A Knack for Manipulation

Even if Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Martial Soul is strong, and her combat power surges after going out of control, she still wouldn't be able to withstand three moves from Yan Shaozhe, who is at level 97, let alone break through the encirclement.

There is no other possibility that Yan Shaozhe deliberately let this go.

What good can come of Ma Xiaotao falling into the hands of the Holy Spirit Cult? What kind of place is the Holy Spirit Cult? It is the most evil gathering place of Evil Soul Master on the entire continent. Everyone in it has countless lives on their hands and can use any insidious means.

Ma Xiaotao, an out-of-control Phoenix Soul Master with evil power within her, fell into their hands and was immediately used as their best pawn. She was forcibly pushed into becoming the Phoenix Saintess of the Holy Spirit Cult, becoming their tool to fight against Shrek and wreak havoc on the entire continent.

During those years, only she herself knows how much suffering she endured, how much hardship she endured, and how many things she was manipulated into doing that she didn't want to do.

A promising Shrek Academy prodigy was almost completely ruined, his career nearly destroyed, because of Yan Shaozhe's momentary lapse in judgment.

Ice Empress sneered. Having lived for hundreds of thousands of years, she had witnessed too much hypocrisy and selfishness among humans. For her own selfish reasons, she could push a perfectly good genius into a fire pit.

Only self-proclaimed righteous people would do something like this.

She had heard of the Holy Spirit Cult's insidious methods, though she had never witnessed them firsthand. It was a miracle that Ma Xiaotao had survived their clutches.

Snow Empress sighed softly, her heart filled with regret.

According to Lin Ye's description, Ma Xiaotao's ordeal was avoidable. It was only because of Yan Shaozhe's selfishness that she suffered so much undeserved misfortune, which is truly a pity.

Fortunately, Ma Xiaotao's ending was quite good; she didn't completely rot away within the Holy Spirit Cult.

Once Huo Yuhao had grown up and become strong enough, he rescued her from the Holy Spirit Cult.

Moreover, it was a blessing in disguise. The evil black Phoenix Martial Soul within her body was not completely destroyed, but instead underwent a complete transformation, refining the evil power and transforming back into the Ultimate Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, even surpassing its previous talent.

Her cultivation path became much smoother afterward, breaking through barriers all the way to become Titled Douluo. She even reached the Super Douluo realm, standing at the same level Yan Shaozhe back then, and even surpassing him.

As Zhang Lexuan read this, her heart finally settled, and her eyes welled up with tears.

She and Ma Xiaotao had a very good relationship. In the past, seeing her tormented by the Evil Fire made her more anxious than anyone else. Now that she knew that Ma Xiaotao had not only returned safely but had also broken through to the Super Douluo realm, she felt both gratified and heartbroken.

It's comforting that her suffering has finally paid off, but heartbreaking that she shouldn't have had to endure all that hardship.

Moreover, she later succeeded Yan Shaozhe as the new dean of Shrek Martial Soul Department.

Honestly, this is the best irony. The student Yan Shaozhe casually gave up back then ended up in his position and did a better and more competent job than him.

After all, Ma Xiaotao truly regarded Shrek as her own home and the students of the academy as her own younger brothers and sisters.

Having experienced the torment of Evil Fire and the despair of losing control, she understands better those talented but potentially problematic students. Unlike Yan Shaozhe, she wouldn't carelessly push students away for her own selfish reasons.

The Emperor Auspicious Beast shook its little head, feeling indignant.

That bastard Yan Shaozhe doesn't deserve to be the dean at all. Sister Ma Xiaotao is so kind. She suffered so much, and in the end she was able to come back and become the dean. She's really amazing!

When a bad person does something wrong, they should eventually be replaced by someone better than them. That's the right thing to do!

Although it wasn't written in the original work, I reckon that with her strength, her contributions to Shrek, and her prestige in the academy, her ultimate destiny would definitely be to succeed the Sea God Pavilion Master and stay at Shrek for the rest of her life, dedicating her entire life to Shrek.

Honestly, I really admire her for this. It was clearly the Shrek's higher-ups who wronged her, and she suffered so much because of Shrek, almost ruining her life.

But in the end, she still chose to return here and protect this place. If it were me, I definitely couldn't do it.

Gu Yuena looked at the words in the Diary, her eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

She had been asleep for countless years, witnessing all the love, hate, and passion of humanity, and she had also become accustomed to this so-called sense of belonging.

That's how humans are; even if they've been hurt by the group they belong to, they still develop an unbreakable bond with that group.

She couldn't understand the sentiment of being willing to dedicate one's entire life to it, yet she was also used to it.

Speaking of Shrek Academy, it has many flaws. The higher-ups are hypocritical, hypocritical, and fond of engaging in all sorts of underhanded tactics. It has a lot of people across the continent who criticize it.

However, one thing must be acknowledged: the loyalty, or rather, the sense of identification, that those who come from Shrek have towards the academy is ridiculously high.

Whether they were hurt by the academy or graduated smoothly, almost all of them regarded Shrek as their root.

They would dedicate their entire lives to the academy, and even if the academy made a mistake, they would try to make amends and protect it, rather than simply turning away.

To put it bluntly, whether you call it brainwashing or PUA, that's the gist of it: Shrek certainly has a knack for winning people over.

No academy on the entire continent can compare. As for whether this is good or bad, whether to use a positive or negative term, that's a matter of opinion.

You say it's good? It can make a group of geniuses willingly dedicate their lives to the academy, uniting them as one, allowing Shrek to stand tall across the continent for so many years.

You might say it's bad, but it can make people who have been hurt by the academy forget their suffering and still wholeheartedly dedicate themselves to it. Thinking about it that way is quite terrifying.

As Xiao Xiao read this passage, she also felt a sense of unease.

She grew up listening to the legends of Shrek and worked incredibly hard to get into Shrek, because she felt it was the holy land of Soul Master.

Now that she knows so much inside information, she doesn't know whether her sense of identification with the academy was right or wrong.

Ning Tian gently shook his head, feeling that Shrek was indeed not simple.

Even after so many years, the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect couldn't instill such a strong sense of belonging in its disciples, yet Shrek managed to do it.

Even with so many flaws, countless geniuses still flock to it, willing to dedicate their lives to it. This is truly admirable.

Tang Ya's lips curled into a self-deprecating smile.

Tang Sect and Shrek have been allies for so many years, so what if she knows about all the dirty deeds of Shrek's higher-ups?