Bad News

"You're telling the truth? How is that possible? How could Li Zishuo be dead?"

Li Changsheng looked at the Seven Absolute Zither Master, who was sitting beside his bed. He gritted his teeth, enduring the Soul Power running wild inside him, his face full of disbelief.

After returning that day, Li Changsheng had fallen unconscious. He had only woken up today.

As soon as he woke, he had recovered a little Soul Power. The Seven Absolute Zither Master had been looking after him these past few days, so his recovery had gone well. Though he had lost a rank in Soul Power and still needed to heal his injuries, Li Changsheng didn't mind.

But now, the Seven Absolute Zither Master had personally told him that the descendant who had come with him, the one he had been so pleased with, had died during an examination task.

How could he not be shocked and furious?

Sitting beside the bed, the Seven Absolute Zither Master looked at Li Changsheng's stiff expression and said, "Everyone in the No One in the Tomb squad was killed, including their accompanying teacher, a seventy-eight-rank Soul Saint. Their assignment was to track down a death-row convict. But yesterday evening, the guards of Gil City found their bodies outside the city. After confirming their identities, they were brought to the Pre-Education Academy this morning. We haven't figured out the details yet, but they..."

"What about them?" Li Changsheng's clenched fist loosened slightly. He stared at the Seven Absolute Zither Master, his expression turning grim.

The Seven Absolute Zither Master suddenly turned aside and leaned over the bed, retching. Even with her mask on, it was easy to imagine how disgusted she was.

"They died horribly. Li Zishuo in particular... The skin below his neck had been peeled off in one piece, every bone in his body removed one by one, every strand of hair plucked out, and his features shaved flat. He died with his eyes open."

At last, between fits of retching, the Seven Absolute Zither Master managed to tell Li Changsheng that much.

"His eyes open? His eyes open?" Li Changsheng collapsed heavily onto the bed. "What about the other three?"

The Seven Absolute Zither Master hesitated. She pinched her chin with one small hand, struggling to contain her revulsion. "Much the same."

"Much the same..."

Li Changsheng felt every hair on his body stand on end.

He threw off the covers and, despite the pain throughout his body, grimaced as he asked the Seven Absolute Zither Master, "C-can I go see them?"

The Seven Absolute Zither Master hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Their bodies haven't been taken away yet. Their families will probably be notified this afternoon..."

Li Changsheng nodded, put on his mask, and staggered after the Seven Absolute Zither Master.

She tried to support him, but Li Changsheng declined and asked her to lead the way.

Soon, Li Changsheng arrived at the room where the bodies had been laid out.

Many teachers without masks had gathered there.

As soon as he arrived, Li Changsheng was drawn to a terrifying presence.

Four bodies lay in a row on tables inside the room, uncovered and exposed to the air.

A refined, middle-aged man with fiery red hair stood with his hands behind his back, his calm face turned toward the four bodies. His fiery red eyes were fixed on them.

The other teachers stood quietly to one side. Their eyes held grief and resentment, but they all remained silent.

The Seven Absolute Zither Master's arrival drew the attention of many teachers.

She entered the room and addressed the red-haired man. "Teacher."

The red-haired man looked at the Seven Absolute Zither Master, then glanced at Li Changsheng standing in the doorway. He said nothing, only nodded.

Li Changsheng walked in.

Only when he drew closer did he get a proper look at Li Zishuo, Exquisite Dice, and the two remaining members of the No One in the Tomb squad.

His pupils shrank as he stared at the bodies.

Yes.

The second of the four bodies was indeed Li Zishuo's.

His flesh was a bloody mess. If not for the parts of his face that were still recognizable, he might have been nothing more than a heap of ruined meat. His features had been shaved flat, either by some kind of blade or a strange Soul Skill. His eyes were wide open, filled with overwhelming fear. Beside his body lay the sword Li Changsheng had once given him, now broken.

As Li Changsheng drew near, the red-haired elder turned his gaze on him. He was silent for a long while before finally asking, "Did you know this Li Zishuo?"

Li Changsheng nodded. He couldn't tell what he was feeling.

Grief?

It didn't seem like he felt much grief.

But something about it felt strange.

Hadn't he been fine when they parted?

He had even given him a blessing. How had he ended up dead? Why had he died so horribly?

"Do you recognize this mark? Have you seen it anywhere before?"

Before Li Changsheng could think any further, the red-haired man extended a hand and pointed to a strange mark drawn near Li Zishuo's temple. Yes, it was a very strange mark.

It depicted a blurry, winged creature. Its wings were gold, while its body was deep purple. It looked like a combination of a radiant angel and something dark and hideous. The mark had been drawn on after his death, but on closer inspection, it looked more as though it had grown out of his flesh. It was grotesque beyond words.

Li Changsheng shook his head. "No. I've never seen it before."

At that, the red-haired man shook his head and reached out to gently pat Li Changsheng on the shoulder, as if to comfort him. "Child, don't be too upset. The Pre-Education Academy will avenge them."

Li Changsheng didn't take his words in. His gaze rested on the four bodies.

Three men and one woman. All four had died in nearly the same way.

Exquisite Dice was an exceptionally beautiful girl. Now, her deathly pale face gave her an eerie air, especially her open eyes. The emotion in them was much like the fear in Li Zishuo's eyes, a sorrowful, inexplicable despair.

He thought back to the journey here, when she had been so enthusiastic about telling Li Changsheng all sorts of useless things. Now she was dead.

There was no mark near her temple like the one on Li Zishuo's. Neither did the two beside her have one. It was as if they had been attacked by Evil Soul Masters and slaughtered, while Li Zishuo's case was different, marked by something strange.

When Li Changsheng's gaze caught a familiar strand of hair at the corner of Li Zishuo's mouth, his body trembled.

"God of Wisdom, who killed Li Zishuo? And what's the mark on his body?" Li Changsheng asked calmly, feigning composure.

Alert. Unknown.

Unfortunately, the God of Wisdom didn't answer him this time.

But Li Changsheng had plenty to think about.

Why was there something at the corner of Li Zishuo's mouth that matched the strands of hair swallowed by the Evil Soul Masters?

Li Changsheng didn't stay long before returning. He didn't take the strand of hair with him, either.

There were too many people present.

The Seven Absolute Zither Master followed beside him in silence.

Li Changsheng was thinking about one thing.

Four words echoed in his mind.

Died with his eyes open.

That's right. Those were the words.

If Li Zishuo and the other three had all died in the same way, Li Changsheng might have thought they had simply run into Evil Soul Masters and been wiped out. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something about Li Zishuo was wrong.

He turned to the Seven Absolute Zither Master and asked, "Has anything like this happened before?"

The Seven Absolute Zither Master froze for an instant, then shook her head. "I don't know."

That was true. After all, the Seven Absolute Zither Master had only entered the Pre-Education Academy as a new student this year.

"Was that teacher of yours the Sun-Extinguishing Douluo?" Li Changsheng asked vaguely.

The Seven Absolute Zither Master nodded. "That's right. The Sun-Extinguishing Douluo, Ming Taibai."

"What did he say? That it was just a crime committed by Evil Soul Masters?"

Li Changsheng hadn't asked the Sun-Extinguishing Douluo directly. He felt he wouldn't get anything out of it. The man probably wouldn't say much to a kid like him anyway.

The Seven Absolute Zither Master returned to the room with Li Changsheng.

Sitting beside the table, Li Changsheng poured her a cup of water. The Seven Absolute Zither Master said:

"Teacher didn't say much about the specifics. He only said this matter was complicated and sent quite a few people to investigate. He also said the Pre-Education Academy might face a lot of public criticism over this... That's about it."

Li Changsheng picked up the water and took a small sip.

Indeed, four students had died at once, all of them young geniuses. The Pre-Education Academy was probably going to be held accountable again.

"But I think I heard Teacher mention the Sun Moon Empire."

"The Sun Moon Empire? This has something to do with the Sun Moon Empire, too? Could it have been Evil Soul Masters active in Sun Moon Empire territory?"

Li Changsheng felt a headache coming on. The God of Wisdom wasn't saying anything, and he had never been very clever to begin with.

He might not have the power to avenge Li Zishuo right now, but it would still be good to learn a little more early.

"By the way, the class assignments have been finalized. You, Li Zishuo, and I were supposed to be in the same class, but now..."

The Seven Absolute Zither Master took a sheet of paper from her storage device and slid it over to Li Changsheng.

"Class name?"

Li Changsheng picked up the paper with a sigh. In addition to the class name, it had originally listed three names.

The Seven Absolute Zither Master, Xiangjian Yueliang, and No Regrets in Moving.

Now Li Zishuo's name had been crossed out, and no one had been added in his place.

The class name had already been decided, too.

It was simple, straightforward, and refreshing.

"Road to Death."

After talking for a while, the Seven Absolute Zither Master left. When they discussed their mission, she also expressed relief that they had made it back. As for why the Evil Soul Masters had suddenly appeared, they didn't discuss it.

She also told Li Changsheng to attend class in three days.

Thanks to the Seven Absolute Zither Master's "privilege," Li Changsheng had officially passed the entrance examination for the Pre-Education Academy.

In fact, completing the second examination had already been enough to get him in.

The class assignment battle had only been to secure a good teacher.

As for who would be teaching their class, the Seven Absolute Zither Master only mentioned that it would be a female teacher named Zi Buyu, who was also a Titled Douluo.

"Phew. How did my descendant end up dead? Damn it."

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Li Changsheng still couldn't wrap his head around it.

He really couldn't understand. How had he ended up dead?

Finally, he thought back to their own mission.

Right. If he hadn't been there, would Centrifugal Killing Mirror and the others have died too?

"By the way, God of Wisdom, how did the Seven Absolute Zither Master heavily injure that Evil Soul Master at the end? I don't remember clearly."

Though Li Changsheng felt some sorrow over Li Zishuo's death, what he needed now was to quickly heal the damage to his body.

He began circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill and worked hard to recover from his injuries. At the same time, he asked the God of Wisdom.

Alert. Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

"Martial Soul Fusion Skill? The Seven Absolute Zither Master and I can use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill? Like the one Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing used before? But we didn't even know each other before, did we? Besides, our Martial Souls are a book and a zither. How could they fuse?"

Li Changsheng's mood eased a little. He asked curiously.

At the same time, he remembered that the Seven Absolute Zither Master had seemed to know they could use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

That made it even stranger.

<Alert. The definition of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill is too vague, and there is no consensus. Besides, what makes you think you didn't know each other before?>

Li Changsheng was at a loss for words. The God of Wisdom really was good at acting mysterious.

"Alas, nothing in life is constant. The Soul Master world really is dangerous. I hope I don't meet a gruesome end someday."

"One more question, God of Wisdom. When you activate Parallel Calculation, what rank of Soul Master would that roughly make you?"

After this mission, Li Changsheng had come to understand something.

His Genesis Book Martial Soul was exceedingly strange. It could turn things he spoke into established facts, but the toll it took on his Soul Power was terrifying.

He had flown with the Seven Absolute Zither Master for only a little while, yet he had already felt his Soul Power draining away.

He decided that, from now on, he would temporarily focus on honing the Genesis Book Martial Soul so that he could adapt to it more quickly.

<Alert. As long as your body can take it, what's stopping you from slaying gods and demons?>