Douluo Dragon King: Embarking on the Path to Godhood from the Start

Time flew by, and it was already the next day. At dawn, several large soul-guided buses were neatly lined up at the gate of Donghai Academy, ready to depart for Tianhai City.

The members of Class Zero were also included.

Inside the bus, Yu Chen and Gu Yue sat together naturally, while Tang Wulin and Xu Xiaoyan were dragged to sit together in front of them.

Xu Xiaoyan was a bit of a looks-obsessed person, and she was quickly drawn to Tang Wulin's handsome face, which was second only to Yu Chen in Class Zero, as well as his hardworking, diligent, and sincere personality.

The girl's feelings grew quietly like vines in spring, and soon she developed a special fondness for Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin, who is simple-minded and has almost no romantic experience, quickly lost his guard under Xu Xiaoyan's lively, cheerful, and delicate "offensive".

It's worth noting that Xu Xiaoyan, like Tang Wulin, possesses a cunning and manipulative nature. However, Tang Wulin mostly uses his cunning towards outsiders. Now that he's encountered a cunning girl, poor Tang Wulin is being manipulated like Tom.

Meanwhile, Yu Chen and Gu Yue, these seniors who "never miss a good show," secretly fueled the flames, creating numerous opportunities for the two to be alone and communicate under the guise of "enhancing team chemistry" and "helping each other."

Now, it's obvious to everyone that the relationship between Tang Wulin and Xu Xiaoyan is extraordinary; they're just one thin veil away from being broken through. Sitting together, though occasionally a little shy, their conversation is natural and the atmosphere is harmonious.

In contrast, Xie Xie's situation was rather "tragic".

Tang Wulin, who was once inseparable from his best friend, "found a new love," and he was "cruelly abandoned."

What made him even more devastated was that right next to him... was Wu Changkong, who had an expressionless face and an icy demeanor!

Xie Xie was now sitting upright, not daring to move an inch next to Wu Changkong.

Under Xie Xie's gaze, which was filled with "confusion, helplessness, and 1.4", the soul-guided bus emitted a low hum, started smoothly, and drove away from Donghai Academy, speeding towards Tianhai City.

……

The Sky Sea Alliance holds a somewhat delicate position within the Sun and Moon Federation.

The Skysea Alliance, comprised of five first-tier cities along the eastern coast of the continent, boasts an economy that ranks among the top on the entire continent thanks to its maritime trade. However, its ranking within the Sun Moon Federation is relatively low in terms of Soul Masters, Mecha Masters, and Battle Armor Masters.

In particular, the number and quality of Soul Masters in the Tianhai Alliance lag significantly behind those in the central region of the continent. After all, the major coastal cities in the eastern part of the continent only developed in modern times.

Meanwhile, in the central part of the continent, Tiandou City was already the core area of ​​the entire continent in ancient and prehistoric times, where many long-established Soul Master families have taken root.

With tens of thousands of years of heritage, it boasts a profound cultural foundation. Almost all the famous Soul Masters in history came from this region.

In comparison, Star Luo City, which was once on par with Heaven Dou City, has also developed well in recent years, but ultimately lacks a certain depth and heritage.

In terms of mecha and battle armor technology, Sun and Moon City, also known as Mingdu, holds a greater advantage. Mingdu also boasts a long history and is the headquarters of the Sun and Moon Federation.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy in Mingdu is the only top-tier academy on the continent that can rival Shrek Academy.

As for Shrek City, where Shrek Academy is located, it is not included in the Federation's evaluation.

In a sense, Shrek City holds a transcendent position within the Federation.

The teachers and students of Donghai Academy sat scattered inside the No. 6 Soul Guidance Bus.

As Soul Masters, they are well aware of things that Soul Masters should avoid, so there would never be such a noisy situation. Even when they occasionally communicate with those around them, they try to keep their voices down.

The other participating students from Donghai Academy were mostly resting with their eyes closed. As the soul-guided bus finally drove away from Donghai Square and gradually accelerated towards the outskirts of Donghai City, the atmosphere among them became increasingly tense.

Donghai Academy's past performance in the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition has been less than ideal. Although this year's participants are all excellent, they are still somewhat unsure of themselves.

Xu Xiaoyan was whispering something to Tang Wulin beside her, subtly pointing to the window seat, indicating that she wanted to sit there and enjoy the view.

Tang Wulin smiled and was about to get up to switch places with her.

Suddenly, a large, fair-skinned hand with distinct knuckles reached out silently from the gap between the seats behind them and gently pressed on Xu Xiaoyan's shoulder with undeniable force.

Tang Wulin and Xu Xiaoyan were both startled and subconsciously turned around to look.

In the back seat, a handsome young man with a calm yet sharp demeanor was staring at them expressionlessly.

It was Xu Xiaoyan's older brother, Xu Xiaoyu, a student in the advanced department of Donghai Academy and one of the team members in this competition.

[Moon, look! Did Wu Lin meet his 'brother-in-law' ahead of time? The scene is getting interesting.]

Having witnessed this scene, Yu Chen immediately shared the "real-time battle situation" with Gu Yue beside him through their soul contract.

Why are you so concerned about Wu Lin's love life?

Gu Yue responded with a mixture of amusement and helplessness. If you care about Tang Wulin, why don't you think more about how to make me happy?

[After all, I watched Wu Lin grow up. His parents (Tang Ziran and Lang Yue) took good care of me when I was little.]

Yu Chen's reasons are very valid.

Now that he's met a nice girl, isn't it normal for me to show concern? Besides, I heard before that Wu Lin seems to have a crush on a certain senior in the academy...

[A senior is no good. Unrequited love for a senior usually ends in tragedy. Now that Wu Lin has a girl like Xiao Yan by his side, Wu Lin should have it much easier from now on.]

Yu Chen continued talking to himself, completely oblivious to Gu Yue's increasingly strange gaze.

What's wrong with being obsessed with an upperclassman? Why does it always have to be a tragedy?

Gu Yue couldn't help but ask,

[Also, why do you think Wu Lin is "much more relaxed" when he's with Xu Xiaoyan? Is Xu Xiaoyan's family also... very powerful?]

She didn't say the words "living off a woman," but the meaning was clear.

Uh... well...

Yu Chen was momentarily speechless. He couldn't very well say that this was based on some kind of intuition stemming from "experience with the original work" and "plot inertia," could he? He mumbled something vaguely.

[With a senior, the age and experience gap is obvious, and budding feelings are prone to fizzling out. Xiao Yan and Wu Lin are the same age, trained together, understand each other, and their personalities are quite compatible—isn't that more natural?]

[Oh?] Gu Yue remained noncommittal.

[And what about Xie Xie? Since you're so fond of "playing matchmaker," have you already "planned" Xie Xie's future partner?]

[What do you mean I like to play matchmaker? Didn't you start it in the first place?] Yu Chen immediately protested, resolutely refusing to take the blame.

Yes, yes, it's my fault.

Gu Yue gave a perfunctory admission, but continued to press for answers. Now she just wanted to know if Yu Chen wanted all his friends to live off his wife.

[I just want to know, in your opinion, what kind of person should Xie Xie's future partner be? Does she come from a good family? Is she a rich heiress?]

[I guess we'll only meet again at Shrek Academy.]

Yu Chen recalled his vague memories.

"Is she the young lady...?" He nodded, remembering the family behind Yuanen Yehui, which had a Limit Douluo as its leader.

Well, I guess so. Their family background must be quite illustrious.

How does it compare to my family?

Gu Yue pressed on, his question tinged with a subtle, almost imperceptible, comparative mindset.

That certainly can't compare to yours.

Yu Chen answered decisively: "The Silver Dragon King is backed by the entire Soul Beast World. How can you compare them?"

How does it compare to Xu Xiaoyan's family?

[Of course, their family is much more powerful than Xu Xiaoyan's.]

"I see……"

Gu Yue silently severed the soul connection in her mind, pondering to herself,

"Because Xie Xie was always 'bullied' and used as a punching bag in Class Zero, Chen felt indebted to him and wanted to 'compensate' him in terms of his partner by finding him the ultimate 'kept man'? Chen, I never thought you had such a strange idea about 'brotherly affection'..."

Gu Yue ended the conversation, and her gaze as she looked at Yu Chen's profile became even more complex and difficult to describe.

Sensing that Gu Yue had stopped communicating, Yu Chen wondered why she would ask such a strange question, but he didn't press her for details.

Then his attention was completely drawn to the interaction between Tang Wulin, Xu Xiaoyan and that "brother-in-law".

What are you doing?

Xu Xiaoyan's face was full of displeasure at being disturbed. When she saw that it was her brother, she didn't give him a good look and complained with a pout.

Xu Xiaoyu felt a little embarrassed after being rebuked by his younger sister, but he didn't dare to really lose his temper with his little princess who had been pampered since childhood.

With a dark expression, he forcibly suppressed his displeasure at seeing the "yellow-haired boy" approaching his sister, and patiently explained:

"Xiaoyan, be careful when you're out and about. If anyone bullies you, tell your brother."

As he spoke, he glared at Tang Wulin, his eyes filled with a clear warning and a show of defiance, as if to say: Kid, stay away from my sister!

Xu Xiaoyan rolled her eyes and retorted without hesitation, "Mind your own business! Your senior class shouldn't fail to even make it past the preliminaries like last time. That would be too embarrassing!"

Xu Xiaoyu's face stiffened, and she was somewhat embarrassed and angry: "Impossible! The main players of our team this time are all above the third ring, and we are well prepared. We will definitely achieve good results!" Their senior class is participating in the most watched seven-person team competition, and the pressure is already enormous.

"Hmph!" Xu Xiaoyan curled her lip, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"Ahem," Xu Xiaoyu realized the topic had been steered off course, cleared his throat, and put on his brotherly serious face again, "Xiaoyan, you're still young and don't understand the wickedness of people. Especially some boys, they look honest, but maybe..." His gaze swept over Tang Wulin again, with a pointed implication.

"Brother! Shut up! That's so rude!" Xu Xiaoyan interrupted him directly, her face slightly flushed with anger and embarrassment.

"Besides, Wu Lin isn't that kind of person. You don't understand. Wu Lin is different."

Xu Xiaoyan ended the conversation with a single sentence in response to her brother's words, which were like a tight rein on her.

"You...you all..."

Looking at her sister's siding with outsiders, and then at Tang Wulin's "innocent" (or perhaps "pretending to be stupid") face, Xu Xiaoyu felt as if she had been punched in the chest. Her fingers trembled as she pointed at the two of them, too angry to utter a complete sentence.

Seeing this, the classmate sitting next to Xu Xiaoyu quickly tugged at his arm, whispered a few words of advice, and half-pulled, half-dragged him to sit down in a seat further back on the bus, away from Xu Xiaoyan and Tang Wulin.

Out of sight, out of mind, lest this brother who's obsessed with his sister keep watching and might actually do something irrational.

Fortunately, the soul-guided bus was spacious enough with plenty of seats, which prevented Xu Xiaoyu from having to "watch closely and completely observe" her precious younger sister and that "suspicious blond guy" chatting and laughing together, a "torture" she was subjected to.

In the front row, Xu Xiaoyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, stuck out her tongue at Tang Wulin, and made a face.

Tang Wulin scratched his head and smiled somewhat embarrassedly, but his gaze toward Xu Xiaoyan was softer and brighter than before.

Yu Chen watched with great interest from the back row, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.

Gu Yue shook her head helplessly, leaned on Yu Chen's shoulder, closed her eyes, and began to rest.