Chapter Four: The Emperor’s Assassination Attempt

"Ma Xiaotao... Shrek..."

Lu Chun, who had long since departed but left his consciousness lingering on a cypress tree to overlook all that transpired, chuckled. "Ten thousand years ago, I was timid and submissive; ten thousand years later, I strike back with iron fists."

The formidable, self-assured air of Ma Xiaotao made Lu Chun marvel; she gave off the distinct impression of being the world's police, with Shrek Academy serving as the world's lighthouse.

However, he did not care how frustrated the Dayu Golden Cavalry was, nor how the Douling Empire might subsequently interrogate Shrek Academy. He observed Ma Xiaotao’s appearance and confirmed that the theatrical performance—named destiny but scripted in reality—had not yet officially begun.

"If that God King really could see through destiny, then the me of the past should have been trembling in fear," Lu Chun shook his head.

No matter how one looks at it, the Old Ones and Outer Gods from other universes are far more deserving of the title "gods."

What is called destiny is nothing more than the airflow exhaled by their breath; the mere leakage of a fraction of their power is enough to drive all living beings to madness.

Setting aside the joke of being an insignificant "air person," compared to those beings, the gods of this world—whether in terms of authority or power—are merely slightly more potent biological entities. It was precisely because he understood this that Lu Chun, upon his arrival in this world, was not afraid of a sudden bolt of lightning striking him dead.

Yet, even so, Lu Chun had no intention of engaging with this pre-arranged script. Otherwise, who knew if that pure and flawless God King might personally extinguish him, a variable existing outside the narrative?

Lu Chun did not want to become a puppet performing on a stage; he wanted to be the one who wrote the script.

To achieve this, the necessary requirement was power that would make everyone fear him. Having lost the temporary strength granted by the "Immortal Sand Soul-Returning Technique," Lu Chun could be described as incredibly frail.

It was precisely this that forced him to delve deeper into the power he himself possessed.

His monstrous physique granted him unparalleled vitality; as long as he was not completely annihilated, he could sit up and recover right on the spot.

The power of the ritual had forcibly twisted his originally awakened seed martial soul, transforming it into an ability that allowed plants to come to life.

Beyond that, what surprised Lu Chun most was the aura that had clung to him incessantly since the ritual. This aura, capable of inducing various unnatural emotions in those around him, made one thing clear: he was unconsciously drifting toward those indescribable Outer Gods.

Lu Chun did not know if everyone resurrected via the Immortal Sand Soul-Returning Technique ended up this way, but at least he knew this aura did not affect him negatively; in fact, at times, it served as a powerful asset.

All these factors combined to ensure he did not fear the strength of a four-ring Soul Ancestor.

***

Beyond that, there was...

A pitch-black jade slip appeared in his hand. By now, the slip had completely fused with Lu Chun; he knew all its contents, and given enough time and resources, he could use it at any moment. This was his greatest trump card.

Yet, it was a trump card Lu Chun was very reluctant to use, as the consequences of using it once still lingered within his soul.

Nevertheless, it was not that he would never use it.

"Blood pills... Evil Soul Masters... the Dayu Golden Cavalry..."

Connecting the dots of what had transpired, a conjecture surfaced in Lu Chun’s mind. He scoffed, "Someone’s time is running out."

"Since they want to live, they must pay a price, right?"

On a side path, a carriage heading toward Douling City moved slowly. Suddenly, the owner of the carriage noticed a person lying by the roadside. He frowned, stopped the carriage, and walked over to inspect him, only to be struck by the man's extraordinary appearance.

Initially, carnal desire flickered in his eyes, but soon, a greater greed took hold of his mind. He summoned his lackeys to bind the man’s hands and feet, threw him into the carriage, and continued toward Douling City.

When the carriage reached Douling City, it happened to cross paths with the returning Dayu Golden Cavalry. The commander of the Golden Cavalry, already irritable, found his mood worsening upon seeing so many people blocking their path. He bellowed, "Clear the way, all you idlers!"

He charged through the crowd with his subordinates, his mood improving only when he saw the fearful and panicked expressions of the commoners. He laughed heartily as he headed toward the inner city.

Suddenly, he stopped beside a carriage. For some reason, he felt something was wrong. Just as he intended to step forward to investigate, the villagers he had been escorting erupted into a riot.

Seeing this, he had to set aside his inexplicable intuition and turn back to suppress the mob.

"All of you, stop!"

A surge of immense soul power erupted, pressing down heavily on the villagers, forcing their backs to bend until they knelt on the ground.

The commander glared at them, his right hand gripping his sword. He was seething with rage; had he not discovered strange phenomena in these peasants that made him think he could redeem his failures, he would have hacked them to death outside the city long ago.

Thinking of this, the commander retracted some of his soul power, lest this "merit" of his vanish for no reason.

However, to his surprise, once he eased the pressure, the villagers began to move again. As if knowing their end was inevitable, the few in the front faced the commander with determined expressions and surged toward him!

***

Seeing this scene, the commander could no longer suppress his inner rage. He drew his sword and slashed out.

"Die!"

The expected scene of blood splattering occurred as planned, but before the smile could fully grace his face, a sudden change took place.

From the flesh exposed to the air, a multitude of tender shoots suddenly erupted. The spiritual herbs the villagers had consumed finally exerted their true effect, transforming into blood-colored thorns that lunged toward the commander with overwhelming force!

The thorns blotted out the sunlight before the commander. Under the shadow, a look of sheer terror crossed his face. His pupils drifted slightly toward the carriage he had suspected was problematic. The final thought that crossed his mind was—

How dare he!

Then, these specially catalyzed thorns instantly pierced the commander’s exposed head!

With a violent twist, a perfectly good head exploded into fragments!

The thorns took root within the remaining corpse. The body, encased in armor, shuddered continuously as new seedlings sprouted from every crevice. Reaching a limit, the armor collapsed to the ground, and a mass of bloody thorns crawled out, writhing on the earth!

Although his features were gone, one could imagine that until the moment of his death, the commander’s face must have been filled with disbelief that he had actually died at the hands of the peasants he had looked down upon.

The sudden turn of events left the scene in a few moments of silence, followed by an eruption of deafening noise.

Everyone fled in panic. The recovered Dayu Golden Cavalry roared, "The commander has been assassinated! Seal the area!"

However, as the capital, Douling City had an exceptionally large flow of traffic; it was impossible to seal it off. Amidst the chaos, the carriage that the commander had sensed was amiss had already entered Douling City.