Two days passed in a flash.
After learning what the Tree of Sorrow Martial Soul could do, Li Chen was now brimming with motivation to be a Red Thread Immortal!
It could grant a second Martial Soul, bestow dragon bloodlines, and even increase Soul Power. This Tree of Sorrow really was too perfect.
Tomorrow was the day Long Xiaoyao would challenge Red Dragon Douluo. Li Chen had his driver take the soul-guided car to the research institute entrance.
"Let's go, Deputy Director Ye. Brother Long asked me to pick you up early."
Ye Zhaolu nodded and climbed into the car.
She had changed her clothes today, wearing a white suit that gave her a very capable look.
Li Chen saw through Ye Zhaolu's intentions at a glance.
This woman had deliberately worn a suit, and one so loose it did not quite fit. On the surface, she had maxed out her formal courtesy, but in reality, she had hidden all her lovely feminine features beneath her clothes.
That way,
No one who saw her could accuse her of being disrespectful, but her figure would not show at all. Her sex-repelling power was maxed out; a man's lust would plummet the moment he saw her.
Presumably,
This was Ye Zhaolu's way of tactfully rejecting Long Xiaoyao.
However...
Li Chen chuckled inwardly.
Ye Zhaolu was probably going to miscalculate.
She had forgotten that the most eye-catching part of a person was the face.
With that face of hers, Long Xiaoyao was already utterly bewitched.
The driver started the car.
After leaving Mingdu's congested urban district,
Flames suddenly shot from beneath the car, and it took off, flying toward Shrek City.
Ye Zhaolu said little along the way. She quietly opened a computer on her lap, silently scrolling through pages and reviewing material, occasionally furrowing her brows as though thinking.
"Hmm, Ye Xishui seems to have become a research fanatic after reincarnating."
Li Chen opened his phone and searched for Ye Zhaolu's research topics, finding that they were all cutting-edge soul guidance technology, biological regeneration technology, and the like.
Ye Zhaolu was a born-and-bred Mingdu native. Neither of her parents was a Soul Master, and they ran a small restaurant.
Yet she had awakened the Bright Phoenix Martial Soul as a child, then passed her way into the Central Advanced Soul Master Academy rather than choosing Shrek.
During her time at the advanced Soul Master academy,
Ye Zhaolu had displayed astonishing talent in her second profession.
She had published a paper on human limb regeneration technology and successfully carried out the experiments in it using her Bright Phoenix Martial Soul. The Federal Research Institute had recruited her ahead of graduation on the spot.
Li Chen marveled at this too.
Who would have thought? Who would ever have thought?
The Death God Douluo who had been the Holy Spirit Cult's leader in her previous life, slaughtering two thousand Soul Saints with a single blast of Death God's Light, had actually become an angel in white who could revive the dead and regrow flesh on bare bones in this life!
Fate really was fickle.
But what astonished Li Chen even more was the Tree of Sorrow's formidable ability to rewrite fate.
The Tree of Sorrow had actually forcibly changed the perceptions of everyone in the entire world, inserting Long Xiaoyao and Ye Zhaolu, two living, breathing people, into it.
It had even supplied them with a complete set of life experiences.
Power this immense,
Honestly, even a god might not necessarily be capable of it, right?
Even that pure-as-ice, spotless-as-jade God King Tang San could not do it.
Half a day passed.
The flying car reached the outskirts of Shrek City, descended, and began driving into the urban district.
Ye Zhaolu closed her computer and straightened her clothes slightly, preparing to meet Long Xiaoyao.
Right now, she only wanted to see just what this new War God of the War God Temple was playing at.
The car drove all the way into Shrek's campus and stopped in the VIP reception area.
Because of the new War God's challenge, large numbers of Soul Masters had entered Shrek City, along with even more ordinary people.
A battle between two Super Douluos was second only to Yun Ming's earth-shaking battle with Chen Xinjie at sea back then.
But unlike that battle at sea,
Long Xiaoyao's challenge to Crimson Sky Douluo had been single-handedly arranged by Yu Guanzhi of the War God Temple, and the entire event could be broadcast live.
It was called an exchange,
But in reality, it was meant to build momentum for Long Xiaoyao.
As the War God Temple's new War God, Long Xiaoyao was challenging the veteran powerhouse Zhuo Shi. Win or lose, he would get his money's worth from this fight.
The car had barely stopped,
When Long Xiaoyao, dressed in sportswear, opened the door with a smile.
"M-Miss Ye Zhaolu, h-hello. I'm Long Xiaoyao. A pleasure, a pleasure."
Long Xiaoyao was so nervous that he stammered a little. He hurriedly wiped the sweat off his palm before extending his hand.
The corner of Li Chen's mouth twitched.
Was Long Xiaoyao's reincarnation this much of a doofus? Getting this nervous at the sight of a woman?
Good grief, was this the reincarnation of Long Xiaoyao or the honest, wooden Mu En?
Long Xiaoyao's nervousness made Ye Zhaolu nervous too. She hurriedly extended her hand, and their fingertips barely touched before they quickly pulled apart.
"My name is Ye Zhaolu. Hello, War God Long."
Long Xiaoyao withdrew his hand and nodded awkwardly.
Then he simply stared straight at Ye Zhaolu. The guy looked like a complete creep.
The reporters nearby snapped photos like mad.
Ye Zhaolu's face flushed visibly red.
She had guarded against everything, but had failed to account for the fact that she should have worn a face covering today!
Li Chen hurriedly pushed open the door and got out,
Grabbing Long Xiaoyao's hand.
"Brother Long, it's me, Li Chen. Come on, let's talk inside. Let's not stand around here."
Only then did Long Xiaoyao come to his senses, hurriedly nodding.
"Ah, Young Master Li, a pleasure, a pleasure!"
The three entered the VIP building.
This was where Shrek accommodated its distinguished guests.
After entering the building, Long Xiaoyao called the elevator, and the three arrived at the reception lounge on the top floor.
Long Xiaoyao gestured for them to sit and took a deep breath, his right hand still nervously rubbing the seat of his trousers.
"Um, Young Master Li, and Miss Ye Zhaolu, what would you like to drink?"
"Ice water, thank you." Ye Zhaolu smiled and nodded.
"Brother Long, I want a cola."
Long Xiaoyao nodded and immediately set them down in front of the two at the reception lounge's front desk.
Watching them drink, Long Xiaoyao fell silent again, momentarily unable to think of anything to start a conversation.
Ye Zhaolu sipped her ice water, but an unusual look flickered through her eyes.
She simply found this new War God of the War God Temple extraordinarily amusing.
He had clearly taken the initiative to invite her over,
Yet he kept making a fool of himself, giving off a thoroughly dopey air.
But strangely enough,
Ye Zhaolu felt as though she had met this Long Xiaoyao somewhere before.
If another man had acted like this, she might not have said anything, but inwardly she would already have grown impatient, then found an excuse to leave.
But now,
Ye Zhaolu did not feel impatient with Long Xiaoyao. Instead, she felt a sense of familiarity and ease.
Seeing the atmosphere grow awkward, Li Chen hurriedly started a conversation.
"Brother Long, you're about to challenge Crimson Sky Douluo. Are you confident?"
"Y-yes, I am. Although that old bastard Zhuo Shi..."
The moment the words left his mouth, Long Xiaoyao glanced at Ye Zhaolu and hurriedly corrected himself.
"Although Senior Zhuo Shi is one rank above me, my Dark Holy Dragon Martial Soul is stronger than his Red Armored Dragon. Besides, fists fear the young and strong. Your old man here... ah, I-I'm younger than him, so I think I can put up a fight!"
Li Chen chuckled inwardly.
It seemed Long Xiaoyao was not particularly educated. Filth came spilling out whenever he opened his mouth.
Because Ye Zhaolu was there, he was even speaking much more slowly.
"Brother Long, you're fucking awesome!"
"Brother Long, I believe in you. You're a twenty-nine-year-old Super Douluo! If you were the same age as that Red Dragon Douluo, he definitely wouldn't be your match!"
"If you ask me, you might even catch up to Yun Ming someday."
Li Chen praised him.
"Of course~"
The corners of Long Xiaoyao's mouth rose smugly.
Inwardly, he kept cheering that his little brother Li Chen was a great wingman. Yes, exactly like that.
His little brother had steered the conversation toward his strengths, showing Ye Zhaolu his awesome side. Truly a professional wingman!
Watching the still somewhat childish Long Xiaoyao, Ye Zhaolu laughed inwardly.
"War God Long, why did you invite me here this time? Have we met before?"
"Ah. Well..."
Long Xiaoyao scratched his head.
"About that..."
Long Xiaoyao turned his gaze toward Li Chen.
"Sister Ye, today is actually Brother Long's first time meeting you."
Ye Zhaolu looked at Li Chen in confusion. "Since this is the first time, why did you say War God Long knew me?"
Long Xiaoyao was dumbfounded too.
For a moment, he had no idea how to answer.
Li Chen smiled. "Sister Ye, have you ever experienced a moment when everything happening before your eyes seemed familiar, as though you'd seen it before?"
An interested look appeared in Ye Zhaolu's eyes.
Long Xiaoyao slapped his thigh. "I know! That's the Daliyuan effect!"
Ye Zhaolu gave Long Xiaoyao a speechless look.
Li Chen smiled.
"Heh, close enough. It's called déjà vu, or academically, the hippocampus effect. Sister Ye, how do you think this sense of déjà vu forms?"
Ye Zhaolu rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment before answering seriously, "Academically speaking, there are several causes."
"The first is also the one most widely accepted in academia. The human brain has two visual pathways, one fast and the other a few milliseconds slower. So, once the faster one reaches the brain first, when the brain receives the slower one, it feels as if it has already seen the scene before its eyes."
"But in reality, the brain was only a few milliseconds ahead."
"The second is fragmented memory matching, where the scene before your eyes matches some fragment of a past memory in your mind, such as a smell, lighting, or a sound."
"The third is residual dream memories. The brain confuses scenes from dreams with reality, giving people the feeling that they have seen something before."
Li Chen nodded. "You're absolutely right, Sister Ye. But there's actually another possibility."
"What?"
Ye Zhaolu and Long Xiaoyao looked at Li Chen curiously.
"That people can reincarnate. This is only your first meeting in this life, but in reality, perhaps in your previous lives, you were lovers who stayed together through life and death."
"You once accompanied each other through an entire lifetime, so your souls still retain memories of each other. When you meet in this life, that inexplicable familiarity surfaces."
Long Xiaoyao and Ye Zhaolu stared at each other in a daze.
Long Xiaoyao's nose stung. He hurriedly stood and turned his head away, a tear slipping from the corner of his eye.
How strange.
Past lives and present lives?
What a ridiculous idea, yet he felt as though it were true.
Ye Zhaolu felt an inexplicable stirring in her heart as well. With Li Chen putting it that way, she immediately recognized that she really did feel an inexplicable calm around Long Xiaoyao.
At least she did not dislike this man as she did other men.
"But do past lives and present lives really exist? How could that be verified?"
Ye Zhaolu looked at Li Chen and asked earnestly.
"Hahaha, that would be up to scientists like you, Sister Ye. Besides, this is only a tiny bit of wild speculation on my part."
Ye Zhaolu froze, then pressed a hand to her forehead and laughed.
"Brother Long, I want a feast! Sister Ye, come eat with us."
"All right."
Ye Zhaolu said with a laugh.
An uneducated War God and a second-generation rich kid whose mouth ran like a runaway train.
Ye Zhaolu truly felt she had gone mad, actually spending time with these two extraordinary specimens one day.
Meanwhile,
Inside Shrek Academy,
Tang Wulin, who had just returned to the working students' dormitory, suddenly went still and turned to look in this direction.
Inside Tang Wulin's body,
Tang San's divine sense wavered in shock and uncertainty.
"What the hell? Why am I sensing two familiar presences? These are... Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao?!"
Tang San's divine sense was shocked.
Hadn't those two died long ago?
How the fuck had they shown up here?!