When Su Wen and Gu Yuena returned to their seats, the surrounding spectators' gazes had shifted from confusion to pure shock—and even to reverence...
Apparently, purely based on the strength shown by these two, they were now recognized as truly powerful experts. Even the man facing them was now sitting straight, almost afraid to meet Su Wen's eyes.
Wu Zhangkong was even more dumbfounded.
After all, no one knew what had just happened better than he did.
These two mysterious newcomers, under the pressure of a level 98 top expert, remained at ease throughout. Not to mention, that white-haired girl had, with one move, beaten one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Holy Spirit Cult, Na Nali, to near death. The boy was even bolder...claiming to seek out the legendary Holy Spirit Cult leader—the Demon Empress.
What was even more absurd: in Wu Zhangkong's eyes, the power and attitude these two displayed felt strangely... modest, as if everything was entirely natural for them.
He even started to worry for the Demon Empress.
"Teacher Wu, you're a Battle Armor Master?!"
"Whoa, Battle Armor looks so cool..."
"When can we get our own Battle Armor?"
"..."
The Zero Class students from Eastsea Academy, like Xie Xie and the others, chattered away.
Wu Zhangkong felt a bit awkward.
He realized the boy's earlier question might not have stemmed from interest in Battle Armor itself—but from his curiosity about Wu Zhangkong's relatively "weak" Two-Word Battle Armor...
Sure enough, the man returned his gaze with a gentle smile.
Wu Zhangkong twitched. Damn, what a loss of face—to show off in front of a true top expert. But, to be fair, this guy really knew how to play dumb...
He could "play the pig to eat the tiger" even better than himself.
"Quiet, all of you," Wu Zhangkong said helplessly. "Your potential is high enough. One day, you'll create your own Battle Armor..."
Tang Wulin kept staring at Su Wen, longing in his heart. Perhaps this was what a real, true powerhouse looked like: calm, unshaken by anything, natural and composed.
A simple wave—and the enemy is destroyed.
He wondered when he would reach such a realm.
The spirit train sped on, finally arriving at the station.
As the train just pulled in, a shrill alarm rang out. Through the shattered train windows, full squads of mecha could be seen on the platform—all wielding identical purple-grade mechs, led by a rarely-seen black-grade mecha from Shrek City...
Bear in mind: black-class mecha were comparable to Two-Word Battle Armors. To pilot one, a soul master needed at least seven rings (Soul Sage or higher), and their combat power was on par with a Titled Douluo.
This level of red alert probably meant the entire Soul Train Division had pulled out all stops.
Likely, the Spirit Pagoda's law enforcement helped as well.
Because of historical complexities, Shrek City was a place where all sorts mixed and clashed. Forces vied for power, rarely united, yet when facing infamous evil spirit masters, they showed remarkable solidarity.
Yet Su Wen was mildly surprised.
Only their car had not been violently breached by mecha squads for inspection...
When the Train Conductor—a beautiful woman in uniform—walked over with a respectful expression, Su Wen suddenly understood. Clearly, the events that played out earlier had been fully reported to the station ahead.
"Thank you for your contribution during the Holy Spirit Cult attack. The Soul Train Division will award you the Peace Medal..."
"Not interested," Su Wen replied flatly, waving her off.
If he couldn't disguise himself as a pig, then drop the act.
It was less troublesome to be a tiger.
"Hey, boy, aren't you going a bit too far!" a gruff voice shouted from the black-class mecha, tinged with both annoyance and anger.
Was a soul master who could be subdued so easily by this kid really a true expert?
Actually, Na Nali's "Darkness Bell" spirit allowed her to control the Train Conductor and several mecha the moment she attacked. Only after Gu Yuena pounded her were those under control freed.
Thus, during that vacuum, nobody figured out who the enemy was—the battle ended before most could react.
Even the Train Conductor, Mo Lan, barely knew which Holy Spirit Cult members had attacked.
"..."
Su Wen paused, glancing at the red mecha.
"Hey!"
The other pilot grew even more irritated and stepped forward, towering above Su Wen and Gu Yuena.
Su Wen examined the black-grade mecha curiously, brushing his hand over its leg.
It stood almost six meters tall, streamlined, laced with dark-gold patterns. Though a bit smaller than regular purple-class mechs, its pressure was many times greater.
After the division of the continent after many millennia, mecha had split into several specialties—maintenance, combat, support, etc. To Su Wen, this was just the soul engineer profession split up.
Mecha were worn by people; battle armor was worn by martial spirits.
Thus, mecha could be mass-produced and bought with money, but battle armor had to be crafted personally, and ultimately by master artisans.
Comparing the difficulty and power of mecha and battle armor:
Four-Word Battle Armor: every part forged from Heavenly-Refined metal.
Top mecha (gold-class): only core components needed Heavenly-Refined metal.
Strength and difficulty between the two? Self-evident.
"I am Wu Zhangkong!"
Amidst the tension, he revealed his two-word battle armor with a stern face. "I vouch for every word. The one who attacked is Na Nali, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Holy Spirit Cult!"
"Gulp..."
Everyone froze. Even Qiangu Lincheng, who'd been looking down on them, swallowed hard and instinctively took a step back.
He didn't know Wu Zhangkong by name, but a two-word battle armor master was always intimidating—especially so young...
So, had these people actually saved him?!!
As a high official in the Spirit Pagoda's Law Enforcement, he certainly knew the fame of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Against any one of them—he'd be dead.
Yet the opposing team had handled the situation with ease.
Where had these top experts come from?!
Though he hadn't seen them on the Continental Heroes List, surely they were hidden masters; if they wanted, they could be right at the top.
Top thirty on the continent.
Anyone from that tier could shake the whole continent with a single stomp.
Bringing such a disaster home—his father would never forgive him!
"Tch~"
Su Wen clicked his tongue, glancing at Wu Zhangkong.
Surrounded by dozens of mechs over six meters tall, he slowly made his way off the platform.
"Thank you," Qiangu Lincheng managed to nod feebly to Wu Zhangkong.
"You really should thank me," Wu Zhangkong answered lightly. "Na Nali was almost beaten to death by that little girl at his side."
"..."
Qiangu Lincheng twitched at the corner of his mouth.
A cold sweat broke out on his back.
He quickly told his men, "Retreat!"
"Get a portrait of that man, circulate it inside the system, and inform all enforcement: DO NOT provoke this man!!!"
Shrek City
One of the oldest cities on this continent.
Its buildings were tightly packed, blending ancient and modern styles. Among them, a towering structure in the east was the most eye-catching...
"How much did we exchange?"
On a clean street.
Gu Yuena hugged Su Wen's arm, curiously peeking at their new identity cards and the gold card full of federation coins—thanks to exchanging rare metals at the pawnshop.
"A bit over a hundred million," Su Wen replied, pushing her head aside with a grin.
Handing so much rare metal over hadn't attracted trouble; clearly, that pawnshop was reputable enough.
"Can we buy candied haws then?" Gu Yuena asked, craving sweets. "Or maybe some flower pastries!"
The commercial street was busy, booths everywhere.
"Sure," Su Wen smiled.
Gu Yuena was still playing by the rules for now, but after seeing the fate of soul beasts, she might want to massacre the Spirit Pagoda outright...
If only Huo Yuhao hadn't died so young; she might have dug him up and whipped his corpse.
"Mmm, so good! Human food is really delicious," Gu Yuena sighed with bliss.
"Wait!"
Their gazes fell on a thin little girl ahead, sneaking toward a barbeque stall. The vendor, sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, multitasked,
"You, do his order next, then his..."
"Get lost, you brat!"
Moving lightning-fast, the vendor saw the tiny would-be thief, and his foot shot toward her.
"Hey, calm down!" Su Wen, as amiable as ever, brushed his sleeve and blocked the attack with ease.
"Here's 500 federation coins—let her have as much as she wants."
"Er... okay, do hers next, then yours!" The vendor hesitated, nodded, and got grilling, realizing this was someone he couldn't afford to offend.
In a Hotel Suite
Gu Yuena watched speechlessly as the little girl, after ordering over 500 coins' worth of barbecue, ate it all at once—like a starving ghost, still looking for more.
"Is that really me?!!"
She refused to admit that her future self would be so destitute. But the truth was, she could sense her own aura from the girl...
It's just—the girl's memory had issues, and her strength was sealed.
She had about 30% of a Silver Dragon's power but could barely access even 10%.
"That's you!" Su Wen teased.
"No, it's NOT!" Gu Yuena protested.
"Then who is it?" Su Wen shrugged.
"I'll go ask Di Tian!" the Silver Dragon King thundered. "With my world-shaking wisdom, how could I let the soul beasts fall so low? Must be Di Tian slacking off!"
Su Wen: "..."
World-shaking wisdom?
Better not argue. Sometimes, only a hard knock brings someone to their senses. Until you've truly experienced your people's despair, how can you understand Di Tian's position?
Nearby, Na'er watched Gu Yuena leave, looking pitifully at Su Wen. Though she'd changed into a floral dress and looked like the sweetest little loli, she couldn't hide her hunger...
"Hungry, hungry~" she tugged at Su Wen's sleeve, timidly.
Life among humans had long crushed away her trust.
Everyone either beat or scolded her, and she had no idea how to make a living...
"Don't worry, there's plenty to eat," Su Wen said gently, patting her head.
"Ah Yin!"
"Yes, master."
Su Wen simply stowed Na'er into Ah Yin's Poke Ball—letting the immense vitality inside revive her. Sure enough, one golden fruit from the golden vine made the girl drowsy with satisfaction.
"Poor little thing," Ah Yin said maternally. She wove her golden vines into a cradle and tucked Na'er inside.
"Sleep well... With master here, the soul beast race will never die out."
Star Dou Great Forest
High above.
Gu Yuena was utterly confused.
No mistake—she was absolutely sure that this should be the forest's outer area! But all she saw was human habitation!
Buildings everywhere—no sign of the green wildness of the past.
She didn't even think, at first, that humans had conquered the Dragon Forest's lands—it was just too much. Sure, she knew the forest had shrunk, but not this much...
Could it be that Di Tian had packed up and moved the whole core away from here?!
Her imagination ran wild.
"Here, I just bought a map," Su Wen remarked, taking in the view.
The city's construction was impressive and well designed.
Gu Yuena took the map with a dazed look.
A huge section was marked "Shrek City," but after searching, she found only a tiny red dot far off labeled "Star Dou Forest Core."
Gu Yuena: "..."
She was furious.
"Hahahaha..."
She laughed so hard that she cried.
"Might as well call it the Star Dou Tiny Forest," Su Wen snickered beside her. "This little patch probably isn't half as large as central Shrek City, or the Spirit Pagoda headquarters."
"Damn it!"
Gu Yuena's anger soared.
Seeing Su Wen's mischievous grin, she bit his arm, leaving two deep rows of teeth marks.
"Come on—let's go find Di Tian!"
"I really have to ask what happened here. In barely ten thousand years, the Star Dou Great Forest is a shadow of itself—how is this different from soul beast extinction? What's Di Tian been doing anyway?!"
"And according to the original timeline, I'd have already recovered from my wounds by now—no way would I just let this happen with my world-shaking wisdom."
"Something must have gone wrong!"
Gu Yuena said this with determination.
"Right, right..." Su Wen nodded seriously.
"Right your head! Let's head to the core!" Gu Yuena bared her teeth in anger.
With that, the two turned into beams of light, streaking toward the heart of the forest—leaving the stunned humans on the ground.
"Mom, look—a shooting star!"
"Silly child, that's a human powerhouse..."