The humid air of the Star Dou Great Forest clung to Li Wei's skin like a damp shroud. At 6'7", he had to duck under low-hanging spirit-vines that Tang San and the girls simply walked under. His silver hair shimmered with a faint, restless static. Despite his wealth and the "Speed Force Syndicate" backing him, out here, the only currency that mattered was survival.
"Quiet," Tang San whispered, his eyes glowing purple. "Something is moving in the brush. Small, fast, and high-energy."
A cackle echoed through the trees as a Cockscomb Serpent—a thousand-year-old flying beast—burst from the foliage. It was the perfect ring for Oscar. After a frantic chase where Li Wei used just a fraction of his speed to herd the beast toward the group, Tang San pinned it with his Blue Silver Grass.
Oscar stepped forward, dagger in hand, ready to claim his third ring.
"Stop!"
A sharp, feminine voice cut through the clearing. An elderly woman, her aura oppressive and serpentine, stepped out of the shadows. Beside her was a beautiful young girl with short hair and a defiant glare. This was the Unrivaled Dragon Lady, Chao Tian-xiang, and her granddaughter, Meng Yiran.
"That serpent belongs to my granddaughter," the Dragon Lady hissed, her staff thumping the ground with the weight of a Spirit Emperor.
The Conflict of the Serpent
The atmosphere turned icy. Li Wei stepped to the front of the Shrek Nine, his massive frame acting as a literal wall between the Dragon Lady and his friends.
"Listen, Grandma," Li Wei said, his 20% Hemsworth swagger in full effect despite the tension. "In the forest, ownership belongs to the one who puts the beast in the dirt. My friend here needs his sausage-boost, and we've already done the heavy lifting."
"Insolence!" the Dragon Lady barked.
However, seeing the presence of the Shrek teachers—Flender and Zhao Wuji—she hesitated. A compromise was reached: a duel of Spirit Power and skill between Meng Yiran and Tang San.
Li Wei watched the duel with his Speed Mind active. He saw every vibration of Tang San's hidden weapons. When Meng Yiran inevitably lost, looking crushed and humiliated, Li Wei didn't just stand back. He saw an opportunity—not just for a teammate, but for a business expansion.
Recruitment: The Shrek Ten
As the Dragon Lady prepared to lead a weeping Meng Yiran away, Li Wei stepped forward.
"Wait," he called out, his voice a deep, resonant rumble. He reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a small, exquisite vial of Cosmic-Infused Essence—a product of his Syndicate.
"You have talent, Yiran," Li Wei said, looking down at her. "But you're hitting a ceiling. You're fast, but you lack the fundamental understanding of kinetic flow. My Academy—Shrek—is a place for monsters. And frankly, we're one short."
The Dragon Lady narrowed her eyes. "One short for what?"
"The Intercontinental Soul Master Exchange," Li Wei explained, leaning back with a confident grin. "The rules for the upcoming tournament have changed. To participate as a recognized sect, you need ten members. We have nine. We need a tenth who can handle the pressure."
He looked at the Dragon Lady. "Your granddaughter joins us, and the Speed Force Syndicate will personally oversee the logistics and funding of your clan's expansion for the next five years. You get a world-class education for her, and we get our tenth monster."
The Dragon Lady looked at the vial, then at the 6'7" silver-haired titan who spoke of "Intercontinental" politics as if he owned the map. Which, technically, he almost did.
"I... I will go," Meng Yiran said, wiping her eyes and looking at Li Wei with a mixture of intimidation and curiosity.
"Welcome to the team, number ten," Li Wei winked.
The King Arrives: Er Ming
The celebration of their new member was short-lived.
The forest went silent. The air pressure dropped so sharply that Oscar's ears popped. Li Wei felt his 30% Fusion scream in a frequency he'd never heard before.
Warning: Substantial threat detected. Kinetic energy readings off the charts.
"Get down!" Li Wei roared, but it was too late.
A shadow obliterated the moonlight. The Titan Giant Ape, Er Ming, crashed into the clearing. Trees snapped like toothpicks. The sheer mass of the beast was so great that Li Wei's Mass Strength felt like a joke in comparison.
Zhao Wuji and Flender charged, but the ape swatted them aside like bothersome flies. Its target was clear: Xiao Wu and Xiao ling
Li Wei didn't think. He didn't calculate the cost. He reached deep into his core, pulling every drop of Stellar Cosmic Energy he had stored.
[Speed Force Overdrive: 30% -> 35% Temporary Burst]
Yellow-orange lightning turned a blinding, violent white. Li Wei became a streak of light, moving so fast the friction ignited the air behind him. He reached Xiao Wu just as the Ape's massive hand closed around her.
"Let! Them! GO!"
Li Wei delivered a Mass-Punch to the Ape's knuckle. The sound was like two mountains colliding. The shockwave leveled every bush within fifty meters.
The Ape didn't flinch, but it paused, looking down at the 6'7" human who had actually dared to strike its hide.
CRACK.
Li Wei's arm bones groaned. The feedback of hitting something that dense nearly shattered his shoulder. His body began to glow with a terrifying golden light—the sign of molecular destabilization.
"Wei-ge!" Tang San yelled, but the Ape was too fast. It grabbed Xiao Wu and Xiao ling and, with a single leap, vanished into the deep forest.
The Aftermath and the Third Ring
Li Wei fell to his knees, his Godspeed suit tattered and smoking. He was severely weakened, his link to the Speed Force flickering like a dying candle.
"I... I couldn't stop it," Li Wei wheezed, blood trickling from his nose.
But as he sat there, the Speed Force reacted to the trauma. He had touched the King of the Forest. He had tasted the kinetic density of a 100,000-year beast. The Speed Force began to "filter" the ambient energy of the forest, drawing in the essence of the fallen Gale-Wind Wolves and the trace radiation of the Ape's arrival.
A ring began to form around Li Wei. It wasn't white, yellow, or purple. It was a swirling, deep violet-black—a ring of Pure Vibration.
[Fusion Level Stabilizing: 30%]
[Third Spirit Ability Unlocked: Molecular Phase]
"I'm going after them," Li Wei stood up, his silver hair glowing with a new, steady violet light. "I don't care if it's a King or a God. No one takes a member of my team."
Meng Yiran, the tenth member, watched him with wide eyes. She had joined Shrek for the resources, but watching this giant of a man challenge a forest god for a friend... she realized she had joined something much more dangerous than a school.
Current Status:
Chapter Count: 9/100 (Deep Pacing)
Team: Shrek Ten (Including Meng Yiran).
Level: 30 (Third Ring Manifesting).
Condition: Damaged but evolving.
Next Goal: Rescue Xiao Wu and reconcile the "Vibration" ring.
Shall we proceed to the chase through the deep forest and the meeting with the Man-Faced Demon Spider?