Before Destroying a Person, One Must First Destroy Their Heart

Bei Bei and Tang Ya watched as a heterochromatic soul ring, a soul spirit product exclusive to the Heaven Soul Sect, emerged behind Lin Wan'er. It slowly rose until it reached above her head, where it emitted a faint glow. It was her first soul ring.

The emerald-green soul ring resembled a pool of spring water. The vines winding around it were lifelike, as though they would break free from the ring the next second and fall to the ground to become unique plants.

It was not only the soul ring that changed, but also Lin Wan'er's clothes.

Her pale green garment transformed into a fitted short skirt woven from pure white and light green. A faint violet sheen appeared over her dark green eyes.

Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that Lin Wan'er was now someone Tang Ya and Bei Bei could not defeat. The gap between them was simply too great. He had only ever felt that kind of unreachable Soul Power fluctuation from the old woman beside the Duchess...

"Martial Soul Possession? Are you a Beast Soul Master?"

Bei Bei, who had always been composed, showed a slight change in expression. Instinctively, he wanted to reach out and stop Tang Ya from attacking the noble and elegant girl.

According to the Soul Master theory he knew, his girlfriend, who specialized in control, could never defeat a Beast Soul Master stronger than herself!

"Too late."

Emerald light swiftly fell from the sky and slammed heavily into Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass entangling soul skill.

In an instant, the Blue Silver Grass, brimming with vitality, withered into dead grass right before Tang Ya's eyes. A gust of wind scattered it from everyone's sight.

A pit five meters deep appeared between them. The green light inside it did not fade. As Lin Wan'er lightly pointed her staff at Tang Ya, the light seemed to receive guidance. It crawled out of the pit at the speed of light and slithered toward its target.

Tang Ya's face went pale, as though she had been targeted by a venomous snake. Gritting her teeth, she used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to temporarily escape the range of that strange soul skill's strike and avoided being caught.

Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.

At the same time, Tang Ya, who had landed atop a large tree to catch her breath, could not help asking, "Who exactly are you? You've already revealed the Heaven Soul Sect's unique soul ring color, yet you still refuse to state your identity. What kind of behavior is this, hiding and sneaking around?"

"I was never hiding. I just didn't want to tell you who I was because I was afraid you'd be scared."

Feeling as if she had been handed the script of a great villain, Lin Wan'er spread her hands helplessly. She had already gone easy on Tang Ya to an absurd degree, yet Tang Ya still refused to face reality. This was difficult.

"Then I'll beat the truth out of you!"

Tang Ya blamed everything on the Heaven Soul Sect. Taking a deep breath, she circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill within her body and charged at Lin Wan'er once more, completely ignoring Bei Bei's calls from behind her to stop this farce.

A farce? How could this be a farce?! She was a legitimate level-thirty Soul Grandmaster. Once she obtained a satisfactory soul ring that suited her, she would smoothly enter the ranks of Soul Elders! How could a girl from the Heaven Soul Sect, one who had taken a crooked path, possibly defeat her when she possessed the Tang Sect's supreme techniques?

At full strength, Tang Ya's speed had increased by more than double under the Mysterious Heaven Skill's enhancement.

Moving as swiftly as the wind, she unleashed nimble fists and kicks, combining them with her first soul skill, Blue Silver Entanglement, as she attacked Lin Wan'er.

"Your speed has indeed increased quite a bit, but you still can't defeat me."

Lin Wan'er remained calm and unruffled as ever. Faced with Tang Ya's unavoidable fists and kicks, she chose to meet them with the Star Guardian Staff in her hand.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill passed down by Tang San did nothing more than accelerate the circulation of Soul Power, enhancing the user's strength and speed. It also possessed a balancing effect similar to the Taiji Eight Trigrams.

However, Lin Wan'er's Soul Power had long ago surpassed the Soul King level. If she had not later accepted the Goddess of Life's second God Trial, successfully completed its mission, dispersed all the Douluo Continent Soul Master Soul Power within her, and condensed and compressed it anew into divine power—slowly reaching level thirty-seven afterward—while also refraining from going to the statue too early to absorb the power of faith, she would not have needed to fight them at all. Simply displaying five soul rings would have been enough to intimidate them.

"Could Lin Wan'er be stronger than Tang Ya?"

Just as Huo Yuhao, unable to make sense of the situation, was pondering this, the two women's fists and weapon collided head-on ahead of him! Boom!

At once, the shockwave produced by the dull collision spread from the point where their forces were locked together.

The next second, Tang Ya's expression changed drastically. Lin Wan'er's weapon felt like an unshakable mountain. The Soul Power barrier of Xuan Yu Hand covering her fist actually shattered! Her body was forced backward uncontrollably, and only when Bei Bei used Martial Soul Possession and forcibly blocked her did she avoid crashing into a tree.

"Cough, cough..."

Tang Ya was overwhelmed with shock. In disbelief, she said, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You can't possibly break my Xuan Yu Hand! I'm a level-thirty Soul Grandmaster! How could someone like you, a disciple from the heretical Heaven Soul Sect, defeat me?!"

Other than the flash of green soul ring that had appeared behind Lin Wan'er, Tang Ya had not seen her use any soul skill at all, not even circulate her Soul Power!

That was why she refused to believe that she, a Soul Grandmaster and the Tang Sect Leader, could lose to Lin Wan'er! Tang Ya's pretty face twisted as she looked at Bei Bei, whose face was full of concern, and cried out, "Bei Bei, help me defeat her!"

However.

While Bei Bei was caught in a dilemma, Lin Wan'er turned into a streak of light and arrived beside Huo Yuhao. She reached out, taking the hand of Huo Gua, who had suffered this unwarranted disaster, and led him away from the crazed Tang Ya.

For the first time in his life, Huo Yuhao had his hand held by an outsider. His ears turned red, and he did not dare meet Lin Wan'er's eyes.

So fragrant, so warm...

Lin Wan'er was delighted as she led him away from Tang Ya and Bei Bei. After going through this, Huo Gua probably would no longer consider joining the Tang Sect and becoming Tang God King's dog.

After all, what Soul Master would be willing to join a sect whose leader disregarded the rules of engagement between Soul Masters and, after failing in a sneak attack, immediately turned around and asked her boyfriend to help fight the enemy's female Soul Master?

If there had been a blood feud, it would have been understandable. But Tang Ya simply seemed unreasonable, blaming everything the Tang Sect had suffered on a stranger. Who could approve of or understand that? Seeing Huo Yuhao's pursed lips and Bei Bei's helpless expression, Lin Wan'er decided to add more fuel to the fire beneath the deranged Tang Sect Leader.

Didn't she enjoy blaming the Heaven Soul Sect for taking away the Tang Sect's Min, Yu, Li, Po Four Affiliated Sects?

Didn't she want to know who Lin Wan'er was and where she came from?

Then Lin Wan'er would tell her. She would tell the current Tang Sect Leader about some of the "good deeds" the Tang Sect had done back then.

She would give Tang Ya—a woman who had worked wholeheartedly for the Tang Sect's revival, only to become one of Tang San's dispensable puppets, the future Blue Silver Holy Maiden—a proper lesson.

And that lesson would be called psychological warfare.

Having chosen her words, Lin Wan'er spoke, interrupting Bei Bei's inner struggle and Tang Ya's burning desire to avenge the Tang Sect against the Heaven Soul Sect.

Her voice brought the two back to their senses, and two pairs of differently colored eyes turned toward her.

Just as they came to their senses and wondered when Huo Yuhao had been taken over there by Lin Wan'er, she stepped forward, the same gentle smile still on her face.

"Tang Ya, current Tang Sect Leader, aren't you very curious about who I am within the Heaven Soul Sect? Then I'll tell you now. I hope you're prepared—and don't be like the Second Tang Sect Leader back then, who died from vomiting blood in a fit of rage."

Lin Wan'er had known long ago that there was no way to have the best of both worlds. Since she was destined to lead the continent's Soul Masters and soul beasts in an assault on the God Realm, overthrowing the rotten and dark-minded gods, she could not avoid withholding goodwill from certain people who had already chosen their sides in the shadows.

Tang Ya, who carried the Tang Sect's secret arts, and her boyfriend Bei Bei were not among those Lin Wan'er intended to befriend.

That was why she would ruthlessly shatter their inner defenses and make them understand that, at this very moment, the Heaven Soul Sect of the Heaven Dou Empire was far stronger than the long-declined Tang Sect and the narrow-minded Shrek! "You!"

Tang Ya gritted her teeth, but Bei Bei stopped her. With a grave expression, he stared at Lin Wan'er as though waiting for her to reveal her identity and confirm whether his guess was correct.

"I am the Innovation Consultant of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy in the Sun Moon Empire, a Soul Guidance Device teacher specializing in life, soul, and spiritual attributes. At the same time, I am the Holy Maiden of the Heaven Soul Sect in the Heaven Dou Empire. You may call me Her Highness Lin Wan'er."

Everyone present froze upon hearing Lin Wan'er's words.

Whether it was the title of Soul Guidance Device teacher or the status of Holy Maiden of the Heaven Dou Empire's foremost sect, neither was someone a few Shrek students who had yet to become Inner Courtyard Core Disciples could possibly compare themselves to.

"Impossible! You can't be a teacher in the Soul Guidance Device Department! How old are you?"

At that, Lin Wan'er smiled. She appeared every bit the composed and dignified Holy Maiden as she said, "Then you believe that I am the Holy Maiden of the Heaven Soul Sect? This Holy Maiden is merely twelve years old this year, and my Soul Power has only barely reached rank thirty-seven."

Twelve years old, rank thirty-seven!

Huo Yuhao sucked in a sharp breath. He had not expected Lin Wan'er, who was only a year older than him, to possess rank thirty-seven Soul Power.

Didn't that mean her talent surpassed even what Dai Huabin and Dai Yueheng had displayed? Was this the strength of the Heaven Soul Sect?

Tang Ya, nearly fifteen years old, fell silent. She was three years older than Lin Wan'er, yet her Soul Power was still inferior...

Could the Tang Sect's decline truly have been inevitable?

Bei Bei also stared at Lin Wan'er in shock. A twelve-year-old Soul Elder was qualified to enter Shrek's Inner Courtyard and enjoy the status of a Core Disciple.

Her effortless performance in the battle just now was enough to prove that her martial soul had to be among the continent's very finest.

For a moment, the scene fell into utter stillness.

Until Lin Wan'er spoke again. "Tang Ya, I imagine you are quite familiar with the Min Tian Gate, Yu Hun Pavilion, Po Ling Tower, and Li Zhi Weapon of the Heaven Dou Empire. They were once Min Po Yu Li."

"If it weren't for you people secretly inciting the Four Sects, why would our Tang Sect have declined to this point?! Lin Wan'er! Don't think you can provoke me again!"

Tang Ya's body trembled uncontrollably, and tears nearly spilled from her eyes.

"I don't like hearing that."

After raising a hand and summoning the Blue Silver Grass on the ground to weave itself into a throne, Lin Wan'er sat upon it. Propping her head up with one hand, she looked at the two members of the Tang Sect.

"If your Tang Sect had not insisted on following Tang San's example and taking pride in Blue Silver Grass, choosing Tang Sect Leaders whose martial souls were all weak Blue Silver Grass, perhaps your Tang Sect would not have declined so quickly."

"Don't be so quick to deny it, adorable Bei Bei, great-great-grandson of Sea God Pavilion Master Mu En."

Thank you, dear readers, for helping me successfully make it onto the trial recommendation this Sunday—the first round of recommendations.

This is my first specialized work on Qidian, a Douluo fanfiction!

So I really need daily follow-up reading. Please don't stockpile chapters. During the National Day holiday, I'll be posting six-thousand-character mega chapters split into two releases, so the pacing may feel a little slow for a while. It'll get better in a few chapters.

I mainly need to lay down some settings as groundwork for what comes next!

If there aren't many paid readers following along—that is, readers who have spent money on Qidian within the past month—the editor will tell me to cut the book because it's flopping—

So please don't let chapters pile up. Check in and comment more, so I can do more mass updates after it goes premium—

Let me make it through a few more rounds of recommendations.