Chapter 8: Love at First Sight, A Long-Conceived Plot
[Douluo 2 Era]
Shrek Academy, Sea God Plaza.
Everyone was still immersed in the massive shock of the collapse of Yu Xiaogang's persona as the "Number One Theoretical Master in History."
Elder Xuan had already recovered from his initial shock, looking at his subordinate, Teacher Wang Yan, with undisguised killing intent in his eyes.
He had already decided to kill Teacher Wang Yan right here and now.
It was both to silence him and to see if he could interrupt the exposure process on the sky screen.
He had already thought of the excuse: he would just say it was to "clean house for Shrek"!
The terrifying Soul Power of a Super Douluo erupted like a mountain torrent, and an invisible, giant gluttonous claw was about to crush Teacher Wang Yan into a pulp!
However, just at that moment, a golden light suddenly shot down from the sky screen, enveloping Teacher Wang Yan within it.
Elder Xuan's Soul Power, capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, vanished without a trace the moment it touched the golden light, like a clay ox entering the sea!
Elder Xuan's expression changed, and he discovered in astonishment that he was completely unable to penetrate this thin layer of golden light!
Following that, a line of large golden characters appeared on the sky screen, proclaiming to the world.
[Sky Screen Rules: During the exposure, those on the list are under absolute protection, and any form of attack is ineffective.]
... Inside the work-study student dormitory.
Ji Xuan looked at Elder Xuan's incredibly ugly old face in the mirror, the corners of his mouth curling into a playful arc.
"The good show has only just begun; we can't let the protagonist exit the stage at this moment."
... The rules on the sky screen undoubtedly conveyed a clear message to everyone.
This was not just an exposure; it was a trial!
And before the trial ended, no one was allowed to touch the person on trial!
Everyone, whether in the Douluo I or Douluo 2 Era, realized that this was no longer a joke or gossip.
It was a storm that would engulf the entire continent and span ten thousand years of time and space!
People of the future hoped to gain more secrets scattered in the dust of history from it;
While people of the past wanted to glimpse the future from it and find the possibility of changing the established ending!
... On the sky screen, the scene shifted once again.
This time, the scene switched to a dilapidated, dark underground stronghold.
Under the dim Martial Soul tool lighting, a group of sallow, emaciated, and ragged people lay scattered about.
Their eyes were filled with numbness and despair.
There were disabled Soul Masters with missing limbs, white-haired elders, and even children with bewildered eyes.
They were the last survivors of the Spirit Hall.
A line of cold text appeared on the sky screen.
[Since the fall of the Spirit Empire, forces led by Shrek Academy began a ten-thousand-year purge of the remnants of the Spirit Hall.]
[They conducted a relentless pursuit and extermination of all remaining forces and descendants of the Spirit Hall.]
[Regardless of age or gender, anyone related to the Spirit Hall was to be killed without mercy!]
[They were not Evil Soul Masters, yet they endured a purge even more cruel than that of Evil Soul Masters.]
[They claimed this was to completely eradicate the soil of evil.]
[But what crime did these unarmed elderly, weak, women, and children commit? They were not Evil Soul Masters; they merely carried the bloodline of the Spirit Hall.]
[Yet Shrek left no room for mercy.]
... [Douluo 2 Era] Boom!!!
These lines of text were like a loud slap, fiercely striking Shrek Academy in the face!
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao turned pale.
The Shrek Academy they took such pride in had its most bloody and ugly corner revealed at this moment.
"No... impossible... How could we, Shrek, do such a thing?"
Some students muttered, their faith collapsing.
"Massacring unarmed elderly, weak, women, and children? Isn't... isn't this something only Evil Soul Masters would do?"
Elder Xuan's face was ashen, but he could not say a word.
Because he knew that what the sky screen said... was all true!
He had even personally participated in the purge back then!
... Sun Moon Empire, Mingde Hall.
Hall Master Jing Hongchen watched the scene on the sky screen, clapping and laughing loudly, his laughter filled with undisguised mockery.
"Hahahaha! What a 'righteous' Shrek! What a 'Number One Academy on the Continent'!"
"They talk about benevolence and morality every day, yet behind the scenes, they carry out extermination plots that even we are ashamed to compare ourselves to! Truly hypocritical to the extreme!"
Beside him, the siblings Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen also wore expressions of disdain.
"So Shrek's so-called 'glory' is also built upon the corpses of women and children; it's truly disgusting."
... Heavenly Soul Empire, Body Sect.
Sect Master Du Busi let out a harsh, strange laugh.
"Tsk tsk tsk, did you see that? These are the hypocrites who claim to be the guardians of the continent! When it comes to being ruthless, they are the ancestors!"
"Cutting the weeds and eliminating the roots, not even sparing infants!"
"This bunch from Shrek really has opened my eyes!"
... Holy Spirit Cult, dark and damp headquarters.
Cult Master of the Holy Spirit Cult, shrouded in a black robe, let out a "hehehe" laugh.
"Interesting, truly interesting."
"So Shrek Academy is also one of our own!"
"The only difference is that when they kill, it's called 'upholding justice,' and when we kill, it's called 'Evil Soul Master.'"
"This world is truly ironic!"
... In the sky screen scene.
Fifteen-year-old Wang Yan knelt before this group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people, his youthful face filled with a determination that did not match his age.
["Yan'er, are you really going to do this..."]
A one-armed elder said in a hoarse voice, the people behind him filled with unspeakable heartache.
Wang Yan knocked his head three times heavily.
["We have hidden for ten thousand years, we have concealed ourselves for ten thousand years; we have hidden long enough, we have concealed ourselves long enough!"]
["One day, I will let everyone live in the sunlight again, without having to fear any pursuit!"]
After speaking, Wang Yan stood up and touched the face of a timid little girl.
Then, without further hesitation, he turned and walked step by step toward the direction of Shrek Academy.
That thin figure, however, carried a sea of blood and deep enmity.
... [Douluo 1 Era] Inside the valley.
Tang San's face, however, showed indifference.
"Article 5 of the General Outline of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record: As long as the enemy has a path to death, one must cut the weeds and eliminate the roots; one cannot show mercy!"
Regarding Shrek's indiscriminate killing of the innocent on the sky screen, he felt it was perfectly normal.
... The scene switched; Wang Yan had already arrived at Shrek City.
[I put on ragged clothes and perfectly played the role of a poor youth from a remote village, coming to pursue his dreams.]
[At the enrollment assessment, I revealed my Martial Soul — the Coiling Dragon Rod.]
[After ten thousand years, almost no one on the continent knew about the Coiling Dragon Rod Martial Soul of the Qian Gu clan.]
[I took the first step of my plan: hiding myself.]
[My true innate Soul Power was innate level nine.]
[But to disguise my identity well, and also to not attract attention, I displayed innate level five.]
[No one knew how many painful imprints I had carved into my meridians using secret techniques to perfectly disguise my innate level nine Soul Power as level five.]
... [Douluo 2 Era] "What? Innate level nine!"
There was an uproar in Shrek Plaza.
Everyone looked at Teacher Wang Yan with tingling scalps.
A peerless genius with innate level nine Soul Power had been disguising himself right under their noses for so many years!
Yan Shaozhe, Xian Liner, and other elders of the Sea God Pavilion felt their faces burning with pain at this moment, as if they had been repeatedly slapped.
... The sky screen continued to play.
[Having successfully entered the academy, I began a disguise that lasted over ten years.]
[Working while studying, living frugally, spending my days in the library, being gentle and polite to everyone, and showing a fanatical obsession with Martial Soul theory.]
[At the same time, I used the excuse of drawing inspiration from the books of that waste, Yu Xiaogang, to build an image of a theoretical genius.]
[Until one day, while I was reading in the library, I suddenly felt an inexplicable palpitation!]
On the sky screen, Wang Yan, who was looking down at a book, suddenly shuddered!
[That palpitation came from the depths of my Coiling Dragon Rod Martial Soul!]
[Following the guidance of this palpitation, I saw her —]
Wang Yan suddenly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the gaps in the bookshelf, locking firmly onto the back of a young girl not far away.
Han Ruoruo!
[It's her! It's her!]
[This is what is recorded in the ancient texts... Martial Soul Resonance!]
[My Coiling Dragon Rod Martial Soul was able to deceive everyone's eyes; besides my innate Soul Power level, there was one more important point.]
[That is, my Coiling Dragon Rod is not a complete Coiling Dragon Rod Martial Soul!]
[Because my Qian Gu clan lost the most crucial inheritance — the method to awaken the true Martial Soul of the Martial Soul!]
[Inside my Coiling Dragon Rod, a Martial Soul true Martial Soul is attached: the Heaven-Awakening Saint Golden Dragon! Also known as the Evil-Breaking Dragon!]
[Only by awakening it can the Coiling Dragon Rod become a true top-tier Weapon Spirit!]
As the monologue reached this point, in the scene, Wang Yan looked at Han Ruoruo's back, his eyes filled with unprecedented excitement and fanaticism!
But that was not the admiration of a youth; it was the look of a hunter seeing prey!
[The method to awaken the true Martial Soul had long been lost, and I had always thought there was no hope in this life.]
[I didn't expect... Heaven has not abandoned my Qian Gu clan!]
[This girl's Golden Binding Rope Martial Soul has produced the highest level of Martial Soul Resonance with my Coiling Dragon Rod!]
[Perhaps I... can use the power of her Martial Soul as a catalyst to forcibly break open the seal of the true Martial Soul!]
[That cultivation notebook I gave her is the most crucial part of my plan.]
[I secretly modified the Soul Power circulation routes within it and added the catalyst technique I researched based on ancient texts.]
[As long as she continues to cultivate according to this method, her Martial Soul will unknowingly become the most suitable catalyst!]
[When the time is ripe, I can... use her as a sacrifice to awaken the sleeping 'Heaven-Awakening Saint Golden Dragon' in one go!]
[Han Ruoruo, I will thank you...]
[You will become the most important stepping stone on my, Wang Yan's, path of revenge!]
... [Douluo 2 Era] On Shrek Plaza, Han Ruoruo was struck by lightning.
She finally understood; from the very first meeting to that notebook that changed her destiny later on, it was all... a calculation!
Tears fell silently.
There was no such thing as love at first sight; it was nothing more than a long-conceived exploitation!