Douluo Continent.
Shrek Academy.
Tang San jolted upright in bed and felt himself all over. Only after confirming that none of his parts were missing did he sigh in relief, then look baffled.
"Wasn't I hit by a Dayun truck? How am I completely fine?"
Earlier, Tang San had been walking along the roadside minding his own business when a Dayun truck had asked to squeeze past, knocking him unconscious on the spot.
A full-force collision with a Cybertronian Monster was hardly something his mortal flesh and blood could withstand. Now that he had woken up to discover he was completely unharmed, Tang San was utterly dumbfounded.
Suddenly, an ocean of memories surfaced in his mind.
Tang San closed his eyes, silently taking in the memories that had appeared in his mind. Only after a long while did he exhale a breath of stale air and open his eyes.
"So I transmigrated... I knew it. That does seem a little more reasonable than suddenly turning into Homelander and tanking a Dayun truck."
As an avid internet surfer, Tang San had read plenty of webnovels in his previous life. Naturally, transmigration was nothing unfamiliar to him, and he had fantasized about it a few times himself, so he was not too alarmed now.
Except...
With a thought from Tang San, Blue Silver Grass immediately appeared beneath his feet, and a hammer materialized in his hand.
Looking at those two things, his expression became quite a sight.
"Transmigrating to Douluo Continent was one thing, but I actually replaced Tang San?"
Tang San was naturally well acquainted with God King Tang's illustrious name. Within Douluo Continent's setting, he was unquestionably the chosen one, a genuine God King Rank existence.
He was also a character who had once ranked among the webnovel protagonists' Villain Rankings, someone plenty of people utterly despised.
Who would have thought he would end up transmigrating into God King Tang?
The current point in time was right after Tang San had acquired his External Soul Bone and Grandmaster had arrived at Shrek Academy. God King Tang's cheat-laden nature was beginning to show, and old Mr. Man Faced Demon Spider had handed over a huge gift.
"Now that I've transmigrated as Tang San, I wonder if I'll get a system too."
Tang San murmured softly and tried calling out a few times. When nothing popped up, he could not help curling his lip.
"Other protagonists all get systems when they transmigrate. Why don't I? At least give me some kind of cheat, will you?"
Granted, Tang San was already a cheater to begin with, coming equipped with Hidden Weapons, the Mysterious Heaven Skill, and so on. There were also goodies like Immortal Herbs, which ranked alongside Bibi Dong, Zhu Zhuqing, and their ilk on fanfiction's must-devour list.
But who would ever complain about having too many cheats?
Still, Tang San quickly composed himself. So what if he had no system? It did not matter!
In Douluo I's setting, any transmigrator could soar as long as they had a Martial Soul. Even Luo Sanpao would do.
Not to mention that Tang San had now taken Great God King Tang's place, directly gaining the two great Martial Souls, the Blue Silver Emperor and the Clear Sky Hammer.
Add a transmigrator's foreknowledge to that, and it was like riding a dragon straight into the enemy's face. Tang San genuinely had no idea how he could possibly lose.
Forget becoming a God King. If he attained godhood any slower than Tang San had, he would have to call himself an idiot.
According to the memories in his mind, Zhao Wuji had just brought everyone back from Star Dou Forest.
This was the point when Grandmaster had just arrived at Shrek Academy. Gangzi should already have finished bragging to Flender and Zhao Wuji using information he had previously heard at Spirit Hall.
The sky outside was already growing light. It was almost time for Gangzi to sneak onto the rooftop and silently pose as an expert, so Tang San climbed onto the roof too, ready to give Gangzi some face and let him show off.
After all, he had only just transmigrated and did not intend to stir things up too much. He would follow the original world's developments for now.
"..."
Up on the roof, the breeze kept blowing.
Tang San sat cross-legged on the rooftop, his face darkening after he finished circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Something's wrong. Where's Gangzi? Did he fall asleep after all that bragging?
Shouldn't he be coming over to give me a lesson on External Soul Bones right about now?
Tang San had already prepared to play dumb and ask, Gangzi, Gangzi, what are these eight dainty feet... no, eight legs on my back? Please give me the most direct answer, one that hits the nail right on the head.
But Gangzi never came, wasting all the feelings he had worked up.
Tang San did not dwell on it and went straight to the academy cafeteria. If Gangzi was not coming, so be it. Perhaps he had overslept.
The moment he reached the cafeteria, he discovered Gangzi together with the other six Monsters, seemingly discussing something. When they saw Tang San approaching, their expressions immediately became quite a sight.
"What's going on?"
Tang San frowned, vaguely sensing something was wrong. The plot seemed to have gone off course. He did not remember anything like this happening.
When Gangzi saw Tang San approach, a complicated expression crossed his face, and he sighed.
"You can know a man's face without knowing his heart. Little San, I never imagined you were this kind of person!"
As those words fell, Tang San's heart lurched.
What's going on? Did Gangzi transmigrate too? At this point in the timeline, I shouldn't have done anything yet. Why would Gangzi suddenly say something like that?
Not taking Gangzi to the Divine Realm was something that happened later. Besides, that was something God King Tang had fucking done, not him, Tang San.
Gangzi's eyes were full of disappointment. "As a Theory Master, as the man the Spirit Hall Master yearned for but could never have, I was even willing to destroy Spirit Hall at any cost for your sake. And this is how you treat me?"
"No Yu Xiaogang to be seen in the Divine Realm. Heh, so that's all I amount to in your heart."
"Have you forgotten that you're a god I personally raised?"
"Luckily, we were reborn and gained memories of what happened afterward. Otherwise, who knows how much longer you would have kept deceiving us!"
Hearing this, Tang San rolled his eyes. Setting aside the fact that God King Tang had done those things and they had nothing to do with him...
Even if he had, did Gangzi really have the gall to say all this?
As far as Tang San was concerned, there was plenty to criticize God King Tang for, but he genuinely had not done anything wrong when it came to Gangzi.
Gangzi was a guy who had broken past fifty years of age without breaking past rank thirty, a man who had proclaimed he would give God King Tang Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo. The Soul Ring dropped by cutting Gangzi down would probably have been stronger than the bamboo's.
Without God King Tang, Gangzi probably would not have reached rank thirty even at a hundred.
And what was this fucking nonsense about being the man Spirit Hall could never have, or destroying Spirit Hall at any cost? Was he joking?
With that Luo Sanpao of his, even if it farted until its rectum prolapsed, all Gangzi could do was make a mess all over Spirit Hall. At most, he would make someone mop a few extra times. He did not even amount to a stray dog by the roadside.
And he claimed to have raised God King Tang? Just how thick was his skin?
Tang San was just about to retort when the little fatty Ma Hongjun beside him spoke, his face full of fury. "Exactly! And to think I called you Brother San! In the fucking end, you left me to grow old and die in the Divine Realm?"
"My wife Bai Chenxiang is your cousin! Could you really bear to watch her grow old in the human realm?"
Dai Mubai shook his head. "Sigh, Little San. If you could be that heartless even toward your cousin, what more could I expect as an older brother with no blood ties to you? It's Boss Dai to my face and Dai Mubai behind my back. After all, the bigger fist makes the rules. I have nothing to say."
Ning Rongrong blinked her beautiful eyes, staring straight at Tang San's face. "Brother San, after we ascended to the Divine Realm, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect fell into complete decline. Is that true?"
"Some people say you deliberately arranged things to bring Seven Treasure Glazed Tile to that state. The Seven Treasures' flaws were clearly remedied afterward, so why did it decline?"
Listening to everyone, Tang San was utterly speechless.
Now he finally understood exactly what was going on.
Well, then. Looks like Gangzi wasn't the only one reborn. The other Shrek Seven Monsters were reborn along with him.
Not only had they been reborn, but they had also picked up rumors from who knew where and laid bare every last one of God King Tang's lousy deeds.
All these things could be explained if he wanted to explain them. Take the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's decline. Hadn't the Tang Sect later become little different from a roadside stray in Douluo II?
That's what God King Tang calls treating everyone equally, understand?
But Tang San had no intention of explaining anything.
The reason was simple. He had never done any of these things, and he did not want to take the fall for God King Tang. If he went to all that trouble explaining, wouldn't he just be whitewashing God King Tang?
The most crucial point was that, while God King Tang was indeed a beast, could the Shrek Seven Monsters and Gangzi really have enjoyed such successful futures without him?
When it came down to it, wasn't it because God King Tang was the protagonist, the chosen one, who had let everyone else have a sip of the soup?
Tang San sneered and looked at them. "Then what do you want?"
Gangzi raised his eyebrows and slammed the table. "What do we want? I thought that after being reborn along with us, you would recognize our importance. Yet you aren't even going to apologize?"
"Without our support, especially my theoretical guidance, could you have become a God King?"
"From now on, you're no longer my disciple. Let's see just how far you can get without me, Yu Xiaogang!"
Beside them, Xiao Wu looked deeply conflicted, her hands clasped together. "Brother San... I..."
The moment she spoke, Gangzi caught hold of her. "Xiao Wu, you must keep your eyes open. He's only using you. Think about it. You sacrificed your life for him, and what did he do?"
Dai Mubai nodded as well. "Exactly, Xiao Wu. You mustn't go soft."
Xiao Wu sighed and lowered her head. "All right, but I don't think Brother San is that kind of person. Could you all calm down?"
At that, Dai Mubai swept out his hand. "Calm down? Tang San, you're no longer one of our Shrek Seven Monsters. Without our help, do you really think you can become a God King?"
"Unless you give us an accounting for everything you do afterward!"
Rather than say anything more upon hearing that, Tang San burst out laughing. "It's a deal. Two happy events at once."
"I hope you understand this: the Shrek Seven Monsters didn't create the God King. The God King created the Shrek Seven Monsters!"
Before you continue