Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
******
Seeing the Black Tortoise completely unharmed, Ning Fengzhi breathed a sigh of relief. That terrifying combination attack... Royal Team One had taken it without a scratch?
Ye Lan, just how many more surprises do you have in store for me?
Beside Ning Fengzhi, the Heaven Dou Emperor laughed heartily. "A magnificent display! They are truly the strongest team in my Heaven Dou Empire! With their strength, winning the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament is all but guaranteed!"
Hearing Emperor Xue Ye's direct praise, Platinum Bishop Salas maintained a neutral expression and replied perfunctorily, "Then my congratulations to Your Majesty."
Inwardly, however, Salas was beaming. The Heaven Dou Empire's strongest team? Please. They are Spirit Hall's strongest team! Her Holiness has a truly sharp eye. No wonder Lord Silver Wolf has continued to guard Lord Ye Lan even after becoming a Titled Douluo.
"Idol! Can you sign this for me?!" A flash of spirit light appeared in Huo Wu's hand as she held out a copy of New Core Theory of Martial Spirits to Ye Lan.
The crowd saw this and immediately began to cheer.
"Get together! Get together!"
Tsk, since when did Rongrong become so mischievous?
Enduring a sharp pinch at his waist, Ye Lan signed his name on the book's ornate cover.
"Thank you! Goodbye, idol!" Huo Wu clutched the autographed book to her chest, then turned and headed back to the Blazing Academy lounge, leaving a dashing silhouette in her wake.
Ye Lan ruffled Ning Rongrong's hair. "Rongrong, you're reading too much into it. She just wanted an autograph. When did you pick up Little Xue's bad habits?"
Ning Rongrong's face turned crimson, and she fidgeted, unsure what to do. The moment she saw Little Xue and Zhu Zhuqing approaching, she ducked behind Zhu Zhuqing and hid in her arms.
Little Xue gave Ning Rongrong a subtle nod that clearly meant, Nicely done.
Watching the scene, Ye Lengleng allowed a faint smile. The five girls' feelings for Ye Lan had all been proven by the Lovesick Heartbroken Red. It was only natural for them to be wary of other women approaching him. The internal competition for his affection was fierce enough without letting anyone else join the fray.
Up in the stands, a man in a teal uniform watched with a sour expression as the object of his affection asked Ye Lan for an autograph. Feng Xiaotian gave a bitter smile and took another look at the golden-haired young man.
Is that the type Huo Wu likes?
Elsewhere in the audience sat a burly, ordinary-looking man. He wore a black hood, seemingly unaffected by the blazing sun. This was Tang Hao. After watching Shrek's battle, he had come to observe the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
He was stunned by their rapid advancement. What kind of fortune had they encountered that allowed their cultivation speed to rival Tang San's?
Before Tang Hao could puzzle it out, a circular, emerald-green domain caught his attention. A domain? Yes, that's definitely a domain. But what kind?
He couldn't tell what Ye Lan's domain did, but he was certain of one thing: it was not Ah Yin's Blue Silver Domain. Did this mean Ye Lan's Blue Silver Grass had evolved in an unknown direction?
Tang Hao let out a slow breath of relief. At least it wasn't the Blue Silver Emperor. Otherwise, at the risk of aggravating his old injuries, he would have had to fight through the Titled Douluo guarding Ye Lan to eliminate him. Little San's Blue Silver awakening could not be allowed to fail.
Speaking of which, where is Little San? After Shrek's match against Elephant Armor Academy, where had Tang San disappeared to?
Strange.
Following Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's instructions, Tang San was walking back to Shrek Academy alone to cultivate. The sun was bright, its rays warming his skin. He enjoyed the feeling as he contemplated his Blue Silver Grass cultivation.
He kept walking, but then his brows furrowed. Wait, I should have reached the academy by now. Why am I still on this same street?
Suppressing a wave of unease, Tang San quickened his pace. He rounded a corner and froze. He was right back where he had started.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. A hint of amethyst flashed in his eyes as he activated his Purple Demon Eye. He scanned the passing pedestrians but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Decisively, he turned around to head back to the Great Spirit Arena. He had only taken a few steps when all the people on the street vanished, leaving him utterly alone.
"Who's there?!" he shouted.
A long silence followed. No one answered; no one appeared. Tang San spun around, searching for an escape from this maze.
He suddenly sensed a faint killing intent. With a flicker of spirit light, a loaded Godly Zhuge Crossbow appeared in his sleeve. Ten meters behind him, a dark shadow began to materialize.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Tang San instantly fired at the shadow, emptying the entire volley of sixteen primed bolts. The razor-sharp steel bolts shot forward with terrifying piercing power, reaching the shadow in an instant. The bolts struck their target, but no blood flowed. They seemed to vanish into the darkness without a sound.
Tang San's expression grew grim, his hand gripping the crossbow slick with sweat.
"Hehe, as expected of Shrek Academy's strongest student. Your vigilance is impressive," a voice chuckled. It was Shi Nian.
Tang San focused his gaze. The shadow was the supervising teacher from Canghui Academy, the one they had clashed with earlier. Flender had specifically warned him about this level-seventy-two Soul Sage.
"Instructor Shi Nian of Canghui Academy. May I ask why you have detained me here?" Tang San asked, stealthily swapping his empty crossbow for a loaded one inside his Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.
"Hehehe, where has your arrogance gone? Weren't you looking down on my academy? Why the obedient act now? If I didn't already know your Shrek's reputation, an old man like me might have actually been fooled," Shi Nian sneered.
Tang San's face darkened. The jab had hit its mark.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
He fired again, but the bolts were swallowed by Shi Nian's form just as before.
"Shi Nian! What do you want?! Where are we?!" Tang San yelled, panic finally setting in. This ghostly place and his seemingly invincible foe had shattered his composure.
Shi Nian quietly enjoyed Tang San's breakdown for a moment before speaking.
"I suppose there's no harm in telling a dead man. You're Shrek's strongest student. Killing you increases Canghui's chances of qualifying. Besides, I can't stand the sight of you Shrek bastards. The sooner you're gone, the better I'll feel."
"Let me teach you a lesson, Tang San. Don't get arrogant just because you have a little strength. There are many people in this world you can't afford to offend. For example, me."
The purple in Tang San's eyes deepened as he tried to see through the illusion, but he couldn't penetrate it. He had no idea that Ye Lan had intercepted his destined fortune, preventing him from absorbing the immortal herb 'Yearning Heartbroken Red,' which would have empowered his Purple Demon Eye enough to see through a Soul Sage's illusion.
Unable to break the mirage, Tang San made a final, desperate attempt. "If this is about the tournament, why not go after the strongest team, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"
Shi Nian looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Why don't you go after them? Do you have any idea how many Titled Douluo are guarding them? At least two, maybe more! They are the face of the Heaven Dou Empire. I am a citizen of this empire; you want me to assassinate its greatest talents?!"
"Let me be blunt. Aside from the Royal Academy, the strength gap between the Four Elemental Academies, Canghui, and Shrek is minimal. But your filthy Shrek Academy managed to beat Royal Team Two. Because of that single victory, you might just knock us out of a qualifying spot."
"So give up your little schemes, Tang San. This is your grave."
"My greatest pleasure in life is watching so-called geniuses like you break down and die in my Remnant Dream."
"Enjoy it, Tang San!"
"Jie-jie-jie!"
With a bizarre laugh, Shi Nian's shadow faded away.
Tang San immediately summoned a cage of black Blue Silver Grass around himself, preparing for an attack. But in the darkness of the cage, the world shifted. He was now standing on a cliff he knew all too well.
Ghost-Weeping Cliff.
Behind him was a bottomless abyss.
Why am I back? Was my entire life on the Douluo Continent just a dream?
A furious voice roared, "Tang San! You stole the sect's ultimate secret manual, the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record! Your crime is unforgivable!"
"Great Elder, it wasn't me! I only looked at it!" Tang San cried out in terror.
"The Tang Sect took you in as a parentless orphan and raised you! Is this how you repay us?!" another elder snarled.
"Second Elder, please, let me explain!" Tang San stammered.
"No more excuses! According to sect law, you will suffer the ultimate punishment!" the Punishment Elder declared.
Four figures appeared, pinning him down and forcing his face into the dirt. An elder's palm slammed onto his arm.
"AAAAH!"
His left arm was shattered, the pain beyond anything he had ever known. Then his right. The agony intensified tenfold, yet he remained conscious, forced to endure it all.
"Elders, I was wrong! I'll never do it again!" he wailed.
"It's too late for regrets," the Great Elder said coldly. "Third Brother, use the punishment for outsiders: Ten Thousand Ants Gnawing the Heart!"
"No, no, please! I'm a disciple of the Tang Sect!" Tang San screamed in despair. For the first time, he was terrified of the very rules he once lived by.
"Proceed!"
Within the dream, his limbs were nailed to a wooden cross. An elder drenched him in honey. Then, swarms of ants and insects appeared, crawling toward him.
"No! I'm sorry, I truly am!" Tang San watched, his mind breaking.
At first, there was only an unbearable itching. Then, once the honey was gone, the real torture began. Every inch of his flesh was bitten and consumed. The pain was magnified a thousand times over, until his only thought was a desperate plea for death.
He was in a state worse than death.
After what felt like days, he awoke. Was it a dream? His body was unharmed. But why am I still at Ghost-Weeping Cliff?!
Two figures appeared before him. One was a cute, lively girl with a long scorpion-tail braid.
Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu!" he shouted with joy.
But his relief was short-lived. A second figure emerged, and Tang San's face twisted in horror. It was the lecherous, ugly man with the Underwear martial spirit, Bu Le—the one he had crippled.
Bu Le's hand was wrapped around Xiao Wu's throat.
"Brother... help me..." she choked out, struggling against his strength.
Tang San could only watch in agony. His eyes bled tears of blood as Bu Le's filthy hands roamed over her.
"Since you can't fight back, you might as well enjoy it," Bu Le cackled. "Uncle will take good care of you... hehehe."
The lewd laughter echoed, every word a dagger in Tang San's heart. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the scene continued to play out in his mind, vivid and inescapable.
What followed was a nightmare of absolute violation, designed to inflict the maximum possible psychological damage.
Blood poured from Tang San's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His voice was a raw, broken thing. After three days and three nights, he looked upon the illusion of a completely broken Xiao Wu, her eyes empty and devoid of light.
And then, his heart and mind stopped.
Inside Shi Nian's Remnant Dream, Tang San was driven to death by utter despair.
(End of Chapter)