[Douluo II Period]
When the name "Yan Shaozhe" was finally branded across the Sky Screen,
the entire world seemed to have been muted.
The wind stopped. The clouds froze.
Everyone's breathing came to a complete halt.
On Shrek Plaza, the minds of tens of thousands of teachers and students went blank.
Inside the Holy Spirit Cult's main altar, the bloodthirsty Evil Soul Masters wore expressions of disbelief and confusion.
After a brief silence came an uproar like collapsing mountains and roaring seas!
Holy Spirit Cult's main altar.
"Pfft—"
Zhongli Wu could no longer suppress the surging blood in his chest. He spat out a mouthful of dark-red blood, staining the ground before him with a shocking smear.
He staggered backward, his tall frame swaying as if all his strength had been drained away in an instant.
He stared fixedly at the Sky Screen, his bloodshot eyes filled with fury, murderous intent, and resentment.
All of it was replaced by an emotion called "absurdity."
Yan Shaozhe.
The man who had cuckolded him.
The culprit who had made him the laughingstock of the entire continent.
Was actually the son of his half-brother?!
His own—nephew?!
He, the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, had been cuckolded by his own nephew!
"...Heh..."
A strange, wheezing laugh escaped Zhongli Wu's throat.
"What a wonderful mother I have..."
Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy.
On the elevated platform, Yan Shaozhe, still held firmly in place by Xuan Zi, completely broke down when he saw the Sky Screen's final judgment.
"No—this can't be true! It can't be true!!"
Clutching his head, he let out a heart-wrenching roar, his voice filled with despair and disbelief.
He could admit that he was a womanizer, admit that he had acted immorally, even admit that he had slept with an Evil Soul Master and fathered an illegitimate child.
Because deep down, he had always believed he was normal, that he stood on the side of the light.
Everything he had done was merely a weakness of human nature, a "minor mistake" that could be forgiven.
But now, the Sky Screen had exposed the truth in the cruelest way possible!
In his bones, in his blood, flowed the filthy blood of the very Evil Soul Masters he despised and hated most!
His own grandmother was the current Supreme Leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, one of the most evil beings in the world!
The identity he had been so proud of all his life had become one enormous joke.
He, Yan Shaozhe, was descended from Evil Soul Masters!
The total collapse of his sense of self was more painful than being killed ten thousand times!
Beside him, Xuan Zi, who had remained utterly indifferent until now, wore an expression more complicated than ever.
He looked down at Yan Shaozhe, who seemed to have gone mad, his gaze full of uncertainty.
Yet the Sky Screen's judgment showed no sign of stopping.
It seemed determined to grind Yan Shaozhe's already battered heart into dust!
With a hum, golden light blazed mercilessly once more!
[Next, we will explain Yan Shaozhe's final reason for making the list!]
[Suppressing rivals and indulging his descendants]
There was more?!
Everyone's heart gave a hard lurch!
Just how many secrets was this Yan Shaozhe hiding?!
The scene on the Sky Screen slowly changed.
It showed a dim forest, where Yan Shaozhe was secretly meeting with Feng Ling.
This time, Feng Ling held a sleeping little girl in her arms.
The girl looked about three or four years old, adorable and delicate as a doll.
Her short, fiery-red hair stood out vividly even in the dim light.
Feng Ling's voice rang out, filled with immeasurable grief and tenderness.
["Shaozhe... our child... he... he didn't make it..."]
["The forces of light and darkness clashed too violently inside him. In the end... they drained away his life..."]
Yan Shaozhe's body shuddered, pain appearing on his face.
Feng Ling continued, a trace of hope in her voice.
["But Heaven took pity on us and left us a descendant... This is our granddaughter."]
["By chance, the forces of light and darkness inside her reached a delicate balance, allowing her to barely survive."]
["But that balance is incredibly fragile. At any moment, a strong emotional upheaval could make her lose control, and the Evil Fire could burn her up from within..."]
As she spoke, Feng Ling carefully held the girl out to Yan Shaozhe.
["Shaozhe, I know you and Cai Mei'er never had children. Take her back to Shrek. Only at Shrek, under your protection, can she receive the best care and guidance, and have a chance to survive..."]
Looking at the granddaughter who shared his bloodline, at her sleeping face that bore some resemblance to his own,
Yan Shaozhe's cold heart melted in an instant.
He reached out with a trembling hand and took the small, warm body.
This was his descendant, the continuation of Yan Shaozhe's life!
["What... is her name?"]
Yan Shaozhe's voice held a tenderness he had never shown before.
Feng Ling shook her head, a bitter, sorrowful smile on her face.
["We've been hiding from place to place and haven't had time to give her a proper name. We only have a pet name for her: Xiaotao."]
["Then... let's use the surname I had before joining the Holy Spirit Cult."]
["Ma."]
["We'll call her... Ma Xiaotao."]
Boom—!
The moment the name "Ma Xiaotao" appeared on the Sky Screen, every teacher and student at Shrek Academy felt as if their minds had exploded!
Ma Xiaotao?!
The one nicknamed "Flame Maniac," who possessed the Ultimate Fire Phoenix Martial Soul and was hailed as a once-in-a-century genius at Shrek?!
The Ma Xiaotao senior admired and revered by countless Shrek students, the one they regarded as a goddess?!
She was actually the granddaughter of Yan Shaozhe and an Evil Soul Master?!
In that instant, countless mysteries from the past fell into place!
Why was Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul the Evil Fire Phoenix, requiring Ultimate Ice to suppress it?
Why did Dean Yan favor Ma Xiaotao so much, granting nearly every request she made?
Why, despite knowing that Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul had a flaw, had she still been appointed captain of the Shrek Seven Devils?
So that was it!
This was the root of everything!
Shrek Academy's inner courtyard.
A stunning young woman with a curvaceous figure and fiery red hair stood atop a pavilion, watching the Sky Screen alongside the other inner-court disciples.
The moment she heard her own name, the shock and disbelief on her face froze in place!
The world spun around her, and a chill shot from the soles of her feet straight to her scalp!
She had always thought she was an orphan abandoned by her parents, and that Dean Yan had taken her back to the academy and carefully raised her out of kindness.
But it turned out—
Dean Yan was her own grandfather?!
And her own grandmother was the vice-leader of the Holy Spirit Cult?!
Her great-grandmother was the Supreme Leader of the Holy Spirit Cult?!
The Evil Fire that had tormented her so painfully was actually... from her own bloodline?!
"No... this can't be..."
Ma Xiaotao's body trembled violently. Her face drained of color as she murmured to herself.
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