"How is Xuan Tong?"
"I don't want to have the same last name as Xiao Jin. It makes us feel like real brothers."
"Hah, you think I like the way you look?" Xuan Ji sneered mercilessly. "Ugly as hell. Since when do good people make their eyes their original form? Freakish."
"You're the ugly one—your whole family's ugly!" Big Eyes retorted angrily.
"Omniscient Eye?" Su Wen ignored their bickering and continued brainstorming.
"It's possible, but 'Omniscient Eye' is just too long—a bit of a mouthful," Big Eyes glared at Xuan Ji hesitantly.
"Well, if you can influence time, why not call yourself 'Time Sequence (Shi Xu)'? Maybe, with luck, you could become the God of Space-Time in the future!" Su Wen chuckled.
"Shi Xu..."
"Or just call yourself the Evil Emperor."
"That works too. Shi Xu it is."
"..."
"Now, can you take me ten thousand years into the future?" Su Wen asked with a smile.
"It's possible..." Big Eyes hesitated. "But I still can't do it yet. I can only place one anchor in the river of time—that's my current limit. Placing a second one... at least not until you reach Spirit Douluo. My cultivation would have to reach at least 700,000 years."
"Spirit Douluo, huh." Su Wen's eyes narrowed.
"Exactly!"
"I see."
Su Wen nodded. For him, increasing his cultivation was just a matter of time and patience.
Soon...
"Right, since the River of Time connects the past, present, and future, if I was born in this era, wouldn't I change future events?" Su Wen suddenly thought of this.
"Or would time itself correct that?"
"It won't," Big Eyes shook his head.
"We're all supposed to be 'in history', following the progression of all destined events, step by step—even the Children of Fate or powerful gods. But you're different..."
"You're a living anomaly, and your actions, thoughts, and every move stir the mighty river of time, shaking everything."
Su Wen was stunned.
"Then how can you say nothing will change ten thousand years from now?"
"To be more precise, when I set an anchor in the river of time and led you through it, I sensed a hidden yet real force. It seems that your present self has become a node, severing the river of time after this point."
"Severed?" Su Wen was speechless.
"Yes," Big Eyes said gravely. "To put it simply, after it was cut off, you can no longer influence the future. Otherwise, your appearance alone would devastate the river of time. You're just too unpredictable—especially if you travel at will. The backlash would be catastrophic."
"So you're saying... that 'It' helped me?" Su Wen was shocked.
"..."
Big Eyes fell silent.
"A good person, huh..." Su Wen sighed. "Hey, Big Eyes, the being who can sever the river of time—could it be the God of Space-Time?"
"Hard to say, but Its power is much scarier than any god of the Divine Realm—even the current Elder Yi can't compare."
"So... could this be an existence beyond the Divine Realm?"
"It's possible." Elder Yi intervened calmly.
In the sea of consciousness, a slender figure condensed from gray appeared. Elder Yi, hands clasped behind his back, joined the mental conversation.
Su Wen grinned.
He suspected Elder Yi thought Divine Realm was too boring and kept checking in on him just for fun.
"I never sensed him in Divine Realm. I even asked Destruction—there's no God of Space-Time there. That throne used to be the Dragon God's, but after being split, the remnant was taken by the Silver Dragon King..."
"Then why do you think it's possible?" Su Wen was puzzled.
"Heh. The end of the universe is not the Divine Realm..." Elder Yi said mysteriously.
"Hiss..."
Su Wen's pupils shrank: he got it instantly.
Across the whole Douluo Universe, the Divine Realm was just the top force—not its creator.
Just an early player, not its true god.
If some bug-level existence managed the right of space-time—even Tang San could barely stand against them.
Was someone like that really eyeing him?
Su Wen felt both honored and nervous.
He shook his head and focused.
His top priority: advance to Spirit Douluo.
"A long road ahead..."
Months flashed by.
Shrek Academy was peaceful and quiet.
After the Sea God's Fate festival, Su Wen, who received countless confessions from the Academy's best girls, became a hot topic among inner court disciples. The once-stagnant inner courtyard now buzzed with life as senior students returned from missions, like new buds on Sea God Island.
The trial arena Su Wen had built, grew more complete as his own strength rose—with Big Eyes continually improving it…
Even Yan Shaozhe tried it. He was cheerful at first, but after meeting Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng and others, his confidence faded.
With the academy head unable to pass, curiosity exploded amongst other disciples—some even egged Elder Xuan to go try!
No one noticed, though, that Su Wen—the root cause—had quietly vanished.
Golden Ancient Tree.
At the once silent core of Sea God Island, invisible waves suddenly rippled out at astonishing speed.
Countless gazes turned to the center.
"Spirit Douluo?!"
In the Martial Soul Department, Elder Xuan, bored and drinking, spat his wine in shock all over Yan Shaozhe.
"Elder Xuan, I can feel it. No need for you to remind me…" Yan Shaozhe wiped his face unamused.
"He was able to beat you during his Soul Sage days—now as Spirit Douluo, isn't he basically going to crush you?" Elder Xuan looked stunned.
Yan Shaozhe: "..."
"Elder, could you please compare me with someone else for once? I'm just the humble dean of the martial soul division. Is this fun for you?" Yan Shaozhe retorted.
He was weak—all right, he admitted it.
But comparing him to a monster was just cruel.
"...Unless, have you passed the trial arena?" Yan Shaozhe side-eyed Elder Xuan. Unbeknownst to most, he knew Elder Xuan snuck in when nobody was looking. Elite experts rarely have chances to test themselves safely these days, so Elder Xuan couldn't resist.
Moreover, with Big Eyes using godly power to create the trial arena—it even included primal divine energy, enough to tire out any normal Soul Master. Passing a stage now even came with rewards: boosts in soul power, spirit bones, rare metals from the Treasury…
"Cough, cough…" Elder Xuan looked awkward.
"The last stage is Ye Xishui—the Ultimate Douluo herself! How could I stand it?" Elder Xuan complained.
"Oh, so the final stage truly was an ultimate expert," Yan Shaozhe sighed.
Looks like he may never clear it.
The only hope—maybe the Academy's own teacher.
At his peak, Mu En truly was terrifying.
"Wait a sec!" Yan Shaozhe blurted. "But before that… wasn't there a Level 98 Super Douluo from the Holy Spirit Cult, the chief Zhongli Wu? You passed him too?"
"Cough, cough…" Elder Xuan broke into a fit of coughing.
No, he got stuck there…
That night he restarted dozens of times, but was wiped out every time. He didn't even get to see the ultimate experts.
That undead bone dragon alone was nearly enough to give him PTSD.
Yan Shaozhe's look was complicated.
"Shaozhe, weather's cold, dress warmly…" Elder Xuan said gloomily.
"Don't worry, I won't tell a soul!"
"..."
Elder Xuan stumbled, glared at Yan Shaozhe, then soared off toward the golden tree.
Inside the Golden Cabin.
Su Wen rose lazily and stretched out.
"Hooo…"
As he opened his inky black eyes, he caught Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena, trying to sneak away.
"Um, I'm just going to check how Di Tian and the others are cultivating in the Star Dou Forest…" Gu Yuena said, flustered.
"Oh?" Su Wen grinned.
"Mm-hmm!" Gu Yuena nodded repeatedly, acting all innocent but inwardly groaning.
"Let's play a round?" Su Wen teased, lifting her chin.
"Ugh!" Gu Yuena puffed her cheeks. "If you dare, wait till I return to my real form and we'll fight it out!"
"Picking on me in my human form doesn't count!"
"…"
Su Wen's face froze. He shook his head and gently caressed her smooth cheek.
"Never mind, then. I'm not into anything too strange."
"What about… half?" Gu Yuena suddenly licked her lips and grinned mysteriously.
"Half?"
As Su Wen stared, puzzled, a silver dragon tail slowly curled around his waist, pulling them closer. Two silver dragon horns sprouted above her head.
"Oh?"
Gu Yuena's lips curled into a smile.
"So… this is okay?"
"Don't change back—what I want is the dragon girl…"
As they became entwined once again, the golden vine closed the curtains reluctantly, wrapping them in a cocoon.
Ah Yin sighed.
Life sure was tough for her now…
Sea God Pavilion.
All the elders gathered, their faces alight with excitement as they looked at Su Wen.
"Xiao Wen, just tell this old man—did you really advance to Spirit Douluo?" Elder Zhuang came over with a kindly face, whispering.
But as soon as he spoke, the entire hall fell silent, tense with anticipation. Su Wen could sense that, though they were talking among themselves, everyone was listening hard.
"Yes."
Su Wen nodded.
"Pa!" Elder Zhuang was thrilled—he was more excited about Su Wen's Spirit Douluo breakthrough than about his own advancement to Ultimate Douluo.
Who could blame him? This kid was a monster.
Back when he was a Soul Sage, he survived encounters with Ultimate Douluo—now as a Spirit Douluo, surely he could even beat Elder Xuan?
The other elders smiled, too.
"Silence!"
At the head, Mu En appeared.
"This meeting has only one purpose: to select the new Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion. I am too old. Like the other elders, I hope to retire and finally enjoy my remaining years. You wouldn't want to see this old bag of bones toiling away at over a hundred years old, would you?"
Laughter filled the hall.
"It's true, a bit cruel to the elderly..." Xian Lin'er covered her mouth and laughed.
"This era is yours now." Mu En looked at Su Wen.
Clearly, today was about passing on the role of Pavilion Master.
With experience overseeing the Shrek Academy's Supervision Team, Su Wen now had a trustworthy core team—perhaps the most elite generation of supervisors in centuries.
Teacher's affection—second only to blood—was the best bond.
Once these elites integrated more deeply, they would become Su Wen's best helpers, managing all of Shrek Academy.
Moreover, Su Wen's reputation stood at a new peak.
Even the elders behaved themselves in his presence.
"...Fine!"
Su Wen nodded.
The Pavilion Master's power truly held the reins at Shrek, and now he was taking it from Mu En's hands.
He looked around.
Everyone clapped.
At the end sat Zhang Lexuan, smiling like a crescent moon; Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er looked genuinely moved...
But of course, Su Wen still had other important things to do.
"Not using a Poké Ball?" Gu Yuena hesitated. "Won't Tang San find out and try to stop us...?"
"The closer you are to success, the more you think about the risks…" Su Wen shook his head with a smile. "No need."
"Let's do it right here, on Sea God Island."
"Are you ready?"
"Yes!" Gu Yuena took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
The riddle that had plagued her for countless years was finally about to be solved.
Of course, she was nervous.
Su Wen opened his palm—a golden sphere floated upward. No capture limit.
"Come, Silver Dragon King!"
...