Chapter 130: The Fruit of Life

"Even evil soul masters can have good people among them…" Gu You had barely finished speaking when Le Zhengyu sneered.

"My holy family has been studying evil soul masters for countless years. We've met plenty of so-called 'good' evil soul masters. We know them better than you. Hearts can change — that's an unshakable truth. Especially evil soul masters — that title has been notorious for ten thousand years. Once you're labeled, you can never escape it: social rejection, federal warrants, endless pursuit… Do you really think under all that pressure, their hearts won't change? She's lucky Shrek Academy shields her; otherwise, we'd have dragged her home for judgment already."

Gu You didn't argue further. He just patted Le Zhengyu's shoulder.

That's the world for you: what you think is right, others think is wrong; what you think is wrong, others think is right. Unpredictable… truly unpredictable.

Le Zhengyu strode away.

"Mmmph—" Xie Xie's face was still so swollen he couldn't even speak.

Gu You lightly tapped his forehead with one finger, and Xie Xie's puffy face instantly returned to normal.

"Still daring to act up next time?"

"No way, no way! Boss, I know I was wrong!"

And with that, the little farce came to an end. Gu You actually felt it was a bit of a shame — he wouldn't have minded a bit more fun. Being this overwhelmingly strong… was honestly kind of boring.

Back at the academy, the four returned to their newly spruced-up work-study dorm. Thanks to the fancy furnishings Gu You had bought, it no longer felt so run-down, but even so, none of them were ready to sleep yet.

Gu You combed through his white hair, feeling that strange, mismatched beauty. Honestly, he was starting to like the white-haired look and didn't really want to go back to his old color.

But his body was screaming at him: if he didn't replenish some life energy soon, even as a god, he'd be in trouble.

"Boss, don't you think there's some secret about these work-study students? You've been in the Inner Court before, right? Ever hear any rumors? I noticed at the dining hall, when people heard we were work-study, they seemed wary or even afraid. And that red-haired girl from earlier — she said she was work-study too. Should we maybe find other work-study students and learn what's going on?" Xie Xie asked in a low voice.

"Don't overthink it," Gu You replied calmly. "Every mystery reveals itself in time. You'll figure it out when you're meant to."

"…Fine." Xie Xie sighed and glanced at Xu Xiaoyan across the room. She hadn't gone to bed yet either, so the fancy curtain they used to divide the room wasn't drawn yet.

"You're such a gossip, you know that? What kind of boy's this nosy? So pervy." Xu Xiaoyan shot him a big eye roll.

Gu Yue stood up, flicked a switch, and the curtain slid shut between the boys' and girls' sides.

Xie Xie yanked a pillow over his head and went to sleep.

—

In the spiritual realm, Gu You appeared before the Seed of Life. Or rather, it was no longer just a seed — it had grown into a proper Life Tree. Underwater, it stood over ten meters tall, radiating life energy that spread through the surrounding space and even the entire pocket world.

The ocean he'd created, the seawater itself, now glowed with a deep green hue — not from algae or other organisms, but from the sheer richness of life energy.

Tiny fish swam past. Everything was flourishing, the ecosystem now cycling on its own. This world could even begin to generate life autonomously.

Gu You couldn't help feeling proud. Seeing this world thrive felt like watching his own child grow up — it filled him with satisfaction.

He carefully plucked a Life Fruit from the Life Tree. This was an incredibly rare treasure. Even in its juvenile stage, the tree had only produced two such fruits, and they weren't even mature yet.

Still, even an unripe Life Fruit could grant the user an extra six months of lifespan.

Gu You gently wiped the surface of the fruit. Six months might sound small, but for an elderly Title Douluo, it was an extraordinary treasure. High-level officials in the Federation were always scouring the world for any medicine or treasure that could extend life. Even at auctions, pills that extended life were rare and usually only added a few days — sometimes three extra days was already considered excellent.

Technically, as the master of this world, Gu You could take what he wanted. But he still felt a little guilty about plucking something from the Life Tree. After all, it took immense life energy to produce even one fruit, and a full maturation would take at least a hundred years. Being able to eat just one was already an enormous privilege.

But… well, when it came down to it, Gu You still needed it. If he ran out of life energy, he'd collapse, and this world would crumble with him. Thinking that, he took a big bite.

Crunch!

Ahhh… delicious.

—

The night passed uneventfully.

By early morning, Xie Xie was up bright and early, as were Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue. Gu You, meanwhile, was in unusually high spirits — he'd never felt so refreshed.

And what was the first thing to do after getting up?

Of course: breakfast. After a quick wash, the group headed to the Shrek Outer Court cafeteria. With Gu You's abundant contribution points, they ate their fill, then marched off to accept their daily tasks.

At the administration office, the teacher glanced up and lazily waved them over. "You four, keep cleaning Lingbing Plaza. Good job yesterday — keep it up." The teacher didn't even bother to fully open his eyes.

Naturally, Gu You had no intention of doing such simple tasks himself. His contribution points weren't earned for nothing — he left that work to Xie Xie and the others. Being a work-study student was tough; they were required to complete at least one labor-heavy task every day.

"Teacher, I'm here to report a completed task," a calm voice said nearby.

"Oh? Finished the blueprint already? Not bad. Yuanen, your efficiency keeps improving," the teacher said, finally opening his eyes to offer some praise. He took the ID card from the student named Yuanen and loaded on what must have been quite a lot of contribution points.

"You can pick another task if you like. You only need to do one per day to meet the requirement, but the more contribution points you earn, the more resources you can get for training."

Yuanen quickly selected another task and left without a word — only offering a faint nod to Gu You's group as they passed.

"He's a work-study student too?" Xie Xie asked curiously, though he already suspected the answer.

"Yup. And 'he' is actually a girl," Gu You replied with a grin.

"…Huh?! Boss, don't mess with me. That's obviously a guy!" Xie Xie was stunned.

"I'm not messing with you. She's cross-dressing."

"No way! What kind of geniuses are hiding here at Shrek? And how could you tell?" Xie Xie was desperate to know.

Gu You's voice grew low and mysterious.

"I have a gaze… that can see through the world itself…"

(End of chapter)

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