In a hotel room in Ming Capital, Sun Moon Empire.
Lin Yun had prepared a meal for Zhang Lexuan. She had accepted his decision by now, though she couldn't help missing Shrek Academy.
"After we eat, let's go see Snow Empress. If everything's fine with her, we'll set out."
Lin Yun spoke up suddenly, making Zhang Lexuan set down her bowl and chopsticks. She looked at him in confusion and asked,
"Set out? Where are we going? Are you already going to take on a mission as an Evil Soul Master?"
Lin Yun shook his head and said,
"At least, according to Cult Master Zhong, no one will ask me to do anything. I want to take you back to the Dou Ling Empire and look into what happened to you back then."
At the mention of it, Zhang Lexuan's expression changed at once. She said to Lin Yun,
"What's the point of looking into all that? It's already in the past."
Lin Yun gazed out at the scenery, then said,
"I don't think things add up. From what you described, it was a case of oppression and persecution between nobles. But based on some outdated intelligence files from the Sun Moon Empire that Cult Master Zhong gave me, I'm afraid there's more to it than that."
Zhang Lexuan looked at Lin Yun in confusion. He continued,
"That intelligence report wasn't directly related to what happened to your family. But it said that the Shrek Inner Court Inspection Corps had conducted a thorough survey of the mid-ranking and lesser nobles in the Dou Ling Empire."
"The very next day, that noble targeted your family and slaughtered them."
"Don't you think that's too much of a coincidence?"
Zhang Lexuan was struck as if by lightning. She understood what Lin Yun meant. She clutched her head and shook it hard, her voice hoarse and stammering as she said,
"No, that can't be."
Seeing her distress, Lin Yun gently put an arm around her. His voice softened as he said,
"It's only a guess. There are plenty of coincidences in this world. Yours wouldn't be the first."
"So we're only going to investigate. I'll take you and Scorpion Tiger Douluo with me, and leave Blood Blade and Xiaotao here."
Ma Xiaotao, seated on the sofa nearby, immediately gave an unhappy snort. She was clearly displeased that Lin Yun wasn't taking her along.
Lin Yun soothed her.
"Don't be upset, Xiaotao. Stay here for now. When we get back, we'll go study at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy together."
Ma Xiaotao nodded and said gently, "Then I'll wait for you. Be careful, all of you."
That afternoon, outside a private room in another restaurant in Ming Capital, Zhang Peng stood quietly at the door, facing Zhang Lexuan.
Zhang Peng grinned at her. "I didn't expect you'd be left outside too. Looks like, in his heart, you're still not the same as the one in the room."
Zhang Lexuan didn't react. She merely asked calmly, "Scorpion Tiger Douluo, when did you lose your roots and turn into a gossipy old eunuch?"
Zhang Peng wasn't annoyed. He only laughed and swore at her. "Oh, get lost. I'm not that old bastard Xuan Zi. I'm still sturdy where it counts. But I really am curious what the Holy Son is planning."
Inside the private room, Lin Yun sat facing Snow Empress, while Ice Empress's phantom kept them company.
Snow Empress looked at Lin Yun and asked,
"So you're saying Bing'er was eaten by your Martial Soul?"
Lin Yun nodded. When Snow Empress frowned, he continued,
"But this gives her a chance to truly come back to life. She's become part of my Martial Soul. Once my Martial Soul gains its Martial Soul Avatar, I'll be able to let her take on a complete avatar form."
"Then she'll be able to come out. She'll still have to fight for me, but she'll be much more lively than when she was possessing me before."
Snow Empress sighed, then said,
"We sisters are already on your pirate ship, so there's nothing more to say. I only hope nothing else goes wrong this time."
Lin Yun changed the subject. "I haven't asked yet—how's your body? How did you get through the Sun Moon Empire's inspection?"
Snow Empress took a sip of tea and answered calmly,
"I've adjusted to it. After all, I made this body myself. I've just lost two hundred thousand years of cultivation, and I won't be able to recover what remains until I reach the ninth ring, just as I did in my Second Awakening."
"Until then, I'll have to absorb Soul Rings and break through like an ordinary human girl."
Lin Yun nodded calmly, then said,
"Be careful. As far as I know, there's no way to detect souls in this world. But your soul is still that of a Soul Beast. If you die, you'll still leave behind a Soul Ring and a Soul Bone."
"The Sun Moon Empire is different from the other three nations. In the other three, being a Soul Master would mean you wouldn't have to worry about much. But in the Sun Moon Empire, even as an exchange student from Shrek Academy, you'd be sent to the execution ground for attacking a member of the imperial family."
"Here, cultivation won't spare you from punishment for offending the powerful. So don't die."
Snow Empress nodded and told Lin Yun,
"Don't worry. I know my own situation."
"And also, thank you for giving in for my sake back then."
Lin Yun smiled and said,
"It wasn't entirely for your sake. I already wanted to leave Shrek, so I wouldn't have to live under the constant pressure of possibly being killed as an Evil Soul Master."
Snow Empress smiled in confusion. "Then why become an Evil Soul Master?"
Lin Yun nodded and said,
"What else? If people think you're an Evil Soul Master, you might as well really be one. At least then, if you die, you won't have died for nothing. And once you've become an Evil Soul Master, the bar for your morals is lower—you can be a little more ruthless."
Snow Empress nodded and watched Lin Yun head outside.
"Ice Empress will stay here with you. If anything goes wrong over there, summon her. Most likely, nothing will happen anyway."
After visiting Snow Empress and confirming that her condition posed no danger, Lin Yun set off for the Dou Ling Empire with Zhang Lexuan and Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng.
Since relations between the Sun Moon Empire and the three nations of the original Douluo Continent weren't very friendly, the three of them suppressed their Soul Power when they reached the border. They found a smuggler who dealt in this sort of business, bought identities, and slipped across.
They had entered the Dou Ling Empire illegally.
This time, they were going to the city where Zhang Lexuan's family had once lived. It was the Dou Ling Empire's third-largest city, not the same city where Chu Zhengzhang had been before.
For Zhang Lexuan, this was the first time she had truly returned to her old home.
After entering the city, Zhang Lexuan's spirits sank. It wasn't only because she had thought of her parents; she also saw that the buildings in her childhood memories had faded, cracked, or even collapsed with time.
As the Dou Ling Empire gradually declined, no one had bothered with these buildings...
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