"An exam? But we still have an entire month left?" Raising a brow at the Atlas Douluo's abrupt declaration Xie Xie was confused but excited. After all, even if they had been here for years already, he was still going to have the chance to attend Shrek!
"I doubt it's surprising but none of you fit within the norm. If we had you take the usual tests, you'd just demoralize the rest. That's why we'll be giving you individual challenges made for you all specifically." Smiling proudly Yun Ming held out four sealed envelopes in his hand.
"What about Mu Xi?" Raising her hand curiously Xu Xiaoyan looked at Yun Ming in a way that could only be described as rude. As she had learned from Ya Li she had often heard of Yun Ming's moments of folly so it was hard for her to respect him. Much like the rest, however, she did respect him as a combatant.
"I sent Feng Wuyu to tell her so don't worry about it. Instead, why don't you read the task we've given you?" Smiling playfully the envelopes flew from Yun Ming's hand and into their own, a curious glance shared between the four of them before they ripped them open.
Inside was just a simple piece of paper with their instructions and a simple map that while not overly helpful by itself would be invaluable when combined with the SoulNet. A quick glance revealed that their destinations were different as Yun Ming said but more interestingly Wulin actually knew all of them.
He was sent to the Eternal Sea to gather the pearls formed at its depths. Gu Yuena was sent to a place known as the Sky of Lingering Divinity, Xie Xie was headed to the Forest of a Thousand Faces, and Xu Xiaoyan's destination was the Extreme North.
"There are a few requirements for this test so don't get too excited." Despite his words, Yun Ming looked the most excited out of all of them. "First, you can't work together. Second, you have to hand in your belongings beforehand. Third, you aren't being monitored so make sure you don't die."
Nodding along none of them all too worried at his last 'requirement'. All of the tasks weren't things that encouraged being watched and it was obviously a test to test their skills outside of just combat. They needed to prove that they were worth nurturing and that Shrek hadn't wasted all the precious things they had invested in them.
"You have until classes start in… about a month I think. Well, you guys probably know better than I do. Give me your stuff and you're free to go!" Smiling brightly with his hands held out Wulin sighed and placed his storage tool in the Atlas Douluo's waiting hands.
Raising a brow Yun Ming's gaze was curious, his question subtle yet obvious. Nodding his head calmly Yun Ming shrugged and moved to the next person. Wulin was both a student and the founder of FUG, it would make sense for his belongings to be important and confidential.
And that was indeed the case. The things Wulin carried on him could be considered the key to starting a war that involved the entire world should they fall into the Spirit Pagoda's hands. Well, the world was already at war so maybe it wasn't such a big deal.
Though it was difficult to call them allies by any stretch of the imagination all four of the great powers were searching for traces of the Holy Spirit Church. Unfortunately, their presence was every bit as difficult to find as one would expect of an organization that had grown in the shadows for thousands of years.
In any case, Wulin's belongings could never fall into anyone's hands besides his own with perhaps one or two exceptions so his nonchalance was odd. It was also a dead giveaway that he hadn't given away anything of importance.
'He must have a second one somewhere.' Yun Ming had no idea where that would be exactly, it was out of his field of expertise. Besides the clothes on his back and his soul communicator, he wore nothing that could possibly store things. He wore an earring but that was far too small to function as a storage tool.
"I'm leaving first." Giving a brief nod of good wishes to his peers Wulin made his way out of Shrek, the bustling school filled with people he only vaguely knew. He, much like Mu Xi, spent far more time blacksmithing than interacting with the students so perhaps that was to be expected.
"I can't imagine how you'll live without me. Try not to make a mess of Eastsea City, alright?" A familiar warmth appeared at his side as delicate fingers intertwined with his own and a sense of power unlike anything else surged within him.
"I should be the one saying that. These days, aren't you the more destructive one?" Replying with a smile Wulin gently squeezed his partner's hand. While they joked about it, this was the first time in quite a while they'd be separated for so long. The last time must have been when he had eaten the Golden Dragon Spear and gone into a coma for a few months.
"You were cuter when you were naive." Clicking her tongue in mock irritation Gu Yuena gently rested her head on his shoulder, the two dragon kings stopping in place as they took a moment to just bask in each other's presence.
"Boss, wait up! Let's go to the station together!" Jogging toward them Xie Xie seemed to be more focused on running from Xu Xiaoyan and her pout. Chuckling Wulin shook his head with a wry smile, the moment well and truly destroyed but he'd have it no other way.
Wulin would readily admit he didn't have many friends and yet those that sat by his side were people he would never forget. They were the light that illuminated his gloomy world, the hint of color that made his life worth living.
"I won't save you. You did this to yourself." Smiling softly, Wulin continued his walk with Gu Yuena in tow. Running up to them Xie Xie attempted to hurry them along while Xu Xiaoyan tried her hardest to get him to agree to delay their deal until after they returned.
He once had people he called siblings and he thought the number would remain stagnant forever but… they wouldn't mind if he added a few more.
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Hey there, hope you liked the chapter.
To Wulin, friends are synonymous with family so him thinking of class 0 as his friends is quite heartwarming. Besides that, there isn't much to talk about without getting into spoiler territory, so I'll just leave you with a question. Considering how much of a nuisance the evil soul masters have been in both DD2 and DD4, do you think Tang Sect was correct to destroy Slaughter City?
If you want more chapters, head to patre*on.com/TrapOverlord for up to 25 extra chapters. It isn't required but it'd be much appreciated.