As Gu Tian's luxurious carriage disappeared completely at the end of the street, a round figure quietly emerged from the shadow of a dilapidated wall in the slum.
It was a chubby man with short red hair, Ma Hongjun.
At this moment, Ma Hongjun had long since shed his former lovable and innocent appearance. His eyes gleamed with a sinister dark red light, and his body emanated a suffocating heat, mixed with Sisi of sticky, evil aura.
He stared in the direction the carriage had gone, then spat a mouthful of phlegm onto the ground. "Damn it, I've been eyeing that catwoman for days, planning to make my move tonight to vent my frustration, but that guy Gu Tian beat me to it!"
Due to the backlash from his Martial Soul, Ma Hongjun needed to constantly find someone to vent his pent-up desires and alleviate his accumulated Evil Fire. Now, Ma Hongjun's desires were more than ten times stronger than before. This was all thanks to the Death Warrior Pill that Tang San brought back.
In fact, after Tang San took the medicine and confirmed its effects, he immediately distributed it within the Shrek Team. He originally wanted all eight members of the Shrek Seven Devils to force a breakthrough through the medicine's effects, forming a team that could sweep across the entire continent, and letting everyone know that the title of Shrek Seven Monsters was not something anyone could just accept.
However, the distribution process did not go smoothly, as two people refused to take the medication.
Jiangzhu, the only healing-type girl in the team, has the gentlest and most delicate personality. After seeing Tai Long and Huang Yuan occasionally lose their minds and become like wild beasts after taking the medicine, she felt a strong aversion and fear, and refused to swallow the dark red pill no matter what.
The other person who refused was Dai Mubai.
As a prince of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Mubai was no stranger to the term "Evil Soul Master." Therefore, judging from the state of the others, he could more or less guess that they already possessed the rudiments of Evil Soul Master, but had not yet completely degenerated into mindless Evil Soul Master.
"Evil Soul Master" is a general term referring to those who enhance themselves by absorbing the power of other Soul Master or Soul Beast. It does not refer to those whose Martial Soul possess evil power, such as Bu Le's Demon Martial Soul or Ghost Douluo's Gui Mei Martial Soul. Although their Martial Soul are of evil attributes, they cannot be called Evil Soul Master.
In this era, knowledge about Evil Soul Master was strictly sealed off by the Spirit Hall and the high-ranking officials of various empires, and ordinary people had no idea that such a force existed in the world that cultivated through devouring and evil thoughts.
On the one hand, there was concern that the public would be terrified if they learned of the existence of Evil Soul Master; on the other hand, there was concern that those who would disregard the consequences in their pursuit of power would embark on this path, which could potentially lead to widespread devastation across the entire continent.
But this doesn't include the royal family. Dai Mubai was well aware of the price of taking such a shortcut. Although he longed to defeat Gu Tian, the pride of the royal family kept him on his guard against this blood-soaked forbidden drug.
In the end, only Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Tai Long, and Huang Yuan chose to take it on the spot.
The effects of the medicine were astonishing. Since Dai Mubai's own Soul Power was already level 22, on the night after taking the medicine, all four members of the Shrek Team broke through the level 20 mark in Soul Power. Except for Jiangzhu, all members of the Shrek Academy team entered the Soul Grandmaster realm. This leap in strength gave them the confidence to confront the Imperial Fighting Team head-on.
The biggest beneficiary was none other than Ma Hongjun. His Mutated Martial Soul, which Gu Tian had jokingly called a "country bumpkin," underwent a terrifying evolution from quantitative to qualitative change under the influence of the killing essence contained in the Death Pill!
The messy red fur faded away, replaced by a true form that was pitch black, with wings burning with dark purple Red Lotus Karma Fire.
That's a genuine, top-tier Martial Soul — the Evil Fire Phoenix.
The perfect fusion of darkness and fire attributes has elevated Ma Hongjun's attack power to an extremely abnormal level.
But the price was equally heavy. The Evil Fire fire that had already been troubling him became even more violent after his advancement. He needed a lot of catharsis to calm the restless energy within his body.
Therefore, he went to see Tang San. Tang San also secretly cooperated with Xue Xing, allowing Tang San and others to make full use of the people in the slums. Such a disregard for human life would probably lead to their utter ruin if word got out. However, Xue Xing's power was still too great.
Throughout the entire Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Xing's power was second only to Xue Ye, and she was naturally even more powerful than Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. Therefore, with Xue Xing cleaning up their messes, they acted with impunity, causing widespread panic within the slums.
"It's just a pity about that catwoman..." Ma Hongjun scratched his head in annoyance, a lewd glint in his eyes. "If I had known this place would be discovered, I should have just broken in the day before yesterday. That bastard Gu Tian, with so many beautiful women around him, actually came to this slum to steal food!"
He looked down at his hands, which had become somewhat dry due to the effects of the drug, and a sense of unease suddenly rose in his heart. Although the Tang Sect was not yet fully established, Tang Sect current secret base was located deep within this chaotic slum.
"No, Gu Tian took Catwoman away. Could it be because he's already figured something out? If he tells Xue Qinghe, wouldn't their inside-outside collaboration expose their scandal?"
Ma Hongjun glanced one last time at the trembling poor people around him, a cruel smile playing on his lips. His figure transformed into a dark red streak of light, instantly disappearing into the deeper shadows.
"No, we have to tell Third Brother this right away."
The carriage slowly came to a stop at the main entrance of the Skywater Academy on the other side of Heaven Dou City. Unlike the dark and damp slums, the air here was fresh, and the architectural style was elegant and full of a uniquely feminine beauty.
Upon learning of Gu Tian's arrival, Shui Bing'er, the captain of the Skywater Academy, personally came out to greet him with her younger sister, Shui Yue'er.
" Gu Tian, is there something urgent that you've come so late?" Shui Bing'er was still wearing an ice-blue long dress, and her cool temperament appeared even more noble under the moonlight.
Gu Tian stepped down from the carriage, pointed to the Kitty and her mother huddled together inside, looking rather awkward, and briefly explained his purpose. He hoped that Skywater Academy could take in this unfortunate mother and daughter and give them a stable place to live.
Shui Bing'er looked at the pair of slightly trembling cat ears on Maomao's head, and a hint of sympathy flashed in her originally cold eyes. As a woman, she had a natural pity for these half- Soul Beast -turned-commoners who had been reduced to playthings.
"Since you've asked, of course I'll help." Shui Bing'er readily agreed, then turned to the students behind her and instructed, "Take these two to the staff dormitory in the logistics department and arrange two clean rooms for them. Also, find them some light work, like tidying up the library or trimming the plants, and pay them the same salary as regular employees."
"Thank you very much, Captain Shui Bing'er." Gu Tian smiled sincerely.
Led by the students from Tianshui, the mother and daughter walked into the campus, expressing their deepest gratitude. Only after they disappeared from sight did Shui Yue'er finally approach, her bright eyes filled with admiration. She exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, "Wow! Gu Tian, I never knew you were so kind! You personally went to the trouble of saving two civilians. No wonder my sister has been talking about you every day lately; she absolutely adores you!"