The experiment titled "Shrek Glory Loyalty Gu vs. Long Bing Love Oblivion Gu" reached its fever pitch within just one year. As Zhangting predicted, the Shrek Inner Court was no place for secrets.
1. The Betrayal of Shrek
Ya Li, the "kindest woman on the continent," caught Long Bing stealing secrets. Though there was no proof of her being an Evil Soul Master, the breach of trust was enough. Long Bing was expelled. In this first clash, Love Oblivion Gu crushed Shrek Glory.
Wu Changkong, blinded by devotion, abandoned his status, his teachers, and his future at Shrek to wander the world with his "Ice Queen." For a brief moment, they were a couple out of a fairy tale—free, unrestrained, and galloping toward a bright horizon.
2. The Father's Strike
The fairy tale was shattered when they crossed paths with Dark Hummingbird. The Super Douluo didn't see a daughter; he saw an asset and a target. When Wu Changkong—driven by his resurrected Shrek Glory—resolutely refused to join the Holy Spirit Cult, Dark Hummingbird struck to kill.
Long Bing did exactly what her heart dictated: she blocked the blow with her own body.
3. The Resurrection and the Pivot
As Long Bing lay dying, her survival instinct led her to the sky-blue necklace—the "gift" Zhangting had forced upon her. The hidden high-level spirit tool activated, protecting her meridians and emitting a warm current that pulled her back from the brink of death.
Before Wu Changkong could even process the miracle, Ao Wuchang and the Spirit Pagoda team arrived. They didn't just save her; they rebranded her.
The New Identity: Long Bing was officially presented as a Spirit Master of the Spirit Pagoda.
The Ultimatum: Having been abandoned by her father and expelled by Shrek, the "bouncy coconut egg" had nowhere else to go. She fully embraced Zhangting's path.
The Broken Prodigy
Wu Changkong stood frozen as his goddess, now dressed in the luxurious robes of the Spirit Pagoda, turned to him and asked him to join her.
The social complexity was too much for his young heart. In a single year:
His lover was a student.
Then a spy.
Then an Evil Soul Master's daughter.
Then a martyr.
And finally, a high-ranking official of the Spirit Pagoda.
His mind was a battlefield of "Mission Impossible" scenarios. Had it been any other power, he might have followed her into the sunset. But Spirit Pagoda was the one entity Shrek taught its students to view with the most suspicion.
The Seven-Year Stagnation Begins
Zhangting, reading the report in the depths of the Body Sect, smiled. He had successfully "broken" the most promising prodigy of Shrek's current generation. Wu Changkong wouldn't join the Spirit Pagoda yet, but he could no longer return to Shrek with a pure heart. He was a man without a home, haunted by a goddess who was now a "hostage" of the organization he was taught to distrust.
Progress Report: The Chessboard at Year OnePieceStatusLocationInfluenceTang Wulin (Unborn)Parents PregnantAolai CityIndebted via Mother-Child LotusMang TianLevel 5 GrandmasterAolai CityFunded & Positioned by ZhangtingLong BingPersonal SecretarySpirit Pagoda HQLife saved; total submissionWu ChangkongMentally BrokenWanderingLove vs. Loyalty conflict activeYuan En FamilyIntegratedHQ / Heaven CityClan loyalty securedExport to SheetsChapter 45: Seven Years
Seven years have passed in a flash. Zhangting is no longer that nine-year-old boy; he is an adolescent with a body tempered by the Body Sect and a mind sharpened by the Pagoda. The "Minor Achievement" in the Innate Secret Method was just the beginning.
"Seven years," Zhangting mused, the Golden Runes under his skin glowing with a faint, divine light. "The real players are finally taking the stage."
While he remains the "hostage" of the Body Sect, the world outside has changed. Tang Wulin is growing up in Aolai City, and Yuanen Yehui is cultivating within the Spirit Pagoda.
Zhangting's first move in this new era? He's going to visit a small, coastal city to see a certain "Blue Silver Grass" awaken.