Chapter 747
Ren Xue
He relived his training at Shrek Academy, not to memorize how to use soul skills, but to feel how the desire to "become stronger" drove his body to break through its limits; he relived his battles in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament, not to memorize the tactics, but to feel how the weight of "victory and defeat" tempered his mind under pressure; he relived his love-hate relationship with Gu Yuena, not to memorize the sweet and painful details, but to feel how the conflict between "love" and "responsibility" shaped the difficulty of making choices.
He relives the turmoil and struggle of inheriting the Golden Dragon King's divine position, the joy and heartache of reuniting with Qian Renxue, the emotion and fear of becoming a father, and the despair and perseverance in fighting against the Eye of Annihilation.
He meticulously dissects each memory, not as a "story" to recall, but as an "existential event" to analyze: What did I feel at that moment? What did I choose at that moment? What did I become at that moment?
With each memory analyzed, a glimmer of light shines from the depths of the soul. At first, these points of light are independent, floating haphazardly in the depths of consciousness. But as more and more points of light emerge, they begin to connect spontaneously, forming a network.
Tang Wulin "saw" that the light spot at birth connected with the light spot in his mother's arms, because "birth" brought me into this world, and "my mother's arms" gave me my first sense of belonging in this world.
The light spot of "Mom" connects with the light spot of "Father" teaching the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique, because "calling" is my first active interaction with the world, and "learning" is my first attempt to understand the world.
The light of Shrek connects with the light of his companions, the light of the tournament connects with the light of victory and defeat, the light of love connects with the light of responsibility, the light of joy connects with the light of pain…
An increasingly complex and dense network of light slowly unfolded deep within his soul. It was not a map of power, but a complete map of the existence of "Tang Wulin": each node was an important event of existence, and each connection was a causal relationship, emotional link, and resonance of meaning between events.
When this network was taking shape, Tang Wulin felt his first "resonance".
It wasn't a resonance with external laws, but rather a self-resonance within the network. The points of light began to flash synchronously at a certain frequency, and with each flash, he gained a deeper understanding of "who he was."
He is not the successor to the Golden Dragon King's divine position—that is merely a title.
He is not the first-level deity he once was—that was just a phase.
He wasn't a cripple who had lost all his soul power—that was just a circumstance.
He is Tang Wulin, the son of Tang San and Xiao Wu, the husband of Qian Renxue, the father of Tang Xuan Yu, Tang Yilin, and Tang Nianxue, the captain of the Shrek Seven Devils, an ordinary person who once protected the world and struggled between responsibility and love, a soul that persevered in despair and proved its existence in nothingness.
The moment this realization dawned on him, the network of light deep within his soul erupted with a gentle yet bright radiance. That light permeated his body and seeped into reality.
In the quiet room, a faint halo appeared on Tang Wulin's body. It was not the golden light of soul power, nor the seven colors of divine power, but a pure, almost transparent milky white halo, like the first ray of sunlight in the morning, gentle yet firm.
Qian Renxue, who was standing guard outside the quiet room, suddenly stood up. She could sense a change in her husband. It wasn't the restoration of his strength, nor the healing of his injuries, but something more fundamental... "clarity." It was as if a dusty mirror had been wiped clean, or a blurry portrait had been brought into focus. Tang Wulin's presence became incredibly vivid and unwavering in that instant.
"This is..." She covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes.
The door to the quiet room was pushed open, and Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived. They sensed that peculiar fluctuation, both familiar and strange. "He found it," Tang San said softly, his eyes flashing with shock and understanding, "not that he found a way to restore his power, but that he found... himself."
Just then, Tang Wulin, inside the quiet room, began his second attempt.
He no longer dwells on the past, but focuses on the present.
He sensed the flow of air in the quiet room, not through his skin, but through his very being, to feel the mutual confirmation of the fact that "the air exists, and I am in the air."
He felt the touch of the futon beneath him, not with his body, but with his very being, to experience the mutual construction of the relationship that "the futon supports me, and I exist on the futon."
He felt his heartbeat, his breath, the blood flowing through his veins, and his cells metabolizing—not as a physiological phenomenon, but as continuous proof that "I exist here and now."
With each sensation, a thread of light extends from the depths of the soul, connecting with that thing. It is not a connection of control, not a connection of possession, but a connection of "co-existence": I am here with you, we share this space and time, and our existence is mutually affirmed.
Spots of light in the air, spots of light on the futon, spots of light from a heartbeat, spots of light from breath… more and more real things are being drawn into that web of existence. The network is no longer limited to memories and emotions; it begins to expand into reality.
Then, Tang Wulin made his boldest attempt.
He extended the tentacles of his consciousness toward the "laws".
It's not about understanding the composition of the laws, nor about controlling their power, but about feeling their "existence".
He felt the existence of "gravity"—not how gravity works, but the fact that "gravity exists" itself. In that instant, a new point of light lit up in his soul network, connecting with the memory point of "I am standing on the ground," and with the reality point of "blood circulating in my body." Gravity was no longer an external force, but one of the fundamental conditions constituting "Tang Wulin's existence in this world."
He sensed the existence of "time"—not how time flows, but the fact that "time exists" itself. Points of light representing time appeared in the network, connecting with all the points of memory (because memory is a trace of time) and with all the points of reality (because reality is the present moment of time). Time was no longer a linearly flowing river, but one of the warp and weft threads weaving the web of existence.
He felt the existence of "life"—not how life works, but the fact that "life exists" itself. The light of life connected with the light of birth, with the light of the heartbeat, and with all the bonds of parents, children, lovers, and friends. Life was no longer a biological definition, but the foundation upon which "I can love, hate, choose, and exist."
One by one, points of light from the laws of nature lit up within the soul network. Gravity, time, space, life, death, light, darkness, order, chaos… not all of them, but only those that Tang Wulin could understand and perceive at this moment. (End of Chapter)