Leader of FUG, King of the Spirit Beasts, and the Son of the Sea God. Those were all names owned by his student who he thought of as his own child. Truth be told, Wu Zhangkong didn't know whether to be worried or honored.
Life was never easy whether you were a cultivator or not but it was undeniable that the former did have higher responsibility. Even then, the responsibility carried by most couldn't even hold a candle to a fraction of what those two felt.
"Come in." Hearing the familiar knocking on his door Wu Zhangkong didn't know how to treat the boy who came through. On one hand, Wulin had reached a level the Cold God couldn't even dream of but on the other, he was still rough around the edges. Did he have the right to train such a person?
Nodding to his teacher Wulin took a seat across from the man without any hesitation. It was something the boy had done from very early on yet today Wu Zhangkong couldn't help but take it another way. He wasn't sitting in front of a boy but a world leader.
"What is your goal? Not your final goal but the things you want to accomplish here along the way." Getting straight into it Wu Zhangkong couldn't even begin to assume how Wulin would respond. He thought he knew the boy well but now it felt like everything was a lie.
"I don't know. I just… want these days to continue." It was an oddly weak response from somebody of his standing and unusually sincere for the boy but it was what Wu Zhangkong should have expected. No, to be correct he thought this couldn't be the case.
He held Wulin to a higher standing than he already did, he believed that the boy had his entire life planned out from the very second he was born. But that wasn't the case. Wulin was, while odd, a child. Wu Zhangkong knew that however, he deluded himself.
In recent times, everything he believed to be true had been questioned time and time again. It began with the fall of the Spirit Pagoda at the hands of FUG but it had spiraled out of control with each day that passed.
The oncoming war was just the tip of the iceberg. The Federation's centuries of hiding grave sins, the future stolen by numerous talents by the Spirit Pagoda, and even the Tang Sect and Shrek were no exception.
He took pride in the fact that comparatively the latter two were saints but even the lesser of two evils was evil. Shrek had a history of ignoring various issues while the Tang Sect had more than once instigated a war by picking sides. What he thought was justice was just a mask, a veil of lies he hadn't been able to see through.
"I see." Relaxing into his chair slightly Wu Zhangkong didn't show it on his face but he was relieved. Even if his students had a much deeper history than he expected they were still the same children he had taught for all these months. That alone was worth its weight in gold.
"Should I get revenge for you?" That abrupt question from his student made even the Cold God's blood run cold. The love of his life had been killed and the hatred from that day could never be forgotten but…
"No. I'll do it myself." Spitting out those words Wu Zhangkong calmed himself only when Wulin nodded his head. Wulin wasn't one to push when told no so there was no fear of doing such a thing. Most importantly, however, it wouldn't be easy even for FUG to do so.
The man who had killed the love of his life was a very hard to find person. Even the Tang Sect had only found traces of his existence over the years despite Wu Zhangkong's best efforts. He had no doubts that FUG was powerful and still growing however finding that man would be difficult even for them.
"When we create the divine realm… it should be possible to bring her back." Though Wulin always sported a bored face right now, his eyes were filled with a trace of worry. It was an unfamiliar emotion to be on the boy's face but Wu Zhangkong recognized it.
It was an expression he saw so often all those years ago. It was nearly identical to the face of Long Bing when she was worried she was pushing too far. Wulin was worried about him and that his words would anger him.
"I see." Turning toward the large glass window Wu Zhangkong overlooked the city though it was slightly blurry tonight. He could feel his student's gaze but the Cold God's eyes remained in place for quite some time as he recalled all the precious memories of his youth.
He had made plenty of mistakes in his youth whether they be harmless or disastrous so Wu Zhangkong was confident in this declaration. His decision to teach this Demon of Destruction amidst the school's worries… would never be one of them.
Tang Wulin was, at first glance, a solitary being. More robotic than human, lacking in common sense, and willing to bend the rules to get what he wanted. Tang Wulin was a person that was impossible to relate to, a flower atop a mountain if you will.
But in reality, Tang Wulin was somebody who gathered talents around him effortlessly. He raised a group of cultists dedicated to him, charmed his greatest enemy, and swayed the hearts of all he came across. The group of peers he had built from nothing was proof of that.
Wulin was not a lone king like his predecessor, he was a man that would build a legend greater than his father's with those he brought together. That was what Wu Zhangkong truly believed from the bottom of his heart. In no way would he regret teaching such a student.
Abruptly the building shook as darkness rose into the crimson sky not far away. Instantly Wu Zhangkong's emotional state was washed away as he watched fire spread through the city, his body shaking without his control.
It wasn't the city burning that scared him so badly but instead, the malevolence that just manifested behind him. Inhumane, oppressive, and downright horrific were the only ways to describe the being that stood only a scant few feet away.
In the reflection of the glass Wu Zhangkong did not see his student but instead, a giant dragon staring back at him. The power held in that being's crimson irises was so baleful that Wu Zhangkong could feel his spiritual sea straining and growing merely by looking at its reflection.
What sat behind him was no human, it was a god. An enraged one.
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Hey there, hope you liked the chapter.
As much as I didn't enjoy writing this chapter, it felt too important to gloss over. Wu Zhangkong is, while generally logical, ultimately just a human and that means his emotions can mess with his thoughts. When you learn somebody close to you, somebody you think of like your own child, was lying to you the entire time it's only nature something like this happens.
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.