entire continent!

[ Ding! Detected that soul masters across the entire continent have fallen into extreme terror! ]

[ Shock Points gained: +5,000,000! ]

[ Fear Points gained: +3,000,000! ]

[ Congratulations, Host! Achievement "One Man Suppresses the Age" completed. Special reward obtained: god-level domain "Absolute Dominion"! ]

Listening to the pleasant notifications in his mind, Li Xuan secretly reveled in delight, though his face retained its unfathomable expression. With a flash, he appeared before the terrified Tang San and Xiao Wu.

Tang San shielded Xiao Wu behind him. Though his legs trembled uncontrollably, he still forced himself to raise his head and shouted with false bravado, "Y-you... Who are you? What do you want?!"

Li Xuan looked at this outwardly fierce but inwardly weak "child of destiny" and sneered inwardly. In his previous life, when he had read the novel, Tang San's hypocritical, self-righteous face had disgusted him. Now that he stood before him in person, that feeling was even stronger.

"Who am I?" Li Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, his voice calm yet clearly reaching their ears. "I am the one who can save your lives, and the only variable on this Douluo Continent."

His gaze passed over Tang San and landed directly on Xiao Wu. "A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft-Boned Rabbit, taking human form to cultivate anew. Interesting. What a pity you chose the wrong backer."

Xiao Wu shuddered and instinctively wanted to retreat, but she was drawn in by the inexplicable sense of familiarity emanating from Li Xuan—the Soul Beast Affinity Aura specially exchanged by the system—and somehow stopped moving.

"Y-you can save Third Brother?" Xiao Wu asked timidly.

"Save him?" Li Xuan scoffed, as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. "Trash like him can die for all I care. The one I'm saving is you."

"You're talking nonsense! I won't allow you to insult Xiao Wu!" Tang San flew into a rage, swinging his Clear Sky Hammer at Li Xuan.

Li Xuan did not even lift an eyelid. He merely flicked his sleeve casually.

Bang!

Tang San felt an irresistible force crash into him. He was sent flying like a torn sack, slamming heavily into a towering tree. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Clear Sky Hammer flew from his hand.

"Third Brother!" Xiao Wu cried out and tried to rush over, only to be held in place by a gentle force.

Li Xuan walked slowly over to Tang San and looked down at the battered protagonist with a teasing glint in his eyes. "Tang San, do you think that just because you are the child of destiny, you can do whatever you please? Do you think that pitiful hidden weapons and Mysterious Heaven Skill of yours can let you defy fate? In my eyes, you are nothing more than a pitiful worm toyed with by the Divine Realm."

Tang San clutched his chest, his eyes filled with venom and unwillingness. "Y-you... Who exactly are you? Why are you helping us?"

"Helping you?" Li Xuan shook his head, a wicked smile curling across his lips. "You've got it wrong. I'm not helping you. I'm investing. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast hunted by the whole continent, along with a Clear Sky Sect heir bearing a blood feud—it's a very worthwhile deal."

With a thought, the system interface appeared again.

"System, exchange for a set of False Sea God Divine Armor, and give me a Nine-Rank Purple Zoysia."

The next second, a set of armor radiating a faint golden glow appeared out of thin air in Li Xuan's hand. With a casual toss, it landed before Tang San.

"Put it on," Li Xuan said indifferently. "This is divine armor left behind by the Sea God. Though it is only an imitation, it will be enough to keep you alive against Titled Douluo. As for you..."

He looked at Xiao Wu. A purple ganoderma with a rich medicinal fragrance appeared in his hand.

"Eat this. It will temporarily conceal your Soul Beast aura and make you look no different from an ordinary person."

Tang San looked at the dazzling armor before him, and a flash of greed crossed his eyes. He hated Li Xuan for humiliating him, but he knew even better that he had no standing to refuse.

"W-why should I believe you?" Tang San asked through gritted teeth.

Li Xuan sneered and turned as if to leave. "Believe it or not, that's your choice. But let me remind you: those Titled Douluo will recover soon. When that happens, will you wear this divine armor and live, or cling to your laughable pride and die? Choose for yourself."

With that, his figure slowly faded into the air, leaving only an ethereal voice echoing through the forest:

"Remember this. From now on, your lives belong to me. If you want to live, come find me at the Longevity Sect."

Tang San stared in the direction where Li Xuan had vanished, then at the tempting divine armor before him. In the end, he gritted his teeth and put it on.

In an instant, a vast force flooded into his body. His severely injured body began recovering at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Third Brother..." Xiao Wu watched Tang San's transformation, her eyes filled with worry. "Are we really going to listen to him?"

Tang San clenched his fists, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. "We survive first and worry about the rest later. If I do not avenge this humiliation, I, Tang San, swear I am not human! This Longevity Sect Master... I will uncover his true background, then make him pay the price!"

Longevity Sect, above the sea of clouds.

Li Xuan's figure reappeared within the main hall.

[ Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have successfully subdued Tang San and Xiao Wu (false), gaining: +2,000,000 Shock Points! ]

[ Detected that Tang San harbors extreme hatred toward the Host. Special mission triggered: "Revenge of the Puppet." ]

[ Mission description: Lead Tang San further and further astray on the road to revenge, until he personally destroys Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect. ]

[ Mission reward: complete god-level cultivation method Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art, control rights to the God Realm Nexus (fragment). ]

Li Xuan looked at the mission panel, an amused curve forming at the corner of his lips.

"Revenge? Good. Tang San, I'll give you that chance. I want to see what kind of splendid expression you make when you discover that your so-called revenge is nothing more than a puppet show in my hands."

With a thought, he issued another command to the system. "Begin the fourth Sky Screen Review. This time, I want everyone on the continent to know that the so-called Shrek Seven Monsters are nothing but a pack of sanctimonious hypocrites!"