Ye Xinglan: Same resources, so why are you developing faster than me?!

Nan Liujing stood with his arms crossed before his chest. Facing the Armor Blades whistling toward him, he made no move at all. Yet to everyone's surprise, a shadow slowly peeled away from his body.

"What is that?!"

Cries of alarm rose from the crowd.

Mo Jue, Li Qiankun, and even Yu Jiutian all widened their eyes at the same time.

It wore a long robe and a hood, with a purple-black staff in its hand. The instant the Demon Body appeared, the light around them suddenly dimmed, as though it had been swallowed by it.

This bizarre sight drew everyone's attention. Even Xu Cang, who was in the middle of the fight, froze for a moment.

Facing the overwhelming tide of Armor Blades, the Demon Body strolled up to Nan Liujing and thrust its staff like a bolt of lightning. In an instant, over a hundred black staff shadows appeared. Darkness gathered, forming a curtain as murky as a swamp.

The Armor Blades crashed into the staff shadows as if they had fallen into an abyss, quickly sinking out of sight.

As the controller of the martial soul, Xu Cang immediately heard harsh, unintelligible whispers by his ear. It was as though something was trying to lure him into falling, and his Spiritual Power inexplicably began to weaken.

As one of the Mystic Nether Sect's candidates for young sect master, Xu Cang was no roadside weed. Sensing that something was wrong, he forced himself to focus and let out an angry roar. Vast Soul Power surged from within him, rippling around him like waves.

The Armor Blades trapped in the staff-shadow swamp rapidly broke free under his control as well.

Clatter!

But something even more astonishing followed. The thrusting end of the purple-black staff held by the Demon Body transformed into pitch-black chains, like countless dancing snakes. Every chain firmly restrained an Armor Blade.

The Dark Element rapidly climbed along the chains and onto the Armor Blades, clinging like maggots to bone.

The whispers in his ears grew even stronger. Xu Cang's pupils suddenly contracted. Beneath the Demon Body's hood, its blood-red eyes seemed like those of a demon staring coldly at him across the barrier between planes.

Yet within the onlookers' field of vision, those blood-red eyes never appeared. All they could see were the Armor Blades wrapped in chains and Xu Cang's constantly trembling body. Strangely, he showed no sign of injury.

The scene was simply too bizarre, and most of the people wore bewildered expressions.

Only Mo Jue, who also possessed a Dark Martial Soul, could clearly sense that the chains contained not only the Dark Element, but also intense Spiritual Power fluctuations.

"This is the ability of a Food System Soul Master?" Mo Jue could not believe it.

"Xuanming Power, Xuanming Tremor!"

With his eyes trembling violently, Xu Cang roared as if making a desperate final stand. His third and first soul rings suddenly lit up with a soft glow. A massive Xuanming Tortoise Beast phantom appeared behind him and let out a deep roar, causing the Soul Power around him to surge with unprecedented activity. The Armor Blades bound by the chains and unable to return released intense vibration waves in unison.

The vibration waves released by the Armor Blades rapidly fused together, forming a black barrier in midair. At last, the chains began to falter and tremble without end.

"Retract."

With a thought from Nan Liujing, the dark energy released by the Demon Body swiftly withdrew. The chains returned like countless snakes heading back to their nest, restoring the Coiled Dragon Staff to its straight form.

Having lost control, the armor fragments spun back to Xu Cang and reassembled around him.

"Huff!"

He had used three soul skills in succession. The physical exertion was not great, and the Soul Power consumption was still acceptable, but Xu Cang looked as though he had just suffered a severe illness. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and his consciousness was somewhat hazy.

He bit the tip of his tongue, and the sharp pain steadied him. Looking at Nan Liujing with terror in his eyes, he made a shocking accusation. "You're an Evil Soul Master!"

"What?"

The expressions of the onlookers changed. They all turned to look at Nan Liujing, while some of the weaker ones unconsciously swallowed.

Not long ago, Evil Soul Masters had brought down a soul-guided aircraft carrying two hundred people. That incident had not yet faded from people's memories.

Nan Liujing looked at the Demon Body with satisfaction and said indifferently, "You can't just slap the label of Evil Soul Master on someone."

Xu Cang drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, "I don't know what abilities your martial soul has, but that shadow can use chains formed from Spiritual Power to constantly corrode my consciousness and lure me into the Abyss. If my martial soul's stability hadn't been strong enough, even my attribute might have been forcibly altered into sinister water. And you still say that doesn't make you an Evil Soul Master?"

Noticing that Wu Sidu was about to awaken, Ye Xinglan strode directly to Nan Liujing's side like an enraged tigress and asked in a low voice,

"Just because something went wrong with your consciousness, you get to decide on your own that someone is an Evil Soul Master?"

"Hard to say." A voice emerged from the crowd.

Ye Xinglan shot a cold look in that direction, only to see a flustered figure lowering its head and slipping back into the crowd.

"I don't think he's an Evil Soul Master."

Mo Jue stepped forward from the front of the crowd. Facing everyone, she said in a deep voice, "My Black Swan martial soul is also of the darkness attribute, and I possess some curse-type soul skills similar to those used by Evil Soul Masters. If we really dig into it, wouldn't that make me an Evil Soul Master too? Yet I'm still a Shrek student. Could the academy possibly wrongfully accuse a normal Soul Master of being an Evil Soul Master?"

Xu Cang frowned. "Mo Jue, that's different. You..."

"What's different about it?" Li Qiankun cut in. As class monitor, he had to support his vice class monitor. "If he were an Evil Soul Master, would the Spirit Pagoda have let him enter the Spirit Ascension Platform? It's impossible when you think about it."

They were all Shrek students, but unlike Xu Cang and Yu Jiutian, the latter two were prospective inner court students and did not study in the outer court at all. Aside from being fellow students of the same academy, the two sides were not actually familiar.

Xu Cang said nothing more, merely watching with cold indifference. He absolutely trusted his own judgment. The other party was an Evil Soul Master.

Yu Jiutian had remained silent the entire time, carefully observing Nan Liujing. Whether someone was an Evil Soul Master or not could be determined by testing them.

Nan Liujing did not defend himself either, because there was no need. He merely recalled the Demon Body calmly.

It had to be said that the Demon Body's power had truly exceeded his expectations.

The corrosion of consciousness Xu Cang had felt was most likely related to the Demon Body being primarily tainted by energy from the Demon Plane. That stuff was inherently a power that bewitched the heart.

Beyond that, the dark power displayed by the Demon Body was another pleasant surprise. Its attack power was not as overwhelming as the Thunder Dragon Soul Coiled Dragon Staff's, but it was far stranger and harder to guard against.

This was a gold mine worth continuing to develop.

"Regardless, I'll report this to the Spirit Pagoda and request an inspection." Xu Cang stared intensely at the silent Nan Liujing. Those blood-red eyes had left an immense impression on him, as though his soul itself had nearly been dragged into them.

Mo Jue and Li Qiankun frowned. You're going too far!

What else could the other observing students and independent Soul Masters say? They could only watch silently.

Ye Xinglan's delicate brows rose, and anger instantly flared in her heart. Soul Power surged through her body as she prepared to draw her sword and strike.

But someone was faster than her.

Before anyone could react, a dark-cyan staff crackling with dark-blue arcs of lightning shot forward. With a bang, it viciously rammed into Xu Cang's chest.

"Pfft."

Xu Cang flew backward and spat out a mouthful of blood. The agonizing pain of broken ribs snapped him fully awake. His eyes were filled with shock; he had never expected the other party to launch a sneak attack.

Yu Jiutian's expression shifted slightly. He too had not expected Nan Liujing to strike so ruthlessly and swiftly.

Before he could make a move, however, his pupils suddenly shrank. Behind the cold-faced youth wielding the staff, a lifelike dragon soul phantom emerged.

The Lightning Element Soul Power within Yu Jiutian's body seemed to have encountered its natural enemy, shrinking in on itself completely.

Martial soul attribute suppression?

As Nan Liujing's second purple soul ring lit up, the dragon soul gave a low chant. Deep thunderclouds gathered in the sky, and with a boom, three bolts of lightning as thick as bamboo poles crashed down in succession, striking Xu Cang before he hit the ground.

His powerful body was swallowed by dark-blue lightning and torn apart amid the flashes, as though ripped apart by five horses. A beam of light flashed, and he vanished from the Spirit Ascension Platform world.

There was a reason why the Thunderous Nethervine was hailed as the most tyrannical of all plant-type soul beasts.

The forty-thousand-year Thunderous Nethervine within Zhang Geyang had required eleven Titled Douluo to join forces just to suppress it.

"Who else says I'm an Evil Soul Master?"

After killing the twenty-seventh-ranked genius on the Young Genius Ranking with one blow, Nan Liujing coldly swept his gaze over the crowd as they recovered from their shock.

The entire grassland fell silent.

Rumble!

The thunderclouds above had yet to disperse. The violent Thunder Power seemed to still be brewing, roaring like a colossal beast of war.

Still shaken, everyone backed away, afraid of being caught in the aftermath.

"Xu Cang merely questioned you. Why did you have to strike so viciously?" Yu Jiutian faced Nan Liujing directly, his eyes fixed mainly on the Thunder Dragon Soul behind him. An eager urge to try his hand at battle surged in his heart.

Two yellow and one purple soul rings rose beneath his feet. The domineering phantom of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul appeared behind his head, and surging currents of electricity radiated immense pressure.

The two dragons faced one another, and the air nearly froze. Yet the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul phantom's aura was clearly being suppressed.

As Yu Jiutian made his move, several people in the crowd exchanged looks and stepped forward as well. Soul rings rose beneath their feet, and everyone's Spiritual Power locked collectively onto Nan Liujing.

Boom!

Lightning flashed, illuminating Nan Liujing's cold, handsome face.

Eighteen bolts of lightning descended from the sky, like spears of the Thunder God. The people who had stepped out to support Yu Jiutian one moment were annihilated by the violent lightning the next.

Only Yu Jiutian reacted quickly enough. He had already activated his third soul skill, Wrath of Thunder, and his second soul skill, Thunderous Might. His arms transformed into savage dragon claws, and he grabbed at the sky. Lightning elements gathered around him and formed a dense net of lightning, attempting to block the roaring Shocking Thunder.

"He's ruthless."

Nan Liujing murmured coldly.

Under the influence of the Heavenly Tribulation Bead, his Thunder Dragon Soul had long since begun to evolve, surpassing the level of the Thunder Dragon Soul his father possessed. Its lightning attribute had nearly reached the half-step ultimate level.

Yu Jiutian was no fool. He could definitely sense the gap between their attributes. If he had chosen to confront him head-on, he was most likely after something.

When soul masters with the same attribute clashed, provided their ranks were not too far apart, the difference in attribute level would allow the stronger party to suppress the weaker one, even assimilating the weaker party's Soul Power. Unless special conditions could make up for the gap, all one could do was admit defeat.

It was like Tang Wulin facing a dragon-type martial soul master of the same rank. He would suppress you completely.

The composure on Yu Jiutian's face quickly changed. He could clearly feel the lightning net above him beginning to slip from his control. Even the Soul Power he poured into it afterward vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, utterly ineffective.

The next moment, the lightning net rebelled and crashed down upon Yu Jiutian alongside the lightning.

If this had happened earlier, Yu Jiutian might still have had a chance to dodge. But the lightning net had been released by him in the first place. Once it rebelled, it locked onto him as well. Without teleportation or sufficiently powerful defenses, there was no way he could withstand it head-on.

Without the slightest hesitation, he slapped the rescue signal device on his right hand and transformed into a beam of light, leaving the Spirit Ascension Platform.

So he really did strike to test me. Nan Liujing thought. Makes sense. Although the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon isn't top-tier in Season 3, when it comes purely to the lightning attribute, there really isn't anything stronger on the surface.

"Friend, you're in trouble."

Once the thunderclouds dispersed, Li Qiankun sent a voice transmission to Nan Liujing with a grave expression.

Nan Liujing had a somewhat favorable impression of him. "What trouble?"

Li Qiankun replied through voice transmission, "Xu Cang holds grudges fiercely. He was personally accepted as a prospective inner court student by our outer court dean. Now that you've attacked him, there's no telling whether he'll embellish the story to prove that you're an Evil Soul Master. If he draws the dean's attention, I'm afraid this won't end simply."

The outer court dean?

Nan Liujing suddenly understood. Oh, that old demon Cai Yue'er, just like Zhou Yi from Season 2.

What, you're asking who Xuan Zi is? Obviously Long Yeyue. She even took on Ye Xishui's role from the Dou San era, playing out a new-version love triangle with Teacher Yun Ming, Elder Bei, and Vast Sea Douluo Chen Xinjie.

"Trash that I killed in one hit is worthy of being a prospective inner court student? Are you sure your dean isn't playing favorites?" Nan Liujing joked without the slightest concern.

No, bro, how did you not get it?

Li Qiankun was getting anxious. That was the outer court dean, a genuine Three-word Battle Armor Master, perhaps even a Super Douluo. If she decided to act, unless a Limit Douluo stood behind you, who could stop her?

Even if you weren't an Evil Soul Master, you would still lose a layer of skin.

He wanted to continue, but someone suddenly grabbed his arm. Looking over, he saw Mo Jue shaking her head at him as her voice reached his ears through Soul Power transmission.

"Someone who can suppress the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon in terms of martial soul attribute may very well have someone backing him too. Trying to persuade him here would just be unnecessary and make us look foolish."

Li Qiankun calmed down. That was indeed true.

"Liujing, are you all right?"

Wu Sidu had just awakened and hurried to Nan Liujing's side, staring warily at the other Soul Masters who had not been wiped out by the lightning.

She had not heard what had happened, but she could feel the intense Soul Power fluctuations that had just erupted.

Ye Xinglan paused and turned to glance at Wu Sidu, who stood on Nan Liujing's right.

In looks, they were evenly matched.

In height, they were evenly matched.

As for their skin, she could not tell. Both were equally fair.

But their figures...

Ye Xinglan stared at those slightly raised places, unconsciously grinding her silver teeth.

Same resources, so why are you developing so fast?

I refuse to accept this!

"I'm fine." Nan Liujing shook his head and smiled. "Your Soul Power hasn't fully recovered yet. Why did you stop meditating so early?"

Wu Sidu smiled sweetly. "When a friend is in trouble, how could I act like nothing happened?"

"Thanks." Nan Liujing's heart warmed. They had not seen each other for years, but fortunately, their friendship had not faded.

A faint smile touched Wu Sidu's lips. Just as she was about to say something, she noticed someone staring at her. Looking over, her gaze met Ye Xinglan's azure eyes directly.

The two girls paused briefly, then nodded at each other with "kind" smiles. Neither said a word.