Above the Holy Spirit Cult's underground headquarters in the Demonic Forest.
The Holy Spirit Cult members all looked grim.
In the future, the Holy Spirit Cult would be destroyed, with only a few remnants escaping!
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Though they said this, many members of the Holy Spirit Cult were already overcome with fear.
Across the entire continent, the Holy Spirit Cult was undoubtedly one of the factions whose members felt the strongest loyalty to it.
There was no helping it. Aside from the Holy Spirit Cult, no other faction would tolerate Evil Soul Masters.
Not even the Sun Moon Empire, despite having reached an agreement with the Holy Spirit Cult.
The two factions were merely using each other.
In the Original Work, Xu Tianran not only turned against the Holy Spirit Cult later on, but also laid a trap that led to the deaths of Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao.
It was no exaggeration to say that once the Holy Spirit Cult was destroyed, these Evil Soul Masters would once again become outcasts, despised by everyone.
The Holy Spirit Cult's upper ranks all wore exceptionally grave expressions.
The Holy Spirit Cult's current Cult Master, Zhongli Wu, was especially solemn.
From the very beginning, he had been skeptical of the information shown by the Sky Curtain.
After all, no matter how he looked at those assessments, they seemed far too outrageous.
But when he saw the words about the Sun Moon Empire, which had cooperated with the Holy Spirit Cult, he began to believe them.
The Holy Spirit Cult had formed an alliance with the Sun Moon Empire!
As things stood, only he and the Sun Moon Empire's current emperor knew about it.
There was no need to mention Zhongli Wu. The Sun Moon Emperor was even less likely to do something as foolish as expose himself.
If word suddenly got out that the Sun Moon Empire was cooperating with an organization of Evil Soul Masters like the Holy Spirit Cult, it was easy to imagine what would happen within the empire.
Even before this, the Old Emperor, who had seized power in the Sun Moon Empire, had maintained an ambiguous attitude toward the Holy Spirit Cult.
In public, he acted as if he did not know them, but behind closed doors, he quietly showed them goodwill.
It was something that should have been impossible for anyone to know, yet the Sky Curtain had exposed it.
Zhongli Wu's deep purple eyes flickered faintly.
"Cult Master?" Scorpion Tiger Douluo's voice trembled slightly.
The other high-ranking members also turned their gazes toward Zhongli Wu.
Apart from a few who were so insane they could barely think straight, everyone else looked terrified.
Were they really a match for the person in the sky?
Maybe they should just disband the Holy Spirit Cult now. At least then, they might have a slim chance of survival.
Naturally, they did not dare voice these thoughts. Otherwise, death would be waiting for them.
Zhongli Wu, the Holy Spirit Cult's current Cult Master, was not the sort to kill indiscriminately, but he was cold and ruthless, willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals.
If anyone tried to undermine their resolve now, Zhongli Wu would strike at once.
He would make an example of them to frighten the others.
"Hmph!"
Zhongli Wu snorted coldly, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes. "The fact that he'll be powerful in the future doesn't mean he's just as powerful now!"
At those words, the others' eyes lit up, and killing intent appeared on their faces.
Evil Soul Masters had always been lawless!
The unbelievable assessments on the Sky Curtain had simply made them lose the will to fight back.
But as Zhongli Wu had said, the future was still the future. If they made certain changes now, the future would change too.
It wasn't as if that future version of him could cross the river of time and return to the past!
Before a genius had a chance to grow, what difference was there between him and an ant in the eyes of a true powerhouse?
"Investigate!"
"Use every means at your disposal!"
"Whether it's the Star Luo Empire or Shrek Academy, don't overlook anyone!"
"For the sake of the Holy Spirit Cult—and for ourselves—we have to kill him before he can grow!"
Zhongli Wu swept his gaze across the crowd and issued his order in a vicious voice.
If you're going to destroy my Holy Spirit Cult in the future, then I'll bring the entire cult down if I have to—but I'll kill you first!
As someone who had seized the position of Cult Master and won over all the Evil Soul Masters, wresting power from his own mother, Zhongli Wu had never lacked the willingness to fight to the death.
"Ming Lei."
Zhongli Wu turned toward a black-robed figure not far away. "Go tell the Old Emperor that our Holy Spirit Cult intends to kill him before he can grow."
"Yes."
Lightning crackled around Ming Lei Douluo, but there was nothing warm or righteous about it. Instead, it carried a chill of sinister energy.
In the next instant, he shot into the sky like a bolt of lightning.
"Cult Master, will the Old Emperor help us?"
Heaven Centipede Douluo asked, his brow furrowed.
"He's a clever man. He knows what choice is best for the Sun Moon Empire!"
A cold smile appeared on Zhongli Wu's face as he spoke in a low, languid voice.
Meanwhile, the Sky Curtain continued to play.
"I kindly gave them a chance to live, but they betrayed me and all of humanity, choosing instead to become dogs for those Gods!"
In the scene, Gu Tian looked down at the ministers below, his voice cold and authoritative. "What do you say, Long Xiaoyao?"
"Your Majesty, I will give you an answer."
An elderly man with a tall frame and carefully combed silver hair, his face rosy as a baby's, let out a quiet sigh.
"Long Xiaoyao, you know why I spared the Holy Spirit Cult, that scourge, in the first place."
Gu Tian looked at Long Xiaoyao and spoke without expression.
"In recognition of all you've done for my Star Luo Empire, I can give you one more chance. Ye Xishui may live, but Zhongli Wu must die."
"I obey, Your Majesty." A hint of joy flashed across Long Xiaoyao's face.
When they saw the silver-haired elder clearly displayed on the Sky Curtain and heard the conversation between the two men, many reclusive old monsters widened their eyes.
"That's Long Xiaoyao, the Dragon Emperor Douluo who disappeared long ago—the Black Dragon of the Black and White Twin Dragon Saints."
"I can't believe he's still alive!"
"Why would Senior Dragon Emperor join the Holy Spirit Cult?"
"Who is Ye Xishui, that the Dragon Emperor Douluo cares about her so much?"
A Rank 99 Limit Douluo, the Black Dragon of the Black and White Twin Dragon Saints—
Even now, his legend likely still endured across the continent, and countless Soul Masters regarded him as a godlike figure.
Yet he had close ties to the Holy Spirit Cult.
If people knew that Long Xiaoyao had once been the Holy Spirit Cult's Chief Venerable, they would be utterly dumbfounded.
Shrek Academy, atop the Golden Ancient Wood.
"I knew you weren't dead!"
As he looked at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar elder on the Sky Curtain, a gleam shone in Mu En's cloudy eyes.
He and Long Xiaoyao had been close friends who shared everything. Thanks to the mutual attraction between their Dragon Clan Bloodlines, they had even been able to perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
But in the end, an accident had driven them apart, and they had not seen each other for a hundred years.
"I just never thought you'd set foot on that path of no return!"
For the first time, Mu En's usually placid voice carried an unconcealable sigh. "Ye Xishui! Why did you have to do this?"
This Dragon God Douluo, who had lived for several centuries, had already pieced together a rough idea based on what he knew of Long Xiaoyao.
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