Shrek City
In a hotel suite.
Tang Wulin gazed at a medicinal bath he'd assembled from three precious ingredients: a millennium earth dragon tendon, millennium green rattan, and others he'd spent three years of accumulated savings to acquire at auction.
Taking a deep breath—encouraged by Wu Zhangkong—he swallowed a millennium dragon scale fruit, then climbed into the bath.
"Tsss—!"
Pain stabbed through him, but soon a golden pattern appeared on his brow, spreading over his body, and his aura settled.
Wu Zhangkong finally relaxed.
His expression was complex.
Should he report what happened on the spirit train to his teacher? Advise Shrek Academy to prepare, lest they provoke those mysterious powerhouses?
More frightening was the certainty: those two were not ordinary humans, but ancient monsters emerging from long seclusion.
Their curiosity toward his battle armor and mecha—wasn't feigned. Everything in this world seemed "new" to them.
Recalling his conversation with Na Nali:
"The Demon Empress and I... are old friends."
That young man's smile resurfaced in Wu Zhangkong's mind.
Originally, he'd have thought him insane. But after seeing the white-haired girl's terrifying strength, he started to believe it.
"Could they have emerged from some time-space rift?!"
"Fierce beasts?"
"No, far beyond that..."
That aura, he'd only seen once before: on Yun Ming, current Pavilion Master of the Sea God's Pavilion.
Powerful enough that the world itself seemed to move aside for their passage—absolute confidence, peerless strength.
"Forget it, still better report to the academy," Wu Zhangkong sighed.
The hotel door opened.
A greenish silhouette entered—it was Shen Yi, a twenty-six or twenty-seven-year-old white-haired woman, looking around at Xie Xie and the other students. "Where's Senior Brother? Where'd he go?"
"Uh... he bought herbs for Wulin, said something about breaking through. We don't really get it," Xu Xiaoyan timidly answered.
Before Shen Yi could reply, Wu Zhangkong came out of the bathroom.
"Let's go."
"Senior Brother wants to go for a walk in Shrek City? After all this time away, feeling nostalgic?" Shen Yi teased.
"Tch," Wu Zhangkong shot her a cold glance, a rare smile appearing.
If it weren't for his love, Long Bing, the "traitorous" drama with the academy wouldn't have happened. But she, daughter of an evil spirit master, had saved his life—how could he believe she was a spy?
"We're going back to Shrek," he said flatly.
"Ah?!" Shen Yi's mouth made an O. "You've been hiding in Eastsea for years to avoid Shrek, and now—"
"It's urgent. Involves the fate of the continent. Even if the teachers refuse to see me, I must see them," Wu Zhangkong said.
"Whew..." Shen Yi drew a sharp breath, turning serious.
But she was happy—she'd long hoped he would return, even if just for the sake of the students.
Their relationship had always been good—until... that happened.
...
"Are we recruiting Di Tian?"
Gu Yuena asked softly.
"Master, I am Beast God, second only to you, I would never submit to humans!" Di Tian bristled immediately.
"Heh..." Gu Yuena shot him a sidelong glance. In the original timeline, you were more eager than anyone.
"Forget it," Su Wen shook his head.
He'd accept Di Tian, but not yet—not in this timeline. Besides, this world still had plenty of powerful soul beasts worth capturing: the Golden Lion Mastiff, Blue Buddha Son, even the Demon Empress.
And a visit to the Abyss Dimension: let Xuanji cut loose for once, release all that pent-up aggression. Plus, Dragon Valley, Dragons' Graveyard—Gu Yuena, though now a Dragon God, still lacked true strength, so the "Dragon God Core" inside would be crucial.
There, the origin power could boost Gu Yuena dramatically.
And of course, there was Dragon Burial Ground...
Hearing Su Wen and Gu Yuena disregard him entirely, Di Tian was shocked and confused. I'm Beast God Di Tian, after all!
Did this human look down on him?! What did it mean? Explain!
"Boss, seems like master and that man don't care about you," the Myriad Demon King whispered.
"Shut up! Of course she has her own plans!" Di Tian glared.
"I'm furious!"
"How could...she think to go to Shrek Academy? Does she have brains at all?!" Gu Yuena raged.
"I've never seen someone insult themselves like this," Su Wen sighed.
"You're such a jerk!" the white-haired girl fumed.
"So, what do you plan to do?" Su Wen asked with interest.
"Track that Gu Yue down! Give her a good beating! She must not join Shrek Academy—that's the mortal enemy of soul beasts."
Gu Yuena took a deep breath.
Nearby, Na'er huddled with her candy, peeking at Su Wen.
"If you beat Gu Yue up, you won't hit me, right~?"
Gu Yuena: "..."
The child was pitiful, too.
She was a part of Gu Yuena's own soul, split in two and thrown into the human world, forced to wander for months—if not for her innate resilience, she'd probably have died already.
"Humans! Hmph!" Gu Yuena snorted.
"Don't be so one-sided. Without Battle Armor, the soul beast planet would've been destroyed ages ago. You wouldn't have had the time to heal..." Su Wen commented while sipping tea.
He noticed Na'er, now in a new dress with two dimples, smiling as she brewed tea, looking at him expectantly.
"Nice job."
Su Wen nodded approvingly.
The girl beamed.
"Sigh..."
Gu Yuena couldn't hold back, pinching Na'er's plump cheek. "You're right. If only soul beasts lived on this planet, those ugly bugs from the Abyss would eat everything up eventually, too."
No one would've guessed the Divine Realm would vanish.
"Don't worry! With me here, no one will bully you again," Gu Yuena declared gamely.
From this moment, merging Gu Yue and Na'er didn't really matter anymore. With Gu Yuena around, soul beasts would sweep humanity away!
Those two "selves" could just tag along as sidekicks.
"But first, these humans need a warning!"
Her eyes turned cold.
"Our soul beasts won't be bullied!"
"The Spirit Pagoda has imprisoned millions of our people, forced them into deadly fights—I won't let this go lightly."
...
Shrek Academy—Inner Courtyard
Amidst lovely woods, Shen Yi led Wu Zhangkong in, then signaled him to wait as she personally notified the elders.
Wu Zhangkong watched, full of mixed thoughts. He knelt before the gate, bowing low.
A few minutes later, Shen Yi returned, bringing good news: "You may enter."
Inside a quiet, secluded courtyard.
"Wu Zhangkong, what do you have to report?"
A deep, powerful voice sounded, belonging to a brawny old man with white beard and hair, blue eyes cold.
"Speak and get out! This courtyard has no place for traitors!"
"Teacher! You know Senior Brother only—" Shen Yi protested.
"I don't want to hear it! Speak quickly, and you—don't call him 'senior brother' again!"
"...Yes, teacher." Shen Yi pouted and stepped back.
"On the spirit train to Shrek, I encountered Na Nali, one of the Holy Spirit Cult's Heavenly Kings," Wu Zhangkong said quickly.
"What?!" Shen Yi gasped.
The Cult's cruelty was renowned. Even Wu Zhangkong's casual tone couldn't hide the danger.
"Continue."
The old man grew more serious, sitting straighter.
By rights, if the Church sent someone that strong, chaos would be certain—his disciple's train should have been bathed in blood. Yet Wu Zhangkong stood before him.
Something was off.
"I met two people—I believe both are as powerful as the Pavilion Master himself."
"And neither is listed anywhere."
"Impossible!"
The old man smashed his chair to splinters, eyes blazing.
The Pavilion Master's might was number one on the entire continent.
There were only a handful of people who could rival that, and all were in the top five—so how could these two be completely unknown?!
"A young man and a young woman—just the girl acted, and utterly crushed Na Nali. Her strength was overwhelming, breaking even her Battle Armor with a single punch."
"She was instantly 'destroyed.' You understand?"
"..."
Wu Zhangkong spoke calmly, as if stating facts.
"That's impossible..." Shen Yi was stunned.
"But it's what I saw." Wu Zhangkong confirmed seriously. "That's why I came straight here, to warn you. Shrek must prepare. These two... are too mysterious."
"Zhangkong."
Suddenly, a white-haired old woman spoke up.
"Elder Cai?" Wu Zhangkong turned, shocked to see the Silvermoon Douluo (level 96, three-word armor) and several Pavilion elders.
"Yes," she replied, grave. "Do you have evidence?"
"Because Na Nali's Darkness Bell has mental control, only our carriage was unaffected. So, for witnesses, you have me and the students here to apply for Shrek. As for material evidence, along the railroad outside, there are traces of where the white-haired woman pounded Na Nali. Unless the Soul Train Division covered it up, you can still find it now."
Wu Zhangkong thought for a moment.
"Understood! For now, you stay at the Academy," the elder decided, calming him. "Let Shen Yi deliver a letter to Eastsea Academy telling their students to proceed as normal with the assessment."
"Yes."
Wu Zhangkong sighed in relief.
....
Days Later
Su Wen stretched lazily.
Na'er's little fist pounded his back—a perfect little maid.
Gu Yuena rolled her eyes. "Can you act a little prouder? You're embarrassing ME!"
"Mom, do you want a back rub too?" Na'er blinked up, pausing thoughtfully.
"Pffft~"
Gu Yuena spat her drink, spraying Su Wen.
"Who says I'm your mom?"
Gu Yuena snapped.
"I can feel a connection—like family. You're like my mother..." Na'er whispered shyly.
"Don't scare the child," Su Wen grinned, teasing.
Gu Yuena glared at him, but couldn't stay mad. After all, the girl was basically "her" split in two.
"Forget it, I'm going to shower!" the white-haired girl snorted.
"By the way, when will we grab Gu Yue from Shrek? Can't let her blend in—what if she falls for someone, I surely couldn't tolerate it."
"Three days from now."
Su Wen lounged on the couch.
Tang Wulin needed three days to break through his second seal, and after that, the Shrek exam entry window would have closed. Wu Zhangkong had only saved the day by kneeling at the inner courtyard gates.
In the original timeline, things went that way, and even with Su Wen here, that wouldn't change too much...
According to plot logic, the main female character would appear together anyway, so Gu Yue should show up late, meet Tang Wulin, then take the test together.
"And if Shrek refuses to release her?" Su Wen yawned.
"Then we overturn Shrek Academy!" Gu Yuena retorted coldly.
"It's not YOUR Shrek anyway."
"Daddy, how's Na'er's massage?" the girl said, pounding his back and glancing up hopefully.
"Pffft~"
Su Wen spat out his tea.
"What did you call me?"
"Hahahaha..."
Gu Yuena's laughter echoed from the bathroom.