Undercurrents Surge, Storm Approaches

In a room at a high-end hotel somewhere in Shrek City, Ya Li and Yu Xinlan were having an in-depth conversation.

Night had already fallen deep outside the window. The city lights flickered in the distance, reflected on the floor-to-ceiling glass and forming a blurred painting of light and shadow. Ya Li sat on the edge of the bed, arms wrapped around her knees, her long dark-green hair scattered over her shoulders, a trace of confusion and unease on her face.

"Sister Yu, are you saying what happened today really was deliberately set up by someone?" She lifted her head and looked at Yu Xinlan, who sat opposite her.

Yu Xinlan's expression was grave. Her fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop, producing a rhythmic sound. "Most likely. I thought carefully over everything that happened today. From the moment we left the auction house, to you getting lost, to that gang of thugs appearing... every step seemed as if it had been meticulously arranged. The only ones capable of setting up a scheme like this in Shrek City are those major powers."

"Then... who could it be?" Ya Li asked.

"The most likely one is Shrek Academy," Yu Xinlan said. "The relationship between the federal government and Shrek Academy has never been very harmonious. They've wanted to poach people for more than a day or two. But there's no solid evidence, and there are still suspicious points in the matter."

Ya Li fell silent for a moment. Though she was kindhearted, she was not foolish. Without the filter of a "hero saving the beauty" over the situation, she naturally believed Yu Xinlan's explanation, and that made her realize there might be a hidden story behind what had happened last night.

This lowered her impression of Shrek Academy considerably. On the other hand, the three from Spirit Pagoda, Leng Yaozhu and the others, had left a rather good impression in her heart because they had helped her last night.

"Sister Yu," Ya Li suddenly said, "I remembered something."

"What is it?"

"When we passed by a statue today, I felt as if something in my heart was touched." Ya Li recalled it, her brows furrowing slightly. "That statue was already very old, so weathered that its appearance couldn't be seen clearly. At the time, I only felt as if something in my heart moved a little, but it quickly disappeared. I thought it was my imagination, so I didn't pay attention to it."

"A statue?" Yu Xinlan frowned. "What kind of statue?"

"Just an ordinary statue. It seemed to be humanoid, but its appearance was already unclear," Ya Li said. "I didn't think much about it then. I just thought I might have been too tired."

A flicker of vigilance flashed through Yu Xinlan's eyes.

She did not know what that statue was, but Ya Li's Prayer Angel martial soul was extremely special. Something that could stir her heart was definitely no simple object.

Moreover, if that statue truly had something special about it, then the goal of the person behind this matter might not be as simple as poaching talent.

For some reason, Yu Xinlan had a faint intuition in her heart: Ya Li's uniqueness had probably already been noticed by outsiders.

"Ya Li, we leave Shrek City tomorrow," Yu Xinlan said decisively. "This place isn't safe."

"That soon?" Ya Li was somewhat surprised.

"Yes." Yu Xinlan nodded. "I keep having a bad feeling. The sooner we leave, the sooner I'll feel at ease."

As she spoke, she took out a communication Soul Tool and sent an encrypted message to War God Temple, reporting today's situation and requesting support.

After that, she contacted War God Temple's liaison in Shrek City and arranged the route and transportation for their departure tomorrow.

The next day, at Shrek Academy, in Sea God Pavilion.

Bei Dexun was handling Shrek Academy's affairs when a Soul Tool communication suddenly came through. After listening to it, his brows furrowed slightly, and he sighed.

"Forget it. If we couldn't get our hands on her this time, so be it. In any case, we've already cleaned up all the loose ends. No one will be able to trace it back to us at Shrek. There's plenty of time ahead. Sooner or later, we'll have that little girl in our grasp."

Last night, the Sea God Pavilion elder he had sent had already dealt with that gang of thugs. Those thugs had only been scum from Shrek City's underground forces to begin with. Their disappearance would not draw much attention.

He put down a file in his hand, stood, walked to the window, and gazed at the scenery of Shrek City outside. Traffic streamed through the streets, and the place was prosperous and bustling.

But beneath that prosperity, how many undercurrents were surging? Only those within it knew.

"Ya Li... Prayer Angel... Angel God..." he murmured softly, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. "Someone who can cause fragments of the Angel God's divine position to stir cannot be allowed to remain under the Federation's control."

He was silent for a moment. Then he turned, picked up a communication Soul Tool from the desk, and dialed a number.

"Hello, it's me," he said. "Help me investigate the federal authorities' recent movements in Shrek City. Especially that little girl named Ya Li. I want to know everything about her."

A low voice came from the other end of the communication Soul Tool. "Understood."

Bei Dexun ended the call, sat back down behind the desk, closed his eyes, and began thinking over his next plan.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Yu Xinlan took Ya Li and rode in a low-profile soul-powered car out of Shrek City.

The car drove out through the city gate and followed the official road north. Ya Li leaned against the window, gazing at the scenery flashing rapidly past outside, her heart a little melancholy.

"Sister Yu, will we come to Shrek City again in the future?" she asked.

"We will," Yu Xinlan said. "Once you're a little older and a little stronger, we can come again."

"Then... will I still be able to see Sister Yaozhu and the others?" Ya Li asked again.

Yu Xinlan was silent for a moment, then said, "If fate allows, you will."

Ya Li said nothing more, only gazing silently out the window. Images from last night surfaced in her mind—Leng Yaozhu's hearty smile, Leng Yulai's gentle eyes, and Xiao Cheng's steady, reliable figure.

Ya Li's Prayer Angel martial soul could sense others' goodwill toward her. Therefore, though it had only been a brief meeting, she could feel that those three people had sincerely wanted to help her.

The car traveled for about two hours when a dense forest suddenly appeared up ahead. The official road passed through the woods, with towering trees on both sides. Their branches and leaves blotted out the sky, and the light grew dim.

Yu Xinlan's brows furrowed slightly, and an uneasy feeling rose in her heart.

"Be careful," she said to the driver. "Slow down."

The driver nodded and reduced the speed.

Right then—

A black shadow suddenly shot out of the forest and pounced straight toward the car.

Mingwu Douluo had been annoyed lately. Extremely annoyed.

As the Holy Spirit Cult's "human resources director"—of course, internally they called him an "elder of recruitment"—he had gone several consecutive months without any results, and the upper echelons of the Holy Spirit Cult had cursed him bloody.

Mingwu Douluo sat in a large tree outside Shrek City, one leg crossed over the other, gnawing on a roasted chicken drumstick he had somehow filched from who knew where. As he ate, he sighed and lamented that being an evil soul master really wasn't easy.

He gnawed the last mouthful off the chicken drumstick, casually tossed the bone behind him, then wiped his greasy hands on his clothes and pulled a yellowed ancient book from inside his robes.

He had dug this ancient book out of the cult's warehouse. It was said to be a notebook left behind by a certain past leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, and it recorded one section of that person's thoughts on the job.

That person had once sighed that Shrek Academy truly deserved its reputation as a place blessed with outstanding people and spiritual land. The quality of its geniuses was extremely high. In just one short year, he had recruited two seedlings from Shrek Academy who had the makings of holy maidens, and he suggested that if the cult ever ran short of successors in the future, they could try their luck at Shrek Academy.

After Mingwu Douluo finished reading it back then, he also felt it made a great deal of sense.

"Shrek Academy! The cradle of geniuses!" He was so excited he nearly fell out of the tree. "Why didn't I think of this sooner? Instead of wasting time in those poor backwater places, I might as well come straight to Shrek City and stake it out! Pick up any random one and they're a genius. Pick up two and it's a bloody profit!"

Once he decided, he acted. He immediately packed his luggage and rushed to Shrek City overnight.

Today was his first day scouting the place. However, before he could wait for a seedling suited to becoming an evil soul master, he first ran into an evil soul master's nemesis.

An aura of divinity and life, pure to the extreme, suddenly drifted over from not far away.

Mingwu Douluo's nose twitched, and his eyes suddenly went wide.

"This aura... so pure! So clean! So holy!" He took a deep breath, and a look of disgust appeared on his face. "An angel-type martial soul! And the very highest grade at that! If I can strangle this little girl in the cradle, our cult will remove a future grave threat!"

After sensing that the bodyguard was only a Soul Douluo, Mingwu Douluo hesitated no longer and pounced straight at them.

"Ambush!" Yu Xinlan's expression changed. Her three-word Battle Armor instantly covered her body, and at the same time, she struck the car door open with one palm and charged toward that black shadow!

Boom—!!!

With a tremendous crash, Yu Xinlan collided with that black shadow, erupting with dazzling light!

That black shadow was shaken back several steps, revealing its form—it was a gaunt old man in a black robe. His face was withered, his eyes sunken, and he gave off a cold, evil aura.

"Evil soul master!" Yu Xinlan's pupils abruptly contracted, and a storm of shock surged through her heart. Her first reaction was—the mastermind behind the scenes was colluding with evil soul masters!

"Hehehe..." The black-robed old man let out a piercing, strange laugh. "Little girl, obediently hand over that young girl, and this old man can spare your life."

"In your dreams!" Yu Xinlan shouted coldly. Martial Soul Possession. Three-word Battle Armor armed. A divine brush appeared in her hand. She drew in the air, and a mighty, imposing Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear appeared out of nowhere. With a Dark Gold Terrorclaw strike, it fiercely attacked the black-robed old man!

Facing this attack, apprehension also appeared on the black-robed old man's face. As a super soul beast, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear had a pair of incredibly sharp Dark Gold Terrorclaws. Even if this was only a fake created by a soul skill, he did not dare take it head-on. He likewise donned his three-word Battle Armor, raised his hand and waved, and his entire body transformed into a cloud of black mist, directly dodging the strike.

"A Title Douluo-level evil soul master!" After sensing the aura on the other party, Yu Xinlan's heart jolted.

Although she was also a Soul Douluo-level expert, evil soul masters' methods were strange and unpredictable. At the same level, evil soul masters were often more difficult to deal with than ordinary soul masters. What was more, the other party was a Title Douluo-level evil soul master, a full major realm above her!

But she did not retreat. She knew that Ya Li was right behind her, and she could not fall back!

Just as she was preparing to fight to the death—

A sharp sword light descended from the sky, slashing straight at the black-robed old man!

The black-robed old man's expression changed, and he hurriedly dodged, but that sword light followed like a shadow, pursuing him relentlessly!

"Who?!" the black-robed old man shouted sharply.

"War God Temple, Fifth War God, Sun Chengjun." An icy voice rang out, and a figure slowly descended from the air.

It was a middle-aged man wearing silver-white Battle Armor, holding a long sword that was entirely silver-white. His whole body emitted a sharp and dignified aura. His gaze fell on the black-robed old man, and a trace of killing intent flashed through his eyes.

"Evil soul master, you've got some nerve! You dared touch someone from my War God Temple? You're courting death!"

The black-robed old man's expression changed drastically, and he turned to flee!

But Sun Chengjun was even faster. He slashed out with one sword, and the silver-white sword light swept forth like a long bolt of silk, directly cutting the black-robed old man in two at the waist!

The black-robed old man let out a shrill scream. Even his body, which had transformed into black mist, could not completely avoid the fierce sword intent attached to this strike and was directly split into two clouds of black mist that could not merge again. He knew he could no longer escape, so he frantically urged the Soul Core in his body, attempting to self-destruct.

But Sun Chengjun was clearly extremely experienced and had long been prepared for such a thing. He raised his left hand, and a golden light shot from his palm, enveloping that black mist. Then it rapidly contracted, purified it, and finally dispersed into the air.

"Trying to self-destruct? Not that easy." Sun Chengjun snorted coldly and sheathed his sword.

When Yu Xinlan saw Sun Chengjun, she let out a breath of relief and hurriedly saluted. "Greetings, Lord Fifth War God."

"No need for formalities, Xinlan." Sun Chengjun waved his hand, his gaze falling on Ya Li inside the car. Seeing that she was safe and sound, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then, with a dark expression, he said, "I never expected that the mastermind behind the scenes would actually be colluding with evil soul masters. Truly the scum of the soul master world!"

"Yes." Yu Xinlan nodded with lingering fear. Although she suspected that Shrek Academy was the mastermind, she had never suspected that Shrek Academy would actually collude with evil soul masters.

Sun Chengjun was silent for a moment, then said, "This place is not safe to linger in. Return to War God Temple first."

"Yes!" Yu Xinlan responded.

The group turned the car around and drove in the direction of War God Temple.

Shrek Academy, Sea God Pavilion.

After Bei Dexun finished listening to his subordinate's report, he was silent for a moment, then said, "Understood. This matter ends here."

He ended the communication, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

The appearance of the evil soul master, though it disrupted his plan, had also given him a perfect excuse. But the downsides were even greater—although War God Temple and Spirit Pagoda had no evidence, in their hearts they would certainly suspect that Shrek had done it. Now that an evil soul master had attacked as well, others might suspect that Shrek Academy was colluding with the evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Cult.

But heaven help him, he truly had not colluded with the evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Cult!

Only, even if he said that, no one would believe him.

The appearance of this evil soul master had directly detonated the originally somewhat deadlocked situation. Neither Spirit Pagoda nor War God Temple could possibly allow Shrek Academy to have ties with evil soul masters. Among the major forces, where all the struggles had originally remained in the shadows and an appearance of peace was still maintained on the surface, relations had now become incomparably tense. One could even say they were on the verge of exploding at the slightest touch.

Bei Dexun rubbed his temples, feeling a wave of headache.