The Legend of the Dragon King

Wu Zhangkong’s sober words brought Tang Wulin’s heart into a tremble. Teacher Wu’s not just being hard on us. He’s being hard on himself too! He’s so fierce!

That he had chosen the Imperial Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy as their last target was starting to foster in him all sorts of regret. The responsibility of winning against them in a match weighed so heavily on his shoulders!

He peered through the window, past their teacher’s elegant and white-clad figure. Farther off into the distance where the city stood in all its gleam and glamour. Bright City was the most advanced city on the continent. It was situated in the west, the beating heart of the region. A technological marvel filled with sights that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

“I-is that a flying car? A high-altitude flying car?” Xu Xiaoyan cried out as she pointed at the sky.

Xie Xie nodded. “Yeah. Most likely. HAF cars still in the experimental phase though. Bright City is the Federation’s technological hub of the Federation after all! It looks like the project is going well!”

The traffic ahead slowed. They could see a dozen or so mechas forming a line at the highway exit.

A hint of anxiety filled Xie Xie’s eyes. “That’s not an identification checkpoint, right?”

Their hearts nearly skipped a beat at his words. Naturally, every citizen had been issued a metal identification card at birth, but theirs were confiscated for their exam!

Tang Wulin’s face lit up. It all made sense. “The Academy made Bright City the final destination, so they had to have known this! This is just a part of the exam! No wonder they took our IDs too.”

“So what do we do?” Xu Lizhi asked.

If they failed to produce their IDs at the checkpoint, they were sure to be interrogated at the very least. Tang Wulin and company were going at this blind, their first time experiencing such an inconvenient situation.

The moment Tang Wulin scanned the highway, he grinned. “Xie Xie, pull over.”

A shrill squeak of tires, and Xie Xie skillfully maneuvered the car toward the side of the highway.

“Are we abandoning the car?” Xie Xie asked. “Do you think Teacher Wu would help us with our IDs? Wasn’t he right beside us just a while ago?” But once Xie Xie looked out the window, the sheer naiveté of his words struck him.

Wu Zhangkong was nowhere to be found.

“Oh forget about it. Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Shrugging, Tang Wulin turned to Gu Yue. He made sure to hold the rest of his team’s attention before saying, “Alright, so the plan is…”

☀

The cars trudged forward in a neat line leading to the highway exit, which was manned by inspectors checking everyone’s IDs.

In a flash of silver, Gu Yue disappeared from their car. She reappeared a second later, tens of meters in the air directly above them. She threw out her hands. A gigantic fireball shot from her widened palms in a reverberating roar. And she once again vanished in a silver flash.

It seemed outrageous that such an enormous thing, which dwarfed even some fully grown men in height, had come from the hands of a petite girl. The fireball was as radiant as the sun. It grew even larger as it soared high into the air, leaving a trail of flames.

Such a loud sound caught everyone’s attention and the people present turned to find the source. Although several of the stationed mechas powered their thrusters in search of Gu Yue, the majority of them were focused on the fireball.

Xie Xie stealthily pulled over to the side just as the fireball exploded. Sparks scattered through the air like fireworks. Gu Yue had opted to sacrifice attack power for maximal visual impact.

They opened the doors and quietly slipped out of the car. Instead of breaking into a sprint, they blended in with crowd, looking up at the rain of sparks in curiosity.

Tang Wulin swept his gaze through their surroundings before whispering, “Run.”

The six of them jumped over the railing and broke into a mad dash away from the highway. They swiftly took cover behind some nearby buildings.

The alarm finally sounded. Tang Wulin pulled Xu Lizhi along. Ye Xinglan helped Xu Xiaoyan keep up with their pace. With the aid of both Agility Soup Buns and the wind element, they sped through the city like cheetahs on the hunt.

After running for several kilometers, they boarded a bus heading deeper into Bright City. As a group of young kids, no one took much notice of them.

Right after Tang Wulin paid the bus fare for his group, he spotted a familiar face in the back of the bus. Wu Zhangkong. He was nestled in a corner of the bus, exuding a frosty aura as he peered through the window deep in thought.

Tang Wulin approached him and took a seat beside him.

“Can we visit the Sun Moon Academy right now, Teacher Wu? Can you lead us there so we can save some time from getting lost?”

Wu Zhangkong glanced at him. “Your reactions were pretty good.”

Tang Wulin cracked a mischievous grin. But his smile froze a beat later.

“Aren’t you usually more frugal?”asked Wu Zhangkong, voice as impassive as always. “Doesn’t it hurt to lose two cars already?”

Tang Wulin’s expression soured. Of course it hurts! But I had no other choice! It’s all the Academy’s fault for framing the exam like this!

Wu Zhangkong’s gaze returned to the window, the man uninterested in continuing small talk. Then he closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the headrest.

The Academy is just too ruthless! Tang Wulin grumbled in his heart.

However, now that he had been reunited with Wu Zhangkong, Tang Wulin felt at ease. All they had to do was follow their teacher and they would not get lost. Furthermore, they didn’t have to worry about points anymore. Wu Zhangkong had told them that if they defeat the Imperial Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy, Shrek Academy would award them with full marks as well as bonus points for their other classmates.

Tang Wulin shuffled closer to the window opposite of Wu Zhangkong’s. His eyes gleamed as he took in the sights passing before him. Bright City’s architecture was a stark difference from Shrek City’s. While Shrek City projected an air of classical culture mixed with the subtle taste of modernity, Bright City was a technological steel forest. Skyscrapers filled the cityscape, each with their own unique flair.

The city was enormous. The streets were congested and it took a full hour before they reached their transfer, which gave them ample time to sight-see.

Wu Zhangkong’s eyes snapped open when the bus stopped. He rose from his seat and rushed out, the six students following closely at heel.

He led them to a different bus station, onto a different bus. They changed busses two more times.

The city was like a neverending metal jungle. Although Bright City didn’t actually cover as much area as Shrek City did, due to its numerous skyscrapers and population density, it was far harder to get from place to place.

“I don’t like this city. It’s too crowded and stuffy.” Xu Xiaoyan pouted.

Xie Xie nodded. “Me neither. Everyone’s in such a hurry.”

And then, as they turned a corner in the narrow streets, they stumbled to a stop.

At the very peak of a building before them hung a sign that read ‘Imperial Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy’. The building was made entirely of metal, its base gradually sloping outward to join with three other buildings in a giant connected complex.

Is this really the Imperial Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy? It’s so different from Shrek!

Tang Wulin stared at Wu Zhangkong. His eyes danced with a million questions. Before he could ask his teacher whether they needed to verify their identities before entering, Wu Zhangkong was already walking toward the entrance.

Once he reached the gates, a megaphone materialized in his hands in a flash of light. He brought it up to his lips.

This odd action caused Tang Wulin to gawked at his teacher.

Before his students could stop him, Wu Zhangkong shouted into the megaphone, “Pay attention students of the Imperial Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy! The six of us come from Shrek Academy! We’re all fourteen years old and we’re here to challenge your strongest team under the age of twenty! We’re here to show you once again the gap between you and the greatest academy on the continent!”