Chapter 33: Repayment

"Ahem." Tang Ya's face flushed even redder. "So, you said earlier that you wanted to teach the Mysterious Heaven Technique to someone else?"

Having been stifled for so long, having hit so many dead ends, and having spent so much time in total despair, this exhilarating release had allowed her to return to the person she once was.

"Who is this person? What's his name? How old is he, and what is his soul power rank? Who else is in his family? Does he have any backing or factions behind him?" Tang Ya’s eyes flashed with intensity. "Most importantly, is there any hope of pulling him into our Tang Sect?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao pulled away, her face twisting as she felt uncomfortable under that laser-like gaze. "Sister Ya, can you please act normal?"

"Hey, how can you call this abnormal?" Tang Ya scooted closer, her playful, teasing eyes now filled with a hint of gossip. "It means you like him! That’s why you want to shower him with benefits, right?"

Seeing the fleeting look of awkwardness on Xiao Xiao’s face, Tang Ya became even more spirited. "Ha! Just as I thought! I never expected you to have found someone so soon after starting school—"

"Stop! Stop!" Xiao Xiao hurriedly clamped a hand over her big mouth and scanned the surroundings quickly. "It’s not like that! I don’t! Don't talk nonsense!"

Heh, heh.

The playfulness in Tang Ya’s eyes only grew.

"I’m doing this to repay him!" Facing that deeply meaningful gaze, Xiao Xiao gritted her teeth, truly exasperated. "He didn't just guide my cultivation; he even gave me three Mysterious Water Pills. I joined the Tang Sect in the first place because of his suggestion!"

"And there’s this too!" As she spoke, Xiao Xiao took Tang Ya’s wrist and channeled her soul power, tracing a strange path through her meridians. "It’s a method to temper the body through internal soul power. Although there isn't a matching cultivation technique for it, I’ve tested it—the Mysterious Heaven Technique can perfectly serve that purpose!"

"The most important thing is, he doesn't even have a technique to drive it himself." Xiao Xiao let go of her hand. "Now you tell me... should I use the Mysterious Heaven Technique to repay him?"

"..."

Tang Ya sat there, stunned, her mind reeling from the barrage of bombshell information.

After a long while, she finally realized what had just happened. Her voice trembled as she looked at Xiao Xiao. "Did you just... pass that technique to me?"

"What’s wrong with that?" At first, Xiao Xiao was taken aback by the question, but then she realized what Tang Ya was getting at and immediately patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. I already asked him about this when he first taught it to me."

"What did he say?" Tang Ya asked, acting as the bewildered straight man.

"What’s the big deal?" Xiao Xiao seemed to have changed faces, her expression one of complete indifference. "It’s not like it’s food. Why are you acting like giving it to you means there’s none left for me?"

"If you feel bad about it, you can teach it to someone else and make them feel bad along with you. Besides... even if it were actual food, I would still share it with you."

Tang Ya’s eyelid twitched violently. "Why would you share—"

"Because generosity is a virtue." Xiao Xiao spread her hands. "And because you need it."

Pfft!

In an instant, it was as if a bright critical-hit indicator had popped up over Tang Ya. She went limp, sliding from the bench until she was kneeling on the floor.

Total defeat.

She had lost completely, and in every possible way—her thoughts, her character, her conduct, her style of action, the substantive help she provided, and her ultimate goals.

It was a complete, one-sided crushing.

"Does someone like this really exist in this world? What has he been through to become like this?" Tang Ya felt as if she were in a dream.

Thinking about it carefully, the other party’s conduct was so upright, he had helped Xiao Xiao so much, and giving away a Mysterious Heaven Technique seemed like no problem at all. In fact, considering the sorry state of the Tang Sect, such a great kindness was barely repaid by a single technique.

But—Tang Ya couldn't help but bite her fingernail.

The ancestral rules of the Tang Sect explicitly forbade the passing on of sect secrets to outsiders. Doing such a thing in private was a path to certain death! The Sect Master would be stripped of their status, a kill order would be issued, and disciples would hunt the traitor down to the ends of the earth...

...Wait?

Tang Ya tilted her head, a sudden realization washing over her. "Something feels wrong."

She looked down at herself.

I am the Sect Master!

Isn't this kind of trivial matter up to me? Forget about violating the rules—I could even quietly add a few lines to the sect regulations and no one would ever know.

"As long as I tell him not to pass the secret techniques around carelessly, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Tang Ya pondered. The Mysterious Heaven Technique was definitely not enough as a token of gratitude, especially since the Tang Sect had now gained a body-tempering technique from him; that favor had to be factored in.

"Then I’ll just give him all the Tang Sect secret techniques! As long as they aren't hidden weapons, it’ll be fine." Tang Ya, finally broadening her horizons, displayed a rare moment of grand ambition. "And then I’ll offer him a position as an honorary guest. Once the Tang Sect becomes powerful in the future, we will be his backing!"

"Uh..." Xiao Xiao opened her mouth, but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to crush Tang Ya’s confidence.

There was no helping it. Watching Huo Yuhao, it was far from certain who would end up being whose "backing" in the future.

...

"That star has finally returned to its proper trajectory."

A familiar blue figure stood in the great hall, as usual, peeping at the movement of the stars amidst the mist.

Judging by the current trends, the influence he had exerted on the Child of Destiny had indeed been effective. The path, which had been growing wildly for unknown reasons, had returned to a straight line.

Furthermore, the trajectory represented by the Tang Sect had successfully become entangled with that star.

"But something seems off?" The Sea God’s brow gradually furrowed.

According to his initial plan, the star should have merged into the Tang Sect's trajectory, and then both would have blended with Shrek Academy, following the path of Shrek Academy into the future.

But now... why did it feel more like the Tang Sect had actively latched onto the star?

Had he miscalculated?

"Never mind. In any case, the first phase is finally complete."

After finding no answers, he could only give up for the time being.

—It was all because Destruction interfered too much!

Under the strict rules of the God Realm and the rigorous supervision of Destruction, even his indirect attempts to manipulate the script using Shrek and the Tang Sect were restricted. He could only do his best to remote-control the situation through the moves he had left behind on the Douluo Continent.

As for how precise this method was... let’s just say he couldn't even tell the gender of the Child of Destiny at the start, only learning that the little one was a boy after fishing the soul of a relative up from the mortal realm.