Lin Yaoyang: Dean Yan, Kill This Evil Soul Master!

The crowd stirred restlessly, backing away with fear written all over their faces.

The red figure stopped by the lake, having completely lost her mind. What had originally been merely Evil Fire she could not suppress had now been catalyzed by the pressure of Ultimate Fire, reducing her to a berserk creature that knew only slaughter.

She had no idea where she was and could no longer tell friend from foe.

Ma Xiaotao turned toward Lin Yaoyang, whose aura was the most distinct before her.

She let out a low growl. The flames around her suddenly surged as she pounced toward Lin Yaoyang!

Lin Yaoyang held Wang Dong tightly, and the Gilded Fire Wings behind him gave a powerful beat, sending him gliding several meters backward.

At the same time, he swept out the Corona Sword.

A streak of golden sword energy slashed forth, splitting the oncoming flames cleanly in two!

The flames howled past either side of him, heat waves rolling outward. Several willow trees behind him, each as thick as a bowl, were swept by the fire and instantly burned to ash before even a wisp of smoke could rise.

Lin Yaoyang frowned slightly.

This woman... had truly gone mad.

He glanced down at Wang Dong in his arms.

The girl was still unconscious, her face pale, though her breathing remained steady. She had probably only been struck by the aura of that Evil Fire and was not seriously hurt.

Lin Yaoyang held Wang Dong a little tighter and activated his Soul Power.

Four Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet.

Purple. Purple. Purple. Black.

The students who had been about to rush over to help all stopped at once upon seeing this, then erupted into shocked cries.

"Holy shit! This student is insane! Three purple and one black?!"

"When did our academy produce a monster like this?"

"He's wearing a white uniform... Don't tell me he's a freshman?!"

"My god! A freshman? A four-ring Soul Ancestor? He's even stronger than me!"

"Isn't that Soul Ring setup too ridiculous? His first Soul Ring is already a thousand-year one? And his fourth is ten thousand years?"

"Comparisons really do kill people!"

Exclamations of amazement rose one after another.

A few upperclassmen who had originally intended to rush in and help silently stepped back after seeing Lin Yaoyang's Soul Rings. This guy could handle it himself; they did not need to worry.

Lin Yaoyang ignored the chatter around him. He held Wang Dong securely in the crook of his left arm, gripped his sword in his right hand, and lit up his fourth Soul Ring.

The black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring emitted a deep glow as sharp sword intent rose from his body.

"Fourth Soul Skill, Aurora Sword Dance!"

The Corona Sword suddenly erupted with dazzling light! The golden flames along its blade abruptly contracted, condensed, and compressed, then transformed into an incomparably brilliant aurora that enveloped the entire sword.

When the light faded, the Corona Sword had taken on a completely different form.

Aurora Holy Sword.

The next five slashes would ignore all of the enemy's defenses.

Lin Yaoyang's Gilded Fire Wings flapped powerfully, carrying him into the air with Wang Dong in his arms. He steadied himself midair, his gaze locking onto the red figure below that was still wildly releasing flames.

First slash!

A golden blade shot from the Aurora Holy Sword like a bolt of lightning tearing through the sky, flying straight at Ma Xiaotao's face!

Second slash! Third slash! Fourth slash! Fifth slash!

Five aurora blades slashed out almost simultaneously, carving five dazzling arcs through the air.

Already out of control, Ma Xiaotao saw the attack approaching. Her eyes turned crimson as she let out a beastlike growl.

She instinctively sensed danger, and the Evil Fire Phoenix within her went completely berserk at that instant.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike!"

She thrust out both palms, and a flaming phoenix with a wingspan of barely one meter flew from her hands.

But Lin Yaoyang's aurora blades carried the absolute suppressive force of Ultimate Fire, their power far beyond Ma Xiaotao's expectations. The instant the flaming phoenix collided with the first aurora blade, it suffered a devastating impact.

Boom!

A deafening explosion erupted. Flames shot into the sky and scattered in all directions as a violent shockwave frantically spread outward from the point of collision.

With just one strike, the flaming phoenix condensed from Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire shattered instantly, turning into sparks scattered across the sky. It had not even the slightest strength left to resist before being completely destroyed by the Ultimate Fire blade.

The remaining four aurora blades did not pause in the slightest. They shot straight through the thick smoke from the explosion, trailing dazzling aurora behind them as they slashed directly at the helpless Ma Xiaotao!

As Ma Xiaotao watched the four blades fly toward her, fear appeared in her blood-red eyes for the first time.

"Stop!"

An explosive shout rang out from the distance.

A white figure skimmed across the lake at an unimaginable speed, appearing in front of Ma Xiaotao in an instant.

Yan Shaozhe.

He raised his hand and struck out with his palm.

A gentle white curtain of light spread from his palm, attempting to block the four blades.

But the instant the blades touched the light curtain, Yan Shaozhe frowned.

The light curtain condensed by a level ninety-five Titled Douluo like him could block the vast majority of attacks, yet these four blades passed through it. Their speed slowed by only a fraction as they continued toward Ma Xiaotao.

Yan Shaozhe grunted, and the white light in his palm flared as he forcibly crushed the four blades with Soul Power.

Golden fragments scattered in all directions, burning small blackened holes into the ground where they landed.

A searing pain came from Yan Shaozhe's palm. He lowered his head and saw two bloody cuts across it.

His expression changed slightly.

An attack from a four-ring Soul Ancestor had injured him, a level ninety-five Titled Douluo?

Although he had not defended with his full strength... that was still astonishing enough.

Lin Yaoyang steadied himself in the air and slowly descended with Wang Dong in his arms.

He looked at Yan Shaozhe and said loudly in a righteous tone, "Dean Yan! Why are you helping her? She's an Evil Soul Master!"

He lowered his head to look at Wang Dong in his arms, then raised it again, glaring intensely at Yan Shaozhe. His voice carried three parts anger, three parts grievance, and four parts righteous indignation.

"She almost killed my roommate, Wang Dong!"

When Yan Shaozhe heard that, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

When had Ma Xiaotao become an Evil Soul Master?!

Her Martial Soul simply had a problem. Her Evil Fire had become impossible to suppress, and she had lost control of her emotions!

He had watched this girl grow up. She was a genius student of Shrek's Inner Court. How had she become an Evil Soul Master when it came out of this brat's mouth?

Yan Shaozhe had just opened his mouth to explain when he turned to Ma Xiaotao behind him. Suppressing his shock, he tried to awaken her reason, softening his voice slightly. "Xiaotao, calm down! I'm your teacher. You're a student of Shrek's Inner Court, not an Evil Soul Master. Quickly stabilize the Soul Power in your body and suppress your Evil Fire!"

But Ma Xiaotao had been completely provoked by the pressure of Ultimate Fire. She had utterly fallen into a crazed state of Evil Fire rampage and could not recognize Yan Shaozhe at all, treating him only as an enemy blocking her way.

Upon hearing Yan Shaozhe's voice, she abruptly raised her head. Her blood-red eyes locked onto him, and without the slightest hesitation, she opened her mouth and fired a Phoenix Fire Beam!

The fire beam carried violent Evil Fire as it blasted straight toward Yan Shaozhe!

Yan Shaozhe had never expected Ma Xiaotao to attack him. Caught off guard, he hastily twisted aside, but the fire beam still grazed his shoulder. A patch of flesh was instantly charred, his clothes turned to ash, and waves of burning pain shot through him. His face darkened at once, both shocked and furious.

Seeing this, Lin Yaoyang immediately seized the chance to fan the flames. "Dean Yan! You saw it with your own eyes! She's completely lost her mind. She even dared to attack you, the dean! How does she have even the slightest resemblance to a Shrek student?"

"She's clearly a monster corrupted by evil soul power. Keeping her alive is like keeping a ticking bomb. Today, she can hurt my roommate and you. Tomorrow, she could bring disaster upon all of Shrek, even the entire continent!"

"Kill her quickly and eliminate future trouble! Give the academy and us freshmen an explanation!"

The surrounding students had already been badly frightened by Ma Xiaotao's crazed actions. Seeing that she had even attacked Dean Yan, they became even more enraged.

"Dean, get rid of this Evil Soul Master!"

"She's too dangerous! We can't let her stay!"

"Evil Soul Masters are terrible!"

Yan Shaozhe looked at the crazed Ma Xiaotao, who no longer recognized anyone, then at the furious students and Lin Yaoyang standing nearby with a face full of righteous indignation. He felt both anxious and angry.

He knew Ma Xiaotao had merely lost control of her Evil Fire and was by no means an Evil Soul Master. But she had gone completely mad, injuring others and attacking her superior. No explanation would clear her name. If he did not restrain her quickly, it would only cause greater panic and might even lead to Ma Xiaotao being completely devoured by her Evil Fire beyond all hope of recovery.

After weighing his options, Yan Shaozhe's eyes darkened. He stopped hesitating. His figure flashed instantly, dodging the flames Ma Xiaotao was swinging wildly, then raised his hand and condensed a gentle yet forceful burst of Soul Power, striking precisely at the back of Ma Xiaotao's neck.

With a muffled groan, Ma Xiaotao went limp. The violent Evil Fire around her instantly dispersed, her blood-red eyes slowly closed, and she fell straight down, caught by Yan Shaozhe in one hand.

"Dean Yan!"

A voice came from behind him, loud and bright enough to make everyone's eardrums buzz.

Yan Shaozhe's temples began to throb.

"Why are you wasting words on her?!" Lin Yaoyang's voice brimmed with righteous fury. "She's an Evil Soul Master! Kill her now!"