Should You Kill Her, or Kill Her?

"The current sect master of the Tang Sect?" Zhang Lexuan was visibly stunned when she heard Qian Jue's words.

The Tang Sect had already been usurped by the Ironblood Sect, yet its sect master was still alive?

There was no other meaning behind her doubt.

As everyone knew, every Tang Sect master throughout history had to meet two harsh conditions: first, they had to be surnamed Tang; second, their martial soul had to be Blue Silver Grass.

But Blue Silver Grass was simply far too weak. After all, not everyone could turn the mundane into the miraculous like Tang San, the Sea God of ten thousand years ago.

A major reason for the Tang Sect's decline was that this weak inherited martial soul could not uphold the sect's reputation, ultimately leading to its complete slaughter at the hands of the Ironblood Sect.

"Of course she's alive," Qian Jue replied flatly.

The instant his words fell, Qian Jue's abyssal, oceanic spiritual power spread outward. Like an invisible net, it enveloped the entirety of Heaven Dou City in an instant.

With divine sense at the Spirit Abyss Realm, finding a specific person in this city was as easy as turning his hand.

Within a few breaths, Qian Jue had locked onto Tang Ya's location.

The two moved to a dark, narrow alley.

Outside the alley was a bustling street packed with people. Vendors' cries rose and fell, and the place was exceptionally lively.

Yet inside the alley, it seemed like an entirely different world—dim and cold.

In that dark corner, a pitiful, helpless, slender figure was curled up.

The girl squatted on the ground, clutching her knees tightly with both hands. Her vacant eyes stared fixedly at the blackened bluestone pavement, as though she had been completely cut off from the clamor outside.

This child... was the current sect master of the Tang Sect?

Looking at that frail figure in the distance, deep pity flashed through Zhang Lexuan's eyes.

That miserable sight instantly stirred the most painful memories buried deep within her heart.

When her family had been exterminated, she had been just as alone, desperate, and helpless.

Overwhelming empathy made her instinctively take a step forward, but the moment she moved, a strong hand grasped her wrist and forcibly stopped her.

Zhang Lexuan frowned slightly and turned toward Qian Jue beside her, thinking that this cold-blooded man meant to forcibly obstruct her goodwill.

"What are you doing?" Zhang Lexuan lowered her voice, her tone carrying both questioning and confusion.

She thought Qian Jue's cold-blooded nature meant he intended to crush that trace of compassion in her heart.

Qian Jue did not release her. Instead, he tightened his grip slightly and pulled her back into the shadows.

Only then did he slowly speak.

"Put away that overflowing sympathy of yours. What can you do if you go over there now?

Give her a few copper coins, or charity her a full meal? And then what? Watch her continue wandering through this cruel world like a stray dog?"

Zhang Lexuan choked on her response. She wanted to refute him, yet she did not know what to say.

"Look carefully."

Qian Jue raised his other hand and pointed at the trembling girl in the corner.

"Her name is Tang Ya, the current sect master of the Tang Sect, and the last legitimate descendant in the mortal world of that great ancestor you keep talking about.

Her parents were brutally murdered by the Ironblood Sect, her sect's foundation was seized, and she can only hide in this dark corner, unable even to afford a full meal."

Qian Jue turned his head slightly, his deep gaze fixed tightly on Zhang Lexuan's eyes. Every word pierced her heart.

"When you pitied her just now, did you think of the tragedy of your own family's extermination?

Then have you ever considered this? Your Shrek Academy constantly claims that the Tang Sect is its eternal friend, but when the Ironblood Sect slaughtered the Tang Sect, where was Shrek?

Where were those old masters of the Sea God Pavilion? And where were you, the righteous eldest senior sister of the inner court?"

Zhang Lexuan was struck as if by lightning, her entire body freezing in place.

Her lips trembled slightly. She wanted to defend Shrek, but found that any words seemed pale and powerless before the cruel truth.

That was right. The Tang Sect was in Heaven Dou City, not far from Shrek Academy.

What gave an Ironblood Sect without even a Soul Saint the nerve to destroy the Tang Sect?

And why had Shrek remained silent from beginning to end?

"Can't answer?" Qian Jue sneered and released her wrist.

"Because in the eyes of Shrek's upper ranks, a Tang Sect that had lost its value was simply not worth offending other forces over some old friendship.

This is the 'friendship' you pride yourselves on."

He turned his gaze back to Tang Ya in the distance, his tone becoming as bewitching as a demon's.

"Even taking a step back, if Shrek refused to care about her, what about that lofty, omnipotent Sea God ancestor?

He was not even willing to bestow a trace of divine intervention to preserve his final bloodline.

And you still expect him to be a compassionate saint who held the world in his heart?"

Following Qian Jue's gaze, Zhang Lexuan looked at the girl hugging her knees, her eyes vacant. A chill shot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.

The faith she had always upheld was collapsing with devastating force.

"Besides, you can try sensing her with your spiritual power."

Qian Jue crossed his arms, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "See what exactly is quietly growing inside this Sea God descendant, born from utter despair and hatred."

Hearing that, Zhang Lexuan instinctively released a thread of spiritual power and quietly probed toward Tang Ya.

The next second, her face instantly turned pale, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.

Deep within that girl's frail Blue Silver Grass martial soul lurked an extremely cold, violent dark aura brimming with the desire for destruction!

Zhang Lexuan was all too familiar with that aura. It was a trait found only in the most extreme fallen ones.

"You felt it?" Qian Jue chuckled, his laughter filled with mockery.

"The direct descendant of Sea God Tang San is about to be consumed by hatred because of a god's indifference and the bystander apathy of so-called righteous people.

Before long, this seed of vengeance will take root and sprout, turning her into the evil soul master your Shrek hates most."

"Tell me, isn't that the greatest joke on the entire continent?"

Qian Jue released her wrist and slowly said, "Then, Senior Sister Zhang, answer me one question."

"If one day, this seed of hatred completely erupts, and this final bloodline of the Sea God ancestor becomes an evil soul master whom your Shrek says everyone has the right to kill..."

Qian Jue leaned down slightly, his voice like a demon's whisper at Zhang Lexuan's ear.

"Then, as the eldest senior sister of Shrek's inner court and a member of the Inspection Corps, should you kill her without mercy to protect all living beings?

Or should you spare this child out of consideration for the Sea God ancestor's honor?"

This question was like a heavy hammer smashing fiercely into Zhang Lexuan's chest, leaving her utterly speechless.