The most significant event in Tang Sect's current promotional material was its history from twenty thousand years ago.
The founder of Tang Sect had been a god-ascendant who protected the continent twenty thousand years ago, as well as the leader of the original Shrek Seven Monsters.
It was he who laid the foundation for the mutual bond between Shrek Academy and Tang Sect.
The story known to every household was that the Spirit Hall of that era had harbored grand ambitions, seeking to unify the continent and control everything.
Under the leadership of this Tang Sect ancestor, allied forces and powerful soul masters had joined together to defeat the villainous Spirit Hall.
Legend had it that he later became the Sea God, wielding the Sea God's Trident as he ascended to divinity.
Even Tang Wulin, who had come from what was practically the countryside, was thoroughly familiar with this story, which spoke to just how widely it had been spread.
Arthur's opinion on the matter was: whoever was responsible for this propaganda had a death wish.
Yes, the victors write history, and the winning side of Tang Sect could frame things however they pleased.
But did they have to completely ignore the political backdrop of the current era?
Objective documentation would have been perfectly fine.
Instead, they had chosen to cast the Spirit Hall, which had sought to unify the continent, as the villain.
So what did that make the Federation, which had already achieved unification?
This was practically a veiled attack on the Federation itself.
Spirit Hall wanted to unite the continent and got defeated for it. The Federation had already united the continent. Did that mean Tang Sect was now plotting to overthrow the Federation?
How was the Federation supposed to take that?
It was no wonder the Federation harbored suspicions. The propaganda was genuinely outrageous. With so many deeds to draw from and countless ways to frame the story, Tang Sect had somehow chosen the single most provocative option.
Predictably, all four of Tang Wulin's group chose to join. Tang Sect's story had taken root far too deeply in their hearts.
Arthur, standing to one side, said nothing.
Even though he harbored thoughts of building his own faction in the future, he made no attempt to talk the others out of joining.
Arthur did want to recruit talent, but not now. It was still nothing more than an idea at this stage.
Watching Tang Wulin and the others join Tang Sect, Arthur found himself reflecting on his own future.
The plan to build his own faction was rooted in faith.
Excalibur and the Holy Lance were, in the end, just martial souls. Arthur wasn't certain that following the conventional path would lead him to godhood.
Gathering faith to ascend was a backup route.
But in the current era, the faith of Douluo Continent had already been divided among the various major powers.
Even if the concept of faith-based ascension was nothing more than legend to everyone else, only Arthur knew it was genuinely viable.
That didn't mean those factions wouldn't still lay claim to it.
The continent only had so many people, and faith only stretched so far.
Even without knowing for certain whether faith-based ascension worked, staking a claim to it early was never a wrong move.
For Arthur to wedge himself in and enter the game midway, he would need a faction powerful enough to matter.
Mu Chen, Su Wuyan, Mu Ye, and the Body Sect were all people Arthur was confident he could persuade to join.
Then there was Zhen Hua, the divine blacksmith. His current neutral stance was born of necessity. If Arthur could one day guarantee his safety, then through his connections with Mu Chen and Mu Ye, Zhen Hua would naturally come aboard.
There was also the reclusive Yuanen clan. Recruiting them was simple enough: solve the crisis their family faced, and it would be done.
Well, what a coincidence.
The crisis the Yuanen family faced was an invasion from the Demon Plane. It had begun as an incursion that crashed straight into them with no way to avoid it, and had since evolved into a full-blown clan blood feud.
And Arthur happened to specialize in exactly that.
Dealing with foreign invasions was his area of expertise.
Thinking it through, there were simply too many people to bring in.
As long as Arthur's potential gave them a glimpse of that future, building his own faction would be remarkably straightforward.
It was at that moment that a sudden voice drew everyone's attention.
"I'm joining Tang Sect too."
It was Gu Yue.
Even the eternally cold Wu Zhangkong couldn't help but show a flicker of surprise. "Are you certain?"
Within Class Zero, it was plain to everyone that Gu Yue, Na'er, and Arthur were the trio closest to one another.
Arthur was the prized ward of the Eastsea Spirit Pagoda.
Na'er had come from headquarters.
Given that dynamic, Wu Zhangkong had assumed Gu Yue would naturally gravitate toward the Spirit Pagoda.
"I'm certain." Gu Yue exchanged a quiet glance with Na'er and made her decision to join Tang Sect.
Taking in this scene, Arthur suddenly felt something click into place.
It wasn't that he'd figured out why Gu Yue had joined. Rather, it occurred to him: could he ride on someone's coattails?
Arthur had stayed tucked away in Eastsea City and never gone out to put his talents on display.
The most important reason was simple: he didn't dare.
Su Wuyan didn't dare let him go out either.
Even though their goal was to eliminate every evil soul master, they couldn't afford to shine too brightly before Arthur had grown strong enough.
That was exactly how Arthur's parents had died.
A pair who would in all likelihood both reach Limit Douluo one day, a Light Dragon Sparrow and a Holy Angel, who also possessed a martial soul fusion technique between them.
His mother had also come from the Holy Angel clan, with a mind utterly consumed by the drive to hunt evil soul masters.
Once they reached the limit, a martial soul fusion technique at the Limit Douluo level combined with the innate suppression of their light attribute: what could the Holy Spirit Cult possibly throw against that?
So the Holy Spirit Cult had schemed and surrounded them, and they were gone.
Su Wuyan's potential had run dry. No matter how much hatred drove him and however many evil soul masters he hunted down, the Holy Spirit Cult couldn't be bothered with him anymore. They had major moves in the works lately and needed to keep a low profile.
Besides, Su Wuyan was from the Spirit Pagoda, and they had an ongoing arrangement with Qiangu Dongfeng.
Making a move against a Super Douluo from the Spirit Pagoda before their grand plan was complete was simply not worth the trouble.
But Arthur was different. The moment he revealed his overwhelming potential and drew the Holy Spirit Cult's attention, he wouldn't survive either.
Even having Mu Ye as his teacher wasn't enough protection.
Arthur understood better than anyone just how many powerful figures the Holy Spirit Cult commanded.
If he could attach himself to Gu Yue, his life would have a measure of security.
Then he could emerge from seclusion ahead of schedule to show off. No, to display his talents, and draw more people into joining his cause.
But soul beasts and humans carried a deep-seated enmity. He had no idea what Gu Yue actually thought of him.
Turning the matter over in his mind, Arthur's thoughts gradually wandered. Gu Yue's inner workings were difficult to read, so why not just ask their ever-accommodating Na'er?
The soul-guided bus rolled smoothly along.
On the way back to the academy, the scenery outside streaked by in reverse. Tang Wulin and the others were still riding the excitement of joining Tang Sect, murmuring among themselves.
Gu Yue leaned against the window, gazing outside with a composed expression, seemingly lost in thought.
Arthur sat beside Na'er, his gaze drifting back and forth between Gu Yue and Na'er.
He drew a quiet breath, then spoke to Na'er in a tone that was deliberately casual. "Na'er."
Na'er turned toward him at once, a trace of puzzlement in her violet eyes. "What is it?"
"Say, if I ever ran into serious danger down the road, the kind where some incredibly powerful villain had their sights on me and I was on the verge of dying, what would you do?"
Arthur kept his eyes fixed on Na'er's as he spoke, his tone light and easy, as though it were nothing more than idle conversation.
Na'er's brow furrowed instantly. The gentle softness of her face went cold as ice.
Without a moment's hesitation, her voice carried an unshakable certainty. "Anyone who dares to hurt you, I'll kill."
The inside of the bus went quiet.
Gu Yue glanced over with quiet interest.
From Arthur's perspective, those words coming from the sweet and gentle Na'er carried a ferocity utterly at odds with everything about her.
His heart lurched. He stared for a moment, then pressed further. "But what if they were very powerful? The kind of powerful that stands at the top of all of Douluo Continent?"
Na'er pressed her lips together and turned to look at Gu Yue, something flickering in her eyes, as though a thought had just surfaced.
The image of Gu Yue preparing to cut Arthur down before he could become a threat rose unbidden in her mind.
When she turned back, her voice was just as unwavering as before. "It doesn't matter how powerful they are. I won't let anything happen to you."
"I promise."
Arthur fell silent. A thousand thoughts came and went.
After a long moment, he said three words that left everyone around him puzzled.
"I'm sorry."