Half an hour later.
Oscar, beaten within an inch of his life and with his face swollen like a pig's head, was thrown onto the roadside by two gatekeepers. One of them even spat and left him with a vicious warning.
"So you're fucking Oscar? Dare come back, and you'll get another beating!"
Oscar lay by the road, panting like a dead dog. Agony coursed through his body, but the pain in his heart was worse.
"Rongrong... why on earth..."
With his strength, two gatekeepers should never have been able to beat him into such a state. But the thought that those words had come from Ning Rongrong had turned his heart to dead ashes, leaving him without even the will to resist.
"No, that's impossible. Rongrong wouldn't do this!"
Suddenly, as though something had occurred to him, Oscar gritted his teeth, struggled to his feet, and hurried toward Shrek Academy.
The Shrek Seven Monsters had already agreed to reunite at Shrek Academy at the same time as in their previous lives.
Oscar refused to believe that Ning Rongrong would fail to appear then, either.
When the time came, he would demand an explanation to her face: just why had Ning Rongrong treated him this way?
Even if her heart had changed, surely she didn't need to be so vicious?
Inside a room in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Rongrong stood behind Tang San, letting him recline against her chest as she attentively massaged him.
Suddenly, Tang San opened his eyes and flicked Ning Rongrong, making her give a delicate cry before he said, "Counting the days, isn't it about time for your reunion?"
Ning Rongrong froze for a moment, then hurriedly shook her head.
"Brother San, I won't go again."
"I was possessed for a moment before, agreeing to join them. Now I absolutely won't wallow in the mire with them!"
"And rest assured, in this life, Oscar hasn't touched me yet..."
Seeing the righteous expression on Ning Rongrong's face, Tang San only felt like laughing.
"Hmph..."
"Of course you're going. Why wouldn't you?"
As it happened, Tang San also wanted to know how many of them had received investments from the Divine Realm, and what those few wretches had made of themselves without him.
Hearing Tang San say this, Ning Rongrong froze again, then nodded, her eyes silky with allure as she pressed her face against him.
"All right~ Brother San, whatever you say. I'll get ready to leave right away."
"Are you planning to..."
Before she could finish, Tang San's icy gaze cut her off. Ning Rongrong swallowed and hurriedly took back her words.
Tang San pushed Ning Rongrong away, stood up, and stretched.
"All right, go straight there. Stay with them for a while first, and remember to notify me if there are any major developments that differ from the previous life."
Now Ning Rongrong had a rough idea of what Tang San wanted to do, and she immediately nodded.
"All right!"
Shrek Academy.
Five years had passed. The academy was slightly larger than before, but it was nowhere near as grand as it had been at the same point in their previous lives.
The reason was that the Shrek Seven Devils had competed under the identity of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team, and it was also the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team that had gained fame. Afterward, Gangzi had even joined Heaven Dou Royal Academy outright, dusting off his backside and running away, taking Liu Erlong with him.
Had Flender not remained attached to the academy he had founded with his own hands and stayed instead of leaving with Gangzi, this place probably would have vanished long ago.
Over those five years, Shrek had developed somewhat, but not much.
At the entrance, a man and a woman stood side by side, with a distinct distance between them.
Most conspicuous was the savage scar over one of the man's eyes. His face was pale. It was Dai Mubai.
"Time really flies... five years..."
Dai Mubai murmured, as though lamenting something.
"Zhu Zhuqing, don't always look like that. We were only driven out of our families. Once the Shrek Seven Monsters reunite, we'll surely rise again!"
At his words, a disdainful expression appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face, and she glanced at Dai Mubai.
"You still have the nerve to mention the Shrek Seven Monsters?"
"Don't you know why we managed to cling to our lives and get away with nothing more than expulsion from our families?"
Mentioning this seemed to touch certain scars of Dai Mubai's. His face flushed abruptly, and he clenched his fists, not caring in the slightest as his nails dug into his palms and several drops of blood fell.
"You think I wanted this? Slaughter City was gone, the immortal herbs were gone, so what else could we do? Go straight to the Sea God's Nine Trials?"
"Keeping our lives was already the best outcome we could have hoped for!"
"But it doesn't matter. I've already reached an agreement with that lord, and I'll be able to begin God's Trial soon. As long as we're still alive, we have a chance!"
Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing sighed helplessly and said no more.
Suddenly, they saw a thin figure approaching, their eyes filling with disbelief.
"You're... Ma Hongjun?"
The newcomer was a gaunt young man, his disheveled hair resembling a bird's nest. His face was dried and withered, and large red blotches covered his body, giving off a foul smell. Even his walk resembled that of a living corpse.
"How did you end up like this?"
Dai Mubai's eyes widened. He had thought he was miserable enough, yet Ma Hongjun had turned out even worse off than him.
At his question, a trace of venomous resentment surfaced in Ma Hongjun's eyes.
"Don't you know the answer?"
"Without the immortal herb, I couldn't suppress my Evil Fire at all. Over the years, not only has my Soul Power barely improved, I even caught a disease while trying to suppress my Evil Fire."
"If I hadn't learned some life-preserving methods after becoming a god, I would have died from the backlash long ago. But now I'm hardly any different from dead. I'm only clinging to life."
Ma Hongjun coughed several times with every sentence, looking like a man dying of illness.
Hearing his words, a trace of pity flashed through both Dai Mubai's and Zhu Zhuqing's eyes. At the same time, they stepped back several paces, distancing themselves from Ma Hongjun.
Oscar arrived just then, his injuries still unhealed. At the sight of them, he froze on the spot.
"You..."
He had originally been full of grievances he wanted to pour out, but seeing that each of the others was more miserable than the last, he swallowed his words.
"Little Oscar, you're here? Where's Rongrong?"
Dai Mubai was overjoyed to see Oscar appear. As the most talented among them, Oscar was indispensable, and the same went for Ning Rongrong.
After being expelled from his family, Dai Mubai had been counting on Ning Rongrong's connections to get ahead.
Oscar was just about to speak when Ning Rongrong's voice rang out.
"I'm here, I'm here! I'm not late, am I, Boss Dai?"
Ning Rongrong approached with a soft laugh. Her pupils contracted at the sight of them, and she became even more convinced that her decision had been utterly correct.
What could I possibly accomplish with these wretches?
Just look at them now. They aren't worth a single hair on Tang San's head!
At the sight of Ning Rongrong, Oscar was heartbroken. "Rongrong, why did you tell your sect's gatekeepers to beat me to death?!"
"What did I do wrong?"
As his words fell, the others immediately turned to look at Ning Rongrong.
Before you continue