Chapter 4: Absolute Loyalty
Huo Yuhao left behind a lingering feeling of mystery and sorrow, and it was not merely a passing impression that could be easily ignored.
It was something obvious—something visible in the eyes of those who knew him, in their silence whenever his name was mentioned, and even in the way they spoke about him, as though the very atmosphere itself grew quieter out of respect for his suffering.
Qiu'er.
Jiuzi.
And many others.
Every single one of them behaved as though Huo Yuhao was the person who had endured the greatest pain in the entire world.
As though his suffering alone outweighed everyone else's.
Sometimes, it even felt as though everything he went through was enough to swallow the pain of others entirely, pushing their stories into the background until they no longer mattered.
And that alone was enough to awaken a cold discomfort inside my chest.
A heavy, frozen feeling that slowly accumulated the deeper I thought about it.
But the problem did not end there.
Because even during tournaments and competitions…
He cheated.
And he did not do it secretly or with shame. Instead, he acted as though it were completely natural, justifying everything with the excuse of protecting Shrek Academy's honor.
A faint mocking laugh escaped me as that justification crossed my mind once again.
What a ridiculous joke.
Since when did it become normal for a Spirit Master to receive hidden assistance during official competitions?
And since when did cheating become nothing more than a method for victory, only for everyone to then treat it as something noble deserving respect?
If that logic was truly acceptable…
Then would it also be fair for the Sun Moon Royal Academy to send a Rank 9 soul tool to assist their own team?
Wouldn't that also count as help?
Where does this kind of logic even end?
I slowly let out a breath while my gaze grew colder.
Perhaps Tang San was sometimes excessively strict when it came to standards and rules.
And perhaps he crossed the line with certain decisions.
But Huo Yuhao…
Crossed every line without even the slightest hesitation.
There was none of that small uncertainty that usually appears in the eyes of someone who knows they are doing something wrong.
Nor that faint inner conflict revealing that their conscience is still alive.
There was no shame.
No guilt.
Not even an attempt to hide it.
He treated cheating as though it were something completely natural.
As though it had been part of the game from the very beginning.
As though victory alone was enough to justify everything.
Without any true competitive spirit.
Without even the most basic respect for what a confrontation between Spirit Masters was supposed to mean.
What difference was there between that and using performance-enhancing drugs in the Olympics?
The more I thought about it, the clearer the similarity became.
The same idea.
The same twisting of the rules.
And that hollow emptiness inside a person that made them willing to do absolutely anything for victory.
And of course, it was not strange that Tang San approved of it.
How could he possibly reject it?
In the end, someone like Huo Yuhao was the perfect model in his eyes.
As that thought passed through my mind, my lips slowly pressed together unconsciously while my fingers curled slightly at my side.
Even my brows gradually lowered as I stared silently into the darkness ahead, as though I could see all those old scenes replaying inside my mind piece by piece once again.
But it was not explosive anger.
It was something far colder than that.
A quiet and heavy resentment.
The kind of feeling that does not burn violently, but instead settles deep inside the heart and remains there for a very long time.
I slowly took a breath before raising my gaze toward the sky above the forest.
In any case…
In this timeline, I had no intention of getting involved with Tang Ya.
Or Jiang Nannan.
Or any of the other versions that existed here.
And it was not because they lacked value, nor because their existence meant nothing to me.
But because the matter had already been settled inside my heart long ago.
The emotions and effort I gave belonged to the original versions I personally knew.
To the girls I had truly spent time with, gradually learning to understand them while each of us quietly left marks upon the other.
And because of that…
I would never be able to treat these versions the same way, no matter how similar they appeared.
Timelines may repeat themselves.
And faces may look identical.
But I knew the difference very well.
There are always small things no one else notices.
A certain way of looking at someone.
A brief silence between words.
A faint smile appearing at exactly the right moment.
Things that seem meaningless to others, yet for me they were enough to distinguish the real person from merely another version.
I closed my eyes briefly before releasing a quiet breath.
I would meet them again soon.
Just thinking about that slightly eased the heaviness accumulated inside my chest.
Not completely…
But enough for me to continue moving forward.
As for now, within this current timeline…
The corner of my mouth slowly lifted as a faint smile appeared.
It was finally time to meet Tang San's daughter.
And merely thinking about that caused my gaze to gradually settle while my eyes became colder and sharper.
According to the original events, the Tang Sect possessed a limited annual quota allowing a certain number of students to enter Shrek Academy without taking the official entrance examination.
But after two students had already been accepted…
Only a single spot remained.
One seat.
A number that looked simple on the surface, yet in reality carried behind it complicated calculations, intertwined relationships, and arrangements no one needed to say aloud.
And although Tang Ya and Bei Bei never directly stated it, I understood very well that the situation was far from as simple as they pretended it to be.
Their gazes were not empty.
And their actions were not entirely natural.
Something was quietly moving beneath the surface—something understood more through subtle hints and the way they handled things than through words themselves.
And I was not naïve enough to ignore that.
Bei Bei was not merely an ordinary talented student.
The fact that he belonged to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan alone was enough to understand half the picture.
The name he carried.
The background supporting him.
And the status that required no direct explanation.
All of that made the truth clear from the very beginning.
That reserved seat within Shrek Academy had already been prepared for Huo Yuhao long ago.
A cold and undeniable fact.
As though everything had been arranged far before the events themselves had even begun.
I closed my eyes briefly before slowly opening them again.
There was no confusion inside my mind.
Not even the slightest trace of hesitation.
Only that sharp clarity that appears when someone knows exactly what they intend to do.
But despite all of that…
Possessing the Gate of Worlds and Time changed everything.
I was no longer bound to a single timeline.
Nor to a single world.
I could travel to any world I desired and move between timelines however I wished.
And precisely there…
Lay the true difference.
The difference that made those unchangeable truths they believed were absolute… far less solid than they imagined.
I closed my eyes briefly before slowly opening them again while everything inside me gradually settled into place.
There was no confusion.
No hesitation.
Only that cold clarity that appears when someone knows exactly what they are about to do.
My breathing remained calm and steady while my gaze stayed perfectly still without the slightest tremble. Even the faint curve of my brows carried no doubt—only absolute certainty.
If this world had been arranged this way from the very beginning…
That did not mean I would move within it according to their wishes.
And if that seat within Shrek Academy had already been reserved for Huo Yuhao…
That did not mean events would continue unfolding as they did in the original story.
Not anymore.
Not while I existed here.
Because in the end, I possess the Gate of Worlds and Time.
The ability to travel between timelines and different worlds made those so-called fixed truths far less solid than everyone believed.
But at this moment, I did not even need to rely on the Tang Sect's special quota in the first place.
Because I possessed something better.
The Absolute Loyalty Cards.
Those cards were not physical objects others could see or touch. Instead, they rested deep within my consciousness, like sealed symbols engraved into my soul from the very moment I obtained them.
And the instant I focused upon them, their forms appeared clearly inside my mind.
Not all of them were the same type.
Some lasted only for a single hour.
Others could continue for days or years.
As for the highest tier…
It was permanent.
Forever.
After several quiet seconds of thought, I finally made my decision.
Within my consciousness, my will slowly reached toward one of the cards.
The Eternal Absolute Loyalty Card.
Nothing moved in reality, and no light appeared before anyone's eyes.
But deep within my mind, the card released a dark golden radiance, as though it had responded to my choice.
Then I calmly selected my targets.
Elder Mu En.
And immediately after him…
Di Tian.
As well as every ferocious beast within the Great Star Dou Forest.
The corner of my mouth slowly lifted.
If I was going to change this world…
Then naturally, I would begin from the very peak.
And the moment that decision settled completely within my mind, my thoughts began extending far beyond mere cards or the plans I had prepared for myself.
They stretched toward this world itself.
Toward the rules upon which it stood.
And toward those who believed they alone possessed the right to decide what was good and what was evil.
Truthfully, I never believed that Spirit Hall's ambitions were entirely wrong.
Every force in this world pursues its own goals, and every person views matters from their own perspective.
No one possesses the absolute right to declare one side pure justice while labeling the other absolute evil.
At the very least, during Spirit Hall's era, Spirit Masters received stable salaries that allowed them to survive, and even ordinary civilians could awaken their martial souls for free.
But after its fall…
Everything changed.
Under the unmatched rule of the Tang Sect, wealth and status became more important than ever before.
And who cared about the poor if they lacked sufficient strength or influence?
From Spirit Hall's perspective, they were trying to unify the continent and serve the greater good in their own way.
As for Tang San and his companions…
They seemed far closer to guardians of the old aristocratic order.
And after Spirit Hall was completely destroyed, even Slaughter City failed to escape the same fate.
It too fell under the control of Tang San—the man who always claimed to represent righteousness and justice.
But afterward, chaos gradually began spreading across the continent.
Evil Spirit Masters appeared almost everywhere, while nobles fought over power more viciously than before. Even the once prosperous Heaven Dou Empire eventually split into the Sky Spirit Empire and the Douling Empire.
As for me…
I was merely someone standing at the side, watching all of these contradictions with uncomfortable clarity.
I slowly let out a breath while faint mockery surfaced within my eyes.
Under the Tang Sect's unrivaled rule, the entire world felt unbalanced from the very beginning.
Especially after entering the Great Star Dou Forest and witnessing events with my own eyes.
Shrek Academy's admission requirements were supposedly extremely strict.
A recommendation letter from someone at the level of a city lord.
No older than twelve years old.
And spiritual power no lower than Rank Fifteen.
Those were the publicly announced rules for everyone.
But Huo Yuhao did not truly satisfy most of them in the first place.
His innate talent was relatively ordinary at the beginning, his spiritual power was nothing particularly exceptional, and he did not even possess the required recommendation letter.
And yet…
In the end, he entered Shrek Academy with ease.
He even obtained a place within the Tang Sect itself.
Everything felt prearranged in a way that was difficult to ignore.
As though fate itself had been clearing the road before him from the very beginning.
And that was precisely why I had no need to rely on the Tang Sect's special quota.
I did not need to wait for anyone's favor.
Nor did I need to walk the same road that seemed to have been prepared for Huo Yuhao from the very beginning.
I possessed more than enough to surpass all of that.
And I possessed my own methods for opening closed doors.
That was why I chose to use one of the Absolute Loyalty Cards.
And the target I selected…
Was Elder Mu En.
Alongside the ferocious beasts residing within the Great Star Dou Forest.
My choice was not random.
Nor was it merely a temporary step forced upon me by the current situation.
It was a carefully calculated decision.
A calm and precise decision capable of changing the direction of events from their very roots.
At that moment, my mind felt strangely clear.
No confusion.
No hesitation.
Only that cold sensation that appears when I know exactly what must be done.
I stood silently for several moments while my breathing gradually stabilized.
If the Tang Sect and Sea God Pavilion had already arranged everything beforehand…
That did not mean I would accept those arrangements as they were.
And if this world had been designed to serve certain individuals…
That did not mean I would allow it to bind me with those same rules.
From this moment onward, I would use everything I possessed.
And I would seize what I wanted with my own hands.
I slowly raised my head before beginning to walk toward Shrek Academy without the slightest hesitation.
And with every step, my thoughts became calmer.
But it was not the calmness of comfort.
It was the calmness of certainty.
My fingers relaxed briefly at my side before curling slightly and settling once more, while my eyes remained fixed upon the gigantic gate before me.
I felt something cold and steady gradually taking root within my chest.
I had arrived.
And there was no longer any reason to retreat now.
Then I stepped inside.
The moment I entered Shrek Academy, my eyes immediately fell upon the ten towering statues standing proudly within the enormous plaza before me.
I stood there silently for several moments while my gaze swept across them one after another.
The first three statues belonged to the Grandmaster, Flender, and Liu Erlong.
As for the remaining seven…
They were the Shrek Seven Devils.
Dai Mubai.
Oscar.
Tang San.
Ma Hongjun.
Xiao Wu.
Ning Rongrong.
And Zhu Zhuqing.
But the instant my eyes landed on Oscar's statue, I could not stop myself from laughing.
A short chuckle escaped me while I lightly shook my head.
My god… poor Oscar.
Even after thousands of years, he still couldn't escape that ridiculous title.
In the end, the old Titled Douluo's prophecy truly came to pass.
And his historical title became…
Sausage Douluo.
As for Ma Hongjun, the man once known as the Phoenix Douluo…
He eventually became the Evil Phoenix Douluo instead.
And honestly, that was more pitiful than anything else.
Tang San, who always claimed to treat him like a brother…
Never truly made a serious effort—nor did the other Seven Devils—to help him.
If Tang San possessed even a shred of genuine loyalty, he would have at least arranged Bai Chenxiang's situation properly instead of allowing Ma Hongjun to stumble through life until the very end like that.
But a man who spent much of his life wandering through brothels…
Was destined to remain alone in the end.
Then my gaze shifted toward Zhu Zhuqing's statue.
Even by looking only at the statue, I could understand why the royal family of the Star Luo Empire insisted on intermarrying with the Zhu Clan throughout generations.
That kind of beauty was not something people could easily ignore.
But despite all of that, I understood very well that these statues no longer merely represented the Shrek Seven Devils.
They had become symbols of the Tang Family itself.
I let out a faint sigh before looking away from the plaza.
In the end, I already knew nearly the entire story of Douluo Dalu.
I quickly lifted the map I had obtained and gave it a brief glance before beginning to walk toward the new student registration building.
At least…
That was how it appeared on the surface.
But in truth, I already knew exactly where I needed to go first.
And so, I quietly changed direction and headed straight toward the place where Mu En resided.
Several minutes later, I arrived at the entrance to the new students' dormitory building.
And there…
An old man sat beneath the gentle sunlight.
He wore a simple gray robe, while deep wrinkles covered nearly his entire face, making it seem as though time itself had carved its marks upon him without mercy.
His eyes were half sunken, and his drooping eyelids gave him the appearance of a man who had lived so long that he had already reached the edge of his lifespan.
Sunlight slipped between the surrounding buildings and slowly fell across his body while the rocking chair beneath him released faint creaking sounds with every slight movement.
Yet despite his ordinary appearance…
The aura surrounding him was completely different.
My gaze fixed upon him for only a brief moment.
I did not need long to recognize who he was.
Mu En.
Dean of Shrek Academy.
Master of the Sea God Pavilion.
And one of the most powerful individuals on the entire continent.
A Rank Ninety-Nine Ultimate Douluo.