Chapter 200: One Life, One Pair of Souls? Who Are You?
Deep within the Sunset Forest—far beyond the reach of even a Titled Douluo—lay the ruins of the Icefire Yin‑Yang Well.
The ground there was blanketed by sprawling fields of Azure Scale Seven‑Petaled Flowers, their radiance bleeding into the mist.
Were it not for the Myriad Beast King personally overseeing the area, harnessing the authority of plant‑type soul beast royalty to keep them restrained, this entire patch of flowers could have poisoned half the Douluo Federation by now.
To secure the territory, the Myriad Beast King had devised a clever pretext—rebuilding the Sunset Forest "for ecological protection."
Under that banner, the Sunset Forest Research Institute was established—a front for the restoration project, but in truth, a laboratory devoted to studying the toxins of the Azure Scaled Flowers.
Once the continent's greatest forest apart from Star Dou, this land had been ravaged by over‑harvesting until soul beasts there nearly went extinct.
But its foundation remained; with nurturing and time, it could once again flourish.
And with the Myriad Beast King's personal intervention, everything progressed swiftly.
The Federation had tried for years to recruit him to restore withered ecosystems. Every time, he refused.
Plants thrived by draining vitality, not replenishing it; mending landscapes meant spending his own cultivation power—for no personal gain. The resources the Federation offered held little value to him anyway.
It was far better to remain by the Lake of Life and meditate.
But this time—he had accepted.
All because Yue Chen had once carried away those heavenly herbs and the remains of the Ice‑Fire Dragon Kings.
That did not strip this land of its power entirely; the aura of miracles still ran through its veins, intensified now by the proliferation of Azure Scale Flowers.
"The signature's done. Emperor Tian approved it," he muttered.
The Federation had gladly agreed to this research site. Emperor Tian's consent to let him leave Star Dou Forest, however, was another matter altogether.
After all, with resources dwindling and energy consumption rising, even the Star Dou Forest strained to survive, and they needed him there.
Still, Emperor Tian had permitted it.
Standing amid the sea of living blossoms, the Myriad Beast King exhaled contentedly. "Hmph."
With a single sound, ten thousand flowers bowed their heads in reverence.
At Douluo University, the clash between Long Yue and Qian Gu Zhangting had shocked the world for ten thousand years to come.
No one else dared step into the arena afterward.
Exchange? Compete? For what?
Those two had obliterated the stage, nearly leveling the whole Lingbing Plaza.
Anyone following that performance would only embarrass themselves.
Even Shrek Academy abandoned the rest of its sparring matches—the sight of such power had said enough.
Still, this outcome was well within Shrek's expectations.
They had already boosted their students' soul power to Rank 49 using the academy's accumulated treasures. The next step was to "borrow" a few souls from the Spirit Pagoda under the guise of an exchange program and push them cleanly into the Rank 50 threshold.
After that, months of joint training would perfect their team synergy.
Shrek was certain: they might lose an individual match, but never the team event.
For them, only team victory mattered.
Ordinary duels were nothing but sideshows.
But Douluo University saw things very differently.
A team match? Nice for show, but not essential.
Among soul masters, true power stemmed from individuals. Past the level of Titled Douluo, who ever fought seven‑on‑seven battles anymore?
Team competitions were simply performances—fireworks for emperors and citizens to watch, proof of educational prestige.
Yet for the Federation today, such "spectacles" meant nothing.
They sought innovators—minds that could advance civilization—or future Limit Douluo who would guard humanity's cosmic frontier.
Hence, Douluo University hadn't even bothered with consistent team training.
Its seven‑person lineup wasn't even finalized.
Two schools, two philosophies—polar opposites.
If Shrek wanted honor, Douluo was happy to give it to them.
On Shrek's side, Long Yue was already under intensive recovery treatment. The rest of the team could only sigh.
They had not foreseen that Douluo University harbored someone capable of matching Long Yue blow for blow—someone not listed in a single intelligence file.
Only Na'er, perhaps, could stand against such an opponent.
"Wait—where is Na'er?"
They looked around, realizing she had been sitting in the back with her milk carton not long ago—but she was gone.
On the far end of Lingbing Plaza, two figures faced each other quietly.
Na'er spoke first. "Where's Jiang Chen?"
Snow Empress replied, "I don't know. Gu Yue took him away."
The mention of that name made Na'er's hand clench into a fist.
Gu Yue… have you really gone this far?
"So this is how you play it?" she whispered. "For Jiang Chen, you'd resort to such tricks?"
Snow Empress tilted her head. "Tricks?"
Na'er's eyes gleamed with determination. "It doesn't matter. This time, I won't lose to you again."
She was convinced: Gu Yue wanted to use Jiang Chen as leverage, to force her into retreat.
But this time… the one who vanished wouldn't be her.
Yes, Gu Yue was the Silver Dragon King. But so was she.
One of them had to disappear—
and the one who remained would be the true Silver Dragon King.
While she burned with resolve, Snow Empress hesitated, then asked softly, "Does Jiang Chen… like you?"
Na'er froze.
"What? Why would you ask that?"
No one had ever posed that question to her before, much less so bluntly. It scrambled her thoughts completely.
Snow Empress murmured, "He clearly still thinks of you. You betrayed him, yet his heart hasn't changed."
Snow Empress had seen his communicator—how he'd pinned Na'er's name, the endless private chats between them.
They messaged more than she ever spoke to him face‑to‑face. She could hardly believe it.
(Jiang Chen: "Face‑to‑face? You're an iceberg. What's there to talk about?")
"I never betrayed him!" Na'er cried.
Her voice shook with anger.
"I never betrayed him!"
It was true.
If anything, she'd followed his plan from the start—joining Shrek to infiltrate and deliver countless secrets from the Sea God Pavilion itself.
And every time she remembered how kindly her mentors had treated her, guilt gnawed at her heart.
But she couldn't stop.
At first it was debt, manipulation—then he simply became her world.
Her every step had orbited Jiang Chen.
"I never betrayed him," Na'er repeated fiercely, glaring at Snow Empress.
If not for Snow Empress's connection to him, she might've already lashed out.
Snow Empress's brow tightened.
"Then what are you to him?" she asked coldly.
In her heart, Snow Empress had always imagined she and Jiang Chen would ascend together—one lifetime, one pair of souls.
Yet now, she discovered he had someone else—someone who mattered even more.
And that, she could not forgive.
(END CHAPTER)
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