Wu Changkong's Submission

"Teacher Wu... are you all right now?"

Qi Ji put away the Nine-Tassel Crown and looked toward Wu Changkong, who was slowly sitting up from the ground. There was concern in his voice, but only that much—he had absolute confidence in the healing abilities of his second martial soul and had known from the beginning that Wu Changkong would be fine.

He had tested the healing effects of Dew of Healing countless times already. Forget penetrating wounds—even regenerating severed limbs was no trouble.

"I... lost."

Wu Changkong lowered his head and looked at his hands, then at the Heavenly Frost Sword, which still trembled faintly after Qi Ji had shattered the Heavenly Frost Slash. After a long silence, he finally spoke those words in a low voice.

There was no resentment or anger in his tone. Instead, there was an unusual calmness.

Wu Changkong had never been someone who could not accept defeat. A loss was a loss, and a win was a win. He could tell the difference, and he could bear the consequences.

Fragments of the Two-Character Battle Armor, Heavenly Ice, still lay scattered at his feet, reflecting shattered blue light beneath the sun, as though silently recounting the brutality of the battle just now.

"Teacher Wu, victory and defeat are common in battle."

Qi Ji offered a formulaic consolation, his tone flat, like polite words spoken to a sparring partner who had lost.

Of course, he knew Wu Changkong did not need such cheap comfort. Still, pleasantries had to be said. The four children of Class Zero were watching nearby, after all, and he could not act too smug after winning.

"Have you... ever lost?"

Wu Changkong suddenly raised his head. His ice-blue eyes stared straight at Qi Ji, carrying an indescribable scrutiny and searching intent. "I once knew someone who had never lost either."

The person he meant was naturally Yun Ming—the strongest person on the Douluo Continent today, Master of the Sea God Pavilion, the Skycrosser Douluo.

Perhaps, aside from those legendary figures who had ascended to the Divine Realm, he was the strongest person in all of history.

His strength had already surpassed the bounds of common sense, reaching a realm where no one could contend against him.

The continent's former strongest, the Vast Sea Douluo Chen Xinjie, had once fought a heaven-shaking battle against Yun Ming above the sea.

Chen Xinjie had gone all out. Only with the advantage of fighting on his home ground and wielding a divine artifact had he barely managed to draw with Yun Ming, and that had been many years ago.

Now, Chen Xinjie had truly grown old. His vitality and Soul Power were inevitably declining, while Yun Ming remained at his peak, even stronger than before.

Moreover, Yun Ming's youth was not a false appearance deliberately maintained. It was the natural result of pure strength.

He was so powerful that, despite sharing his life and lifespan equally with Ya Li, he remained so young, as if time itself had been paused upon him.

It could be said that, if nothing happened, Yun Ming could have lived many more years on the strength of this "era advantage."

He might even have ascended into a true god on the Douluo Continent without the Divine Realm, transforming the Demigod position into a true divine position and becoming the first person in ten thousand years to reach godhood as a mortal.

Yun Ming was that powerful—so powerful that even Shrek itself had become his shackle.

If not for saving Shrek's students and the city, he could never have been killed by two Level-Twelve Godslayer Soul Guidance Shells. His invincible legend would have continued.

"I... of course I've never lost."

Qi Ji shook his head. His tone was decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

His voice was not loud, yet it carried an undeniable certainty that everyone present could hear clearly.

"Then... do you think you will ever lose?"

Wu Changkong pressed on, his gaze deepening, as though he wished to see through those golden dragon eyes into the depths of Qi Ji's soul.

"Impossible."

Qi Ji met Wu Changkong's gaze directly. An unquestionable certainty surged within his golden dragon eyes. "I can never lose."

He did not say it loudly, but the words carried the weight of a mountain.

This was his pride, his arrogance, his invincible heart—call it whatever one wished. Qi Ji simply believed it from the depths of his heart.

I will never be defeated!

This conviction needed no reason and no proof. It simply existed in the depths of his soul, like an inborn instinct, like a law carved into his bones.

Wu Changkong could not help but be shaken.

When someone who truly possessed an invincible heart said, "I will never admit defeat," before him, the impact upon a disheartened genius was unparalleled.

It was something he had once possessed, only to discard with his own hands. It was his deepest regret when he awoke from dreams at midnight, the question he had asked himself countless times as he licked his wounds alone through endless nights.

If that incident had never happened, would I still be who I am today?

If that upheaval had never occurred—if Long Bing had not died, if Dark Hummingbird had not launched that assassination, if those hopeless years had never existed—would I too have said those words with such confidence, followed Pavilion Master Yun Ming's footsteps, and become a powerhouse renowned across the continent?

Unfortunately... there were no ifs.

What had already happened could never be changed.

Wu Changkong fell silent.

After a long while, he lowered his head, as though something had struck the softest part of his heart. A trace of unprecedented emotion rippled through those ice-blue eyes.

At that moment, Qi Ji suddenly rose to his feet. His golden dragon eyes looked down upon Wu Changkong from above, his gaze carrying the bearing of one who ruled the world.

There was no pity or sympathy in those eyes, only an unquestionable majesty—as though a monarch were looking upon his subject, as though a crown prince were selecting a great general who belonged to him.

His back stood straight as a rod. Bathed in the afternoon sunlight, his entire body seemed coated in a golden halo, making people instinctively want to look up at him.

"Wu Changkong, follow me."

Qi Ji's voice was not loud, yet it fell clearly into everyone's ears. "This is the only chance in your life to glimpse the summit."

He paused, looking down at Wu Changkong as he asked word by word, "Would you rather die as an obscure nobody, wasting away like this, or become famous throughout the world and serve as one of my great generals? Do you want to remain trapped in the shadows of the past for the rest of your life, or walk with me to the true mountaintop and see what kind of scenery deserves to be called the pinnacle?"

Wu Changkong raised his head and looked into Qi Ji's golden dragon eyes.

There was no hesitation or wavering in those eyes. There was only a certainty that no one could doubt.

Like the sun would surely rise, like the tides would surely ebb and flow—like the most unshakable law in the world.

His heart, which had long been still water, unexpectedly began to stir with faint ripples. They spread outward in circles, gradually turning into surging waves.

He slowly rose, brushed the dust from his knees, and then—knelt on one knee.

"Please allow me to witness what the true summit looks like."

Wu Changkong's voice was low and deep, yet it carried a long-lost determination.

It was something he had not possessed in years, like a sword that had rusted for too long being sharpened once more.

At that moment, whether it was the four children of Class Zero, Long Hengxu standing in the back, or even Tang Wuling and Gu Yuena, everyone fell silent.

On Eastsea Academy's training grounds, only the sound of wind passing through the treetops and the occasional distant birdcall remained.

Golden sunlight poured down from above, stretching the shadows of Qi Ji and Wu Changkong long and far. One stood while the other knelt, like a scene from some ancient ritual—solemn and dignified, yet carrying an indescribable sense of destiny.

"Good... the contract is formed. Any who violate it shall suffer the Punishment of Ten Thousand Dragons Devouring the Heart. Offer me your loyalty, and I will lead you to witness what true strength is!"