What Does It Have to Do with Her? Then You're Here for Me?

After awakening their martial souls, the two set off back from Zhou Chun's residence.

By the time they crossed the bustling streets and returned to the dilapidated little courtyard deep within the slums, the setting sun hung slantwise over the eaves, casting a warm golden afterglow across the mottled earthen walls.

The basket of wild vegetables in the corner still sat quietly where Jiang Nannan had hastily set it down before leaving.

The morning dew on the leaves had long since evaporated, yet they still retained their vivid emerald color.

Li Changsheng stood in the middle of the courtyard with his hands behind his back. His gaze swept lightly over the simple furnishings before finally settling on the girl beside him. He spoke softly, "Now that your mother's chronic illness has been completely cured, you no longer need to struggle over medicine or money. What are your plans from here on?"

Jiang Nannan froze slightly at his words.

She lowered her head and thought for a moment. Her golden hair slid over her shoulders, while a trace of longing and determination gradually lit her clear almond-shaped eyes. "I want to try for Shrek Academy," she answered softly.

When she spoke that name, there was a faint, barely perceptible yearning in her voice.

It was the holy land in the hearts of all talented soul masters across the Douluo Continent, the ultimate goal for countless children from poor families seeking to change their fate.

She had possessed decent talent since childhood, and the quality of her Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul was passable as well.

If not for her mother's grave illness dragging her down, she should have embarked on the path of a soul master long ago, pursuing a future of her own.

Now that her mother had recovered, the enormous burden weighing on her heart for years had finally fallen away. At last, she dared to think about the dream she had hidden deep inside for so long.

Li Changsheng merely nodded faintly and said nothing more.

He understood. The present-day Shrek Academy was no longer the tiny academy founded by Dean Flender ten thousand years ago.

After ten thousand years of accumulation, its foundations ran deep. On the surface, it had already become the undisputed foremost power on the Douluo Continent, gathering geniuses from all realms and commanding awe from the two great empires.

Only the Holy Spirit Cult lurking in the shadows and the savage beast clans deep within the Star Dou Great Forest were qualified to stand alongside it.

For the vast majority of soul masters, entering Shrek was equivalent to ascending to the heavens in a single step.

"What about you?"

Jiang Nannan raised her eyes to him and asked curiously, "You've awakened your martial soul. What are your plans next?"

Li Changsheng stretched lazily, his posture relaxed and casual. His tone was indifferent. "I don't have any particular plans. This journey was meant to be a trip for travel and relaxation anyway. It makes no difference to me where I go. It's just..."

Before he could finish, his expression abruptly stiffened.

The laziness and calm in his eyes instantly vanished. He spun around, his sharp gaze shooting directly toward the tightly shut, battered wooden gate behind them.

The aura around him quietly tightened, as though he had discovered something.

Jiang Nannan was startled by his sudden movement.

Her pretty face was filled with confusion. Following his gaze toward the courtyard gate, she asked blankly, "What is it? What happened?"

"Someone's here."

Li Changsheng's voice was calm, yet certain. "And there's more than one."

Jiang Nannan was utterly baffled, still unable to understand what he meant.

Bang!

A thunderous crash suddenly erupted!

The tightly shut wooden gate was violently kicked open. Splinters flew everywhere as the gate slammed hard against the wall with a dull, shaking thud.

The next moment, two figures strode into the courtyard, one after the other.

The man in front had refined features, though his expression carried a trace of complexity and guilt. He was Zhou Chun, who had just helped Li Changsheng awaken his martial soul.

Beside him stood a young man dressed in silver-white combat attire.

The young man looked to be around twenty. He stood tall and straight, his brows filled with arrogance. The fluctuations of soul power around him were steady and heavy, clearly indicating no low cultivation.

His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, carrying the air of someone looking down in judgment. His bearing was extraordinary; one glance was enough to tell he was a genius disciple from a top-tier force.

Jiang Nannan's heart jolted as she watched the two burst through the gate.

Coming back to her senses, she hurriedly stepped forward. With confusion and surprise in her voice, she asked, "Uncle Zhou? Why are you here? What is... this?"

Zhou Chun looked at her, opened his mouth, then finally only sighed. In a low, complicated voice, he said, "Nannan, this has nothing to do with you. Don't interfere. Stand aside."

At those words, Li Changsheng's brow rose slightly.

A faint, ambiguous smile curved his lips. His gaze passed over Zhou Chun and landed on the cold, proud silver-clad youth. "Nothing to do with her? Then it seems you're here for me?"

"Here for you?"

Upon hearing that, Jiang Nannan was completely dumbfounded.

She looked blankly from Li Changsheng to Zhou Chun, then asked in utter disbelief, "But... didn't you only meet for the first time today? Why would they be coming for him for no reason?"

She simply could not understand it. He had merely awakened a martial soul, so how had it escalated to people coming to block his door?

Zhou Chun remained silent and did not answer her question. He merely shifted slightly and turned his gaze toward the silver-clad youth beside him, his posture clearly respectful.

The youth looked calm, even somewhat indifferent.

His cold gaze settled on Li Changsheng. In a flat but forceful voice, he answered, "Because he is an evil soul master."

Those few short words exploded through the little courtyard like a thunderclap.

Jiang Nannan froze completely. Her mind went blank, and she stood rooted to the spot in a daze.

An evil soul master?

Li Changsheng?

She stared blankly at the calm-faced youth before her, finding the claim utterly absurd. Shaking her head repeatedly, she instinctively blurted, "Is there some mistake? How could that be possible? He awakened his martial soul less than an hour ago. How could he possibly be an evil soul master?"

Jiang Nannan's heart was filled with confusion and disbelief.

She had heard countless stories from neighbors since childhood about the terror and evil of evil soul masters.

They were demons who cultivated sinister arts, slaughtered innocents, and deserved to be killed by all.

But no matter how she looked at him, Li Changsheng had nothing in common with an evil soul master.

Leaving everything else aside, the vast life force he wielded, capable of reversing life and death and curing terminal illnesses, was warm and pure, brimming with boundless vitality.

That was the purest healing power. It was absolutely not something a sinister and vicious evil soul master could possess!

Faced with Jiang Nannan's questioning, the silver-clad youth merely glanced at her. His eyes held undisguised contempt and impatience as he coldly asked, "Are you questioning me?"

With just that one look, an invisible pressure bore down on her.

Jiang Nannan's heart trembled. Frightened by his imposing presence, she instinctively retreated half a step, her small face turning slightly pale.

"Nannan, don't be disrespectful!"

Zhou Chun hurried forward and urgently warned in a low voice, "This lord is an inner court disciple of Shrek Academy, as well as a member of the Martial Soul Inspection Corps. He is specifically tasked with hunting evil soul masters. His status is esteemed, so do not speak nonsense!"

Shrek Academy?

The Inspection Corps?

Jiang Nannan's pupils contracted slightly, and her heart was filled with even greater shock.

Yet the more she heard, the more absurd it all seemed.

Li Changsheng was clearly the benefactor who had saved her mother, a good person with the purest healing power. How had Shrek Academy branded him an evil soul master?