While everyone at Shrek Academy was deep in discussion, Wu Changkong stepped out of the pillar of light in the Cosmic Grand Arena, his gaze settling on the savage-looking, five-meter Abyss Hound opposite him.
Thought flickered in his eyes. His mind was filled with the wish Qian Daoliu had chosen to have granted. As long as he won this match, perhaps his beloved could...
At that thought, his gaze immediately grew serious. He raised a hand and summoned a deep-blue longsword. Six Soul Rings appeared-two yellow, two purple, and two black-as the presence of a rank sixty-nine Soul Emperor spread from him.
"Heavenly Ice!"
At the same time, he gave a low shout. Eleven points of light lit up across his body, finally transforming into a magnificent suit of deep-blue Battle Armor.
Everyone from Spirit Hall carefully studied the splendid Battle Armor. So this was the mainstream Soul Tool of this era?
Meanwhile, in Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, Mu En sighed as he watched the Battle Armor raise Wu Changkong's strength to that of a Soul Douluo.
"Soul Tools truly are the great tide of the times."
Hearing Mu En's sigh, Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi stiffened. They had once been among those who looked down on Soul Tools the most, only to receive a resounding slap in the face now.
In the Cosmic Grand Arena, Wu Changkong drew a deep breath, then leaned forward slightly, taking a battle stance.
"Let the match begin!"
As the God of Games announced the start, boom! Two thunderous reports rang out almost simultaneously. The Abyss Hound shot forward as a scarlet afterimage, while Wu Changkong streaked out like a deep-blue meteor.
"Frost Mist."
His second Soul Ring lit up, and icy mist immediately filled his surroundings. The Abyss Hound charged in and bit the Wu Changkong before it to pieces.
Clink!
A crisp sound rang out with its bite, and the Abyss Hound felt an immense chill inside its mouth. Looking down, it found no trace of the East Sea Male God. This was merely an ice clone.
Slash!
The next second, a deep-blue gleam of cold light flashed past. The Heavenly Frost Sword traced an elegant arc, cutting a bloody gash across the Abyss Hound's body. Crimson-black blood sprayed everywhere.
"Roar!"
The Abyss Hound roared in pain, then lashed its tail at him like a steel whip.
Watching the crimson-black tail sweep toward him, Wu Changkong immediately leaned backward. The steel-whip-like tail passed above his face, stirring powerful gusts that swept through his deep-blue hair.
Wu Changkong remained calm, without so much as a ripple in his golden eyes. The Abyss Hound beside him lunged again. He stamped down, unleashing a burst of Soul Power that forced it back, while his fourth Soul Ring lit up.
"Frost Ice Words."
As he recited the words, a two-meter deep-blue frost sword came crashing down from above, piercing straight through the Abyss Hound's body.
At Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang was immediately overjoyed at the sight.
"He did it?!"
"No, not yet. High-level Abyss creatures aren't that easy to deal with."
Yun Ming shook his head. He had trained in the Abyss before, and his younger female cousin was there too, so he naturally knew how difficult Abyss creatures were to handle.
As his words fell, the Abyss creature pinned by Wu Changkong's Fourth Soul Skill on the giant screen split into numerous afterimages again. Six afterimages instantly surrounded Wu Changkong.
Looking at the six Abyss Hounds before him, Wu Changkong's eyes flickered with thought, as though trying to distinguish the real one. The very next moment, however, all six roared and charged him together.
Facing the incoming Abyss Hounds, Wu Changkong blazed with light, his sixth Soul Ring erupting with an incomparably dazzling radiance.
"Sixth Soul Skill, Frost Condensation!"
Countless streams of cold Qi abruptly surrounded him, making him resemble a god of ice and snow atop a snowy peak. He planted the Heavenly Frost Sword in the ground, and countless ice crystals erupted outward, freezing all six Abyss Hounds around him in an instant.
With the six Abyss Hounds frozen, Wu Changkong panted slightly and turned to look. Five afterimages had already vanished, leaving only the Abyss Hound behind his backside.
He was just about to raise his sword and finish off the last Abyss Hound when his whole body stiffened. His brows knitted tightly, as though something had happened to him.
"Why did it have to happen now..."
He murmured, then froze in place, his presence becoming disordered. Outside, Yu Xiaogang grew anxious as he watched him delay his attack.
"Hurry up and attack! What are you standing there for?!"
Only Yun Ming and Mu En noticed that something was wrong with Wu Changkong's condition, and immediately spoke.
"Something's wrong. Changkong seems to be having a problem!"
At those words, everyone immediately focused on Wu Changkong and carefully examined his condition. Through the giant screen, however, they could make out no clues at all.
"What's going on?"
"There seems to be something wrong with his body..."
Everyone offered guesses. Worry appeared on Zhuo Shi's face as he recalled what had happened back then. Wu Changkong had eloped with his beloved, Long Bing, only for Dark Hummingbird to intercept and attack them.
Wu Changkong had been gravely injured then, leaving him with a lingering ailment. Long Bing had taken a fatal blow for him and died in his arms. It was the pain of his life.
"Could the lingering injury from back then be acting up?!"
At that thought, Zhuo Shi immediately grew frantic, wishing he could charge into the giant screen right now and rescue Wu Changkong.
Crack, crack!
Just then, the ice imprisoning the Abyss Hound cracked. Everyone's expression changed, and Xian Lin'er murmured.
"He's in danger!"
Bang!
As her words fell, the Abyss Hound burst free of the ice. It glared savagely at the immobilized Wu Changkong before it and immediately lunged to bite him without mercy.
Its figure moved like a ghost, appearing behind East Sea Little Changkong's backside in an instant.
Chomp!
It opened its jaws and bit Wu Changkong's rear. Oh ho?! This Abyss Hound had taste. Little Changkong's most eye-catching feature was his perky butt. It was a seasoned connoisseur, just like the author.
With his butt caught in its jaws, Wu Changkong gave a muffled grunt. Blood dripped down as pain swept through him. Just then, memories of his time with his beloved flashed through his mind, and rage immediately rose in his heart.
Oh no! It was rank-eight Reminiscence Gu! Run already!
The next moment, Wu Changkong's presence suddenly erupted, blasting the Abyss Hound away in an instant. With scraps of white underwear dangling from its mouth, the Abyss Hound was thrown back three or four meters.
When it looked up, it saw seven Soul Rings surrounding Wu Changkong-two yellow, two purple, and three black. He stared coldly at the Abyss Hound before him and said in an icy voice:
"For Long Bing, I will not lose!"
Holding the Heavenly Frost Sword, he became a streak of fading light, appearing behind the Abyss Hound in a flash and making a motion to put away his sword.
As the Heavenly Frost Sword was put away, all four of the Abyss Hound's limbs were severed. It collapsed to the ground, howling incessantly. The outcome was decided.
Wu Changkong stood with his back to the world. All the spectators saw was a bare-assed figure in white, holding a blue sword. His butt was still bleeding, making him look both dashing and ridiculous.
"Ahem, then let us congratulate East Sea Little Changkong on winning the second match!"
As the Abyss Hound's corpse disappeared, the God of Games' impassioned voice rang out. Countless spotlights fell upon the bare-assed, white-clad figure standing in the arena.
Wu Changkong's butt was round and perky, and seemed quite firm. Its color was that of normal yellow skin, though a little fairer. Although there was a bite mark on it and it was still bleeding, that did not get in the way.
Lin Huan even spotted little-duck underwear. He had never expected Wu Changkong's undies to be purple with little yellow ducks.
Wait? Yellow and purple? Despicable me-off I go, instantly falling in love with the God of Thunder!
At the same time, the broadcast on the giant screen switched to a frontal view of Wu Changkong. Only I, the author, could look at Little Changkong's butt. If anyone else looked, I would get jealous.
Just look at East Sea Little Changkong's towering 1.9-meter frame, then look at those long legs. I could play with them for a year! And that booty-so perky.
Lin Huan landed beside Wu Changkong amid applause and the booming of ceremonial cannons. Yet an unusual sound mingled with them.
Smack, smack!
Lin Huan's hand landed on Wu Changkong's buttocks. The latter immediately stiffened, then looked blankly at the God of Games standing very close beside him, his golden eyes fixed on the Red Joy Mask before him.
"Excellent, Little Changkong. A breakthrough in battle! And you've got a nice figure~ Quite firm."
Beneath the mask, Lin Huan licked his lips and looked teasingly at Wu Changkong before him. I'd say this East Sea Little Changkong still has his charms.
In the Douluo Realm, everyone at Shrek Academy grew excited upon seeing East Sea Little Changkong win. This meant that their Shrek would receive a wish promised by a god!
"Quick! Contact him! Tell him to give me that wish!"
Yu Xiaogang grew agitated again and immediately turned to order Red Dragon Douluo around. At the same time, Xuan Zi, Yan Shaozhe, Long Yeyue, and Cai Yue'er all placed the pressure on Zhuo Shi.
Zhuo Shi, the man in question, immediately broke into a sweat. Seriously? You want me to ask my disciple for a god's wish? I can't stoop that low! In the end, he chose to refuse tactfully.
"Ancestor, I already expelled Changkong from my tutelage. He no longer has any connection to me."
"What?! You expelled him!"
Yu Xiaogang was stunned by this, but Yan Shaozhe suddenly spoke from beside him.
"Being expelled from your tutelage doesn't mean leaving Shrek Academy. He is still a student of our Shrek Academy. Once a Shrek Academy student, always a Shrek Academy student. Shrek for a day, Shrek for life!"
"Shaozhe!"
The moment Yan Shaozhe finished, a low shout rang out. Hearing that rebuke, Yan Shaozhe immediately dropped to his knees. He looked meekly at Mu En before him, lowering his head like a child who had done something wrong.
"Teacher..."
Mu En looked at his disciple, frustrated at his failure to live up to expectations. For the wish in that child Wu Changkong's hands, this disciple of his had truly thrown away all shame.
To think he would say such outrageous things! Although Wu Changkong was a student of Shrek Academy, they could not presume that everything belonging to a student belonged to Shrek Academy. How was that any different from plundering bandits?!
"Sigh... This student is a student of Shrek Academy, but Shrek Academy is merely an academy, a place for teaching and nurturing people. Do not say such things again."
Mu En leaned back in his wheelchair, weariness appearing on his face. Had he been resurrected just to be infuriated? Seeing his teacher's disappointed expression, Yan Shaozhe actually felt somewhat at a loss.
"Teacher, I was wrong..."
Although Yan Shaozhe admitted his mistake aloud, his approach was to acknowledge his faults without changing them. He did not think there was anything wrong with his ideas. Everything was for Shrek Academy's glory!
As for compensation? When the time came, they could give Wu Changkong a Soul Ascension Pill, some verbal praise, and a banner naming him an outstanding Shrek Academy student. That would do.
While Mu En reprimanded Yan Shaozhe, the others merely watched in silence. After all, Mu En was also a Limit Douluo, so naturally no one would take the initiative to provoke him. After finishing his reprimand, Mu En turned to everyone and said with a hint of apology:
"My apologies for that embarrassing display."
"It's quite all right. Elder Mu's principles coincide with my own. I deeply admire them."
Yun Ming took the initiative to smooth things over. He had discovered that the Sea God Pavilion of ten thousand years ago seemed to have quite a few bizarre characters too. This Yan Shaozhe, for example, was comparable to Cai Yue'er of their era.
Sure enough, every era had these bizarre characters. Fortunately, their leaders were decent.
While Yun Ming and Mu En were enjoying their conversation, Wu Changkong stood rigid in the Cosmic Grand Arena. Feeling the large hand on his butt, he felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head, while his sphincter clenched.
"All right, I've healed your injuries. Now, Changkong boy, as your reward for winning, state your wish!"
Just then, Lin Huan patted his buttocks again before withdrawing his hand, signaling for him to state his wish.
Wu Changkong immediately fell silent. Could the God of Games have been patting my butt just now to heal me? At that thought, he finally calmed somewhat. Still, he took off his coat and tied it around his waist like a skirt, then bowed to Lin Huan.
"Thank you, Your Holiness, God of Games. In my life, I have only ever owed a debt to two people. The first is my honored teacher, the one who guided my path. The second is my beloved... I wish for my beloved to see the light of day again and reunite with me. For this, I am willing to pay any price..."
Wu Changkong lowered his head. His posture as he asked for his wish was deeply humble, practically pleading. He feared that a problem with his attitude might cost him his chance to reunite with his beloved.
After speaking, he waited for a response. Lin Huan naturally kept his promise. A silver Resurrection Coin appeared in his hand and flew before Wu Changkong.
"Come, pour your Soul Power into this Resurrection Coin, then shout the incantation!!!"
As Lin Huan finished, an incantation entered Wu Changkong's mind. A trace of excitement appeared on the face that had been as still as an ancient well for years. Looking at the Resurrection Coin floating before him, he poured his Soul Power into it without hesitation.
At that moment, countless living beings watched him. The silver Resurrection Coin floating above Wu Changkong's palm erupted with an incomparably dazzling radiance, illuminating the world.
In that instant, memories of his time with his beloved flashed through his mind. His expression involuntarily softened, and tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.
Then Wu Changkong wiped away his tears and spread both hands, as though embracing the entire universe. In an utterly resolute voice, he shouted:
"Ice-Yearning Fist! Yearning surges like a spring!
Ice-Remembering Sword! Never Forgotten!
Ice-Dancing Palm! Life After Life!
Love amid brilliance! Elbow Glory Gu!
Passion amid extreme cold! Ice-Remembering Emperor Sword!
A covenant amid nothingness! Vows by the seas and mountains!
Longing amid frost! Sky-Ice Fantasy!
Bing'er! Bing'er! Bing'er!!!"
"Come! Back! To! Life! My! Be! Loved!!!"
(A little aside... If a gay guy crying is called gay grief, what is a straight guy crying called? Non-gay grief. So Wu Changkong crying equals non-gay grief!)