Chapter 31: Revealing Secrets, Shrek Roasted on the Fire
After explaining what a demigod was, Lei Chen's gaze calmly fell on Du Busi. Those deep eyes seemed able to pierce through eternal ages as he spoke indifferently, his voice exploding in everyone's hearts like a clap of thunder:
"In this plane for nearly ten thousand years, among those walking in the mortal world, only the Sect Founding Ancestor of your Body Sect, by virtue of supreme perseverance and talent, forged a mortal body into a true divine body, reaching the level of a demigod."
"What?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.
Everyone's eyes instantly focused on Du Busi in unison, filled with disbelief. Even Mu En and Xuan Zi had a startling light erupt from their eyes.
Shrek Academy had a legacy of ten thousand years. Although its records mentioned that the Body Sect's Sect Founding Ancestor possessed heaven-shaking combat power, there had never been such a clear record—that ancestor had actually stepped into the realm of a demigod!
Du Busi himself trembled violently, the muscles on his face twitching slightly due to extreme shock.
As the current Sect Leader of the Body Sect, he naturally knew the legend in the sect's supreme legacy, "The Innate Secret Method," about forging an "Indestructible Divine Body" upon reaching Great Completion.
But for ten thousand years since then, no one in the sect had been able to reach that realm. Over time, even he and the previous sect leaders were skeptical of such descriptions, treating them as a beautiful vision or an exaggeration left by the ancestor.
Hearing Lei Chen say this now, his voice carried a tremor he hadn't even noticed himself as he asked excitedly, "Res... Respected Plane Master... could it be... could it be that what is recorded in my sect's secret method about forging a divine body upon reaching Great Completion... is... is actually true?!"
"Of course it's true." Lei Chen's tone remained flat, yet it carried an unquestionable certainty. "The Sect Founding Ancestor of your house was a genius of heaven, unprecedented and world-shaking."
"He not only defied the heavens with a mortal body and successfully forged a divine body, but he also summarized his own insights and left behind this supreme secret method, pointing out a path to the heavens for future generations."
"Regrettably, since him, no subsequent disciple of the Body Sect has been able to cultivate it to the realm of Great Completion, causing the secret method to gather dust, so much so that even you inheritors yourselves did not dare to believe if what was recorded was true."
"So... so that's how it is..." Du Busi muttered to himself. Endless pride and glory first surged onto his face, as if he saw the majestic figure of his ancestor looking down on the world back then, but it was immediately overwhelmed by a sense of immense loss and shame.
He sighed heavily, his voice low: "It is the incompetence of the younger generations; each generation is worse than the last, unable to manifest even a fraction of the ancestor's glory, causing our sect to be disgraced..."
Looking at the emotional Du Busi, an imperceptible sharpness flashed in Lei Chen's deep eyes. He continued to speak calmly, throwing out an even sharper question:
"Du Busi, do you know that in the past, anyone who could cultivate to the plane's limit—that is, the demigod level—in this plane, already possessed the qualifications to inherit a God Position? They could almost all gain the favor of the gods in the Divine Realm, be granted a God Position, ascend to the Divine Realm, and obtain eternal life."
"However, your ancestor, this brilliant existence who truly reached the demigod level, ultimately did not get his wish. Instead, like an ordinary Soul Master, he lived in dejection and eventually died of old age in this world. Do you know why?"
Du Busi's body shook violently as he snapped out of his self-reproach. He looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with urgency and confusion: "Why?! Please enlighten me, Plane Master!"
Lei Chen's voice was still calm, but the meaning within it made everyone present feel a chill: "The reason is simple. Because he was unwilling."
"Unwilling?" Du Busi was stunned, and the others also showed expressions of incomprehension.
Becoming a god and gaining eternal life was the ultimate dream of almost all Soul Masters; how could anyone be unwilling?
"Correct, unwilling," Lei Chen affirmed. His gaze seemed to inadvertently sweep over Mu En and Xuan Zi, his tone carrying a hint of cold mockery.
"Because since ten thousand years ago, when that Sea God Tang San achieved his God Position, especially after inheriting the Asura God Position and grasping great power in the Divine Realm, he has viewed this plane as his private back garden and personal land."
"He absolutely does not allow any existence in this plane to exceed his control. Want to become a god? You can, but you must submit to him, follow his will, and become a pawn on his chessboard, or rather... a submissive dog."
"And the Sect Founding Ancestor of your Body Sect was proud by nature and would rather break than bend. How could he be willing to give up his dignity and freedom for a God Position, begging others for mercy and kneeling in submission?"
"He refused to submit to Tang San's will. Therefore, although he possessed the potential to become a god, throughout his entire life, he never received any olive branch from the Divine Realm. In the end, he could only fall in this mortal world with regret and resentment."
"It was actually... like this!!!"
Du Busi's eyes instantly widened in anger, an indescribable and overwhelming rage erupting from his chest—not for himself, but for that brilliant ancestor who suffered such injustice!
So, the ancestor was not unable to become a god, but rather unwilling to lose his pride, and was thus suppressed by that high-and-mighty Sea God!
He suddenly turned his head, those eyes burning with raging fire like two sharp swords, stabbing fiercely at Mu En and Xuan Zi standing nearby!
At the same time, Ye Xishui, Long Xiaoyao, Zhongli Wu, and even Kong Deming—everyone's eyes focused in unison on the two representatives of Shrek Academy. Their gazes were filled with strange expressions.
The relationship between Shrek Academy and the Sea God Tang San was well-known throughout the entire Douluo.
Ten thousand years ago, Tang San was the most outstanding student of Shrek Academy, and Shrek Academy had always taken pride in this.
Inside the academy, not only did a statue of Tang San stand, but everything was named after the "Sea God"—Sea God Lake, Sea God Island, Sea God Pavilion... all highlighted Shrek Academy's reverence and faith in the Sea God Tang San.
However, at this moment, from the mouth of this Plane Master who was clearly at odds with the Sea God Tang San, such a shocking secret was revealed.
The Sea God that Shrek Academy had believed in for ten thousand years turned out to be such a narrow-minded existence with such a strong desire for control, who would even suppress the geniuses of this plane!
So, what role did Shrek Academy, which revered Tang San so much, play in all of this? Did they know about this long ago? Was their reverence today out of ignorance, or... were they themselves the executors of Tang San's will?
Feeling the gazes around him that had become strange and even hostile, Mu En's already somewhat hunched body seemed to sink even lower. His face was deeply wrinkled and filled with complex emotions.
Xuan Zi's face flushed red, and he wanted to say something in defense, but in the face of the Plane Master's vast pressure and this shocking truth, he was momentarily speechless, not knowing where to begin.