Chapter 45

Eastsea Academy, Class Zero classroom.

The morning sunlight had yet to warm the desktops when Long Hengxu pushed open the door and walked in. He rarely appeared in Class Zero at this hour—their schedule was entirely handled by Wu Changkong and Lu Menge, and the Academic Affairs Office never interfered. So when Long Hengxu stood at the podium with a briefcase tucked under his arm and an enamel tea mug printed with "Eastsea Academy Outstanding Worker," everyone in Class Zero sensed that something unusual was happening.

"Sorry to interrupt your morning class for a few minutes." Long Hengxu set down his tea mug and pulled a document from his briefcase. "There's an announcement—a notice that just arrived from Shrek Academy."

The moment he heard the words "Shrek Academy," Xie Xie sprang upright from where he had been sprawled across his desk. Zhang Yangzi closed his tactical handbook. Wang Jinxi set aside the Bone Dragon Shield Armor he had been polishing. Wei Xiaofeng lifted his face from his arms. Tang Wulin instinctively sat up straight, while Gu Yue narrowed her eyes slightly beside him.

"Shrek Academy will be holding an exchange tournament in two months, open to eligible students from all partner academies within the Federation." Long Hengxu adjusted his glasses. "Eastsea Academy has been invited, and we have one entry slot—not for an individual event, but a team event. Teams may have up to seven members."

Long Hengxu flipped to the last page of the document and swept his gaze across the only six faces in the Class Zero classroom. Then he looked up at Wu Changkong standing in the doorway and Lu Menge leaning by the window.

"Class Zero currently has only six students. The rules for this exchange tournament require at least six members per team—you have just enough to form one. The academy board's decision is clear: all of Class Zero will participate. Teachers Wu and Lu will jointly decide the roster and take full responsibility for the training plan. This is not an ordinary interschool match—you should have heard something about the strength of Shrek Academy's outer court students. In two months, Class Zero will be representing Eastsea Academy's honor."

After saying that, he took a sip from his enamel mug, placed the document on the podium, nodded to Wu Changkong, and walked out of the classroom. The instant the door shut behind him, Class Zero erupted.

Xie Xie was the first to leap out of his chair. "Shrek! An exchange tournament! All six of us are going!" Zhang Yangzi pressed a hand to his shoulder and forced him back into his seat, then turned toward Wu Changkong. For once, Wei Xiaofeng did not slump back onto his desk, his expression bouncing between excitement and nerves. Wang Jinxi looked down at his Bone Dragon Shield Armor, then at Lu Menge by the window, and finally at Wu Changkong beside the podium.

Wu Changkong walked to the podium, picked up the notice, and gave it a quick glance. His tone remained as calm as ever. "You all heard Director Long. In two months, Shrek Academy, seven-person team event. Class Zero currently has six people, exactly enough to meet the minimum requirement. Starting today, every training plan will follow exchange tournament preparation standards. Physical training will be doubled, and combat drills will become daily. We will also add specialized team coordination training—you six must learn to fight together in a Seven-Person Formation, even if there are only six of you right now."

Xie Xie raised his hand. "Teacher Wu, how are six people supposed to practice a Seven-Person Formation?"

Leaning against the window, Lu Menge leisurely added while holding her thermos, "I'll fill the seventh position. You six will coordinate, and I'll be on the other side beating you up—when you can last a certain amount of time against me, your Seven-Person Formation will count as properly coordinated." Xie Xie's hand froze in midair, and the whole class fell silent. Zhang Yangzi quietly said to Wang Jinxi, "She said 'the six of us.' She included herself with Class Zero." Wang Jinxi was silent for a while before answering, "She is Class Zero's second instructor." Zhang Yangzi said nothing else, but opened his tactical handbook to a blank page and wrote the words "Seven-Person Formation." Then he drew brackets beside them and wrote the character for "Lu" inside.

Tang Wulin turned to glance at Gu Yue. Gu Yue was looking at him too. Their eyes met in the air for a moment before they both turned toward the podium. The Golden Dragon King rolled over in his sea of consciousness. His voice was lazy, but his tone was serious. "Shrek? Tang San came from there back then. You know what that means." Tang Wulin responded inwardly. It meant that place held traces left behind by the former owner of the Golden Dragon King's seal. It also meant that he and Gu Yue were about to set foot at the starting point of that legend.

That afternoon, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue were summoned alone to the back mountain by Lu Menge. Beneath the crooked-neck tree, Lu Menge had unusually not lit any charcoal or brought out a grill. She sat atop the large rock, Little White Tiger crouched by her feet, a thermos in her hand, her face wearing the standard expression reserved for strategy meetings.

"In the exchange tournament two months from now, you can reveal your martial souls to a limited extent, but not entirely. In front of outsiders, the Golden Dragon King Martial Soul can go by the name 'Golden Dragon,' but keep the Golden Dragon Spear hidden for now—Tang San left many inheritance marks at Shrek back then. If you bring out the Golden Dragon Spear, some of the old monsters there may recognize it. The Dragon God Armament is your signature and your trump card. This exchange tournament is not a fight to the death, but neither is it an exhibition match. You cannot reveal your real ace too casually."

Tang Wulin nodded seriously.

"Gu Yue, your identity as the Silver Dragon King must be kept even more secret. To outsiders, you are still the Rainbow Dragon. You can make greater use of elemental control in the Seven-Person Formation—Water-Mirror Reflection and Ice Spear support are already your standard style, so no one will grow suspicious. But you cannot casually use your dragon bloodline suppression, especially against soul masters with dragon-type martial souls. Shrek Outer Court is full of hidden talents, with every kind of martial soul imaginable. If you suppress someone you should not with dragon bloodline pressure, their teachers will quickly guess that you are no ordinary Rainbow Dragon." Gu Yue gave a quiet acknowledgment. Lu Menge looked at her and set the thermos on her knee. "The tournament rules call for stopping at the right point, but when it comes to a critical match, no one can guarantee tempers will not flare. The coordination between the two of you is the ace Teacher Wu and I have trained for years. Fighting side by side on the field will be more useful than any individual display. Besides, Xie Xie and the other four are your teammates too—Class Zero is one whole. You two are used to working as a pair, but a team battle requires all six of you on the field at once. You need to learn to trust them with your backs. From now on, the two of you are the core of the team."

Tang Wulin and Gu Yue nodded at the same time. Lu Menge stood, brushed grass clippings from her skirt, tucked her thermos into her arms, and tilted her head as she looked at them. "You two have been together for a while now, haven't you?"

Tang Wulin nearly choked on his own saliva. The tips of Gu Yue's ears reddened at a visible speed, though her voice remained cool. "Strategist. The last time Teacher Wu chopped your hand was because—"

"Fine, fine, I won't bring up having little Dragon Gods." Lu Menge raised both hands in surrender, her foxlike eyes curving into crescents. "Come on, back to training. First lesson in the Seven-Person Formation—you six against me."

The special training for the Seven-Person Formation officially began that evening.

Lu Menge stood in the middle of the training ground, her white coat snapping loudly in the wind, amber fox eyes brimming with eager excitement. The six members of Class Zero spread out in a fan formation. Tang Wulin and Gu Yue stood at the center, Xie Xie roamed the left wing, Zhang Yangzi circled overhead, Wang Jinxi held the front line with his shield, and Wei Xiaofeng lay in wait at the rear.

"The rules are simple—you six work together. No matter what tactics you use, as long as you can force both my feet to move at the same time, you win. But there is one condition: everyone must participate in the attack. You cannot let Tang Wulin and Gu Yue handle the entire field by themselves."

Xie Xie lowered his voice and said to Zhang Yangzi, "She said 'both feet move at the same time'—does that mean she normally only needs one foot to beat us up? Wait, that's not the point. The point is, when will we ever make it out alive from her tiger roar?" Zhang Yangzi ignored him. He was already calculating the angle of Lu Menge's shifted center of gravity from her earlier stance.

Wu Changkong stood at the edge of the field and blew his whistle. The instant the starting whistle sounded, all six members of Class Zero moved at once. Dual-wielding Light Dragon Daggers, Xie Xie cut in from the right flank to circle behind her, much faster than before. Zhang Yangzi's Dark Phantom Eagle dived from the air, targeting Lu Menge's overhead blind spot. Wang Jinxi activated his Bone Dragon Shield Armor to its fullest and pressed forward head-on. Wei Xiaofeng launched an Earth Spike ambush from the rear. Tang Wulin used Golden Dragon Head to control the field from the front, while Gu Yue silently spread a Water Mirror behind Lu Menge.

A perfect six-person encirclement—on paper.

Lu Menge did not even set down her thermos. Holding the cup in her left hand, she casually waved her right. A phantom tiger claw caught Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger and threw him into Zhang Yangzi, forcing Zhang Yangzi to fold his wings and evade. Wei Xiaofeng's Earth Spike was directly dispelled by her tiger soul fluctuations when it was still a foot away from her. At the same time, her heel stepped the edge of Wang Jinxi's shield armor into the ground, slowing him by half a beat as he pulled it free. Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon Head came crashing toward her, and as she sidestepped it, she flicked the tea from her thermos at Gu Yue's Water Mirror—the tea passed through the mirror and splashed a hole through its reflective surface.

"Not bad. Your coordination is better than last time. But there was a half-breath delay in your encirclement—Xie Xie was too fast, Wang Jinxi was too slow, and Zhang Yangzi's diving angle only sealed off the space directly above me. The six of you, do it again." She returned the thermos to the side of the field. This time, she did not even take the cup with her.

Xie Xie climbed up from the ground, rubbing his waist as he whispered to Zhang Yangzi, "She caught my dagger with a tiger claw just now—she can grab my Light Dragon Dagger and throw me at you. Doesn't that mean she can catch one of my slashes barehanded?" Zhang Yangzi rolled his aching shoulder and calmly replied, "She also used tea to splash through Gu Yue's Water Mirror. Have you ever seen a Titled Douluo break elemental reflection with tea? That means she does not even need to exert herself to shatter our strongest methods."

Lu Menge added with a smile, "That is not mockery. I am telling you where the gap lies—only by knowing where the gap is can you know how to close it. Again."

The special training of six members of Class Zero against Lu Menge alone continued for a full month and a half. From the first time their six-person encirclement had been broken by a cup of tea, to the point when Xie Xie could finally leave a faint trace from his Light Dragon Dagger by her feet, to when Gu Yue's Water Mirror could seal off her vision long enough to make her tilt her head slightly, and finally to one evening when their six-person encirclement forced her to lift both feet from the ground and shift one step for the first time.

That night, all six members of Class Zero lay sprawled on the training ground in exhaustion. Even Xie Xie lacked the strength to boast. Yet after lying there staring at the ceiling and panting for a long time, he suddenly raised a hand and grabbed Tang Wulin's sleeve beside him. "Wulin—both her feet left the ground just now, right? When my slash cut in, she had to twist aside to dodge—both her feet moved!" Xie Xie's tug made Tang Wulin's entire arm sway. Lying on his back, Tang Wulin laughed and turned to look at Gu Yue, who was breathing hard beside him with a towel over her face. Gu Yue's lips curved beneath the towel. Then she pulled it down, turned her profile toward him, and softly said, quietly enough that only the two of them could hear, "Your Golden Dragon Head and her Water Mirror lined up perfectly—we forced her back half a step."

Lunch beneath the ginkgo tree continued, now with new dishes. During one lunch break, Lu Menge borrowed a steamer from the cafeteria and brought out a basket of homemade shrimp dumplings. Xie Xie was so excited that he immediately announced he wanted to switch specialties and focus on the agility-attack system, only for Zhang Yangzi to choke him off with, "You already are an agility-attack type."

Their grilled skewer appointments had not stopped either. Beneath the crooked-neck tree on the back mountain, Gu Yue curled into the hollow of Lu Menge's shoulder as usual, gently rubbing against her hair as she said in a muffled voice, "After training tonight, I'll come find you—not because I want grilled skewers. I just want to lean on you for a while." Lu Menge rubbed the top of her head without exposing her, simply taking the last honey-grilled corn cob from the rack and placing it in her hand.

When Wu Changkong and Lu Menge walked side by side toward the teachers' apartments, the autumn night wind already carried a chill. Lu Menge tightened the collar of her white coat and casually mentioned how Tang Wulin had expanded the control range of Golden Dragon Head again during afternoon combat class, how Gu Yue's Water Mirror could now maintain more reflection points at once, and how Xie Xie had finally learned to check whether Gu Yue's Water Mirror was blocking his face before charging in. Wu Changkong listened quietly. When they stopped beneath the apartment building, he held the door that the wind had blown open for her.

"You said on the training ground tonight that those six are your pride—you were not praising them." He looked down at her, the dim motion-activated light at the end of the corridor reflected in his ice-blue eyes. "You were telling yourself that you had not waited these seven years for nothing."

Lu Menge twisted the cap of her thermos open and shut again, then looked up at him. She had spent seven years watching Tang Wulin go from the useless Blue Silver Grass martial soul to the awakening of the Golden Dragon Spear, watching Gu Yue go from unwilling to step through the gates of a human school to being able to lean against her shoulder and act spoiled, watching Xie Xie grow from a boy who only knew how to brag into the core of an agility-attack team capable of leaving blade marks by her feet. She and Wu Changkong stood side by side beneath those ginkgo trees, and the fallen leaves they had seen off outnumbered all the pages of tactical handbooks Class Zero had ever turned combined.

"What are seven years?" She laughed softly and looked toward the half-open door of her dormitory at the end of the corridor, tightening and loosening the thermos cap again. "I plan to see them off for several more decades. Then I'll watch them raise a whole nest of little Dragon Gods for me—don't chop me yet. I was just saying."