Luo Feng's POV
The final qualifier match was against Godwind Academy—a speed-specialized team renowned for hit-and-run tactics and wind-enhanced agility.
The arena was packed to capacity, noble boxes overflowing with Heaven Dou Empire dignitaries, Spirit Hall observers in discreet clusters.
Luo Feng sat in Shrek's reserved section, outwardly calm, inwardly coiled.
His divine sense had detected three separate assassination vectors in the past two days: poisoned water barrels (neutralized quietly), a disguised Spirit King tailing Ning Rongrong during her evening walk (redirected into a ditch with mild amnesia), and subtle spirit power probes attempting to map the team's weaknesses.
All Spirit Hall signatures.
Bibi Dong was testing boundaries.
He had not told the team yet—not even Ning Rongrong. Distraction before the finals would serve no one. But tonight, after victory, he would speak to Tang San and Grandmaster.
The match began.
In the Arena – Ning Rongrong's POV
Wind howled across the field as Godwind Academy blurred into motion—seven figures becoming streaks of cyan light, circling like a tornado.
Standard tactic: isolate the auxiliary first.
Ning Rongrong stood centered, pagoda already summoned.
"Dream Veil—deploy!"
The restorative aura snapped into place, countering the disorienting wind pressure.
"Speed one hundred percent! Agility ninety percent!"
Her team exploded into motion—matching Godwind's famed velocity.
Zhu Zhuqing became untouchable shadow. Xiao Wu teleported through waist throws. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass whipped like storm vines.
Godwind's captain, Feng Xiaotian, grinned mid-blur, his Stormwind Twin-Winged Wolf coalescing into massive tornado blades aimed straight at her.
She didn't flinch.
Dai Mubai intercepted with White Tiger Vajra Transformation, enhanced strength shattering the blades.
"Control chain!" Tang San shouted.
Grass prisons erupted. Ma Hongjun's phoenix descent pinned wings. Oscar's attack sausages detonated like bombs.
In eight minutes, Godwind Academy lay scattered—defeated, humbled.
The crowd's roar was deafening: "SHREK! SHREK! SHREK!"
Ning Rongrong's legs gave out from the final surge. Strong arms caught her—Luo Feng, rules be damned, on the field in an instant.
The referee pretended not to notice.
She laughed breathlessly against his chest. "We're in the finals."
"You're in the finals," he corrected softly. "All of you."
Victory Celebration – Competitors' Village, Night
Music and laughter spilled from various academy quarters, but Shrek kept it quiet: a private dinner on their rooftop terrace, lanterns glowing, simple food tasting like triumph.
Flender was already calculating prize money and sponsorships. Grandmaster reviewed notes with Tang San.
Ning Rongrong sat tucked against Luo Feng's side, his arm around her waist, her hand resting on his thigh under the table—casual intimacy now natural.
When the others began drifting inside, Luo Feng caught Tang San's eye.
A silent nod. Time to talk.
Shrek Strategy Room – Later
Grandmaster, Flender, Tang San, and Luo Feng gathered around a map table.
Luo Feng laid it out plainly: the attempts, the signatures, the escalating threat.
Grandmaster's face grew grim. "Spirit Hall fears your potential—especially Rongrong's. A Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in hostile hands would shatter their military dominance."
Flender paled. "Assassination? During a continental tournament?"
"Plausible deniability," Tang San said quietly. "Accidents happen. Spirit backlash. Arena malfunctions."
Luo Feng's voice was calm ice. "They won't touch her. Or any of you."
Grandmaster studied him. "You can protect us openly?"
"I can end any threat instantly," Luo Feng replied. "But that would reveal power beyond this world's understanding. It might invite worse—god-level inheritances, hidden Titled Douluo swarms."
Tang San nodded. "Then we play smart. We win the tournament cleanly. Force Spirit Hall to act in the open—where politics and witnesses constrain them."
Flender swallowed. "And if they don't care about politics?"
Luo Feng's eyes darkened, spatial laws rippling faintly around him.
"Then they learn what happens when stars go to war."
Ning Rongrong's Room – Much Later
She was waiting when he entered, worry already in her eyes.
"Tang San told me," she said quietly. "Spirit Hall."
He crossed to her, pulling her into his arms.
"I won't let them near you."
She clung to him fiercely. "I'm not afraid for myself. I'm afraid for you. If you reveal too much to protect me…"
He tilted her chin up. "Listen to me. I have faced beings who could erase galaxies with a thought. Bibi Dong is powerful here—but she is mortal. I will not lose you. Not now. Not ever."
Tears pricked her eyes, but she smiled through them.
"Then we win together. On the stage. In front of the entire continent."
He kissed her—slow, deep, pouring every unspoken promise into it.
Clothes fell away with practiced ease. Tonight there was urgency born of danger: her nails digging into his back, his hands gripping her hips, bodies moving with desperate need to affirm life, love, future.
After, lying spent and tangled, she traced the faint glow of spatial energy that sometimes flickered across his skin when emotions ran high.
"Whatever comes," she whispered, "we face it side by side."
He pressed his lips to her temple.
"Side by side," he echoed. "Across any world."
Dawn – Arena Grounds
The finals bracket was posted.
Shrek Academy would face four remaining powerhouses in the ranking rounds, culminating in the championship match.
Their likely final opponent: Spirit Hall Academy—led by the Golden Generation: Hu Liena, Xie Yue, Yan.
The board read like destiny.
Two weeks until the finals began in the joint capital arena before both emperors and the full might of Spirit Hall.
Shrek's monsters trained harder.
Spirit Hall schemed deeper.
And at the heart of it all, a love forged in starlight and battle grew unbreakable.
The storm was coming.
But Shrek had a star-devouring guardian.
And he was done holding back.