"Originally, my plan was to have Mingde Hall hold an exchange match with Shrek Academy's exchange students…" Jing Hongchen said regretfully.
That would have showcased Mingde Hall's strength.
But now, with all of the elite forces off to Shrek for an exchange, there weren't many capable students left. Holding a match now would only embarrass themselves.
"You'd better give it a rest," Xu Cheng rubbed his forehead.
"You rascal, you're really lucky with women…" Jing Hongchen glanced at his own granddaughter, the corner of his mouth twitching as he swallowed the rest of the sentence.
Of course, after last night, he had stopped calling Xu Cheng "Your Highness" and had switched to "brat" — a much more intimate tone.
"Alright then. The event is set for about half a month from now. Prepare well. Everyone will go all out. You just need to completely overwhelm them. You'll be the best recruitment poster we've ever had!"
Meanwhile…
Wang Qiu'er and Meng Hongchen were whispering to each other.
"Senior Sister, so you really did it last night…?" Wang Qiu'er asked hesitantly.
"Yup," Meng Hongchen replied with a beaming smile, not bothering to hide anything.
The girls' dorm was already full of gossip. Choosing to stay in her own dorm was as good as making it public.
"We've been childhood sweethearts since we were eleven. It's been over four years now. I'd say things just naturally progressed to this point."
"So soon…" Wang Qiu'er looked at Xu Cheng chatting with Jing Hongchen, her vision growing fuzzy — as if he were the only person in the world.
Sorry, Qiu'er, but such is the nature of harem struggles.
Meng Hongchen silently apologized in her heart.
"It's alright. I'm not too late," Wang Qiu'er quickly picked herself back up. She wanted to raise a nest of little divine beasts with Xu Cheng. The path might be hard, but she wasn't afraid.
Meng Hongchen's beautiful eyes flickered. She wasn't trying to make Wang Qiu'er give up. In fact, she had other intentions. From what she knew, there were already five or six girls close to Xu Cheng. Who would end up winning was still up in the air. But Xu Cheng was the future emperor of the Sun Moon Empire — and there could only be one empress…
"Qiu'er, let's cooperate," she said softly.
Wang Qiu'er: ???
Three girls together… wouldn't that be a bit embarrassing?
Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Secret Realm
"Not bad. Since that person removed all the poison miasma and altered the entry conditions, you're the first one to make it in," a giant pink flower twisted its stem and sized up Huo Yuhao.
"Didn't we also meet the conditions?" Weina asked defiantly.
"If it weren't for him, you two wouldn't have qualified to enter at all. Honestly, you're just two tagalongs who benefited from his efforts," the spirit, Youyou, said bluntly.
"Huh?! Why?" Weina was confused.
Youyou ignored her and continued explaining the rules of the secret realm.
Each person would face a customized trial. Pass it, and they could choose a herb — even a hundred-thousand-year-old immortal herb, which could optionally be sacrificed.
"I'd like to ask… who is this person you mentioned?" Huo Yuhao asked after a moment of thought.
"A young man with blood-red eyes. He's terrifying. He ripped out all the poisonous miasma from the outside and left just a little inside the Yin Yang Well. Look, those venomous flowers over there tremble just hearing his name."
She gestured toward a patch of trembling ghostly green flowers — poisonous to the core, yet with no trace of toxic mist around them.
Clearly, they'd been scared stiff.
"…" Huo Yuhao looked down, silent.
This explained why Poison Immortal had suddenly dragged him from his training without a word and brought him to Sunset Forest, then told him to agree to whatever happened. Next thing he knew, he was here.
Clearly, this had Xu Cheng's hand in it again.
He owed Xu Cheng too much. Calling it "loyalty" wasn't enough.
He had always felt inferior. At the White Tiger Duke's mansion, no one treated him like a person — just a piece of trash with a poor spirit and low innate power. But Xu Cheng had saved him and helped him rise this far…
Now, he finally understood what it meant to be a deathsworn guard in those old novels.
Taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao resolved to never disappoint Xu Cheng. He would seize every opportunity to grow stronger — so one day, he could finally repay him.
"Ready? Your talent and fortune are top-notch, but passing my trial won't be easy! As for you two, wait your turn — your tests are coming," Youyou said excitedly.
She was a chatterbox who'd been alone for ten thousand years. Most of her old friends had long hidden away from her constant babbling. Now that she had new people to talk to, how could she not be thrilled?
"In fact, you two were supposed to die. Even if you'd made it here alive, without being Tang San's descendants, you'd have been eliminated," she said, glancing at the two girls again.
"Tang San? You mean the Ancestor Tang San?" Weina asked in shock.
"Tang San would never do something like that!" Mu Xue also doubted it.
After all, in the three original kingdoms, Tang San's reputation remained stellar — especially among the nobles, who had benefited from his legacy.
"Hmph, what do you know? Sounds like you're a princess from the Heavenly Soul Empire. Tang San even severed the dragon vein… Ow! What was that for?!" she suddenly yelped as a red flower smacked her.
"Why are you spilling everything? You're such a gossip!" the red flower, Jiao Jiao, said with exasperation. "Let the past stay in the past. Don't stir up trouble."
"You mean… he severed the dragon vein of the Heaven Dou Empire?!" Veena gasped, unable to believe her ears.
The Empire's sudden civil war and split had always been a mystery. It was both bizarre and somehow… plausible. Many historians had puzzled over it, but now — the truth seemed to surface.
"Yup. While setting up a spirit-gathering array, he said this spot was the center of the Heaven Dou Empire. By splitting the dragon vein here, he'd break the empire in two, and prevent it from unifying the continent," Youyou said gleefully.
Jiao Jiao: "…"
"It was him… Tang San ruined the Heaven Dou Empire. No wonder it declined. Did he also cause the fall of the Dou Ling Empire?" Mu Xue murmured.
He was no longer "Ancestor Tang San" — just "him."
"If you mean the nation born of the split — yes. The Dou Ling Empire's roots were in Sunset Forest. With the forest decaying due to the spirit array, their power naturally waned too," Jiao Jiao chuckled.
Jiao Jiao: "…"
Mu Xue and Weina fell silent.
It was a terrifying revelation — yet somehow made perfect sense.
After all, the Heaven Dou Empire had fallen apart shortly after Tang San's ascension to the God Realm…
"Damn you, Tang San!" Weina clenched her fists. "I defended you before! When the Holy Spirit Sect exposed your dark deeds, I thought it was slander. But now… I even argued with those tortured souls in the prison! Turns out you were the worst!"
"Wait till I get back—"
"That's enough, Weina," Mu Xue cut in coldly. "Let's focus on the trial. If we miss out on these herbs, there won't be a second chance."
She eyed Youyou warily — perhaps the test had already begun.
"Smart girl. Hehe…"
Youyou giggled and pulled out three flowers. "Let the trials begin!"
Holy Spirit Sect Headquarters
The once-quiet hall was now packed.
Nearly a thousand people filled it.
Looking around, the place was swarming with black-cloaked figures. To any passing soul master, the sight would've been terrifying. The weakest among them were Soul Elders. There were dozens of Soul Douluo, and even some with Titled Douluo-level pressure.
At the head of the room sat several terrifying presences, suppressing everyone else.
The Sect Master, Zhongli Wu, was here — along with his trusted trio of brothers, a few powerful elders loyal to Xu Cheng, and the infamous Scorpion Tiger Elder.
Similar to the elite tournaments of Shrek or the Sun Moon Empire, the Holy Spirit Sect had its own "youth competition."
The aim was simple: identify top young talent, and invest resources in them.
But today… the event had a different air.
Xu Cheng stood at the center, surrounded by his subordinates like Nana and Tang Ya — about three or four hundred strong. A formidable force of his own.
He calmly surveyed the room.
Besides Zhongli Wu and the elders, a few other youngsters stood out — clearly well-supported by others in the sect.
Xu Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
Yan Feng — in the original story, he represented the sect in the second Continental Tournament. Four years later, he reached Soul Sage. His Martial Soul: Bone Dragon, with a twisted Ice attribute. Without Xu Cheng's interference, he would have been the Holy Son.
Lu Genggeng, the chubby one. Seemed harmless, but Xu Cheng knew his Martial Soul: Hatred. Four years later, a powerful Soul Emperor.
Tang Dai and Gu Yu — Martial Souls were Skeleton King and Magic Staff, respectively. Both were Soul Kings in the original timeline.
These four were considered the sect's Golden Generation — unmatched in talent.
Years ago, Xu Cheng had challenged Yan Feng directly and beat him so badly the latter spiraled into depression. Since then, Yan Feng had always been cautious around him.
But today…
Yan Feng was staring back at him — eyes full of challenge.
Xu Cheng smiled faintly.
Zhongli Wu must be ready to make a move.
But not through violence — not yet. Xu Cheng's power base was already strong. Even Zhongli Wu couldn't act rashly.
The first step would likely be undermining Xu Cheng's reputation.
After all, his reputation had surged during the Star Luo Empire's tournament. If he were defeated by the younger generation now, everything he built could crumble.
In the Holy Spirit Sect, might made right — even more than elsewhere.
"That Yan Feng kid seems off. Want me to go test him out?" Tang Ya asked worriedly.
She was a Soul King, after all.
"I'll go, bro. I've got an invincibility shield," Nana said urgently.
The hostility was obvious. If it were anyone but Zhongli Wu and the mysterious Grand Elder, she wouldn't worry — but this was different.
"Invincibility won't help," Xu Cheng said with a grin, patting Tang Ya's head. Nana was too short.
"What?!" both girls exclaimed.
"The enemy's prepared. If either of you fights, you won't last one round," Xu Cheng said calmly.
Logically, Yan Feng shouldn't be a Soul Sage for another four years. But Xu Cheng had already probed him — he was at least at that level now. Something was off.
And the others? Also Soul Emperors, also suspiciously stable.
Not the kind of power you'd get from overdosing on pills — no, this was real.
"Interesting. Very interesting." Xu Cheng smiled again.
Zhongli Wu would probably ban the use of the Heavenly Court battlesuit later.
But was Xu Cheng afraid?
Not in the slightest.
If Zhongli Wu thought this would topple him… then he didn't mind letting them all witness his true power.
And as for these overconfident upstarts?
They'd better not end up crying.
"Alright, quiet down."
Finally, Zhongli Wu's voice echoed from the front. Instantly, silence fell. All eyes turned to him, waiting.
"This year's competition begins now. Anyone want to issue a challenge?" he asked calmly.
"I do!"
A raspy voice rang out. A boy with delicate features — Yan Feng — stood up, eyes burning with a frenzied eagerness. Amid thousands of gazes, he slowly pointed at Xu Cheng.
"I challenge him!"
The hall fell silent — then erupted in gasps.
Xu Cheng, the demon king of his generation, feared throughout the Sun Moon Empire, the Holy Spirit Sect, and beyond…
Someone actually dared challenge him?
(End of Chapter)