An Encounter with Tang Ya—Does Devouring Make One an Evil Soul Master?

Ack!

Wang Dong's expression stiffened at once, the joy in her heart instantly crushed by irritation.

"Is she... pretty?"

"They're all pretty."

"All?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention it. I have a big heart, otherwise known as being 'a womanizer.'" Xue Nianbing laughed heartily without a trace of shame.

Wang Dong: "???"

I can understand every word you said.

But why is it that once they're put together, I can't understand them at all?

Since when could being a womanizer be said so righteously?

"You shameless womanizer!"

Wang Dong glared at Xue Nianbing, looking utterly furious.

"That's none of your business."

"Why can't I care?"

"What right do you have to?"

"Of course, as..."

Wang Dong answered instinctively, but froze halfway through.

Right, what right did she have to care?

A friend?

Even as a friend, it seemed she had no right to interfere with someone else's private life.

No matter how much of a womanizer Xue Nianbing was, no matter how many women he found, it had little to do with her. She wasn't anyone to Xue Nianbing...

Yet she simply could not help feeling angry.

"Hmph, as your friend, of course."

"You're so talented. How can you let other women hold you back? This is the age for cultivation. You can't get distracted."

Wang Dong made it sound so convincing, as though she truly had Xue Nianbing's best interests at heart.

"That's none of your business."

Xue Nianbing vigorously rubbed Wang Dong's head and laughed. "Other people falling in love may affect their cultivation, but for me, it's motivation to cultivate."

"You work so hard at cultivation... just to find more women?"

Wang Dong stared at Xue Nianbing in disbelief.

"Of course."

Xue Nianbing smiled and nodded, not denying it in the slightest.

Wang Dong: "..."

A thousand Soul Masters had a thousand dreams.

But this was the first time she had seen someone whose dream was to find more women.

"We're here. Go in by yourself, I'm going to look around nearby."

By then, the two had arrived at a luxurious hotel in Shrek City.

"How about... you come in with me?" Wang Dong suddenly felt a little nervous.

It was her first time traveling far from home, and seeing such a lavish hotel truly left her feeling uncertain.

She had gradually become accustomed to having Xue Nianbing by her side. Even though he was always making her angry, she still could not bear to part with him.

"Come in with you?"

The corner of Xue Nianbing's mouth twitched. He said irritably, "Why not have me bathe with you too while we're at it?"

"...Lecher!"

Wang Dong's face flushed bright red with embarrassment and anger.

Have Xue Nianbing bathe with her?

Then whether they would actually be bathing in the end was uncertain, and even how long they would bathe for was uncertain.

"Go on by yourself. See you later."

Xue Nianbing waved his hand, leaving Wang Dong with only his retreating back.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Dong finally gathered her courage and walked inside. The moment she entered, a hotel employee came forward to ask her a question.

The bold Wang Dong immediately asked, "How many Gold Soul Coins for a month?"

Meanwhile.

As Xue Nianbing wandered around, he arrived at a snack street. All sorts of exquisite snacks were sold here, their aroma filling the air and tempting the taste buds.

Following the principle of being here anyway, Xue Nianbing sampled them one by one.

His appetite had always been enormous, so there was no question of waste.

"I wonder whether Sister Lexuan and Nannan are at Shrek Academy right now."

"I need to find time to give Sister Lexuan the Ten Thousand Years Howling Moon Ice Wolf Emperor Left Arm Bone."

Xue Nianbing ate as he pondered.

He also wanted to see the two of them, but this was only his second day at the academy, and his schedule was too tight.

Besides, as a new student, he would have plenty to do over the next few months. He basically would not have another "day off" like today.

"I'll stay for a few days first. Once I get used to things, I'll go find them," Xue Nianbing thought to himself.

Jiang Nannan would actually be easy to meet, since they were both in the Outer Court.

As for Zhang Lexuan, that would be somewhat difficult. After all, Zhang Lexuan was an Inner Court disciple. Not only was her coursework demanding, she often had missions outside the academy.

Even if he entered the Inner Court now, he might not necessarily get to see her.

As he walked, Xue Nianbing suddenly stopped outside a barbecue restaurant.

He looked at a figure inside the restaurant, somewhat surprised.

"Working part-time here?"

Xue Nianbing thought for a moment before walking into the barbecue restaurant.

The instant he entered, that familiar figure instinctively turned around. "Hello, what would you... Xue Nianbing?"

"I didn't expect you to be working part-time here. Brother Bei isn't around?"

Xue Nianbing asked with a smile.

The person before him had a standard oval face. Even in an ordinary waiter's uniform, she exuded a youthful vitality.

"Beibei is busy today."

Tang Ya shook her head. A hint of complicated emotion flashed through her eyes, but she quickly composed herself and asked, "What would you like?"

Xue Nianbing walked to the counter, glanced at the menu, and said, "Some regular beef and lamb skewers, a serving of grilled fish, a serving of Baked Vegetables, and a bottle of freshly squeezed fruit juice."

"Oh, and pack it to go."

"Alright."

Tang Ya nodded, wrote down Xue Nianbing's order, and then passed it to the kitchen.

Xue Nianbing casually paid and sat in a chair, quietly waiting.

Tang Ya cleared away the mess left by the previous table of customers. Her movements were practiced, as though she had done this hundreds or thousands of times.

After she finished, there were temporarily no more customers in the restaurant.

After a long silence.

Tang Ya looked at Xue Nianbing and asked, "Xue Nianbing, how did you know that my Blue Silver Grass had... something special about it?"

This was something she had always been curious about.

Her Blue Silver Grass could devour life force. She had never displayed this ability to anyone, much less taken the initiative to touch upon this "taboo."

Devouring... was an ability possessed by Evil Soul Masters.

She was the Tang Sect Leader. How could she become an Evil Soul Master hated and condemned by everyone?

"I guessed."

Xue Nianbing answered casually.

Hearing that, Tang Ya knew Xue Nianbing did not want to tell her, so she did not intend to press the matter.

What concerned her now were Xue Nianbing's words from back then.

It was the Soul Master who decided how to use their Martial Soul, not the Martial Soul that decided the Soul Master's path.

It was not hard to see from those words that Xue Nianbing's views differed from those of other Soul Masters. In his eyes, devouring was not evil.

"Your Blue Silver Grass can actually be regarded as a mutated Martial Soul, and one that mutated in a positive direction," Xue Nianbing said.

"Devouring... can count as something good?"

Tang Ya asked blankly.

"What is good? What is bad?"

"What benefits you is good, and what harms you is bad. Such things are relative. Everyone has their own view."

Xue Nianbing's expression was calm, his voice tranquil.

"Your views seem different from everyone else's. In everyone's eyes, devouring represents Evil Soul Masters," Tang Ya said.

"Heh."

Xue Nianbing chuckled. "If that's the case, then your ancestor Tang San was also an Evil Soul Master. The External Soul Bone Eight Spider Lances he once acquired also possessed a devouring attribute."

Before his words had even faded.

Tang Ya's pupils contracted as she looked at Xue Nianbing in disbelief.

Her first instinct was to think that Xue Nianbing was making it up.

Yet his expression and tone did not seem like he was lying at all.

"You... why do you know so much about things from Ten Thousand Years ago?" Tang Ya stared at Xue Nianbing blankly.