Not afraid of being condemned by everyone, only afraid of losing the one person who mattered

[Young Master Yan, Ouyang Yuan and Xuan Zi don't even come close to matching Xiao Ge!]

[First of all, there's his identity. As the dean of the Spirit Academy's Soul Weapon Department, he's a shining example of the Soul Weapon Department's outstanding young talent. And yet he's also the only son of the largest family on the continent, the Ouyang Family's head, Ouyang Shui. Of course, Ouyang Yuan's identity wasn't something Young Master Yan could ever hope to match. He could only bow his head in shame.]

[But Ouyang Yuan had only himself to blame for wasting his talent. He possessed a radiant Soul Weapon, and he was also the most gifted young Soul Weapon master in the entire academy, with the potential to become one of the continent's most powerful Soul Weapon masters. Yet he completely squandered his talent. After years of hard work, all he had managed to do was become an outstanding Soul Weapon master. He had utterly failed to live up to the hopes Ouyang Shui had placed in him.]

[What's more, Young Master Yan was the dean of the Soul Weapon Department, and his reputation was impeccable. Everyone knew he had lost his memory, but few knew that Mo Yu was the one who had made him that way. Though Mo Yu had only recently become the academy's vice dean, and he'd spent ten years cultivating his soul power, he was still one of Mo Yu's closest disciples. He'd even helped Mo Yu lure Ouyang Yuan into the Soul Guidance Department. In the end, Ouyang Yuan had fallen into despair, while Ouyang Yuan had run all the way to the Soul Weapon Department asking for help, hoping to bring Ouyang Yuan back.]

[His reputation was impeccable, and Ouyang Yuan's circumstances were dire. Everyone could see the Soul Weapon Department's increasingly brilliant prospects, yet Ouyang Yuan, as the dean of the Soul Weapon Department, couldn't see that. He'd long neglected the Soul Weapon Department, diverting the academy's resources to the Soul Guidance Department. He had even let the Ouyang Family fall behind in Soul Weapon technology, to the point that it had once lagged behind the Sun Moon Empire.]

[If Mo Yu hadn't dug up so many people who had been buried for years, Ouyang Yuan's Soul Guidance Department wouldn't even have been able to compete with the Sun Moon Empire.]

[On top of that, Ouyang Yuan's romantic life was a complete mess. He'd been involved with Yu Qiu and several other women during his time as dean of the Soul Guidance Department. They'd all been driven away by the scandal, and the academy's reputation had taken a hit.]

[Then there was the fact that he'd had an affair with Yu Qiu. His radiant talent had helped speed up Yu Qiu's awakening as a Soul Guidance master. Her family had already seen her as a promising Soul Guidance master and had intended to let Young Master Yan take her in, yet Ouyang Yuan had still gone after her, despite knowing about her relationship with Yu Qiu.]

[So, Ouyang Yuan really was awful. You'd fallen for him, and the entire continent would suffer because of you!]

[What was there to be afraid of? Ouyang Yuan wasn't afraid of being condemned by everyone—he was only afraid of losing the one person who mattered! You should've let Yu Qiu go. Did you have any idea how many people on the continent would've died?]

...Were all these things really about Ouyang Yuan?

Xiao Tao stared at the contents of the diary, her pale green eyes revealing a hint of disbelief.

These... were all lies, weren't they?

In Xiao Tao's heart, Ouyang Yuan had always been a kind and gentle man, full of charm. But the things Xiao Ge had described had completely shattered the image she had of him.

The Ouyang Yuan she'd deeply admired had crumbled in her heart.

The earlier incidents could still be explained away as flaws in Ouyang Yuan's character. But that last thing had become the final straw that broke her trust in him.

As a member of the Spirit Academy's Holy Maiden Guard, she didn't know how many Soul Guidance masters had died at his hands.

She knew about the crimes of the Soul Guidance masters.

One evil Soul Guidance master had committed enough atrocities to condemn an entire city. Yet Ouyang Yuan had let an evil Soul Guidance master, who had sealed away the power of a Soul Beast, escape...

How many people had that Soul Guidance master killed in order to become an evil Soul Guidance master?

How many innocent lives had Ouyang Yuan sacrificed?

Xiao Tao drew in a deep breath.

She'd feared that from then on, she'd never be able to face Ouyang Yuan with the same calm and gentleness as before.

Inside the academy.

A branch reached through the broken window, where the desolate wind had howled all night. Xiao Tao sat beside it, lost in thought.

After a long while, she returned to her senses and let out a soft sigh.

At least now, she could comfort herself with the fact that Ouyang Yuan wasn't the kind of person Xiao Ge had described.

But now... even Xiao Ge was a girl.

The Ouyang Family really wasn't a kind place.

This diary's supposed beautiful account of the past was nothing but her own self-deception.

Xiao Ge's words in the diary surfaced again in her mind—Xiao Ge had truly happened to be nearby, and had happened to save her.

After reading about Young Master Yan's past, Xiao Ge seemed to fall silent, as though she were thinking about something.

Oh, right.

They were sitting together in the same room.

One was a senior at the Holy Maiden Guard, while the other was the eldest daughter of the hidden family. The two of them were holding hands, sitting face-to-face, and chatting as though nothing could be more natural.

[Oh, right. I almost forgot. Xiao Tao's fall into becoming an evil Soul Guidance master also had something to do with Young Master Yan.]

A short sentence made Xiao Tao's breathing catch.

Ever since she'd read in the diary that she might fall into becoming an evil Soul Guidance master, she'd been proud of herself for keeping her emotions under control. She'd even managed to kill many evil Soul Guidance masters without losing herself. Yet in the end, she'd still become one...

But why had Xiao Ge written that she had something to do with Ouyang Yuan?

[In the original story of the continent's great Soul Master tournament, Xiao Tao was targeted by the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Guidance Institute, and its dean, Ma Rulong, had arranged for the Eight-Pointed Soul Guidance Device to possess her. Her martial soul ultimately turned into a Dark Phoenix, and she fell into a state of uncontrollable frenzy.]

[Strictly speaking, Xiao Tao was lucky. The Eight-Pointed Soul Guidance Device's original function was to use dark energy to taint the soul of a martial soul, then suppress it with the power of light. It was originally a formidable weapon designed to kill evil Soul Guidance masters. But because Xiao Tao's evil fire was too strong, it unexpectedly awakened her martial soul instead.]

[Fortunately, the protagonist's reaction was quick. He subdued Xiao Tao and brought her back to the Shrek Academy. With the Sea God's Pavilion's Ice Spirit Bed and the power of light, he sealed her away. But the seal could only suppress her temporarily; it couldn't eliminate the evil phoenix's power.]

[Soon afterward, the protagonist led the others out to hunt Soul Beasts, leaving the Shrek Academy's high-level figures with no time to spare. After the Holy Spirit Church and the Radiant Church formed an alliance, they broke Xiao Tao's seal and sent several evil Soul Guidance masters to carry out a surprise attack.]

[But with the Shrek Academy's strength, those evil Soul Guidance masters couldn't do much. They quickly seized control of Xiao Tao's consciousness.]

[I really don't understand. How could Xiao Ge, who possessed such extraordinary talent, lose to Xiao Tao, who only cultivated her soul? And then she's telling me to become three times stronger when I turn evil... Even if a Soul Guidance master became evil and got three times stronger, how could Xiao Tao possibly escape Xiao Ge's grasp?]

[Ah! So Xiao Ge was the one who couldn't bring herself to kill Xiao Tao!]