Douling Continent, outside the Lingbo City branch of the Spirit Pagoda.
A married couple stood dazedly in front of the majestic Spirit Pagoda, their eyes filled with disbelief—it all still felt like a dream to them.
The husband was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man: average height, average build, just completely average in every way.
His wife wasn't particularly beautiful, but she had a mature, graceful charm.
"Brother Tang, stop staring. We need to go, or we'll miss the bus," called out a man beside them.
"Alright, we're coming." The man referred to as Brother Tang and his wife picked up their suitcases and followed the others onto a coach that the Spirit Pagoda had prepared for them in advance.
They weren't soul masters and couldn't use soul tools for storage, so they carried quite a bit of luggage.
As they boarded the coach and watched the scenery blur past the windows, everyone was filled with nervous excitement.
"Ziran, do you think after all these years, Wulin still misses us?" The wife held a small suitcase in her lap—a gift she had bought for their son Tang Wulin from the Douling Continent. It wasn't anything precious, but it was something that couldn't be found on the Douluo Continent.
This couple was none other than Tang Wulin's long-lost foster parents, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue.
Just thinking about soon reuniting with the son they missed dearly made Lang Yue so nervous her voice trembled.
"He definitely does. Wulin is a filial child. He must have thought of us all these years, just as we've been thinking of him." Tang Ziran wrapped an arm around his wife, comforting her in his own way.
"Yes, I believe Wulin thinks about us too." Lang Yue nodded firmly, her eyes full of motherly affection.
But she was still very nervous. She opened the suitcase in her lap again, then looked up at Tang Ziran. "Ziran, do you think Wulin will like the gifts we bought him? What if he thinks they're too plain? Last time Mang Tian called and said he got into Shrek Academy and became a working student. He's been in a big city like Shrek City for so long—what if he thinks these things are beneath him?"
"He won't. As long as it's from us, Wulin will love it," Tang Ziran said with certainty. "I heard that being a working student at Shrek Academy is tough. Now that the Spirit Pagoda has paid us so much, once we're back on the Douluo Plane, we'll make sure Wulin becomes a full-time student."
"Yes! Now that we have money, we can't let Wulin lose at the starting line." Lang Yue's eyes sparkled with love as she looked at Tang Ziran again, her voice filled with worry. "Ziran, do you think after all these years, Wulin's biological parents might have found him? What if they try to take him away from us?"
"We won't stop Wulin from recognizing his real parents. He's nearly an adult now and has the right to know his background. But I believe in Wulin—even if he finds his birth parents, he won't forget us or change how he feels about us. Wulin is our son. We should trust him." Tang Ziran smiled gently.
"Yes, I trust Wulin. In fact, we should thank his biological parents. They're the ones who brought Wulin into our lives," Lang Yue said with a soft smile. She then pulled out a small box from the suitcase and hugged it tightly. "Wulin's always had a big appetite and loves meat. This is Lingshan beef, a specialty of the Douling Continent. I heard that just grilling it with some cumin makes it so aromatic it could make the neighbor's kids drool. Wulin will definitely love it."
"Yes, he will," Tang Ziran said with a strained smile.
"Last time Mang Tian said Wulin had found Na'er. Those two were so close when they were young. Ziran, do you think Wulin and Na'er are together now?" Lang Yue asked, her face full of joy.
"Maybe," Tang Ziran nodded.
"I think so too. Na'er is so pretty, and Wulin is so outstanding. They'll definitely be happy together," Lang Yue said dreamily.
"I still can't believe we actually made it out of the Spirit Pagoda alive. I thought they might silence us for good," Tang Ziran muttered, watching his wife's blissful expression.
"Don't talk nonsense! The Spirit Pagoda has existed for tens of thousands of years. They'd never do something like that." Lang Yue glared at him. "We should be grateful to the Spirit Pagoda. If it weren't for them, we would never have made this much money in our entire lives. Without money, how could we support Wulin? Remember, his first soul spirit was just a defective one! Now, we have enough money to buy several thousand-year soul spirits. Even if Wulin becomes a Title Douluo, it'll be enough!"
"You're right." Tang Ziran nodded vigorously. As a father, seeing Wulin fuse with a defective soul spirit back then was a scar on his heart.
If he had been more capable and could afford a better soul spirit, Wulin would never have had to suffer like that.
As the couple remained lost in their nervous yet excited thoughts, the coach slowly pulled into the airport.
"We're here. Time to get off! The Spirit Pagoda really thought of everything—they arranged a flight for us. If we took a ship, the Lingshan beef I bought might have spoiled along the way," Lang Yue said with excitement. Seeing the airport ahead, she could almost imagine Wulin and Na'er standing there, holding hands and waving to them.
What Tang Ziran and Lang Yue didn't know was that their beloved son Tang Wulin was currently enduring unprecedented suffering.
Because of Shrek Academy's destruction, the Seven Devils of Devil's Island were full of rage. They wanted to turn every trainee into a top-tier talent to rebuild Shrek Academy. As a result, the intensity of the training had multiplied several times over.
And it wasn't just the trainees from Shrek Academy and Tang Sect who were being pushed to their limits—so were the twin sisters Shen Xing and Shen Yue from the South Sea Legion.
They were plagued by constant nightmares.
Nothing worked—not even sleep deprivation. Sometimes, they would fall asleep even while walking, and without fail, it would be another nightmare.
Once, Shen Xing even dozed off during a crucial military drill—
—and nearly got blown up by artillery fire.
"Your Holiness Saint Spirit, my daughters became like this after the Shrek Academy and Tang Sect disciples hijacked our Northern Sea Legion's fighter jets. You must save them. If this goes on, my daughters will lose their minds!" The commander of the Northern Sea Legion stared at Ya Li, his tone imploring but also somewhat threatening.
Shrek Academy and Tang Sect disciples had the audacity to seize military aircraft under these circumstances.
If news of this got out, it would cause an uproar.
"General Shen, I need to find someone to understand the situation. Don't worry—I'll come back," Saint Spirit Douluo Ya Li said with difficulty. She had already tried everything she could, but Shen Xing and Shen Yue's physical and spiritual states were completely normal. She had no idea what was wrong.
"Then I'll count on you, Your Holiness. If you can cure my daughters, I'll pretend the hijacking incident never happened," the general said, having no other options. He had already consulted almost every renowned healing-type soul master in the Federation, but none could help.
That's why he turned to Ya Li.
If even she couldn't fix it, he truly didn't know what else to do.
"Don't worry, General Shen. I'll do everything I can." Ya Li took a deep breath, a rare flash of anger appearing in her beautiful eyes.
This time, she was truly angry.
She knew that Shrek Academy's training was being held on Devil's Island, not far from the Northern Sea Legion.
Shen Xing and Shen Yue's condition must be related to that training.
Although she didn't know the exact details of the training—
Shrek Academy was already in such dire straits, yet Long Yeyue still allowed students to hijack military aircraft and drag military officers into the training?
Wasn't she forcing Shrek's last hope to walk the road of no return?
These students were the ones Yun Ming had given his life to protect. If they died mysteriously during training, how would she ever explain it to Yun Ming?
Ya Li had originally come to confront Long Yeyue, but when she got the emergency call from the Northern Sea Legion, she set that aside and rushed to check on Shen Xing and Shen Yue.
Only to find herself completely helpless.
Now, it seemed she had no choice but to confront Long Yeyue and get to the bottom of things if she wanted to save them.
Long Yeyue had also once undergone this training.
As long as she knew what it entailed and what was causing the sisters' nightmares, Ya Li was confident she could cure them.
"If I still can't do it... I might have to go to Sister Yaozhu—or her sister, Dark Phoenix Douluo Leng Yulai," Ya Li muttered with a bitter smile. She had just gotten angry at Leng Yaozhu, and now she might have to ask her for help. Even she found that a bit awkward.
(End of Chapter)