Framing Her as an Evil Soul Master: You've Got Some Nerve!

Lin Yaoyang turned his head and looked at the person.

It was a boy in a black school uniform, around fifteen or sixteen years old. He was tall and muscular, with fair skin and a slightly babyish face flushed red with anger. The emblem of a sixth-year student was embroidered on his chest.

Xu Sanshi.

Lin Yaoyang's eyes flickered slightly.

The moment Jiang Nannan saw Xu Sanshi, her brows furrowed, and her good mood vanished completely.

Tang Ya had already stepped forward, blocking Huo Yuhao. "Xu Sanshi, you dare bully someone from my Tang Sect?!"

Xu Sanshi curled his lip, about to say something when a gentle voice came from nearby.

"Xu Sanshi, you bullied my junior disciple. You must give me an explanation for what happened today."

Bei Bei had appeared at some point. He had delicate features and a mild temperament, but there was a trace of coldness in his gaze as he looked at Xu Sanshi.

"Otherwise, we'll settle this in the Soul Fighting Zone."

Xu Sanshi snorted. "It's been a long time since we sparred. Isn't it just the Soul Fighting Zone? Let's go!"

He turned to head into the academy, but his gaze happened to sweep across the small table beside him, and his steps stopped.

"Nannan?!" His eyes immediately lit up as he strode over. "You're here too? What a coincidence! Want to come watch my soul fight..."

"Xu Sanshi." Jiang Nannan's voice was as cold as ice. "I told you already, there is no possibility between us. I already have someone I like. Please stop bothering me from now on."

Someone she liked?

Wang Dong's gaze moved back and forth between Lin Yaoyang and Jiang Nannan.

Xu Sanshi, however, did not take it seriously. He had heard those words many times before, but Jiang Nannan had never said who she liked, and she had always been alone. He only thought she was making excuses.

"It's fine, Nannan. Even if you have someone you like, I won't give up!"

With that, he turned and strode toward the academy.

Bei Bei glanced at Jiang Nannan, then at Lin Yaoyang, and followed after him thoughtfully.

Tang Ya grabbed Huo Yuhao. "Little Yuhao, come on, let's go watch too! You don't get to see a match of this level very often!"

Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment, packed up his stall, and followed Tang Ya.

Lin Yaoyang stood and extended his hand toward Jiang Nannan.

"Come on. Let's go take a look too."

Jiang Nannan had not wanted to go. She did not want to see Xu Sanshi at all. But when she saw Lin Yaoyang's outstretched hand, she hesitated before placing her hand in his.

Back when they were in Lingdou City, Jiang Nannan had not minded some of Lin Yaoyang's little gestures. But with the Ice Empress and Snow Empress watching them so closely, the two of them could do little more than hold hands.

Now that neither the Ice Empress nor the Snow Empress was around, Jiang Nannan felt secretly delighted and wanted to take the opportunity to go a step further.

Lin Yaoyang took her hand. The warmth from his palm made Jiang Nannan's heart skip a beat.

"Let's go," he said.

Wang Dong followed silently behind them. Looking at their clasped hands, she felt inexplicably stifled.

Jiang Nannan's classmates tactfully chose not to follow.

The Soul Fighting Zone was located in the northwest corner of the Martial Soul Department and was one of the liveliest places in Shrek Academy.

The matches here were open to all students, requiring only a one-silver-soul-coin admission fee.

The Soul Fighting Arena was hexagonal, with a large open space at its center and tiers of seats rising around it. It could hold roughly three thousand people. Quite a few were already seated, all here to watch Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi's match.

The three found seats and sat down.

By coincidence, Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya were sitting not far from them.

Tang Ya noticed them too and leaned over curiously to ask Huo Yuhao, "Little Yuhao, how do those two classmates of yours know Jiang Nannan? They seem pretty close."

Huo Yuhao shook his head. "I don't know either. Maybe they knew each other before."

The battle in the arena had already begun.

Both Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were top students of the outer court, and their duel was spectacular. Bei Bei's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was fierce and domineering, while Xu Sanshi's Black Tortoise Shield Martial Soul was steady and heavy. One attacked and one defended, and neither could gain the upper hand.

Lin Yaoyang watched for a while, then his gaze fell on Huo Yuhao.

He saw Huo Yuhao's eyes brighten slightly, a faint ring of white light flowing within his pupils.

Spirit Detection.

Lin Yaoyang stood and walked over.

Huo Yuhao was intently circulating his Soul Power, preparing to use Spirit Detection to help Bei Bei spot Xu Sanshi's openings.

Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder.

He shuddered in fright and turned around in alarm, only to see Lin Yaoyang's expressionless face.

"C-Class... Class Monitor..."

Lin Yaoyang looked down at him, his voice soft enough that only the two of them could hear it.

"Huo Yuhao, I remember your Martial Soul is called the Spirit Eye. It's your eyes, right?"

Huo Yuhao nodded.

"Is your first soul skill a detection-type skill?"

Huo Yuhao's heart jolted.

How did he know?

Lin Yaoyang continued, "You want to use your first soul skill to help that Bei Bei, don't you?"

Huo Yuhao lowered his head, not daring to meet his eyes.

"I... I... just..."

"You're cheating." Lin Yaoyang's voice was calm, without anger or accusation. He was merely stating a fact.

Huo Yuhao's face turned pale.

"Don't do such underhanded things."

Lin Yaoyang patted his shoulder, neither too lightly nor too heavily, then turned and left.

Huo Yuhao sat where he was, his lips moving, but he could not say a single word.

His eyes had reddened slightly.

Tang Ya had been focused on the battle and had not noticed what happened here. Excitedly, she tugged on Huo Yuhao's sleeve. "Little Yuhao, look! Bei Bei is about to win!"

Lin Yaoyang returned to Jiang Nannan and Wang Dong. "Let's go. This match is boring."

Jiang Nannan nodded. She had not wanted to watch in the first place. This time, she took Lin Yaoyang's hand on her own initiative.

The two left the Soul Fighting Zone hand in hand.

"What was that all about?" Wang Dong muttered unhappily, but she still followed them.

After seeing Jiang Nannan back to her dormitory, the two walked toward their own dormitory.

Wang Dong kept her head lowered and remained silent for a long while.

"Hey," she suddenly said, "you and that Jiang Nannan... are you really just friends?"

"Mm."

"The way she looks at you doesn't seem like the way friends look at each other."

Lin Yaoyang said nothing.

Wang Dong waited for a while. Seeing that he would not answer, she muttered, "And she's pretty good-looking too..."

"She is pretty good-looking."

Wang Dong paused, then quickened her pace and walked ahead of him. Without looking back, she said, "Hurry up. We still have class tomorrow."

Lin Yaoyang watched her retreating figure, the corner of his mouth curling slightly as he followed at an unhurried pace.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

Lin Yaoyang and Wang Dong left the cafeteria and walked along a path through the campus.

Wang Dong pulled out a loaf of bread from her storage Soul Tool, took a bite, and said, "I only learned to be bad after following you!"

The academy cafeteria rules prohibited taking food outside. Yet there were no tables or chairs in the cafeteria.

So Lin Yaoyang had taught her to put food into a storage Soul Tool and take it away.

"You don't have to learn," Lin Yaoyang said, taking out a loaf of bread himself and biting into it. "No one forced you."

Wang Dong curled her lip. Knowing she could not outargue him, she could only focus her energy on the bread.

The two ate as they walked. There was still some time before class. After finishing her bread, Wang Dong brushed the crumbs from her hands and said, "Let's go stroll around Sea God Lake."

Lin Yaoyang considered the time, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "Fine. I'll indulge you this once."

The two went around the Freshman Teaching Building and headed east along the southern side of Shrek Square. Before long, they arrived at the Lakeside Path.

Passing through the woods beside the path, their view suddenly opened up.

The sparkling Sea God Lake lay before them.

The lake water was exceptionally clear, pure blue and deep blue, shimmering with scattered golden light beneath the morning sun. Its surface was as calm as a giant mirror, reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, and willows lining the shore.

A gentle mist carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees drifted toward them, making them want to take a deep breath.

"It's so beautiful!" Wang Dong spread her arms and stretched with all her might, her face full of fascination.

Lin Yaoyang silently nodded.

Although he did not have a favorable impression of Shrek, he had to admit that the scenery here was truly beautiful.

As Wang Dong admired the view, she suddenly seemed to spot something.

"Brother Lin, what's that?"

She pointed at a rapidly moving red dot on the lake.

It was a red figure racing across the surface at astonishing speed. That person had not released a Martial Soul, yet could run over the water as though on solid ground, moving as fast as an arrow loosed from a bow.

And judging by the direction, that person was charging straight toward them.

Lin Yaoyang saw it too. Of course, he knew who it was.

But he merely said indifferently, "Not sure."

Wang Dong's eyes grew brighter and brighter. "This person looks really strong! Look, they can run across the lake without even releasing their Martial Soul!"

Excitedly, she tugged Lin Yaoyang's sleeve. "They're so fast! They..."

Her voice suddenly changed.

"No! Why aren't they stopping?!"

Wang Dong's eyes widened as she circulated her Soul Power, azure wings appearing behind her.

But just as she was about to spread her wings and take flight, it was already too late.

The red figure was simply too fast. One moment, they had been at the center of the lake; the next, they had reached the shore. That person showed no sign of stopping, crashing straight toward them with terrifying heat!

Wang Dong only felt a wave of heat rush toward her, as though someone had ignited a volcano right in front of her. The vegetation within dozens of meters instantly turned scorched yellow. Leaves curled, and blades of grass withered.

Wang Dong had only just begun to circulate her Soul Power when the heat scattered it completely. A suffocating pressure engulfed her, and her vision went black.

Her body collapsed limply.

Lin Yaoyang caught her in one arm and held her against his chest.

That terrifying heat was nothing to him, but Wang Dong could not withstand it.

He looked down at Wang Dong in his arms.

Unconscious, her face was pale and her brows tightly furrowed. Her delicate face had lost its usual pride, making her look as fragile as a porcelain doll.

What a pity... she was still dressed as a boy.

Lin Yaoyang pushed aside that ill-timed thought, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly.

"Someone, help! Someone, help!"

His voice was loud and urgent, especially piercing in the morning campus.

"An Evil Soul Master has broken into the academy! My roommate has been knocked unconscious!"

The students nearby heard the shout and all turned to look.

Lin Yaoyang immediately activated Martial Soul Possession.

Golden light exploded outward as crimson-red and silver-white armor covered his body, two pairs of Gilded Fire Wings spreading behind him. He held the unconscious Wang Dong in one arm and summoned the Corona Sword with the other, its tip aimed directly at the red figure as he shouted sternly.

"You damned Evil Soul Master, you've got some nerve!"

"In broad daylight, you dare break into Shrek Academy and injure my roommate!"

Without another word, Lin Yaoyang directly pinned a huge accusation on Ma Xiaotao!

His voice was righteous and severe, his bearing imposing, as though he were facing a heinous Evil Soul Master.

And the pressure of Ultimate Fire radiating from his body happened to become the final straw that crushed Ma Xiaotao's sanity.

Already manic from her Evil Fire losing control, Ma Xiaotao was thoroughly provoked by the suppression from this Ultimate Fire's origin. The Evil Fire within her instantly erupted and churned, as though it intended to burn her body to ashes.

She let out a heart-rending, beastlike howl. The flames around her suddenly surged, and eerie black patterns even appeared within the crimson fire.

The last trace of clarity in her eyes was completely swallowed, leaving only violent madness capable of destroying the world. The ferocious aura around her was several times stronger than before. No matter how one looked at her, she resembled an Evil Soul Master who had fallen into madness and become addicted to slaughter.

The onlooking students saw the red figure suddenly become even more crazed, a chilling ferocity pouring from her body. She wore a red mask, and even her eyes were blood-red.

Everyone was startled, becoming even more convinced that an Evil Soul Master was causing trouble.

"Go get the teachers!"

"An Evil Soul Master has broken in!"

"Protect that injured student!"