The area where the Eastsea City Administration Office stood was the city's absolute center. The people living nearby were either high-ranking officials and nobles or wealthy magnates from every walk of life.
Outside a villa just two streets away from the Administration Office, a man in a hurry knocked on the gate.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock
Boom—boom—boom—
Five short and three long: clearly a prearranged signal.
The gate soon opened from within. Someone poked his head out and pulled the man inside.
"Pei Wen, how are things outside?"
Pei Wen—the man who had knocked—replied, "Things are a little chaotic out there. Quite a few civilians are rushing to buy supplies, and the Administration Office has also issued an order sealing off all major roads. The Soul Guidance Trains have all stopped running, too, to keep anyone from taking advantage of the typhoon to pull anything."
"Damn it, this typhoon couldn't have come at a worse time!" The man who had opened the gate swore furiously.
His name was Cao Chun, and Pei Wen was his underling.
"We were planning to use this chance to run, but the people at the Administration Office moved way too fast!"
"Big brother, why don't we go to the Spirit Pagoda and turn ourselves in? You're a Soul Douluo. They won't do anything to you." Pei Wen thought it over, then made the suggestion anyway.
"Shut up! It took me so much effort to get connected with this group. How could I give up so easily? The lord said that once this typhoon passes, he'll let us join the Holy Spirit Cult!" Cao Chun said through gritted teeth.
"But..." Pei Wen hesitated.
"No buts!" Cao Chun's eyes were bloodshot, like a vicious beast ready to devour someone. "Do you want to go back to living like that, with everyone calling for our heads? We were just living quiet, ordinary lives. But just because our Martial Souls have a bit of an Evil attribute, those sanctimonious people get to brand us Evil Soul Masters?"
As it turned out, Cao Chun and Pei Wen had the same Martial Soul: the Spirit-Devouring Vulture. It had an Evil attribute, but it wasn't very powerful—certainly not enough to influence their minds.
Calling them Evil Soul Masters was obviously nonsense.
They had met at an elementary academy, and because their Martial Souls were the same, the two had quickly become close friends.
Cao Chun was much more talented than Pei Wen and had a mature disposition, so Pei Wen called him big brother.
They studied and advanced through school together, attending the same academy at every stage: the intermediate academy and then the advanced academy.
But just as they were about to graduate, after accepting an academy mission to train in a remote border town, the unexpected happened.
Evil Soul Masters attacked the town, slaughtering almost all of its residents. Unfortunately, by the time the Mecha Brigade from another city arrived, it was too late, and the Evil Soul Masters had escaped unscathed.
The only survivors they could find at the scene were Cao Chun and Pei Wen. Of course, the two presented their identification.
But who could have guessed that the governor of the town would still insist they were the culprits behind the attack?
Anyone with eyes could see the truth, yet somehow the governor managed to convince the Mecha Master Brigade that had come to the rescue.
Fortunately, the two were strong enough to escape.
They had planned to return to their academy and ask their teachers to clear their names, but the next day, their wanted notices had spread throughout the Federation.
Half a month later, after evading the pursuit, they finally managed to return to the academy—only to be stopped at the entrance. Their enrollment had already been revoked.
With no other choice, the two began a life on the run. Gradually, Cao Chun really did start absorbing the souls of the dead to cultivate!
At first, he only went to graveyards to absorb souls. Later, he began killing enemies who crossed him, too.
He still had some conscience, though, and never slaughtered civilians.
Pei Wen, who had always followed him, absorbed a few souls as well. But he didn't dare absorb too many, so his Soul Power cultivation progressed much more slowly. Even now, he was only a Soul Emperor.
Some time ago, someone from the Holy Spirit Cult contacted Cao Chun and said that if the two of them helped carry out an operation, he would recommend them for membership in the Holy Spirit Cult.
After being hunted for so long, Cao Chun had dreamed of joining the Holy Spirit Cult. It was full of Evil Soul Masters, and as a Soul Douluo, he'd at least no longer be hounded from place to place like he was now.
Then, members of the Holy Spirit Cult attacked the Spirit Pagoda's transport team in Skysea City, stealing a shipment of Soul Spirits and rare treasures on the spot. They handed some of the Soul Spirits over to the two men so they could take on part of the pressure from the pursuit.
As long as they made it to the agreed meeting point in the north of the continent afterward, they could successfully join the Holy Spirit Cult.
Pei Wen had a vague sense that something was wrong. After all, Evil Soul Masters had played a part in bringing them to this state, and yet now they were going to join an Evil Soul Master organization...
"Forget it!" Cao Chun clenched his teeth and gave a low order. "If we don't leave now, once the typhoon passes, we'll be trapped for good!"
For years, they had relied on their experience evading the wanted notices to barely stay ahead of the Spirit Pagoda's pursuit. But now they had been cornered in Eastsea City, where the safest place was right under the hunter's nose.
Once they came to their senses, it would be too late to escape.
So they had to use the typhoon to get out of Eastsea City. That was their only chance of survival.
In the top-floor office of the Eastsea City Spirit Pagoda, Leng Yaozhu sat in the seat of honor. Beside her stood Lu Fengnian, respectfully.
"Elder Lu, what's happening with those two men I asked you to keep an eye on?"
Lu Fengnian replied, "Those two are inside the villa we identified. They haven't made any further moves yet."
"Mm." Leng Yaozhu nodded. "Although these two are just smoke screens thrown out by the Evil Soul Masters, they're still carrying some Soul Spirits. Naturally, we have to capture them."
The Evil Soul Masters had stolen ten top-grade purple Soul Spirits, several yellow and white Soul Spirits, and a large shipment of medicine in this operation.
If it were only the Soul Spirits, it wouldn't be so bad. The problem was that the shipment contained quite a few extremely precious rare treasures, part of Skysea City's allocation for several years. There were even some banned drugs that could enhance the potential of techniques, long since prohibited by the Federation.
Of course, the official claim was still that they were recovering the Soul Spirits.
"Honestly, this typhoon couldn't have come any later—or earlier. It had to arrive just as we were about to close the net." Leng Yaozhu rubbed her brow. The typhoon had thrown a number of unexpected variables into her plans.
"I hope nothing goes wrong."
"By the way, how's my prospective disciple? And that fellow Long Yuan?"
"Elder Long is still studying forging lately. As for Miss Gu Yuena..." Lu Fengnian thought for a moment. "She's attending classes at Eastsea Academy as usual, but it seems she isn't living in the student dorms?"
"She isn't?"
"That's right. I heard... she seems to be staying in Elder Long's dorm. He has a position at Eastsea Academy, so he has a dormitory of his own."
Leng Yaozhu bit her lip.
"Well, that's... shameless..."