"White Lotus cleanses the world, the Saintess returns! To save the world, only White Lotus!"
"White Lotus cleanses the world, the Saintess returns! To save the world, only White Lotus!"
"..."
In a grand, magnificent city, countless blurry silhouettes surrounded the area, all dressed in the white cloaks of the White Lotus Sect.
Zhang Lexuan found herself seated atop a central white lotus platform, dressed in gauzy silk that covered only the essential parts. A white veil draped over her face holy, yet seductively blasphemous.
She didn't look like a saintess at all.
She looked like an offering placed on an altar, waiting to be sacrificed to some unknown existence.
And she could clearly feel it.
Some terrifying being was about to descend.
A spinning golden core orbited inside her abdomen, linking with her soul core as if preparing to merge into her very body.
Fear began to spread in Zhang Lexuan's heart.
When her emotions surged past a threshold, She jolted awake from her nightmare!
Zhang Lexuan opened her eyes, drenched in sweat. She was lying in her own room, not on a lotus altar.
But this brought her no relief. Instead, her heart grew heavier.
She thought she had already left the White Lotus Sect behind.
Back then, though she had been controlled by the Bright King, she had not suffered any real harm, especially with Huo Yuhao accompanying her.
And now, she had broken free from the Bright King's control.
Even the methods the Bright King left inside her had turned into her own power.
She believed her ties with the White Lotus Sect were over.
Yet she never expected the nightmares to return, pursuing her relentlessly.
If it were just one or two nights, she would've chalked it up to stress.
But she had been having these nightmares for half a year.
Worse yet, the scenes in her dreams grew clearer and the fear stronger.
She finally understood she could no longer ignore this.
Because she could sense it:
A terrifying existence had truly set its sights on her and was about to descend.
"Is the legendary Bright King nothing more than a belief fabricated by the White Lotus Sect… or does it correspond to a real existence?"
Zhang Lexuan frowned.
She had remained silent before because she didn't want to drag Shrek Academy into this.
But now that Jiang Nannan had become a God, perhaps she could seek her help.
…
Huo Yuhao lay in his room, holding Hua Yao and Meng Hongchen in his arms.
Last night, Huo Yuhao had spent plenty of effort helping them cultivate. The two girls reaching the eighth trial so quickly was largely thanks to his generous support.
He suddenly opened his eyes mid-meditation and glanced in the direction of Zhang Lexuan's room.
"It's getting clearer… Looks like Zhang Lexuan truly is the chosen one."
He hadn't expected that the god-position formed in the White Lotus City within his divine kingdom condensed from the faith of countless believers would choose Zhang Lexuan on its own.
Even across worlds, it was calling to her.
But Huo Yuhao understood why.
Because Zhang Lexuan had served as the White Lotus Saintess before, the believers offering faith inevitably included her in their devotion.
And since the Bright King was simply one of Huo Yuhao's disguises, he had no need for a new god-position.
Thus the position naturally passed to Zhang Lexuan.
Although the number of White Lotus believers was small, they were fanatics, and their faith energy was extremely pure.
Of course, purity couldn't make up for lack of quantity.
So the formed god-position barely reached third-class deity level and was already running out of fuel.
The god-position was desperate to summon Zhang Lexuan because ascension was its underlying instinct; it wanted her to inherit it, revive the White Lotus Sect, gain more worshippers, and absorb more faith.
It was almost as if the god-position had its own will.
But Huo Yuhao knew the truth.
It wasn't the god-position having awareness.
It was the muddled intents born from the believers' devotion influencing it.
"If Zhang Lexuan truly inherits this god-position… will she become the master of it? Or become the vessel shaped by the position?"
"But it's not the right time for her to inherit it. It needs to grow and stabilize first."
"If it appears on Douluo Continent now, someone might target it and shatter the god-position."
Right, Old Tang?
With that thought, Huo Yuhao shifted his attention back to the core region of the Star Dou Forest, a strange smile curling on his lips.
"So that's how it is… The Silver Dragon King intends to seize Jiang Nannan's body. Well then let's see if you enjoy the little gift I left inside her."
Huo Yuhao hadn't been resting earlier.
He had been secretly observing the Silver Dragon King's upcoming possession attempt.
…
After Jiang Nannan was summoned to the core region
The Silver Dragon King first praised her achievements like a kind senior and invited her into the hidden space beneath the Lake of Life, claiming there was something important to discuss.
Jiang Nannan had no guard up perhaps she had indeed become a bit arrogant after becoming a God.
But the moment she entered the Silver Dragon King's personal space, she fell into the trap.
How could a newly ascended Goddess of Love compare to a former Divine King?
Even though the Silver Dragon King was grievously injured and her power had fallen to level 100, dealing with the clueless Jiang Nannan was effortless.
Besides, the Silver Dragon King had prepared the space and also left her marks inside Jiang Nannan's body earlier.
So the moment Jiang Nannan entered, the Silver Dragon King locked her down with elemental power.
"Senior… what are you doing?" Jiang Nannan demanded in anger, finally realizing something was wrong.
The Silver Dragon King let out a cold, mocking laugh.
"Little girl, you truly understand nothing."
"Allow this senior to teach you what the battles between gods are like!"
Her split-off spiritual power entered Jiang Nannan's consciousness, attempting to seize her body.
That's right she wasn't planning a full takeover.
She intended to implant a split consciousness, essentially turning Jiang Nannan into a special vessel's second personality belonging to the Silver Dragon King.
In Dragon King's Legend, the Silver Dragon King was known for having split personalities.
But unlike the future Silver Dragon King, who split due to a self-inflicted memory seal, this one split intentionally, as a calculated move.
For those with powerful spiritual strength, crafting new personas was trivial.
Though her strength had dropped, her spiritual power remained terrifying.
Jiang Nannan had no ability to resist, not even the chance to regret. She was like a puppet, helpless under the Silver Dragon King's control.
Just as the Silver Dragon King believed she was about to succeed
She failed to notice a tiny golden centipede crawling along the spiritual link connecting her to Jiang Nannan.
Then
Crunch!
It bit off the spiritual thread the Silver Dragon King had extended into Jiang Nannan's body.
Before she could even understand what happened
The tiny golden centipede transformed into Tang San's form, radiating the exact same Sea God power as Tang San himself.
After all, it was Tang San's Sea God power.
"Evil beast, how dare you harm a descendant of my Shrek!"
Tang San's voice was cold and merciless.
The Silver Dragon King was horrified.
Oh no.
She was exposed!
The Silver Dragon King was originally an existence with an overwhelmingly powerful spiritual force at her peak, her spiritual power surpassed even the God of Wisdom.
Therefore, even though Huo Yuhao could control Ning Rongrong and Oscar, he could not guarantee he could control the Silver Dragon King.
If he disturbed her mind, it might only alert her, making her guard specifically against such methods.
So… Huo Yuhao did not plan to control the Silver Dragon King. Instead, he planned to alert her on purpose but in another way.
Yes, Huo Yuhao still intended to frighten the Silver Dragon King.
He was extremely curious: Once the Silver Dragon King realizes she's been exposed, how will she react?
Thus, he decided to use Tang San to give her a scare and conveniently earn Tang San some hatred along the way.
At this moment, the core region had already exploded into chaos.
BOOM
The lake water of the core area shot hundreds of meters into the air with the Silver Dragon King's emotional surge.
A sudden "rainfall" descended over the entire core region.
Di Tian instantly appeared above the Lake of Life, his gaze sharp as he tried to contact the Silver Dragon King.
"Master, has something happened?"
But he received no response.
Xiong Jun, Bi Ji, the Myriad Demon King, and other fierce beasts appeared one after another.
Jin Qiu'er arrived last.
"Di Tian, what happened?" Xiong Jun rumbled, on high alert.
Di Tian shook his head. "I don't know, but it must be something regarding the Master."
"What can we do?" Jin Qiu'er asked, frowning.
Di Tian sighed again and shook his head.
Without the Silver Dragon King opening the space herself, even they couldn't enter it.
All they could do was wait.
Bi Ji watched everything quietly, a golden gleam flickering in her eyes.
Inside the space beneath the Lake of Life
The Silver Dragon King was shocked and enraged.
She instantly recognized Tang San's identity after all, Shrek Academy hadn't been shy about lecturing soul beasts on the might of their "ancestor," as if he were some supreme deity.
"This is a trap!"
But very quickly, she sensed that Tang San's power wasn't actually strong.
"So it's just a protective divine thought?"
She relaxed, then immediately struck, using her spiritual power to rip Tang San to pieces.
Before being shredded, Tang San roared:
"Damn creature! Dare lay a hand on one of Shrek Academy one day I will make you pay! You walk the path of death!"
The crisis vanished into nothingness.
However, the Silver Dragon King knew an even greater danger was coming.
"This place is no longer safe. I've already been exposed to the Divine Realm's sight. I must hide!"
She rapidly analyzed the situation.
She believed the Divine Realm would never let her go. Once they learned she was on Douluo Continent, they would definitely come investigate.
But at present, she had no way to escape Douluo.
If she attempted to fly out, a God King might already be waiting outside.
"NoI don't need to escape!"
As expected of a spiritual-type soul beast, the Silver Dragon King's "big-brain energy" immediately activated. She instantly thought of a solution.
Her gaze fell upon Jiang Nannan.
"I don't need to run farI just need to hide somewhere the gods would absolutely never expect!"
The place she thought of was
The Human Empire!
The God Kings would never imagine the proud Silver Dragon King hiding among humans.
She even planned to take on human form, sealing her own memories and power then even a God King wouldn't see through her identity.
Only in this way could she sever all ties with her true identity.
Before transforming, the Silver Dragon King's eyes revealed a cold gleam Tang San had successfully earned her hatred.
The Douluo Continent was unstable, with nearly ten gods appearing soon and the four empires preparing for war.
Traveling into human territory now was extremely dangerous.
But because of Tang San, she had no choice but to jump into the chaos herself.
"Sea God Tang San! I'll remember this grudge!"
After a moment of hesitation, she chose to transform into an adult human woman.
As a child, surviving chaos would be too difficult.
As an adult, she could retain some physical strength and could pretend to be a Body Sect soul master.
"I can disguise myself as a Body Sect cultivator, infiltrate the sect, and obtain shelter… The Body Sect is secluded, powerful, and fiercely protective, an ideal refuge."
"If I can stay there until the Divine War ends when all the gods ascend to the Divine Realm, I can slowly regrow my strength, and eventually take control of the Body Sect."
"With enough time, I might even use the Body Sect to gain great influence among humans and maybe even scheme for a divine position as a human."
She made her decision.
Then the Silver Dragon King tapped Jiang Nannan with a claw, erasing Nannan's recent memories along with traces of her own spiritual aura.
She then sent Jiang Nannan out of the space.
There was no time for further cleanup.
Next came her transformation.
A silver glow wrapped around her form, creating a cocoon of light. Spatial power surged, and she vanished.
She would not tell anyonenot even Di Tianbecause the gods might act through the fierce beasts to locate her.
Still, out of respect for the dragon clan, she left Di Tian a message:
Help Shrek Academy win the war and restore peace to the continent.
This was the only survival path she could think of for the fierce beasts joining Shrek's side.
Otherwise, the Divine Realm might exterminate them all.
The Silver Dragon King was more than willing to judge the gods with the greatest malice.
"When I return… all of you gods shall pay the price!"
The next day
When Jiang Nannan returned to Shrek Academy, Jin Qiu'er came along bringing Di Tian's token:
Di Tian's reverse scale.
"Di Tian said that with this token, you can summon the fierce beasts of the core region. They are willing to assist Shrek in battle."
Upon hearing Jiang Nannan's message, Yan Shaozhe and the others were overwhelmed with excitement.
"Although Di Tian and the others are soul beasts, they are loyal and honorable. From today on, the fierce beasts of the core region will forever be Shrek Academy's friends!" Yan Shaozhe declared.
From his perspective, the core region's beasts had helped Shrek immensely, and now were even willing to fight alongside them.
Regardless of the reason, that alone was enough.
Huo Yuhao then curiously asked Jiang Nannan:
"Nannan, what did that predecessor from the core area want with you yesterday?"
Jiang Nannan rubbed her forehead, feeling a faint phantom pain.
Her memories were blurred, but she could sense she had gained something.
She answered, "It felt like that senior granted me a kind of inheritance. My mind is filled with new methods of spiritual-force application. It'll help me a lot."
Huo Yuhao chuckled.
"Well, then she's actually pretty nice~"
Jiang Nannan nodded earnestly.
Jiang Nannan becoming a God was only the beginning.
Right after that, Hua Yao also completed her Eighth Trial, stepped into the Ninth Trial, and activated the inheritance of the Flower God!
However, unlike Jiang Nannan's case, Hua Yao could only complete the Ninth Trial on her own.
A multicolored pillar of light descended from the void, pulling Hua Yao toward the Flower God's secret realm to receive the Flower God's inheritance.
Naturally, Huo Yuhao couldn't feel at ease letting Hua Yao go accept the inheritance alone.
To prevent anyone from manipulating her, Huo Yuhao planted certain fail-safes inside her body.
After all, if anyone was going to control Hua Yao, having him alone was more than enough.
Unfortunately, the measures he set were never triggered.
After enduring a day and night of trials, Hua Yao successfully passed the Ninth Trial and officially succeeded to the position of a Second-grade God: the Flower God.
When she returned, she had already broken past Rank 100, obtained her Tenth God Ring, and the years of her first nine soul rings had been elevated, becoming five black, four red, and one gold.
Hua Yao did not have any divine resentments to boost her, so her improvements were clearly less dramatic than Jiang Nannan's.
But soul ring quality wasn't a real problem. After ascending to the God Realm in the future and receiving its baptism, soul rings could continue rising in age until all of them transformed into God Rings.
However, before heading to the God Realm, Hua Yao and Jiang Nannanboth having just broken past Rank 100were roughly equal in strength.
But if they truly fought, the winner would still be Jiang Nannan.
This wasn't due to soul ring quality, but because of their divine armaments.
Hua Yao did not inherit the Flower God's divine equipment. She needed to collect materials and spirit bones to forge her own Flower God divine outfit.
Forging divine equipment should ideally be completed before the divine trials.
But clearly, the divine trials for Hua Yao and the others had been watered down, made easier to complete, to the point that divine equipment was no longer mandatory.
For forging divine equipment, Jiang Nannan had some suggestions.
"In the Love God's inheritance, and in the inheritance the senior left me, I learned that divine equipment doesn't have to be forged using spirit bones."
"If there are other suitable materials like metals or divine wood you can use your own divine power to refine them and shape your divine equipment."
Before becoming a God, divine armaments were usually forged personally by the deity, or simply inherited from the predecessor.
But now that she had already attained godhood, Hua Yao could forge her own divine equipment.
Jiang Nannan's words made Hua Yao's eyes light up; she already knew what to use to forge her set.
Thus, Hua Yao went to the core region, and when she returned, she brought back a large block of Life Gold.
Outside, the Life Gold was extremely precious, but beneath the Lake of Life in the core region, it had nearly formed a whole vein.
With the Silver Dragon King's approval, Di Tian didn't refuse to provide it.
Moreover, Life Gold was full of vitality perfectly suited for a deity of life like the Flower God.
Hua Yao now possessed two attributes: one was the kindness attribute implanted by Huo Yuhao, and the other was the life attribute gained from inheriting the Flower God's position.
After becoming a God, Hua Yao appeared more mature like a benevolent mother causing anyone to instinctively trust and revere her.
She soon busied herself forging her divine equipment, even ignoring Huo Yuhao.
"Before becoming a God she practically clung to me every day, calling me sweetie… Now she doesn't even bother talking to me! Maybe in a few days she'll start calling me 'Mr. Huo.' Sigh~" Huo Yuhao pouted.
Despite his complaints, Huo Yuhao still gave Hua Yao a branch from the Golden Ancient Tree to help her forge her divine gear.
Hua Yao was so excited that she said Huo Yuhao didn't need to treat her like a human today!
With the Holy Spirit Cult destroyed, the burden in Hua Yao's heart had greatly lessened.
After becoming a God, her mindset seemed even younger.
After Hua Yao, the next to enter the Ninth Trial was Meng Hongchen.
Second-grade God: the Toad God's Ninth Trial Toad God Inheritance.
Soon after, Meng Hongchen was taken away by divine light. After two days and one night, she returned having inherited the godhood.
When she came back, she had broken through Rank 100, had ten soul rings, arranged as seven black, two red, and one gold.
She also had no divine equipment.
After accompanying Huo Yuhao for three days, she headed north to the Extreme North to search for materials to forge her divine armaments.
She planned to find ice-attribute materials, such as the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal, to forge her equipment.
Meng Hongchen also intended to incorporate soul tool manufacturing techniques into her divine gear.
Huo Yuhao treated everyone equally and also gave her a Golden Ancient Tree branch.
The Golden Ancient Tree was practically universal, compatible with almost all attributes.
After the two women, the third to begin divine trials was Xu Sanshi.
First-grade God: Xuanwu God's Ninth Trial Xuanwu Inheritance!
Xu Sanshi spent three days and three nights in the Xuanwu secret realm before returning.
When he came back, his aura was incredibly heavy like a mountain, immovable.
His strength had been reborn; his martial soul fully evolved into a divine beast martial soul Xuanwu!
Xu Sanshi had now reached Rank 100 with ten soul rings: four black, five red, and one gold.
Most importantly, he obtained divine equipment, the tortoise shell of the previous Xuanwu God.
Since he didn't need to forge divine equipment, Xu Sanshi didn't stay long at Shrek Academy. He took Beibei and went to the border of the Sun and Moon Empire to monitor it.
Before leaving, Xu Sanshi even gifted Huo Yuhao a portion of the Xuanwu God's inheritance, hoping it would help Huo Yuhao smoothly become a God in the future.
Xu Sanshi now had only two goals: avenging his sect, and protecting Shrek Academy where Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan resided.
Since the woman he loved was already happy, Xu Sanshi felt content. He only wanted to protect the person he loved, and the people she loved.
Looking at Xu Sanshi's determined expression, Huo Yuhao nearly wondered if Xu Sanshi's real name was "Xu Seeking Joy."
Huo Yuhao: "Big Brother Xu, you're too silver-winged!"
Xu Sanshi: "We're brothers!"
Huo Yuhao also gave him a Golden Ancient Tree branch not as a souvenir, but hoping Xu Sanshi could forge a personal weapon with it.
Because the Xuanwu inheritance did not include a weapon; Xu Sanshi was still using the Xuanwu Shield formed from his martial soul.
…
With Hua Yao, Meng Hongchen, and Xu Sanshi becoming Gods one after another, the pressure shifted to Xie Huanyue.
Xie Huanyue grew anxious.
But anxiety was useless; divine trials had to be taken step by step.
He was still on the Seventh Trial and hadn't even broken through to Titled Douluo yet after all, he couldn't use Huo Yuhao's "cultivation accelerator" like the others.
Thus, Yan Shaozhe and the others decided to send Xie Huanyue to the core region of the Star Dou Forest for secluded cultivation.
Carrying the hopes of the entire academy, Xie Huanyue headed toward the core region, swearing not to leave until he became a God.
But just after sending him away, an old acquaintance returned to Shrek Academy.
"Huo Yuhao, everyone, I'm back!"
A smiling girl stood before them.
It was the long-absent Wang Dong'er!
Most importantly, Wang Dong'er had completed her divine trials and inherited the godhood of the Second-grade God: Butterfly God, breaking through Rank 100!
At the gates of Shrek Academy
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er faced each other.
Looking at her current appearance, Huo Yuhao felt a wave of unfamiliarity because Wang Dong'er's appearance had now become…
Tang Wutong!
Inside Shrek Academy.
"Wang Dong'er?"
"You're Dong'er? Why do you feel… different?"
"I almost didn't recognize you."
After seeing Wang Dong'er, everyone in Shrek was stunned. Even Xiao Xiao, the one who knew her best, didn't dare to immediately acknowledge her.
Because they all realized that Wang Dong'er looked slightly different from the version in their memories.
"Is my change that big?" Wang Dong'er smiled back.
Everyone exchanged uncertain looks. After a closer look, they realized her face hadn't changed much.
It was simply… more mature.
And thus, seemingly more beautiful.
"It's the change in temperament. I feel like Dong'er's aura is different," Huo Yuhao said with a smile. Then, with deeper meaning in his tone, he added, "The Wang Dong'er I knew would never talk so calmly."
"Yes! That's it, the temperament!"
Xiao Xiao clapped her hands, confirming Huo Yuhao's observation.
The others looked at Wang Dong'er carefully and all nodded.
The old Wang Dong'er would have already rushed over to cling to Xiao Xiao; she treasured their friendship deeply. But now, she kept a polite distance, almost… distant.
Was this also a sign of maturity?
Seeing Wang Dong'er no longer close to her, Xiao Xiao felt a little sad. So… one husband, one wife, after all, impossible now.
"So that's it, her aura changed. Becoming a god really is different." Ma Xiaotao said with sudden realization.
"Yes, yes. After Hua Yao became a god, her temperament and personality changed too. Became even younger, nothing like that resentful-woman vibe from before," Wu Ming added.
Hua Yao glared immediately. "Wu Ming! Who are you calling resentful?! Your skin must be itching. Looks like I'll have to tighten it for you!"
"Nooo! Goddess Hua!"
"Hahahaha…"
Laughter filled the academy as they welcomed Wang Dong'er back.
Jin Qiu'er stood among the crowd, frowning slightly.
She used to be extremely close to Wang Dong'er like sisters but now, for some reason, she felt a strange combination of… familiar yet unfamiliar.
Familiar, because Wang Dong'er now felt even more like her.
Unfamiliar, because Wang Dong'er seemed no longer the one she knew.
Sure enough, Wang Dong'er's next words confirmed her intuition.
"Everyone, actually, my real name isn't Wang Dong'er."
"After becoming a god, I regained my memories from before age six. I remembered my real name is Tang Wutong."
Everyone at Shrek froze.
But they accepted it quickly, without overthinking.
"I knew it. Someone from the Clear Sky Sect, with a Clear Sky Hammer martial soul? How could she not be surnamed Tang?" Yan Shaozhe said with a smile.
Another second-rank god appearing in the academy delighted him. He didn't care about these small matters.
But when Wang Dong'er said her name was Tang Wutong, Huo Yuhao instantly knew the person before him was no longer the one he once knew.
Everything he shared with Wang Dong'er had become nothing more than smoke in the past.
Tang Wutong didn't elaborate on her identity. Instead, her gaze fell on Huo Yuhao.
She had returned to Shrek for two reasons:
First, because her father guided her back to help protect the continent alongside Shrek.
Second… because she wanted to see for herself what the man her amnesiac self had fallen for was actually like.
To be honest, after recovering her memories, Tang Wutong didn't feel much affection for Huo Yuhao.
And as for a playboy like Huo Yuhao, she didn't have a favorable impression either.
Now that she was seeing him in person, she felt… aside from being somewhat good-looking, there wasn't anything special.
Most importantly, this so-called "peerless talent" Huo Yuhao was still just a mortal.
So what if he's an Ultimate Douluo?
Without becoming a god… he's still an ant.
Huo Yuhao was also observing Tang Wutong.
Having seen Tang San's divine projection before, he could only say Tang Wutong not only resembled Tang San seventy percent in appearance, even her expressions looked like they were carved from the same mold.
On the surface she was polite and gentle, but beneath that lay nothing but arrogance.
Huo Yuhao asked her, "Tang Wutong, I'm curious. Why do the memories from your first six years seem to influence you more than the memories from the ten-plus years after?"
"Normally, most children don't remember their early childhood that clearly, right? I barely remember mine."
Tang Wutong was stunned.
She had never considered this question.
When she regained the memories from before six, they were unbelievably clear.
As if some voice told her she was the daughter of a God King born noble and meant to be above all.
After recovering her memories, nothing had ever felt wrong.
Huo Yuhao looked at the others. "Do you all still remember your memories before age six?"
Everyone thought about it.
Xiao Xiao shook her head. "Not much. I can't recall anything specific right away."
"I only remember that before my mother got sick, before my father disappeared, our family was very happy…" Jiang Nannan said sadly.
Huo Yuhao took her hand in comfort. She smiled back lovingly, signaling that she was fine.
In reality, most people barely remember their early childhood, maybe one or two impactful events, or blurry impressions at best.
"I only remember getting beaten badly by my teacher," Ma Xiaotao said after thinking hard.
Yan Shaozhe immediately blew his beard in anger. "You little brat! That was when you were seven! And I only beat you because you burned my robe while I was in a meeting!"
"Oh come on… it was just one robe. Did you really have to hit me that hard? Stingy old man!" Ma Xiaotao muttered.
Yan Shaozhe grew even angrier.
Xian Lin'er and Cai Mei'er remembered the incident and burst into laughter.
Cai Mei'er explained, "Xiaotao, he was giving a speech to the entire outer court. He brought you with him, and you burned his robe right there. He almost embarrassed himself in front of everyone."
"I laughed at him for years," Xian Lin'er added.
Everyone realized that the incident probably wasn't just "embarrassing"… he almost flashed the whole academy.
Ma Xiaotao instantly felt awkward.
Yan Shaozhe, however, seemed to have opened a floodgate and began listing all of Ma Xiaotao's childhood mischiefs:
How she burned down a teaching building and cost him his savings;
How she singed all the hair off a female classmate, causing psychological trauma, forcing a Super Douluo grandfather to demand an apology;
How she tried to roast fish from Sea God Lake but, unable to swim, nearly drowned if not for a passing senior, she would've been the first soul master ever to drown in Sea God Lake…
Her "Flame Demon" nickname had clearly started early.
Ma Xiaotao blushed red and rushed to shut him up.
"Old man! Shut up already! I barely remember any of that! Stop smearing me!"
But Yan Shaozhe was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"My loved ones, since we're all being honest, next I'll tell you what happened when Xiaotao was nine and claimed she was Magical Girl Mars"
"AAAAHHH!! Old man, I'll fight you!!"
Ma Xiaotao completely broke.
At some point, Huo Yuhao had walked up beside Tang Wutong. Watching Yan Shaozhe and Ma Xiaotao bicker, he said,
"It seems… compared to ourselves, adults remember a child's early years much more clearly. And… let's just say the memories are often 'artistically enhanced.'"
What's spoken casually…
Can strike deep.
Tang Wutong's pupils shrank. She wrapped her arms around her head, falling into doubt.
Her memories before six years old were they really hers?
Why did just six years affect her more deeply than over ten years afterward?
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, golden light flashing in his eyes.
The difference between Tang Wutong and Wang Dong'er wasn't large on the level of soul she still bore the soul that had been completed as Wang Dong'er.
But into that soul… someone had inserted the "memories of Tang Wutong."
Now that she doubted her memories…
What kind of person would she become?
Quite interesting.
Tang Wutong fell into self-doubt, but as a second-rank god, she didn't suffer a mental collapse.
Instead, she began trying to verify her situation.
Her method was
To rebuild the relationships in her memory and re-experience the scenes she remembered.
"Xiaoxiao, let's sleep together tonight," Tang Wutong said, inviting her.
In her memories, she and Xiaoxiao were very close. Sleeping together was completely normal.
Besides, ever since she returned to her female form, Wang Dong'er had always shared a room with Xiaoxiao. Now Tang Wutong wanted to test that herself.
Xiaoxiao blinked her big eyes.
To be honest, Xiaoxiao wanted to refuse.
Because she was planning to go find Huo Yuhao tonight.
Xiaoxiao was currently at her most eager, after having tasted sweetness once.
But facing her best friend's invitation, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
And thinking about how Tang Wutong had just returned to the Academy and might not be used to the new Shrek Academy yet this was exactly when she needed companionship.
So the kind-hearted Xiaoxiao smiled and nodded.
"All right, let's sleep together tonight! Dong'er… Wutong, you haven't explored the new Shrek City yet, right? I'll take you around today."
As she spoke, Xiaoxiao wrapped her arm around Tang Wutong's.
Tang Wutong's body stiffened a little. She wasn't used to Xiaoxiao's intimacy, but her body instinctively hooked Xiaoxiao's arm in return.
Mm… yes, this feeling…
Then the two girls went shopping together.
Huo Yuhao watched them leave and nodded in satisfaction.
This was a good beginning.
"Tang San, reshaping someone's memories isn't flawless. It can mean Tang Wutong devouring Wang Dong'er… but it could also mean Wang Dong'er devouring Tang Wutong!"
Just now, Huo Yuhao contacted the Sacred Spirit Feathered Serpent through divine sense.
The serpent had a great deal of experience with matters like this.
As the God of Wisdom, it was not only powerful in spiritual force it possessed unique mastery over memory.
And one must not forget: the Feathered Serpent Clan could infinitely compound its reincarnation memories.
Just as Huo Yuhao was about to return to his residence to plan his next steps
Ma Xiaotao found him.
"Yuhao, I'm burning up inside right now!"
Huo Yuhao: "…"
…
Night fell.
Jiang Nannan let out a soft moan and collapsed onto Huo Yuhao's body, hugging him and savoring the warmth that belonged exclusively to him.
Meanwhile, on Huo Yuhao's bed, the defeated Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen lay sprawled to the side, without a shred of grace.
Huo Yuhao stretched comfortably, playing with Jiang Nannan's smooth hair as he planned his next moves.
"Shrek now has god-level power as well. It's time to start the war. This coming war will be the final catalyst."
"When the time comes, I'll have Cain put on a show with me. I wonder if after I 'defeat' the Rakshasa God Tang San will really give me the Sea God position."
"But perhaps… that will be the moment I tear off my disguise for good."
"Hmm… this feeling… a message from my true-body clone?"
Huo Yuhao suddenly sensed that his true-body clone had sent news.
The clone had just discovered a new divine inheritance.
The true-body clone cooperated very smoothly with Ning Rongrong and Oscar.
Ning Rongrong and Oscar secretly cast unused divine positions from the God Realm into the universe. The clone was responsible for retrieving them and sending them into Yuhao's Divine Kingdom.
Then, Huo Yuhao would choose suitable inheritors inside the Divine Kingdom.
The unused divine positions were mostly beast-type god positions.
The human god positions, on the other hand, were usually controlled by the Five Great God-Kings.
But Huo Yuhao could only assign divine positions to humans.
Otherwise, when the inheritors ascended in the future, the Douluo God Realm would immediately sense divine inheritance.
And if the gods of the realm discovered that soul beasts were inheriting divine positions they'd explode in uproar.
In Huo Yuhao's Divine Kingdom, soul beasts could ascend to god-level without issue.
But to enter the Douluo God Realm, the inheritor had to be a human god.
In this period, Ning Rongrong and Oscar had released nearly all of the movable divine positions from the God Realm, and Huo Yuhao had collected them.
There were roughly more than forty empty divine positions.
But almost all were third-rank.
Only four were second-rank.
Not a single first-rank divine position.
Just when Huo Yuhao thought this round would be the same as before
The message from his clone stunned him.
Because the divine position discovered this time did not come from Rongrong and Oscar.
It was a divine inheritance found on a living planet.
The planet's native powerhouses were currently competing for it.
Based on the clone's investigation, it was confirmed:
The divine position was a first-rank god position, the God of Envy.
"The God of Envy? One of the Seven Deadly Sin Gods?"
Huo Yuhao immediately perked up. He even sat up abruptly, causing Jiang Nannan to yelp and beg for mercy.
"I can't… I really can't anymore…"
Huo Yuhao sighed helplessly and set her down.
A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
"We cannot miss this divine position. No matter if we succeed or if there's a scheme behind it, we must try."
So, Huo Yuhao carefully selected a group of people from his Divine Kingdom and sent them to the world where his clone was, allowing them to join the competition for the divine position.
The chosen candidates were
Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, Feng Ling, Tang Ya, and Xu Tianzhen all elite talents among humans.
They had not inherited any of the third-rank or second-rank divine positions, because with their potential, they were eligible to inherit a first-rank divine position.
Huo Yuhao had already reshaped their bodies so they could leave the God Realm freely.
Additionally, to qualify for inheritance, their levels had been suppressed by Huo Yuhao those who had already reached level 100 were brought back down to level 99.
But their experience and comprehension of the laws beyond level 100 were not erased.
As long as they obtained a divine position, they could quickly cultivate back to full power and become even stronger.
Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue never expected that they would one day receive a chance to compete for a divine position again.
The opportunity felt almost unreal.
"He trusts us that much?" Qian Renxue asked in disbelief.
Bibi Dong didn't know how to respond either.
At this moment, Tang Ya spoke up with a cold laugh.
"What are you two thinking? Do you really think he's being generous?"
"Heh. It's just because even if we obtain a divine position he can still control us however he wants. That's why he gave us the opportunity."
"Even if we get a divine position, you must remember one thing"
"What he gives you is yours. What he doesn't give you, you cannot take."
Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue fell silent.
As two "ancient" women from ten thousand years ago, Tang Ya had long found their naivety baffling.
Tang Ya herself had already adjusted her mindset. Given the situation, she would focus on getting stronger first.
If Huo Yuhao always remained stronger than her she didn't mind being his plaything forever.