The Hanged Man's Authority

The Hanged Man's first three Authorities were:

Corruption: It induced the corruption, distortion, loss of control, and degradation of a creature's mind, body, and soul; it corroded all things and dismantled defenses.

Shadow: It governed shadows—concealment, movement, shadow substitutes, shadow armor, and shadow bindings.

Darkness: It controlled the Darkness Domain, created things within darkness, concealed with darkness, and eroded with darkness.

The Hanged Man's Authorities differed from those of the other two Sequences.

For the other two Sequences, especially the Visionary's Authorities, the later Authorities became increasingly powerful.

Yet among the Hanged Man's Authorities, the most essential one was his very first Authority.

The Authority of Corruption could not only cause people to fall into corruption, but also corrupt Martial Souls.

It could turn a Martial Soul that had once been radiant into something dark and evil, transforming a Martial Soul filled with justice into a terrifying purgatory.

Feeling the three additional Authorities within his body, Chen Ye's eyes carried a faint smile, though it was an exceedingly slight one.

As the characteristics of three Sequences now coexisted within him, Chen Ye could clearly sense the three powers gradually converging and drawing toward one another.

Previously, however, because the Sun's core essence had been within Yun Xiao, that attraction had not been obvious.

But after he transformed Yun Luo into his avatar, the Hanged Man's Authority was essentially still within him.

"For now, it doesn't matter. I can still bear it, but once I reach the sixth Soul Ring, or even the seventh, I'll have to find a way to give the Hanged Man's Authority to someone destined for it."

"Although the Hanged Man's Authority has no direct connection to God Almighty, this thing can actually contaminate my Dragon of Imagination."

Chen Ye shook his head as he spoke. This was something he had never expected.

Yun Luo before him—or rather, Chen Ye's avatar—glanced at him before the avatar abruptly vanished.

He would become one of Chen Ye's hidden cards, handling matters that were inconvenient for Chen Ye himself.

For instance, carrying out assassinations or infiltrating the Holy Spirit Cult to gain a higher position.

As Yun Luo departed soundlessly, Chen Ye's body also gradually dissipated where it stood.

After a night had passed, news of the incident spread wildly throughout the entire campus early the next morning.

A schoolteacher being an Evil Soul Master who had attempted to kill a student was absolutely earth-shattering news to everyone.

Especially since that teacher had been Teacher Yun Luo from the upper grades.

Teacher Yun had always treated people with great gentleness and had a good personality.

"You really can't judge a person by appearances. Teacher Yun was actually a cultist from the Holy Spirit Cult."

"Sigh, thankfully Teacher Wu was there. If Teacher Wu hadn't been strong enough, Yun Xiao would definitely have died."

"Yeah, thankfully Teacher Wu was there. Otherwise, Yun Xiao would have been dead for sure. We might even have been killed by him too."

The moment Chen Ye left the dormitory, he heard quite a few students discussing the matter by the staircase.

He swept his gaze over them, but did not particularly care.

Chen Ye and Tang Wulin had a simple breakfast together. While in the cafeteria, Tang Wulin brought up the incident as well.

However, he spoke more about Yun Xiao's reaction.

"Yun Xiao seems to have been greatly stimulated. He became much more diligent after going back. He started training desperately as soon as he returned this time."

"And this morning, he told us that he felt like his Soul Power Level had inexplicably increased by a lot."

Tang Wulin spoke with a trace of disbelief on his face.

Although the other party had killed someone, such an increase was simply too inexplicable.

Chen Ye, however, said nothing and merely smiled at Tang Wulin.

Because what Yun Xiao had said was true—or rather, his feeling was true.

It was just that Yun Xiao had not gained this improvement himself. Chen Ye had directly used the Authority of the Sun to forcibly raise him.

Such an increase would consume his lifespan and could even drain his essence.

But under these circumstances, his cultivation speed would be more than ten times faster than before, perhaps even greater.

After all, Yun Xiao wielded the power of Sequence 0, the Sun, from the Bard pathway.

That power was itself exceptionally terrifying and bizarre, so his cultivation speed had already surpassed that of the vast majority of Twin Martial Souls, even the most elite Martial Souls.

Now, with Chen Ye forcibly driving the Authority of the Sun to help accelerate his progress—

Yun Xiao's current cultivation speed could absolutely be described as advancing by leaps and bounds.

Of course, Chen Ye saw no need to tell Yun Xiao about negative effects such as reduced lifespan or devoured vitality.

When he arrived at the classroom, Gu Yue was already sitting there waiting for him.

However, Ye Yingluo did not come even by the time class began. Another teacher came to substitute for her instead.

As the day passed, Chen Ye's class only learned the specifics of what had happened that evening.

Although Wu Zhangkong had killed the Evil Soul Master, the academy still gave him a disciplinary demerit.

That was why Ye Yingluo had spent the entire morning pleading on his behalf. Clearly, she still had feelings for Teacher Wu.

Chen Ye felt somewhat helpless about this, but he did not care much.

Of course, the academy ultimately canceled its punishment of Wu Zhangkong, though not because of Ye Yingluo.

It was because the Tang Sect had personally made its judgment this time, declaring Yun Luo an Evil Soul Master. That was equivalent to confirming his guilt.

Even though there was currently no evidence proving that Yun Luo was an Evil Soul Master, his nature had been conclusively defined.

Therefore, the academy could not possibly punish Wu Zhangkong for killing an Evil Soul Master.

Classes passed quickly that day, but the students were clearly rather excited.

Through Yun Xiao's perspective, Chen Ye discovered that he had been dragged off by Wu Zhangkong for special training again.

Tomorrow was the Class Promotion Tournament. Tomorrow, Class Five, led by Wu Zhangkong, would face Class Four.

Because a teacher had died and an Evil Soul Master had appeared within the academy, the tournament's schedule had been greatly accelerated.

Rather than being held once every other day as in the original timeline, the academy planned to finish the Class Promotion Tournament within one or two days.

That evening, Chen Ye had just returned to the dormitory and fetched some hot water, preparing to wash his hair and face, when someone knocked on the door.

Wang Jinxi, beside him, opened the door and called to Chen Ye, "Brother Chen, Tang Wulin from Class Five is looking for you."

Hearing Tang Wulin's name, Chen Ye froze for a moment before slowly walking out. He saw Tang Wulin twisting his hands together, looking at him hesitantly.

Seeing how nervous the boy was, Chen Ye frowned slightly, already roughly guessing why he had come.

"Just say what you need. If I can do it, I'll do my best to help."

"Brother Chen, tomorrow is the Class Promotion Tournament. Could I ask you to do me a favor and buy a few kinds of spirit fruits for me?"

"I... I don't have any money right now, but I'll pay you back once I do."

There was a trace of nervousness in Tang Wulin's voice. Normally, he should have gone to Xie Xie to buy them, since Xie Xie's family was wealthy as well.

But Chen Ye had previously hinted that Tang Wulin could ask him for help, and Tang Wulin had a better relationship with Chen Ye. So, he ultimately decided to come to Chen Ye.

Just as Chen Ye had expected, the reason was that the Class Promotion Tournament had been moved up.

Most importantly, it had to be completed within one or two days, which made Tang Wulin urgently want to improve himself.