Making a Run

Lu Yuan did not wait for him to make a move this time.

He lunged forward, sweeping the fiery red Sun-Chopping Flame in his right hand horizontally.

The deacon had not even finished gathering his Second Soul Skill before the blade was upon him.

The Sun-Chopping Flame grazed across his arm, and in that instant, a searing heat spread through his entire body.

He cried out in agony.

"Such powerful flames!"

The Shrek deacon retreated several steps, shielding the village chief and the children behind him.

"Catch him, now! He's an Evil Soul Master!"

The village chief and the children were all stunned senseless.

Hadn't they just been awakening Martial Souls? Where had an Evil Soul Master come from?

Although this child's Martial Soul looked a little strange, surely they could not call him an Evil Soul Master the moment it awakened?

Besides, why was a Soul Grandmaster telling a group of ordinary people to catch him instead of doing it himself?

Seeing them hesitate without moving, the Shrek deacon snapped, "Trash! What are you standing around for? Go!"

The village chief spoke up. "Lord Deacon, he... he's still just a child!"

"He hasn't done anything. How could he possibly be an Evil Soul Master?"

The Shrek deacon snorted coldly. "A child? With such an evil, dark Martial Soul, he is clearly a born Evil Soul Master. He must be taken back to Shrek Academy for punishment!"

"Bullshit!"

Lu Yuan cursed angrily. "You're the Evil Soul Master! Your whole family is Evil Soul Masters!"

"A born Evil Soul Master? I'll have you know that people are born good!"

The Shrek deacon clutched his arm and panted heavily. That burning sensation was too strange, and he did not dare let down his guard.

He glared fiercely at Lu Yuan and shouted, "Y-you just wait! I'll report this to Shrek right now! You Evil Soul Master, for the rest of your life, don't even think about—"

Lu Yuan ignored him and turned to run.

The villagers and children were shielding the Shrek deacon, giving Lu Yuan a chance to slip away.

The children's cries and the deacon's curses rang out behind him, but he could not spare them any attention. He sprinted toward the village entrance.

His two short legs moved as fast as they could, not daring to stop for even a moment.

When he reached the village entrance, he glanced back.

Several panicked figures poured out through the Awakening Hall doors. Someone was chasing after him, amid chaotic footsteps and shouted cries.

Lu Yuan plunged headfirst into the bushes outside the village.

Branches lashed painfully against his face as he shoved aside leaves and forced his way forward. The sounds behind him grew more distant.

Seeing that Lu Yuan had vanished, the Shrek deacon cursed his bad luck under his breath.

He turned to glance at the villagers behind him, snorted coldly, and left.

He had to return to Shrek Academy as soon as possible and report this to the dean.

That brat had been so strong right after awakening his Martial Soul, and his Martial Soul was so unusual. Although he had not tested his Innate Soul Power, it could not possibly be weak!

This had to be reported!

Deep within the Star Dou Forest.

Lake of Life.

The lake's surface was smooth as a mirror, reflecting the ancient towering trees around it that rose straight into the clouds.

The pale green water glimmered faintly, like a massive emerald set deep within the earth.

Three-Eyed Golden Lion lay by the lakeshore, basking her golden fur in the sun while her tail lazily swept across the water.

She was in a good mood today. She had just eaten a Cyclops's head, and now that she was full and satisfied, her half-closed eyes were nearly falling asleep.

Suddenly, a dragon's roar rang out.

The sound came from an extremely distant place, carrying an indescribable pressure.

Three-Eyed Golden Lion abruptly opened her eyes. Her golden fur trembled, and even her tail stood erect.

She rose, shook her head, and trotted to the other side of the lake.

Di Tian stood with his hands behind his back on a thick branch of a giant tree, staring at the distant horizon with a deeply furrowed brow.

Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked up and called, "Uncle Di Tian!"

"What was that sound? I've never heard anything like it... That feeling was too strange."

Di Tian remained silent for a long while before saying, "Neither have I."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion froze.

If even Di Tian did not know, then perhaps no one truly did.

She followed his gaze into the distance, the red vertical eye on her forehead glowing faintly.

Di Tian spoke again, his voice even deeper than before. "That Dragon Clan aura is incredibly pure. So pure that it feels strange."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion turned to look at him.

The expression on Di Tian's face was one she rarely saw: confusion mixed with a trace of gravity.

There were not many things in the entire Star Dou Forest that could make the Beast God, with eight hundred thousand years of cultivation, reveal such an expression.

The two Ferocious Beasts, one large and one small, stood side by side at the lake's edge, filled with confusion as they secretly guessed which slumbering ancient Dragon Clan member had awakened.

Just as the two were baffled, the clear surface of the Lake of Life suddenly churned.

A silver dragon claw stretched out from the water.

A massive silver dragon body slowly rose from the lakebed. Water cascaded down its enormous back, crashing back into the lake with the roar of a waterfall.

Di Tian rarely showed shock, but he immediately dropped to one knee and pressed his right hand to his chest.

"My Lord."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion came back to her senses and prostrated herself. "Greetings, my Lord!"

The Silver Dragon's body slowly stretched out above the lake before shrinking and transforming.

Its scales faded, and its draconic form turned human.

An incomparably beautiful woman descended onto the lake's surface. Her feet rested upon the water without sinking.

Her silver hair reached her waist, and her purple eyes resembled two bottomless pools.

Gu Yuena lowered her gaze toward the edge of the forest, her cool voice slowly sounding out. "Di Tian, go find him immediately and bring that child back."

Di Tian was puzzled. "My Lord, who is he?"

"The human child who released that dragon roar earlier, one who bears an incomparably pure Dragon Clan origin. He is currently on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest."

"Do not harm him in the slightest. You must bring him back unharmed."

"This subordinate obeys!"

Di Tian answered and vanished in a flash.

Lu Yuan had no idea how long he had crawled through the bushes.

He did not dare stop. That deacon would not let this go, and no one understood better than he did what the words "Evil Soul Master" meant on Douluo Continent.

Even being suspected would bring endless trouble.

So he kept running, until he could no longer hear human voices and the bushes overhead gave way to the canopies of broad-leaved trees.

By the time he stopped, his legs had gone so weak that he could no longer stand.

His body was still that of a six-year-old child. Even though his Martial Soul had awakened and he possessed Soul Power, his stamina was limited.

He slid down against a large tree, his chest heaving like a broken bellows.

Lu Yuan looked around.

There were trees everywhere, so tall that their tops could not be seen. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, scattering into patches of gold across the ground.

"I should... be far enough by now, right?"

He did not know that he had run into the Star Dou Forest, though he was still only on its outskirts.

To Lu Yuan, a modern person, a tree was just a tree, and a forest was just a forest.

He thought it was merely a particularly large stretch of woods. Once he crossed it, he could reach the next village, find somewhere to hide, and then figure out what to do next.

He sat beneath the large tree and gradually caught his breath.

Lu Yuan suddenly remembered his Martial Soul.

Lord of Eclipsing Origin Flame!

Abyssal Creation, Twisted Dragon King, Sun-Chopping Flame, Abyss-Eroding Profound Blade...

"Hehehe..."

Lu Yuan started laughing to himself, and the sound was especially deranged in the silent forest.

"This is fucking awesome."

He rubbed his face, trying to calm himself down.

But he simply could not suppress the corners of his mouth.

What level of existence was the Lord of Eclipsing Origin Flame?

On Douluo Continent, leaving aside its rank, its attributes alone could crush countless top-tier Martial Souls.