"Teacher Xiao Ya, what's happened to you? Everyone's worried about you! Come back. The Tang Sect is still waiting for you to lead it!"
Huo Yuhao called out to Tang Ya. Teacher Xiao Ya had led him into the Tang Sect and Shrek. Without her, he might not even have had the chance to stand here today!
His voice rang across the square.
Tang Ya looked at him, her expression as cold as ever.
"Teacher Xiao Ya, the Tang Sect has started recruiting disciples again."
"Everyone's been waiting for you."
"Come back with us. Whatever's wrong, we'll face it together!"
Huo Yuhao took two steps forward. He had already spread his powerful Spiritual Detection across the area, trying to find something wrong with Tang Ya—proof that the man was controlling her.
But he soon discovered that her Soul Power flowed steadily and her mind was clear. There was no sign of mental control at all.
In other words, she knew exactly what she was doing.
The realization struck Huo Yuhao like a blow to the head. Teacher Xiao Ya wasn't being controlled. She... really had fallen...
Beibei stood rooted to the spot, his eyes never leaving Tang Ya.
"Xiao Ya, tell me."
"Did he force you?"
"Just nod, and even if I die here today, I'll take you away!"
His voice began to tremble. His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul appeared again, lightning racing along his arms and across his body.
At his question, Tang Ya looked away. She did not answer, nor did she look at Beibei.
That utter disregard snuffed out the last ember of hope in his heart.
Long Wushang watched his reaction, a mocking smile curling at his lips.
He stepped forward and, in full view of everyone, gave Tang Ya's pert backside a familiar pat.
"Since we've settled it, let's not waste time. Xiao Ya performed well last night. I was very satisfied."
"As I agreed with her, I won't hurt anyone else today." Long Wushang swept his gaze over the crowd, speaking unhurriedly. Then he looked at Tang Ya again.
"Just keep these people out of my way, as we agreed."
Those few words changed almost every face in the square.
Huo Yuhao's pupils contracted sharply.
Xu Sanshi whipped his head toward Beibei. His lips parted as though he wanted to say something, but one look at Beibei's face left him speechless.
Wang Dong was furious. She demanded in disbelief, "Teacher Xiao Ya, how could you..."
The students hiding inside the teaching building and the teachers nearby wore strange expressions too. The looks they gave Beibei were especially conflicted.
Long Wushang's words carried far too many implications.
Tang Ya and Beibei's former relationship had been no secret in the Outer Court. Nearly everyone knew about it. They had even been hailed in private as the Outer Court's heavenly couple, and their habit of addressing each other as teacher and student had been called playful and romantic.
Yet that same mischievous girl was now nestled in another man's arms.
She let him touch her so intimately. Worse, she had made some kind of agreement with him and satisfied him for a night. How could anyone not draw conclusions?
At those words, the color swiftly drained from Beibei's face.
He stood frozen, his gaze slowly leaving Long Wushang's hand and settling on Tang Ya's face.
He waited. If Tang Ya showed the slightest disgust, if she so much as took half a step back, he would believe she had her reasons.
As long as Xiao Ya had not chosen this freely, as long as she had her reasons, he could forgive her. He could accept it. In the name of love, he could embrace all of it.
But Tang Ya only blushed faintly. She showed no revulsion at Long Wushang's touch and made no move to refuse him.
She simply had not expected Long Wushang to bring up last night in front of everyone. After a brief moment of surprise, she gave no other reaction.
She looked up at Long Wushang. The coldness in her eyes vanished, and she leaned a little closer to him.
"Mm."
"Don't worry, Master. I won't let them disturb you."
Her lips curved slightly, her manner docile as a well-behaved kitten receiving a reward.
But when she turned back to Beibei and the others, that softness vanished without a trace.
"Tang Ya!"
Beibei could hold back no longer. A low, furious growl forced its way from his throat.
Lightning spread outward from beneath his feet, cracking the paving stones one after another.
"Do you even know what you're saying?"
Tang Ya raised her right hand. Sinful Blue Silver Grass shot up from the ground, its dark-gold leaves covering more than half the square.
At the same time, Soul Rings rose one after another beneath her feet, and sinister, dense Soul Power spread in every direction.
"I know exactly what I'm doing. I've never felt as clearheaded or as free as I do today."
"Beibei, don't come any closer."
"Master has promised me he won't kill you."
"But if you insist on attacking, I'll stop you myself."
Beibei's chest rose and fell violently. He could accept Tang Ya hating him. He could even accept her attacking him.
What he could not accept was Tang Ya defending another man in a voice so utterly unfamiliar.
Xu Sanshi lifted the Darkworld Turtle Shell Shield, placing it between Beibei and Tang Ya once more.
"Beibei, calm down!"
"She's a Soul Emperor now, and that Blue Silver Grass can devour blood and vitality. Charging in is suicide!"
"Get out of my way!"
Lightning flared along Beibei's arm as he moved to shove Xu Sanshi aside, but Long Wushang had already lost interest in watching this tale of heartbreak.
He released Tang Ya and took a step forward.
Hum!
A wave of ultimate darkness burst from his body, engulfing the square in an instant.
The sky had already been shrouded in black clouds. Now it lost all color.
The students nearby felt cold to the bone. Their Soul Power slowed abruptly, and even their Martial Souls recoiled in fear.
A pitch-black dragon's silhouette rose behind Long Wushang.
Its head hung low and its wings spread wide. Dark-purple patterns flowed across its jet-black scales. It looked exactly like the black dragon in the sky—perhaps even more exalted.
A Dark Sacred Dragon possessing ultimate darkness. A Dark Sacred Dragon whose quality far surpassed even Long Xiaoyao's!
Purple, purple, black, black, black, red.
Six Soul Rings rose in sequence beneath Long Wushang's feet.
When the last, blood-red Soul Ring appeared, many students in the square stared in stupefaction.
"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?"
"How is that possible?"
"He only has six rings!"
Cries of shock rang out one after another. Even Beibei's rage was forcibly stifled for a moment by that Soul Ring Configuration.
He had started with two Thousand-Year Soul Rings. His third was already ten thousand years old, and his Sixth Soul Ring was a hundred thousand years old.
"Absurd" did not begin to describe it.
Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea churned violently.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm warned him urgently, "Huo Yuhao, be careful!"
"His body is far stronger than a normal Soul Emperor's, and his Martial Soul carries ultimate darkness."
"Don't fight him head-on!"
Electrolux also sent out a mental pulse, his tone exceptionally grave.
"The dark dragon soul behind him is extraordinarily pure. Its bloodline is of a very high order."
"More troubling still, the Demon Puppet Martial Soul he released earlier is far from simple. I sensed a power of a higher dimension within it."
"His Twin Martial Souls are far stronger than yours..."
Huo Yuhao stared at Long Wushang, his palms slick with sweat. He had no room left to ponder what Elder Yi meant by "a power of a higher dimension."
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