Ye Xinglan: Same Resources, Why Are You Developing Faster Than Me?

So fast!

Nan Liujing crossed his arms over his chest. Facing the Armored Blades whistling toward him, he did not 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, gripping a purple-black staff in its hand. The instant the Demon Body appeared, the light around them abruptly dimmed, as if it had been swallowed.

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

Facing the Armored Blades that covered the sky, the Demon Body strolled calmly to Nan Liujing's side and thrust out its staff like lightning. In an instant, hundreds of black staff shadows emerged. Darkness Power gathered, forming a black curtain like a swamp.

The Armored Blades crashed into the staff shadows as though falling into an abyss, quickly sinking into them.

As the controller of the Martial Soul, Xu Cang immediately heard harsh, obscure whispering sounds beside his ears. It felt as though something was trying to lure him into ruin, and his Mental Power inexplicably began to wither.

As one of the candidates for Young Sect Master of the Xuan Ming Sect, Xu Cang was no roadside weed. Sensing that something was wrong, he forced himself to focus and let out an angry roar. The immense Soul Power within him surged outward, pulsing around him like Water Waves.

Under his control, the Armored Blades trapped within the swamp of staff shadows swiftly broke free as well.

Crash!

But something even more shocking followed. The tip of the purple-black staff held by the Demon Body transformed into countless black chains, dancing like ten thousand serpents. Every chain tightly restrained an Armored Blade.

Like maggots clinging to bone, the Darkness Element rapidly traveled along the chains and climbed onto the Armored Blades.

The whispering sounds in his ears intensified. Xu Cang's pupils suddenly contracted. The blood-red eyes hidden beneath the Demon Body's hood seemed like those of a demon staring coldly at him across the barrier between planes.

Yet, within the spectators' field of vision, no blood-red eyes appeared. All they could see were the Armored Blades tangled in chains and Xu Cang's constantly trembling body. Yet there was not a trace of injury on him.

The scene was simply too strange. Most people looked utterly bewildered.

Only Mo Jue, who also possessed a darkness Martial Soul, could clearly sense that the chains contained not only Darkness Element, but also intense Mental Power Fluctuation.

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

"Profound Nether Power, Profound Nether Tremor!"

With his pupils trembling violently, Xu Cang roared with desperate resolve. His Third and First Soul Rings suddenly glowed softly. A huge Profound Nether Turtle Beast Shadow appeared behind him, letting out a deep roar that stirred the Soul Power around him into wild activity. The Armored Blades trapped by the chains and unable to return erupted with intense shockwaves.

The shockwaves released by the Armored Blades swiftly fused together, forming a black barrier in midair. At last, the chains began to fail and tremble continuously.

"Return!"

With a thought from Nan Liujing, the darkness energy released by the Demon Body rapidly withdrew. The chains returned like ten thousand snakes heading back to their nest, restoring the Dragon Subduing Staff to its straight form.

Having lost control, the metal plates spun back to Xu Cang's side and reassembled.

Huff!

He had unleashed three Soul Skills in succession. The physical drain was not significant, and the Soul Power expenditure was still acceptable, but Xu Cang looked as though he had suffered through a severe illness. His body was soaked in sweat, and his consciousness was somewhat hazy.

He bit down on the tip of his tongue. The sharp pain steadied him. Looking at Nan Liujing with terror in his eyes, he blurted out something shocking. "You're an Evil Soul Master!"

"What?"

The expressions of the onlookers changed as they all turned to look at Nan Liujing. Some of the weaker ones even swallowed reflexively.

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

Nan Liujing gave the Demon Body a satisfied look and said indifferently, "You can't just pin the label of Evil Soul Master on someone."

Xu Cang took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "I don't know what abilities your Martial Soul possesses, but that shadow used chains formed from Mental Power to continuously erode my consciousness and lure me into the Abyss. If my Martial Soul hadn't been stable enough, even my attributes might have been forcibly altered by you and turned into sinister water. If that doesn't make you an Evil Soul Master, what does?"

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

"Just because something went wrong with your consciousness, you think you can arbitrarily decide that someone is an Evil Soul Master?"

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

Ye Xinglan looked over coldly, only to see a figure lower his head in panic and hide within the crowd.

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

Mo Jue, standing at the front of the crowd, stepped forward. Before everyone, she said in a deep voice, "My Black Swan Martial Soul is also of the darkness attribute, and I have curse-type Soul Skills similar to those of Evil Soul Masters. If we really investigate that closely, wouldn't that make me an Evil Soul Master too? Yet I'm still a Shrek Academy Student. Could the academy possibly mistake a normal Soul Master for an Evil Soul Master?"

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

"How is it different?" Li Qiankun cut in. As the class monitor, he had to support his Vice Class Monitor. "If he were an Evil Soul Master, would the Spirit Pagoda have allowed him into the Spirit Ascension Platform? That's impossible if you think about it."

They were all Shrek Academy Students, but unlike Xu Cang and Yu Jiutian, the latter two were Reserved Students for the Inner Court and did not study in the Outer Court at all. Beyond being fellow students, they were not actually familiar with each other.

Xu Cang said nothing more, merely staring coldly. He absolutely believed in his own judgment. The other party was an Evil Soul Master.

Yu Jiutian had remained silent the entire time, carefully observing Nan Liujing. If he wanted to determine whether someone was an Evil Soul Master, he only needed to test him.

Nan Liujing did not speak in his own defense either. There was no need. He simply calmly recalled the Demon Body.

He had to admit that the strength of the Demon Body had truly exceeded his expectations.

The erosion of consciousness Xu Cang had felt was most likely related to the Demon Body having been tainted by energy from the Demon Plane. That thing had always been a power that beguiled people's hearts.

Beyond that, the Darkness Power displayed by the Demon Body was another pleasant surprise. Its offensive power was not as formidable as the Thunder Dragon Soul Dragon Subduing Staff, but it was far stranger and much harder to guard against.

It was a gold mine worth continuing to develop.

"Regardless, I will 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 a powerful impression on him, as if his soul itself was about to sink into them.

Mo Jue and Li Qiankun frowned. That was going too far!

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

Ye Xinglan raised a delicate brow. Anger instantly surged in her heart, and Soul Power churned within her as she prepared to draw her sword and slash him down.

But someone was faster than her.

In the instant before anyone could react, a dark green staff crackling with dark blue Electric Arcs extended outward. With a bang, it viciously rammed into Xu Cang's chest.

"Puh."

Sent flying backward, Xu Cang spat out a mouthful of blood. The agony from his broken ribs jolted him fully awake. His eyes were filled with shock; he had never expected the other party to ambush him.

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

But before he could make a move, his pupils abruptly shrank. Behind the cold young man wielding the staff, a lifelike Dragon Soul phantom emerged.

The lightning-attribute Soul Power within Yu Jiutian's body seemed to have encountered a natural enemy, shrinking back completely.

Martial Soul Attribute Suppression?

As the second Purple Soul Ring on Nan Liujing's body lit up, the Dragon Soul gave a low chant. Deep Thunder Clouds gathered in the sky, and with a thunderous boom, three bolts of lightning as thick as bamboo poles struck down in succession, landing on Xu Cang before he could hit the ground.

His sturdy body was swallowed by dark blue lightning, torn apart within the electric radiance as if being pulled apart by five horses. With a flash of light, his entire body vanished from the Spirit Ascension Platform World.

There was a reason Thunderclap Nether Vine was known as the most tyrannical among Plant-type Soul Beasts.

The forty-thousand-year Thunderclap Nether Vine inside Zhang Geyang had required eleven Titled Douluo to move together just to suppress it.

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

Having killed the twenty-seventh-ranked genius on the Youth Genius Ranking in a single strike, Nan Liujing swept his indifferent gaze across the crowd as they recovered from their stunned state.

The entire grassland fell silent.

Rumble!

The Thunder Clouds in the sky had yet to disperse. That violent Lightning Power seemed to still be gathering, roaring like a beast of war.

Still shaken, everyone retreated farther away, afraid of being caught in the blast.

"Xu Cang merely questioned you. Why did you have to be so vicious?" Yu Jiutian faced Nan Liujing directly, though his eyes were mainly fixed on the Thunder Dragon Soul behind him. An eager urge to test himself surged in his heart.

Two yellow and one purple Soul Rings rose beneath his feet. The domineering Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul phantom appeared behind his head, and surging currents crackled around him, giving off immense pressure.

The two dragons faced each other, and the air nearly froze. Yet the aura of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul phantom was clearly being suppressed.

As Yu Jiutian moved, several people in the crowd shifted their gazes and stepped forward as well. Soul Rings rose beneath their feet, and everyone's Mental Power collectively locked onto Nan Liujing.

Boom!

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

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

Only Yu Jiutian reacted quickly enough. He had activated his Third Soul Skill, Wrath of Thunder, and Second Soul Skill, Thunder's Mighty Force, in advance. His arms transformed into savage dragon claws, and he grabbed toward the sky. Lightning Element gathered around him, forming a dense Lightning Net in an attempt to block the Thunderous Lightning Roar.

"He's ruthless."

Nan Liujing murmured coldly.

Under the influence of the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl, his Thunder Dragon Soul had long begun to transform, surpassing the level of the Thunder Dragon Soul his father possessed. The level of its lightning attribute had nearly reached Half-Step Ultimate.

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

After all, when identical attributes collided, so long as the difference in cultivation was not too great, the gap in quality would allow the stronger party to suppress the weaker one and even assimilate the weaker party's Soul Power. Unless special conditions could make up for the gap, the only option was to admit defeat.

It was just like Tang Wulin facing Dragon-type Martial Soul Masters of the same level. He would suppress you completely.

The calmness on Yu Jiutian's face quickly changed. He could clearly feel the Lightning Net above his head beginning to slip from his control. The Soul Power he poured in afterward vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, utterly useless.

The next moment, the Lightning Net turned traitor and blasted down at Yu Jiutian together with the Lightning Power.

Previously, Yu Jiutian might still have had a chance to dodge. But now, the Lightning Net had been released by him personally. Once it turned traitor, it locked onto him as well. Without teleportation or sufficiently powerful defense, there was no way to withstand it.

Without the slightest hesitation, he slapped the Rescue Signal Device on his right hand and turned into a beam of light, leaving the Spirit Ascension Platform.

So he really did attack to test me. Nan Liujing thought to himself. That makes sense. Although the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon isn't top-tier in Season S3, when it comes to the lightning attribute alone, there really isn't anything publicly known to be stronger.

"Friend, you're in trouble."

Seeing the Thunder Clouds disperse, Li Qiankun sent a Soul Power Transmission to Nan Liujing with a grave expression.

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

Li Qiankun transmitted, "Xu Cang is vindictive, and the Dean of our Outer Court personally accepted him as a Reserved Student for the Inner Court. You attacked him, so there's no telling whether he'll embellish the story to prove that you're an Evil Soul Master. If it draws the Dean's attention, this won't end easily."

The Dean of the Outer Court?

Nan Liujing suddenly understood. Oh, it was that old demoness Cai Yuer, just like Zhou Yi from Season 2.

What, you ask who Xuan Zi was? It was obviously Long Yeyue. She even served as the "Ye Xishui" of the Dou San era, playing out a new-version love triangle with Yun Ming, Teacher Elder Bei, and Vast Sea Douluo Chen Xinjie.

"Someone I killed in one strike is qualified to become a Reserved Student for the Inner Court? Are you sure your Dean isn't playing favorites?" Nan Liujing joked carelessly.

No, buddy, how had he still not understood?

Li Qiankun grew anxious. That was the Dean of the Outer Court, a genuine Three-word Battle Armor Master and possibly even a Super Douluo. If she made a move, unless a Limit Douluo stood behind him, who could stop her?

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

He wanted to say more, but suddenly someone grabbed his arm. Turning to look, he saw Mo Jue shaking her head at him as a Soul Power Transmission entered his ears.

"Someone who can suppress the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon in terms of Martial Soul attributes might have powerful backing too. Trying to persuade him here would only be unnecessary and make us a laughingstock."

Li Qiankun calmed down. That was indeed true.

"Liujing, are you alright?"

Wu Sidao had just awakened and hurried to Nan Liujing's side. She stared vigilantly at the remaining Soul Masters who had not been obliterated by the lightning.

She had not heard what had happened, but she could sense that intense Soul Power Fluctuation had just erupted.

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

Their looks were tied.

Their height was tied.

As for their skin, she couldn't tell. Both were equally fair.

Their figures...

Ye Xinglan stared at those slightly raised places, and her Silver Teeth clenched instinctively.

Same resources, why were 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 leave meditation so early?"

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

"Thanks." Nan Liujing felt warmth in his heart. They had not seen each other in years, but fortunately, their friendship had not faded.

A faint smile curved Wu Sidao's lips. Just as she was about to say something, she noticed someone staring at her. When she looked over, her gaze met Ye Xinglan's azure blue eyes directly.

The two women's gazes paused slightly. They nodded at each other with "kind" smiles, and neither said a word.