Old Tang was a real piece of work. All that talk about having no choice but to absorb the Golden Dragon King, about how it was either advance or perish, how failing to absorb it would cause his body to explode. And that line about being unable to separate the Golden Dragon King? Total nonsense.
It had all been scare tactics aimed at a kid.
Because look, the Golden Dragon King was gone now, wasn't it?
And Tang Wulin had actually come out stronger for it.
Those people who had shown up that day were obviously after Old Tang and the Golden Dragon King. The clearest proof was that Tang Wulin had woken up completely unharmed. Those people simply couldn't be bothered with him.
Seen from that angle, every bit of danger in his life had been Old Tang's doing.
What a terrible person.
Good thing Tang Wulin wasn't the type to curse, or he'd have had some choice words ready by now.
"I'm entering the solo event too." Xie Xie couldn't let his best buddy charge ahead alone.
"Us too." Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi exchanged a glance. Sure, the solo event meant losing the advantage of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, but they were already here. They'd come all the way to the Eastsea Alliance Tournament, so what was one more competition? Worst case, they'd lose and walk away with nothing to show for it.
"Count me in," Arthur said with a quiet nod, already mentally rehearsing what pose he'd strike when lifting the trophy.
"Count me in too," Na'er chimed in, mimicking his exact phrasing.
She had been working hard at keeping up with the way Arthur thought and talked.
Gu Yue signaled she'd join as well.
Only Xu Xiaoyan shook her head. "I'll sit this one out. I don't have much of an advantage in daytime fights, so I'd rather focus on the team event and play support for everyone."
By this point, Xu Xiaoyan had already revealed the terrifying crowd control she was capable of at night, earning not just recognition but outright alarm from Wu Changkong.
One second of hard lockdown on anyone who came her way.
Anyone who understood the game knew exactly how valuable that was. A guaranteed one-second stun meant a guaranteed kill, as long as your teammates could follow through.
And could Arthur follow through? Oh, absolutely.
He had already mapped out exactly how he intended to humiliate his opponents with Xu Xiaoyan setting the stage.
Xie Xie grinned. "You think if we win the championship, Shrek Academy would send us an invitation?"
Xu Xiaoyan pursed her lips and went straight for the jugular. "Dream on. Shrek doesn't care about trophies. Even if you won the whole thing, they wouldn't look twice at you. And with Arthur in the mix, you're not winning anyway." She paused. "Word is their inner courtyard never exceeds a hundred students, and every single one of them is elite. Federal senators reportedly make annual visits just to pay their respects to the headmaster. If Shrek ever chose a side, who knows whether the Star Luo and Heaven Dou continents would even still exist."
That last part hit a nerve.
Arthur perked up immediately. Now this was getting interesting.
Time for some good old geopolitical theorizing, the kind of conversation no friend group could seem to avoid.
He waved his hand grandly. "The way you put it, if Shrek Academy were ever taken out, the Federation could sweep Star Luo and Heaven Dou right off the map."
The others dove in eagerly. Xie Xie gestured with great flair. "And don't forget Tang Sect. They're closely tied to Shrek. Anyone looking to move against Shrek would have to factor Tang Sect into the equation."
He had completely forgotten that he himself had already joined Tang Sect.
That was the magic of these kinds of conversations among friends.
Xu Xiaoyan nodded along. "So we can look at it the other way around. If the Federation ever made a move against Shrek and Tang Sect, it would mean they're ready to go after Star Luo and Heaven Dou."
"Wait, but that would just push Shrek and Tang Sect straight into the opposing camp. The way I see it..."
Once it started, no one could stop it, and the debate roared to life.
Tang Wulin, who had grown up in a small rural town, stood in the middle of it all without understanding a word.
Na'er didn't join the argument. She simply nodded along with everything Arthur said.
Gu Yue kept nodding while furiously taking notes, thinking to herself that humans were endlessly fascinating creatures, capable of devising strategies against their own kind even as children.
Up on the podium, Wu Changkong was quietly tempted to jump in. The fact that he was a Shrek alumni and a Tang Sect member didn't matter in a conversation like this. That wasn't how these things worked.
But he was supposed to be the cool, composed teacher. He couldn't.
And if he couldn't, then none of them could either.
"Enough." His voice came out cold and sharp. "Class is in session."
That put an end to it.
The following morning, Wu Changkong led the students of Class Zero out of the academy and headed straight for Eastsea Square in the heart of the city.
Arthur and the others wore their Eastsea Academy uniforms. Also accompanying them was the dean of instruction, Long Hengxu.
The contingent going to the tournament wasn't limited to Class Zero. Teams from the senior division were taking part as well, competing in the youth bracket for fifteen to twenty-year-olds.
Among them, Tang Wulin spotted two familiar faces: Xu Xiaoyan's older brother Xu Xiaoyu, and Liu Yuxin, the senior student who had welcomed him to the academy when he first arrived.
Of everyone he'd encountered on his first day in Eastsea City, two people had stood out in his memory: Arthur and that senior. They had been the only ones who hadn't looked down on him while everyone else was busy sneering.
Xu Xiaoyu made a point of passing close to Class Zero and looking directly at his sister. "Xiaoyan, if anyone gives you trouble, come find me." There was a faint note of warning in his voice, and his eyes drifted sideways toward Arthur.
He immediately softened his tone. "Come tell me, and I'll... have a word with him."
Xu Xiaoyan rolled her eyes. "Worry about yourself. Don't go out in the prelims again."
When there was no danger around, she had no problem sticking the knife in.
Xu Xiaoyu's expression stiffened. "That's not going to happen. Absolutely not. Everyone we're fielding this time is rank three or above. We'll do well."
Nearby, Long Hengxu, who was standing alongside Wu Changkong, caught that exchange and let something flicker almost imperceptibly across his face.
The truth was, the academy leadership wasn't paying much attention to the senior division at all. Their results hardly mattered. This tournament was all about Class Zero.
Three Spirit Elders in one class, Arthur, Gu Yue, and Na'er, had been enough to make the school's upper brass go all in on the junior bracket.
Arthur, Eastsea City's golden boy. Everyone knew what that meant.
Na'er, a prodigy sent down from Spirit Pagoda headquarters.
Gu Yue, shrouded in mystery, apparently an heir of some reclusive clan.
With three talents like that on this little eastern shore, how could the championship be anything but guaranteed?
Eastsea Academy had already started drawing up its enrollment plans for next year.
The real question was how many new students they should accept. A wonderful problem to have.
Eastsea Square was filling with noise and energy. Several sleek soul-guided coaches were lined up in neat rows, waiting to carry the competing teams out together.
"Hey, where have you been? I went to find you this morning and you were nowhere." Mu Xi spotted Arthur and broke into a run toward him, arms opening wide.
"Situation detected!" Na'er moved faster than she ever had before.
In an instant she was standing between them, and Mu Xi, unable to stop in time, ended up wrapped in Na'er's arms instead.
Mu Xi blinked, then fixed Arthur with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Arthur, who's this?"
Hmm. Was that killing intent?
Arthur was gone before anyone saw him move. One moment later he had materialized beside Wu Changkong. "Oh, Teacher, you're here too. What a coincidence."
My, my. A skilled one.
Wu Changkong watched Mu Xi with an amused expression. It looked like there would be some entertainment on this trip.
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Gutter Diary: A friend of mine who doesn't play League asked me today who got stomped at Worlds this year. Too many places to start, didn't know where to begin. This year has been rough.