A different course

Deep in the alley, the lingering light of sunset was sliced into fragments by the high walls. Guang Biao leaned against a damp corner, cold sweat pouring down his face from the agony in his left arm. His venomous hatred for Tang Wulin and Wu Changkong gnawed at his heart like a poisonous snake.

"Who's there?!" Hearing footsteps, Guang Biao jerked his head up and saw two figures, one tall and one short, emerge from the shadows.

The man on the left was slender, with a few striking strands of gold threaded through his black hair. His pure golden eyes gleamed with an uncanny light in the dim alley, as though they could pierce straight through the soul. The man on the right resembled a walking iron tower, his body knotted with muscle. His ink-black hair hung loose, and a suffocating aura of brutality radiated from him.

"You... who are you?" Guang Biao forced himself upright and asked in terror.

The man called Di Tian curled his lips into a cold smile. There was not a trace of human emotion in his golden eyes. "We're here to send you on your final journey."

Horrified, Guang Biao turned to flee, only for the burly Xiong Jun to flicker into his path like a phantom.

"Di Tian, Supreme Lord..." Xiong Jun spoke in a deep, rumbling voice, bloodthirsty fervor burning in his eyes. "If she can't stand these bastards, why doesn't she deal with them herself?"

Di Tian looked past the trembling Guang Biao, as though gazing at some far more distant presence. A barely perceptible note of reverence entered his voice. "Watch your words, Xiong Jun. Supreme Lord... Gu Yue, that is, once said she was the bridge connecting the past and the future. If she's holding back, it must be because that boy named Tang Wulin carries the future destiny of the Soul Beast Clan. Or rather, his future is intimately tied to hers."

Di Tian frowned slightly, seemingly pondering his mysterious Supreme Lord's intentions himself. "I don't know what other secrets Tang Wulin is hiding, but since Supreme Lord has spoken, we should give her a chance. If it truly doesn't work out..." He paused, a vicious gleam flashing through his eyes. "It won't be too late to defy her orders then. After all, everything we do is for the future of soul beasts."

"But we're just going to watch that brat swagger around?" Xiong Jun clenched his fists indignantly, his knuckles cracking.

"Of course not." Di Tian shook his head, his gaze settling on Guang Biao as though he were already a heap of dead flesh. "Since they recklessly provoked someone they should never have crossed, they must pay the price. And we cannot leave any traces."

"Their entire families..." Di Tian's voice was as gentle as if he were discussing the weather, yet it carried a bone-deep chill. "Kill them all."

"Heh heh, leave that to me. This is what I do best." Xiong Jun grinned savagely, his enormous hand shooting out to clamp around Guang Biao's throat.

"Urgh..." Guang Biao's feet left the ground. He struggled uselessly in the air, his face turning the dark purple of pig liver.

"Don't make too much noise," Di Tian instructed indifferently.

"Don't worry." Xiong Jun abruptly tightened his grip.

Crack.

The crisp sound of breaking bone echoed through the alley. Guang Biao's head flopped limply to one side, endless terror and bewilderment still lingering in his eyes.

Xiong Jun casually tossed the corpse onto the ground like a torn sack and looked at Di Tian. "What about the others?"

"Leave no one alive." Di Tian turned and walked away, his long black hair stirring in the wind. "Be quick. Don't keep Supreme Lord waiting."

"Understood!" Xiong Jun licked his lips excitedly and looked at Guang Biao's subordinates, who had long since collapsed in terror, as though they were lambs awaiting slaughter.

Deep within the Core Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest, towering ancient trees blocked out most of the daylight, and the air was saturated with an almost tangible vitality. Two stunning women, Bi Ji and Zi JI, walked side by side before finally stopping in front of an enormous ancient tree and respectfully dropping to one knee.

"Supreme Lord."

A slender figure slowly emerged from the ancient tree's shadow. Dressed entirely in black, Gu Yue's purple eyes looked particularly deep in the dim forest. She nodded slightly, her voice cool. "Have those bastards been dealt with cleanly?"

"Yes, Supreme Lord," Bi Ji answered respectfully. Then she raised her head, a hint of confusion and concern in her eyes. "But... there is something I don't understand. Although the power of nature within Tang Wulin is abundant and indeed greatly benefits your recovery, surely it doesn't warrant you personally... going to such lengths to get close to him?"

At those words, Gu Yue's gaze sharpened slightly. She looked into the depths of the forest, as though her eyes could pierce the barriers of time and space.

"That was my regret in my previous life," she said softly, a barely perceptible loneliness in her voice. "Not being with him."

Bi Ji and Zi JI exchanged a glance, each seeing shock in the other's eyes. They had never seen their Supreme Lord reveal such a tender side.

Gu Yue withdrew her gaze, her expression firm once more. "But now, the revival of soul beasts and my being with him do not conflict. My mission has never changed—how can humans and soul beasts coexist peacefully?"

She paused, her brows knitting slightly. "What humans need are Soul Rings. Now that they no longer need Soul Rings, the existence of soul beasts seems superfluous. But we have to make them understand how terrifying soul beasts can be. Yet if we do that, I may have to become his enemy again. I don't want that."

Gu Yue's voice sank, a trace of inner struggle entering it. "So before that happens, we must find the best solution. We cannot let the tragedy repeat itself, or everything will be over. I don't want to leave him..."

She drew a deep breath, as though making up her mind. "But if I follow my plan, it seems I still have to visit the Spirit Pagoda. Yet not everyone who prevents humans and soul beasts from living in peace is in the Spirit Pagoda, and I cannot be in two places at once."

Zi JI, who had remained silent all this time, spoke up. "Supreme Lord, if you told Tang Wulin the truth, would he help? If he were willing to stand on our side, wouldn't everything become easier?"

Gu Yue shook her head, rejecting the suggestion. "He could. But he doesn't have the strength yet. Even I don't currently have the strength to tear them out by the roots. So we must take it slowly."

She looked at her two subordinates, her tone growing stern. "This concerns the future of the Soul Beast Clan. We cannot afford any mistakes. You need only follow my instructions. There is no need to ask about anything else."

"Yes, Supreme Lord!" Bi Ji and Zi JI answered in unison before respectfully retreating into the shadows.

Gu Yue stood alone beneath the ancient tree, her long purple hair gently fluttering in the breeze. She raised a hand and looked at her palm, as though a certain boy's warmth still lingered there.

"Wulin..." she murmured. "Give me a little more time. This time, I will never let anyone or anything tear us apart."

The breeze deep in the Star Dou Great Forest suddenly quickened, stirring the wisps of hair across Gu Yue's forehead. Her pale purple eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the silver-haired girl who had suddenly appeared before her—Na'er.

"What? Couldn't make it at Shrek Academy?" Gu Yue rolled her eyes irritably, a hint of disdain in her voice. "You've already come running back to pass me information?"

Na'er shrugged, but her usually lively eyes were now filled with gravity. She walked up to Gu Yue and lowered her voice. "No. It's just... I'm a little confused. Has our arrival made this world somewhat different?"

Gu Yue frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's completely different from what I experienced in my previous life." Na'er took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "Aside from the familiar faces we know, there are actually a bunch of 'old fossils' still alive at Shrek Academy. And they're absurdly powerful."

She paused, seemingly gathering her words. "Although there's only one rank-98 Super Douluo, he's a support-type Soul Master. The others... are all rank 99! Two of them have even reached the Quasi-God level!"

"What?" Gu Yue's expression changed drastically. "Are you sure you weren't mistaken? Rank 99? Quasi-Gods? Experts at that level shouldn't still be lingering in a place like Shrek Academy."

"I'm sure." Na'er's expression was solemn. "I checked their identities. Bei Bei, Tang Ya, Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi, Xiao Xiao, and He Caitou... those are all experts from Huo Yuhao's era. By all rights, they should have ascended or retired long ago. How are they still alive? And how has their strength advanced this far?"

Gu Yue's heart sank. Experts from Huo Yuhao's generation? If Na'er was telling the truth, things had become troublesome. Their presence meant more than an overwhelming disparity in strength; it also meant Shrek Academy's foundations were far more unfathomable than she had anticipated.

"And..." Na'er lowered her voice further, a hint of uncertainty in it. "Tang Wulin's older sister, Tang Wutong, is here too."

"Tang Wutong?" Gu Yue's pupils contracted slightly.

"Yes. I don't know why, but it seems some things have changed because of our arrival." Na'er looked at Gu Yue. "Tang Wulin seems to have been at Shrek Academy at the time. I haven't been able to find out the details. This is all I know. It's as though our intervention has caused some strange folding of this world's timeline."

Gu Yue fell silent. She looked at Na'er, her mind racing. If Shrek Academy had so many old monsters presiding over it, she would probably have to scrap all her previous plans. She had originally thought she could use Shrek Academy's younger generation to counterbalance the Federation, but now it seemed the academy held a staggering number of trump cards.

"Regardless," Gu Yue said, her voice calm again, though now tinged with gravity, "some of the soul beasts' enemies are in the Spirit Pagoda, and some are in the Federation. With those old veterans presiding over Shrek Academy, we have even more reason not to act rashly."

She turned her back to Na'er and gazed into the depths of the forest. "I'll find a way to plant people in the Spirit Pagoda. As for Shrek Academy... since Tang Wulin is there, you should remain there too. Keep an eye on him, and on those 'old fossils.' Report to me immediately at the slightest rustle of wind or stir of grass."

Na'er nodded. "Understood. But... as for Tang Wulin..."

"Tang Wulin..." Gu Yue gently rubbed her sleeve between her fingers, a complicated emotion flashing through her eyes. "He is both the variable and the key. Don't let him get too deeply involved for now. I'll find an opportunity to meet him myself."

Na'er gave Gu Yue a long look. Without asking anything more, she turned and disappeared into the forest's shadows.

Gu Yue stood alone, watching Na'er's retreating figure, a flicker of uncertainty and resolve passing through her purple eyes.

"The regrets of my previous life will never repeat themselves in this one," she murmured. "Whether for your sake or for the future of soul beasts."