In Douluo Continent, I am the mastermind behind the scenes.

Ning Peiya felt her body suddenly twitch, and when she opened her eyes again, she was surprised to find that... she was back home, seven days before the deadline for her trip to Shrek City to take the entrance exam.

"Could it be that... the haunted house, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and even being adopted as a goddaughter by the Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li were all just a pipe dream?"

"Or... is this just an illusion created by the haunted house specifically to target Ning Peiya?"

Ning Peiya did not give up on herself. If her previous experience was really just a pipe dream, then... she needed to plan her trip to Shrek City carefully.

With this in mind, Ning Peiya changed into a set of close-fitting clothes, walked out of the room with ease, and came to a desolate mountain outside the city.

"Seven treasures are famous, the first being 'Smash'!"

Ning Peiya unleashed her signature soul skill—Rotating Flying Tower—on the giant rock in front of her.

But... the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda seemed to have suddenly gone on strike, losing its former spirituality, and remained motionless in her palm.

Seeing this, Ning Peiya panicked and hurriedly circulated her soul power, making the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda float in mid-air, and unleashing her other signature soul skill - Seven-Colored Divine Light.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda remained completely unmoved, seemingly... the idea that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Master possessed its own unique attack methods was merely a fantasy of Ning Peiya.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

At this moment, Ning Peiya could no longer control her emotions. She picked up the pagoda in front of her and kept hitting it against the boulder.

boom!

With a deafening roar, the boulder shattered instantly, and Ning Peiya was unexpectedly thrown back by the aftershocks of the explosion, crashing heavily to the ground like a kite with a broken string.

The moment she touched the ground, Ning Peiya sprang to her feet with a quick, agile movement.

"Thank goodness, my prized physical skills are still intact."

Ning Peiya murmured, a hint of melancholy flashing in her beautiful eyes.

"No, I still have a divine artifact. As long as I get there first and go to the black market in Shrek City to get that artifact, I still have a chance to become a battle spirit master."

Ning Peiya slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, hurriedly set off back home, quickly packed her daily necessities, and then went to the local Soul Guidance Train Station to buy a ticket to Shrek City.

Ning Peiya's current problem is not the uncertain future, but that she cannot distinguish between illusion and reality.

Was the experience she remembered really just a pipe dream?

Is what she's seeing now really not a hallucination created specifically for her by the haunted house?

She cannot slack off, and dares not slack off.

Standing at the pinnacle of this world with the talent of a mere Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Master is Ning Peiya's only dream.

After getting off the bus, Ning Peiya went straight to the black market in Shrek Inner City without even eating.

However... the scene of the black market was completely different from what she remembered. Even after turning the black market upside down, she did not see the stall owner she remembered, let alone that magical artifact.

As time passed, the day of Shrek Academy's entrance exam soon arrived.

The entrance exam was completely different from what she had imagined, but thanks to her proud physical skills and... her status as a level five blacksmith, she successfully passed the entrance exam.

This is a world without Vesbania ore, without Yue Zhengyin and Huo Yuhao, and even Gu Yuena is a different individual.

Without any divine artifacts or her proud Tower Fighting Techniques, Ning Peiya repeatedly encountered setbacks at Shrek Academy. Even though she displayed powerful physical skills and applied to the Sea God Pavilion for a celestial herb that could help her martial soul evolve, the Sea God Pavilion still refused her despite her best efforts.

With no other option, she had to seek refuge at the Spirit Pagoda.

After much persuasion, Qian Gu Dong Feng finally agreed to her request and, at the time of the Shrek Inner City explosion, went to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye to obtain a rare herb that she had been longing for.

Thus, she dedicated her life to the Qian Gu family, vowing to help them stand at the pinnacle of the world.

As a clear-headed native, she knew that Tang Wulin was the protagonist of the storybook and simply did not believe that Tang Wulin and his seven companions were dead.

Just as she was monitoring Tang Wulin and his group, a black-haired man stepped forward and warned her not to have any unrealistic ideas about Tang Wulin.

Ning Peiya knew... this black-haired man was Tang Wulin's "golden finger," or protector. Anyone who wanted to kill Tang Wulin would have to pay a huge price.

Ning Peiya decided to switch to a different track.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

She suggested to Qian Gu Dongfeng that the scandals of the Yuanen family be filmed to completely nail Yuanen Yehui, Tang Wulin, and others to the hall of shame.

It must be said that Qian Gu Dongfeng truly lived up to his reputation as a shrewd and ambitious man. Although he had his doubts, he didn't press the matter further. Following Ning Peiya's instructions, he disseminated the copied evidence through the Spirit Pagoda's intelligence network.

As the scandals of the Yuanen family were exposed, some people with aspirations spontaneously organized to besiege Tang Wulin's group of seven.

Just when she thought Tang Wulin was doomed and would never be able to turn things around, that evening, after finishing her work and returning home, before she could even turn on the light, an unassuming middle-aged strong man climbed in through the window and smashed her skull with his Haotian Hammer.

She died, killed by Tang Hao, the Haotian Douluo.

But... she was unwilling to accept it. What had she done wrong in her life?

Resent Ning Peiya for not being loyal to the Sea God Pavilion? Ha! She wouldn't even offer up a single immortal herb that could save the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School's legacy. Has Ning Peiya lost her mind? Let her die a slow death in the Sea God Pavilion.

Despair! Utter despair!

With Tang Wulin protected by his grandfather Tang Hao, he holds a pair of trump cards in his hand. What can Ning Peiya use to fight him?

"Sister Xiaoya, why... are you crying?"

Just then, a familiar yet unfamiliar female voice suddenly rang out, and Ning Peiya came back to her senses, meeting Chen Ning's beautiful eyes.

"Senior Chen Ning."

Ning Peiya hugged Chen Ning tightly, collapsing into her arms and sobbing uncontrollably.

I'm so desperate!

The reality is far more hopeless than the illusion!

She knew of Tang Hao's existence, but there was nothing she could do.

A quasi-god's lifespan is only a little over two hundred years. Even if she were to grovel before Tang Wulin... it might not be enough to buy her two hundred years of peace.

She would never forget... when the bounty hunters surrounded Tang Wulin and his group, everyone except Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena... died! (End of Chapter)