Chapter 55 – The Scorched Path and the Mirror of Guilt
The match against Blazing Academy was supposed to be another stepping stone. In Tang San's mind, his Blue Silver Grass was invincible. But as he stood across from Huo Wu, he felt a heat that didn't just warm the air–it threatened to consume it.
"Begin!"
Tang San launched his Blue Silver Prison, expecting the vines to shrug off the heat as they had in his dreams of grandeur. Huo Wu sneered, her fourth spirit ring, a shimmering flame-red, flashing brilliantly.
"Fourth Spirit Skill: Ember Meteor Shower!"
In the canon, Tang San would have walked through this fire like a god. Here, the moment the sparks touched the vines, the Blue Silver Grass didn't just burn; it disintegrated. The smell of scorched earth filled the arena.
"What?!" Tang San gasped, his hands seared by the feedback of his shattered martial soul. "It... it's just fire! Why can't my grass hold?!"
"Your grass is just weeds, Tang San!" Huo Wu laughed, her flames rising higher.
Tang San was forced into a desperate retreat. With his primary control method turned into kindling, he had to rely on his "Self-Created" techniques. He used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step to dodge a pillar of fire, but the heat singed his hair and blistered his skin. Finally, out of options and unwilling to lose, he manifested the Clear Sky Hammer to blast a path through the flames.
He won, but he left the stage limping, his arms covered in second-degree burns. The "invincibility" of the Shrek Captain was a lie, and the audience could see the cracks.
Days later, the tension reached its peak as Shrek faced Canghui Academy. The atmosphere was toxic; the death of Shi Nian at the hands of the Martial Soul Hall had left the Canghui students fueled by a suicidal rage.
"You killed our teacher," the Canghui Captain spat. "Now, we show you the true meaning of a nightmare."
"Seven-in-One Fusion Skill: Seven-Colored Death Domain!"
A dome of iridescent, shifting light engulfed the stage. In the canon, Tang San's Purple Demon Eye and his mental skull bone would have shattered this illusion instantly. But here, Tang San was vulnerable. He had no mental protection.
The light hit him, and he didn't just see an illusion—he fell back into the abyss of his own guilt.
Inside the dome, Tang San didn't see the arena. He saw the Tang Sect's Great Hall again. But this time, the Shi Nian illusion was amplified by the combined power of seven people. He saw the faces of the Tang Sect Elders, their eyes weeping blood.
"Thief... Thief... THIEF!" the voices chanted.
Tang San clutched his head, screaming. Every time he tried to use a Tang Sect technique, the Controlling Crane or the Mysterious Jade Hand, he felt a phantom pain in his soul, as if the techniques themselves were rejecting him. The illusion forced him to relive the moment he jumped off Hell's Peak, but instead of reincarnating, he felt himself falling forever, mocked by the ancestors he had betrayed.
The rest of the Shrek team fared no better. Dai Mubai was reliving his cowardice in Star Luo, and Ma Hongjun was consumed by his own lustful fires. The "Monsters" were whimpering on the floor, defeated by their own shadows.
The match ended in a chaotic draw as the referees had to intervene to stop the mental feedback from killing the students. Shrek was dragged off the stage, their reputations in tatters.
While Tang San lay in the infirmary, his mind fractured by the "Thief" chant, Yu Scumgang sat in the corner, his eyes glittering with a predatory greed. He wasn't worried about his students' mental health; he was obsessed with the Seven-in-One Fusion Skill.
"If I can adapt that..." Scumgang whispered. "If I can combine the energy of seven people and channel it into Tang San's Hammer... we could kill a Titled Douluo. But Tang San can't handle that much data. He needs a control method."
He looked at Ning Rongrong, who was sitting by the window, looking worried. Scumgang approached her, his face twisting into a mask of fatherly concern.
"Rongrong," he said softly. "The team is in danger. Tang San is... he's losing his confidence. The only way to save Shrek is if we can perfect a multi-control formation. I've read about your clan's Distraction Heart Control. It's the key to our survival."
Rongrong looked up, surprised. "But... Grandmaster, that's a secret technique of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Only the direct line can learn it. I would need my father's permission."
Scumgang's expression darkened. He let out a long, heavy sigh. "I understand. I suppose Tang San's future isn't worth a family secret. After all he's done for you... after he sharwd his knowledge about his hidden weapon... it's a shame he has to suffer because of a 'rule.'"
"That's not fair!" Rongrong cried, her eyes tearing up. "Tang San is my brother! But my father–"
"Your father is a man of business," Scumgang interrupted, his voice dripping with guilt-tripping poison. "But you? You are a member of Shrek. Do you want to see Tang San collapse in the Finals? Do you want to be the reason we lose to the 'tyrants' of the Martial Soul Hall? Every moment you hesitate, Tang San's spirit breaks a little more."
He turned away, pretending to be disappointed. "Go ahead. Keep your secrets. We'll just have to hope Tang San survives the next match without any help."
Rongrong's heart shattered. She was young, and Scumgang knew exactly how to weaponize her loyalty. "Wait! Grandmaster... I'll do it. I'll teach it to you. Just... don't tell my father. If it's to save the team, it's for the greater good, right?"
Scumgang turned back, a cold, triumphant smirk hidden in the shadows of his cloak. "You're a brave girl, Rongrong. It's for the greater good. Tang San will be so proud of 'us' when he wakes up."
As Scumgang began to dissect the stolen Distraction Heart Control, the tournament announcements blared across the city.
The final match of the Heaven Dou Qualifiers: Shrek Academy vs. Tianshui Academy.
In the infirmary, Tang San opened his eyes. They were bloodshot and hollow. He could still hear the chanting in his head. Thief. Thief. "I'm not a thief," he whispered, his hand shaking as he reached for his hammer. "I'll prove it. I'll break Tianshui. I'll break them all."
But miles away, in the Tianshui camp, Shui Yue'er was practicing a simple, elegant movement. She wasn't preparing a "stolen" fusion or a "stolen" control technique. She was just breathing in the rhythm of the Flow.
"He's coming," Yue'er said to her captain, Xue Wu. "The 'Hero' with the hammer. Let's show him what happens when a fake god meets the real Sky."