The Legend of the Dragon King

After a long pause, he said with some difficulty, “I’m glad you’re alive.”

Tang Wulin gritted his teeth. He withheld his tears. “Everyone’s here. It’s truly wonderful.”

Wu Zhangkong nodded his head lightly. “Follow me.” He strode toward the deeper parts of the cavern.

Tang Wulin followed him, but Xu Yucheng did not. He stood where he was as he looked at Tang Wulin leaving with Wu Zhangkong. He sighed in his heart. He understood that no matter how hard he worked, he would never be as good as Tang Wulin in Teacher Wu’s heart. It was not merely due to Tang Wulin’s outstanding qualities, but the fact they had more than just a student-teacher relationship.

Wu Zhangkong had personally recruited Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, and Gu Yue into Shrek Academy back then. At the same time, they had also proven they were the best with their own abilities.

Now that Tang Wulin was back, Xu Yucheng understood although Teacher Wu did not say much. He understood that he, Wu Siduo, and the others would no longer be the leaders for the surviving Shrek students.

Wu Zhangkong led Tang Wulin further into the refuge shelter. When they passed through a plaza, Tang Wulin saw familiar figures. It was not because he knew them, rather they were all wearing Shrek’s uniform.

Wu Zhangkong did not look back at him. He said as he went, “The academy is still divided into the inner court and the outer court. These students are from the outer court. All the old rules still stand. If they want to enter the inner court, they have to prove their worth, just like you guys back then. Everyone has to work hard.”

When Tang Wulin heard this, the tears which he fought hard to hold back began to flow down his cheeks.

The inner court and the outer court! Those were nostalgic names. He finally heard them once again.

If the inner and outer courts were still standing, then Shrek had never truly died. Shrek was still around. In fact, Shrek’s spirit was also still around!

They passed another passage. There were more facilities in this underground structure than he had anticipated. He did not expect it to be so spacious.

Tang Wulin followed Wu Zhangkong to a stone room. The interior of the stone room was bare of furnishings except for a lonely rush cushion on the floor.

“This is where I cultivate.” Wu Zhangkong turned around and looked at Tang Wulin.

The master and disciple locked eyes. When he saw the tears flowing from Tang Wulin’s eyes, Wu Zhangkong drew a deep breath and manage to suppress his own churning emotions.

“Who else survived?” Wu Zhangkong asked with a deep voice.

Tang Wulin said between sobs, “The seven of us survived, together with Her Excellency the Holy Spirit Douluo. The Pavilion Master had shielded us. He’s the reason why we’re still alive. But the Pavilion Master, he…”

Wu Zhangkong clenched his fists subconsciously. He took a deep breath. “I’m just glad that you guys are alive. Let’s not dwell on the past. We must move on. Whether it’s you or me, our responsibility is to rebuild Shrek, do you understand? What about them? Where are they now?”

Tang Wulin then recounted, in detail, everything that he and his comrades had gone through after the great explosion. He also talked about them joining the different army corps to improve themselves. He also mentioned the Blood God Army and the abyssal plane’s existence.

Wu Zhangkong listened intently. When he heard that Tang Wulin had joined the Federal Star Dou Battle Network Challenge and had emerged as the final victor, his gaze finally softened.

“Very good. All of you are doing well. You haven’t forgotten the academy and your responsibilities. On behalf of the academy, I thank you all.”

Much to Tang Wulin’s surprise, he saw a hint of weakness in Wu Zhangkong at this moment. At the same time, he appeared exhausted.

Just as they did not know that Teacher Wu and the others were alive, similarly, Teacher Wu was unaware they were still alive. All through the years, his teacher, the only surviving one, had to shoulder heavier responsibilities than him. He had witnessed many teachers sacrificing their lives for the students. The pain he was in was unimaginable.

“Teacher Wu, we shall work hard together. We’ll surely rebuild Shrek and make it stronger than before.” Tang Wulin waved his fist strongly.

Wu Zhangkong nodded slowly. “Shrek has never disappeared.”

Tang Wulin asked, “Teacher Wu, how’s everyone right now?”

He needed to assess the situation first. Teacher Wu and his schoolmates were all here. These were all good news, but they were still students. Shrek was never a sect to begin with. It was common practice to seek the good and avoid the bad after having survived a great tragedy. He was interested to know how many of the survivors were willing to contribute to Shrek’s rebuilding.

A dash of pride flashed across Wu Zhangkong’s eyes. “No one has left. Everyone here has taken the oath on their own accord. Everything we have in this life belongs to Shrek. When the godkiller-ranked fixed soul ammunition detonated, we were all dead men. It’s Shrek’s light that has kept us alive. Our mission is to pass on Shrek’s light to the descendants of Shrek. Do you understand what I mean?”

Tang Wulin was shocked. Nobody had left? What did it signify? It meant that over two hundred Shrek Academy students were willing to give Shrek their all.

Just as Wu Zhangkong had said, they regarded themselves as dead after that day. They had cut all ties with the world. They had only one goal for the future which was to restore Shrek. They would ensure that Shrek saw the glory days again.

“Everyone has been cultivating as if there’s no tomorrow for the whole year. In truth, there’s hardly any sunlight in here. A few of us will go out to buy the necessities, and we’re careful about not being seen. The majority never left this place. Although resources were scarce compared to before, everyone was improving at a higher rate than before. The various resources and facilities the academy had left behind in the refuge shelter served their purpose. For the past year, these children improved the quickest.”

When he heard this, Tang Wulin relaxed a bit. “That’s wonderful. With you here, I’m much more relaxed.”

Wu Zhangkong gazed deeply at Tang Wulin. “I’ll always be your support. But, you must remember, Wulin, that you’re the leader of the current Shrek Seven Monsters. You’re the true future of Shrek. Do you understand?”

Tang Wulin was slightly stunned. “Teacher Wu…”

Wu Zhangkong waved his arm. “It wasn’t my idea to pick you as the Shrek Seven Monster’s leader. It was a decision made during the Sea God Pavilion’s meeting. During the meeting, they were shocked by the growth rate of you and your comrades. In the past thousand years, the academy has never produced this many outstanding talents at one time. Back then, the teachers were puzzled as to why such a phenomenon was taking place. Now I understand. Maybe this is what fate has in store for us. It’s precisely because Shrek was about to be struck by a great disaster that you guys appeared. It’s destined that you and your comrades will resist and fight the forces of darkness for Shrek.”

When he said this, passion flashed across his eyes. Tang Wulin could tell that Teacher Wu was a different person now. Shrek Academy’s destruction had impacted him deeply.

“Wulin, what plans do you have after this?” He was distinctively disturbed for a moment, but Wu Zhangkong regained his composure as he directed the question at Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin said, “I want to accumulate strength, to unite all the forces possible, and wait for an opportunity to arise.”

Wu Zhangkong nodded. “You shouldn’t be rash nor should you expose the existing strength of Shrek. The hope of you and your comrades lies in the future. You’re all still very young. You’re already a Soul Saint, yet you’re only twenty-one. Where will you be when you reach my age? What kind of cultivation base will you possess then? You’re not the only one, the same goes for your comrades. We’ve more than two hundred men here and everyone is working hard for Shrek’s restoration. In the near future, you guys may have hundreds of battle armor masters, more than ten Title Douluos, or even Hyper Douluos. Then, you’d have your opportunity. So, my advice is to be patient in whatever you do. If you act in haste, you’ll truly court disaster.”

“Understood.”

These students were handpicked by Shrek. They were, undoubtedly, the most outstanding talents of the day. They had been under immense pressure ever since Shrek was destroyed. On the other hand, it also served as a motivation for them to improve themselves. They were more driven ever since the tragedy occurred.

The specialty of Shrek was in its nurturing of talents. It had lived up to its name as the best academy on the continent. With the collective strength of over two hundred geniuses who were willing to sacrifice their lives for Shrek, they would indeed prove to be a formidable force in the future!