The Far North, headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
A cloaked figure walked up beside a young man and asked, "Do you have any objections to my sending you to infiltrate Shrek Academy, Lin Xiu?"
"Your Majesty, Demon Empress, you know my Martial Soul is of the Dark type. Why are you still making me go?" The Demon Empress's words snapped Lin Xiu back to the present. He couldn't understand what was going through her head. His Martial Soul's Authority was indeed unusual, but his Martial Soul was unmistakably suited to the Evil Soul Master camp.
Scythes, chains, and the like—all of it had everything to do with the word "evil." If he infiltrated Shrek Academy, wouldn't the whole place Beat Him Up?
Looking at Lin Xiu's bewildered stare, the Demon Empress patiently explained, "Under pressure from the Sun Moon Federation, Shrek Academy has become more open-minded toward Soul Masters with evil Martial Souls. As long as nothing goes wrong, they'll accept you soon enough."
"Hey, big sis Demon Empress, can we pick a different target?" Lin Xiu really didn't want to go to Shrek Academy. Who'd want to attend a brainwashing academy?
"Then should I throw you into the Abyss Plane to toughen you up?" the Demon Empress asked coolly, clearly giving Lin Xiu no chance to refuse.
"Oh~" Lin Xiu replied, speechless. "Whatever makes you happy."
He really was a poor, ill-fated kid. Not only did he have to toil away at the Holy Spirit Cult, now he had to go to Shrek Academy and play mole, too. Tsk~
Seeing the look on Lin Xiu's face, the Demon Empress finally offered a consolation. "Once you successfully get in, you'll be my successor."
"All you do is dangle carrots. Can't you give me something tangible?"
"..." Ever since she'd gotten to know Lin Xiu, the Demon Empress had realized he was the type to get too big for his boots. She'd picked him up, and restoring her sanity was the least he could do. But instead, he'd taken advantage of her, constantly asking for this and that.
Whenever she asked Lin Xiu to do something, he'd drag his feet.
If it were anyone else, she'd have slapped them without a second thought. But she'd grown attached to this boy. "What do you want?"
"Some cultivation resources. How about a few Immortal Herbs?" Lin Xiu boldly asked for the moon, simply opening his mouth and asking, whether she had any or not.
At that, the air around the Demon Empress suddenly grew heavy. Her eyes locked onto Lin Xiu, who was asking for the moon, as she forcibly tamped down the fury churning inside her.
Her voice dripped with icy sarcasm as she enunciated each word. "By that logic, should I also lay the whole set of Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones in front of you with both hands?"
"That works too."
"Get lost!"
"You can't expect me to infiltrate the place without getting anything out of it, can you?" Lin Xiu tried to bargain again. Infiltrating Shrek Academy was hard work. He couldn't go in empty-handed, or he'd just be working for free.
After hearing him out, the Demon Empress still couldn't bring herself to be harsh with him, so she tossed him a Soul Tool. "There's enough in there to last you a long time. Now get lost."
Lin Xiu immediately caught the Soul Tool. Watching the Demon Empress walk away, he stood up and stretched, a trace of helplessness on his face. "As expected, you can dodge the first day of the month, but not the fifteenth. What a hassle."
Based on his main soul's memories and his own judgment, Shrek Academy was about to welcome its Son of Destiny, Yun Ming, in this era.
If he went in now, would stealing the limelight from that guy draw the attention of those two old geezers? What a hassle.
But when he thought about how Lin Nuo, his main soul, had already encountered Na'er, one of the Silver Dragon King's clones, he understood that things had already spun out of control. He'd have to start making plans, too.
However, when Lin Xiu returned to his room, he ran into an old acquaintance.
"Well, well~ Old Ghost, long time no see. When did you get back?" Lin Xiu called out to the young man standing at his door.
This guy was something else. During Yun Ming's era, he and Qiangu Dongfeng would join forces to use a Godslaying-grade Fixed Soul Cannon Shell, leveling the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy.
The young man handed him the item in his hand. "The Soul Tool blueprints you asked for."
"Old Ghost, you really are my best friend. Thanks~" Lin Xiu accepted the blueprints and thanked him sincerely.
The young man watched Lin Xiu thank him so earnestly, then fell silent for a long while before asking, "The Demon Empress wants you to infiltrate Shrek Academy?"
"Yeah." Lin Xiu nodded. "Want to come with me?"
Hearing the invitation, Old Ghost looked at Lin Xiu as if he were an idiot. "Do you really think my Martial Soul would fit in at Shrek Academy? I'm not like you. I don't need those things to advance."
After hearing Old Ghost out, Lin Xiu could only reply helplessly, "That's a shame. I wanted to bring you along, my friend. But thanks anyway."
"Don't die out there." Old Ghost left him with those words and quietly walked away.
Lin Xiu watched Old Ghost's retreating figure. Only after he'd disappeared from sight did Lin Xiu slowly look away.
His first meeting with Old Ghost had been rather interesting. He and the Demon Empress had gone out to look for something when they happened to see the boy kill everyone in a village after awakening his Martial Soul. Unable to explain himself, he'd been suspected of the massacre. Lin Xiu had stepped in to help him.
The Demon Empress had originally wanted to turn the boy into a soulless puppet, but Lin Xiu had refused to let her.
After entering his room and locking the door, Lin Xiu opened the box Old Ghost had given him. A set of blueprints appeared in his hands.
He slowly unfolded them. The Dragon King era wasn't limited to the profession of Soul Master; it also had Soul Tools, Battle Armor, Mechas, and many other professions. In this era, relying on the Soul Master profession alone wasn't enough. It was only a foundation, and other professions were needed to support it.
For example, the future leader of the Body Sect would become one of the top experts thanks to a Red-Grade Mecha. But that could only be considered T2. Battle Armor was the true path for Soul Masters in this era.
But why was Lin Xiu learning about Soul Tools instead of studying another profession? He simply wanted to test whether, after learning about Soul Tools, he could pass on important knowledge from the Dragon King era to the other five and give them a shortcut.
Especially since Lin Fan was born in the Sun Moon Empire. It was practically a cheat code for him.
In another room, the Demon Empress looked at the young man who had appeared and asked, "A Xiu, what did I ask you to give him?"
"The Soul Tool blueprints," Old Ghost replied.
"Heh~ You may go." Hearing that it was something unimportant, the Demon Empress dismissed the young man before her.
Old Ghost gave the Demon Empress a long look, then turned and left. He remembered all too clearly that this woman had wanted to turn him into a soulless killer puppet. If Lin Xiu hadn't stopped her, he might not even have had a chance to live.
Now she was sending Lin Xiu to Shrek Academy, which was no different from sending him to his death. A half-baked idea began to take shape in Old Ghost's mind.
Perhaps once he grew strong enough, he'd kill this madwoman and support Lin Xiu as the new cult leader!
Lin Xiu: "?"
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