DD Black White [379-380] (Patreon)

Chapter 379: One Month Later

"Let's go."

Lu Jingming withdrew his thoughts and addressed the group.

"I've been to this world once before and left some arrangements behind. It's been a while since I checked in—time to see how things have developed."

He knew very well that the spacetime conduit burst open by the fireworks connected to the same parallel world that Herta had precisely anchored with Cosmic Juggernaut—the very world where he first experimented using the World Tree.

That experiment laid the groundwork for his later cooperation with the will of the Douluo plane to conduct a Holy Grail War, ultimately achieving mutual benefit.

He had planted a World Tree sapling in this world as well. Although far less complete and powerful than the one in the main world, it too had been silently absorbing the planet's negative energy and converting it into nutrients that promote positive evolution.

The abnormally dense ambient energy and surging vitality in the Star Dou Great Forest before them was clear proof that the World Tree was taking effect.

"With the environment improving this clearly, it looks like some of those negative-energy entities have been wiped out."

Lu Jingming mused.

He thought of several particularly powerful negative-energy aggregates he had previously detected.

The negative-energy entities of himself and Firefly outside Heaven Dou City, as well as those representing Kevin, Fu Hua, Osial, and others.

"If even those trickiest ones have been dealt with, then it means that in this world, at least one of Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue has successfully stepped into the godhood realm."

He analyzed.

As for Tang San of this world?

In his view, the path by which Tang San had originally obtained the inheritances of the Sea God and the Asura God had already been completely disrupted.

Sea God Island was occupied by the negative-energy entity of Osial, while the Slaughter City was guarded by the negative-energy entity of Kevin—far too many variables.

Unless fate and causality in this world were unusually active and stubborn, forcibly setting history back on track, Tang San would find it very hard to repeat that route to godhood.

And by Lu Jingming's senses, the forces of fate and causality in this parallel world seemed to be in a very inert state.

He had upended the world's history before, yet no powerful causal backlash or destiny-correction force had descended to punish him.

This indicated that in this world, the grand trend was not immutable—so long as one had enough power and means, anyone could become the pen that writes history.

"After all, parallel worlds are endless, each with its own origin and trajectory—differences are the norm."

Lu Jingming cast one last look at the forest both familiar and strange, the corner of his mouth lifting into a meaningful smile.

"Then let's see what has grown from the seeds of change I sowed in this world."

…

After the earth-shaking Holy Grail War in Mingdu ended, time slipped quietly by—an entire month passed in a blink.

Over this month, through various overt and covert channels, the great empires and top factions across the Douluo Continent gradually learned of the upheaval that had taken place in the Sun Moon Empire's Mingdu.

Though the details were contradictory and rumors rampant, several core pieces of information grew wings and—along with panic and disbelief—swiftly spread to every corner of the continent.

The pride and symbol of the Sun Moon Empire—the magnificent Mingdu, which gathered the continent's most cutting-edge soul tool technology and was praised as the City That Never Falls—had, after a series of cataclysmic battles, turned to scorched earth and been erased from the map, leaving only a chilling spacetime passage and a bottomless abyss.

Elders of the Sea God Pavilion of Shrek Academy, top experts of the Clear Sky Sect, and core figures of the Holy Spirit Cult were all confirmed to have appeared in Mingdu and become embroiled in that battle beyond normal comprehension. Casualties were heavy; multiple Limit Douluo at the pinnacle of the continent had fallen. This news spread like an earthquake across the land.

More unsettling still, a bizarre passage to an unknown world had opened in Mingdu, swallowing many experts—including remnants of Shrek Academy and members of the Holy Spirit Cult. Their whereabouts were unknown, their lives or deaths uncertain, casting an even deeper shroud of mystery and fear over the event.

And with the sudden death of the Sun Moon Emperor, Crown Prince Xu Tiannan—backed by some powerful force—swiftly seized domestic control with an iron hand, further destabilizing the continental situation.

While factions across the continent were still struggling to digest these terrifying reports—debating internally and wracked with uncertainty—the new power center of the Sun Moon Empire, temporarily sited at a massive military bastion named Sun City southeast of old Mingdu, issued a proclamation that shocked the world.

The new emperor, Xu Tiannan, formally ascended the throne. In the palace of Sun City—renamed New Mingdu—he announced the rebirth of the Sun Moon Empire and lit the fuse of war.

At the grand yet killing-intent-laden enthronement, dressed in a black dragon robe embroidered with the Sun-and-Moon totem, he solemnly and mercilessly pinned the monstrous crime of Mingdu's destruction and the deaths of a million citizens on Shrek Academy and the three original Douluo-continent empires—Star Luo, Heavenly Soul, and Dou Ling—and their affiliates.

In the carefully woven official narrative, this was a despicable sneak attack and terrorist strike on the heart of the Sun Moon Empire, meticulously planned by Shrek Academy in collusion with the three empires.

Xu Tiannan accused, with passionate eloquence, that Shrek's Xuan Zi and others infiltrated Mingdu intending to sabotage the Empire's core soul tool research, triggering a massive explosion, while the three empires coordinated from the periphery and even employed unknown, inhumane forbidden means—ultimately causing Mingdu's destruction and civilian mass casualties.

As for the Holy Grail War, Servants, and the parallel world conduit—these extraordinary phenomena were deliberately obscured and downplayed by the official propaganda machine, or twisted into evil soul skills used by the three empires to create terrifying anomalies, thereby covering their crimes.

The Sun Moon Empire's propaganda roared to full power, leveraging soul-screen networks throughout the empire, leaflets, official bulletins, and fiery street speeches, ceaselessly stoking the empire's sorrow and rage, casting Shrek and the three empires as unforgivable warmongers and butchers of civilians.

In the name of vengeance and the defense of imperial dignity and survival, Xu Tiannan declared a national wartime state, calling on all citizens to unite and prepare to exact blood-debt from the evil invaders.

This opinion offensive was both highly effective and lethal.

Mingdu's destruction was undeniable, the loss and displacement of millions of Sun Moon citizens an unforgettable agony. The immense grief and humiliation of national shame demanded a clear outlet.

Under consciously guided, stepwise direction, public sentiment ignited. Hatred for Shrek and the three empires spread like wildfire within the Sun Moon Empire, providing a surging foundation of popular support for the pro-war current.

The clouds of war, heavier than ever, brooded oppressively over the entire Douluo Continent.

Facing the Sun Moon Empire's aggressive accusations and irreconcilable hostility, the three original Douluo-continent empires—Star Luo, Heavenly Soul, and Dou Ling—snapped to highest alert after the initial shock of the proclamation.

They categorically denied all of Xu Tiannan's accusations and sternly condemned them as a crude pretext to launch a long-prepared war of aggression, an attempt to shift the blame for war onto others.

Almost the moment they received the Sun Moon proclamation, the three empires moved with rare coordination.

Border garrisons went to maximum readiness; countless elite legions massed rapidly and efficiently along the long frontier with the Sun Moon Empire.

On Star Luo's western border and Heavenly Soul's southern border, banners blotted the sky, camp to camp in an unbroken line. The distinctive glow of activated soul tool arrays burned day and night, the killing aura so taut it was suffocating.

Even the Dou Ling Empire, which did not directly border the Sun Moon Empire, understood the logic of lips and teeth. It swiftly mobilized its elite forces to transit and reinforce the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul border defenses.

Facing an unprecedentedly powerful and openly hostile Sun Moon Empire, the three empires forged a tighter alliance than ever, swearing an offensive-defensive pact to face the threat together.

All ruling classes understood that a continent-spanning war of unprecedented scale, one that would decide the survival of empires, seemed unavoidable.

High councils rushed to mobilize national strength, hoard strategic materials, conscript registered soul masters on a large scale, and shift state machinery onto a wartime track, striving to be fully prepared for a possible lightning strike from the Sun Moon Empire.

Under this looming pressure of a massive war, the previous incident—where the three empires had massed forces at the entrance to the Star Dou Great Forest to pressure or even retaliate against soul beasts after Shrek City's destruction by a beast tide—was instead shelved for the time being.

Compared to the imminent war between human empires—a matter of national survival—the threat of the Star Dou beast tide receded to second place.

The three empires made the same rational yet helpless choice.

They withdrew their main forces from the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, leaving only a small number of seasoned elite scouts to monitor soul beast movements and prevent opportunistic strikes.

All primary military strength, soul master resources, and strategic focus shifted wholly toward guarding against the Sun Moon Empire.

Conflict with the soul beasts could wait; after all, the beasts had also seemed to lower their banners after Shrek City, and the truth of that event still held doubts. But the Sun Moon Empire's honed blade now pointed at the three empires' throats.

As for the peak duel that had been cut short a month earlier above Mingdu's ruins by the appearance of the spacetime passage—a result had finally emerged.

After confirming through special channels that Princess Weina had safely returned to the Heavenly Soul Empire, Fei Xiao chose to retreat without hesitation rather than fight Celenova to the bitter end.

To her, the Holy Grail War had effectively ended with the conduit's sudden appearance. Continuing to tangle not only lacked meaning, it risked unforeseen complications.

More importantly, her battlefield-honed, almost bestial intuition screamed a warning—if she kept tangling with Celenova, she might never leave those ruins alive.

Facts proved her intuition correct.

Had Fei Xiao hesitated a moment longer, the hidden Phantylia would have struck from the shadows. With Phantylia's recovered strength and means, Fei Xiao would have had no chance.

Fei Xiao's timely return undoubtedly injected a powerful stabilizer into the Heavenly Soul Empire, which had been internally shaken and underconfident due to Du Busi's serious injuries and the losses among the Body Sect elites.

A top expert in full form holding the line greatly stabilized both military and public morale in Heavenly Soul.

Thus, the continent's pattern one month later had become clear.

Under the new emperor Xu Tiannan, the Sun Moon Empire stood united; the war machine roared to life, like a bow being drawn to its limit.

The three original Douluo empires were forced into tight cooperation, erecting solid defenses along their long borders, tensely awaiting the coming storm.

The soul beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest unexpectedly gained a breathing space, briefly becoming bystanders to this looming human civil war.

The continent's future was fully shrouded in gunsmoke and uncertainty.

Haiyuan City—this miracle born of strange tech fused with soul tool arts—had, with Mingdu in ruins and New Mingdu still under construction, become the continent's foremost city in name and reality.

Its unique architectural style and flowing energy gleam proclaimed its distinct aura.

In a simply furnished yet cozy guest room, Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan sat together, listening to Qingque animatedly recount various fun card-and-board games and street tales from her homeland, the Xianzhou Luofu.

Qingque was trying to use this lighthearted chatter to ease the heavy anxiety and confusion pressing on the two girls' hearts these past days.

Over this month, they had received far too many unbearable tidings via various channels.

Shrek's party being sucked into the spacetime conduit and going missing; the saber-rattling between the Sun Moon Empire and the three empires… But what broke their hearts most was the fall of Shrek City.

When they first heard the rumor, Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao's first reaction was refusal—how could Shrek City, a sanctuary in the hearts of soul masters, with a heritage of ten thousand years, vanish overnight?

But when Jiang Nannan saw her mother—brought safely to Haiyuan City under Ningguang's protection—and heard from her about the disastrous beast tide, she had to accept the cruel reality.

At the moment the bad news was confirmed, both Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao fell into deep confusion and helplessness.

Jiang Nannan was relatively strong. After her grief, she felt more of a relief—at least her mother was safe, and they had Ningguang's shelter.

She cared about Shrek, but not to the point of total collapse.

Xiao Xiao was different. Her feelings ran deeper; Shrek was where she had grown and where her dreams had begun. Now she felt a homeless sadness.

For a time, she had no idea where to go, her heart lost and helpless.

Chapter 380: Rebuilding Shrek

Return to Shrek?

The academy was rubble. Wait for the teachers and students to come back?

They were trapped in an unknown spacetime channel—life or death uncertain.

Return to her family?

The thought crossed her mind, but whenever she thought of the teachers and classmates whose fates were unknown, Xiao Xiao hesitated.

In the end, at Jiang Nannan's invitation and with Zhang Lexuan's kind plea, Xiao Xiao decided to stay temporarily in Haiyuan City and await the return of familiar figures like Ma Xiaotao and Xuan Zi. That faint hope became her support.

Suddenly, a gentle knock sounded at the door, breaking Qingque's story and the room's temporary calm.

Jiang Nannan stood, composed herself, and opened the door.

Outside stood a Gold-Warden in standard Haiyuan City equipment, respectful in demeanor. Behind him were several travel-worn young soul masters whose faces could not hide deep grief and fatigue.

They were plainly dressed, eyes full of confusion and sorrow.

At their head was Wu Ming—the straightforward, fiery inner-court disciple of Shrek Academy.

But now even her signature flame-bright hair seemed to have lost its luster, tied back carelessly. Her face was pale, her eyes dim, lips pressed tight as if suppressing a great pain.

"Senior Wu Wing?"

Jiang Nannan blinked, surprise and conflicted joy flashing across her face. She quickly stepped aside to let them in.

"Please, come in!"

Xiao Xiao rose at once. Seeing the familiar senior, her eyes immediately welled up. "Senior Wu Ming, you… you're alive!"

"Nannan, Xiao Xiao… and… Miss Qingque."

Seeing the familiar juniors and Qingque—whom she had met at the academy—Wu Ming's hard shell of strength suddenly cracked. Her voice trembled with a sob she could not suppress.

Behind her, the surviving inner-court disciples—Chu Qingtian among them—lowered their heads, shoulders shaking, eyes reddening. The room's warmth was instantly replaced by a crushing grief.

Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan were swept up in the sorrow, noses stinging, tears brimming, at a loss for words.

"Senior Wu Ming, about the academy… we… we already heard."

In the end, Jiang Nannan forced herself to calm first. She kept her voice as steady as she could and gently supported Wu Ming's arm.

"Seeing you safe… that's a blessing amid misfortune."

"Senior, this is wonderful—you're still here."

Xiao Xiao couldn't hold back. She threw herself into Wu Ming's arms, as if to release the fear, confusion, and sadness of these days.

In that moment, regardless of past closeness, a familiar face from Shrek was solace itself.

"Yes, we're still here—but the academy… the academy is gone. Dean Yan, Vice Dean, so many teachers, and so many classmates… they're all gone."

Wu Ming hugged Xiao Xiao tightly. Her tears fell like beads from a broken string. She shut her eyes in pain and haltingly described the nightmare.

The sky-blotting, seemingly endless beast tide. The beast leaders so powerful they induced despair. How Shrek's strong walls collapsed like paper under the furious assault. And finally that apocalyptic meteor that tore the sky.

She choked up as she spoke of how Dean Yan Shaozhe, Vice Dean Xian Liner, and many revered Sea God Pavilion elders chose to cover the retreat at the last moment, buying the young students a sliver of life—dying gloriously with the academy.

"Dean Yan and the others sent us away. They said the spark of Shrek must not go out."

Wu Ming's words, torn by sobs, cut like the coldest knives into every heart that had once taken pride in Shrek.

"Originally, we followed Lord Skyhawk to Star Luo City and received the Star Luo Empire's protection. We kept waiting—waiting for Elder Xuan and Sister Xiaotao to return from Mingdu, waiting for hope of rebuilding—but…"

Seeing Wu Ming close to breaking down, Chu Qingtian forced himself to take over, his voice hoarse and weary.

But he trailed into a long sigh.

All knew what he hadn't said: the next news they received was Mingdu's calamity and the disappearance of Elder Xuan's party.

Blow after blow had nearly crushed these young soul masters' faith.

Chu Qingtian paused, worked to steady his breath, then continued:

"Until… until Princess Xu Jiujiu returned from Haiyuan City to Star Luo City, and we learned that you, Xiao Xiao and Nannan, were alive—here. So we begged His Majesty's leave to come."

Amid their barrage of bad news, the two girls' survival was the only good news.

"Don't worry."

A warm, steady voice came from the doorway, breaking the room's pall of grief and helplessness.

They looked and saw Zhang Lexuan standing there, no one knowing when she had arrived. In a plain, elegant dress, serene of face and gentle of eye, she carried a calming grace.

She stepped into the room, gaze sweeping over Wu Ming, Chu Qingtian, and each familiar face, all marked by exhaustion and pain.

"Lexuan!"

At the sight of her, a spark lit in their dim eyes.

They had once been opponents and fellow participants in the same Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament—friends made after friendly war.

With Zhang Lexuan's moonlight-gentle nature, even the fiery tempers of Wu Ming and Ma Xiaotao had gotten along well with her.

Of course, the closest to her had been Han Ruoruo.

Inter-academy barriers had not stopped genuine friendship among these outstanding young women.

"Lexuan, is what you said true? Xiaotao and the others… they might really be okay?"

Wu Ming couldn't spare the time for pleasantries. She took two urgent steps forward and grasped Zhang Lexuan's wrist like a drowning person clutching a straw.

The burden of rebuilding weighed on her to the point of suffocation, and the safety of Ma Xiaotao and the others was her deepest worry.

Zhang Lexuan patted the back of her hand, signaling her to be at ease, and answered firmly:

"Yes. According to Haiyuan City's scans, the spacetime conduit that appeared in Mingdu is structurally very stable, not a destructive maelstrom. Although Xiaotao and the others were swept in and their destination is unknown, the likelihood they met misfortune is low."

She paused, then added stronger support:

"In fact, someone from Haiyuan City has voluntarily gone through that passage to explore the world on the other side. The preliminary feedback so far shows the conduit itself is safe—only that it's early and the explored range is limited, so they haven't yet established contact with Elder Xuan and Xiaotao."

She was referring, of course, to Lu Jingming.

She knew there was some distance-transcending link between him and Herta, so she wasn't overly worried about his crossing.

Nor was this the first time she had heard of such things. She knew more secrets about this world than she could share—and this wasn't the time to lay them bare before Wu Ming and the others.

"Really? That's wonderful. Thank you, Lexuan."

At her words, Wu Ming's taut heartstrings finally loosened a little. She let out a long breath.

Only heaven knew the pressure she had borne.

Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year foundation destroyed overnight; Dean Yan and other mentors dying in glory; her surviving companions' futures uncertain; and the burden of rebuilding landing like a mountain on the shoulders of a fighter more adept at battle than planning.

If even Ma Xiaotao and Han Ruoruo were confirmed dead, she wasn't sure she'd have the courage and strength to face the future alone.

Zhang Lexuan's news eased her nerves.

Once Wu Ming's mood had steadied, Zhang Lexuan took a seat gracefully, poured a few cups of fragrant tea herself, slid one to Wu Ming, and gently asked:

"Ming'er, for the moment let's set aside news of Xiaotao. For the future—do you have a concrete plan?"

Wu Ming took the cup, feeling the porcelain's warmth on her fingertips, her face a picture of confusion.

She gave a bitter smile and shook her head, voice tinged with astringency:

"A plan? Lexuan, you know me. I can charge the front and fight, sure—but to plot something that decides the academy's survival and everyone's future… my head's a mess. I don't know what to do or where to begin. For now… we can only take one step at a time."

Behind her, Chu Qingtian and the others nodded, faces tight. They too lacked experience and the nerve to steer the overall situation.

Zhang Lexuan took it all in and understood.

She sipped her tea, pondered a moment, then offered a carefully considered proposal:

"In that case—and since Shrek's original site isn't suitable to return to—how about this: Haiyuan City will allocate a suitable area within the city and help you reestablish Shrek's foundation. After all, with Ruoruo and Xiaotao's return uncertain, you can't wait indefinitely. Shrek's spark needs someone to carry it forward."

This proposal aligned with part of Lu Jingming's broader plan for Haiyuan City, which Zhang Lexuan well knew.

Wu Ming, Chu Qingtian, and the others, as bona fide inner-court elites of Shrek, possessed the most legitimate claim to lead the rebuilding.

If they took point in reestablishing the academy in Haiyuan City, there would be no legal or emotional grounds to object.

Once Shrek took root in Haiyuan, the academy's ten-thousand-year prestige and its influence over the soul master world would naturally bind to the city, infusing it with immeasurable soft power.

If Elder Xuan and the Sea God Pavilion elders were still in charge, they would never agree to a plan that might weaken the academy's independence—but they were trapped in another world, their return uncertain.

For Wu Ming and the others mired in confusion, Zhang Lexuan's offer was like charcoal in the snow—meeting their most urgent need.

As expected, the moment she finished, joy flared in the eyes of Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian.

"Lexuan, is that true? Haiyuan City is really willing to help us rebuild Shrek?"

It was the best option they could imagine.

"Of course," Zhang Lexuan smiled. "Shrek's ten thousand years of heritage—if its spirit and glory broke here, it would be a loss to the entire soul master world."

"If you agree, Haiyuan won't just provide land and funding. We can also temporarily second a cadre of experienced administrators and core teachers from our Saint Freya Academy to assist—handling initial setup, drafting bylaws, even the subsequent student recruitment. Relying on just a few of you to build an academy from zero is simply too hard."

Her considerations were thorough, clearing nearly all practical obstacles for them.

She knew that for these youths—still students at heart—passion alone wouldn't realize the grand wish to rebuild.

Nor was she simply using them. From their perspective, in dire straits, keeping the Shrek name alive and securing a place to settle and inherit was fortune enough.

As for Shrek's deeper relationship with Haiyuan in the future—that wasn't for these exhausted youths to worry about now, nor was it the priority.

So long as the Shrek banner rose again, that was solace enough.

Having soothed them, and under their grateful, trusting gazes, Zhang Lexuan rose gracefully and said softly:

"All right, settle down in Haiyuan and rest. Recover your strength. I'll arrange for the rebuilding to begin at once. You've been through too much. Leave the rest to me."

Her words flowed like warm spring water over tired hearts.

Wu Ming, Hua Yao, and the others nodded repeatedly. In their eyes, Zhang Lexuan was not just an old friend, but a pillar in crisis.

Leaving space for the Shrek survivors to comfort each other, Zhang Lexuan quietly closed the door. The warmth on her face receded slightly, replaced by a cooler, deeper contemplation.

She did not go far, heading straight to a luxury hotel not far from where Xiao Xiao and the others were staying.

The hotel was one of Haiyuan City's landmarks, its top floor boasting private rooms with superb views.

She opened the ornate door; warm light and a faint, elegant fragrance greeted her.