Right and Wrong Are Decided by the Strong; Good and Evil Are Decided by the World!

For a moment, Mu En's heart was filled with mixed emotions.

There was both relief and bitterness.

He was relieved that the woman who had entangled the three of them for a lifetime had ultimately ended up with Long Xiaoyao.

Yet he was bitter that the grievances between them still remained, perhaps never to be resolved.

But the current situation left him no room to dwell on those old memories.

The young man before him stood opposed to Shrek, with the entire Holy Spirit Cult behind him—a massive sect made up of evil soul masters.

"Child..."

Mu En spoke slowly, his gaze settling on Long Wushang, his tone carrying a trace of complexity.

"Since you are Xiaoyao and Xi Shui's child, then you should know the relationship between your parents and me."

"Back then, the three of us had many entanglements, but regardless, your parents and I were once the closest of friends."

"I know them, and I believe they would not want their child to walk down a road from which there is no return."

As he spoke, Mu En's gaze shifted to the Original Sin Demon Puppet behind Long Wushang.

That enormous phantom radiated a chillingly evil aura.

The power of the seven original sins intertwined within it—greed, envy, wrath, sloth, pride, gluttony, lust...

Every one of those powers was enough to drive an ordinary soul master mad.

Even an Ultimate Douluo like Mu En could not help but feel intense wariness upon sensing that aura.

This child's martial soul was too strange, so strange that even he sensed overwhelming danger.

If Long Wushang's father had not been Long Xiaoyao, if Long Xiaoyao had not been standing here at this very moment...

Then, for the safety of the continent's future, Mu En would not have hesitated in the slightest.

Even if he had to disregard his status and their past friendship, he would have chosen to utterly eliminate this evil soul master prodigy before he had fully matured.

Because he knew all too well what kind of horrifying disaster a young man with such terrifying evil power would bring once he had truly grown up.

"Child, the Holy Spirit Cult is not where you belong."

Mu En said in a deep voice.

"The power of evil soul masters may grant you strength beyond ordinary people in a short time, but in the end, it will devour your heart."

"Listen to this old man's advice..."

"Turn back."

"It is not too late to leave the Holy Spirit Cult now."

"Turn back?"

Long Wushang gave a scornful laugh.

Mu En's words did not move him. Instead, he lowered his head and looked at his palm.

The Original Sin Demon Puppet's power raced madly through his palm. Greed, wrath, pride—the seven emotions overlapped one another, yet they did not affect his judgment or reason.

It was not difficult to guess what Mu En wanted.

He merely wanted to stall for time, waiting for reinforcements from the three great empires and the various other factions to arrive.

To persuade him to stop the slaughter, and preferably separate him from the Holy Spirit Cult as well.

If he succeeded, Shrek would have one fewer great enemy in the future.

If he failed, he would have merely wasted a few words. From the position of Shrek's protector, there was nothing wrong with doing this; it could even be called prudent and steady. Yet Long Wushang did not appreciate this goodwill.

"Your Excellency Dragon God, are you truly trying to save me?"

Mu En looked at him without rushing to answer.

Long Wushang did not wait for him to speak. "If my father were not Long Xiaoyao and my mother were not Ye Xishui, would I still have the right to stand here today and listen to you preach?"

"If I were only six years old and had just completed my martial soul awakening, upon seeing my Original Sin Demon Puppet, would you bring me back to Shrek and teach me, or would you eliminate this threat before I could grow up?"

Mu En fell silent. He could not give an answer that went against his heart.

When he had first seen the Original Sin Demon Puppet, he truly had felt the urge to kill.

Though that killing intent had not lasted long, it had undeniably existed.

If Long Wushang had not possessed such origins, if Long Xiaoyao had not stood by his side, he would most likely have already acted.

Shrek could not bear the consequences of allowing such a person to grow, nor could the continent.

For the peace and safety of more people, he was willing to sacrifice a child who had not yet done evil. Yes, it was cruel, but it was a choice protectors often had to make.

Mu En's silence had undoubtedly already given the answer.

"Look, doesn't that make things simple?"

Long Wushang raised his hand, and Tang Ya instinctively placed her hand in his palm.

Yet her gaze remained fixed below.

The Tang Sect flag in the outer courtyard plaza had already fallen. Beibei was protecting several injured students as he retreated into the teaching building.

That familiar face made her chest feel stifled, but the sense of calm flowing through the other end of the Original Sin Contract kept her from pulling free of the man beside her.

Her feelings on both sides were real. That was what tormented her most.

Long Wushang squeezed her hand. He did not demand that she look away, nor did he make her go down and kill her old friends.

Since Tang Ya had told the truth, he granted her this small measure of leniency. Letting her leave, however, was another matter entirely. After all, she was now my contract beast.

He had never had any habit of returning what belonged to him.

Mu En took in their actions, and the wrinkles between his brows deepened further.

"It seems Tang Ya can still be saved."

"She does not need saving from you." Long Wushang cut him off coldly.

"She chose power, chose revenge, and chose to bear the price. You people of Shrek have always loved making decisions for others, believing that only what you deem right counts as right. Over time, even you yourselves came to believe it."

Mu En's expression darkened slightly. He said softly, "Can cultivation through devouring living people also be called right?"

"I never said it was right."

Long Wushang's smile vanished. "I only want to ask you one question: are evil soul masters born guilty?"

"Some awaken healing martial souls, some awaken martial souls of slaughter. Some are born close to the light, while others can only cultivate in darkness. No one chooses their martial soul; it is given by this world."

"The world allows darkness to be born, yet you demand that everyone who lives in darkness beg forgiveness from the light. Isn't that a rather convenient way to settle the score?"

Mu En shook his head. "A martial soul cannot determine good or evil. The person who wields the power can. Shrek has always slain only those evil soul masters who recklessly harm the innocent."

"What a pretty speech. How sanctimonious."

Long Wushang pointed below and sneered. "For thousands of years, soul masters have entered forests for soul rings. How many soul beasts have died at their hands? Tens of millions, at least. Even after hundred-thousand-year soul beasts took human form and gained human intelligence, Shrek never stopped hunting them."

"Soul masters need soul rings, so killing is justified. Evil soul masters need blood and souls, so their crimes are unforgivable."

"When all is said and done, it is not that anyone is more righteous. There are simply more of you, and your fists are harder."

Mu En was not led astray by his words.

"The conflict between soul beasts and humans has lasted countless years. This old man is powerless to change it. But those children in the city have never harmed you. You killed them today—what position can you claim to stand on?"

"Does war require background checks first?"

Long Wushang retorted, "When Shrek took part in continental wars, did every Sun Moon Empire soldier they killed deserve to die? In that battle four thousand years ago, you changed the course of the war, so the history books wrote that Shrek saved the three nations. If the Sun Moon Empire had won, the history books would have written of the continent's unification."

"The victors make the rules, and the living write history."

"So-called good and evil are, more often than not, merely stamps the winners place upon themselves. After stamping them for long enough, later generations begin to regard them as heavenly law."

Mu En watched the young man before him. This was not a new argument; many ambitious figures from various sects had once voiced similar conclusions.