Heh Heh Heh

Originally, You Jie had planned to leave Shrek Academy early and go with Zhang Lexuan to the old Zhang family residence to pay respects at the family graves.

But Zhang Lexuan knew that You Jie still had a few things to take care of in the Soul Tool Department, so she told him to finish up there before meeting her.

You Jie had gone with Zhang Lexuan once before, so even without anyone showing him the way, he could find the place without trouble.

Along the way, he excitedly pushed the D-wheel to a very high speed. But since he had added a noise-reducing Core Array to its soul engine, You Jie hadn't made it roar through the streets like a ghost fire.

"No wonder almost everyone in 5DS does Turbo Duels. There really is something different about Turbo Duels...

"But with my current driving skills, I still need to practice for a while before I'm good enough for a Turbo Duel. Otherwise, even with a huge advantage, I might flip over on the spot for some ridiculous reason."

When You Jie arrived near the former Zhang residence, he stopped and put the D-wheel back into his Storage Soul Tool. He felt reluctant to stop and thought to himself.

Normally, he should have immediately reviewed the problems with this prototype and prepared to address them in the next one. But You Jie had something more important to do.

"Not bad. I didn't expect your Soul Tool to be so fast. You made it here in less than a day."

Mu En suddenly appeared beside You Jie. His gaze still held a trace of interest in You Jie's D-wheel.

"The roads were in good condition, so I could really put the speed up... By the way, Mystic Ancestor, where's Sister Lexuan now? What exactly happened to the Zhang family back then?

"Last year, you kept brushing me off with excuses. You can tell me now, right?"

You Jie knew Mu En had always arranged for him and his clone to protect himself and Zhang Lexuan, so he asked.

Perhaps Zhang Lexuan was now strong enough to handle things on her own. Every time she went to pay respects at the graves, she had so much to do that it was far more elaborate than the ancestral rites You Jie remembered from going home.

You Jie didn't know whether that was the etiquette and protocol of the Heaven Dou Empire's nobility, or...

And Mu En had always kept silent about how he had rescued Zhang Lexuan back then.

You Jie naturally wasn't foolish enough to ask Zhang Lexuan and make her relive what had been a terrifying experience for her. If Mu En didn't tell him, there was no way for him to find out.

"Lexuan is still busy. You can help her once you get there. As for what happened back then... sigh, it was related to Evil Soul Masters."

Mu En sighed as he walked with You Jie, recounting what had happened all those years ago.

In short, a team from the Shrek Inspector Group, led by Yan Shaozhe, had been hunting down several Evil Soul Master Soul Douluo.

But Yan Shaozhe and the others had made a mistake while carrying out their mission, and one of the targets had used a special method to escape by faking his death.

To take revenge, and to fulfill another commission he'd received, that Soul Douluo had chosen to target several noble families in the Heaven Dou Empire.

Only after hearing Yan Shaozhe's personal report did Mu En realize what had gone wrong. He immediately set out, but he was still too late—the Zhang family had nearly been wiped out.

...After such a huge mess, he can still sit comfortably in the Martial Soul Department dean's seat? The Academy's weakness is way too obvious.

Shrek Academy was more short-staffed than anyone could imagine. Otherwise, Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe would have been dealt with harshly long ago. How could they still be strolling around Shrek Academy so leisurely?

Before long, they arrived at a fairly well-maintained cemetery. This was where the Zhang family members were buried.

Just as You Jie was about to go help Zhang Lexuan, he felt a faint warmth suddenly spread across his arm, and a sense of danger stirred in his heart.

"By the way, Mystic Ancestor, are you sure you helped Dean Yan wipe out all those Evil Soul Masters back then?"

You Jie immediately prepared for battle as he asked.

"I killed all the targets listed in the commission. But it looks like the other side has people backing them, too..."

Mu En raised a hand and waved. You Jie was gently pushed to Zhang Lexuan's side, while Mu En stepped in front of them. His spiritual power had locked onto a target in the distance.

"Heh heh heh! I never expected that a little girl from the Zhang family would still be alive. A Moon Martial Soul? Excellent. That gives my Hellhound an even greater chance of evolving..."

As a strange laugh echoed around them, a bizarre man appeared in their sight. He was hidden beneath a black robe, with black mist coiling around his body.

You Jie glanced at Mu En in surprise, then immediately understood.

Mu En wasn't releasing much of his aura right now. In that man's eyes, he was at most a Titled Douluo who had only just crossed the threshold.

And if You Jie's judgment was right, the man laughing "heh heh heh" had to be an Evil Soul Master Titled Douluo. That was why he could make such a confident declaration.

He was probably some offering or elder of the Holy Spirit Cult. Mu En hadn't attacked right away, presumably because he wanted to figure out whether someone was backing this man.

Then a flash of golden light streaked past. The Evil Soul Master who had been laughing a moment ago was now being lifted by the throat with one hand by a golden humanoid figure.

His Soul Rings appeared for only an instant before some even greater force suppressed them again. His body could only sway helplessly in the air, making futile attempts to fight back.

I got up, and he was one-shot... Is this the difference between a healthy Mu En and a crippled Mu En?

Seeing the sudden end of the "heh heh heh" laughter, You Jie understood what was going on.

Crippled Mu En: fought several weak Evil Soul Masters on home turf with a group of Sea God Pavilion Elders, only managed to leave one of them alive, and even let Ma Xiaotao escape.

Healthy Mu En: killed an Evil Soul Master Titled Douluo in an instant, leaving him no chance to fight back.

"Watch closely. This is my Dragon Emperor Evil-Breaking Slash!"

Mu En suddenly spoke. The golden figure slowly raised his left hand, and the light in it grew even more dazzling.

Then that hand struck the Evil Soul Master eighteen times all over his body, with the force controlled so precisely that You Jie and Zhang Lexuan could see the entire process clearly.

Afterward, the Evil Soul Master stopped struggling, but his whole body trembled like a sieve. The places Mu En had struck seemed to glow from within.

The light gradually spread across the Evil Soul Master's body, until it joined together into a vast web.

The cold, sinister aura around him had vanished, replaced by the fresh smell of a quilt left out in the sun for a long time.

Then the Evil Soul Master's body crumbled into ashes, piling up at the golden figure's feet.