Tang Ya, First Generation Master of the Tang Sect!

[Wait!]

Ma Hongjun shot to his feet, sausages scattering all over the ground.

[Don't you find it strange? How could the Holy Angel Martial Soul appear on an evil soul master?!]

Dai Mubai frowned. [Something is definitely wrong. Light-attribute martial souls and evil cultivation techniques are natural opposites. In theory, they simply cannot coexist.]

Ning Rongrong bit her lip. [Could it be... she was forced?]

[Forced or not, she's still an evil soul master.] Tang San's voice was icy. [She killed so many people. Her hands are stained with blood. No matter how pitiful she is, it doesn't change the facts.]

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing. She merely stared at the Sky Screen with a complicated look in her eyes.

The image on the Sky Screen had yet to fade. Ye Guyi's holy yet lonely face was frozen in the darkness, blood-red moonlight reflected in her silver-white eyes.

[Is that it?] Ma Hongjun asked unwillingly. [What happened to her afterward? Did she leave the Holy Spirit Cult?]

[End of Ye Guyi's story.]

[Up next...]

[The Peerless Tang Clan's Top Ten Beauties Ranking officially begins!]

[Top 6—]

[Holy crap, it's finally here!]

[I bet a sausage it's Ju Zi!]

[Bullshit, it's obviously Wang Dong'er!]

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up. [Could I be on it?]

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at her. [You're one of the Shrek Seven Devils, not a character from the Peerless Tang Clan.]

[Then... what about Wang Dong?] Ma Hongjun looked into the distance with a sly grin. [After she turns into a girl, she'll definitely make the list, right?]

Dai Mubai smacked the back of his head. [Shut up and watch the Sky Screen.]

Inside a Shrek Academy dormitory ten thousand years later.

Wang Dong's face instantly turned crimson. She lunged at Huo Yuhao and covered his eyes.

[Don't look!]

Huo Yuhao was covered so thoroughly that his voice came out muffled. [What are you doing?]

[I... I...] Wang Dong stammered, the tips of her ears burning. [Anyway, you're not allowed to look!]

Huo Yuhao fell silent for three seconds, then suddenly laughed. [Are you scared you'll make the list?]

[I'm not!] Wang Dong bristled, but her hands covered his eyes even more tightly.

The words on the Sky Screen continued to appear:

[Top 6: Tang Ya]

[Identity: First Generation Master of the Tang Sect]

[Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass (Mutated)]

[Tags: Energetic girl, tragic fate, fallen evil soul master]

[Evaluation: From sunlight to darkness, the cruelest fall]

The image lit up.

Sunlight, woods, laughter.

A young girl leaped over a stream, her pink skirt fluttering through the air. She turned back and flashed the camera a brilliant smile, her eyes curving into crescents.

[Bei Bei! Hurry up!]

She looked fifteen or sixteen, with an oval face, large eyes, a delicate nose, and rosy lips. Her long black hair was tied in a high ponytail, with several loose strands clinging to her forehead, radiating the youthful air unique to a young girl.

She wore a simple pink combat outfit, a small pouch hanging at her waist. As she skipped about, she looked like a cheerful little sparrow.

[So cute!] Ning Rongrong covered her mouth, her eyes sparkling.

Even Zhu Zhuqing nodded unusually. [She's full of life.]

Ma Hongjun clicked his tongue. [This is the Tang Sect's master? She doesn't look like one.]

The image continued.

The young girl stood before the ruins of a dilapidated sect, looking up at the collapsed signboard with reddened eyes.

[This is... the Tang Sect?]

She crouched down, picked up a broken piece of the signboard caked in dirt, and carefully wiped it clean.

[Grandpa said the Tang Sect was once the number one sect on the continent.]

[Its hidden weapons were unmatched under heaven, and its mechanisms were peerless.]

[But now...]

She bit her lip as tears rolled down her face.

[I will rebuild the Tang Sect.]

[I will.]

The girl raised her head, unprecedented determination burning in her eyes.

For the first time, that immature face showed a resolve beyond her years.

The field ten thousand years ago fell silent.

[She... is the Tang Sect's master?] Ma Hongjun scratched his head. [Why does she look so young?]

Dai Mubai said gravely, [The Tang Sect declined. She should be its last successor.]

Tang San stared fixedly at the Sky Screen, his fists clenched tight.

The Tang Sect.

That had been his home in his previous life.

The image changed.

Several years later.

The same girl had grown into a graceful young woman.

She stood before the newly built Tang Sect main hall, dressed in white combat attire, a hidden-weapon pouch hanging from her waist. Her long hair was tied with a red cord, and she cut a valiant figure.

[From this day forward, the Tang Sect is officially rebuilt!]

Her voice rang through the entire sect, clear and resolute.

Behind her, more than a dozen young disciples answered in unison. [We swear to follow the sect master unto death!]

The girl turned around, a brilliant smile blooming on her face.

There was no gloom or calculation in that smile, only pure joy and hope.

[We will definitely return the Tang Sect to its peak!]

[Definitely!]

She clenched her fist, her eyes shining like stars.

On the field ten thousand years ago, Ning Rongrong's eyes reddened. [That's so inspiring...]

Zhu Zhuqing rarely showed a faint smile as well. [She did it.]

But the image on the Sky Screen suddenly froze.

Words appeared, each one seeming to drip with blood:

[But fate never pities the kind.]

[The following scene will be the turning point of her life.]

[Please prepare yourselves.]

Everyone's hearts tightened.

The image shifted again.

A dark dungeon, damp air, the clatter of chains.

Tang Ya hung suspended in midair by iron chains, covered in blood.

Her face was filled with wounds. Her once-bright eyes were bloodshot, and black blood seeped from the corners of her mouth.

[Sect Master!]

A disciple's voice came from afar, carrying a despairing sob.

[Don't... don't worry about me...]

Tang Ya's voice was so weak it was nearly inaudible.

[Run...]

[The Holy Spirit Cult... won't let you go...]

The image zoomed in, her face filling the entire Sky Screen.

That once sunny, radiant face was now pale as paper. Her lips had turned purple, and her gaze was unfocused.

Most terrifying of all—

A strange red glow had begun to emerge from the depths of her eyes.

[No... don't...]

She struggled desperately, making the chains rattle.

[I don't want... to become like that...]

[Bei Bei... save me...]

Tears mixed with blood and slid down her face.

For the first time, despair appeared on that face.

The field ten thousand years ago was deathly silent.

Ning Rongrong covered her mouth, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

Zhu Zhuqing's face was pale, her clenched fists trembling.

Ma Hongjun opened his mouth, unable to say a single word.

Dai Mubai closed his eyes, unable to bear watching any longer.

The image continued.

Deep within the dungeon, a blurry figure walked up to Tang Ya.

[Do you want to live?]

That voice was cold and eerie, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

[I do...]

Tang Ya's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

[Then drink it.]

A black bottle was held to her lips.

Tang Ya trembled, tears flowing without end.

[If I drink it... what will I become?]

[Someone capable of protecting the Tang Sect.]

The voice was seductive.

[Someone who will... never be bullied again.]

Tang Ya's eyes struggled with pain and despair.

In the end—

She closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

The black liquid poured down her throat.

The image froze at that moment.

Only a line of blood-red words remained on the Sky Screen:

[From then on, the energetic girl died.]

[Evil soul master Tang Ya was born.]

Suppressed sobs erupted across the field ten thousand years ago.

Countless people had reddened eyes, their fists clenched until they turned white.

[Why...] Ning Rongrong wept so hard she could barely speak. [Why did they have to treat her like this...]

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, but towering fury surged in her eyes.

Tang San opened his eyes, and a trace of complexity flashed through their depths.

The Tang Sect.

The Holy Spirit Cult.

Fate.

The image on the Sky Screen lit up again.

This time, a completely different Tang Ya appeared.

She stood in a pool of blood, dressed in a black robe, her long hair hanging loose and her eyes scarlet.

Her former smile was gone.

[Tang Sect Master Tang Ya, under orders from the Holy Spirit Cult, has come to take your life.]

Her voice was hoarse and cold, no longer possessing its former crisp brightness.

The soul master opposite her backed away in terror. [Y-you're Tang Ya?! Isn't the Tang Sect a righteous sect?!]

Tang Ya did not answer.

She raised a hand, and countless black Blue Silver Grass blades burst from the ground, instantly piercing the soul master's body.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

[I'm sorry.]

[I never wanted this either.]

[But I... can't go back anymore.]

That black figure looked especially lonely beneath the blood-red sunset.

A final line appeared on the Sky Screen:

[Tang Ya: The cruelest fall]

[She had once been the brightest girl]

[Yet she became the most sorrowful evil soul master]

[It was not that she chose darkness]

[Darkness had devoured her]

On the training grounds ten thousand years ago, everyone fell silent.