Chapter 40: The Struggle for Divine Forger Has Always Been This Way: Shrek

Three days later, the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition, forging finals.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Jiutian swung the Ganjin Hammer at the rare metal Yanjin, twin hammers crossing and flashing, hammerheads tracing crescent arcs, striking down like thunder splitting the sky.

The surface of Yanjin churned like molten lava beneath the deep sea; Jiutian’s iron-gray pupils glowed with shifting light, piercing every minute variation in its texture.

Muscles bulged on his arms, tendons standing out like ropes; hammer shadows piled layer upon layer without a single misstep, pouring down in an impenetrable torrent!

On the other side, Tang Wulin gripped the Thousand-Forged Chen Silver Hammer, his strikes synchronized with his breath, leaving trails of afterimages; the heavy clangs rang continuously. As forging deepened, the Chen Silver slowly brightened, revealing dazzling cloud-like patterns.

Both lost themselves completely, maintaining a high-frequency forging rhythm. From their forging platforms, invisible ripples spread outward; many forgers sighed bitterly, halted their hammers, and chose to withdraw from the competition.

The forging competition had three rounds; in the first two preliminary rounds, Jiutian and Tang Wulin displayed forging abilities far beyond the others, and in the finals, they unleashed their talents fully and without restraint.

Each forger had their own rhythm; once disrupted, success rates plummeted. Those whose rhythms shattered could no longer produce qualified works, so they simply withdrew, leaving the stage to the two prodigies.

“Director, Master Mu, in the end, it’s your two disciples who face off.” A sixth-grade forger on the podium remarked.

Zhenhua and Mu Chen exchanged glances, seeing competitive fire flickering in each other’s eyes.

The two master-brothers were as close as siblings, each achieving fulfillment in their own way: Zhenhua broke through Tianforging to become a Divine Forger, revered by millions; Mu Chen married the woman he loved and bore their child, Mu Xi, living a complete life.

The story of the previous generation was largely settled; their emotional legacy passed to the next. Both master forgers were deeply satisfied with their direct disciples and encouraged them to spar and compete.

“Boom—”

Jiutian roared, his Ganjin Hammer striking like a golden dragon diving into the abyss, precisely hammering the center of Yanjin; crimson sparks flew wildly, the forging platform trembling instantly, metal humming as if dozens of heavy hammers struck at once!

The hammer’s force surged into the metal; a brilliant crimson-gold radiance rose, revealing intricate, gorgeous patterns that writhed across the surface like veins and meridians, finally coalescing into exquisite gilded secret patterns.

Spiritual light radiated outward—Thousand-Forged Grade One!

“Kong—”

Another burst of spiritual light followed; Tang Wulin completed his forging moments later, the Thousand-Forged Grade One Chen Silver emitting a blue halo, its patterns uniform, covering every inch.

“Come, examine the two children’s works and decide who wins this competition,” Zhenhua smiled. “To avoid bias, neither I nor my brother Mu Chen will offer opinions.”

Thousand-Forged Grade One Yanjin and Thousand-Forged Grade One Chen Silver were presented to the judges on the podium, still steaming from forging.

“Ten years old and achieving Thousand-Forged Grade One—they’re genuine fourth-grade forgers…” An elderly forger with white hair nodded in admiration.

“Two forging prodigies appear in a thousand years…”

“The beauty and completeness of the metal patterns—I couldn’t have done better myself.”

Endless exclamations from colleagues filled his ears; Zhenhua and Mu Chen’s smiling mouths were harder to suppress than an AK’s recoil. The metal was their disciple’s work; the disciple was their own creation. Praise for the disciple was praise for the teacher—and even more joyful for both.

After deliberation, the eldest master judge delivered the verdict: “Director, Master Mu, after thorough discussion, we have reached a decision.

Though both metals are Thousand-Forged Grade One, Yanjin’s forging difficulty exceeds Chen Silver’s, and its surface already exhibits a life-like resonance akin to Spirit-Forging.

We unanimously agree: Jiutian has won. He deserves the championship of this Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition’s forging contest.”

“Jiutian is still young—he must keep training!”

Zhenhua burst into laughter; Mu Chen smiled too, fully satisfied with the result.

As top forgers, the moment both Thousand-Forged Grade One metals were completed, the two masters had already discerned the difference—the outcome had been clear from the start.

Divine Forger Zhenhua himself announced the champion. Jiutian exhaled a slow, turbid breath—not merely to defeat Tang Wulin, but to claim the Divine Forger throne, he would crush every rival with all his strength!

The Eight Deceitful Gods symbolize cosmic rules; Jiutian embodies Ganjin. He sensed the Divine Forger’s heavenly laws differed from others, subtly maintaining a balance. In other words, the Douluo Continent does not permit multiple Divine Forgers to emerge in the same era.

For example, if Zhenhua’s breakthrough to Divine Forger had a difficulty of one, the second forger’s breakthrough would jump to ten, the third to a hundred… the multiplier could be even higher!

Simplicity is best. Jiutian would never deliberately yield. His goal was to become a Divine Forger as fast as possible. When cultivation bases were nearly equal, defeating rivals head-on was the way to earn heavenly law’s recognition!

The struggle for Divine Forger status has always been this way!

…

Tianhai Grand Hotel, 66th floor.

The Shrek Team sat listlessly on the sofa, newspapers scattered chaotically across the floor, headlines printed in bold, crimson letters.

The Myth Shattered: Shrek’s Defeat!

The Great Sun Sets, the Era of Stars Begins!

Fear of trouble makes a fool; causing trouble and failing makes a fool of greater stupidity!

Shocking: The Continent’s Top Academy Actually…

Once proud, arrogant, and full of confidence, the Shrek Team now wore deathly pale faces.

To the world, the continent’s top academy had lost to the unknown Donghai Academy, whose seven members were three years younger on average and possessed far lower soul power…

The Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition was the alliance’s grandest event, broadcast by TV stations in dozens of cities including Tianhai City and Donghai City. Shrek Academy’s exhibition match was a spectacle designed to draw viewers—and all of them witnessed Shrek’s utter defeat.

Reporters, like sharks sensing blood, scrambled to write stories; some even used Tianhai Sports Arena surveillance footage to reconstruct the conflict’s origin.

Yu Yuanheng’s arrogance became the target of public outrage. The best report came from the Rìyuè Evening News, placing Yu Yuanheng’s haughty demeanor before the match and his comatose state afterward side-by-side on the front page.

The stark, visceral contrast caused Yu Yuanheng to faint again after just one glance.

Shrek Academy’s crushing defeat by Donghai Academy forced their coach, Shen Yi, to urgently report the incident. Shrek’s reply was cold and four words: “Await orders on-site.”

Shrek, undefeated for twenty thousand years, had fallen. The incident spread rapidly, shocking the entire Douluo Continent. Rumors exploded, and under the covert encouragement of the Rìyuè Federation, the situation seemed to spiral further out of control.

“Yuanheng… did we make a mistake…?”

Ning Qian’s face was worn with exhaustion; three days of terror left her unable to sleep or eat. Everywhere on the soul net were unbearable rumors. She began to regret it.

“Who says that… I’m not wrong… I’m not wrong…”

Yu Yuanheng’s eyes were bloodshot, veins spreading like dense spiderwebs. He was badly injured, bandages wrapped all over his body; he shook his head left and right, muttering incessantly:

“I fought to defend the academy’s honor, to protect the reputation of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon… I’m not wrong… I’m the hero!

Heroes never lose… that battle was wrong—there must have been cheating!

They cheated! They cheated!”

Yu Yuanheng screamed wildly, his piercing voice echoing endlessly through the room.

Ye Xinglan lifted her pale, bloodless face. Today she wore no Shrek green uniform, but a pale yellow long dress, white bandages wrapped around her arms, calves, and knees. Hearing Yu Yuanheng’s frantic accusations, she frowned:

“Why falsely accuse Donghai Academy?

We were outclassed. We accept the academy’s punishment. No matter how harsh, we bear the consequences of our defeat.”

“Ye… Xing… Lan!”

Yu Yuanheng slowly turned his head, enunciating her name syllable by syllable, his pupils blazing with fury: “How dare you speak? It’s all because of you!

If not for you, how could Shrek have provoked those monsters? Now look—Shrek lost, and the entire Douluo Continent is filled with insults aimed at me!

Do you know… what I’ve lost?!”

Yu Yuanheng’s emotions teetered on collapse. His performance at the opening ceremony had enraged the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—he would no longer inherit the clan chief’s position!

“Ye Xinglan, you’ve ruined my reputation and destroyed my future. If I’m expelled from Shrek Academy, I swear you’ll spend your life wishing you were dead!”

“Yu Yuanheng, go ahead and try!”

Tension exploded instantly; Yu Yuanheng’s rage soared, viewing Ye Xinglan as his mortal enemy.

Ye Xinglan’s expression turned icy, but a flicker of disappointment passed through her blue eyes. Yu Yuanheng was one of the strongest geniuses in Shrek’s Outer Academy; she had once seen him as her current goal to surpass. She never imagined one defeat would reveal his true nature.

“Xinglan-jie, Yuanheng-ge, calm down. Have some buns.”

Xu Li summoned a large, healing meat bun and carefully offered it to the two locked in conflict.

“Get lost!”

Yu Yuanheng glared venomously at Xu Li—the chubby boy was also a source of the conflict. Ning Qian, Chu Yan, Yao Yue, and Chen Feng stood beside Yu Yuanheng; the Shrek Team split into two factions on the spot.

“What the hell are you doing? Sit down, all of you!”

Shen Yi pushed open the door, face flushed with irritation, ordering them to return to their seats. Reluctantly, the seven complied.

Shen Yi sighed deeply. “Originally, this defeat was just a minor matter. The Sea God Pavilion didn’t take it seriously. After all, Shrek Academy’s foundation can’t be shaken by one exhibition match or a few children under fifteen. It’ll blow over in time.

But…”

He paused, then shifted tone: “Malicious parties seized Shrek’s first defeat as an excuse to spread baseless, absurd rumors.

Like Shrek exploiting students, only Inner Academy disciples matter, the academy’s invincibility relying on cheating…

The rumors originated from multiple sources. After investigation, the academy confirmed most came from Mingdu, led by the Rìyuè Imperial Academy.

Forces like the Rìyuè Imperial Soul Mechanist Academy, long simmering with resentment, seized the chance to smear and fabricate lies about Shrek Academy. Yet the academy was surprised that the Spirit Transmission Tower—normally our rival—did not join in…”

Shrek had celebrated too soon. Qian Gu Dongfeng believed that even with masters like the Pillar Douluo, Light-Dark Douluo, and Sacred Spirit Douluo still alive, these rumors were mere child’s play. Only when Shrek’s Titled Douluo fell under his schemes would be the perfect moment to crush Shrek Academy entirely.

“Now it’s not just about your defeat—it’s about how to quickly restore the academy’s reputation. The Sea God Pavilion is urgently deliberating.”

With that, Shen Yi fixed his gaze on Yu Yuanheng and Ye Xinglan. “Because you’ve left the academy both morally and physically weak, the Sea God Pavilion… is deeply disappointed.

If this isn’t resolved properly, expulsion remains a possibility.”

Yu Yuanheng’s eyes trembled; he collapsed straight off the sofa. Ning Qian and the others scrambled to support him. Ye Xinglan’s slender frame shuddered; her lowered eyes glistened faintly as she wandered back to her room, hollow-eyed.

Late night.

Ye Xinglan tossed and turned, unable to meditate or even sleep, overwhelmed by guilt and dread.

Losing to Na’er, Shrek disgraced, expelled from the academy… these days felt like swords piercing her heart, making it hard to breathe. She whispered:

“The conflict started with me. I must help see us through this—even if I pay with everything…”

With that thought, she rose from bed, stepped quietly out, and opened the door.

Tianhai Grand Hotel, 88th floor.

The Forger’s Association had arranged the most luxurious accommodations for Divine Forger Zhenhua’s party. Zhao Xuanzhen and Na’er splurged, staying in a massive suite on the 88th floor, exquisitely decorated and fully equipped.

Gu Yue heard the news and quickly moved out of Donghai Academy’s hotel room to join them, claiming it was “Spirit Transmission Tower family unity.”

“Xuanzhen, Na’er, I’ve completed my withdrawal from Donghai Academy. I’m returning home for urgent seclusion.”

At these words, Zhao Xuanzhen, absorbed in studying the Body Secret, and Na’er, snacking, both froze. Zhao was puzzled; Na’er was delighted. In a flash, she appeared before Gu Yue, grabbed her hand, and shook it playfully:

“Promise me—you’ll seclude yourself for a hundred or eighty years, okay?”

Gu Yue sneered. The abacus beads just flew right into my face!

"Why did you suddenly enter seclusion? How long will it last?" Zhao Xuanzhen asked seriously.

"After that day, when I teamed up with Naer to charge the Dark Gold Terror Claw, my body underwent an anomaly—I must seclude myself to stabilize it. It could take as little as a year, or as long as three. I have a feeling that upon breaking through, I will undergo a transformation."

In the past, Guyue and Naer had always secretly competed; this was their first collaboration, and that sensation of mastering all things, that supreme power—Guyue, as the primary half of the Silver Dragon King, knew it all too well.

When their hearts were united and their goals aligned, Naer’s aura seemed to aid her in restoring the Silver Dragon King’s power.

After bidding farewell to Zhao Xuanzhen and Naer, Guyue left the Tianhai Grand Hotel, where a mature, sensual woman with purple hair had been waiting below for a long time.

Guyue turned back to gaze at the bustling skyscrapers, her eyes flickering with doubt, her voice barely audible: "Could I possibly refrain from consuming her?"

No, I am the Silver Dragon King—my resolve will never waver…

You two… will eventually be mine…"

(End of Chapter)