Ma Xiaotao: My Ancestor Ma Hongjun Was That Vile?!

Tang Ya's expression gradually darkened.

"The Tang Sect Records never mentioned any of this."

Ma Xiaotao gave a cold laugh.

"Of course the records wouldn't."

"The Shrek Seven Devils are heroes in the eyes of later generations."

"Why would anyone pass down accounts of Ma Hongjun's disgusting deeds?"

Qian Renxue looked into the distance.

"What Ma Hongjun did today wasn't an isolated incident."

"He's used to treating women this way."

"Dai Mubai is no better."

Tang Ya fell silent for a moment.

"No wonder they dared say those things in the street."

"So this is what those two have always been like."

Ma Xiaotao swept her fiery red hair aside.

"And later generations still call men like them righteous."

"Perhaps Shrek Academy's reputation can't be trusted after all."

Qian Renxue did not answer.

She looked at the Golden Rankings in the sky, then toward Shrek Academy.

"At least from what we've seen, the so-called Shrek Seven Devils aren't all as the records describe them."

Tang Ya looked down at the Storage Soul Tool in her hand.

"You really do have to see history with your own eyes."

"Otherwise, who knows what lies hidden behind all that glory?"

Ma Xiaotao nodded lightly.

"Once the Soul Master Tournament begins, we'll see what sort of person Tang San really is."

Tang Ya looked up at Bo Saixi's name.

"And whether the high priestess of Sea God Island truly deserves the respect later generations give her."

Heaven Dou City.

On a long street.

Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai had already left.

Tang Ya, Ma Xiaotao, and Qian Renxue remained where they were.

The passersby gradually dispersed, leaving only fire-blackened paving stones and a few torn pieces of clothing.

Ma Xiaotao rubbed her brow.

"I just can't understand it."

"My ancestor was that kind of man?"

She looked in the direction Ma Hongjun had gone, disgust written all over her face.

"He used his status as a Soul Master to harass women in the street."

"When a woman refused him, he tried to drag her away by force."

"How could someone like that become a god?"

Tang Ya stood beside her, looking down at the Storage Soul Tool in her hand.

She had seen Ma Hongjun's name in the Tang Sect Records.

One of the Shrek Seven Devils.

Bearer of the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul.

The future Phoenix God.

The records painted him in a glorious light: Ma Hongjun had helped the other Shrek Seven Devils save the continent and become heroes revered by later generations.

But everything that had happened today had torn a hole in that shining image.

"The Tang Sect Records never mentioned any of this."

Tang Ya pressed her lips together.

"They only say Ma Hongjun was talented and forthright, and that he later gave so much for his companions and the continent."

"But nothing he said just now was honorable."

"He isn't forthright."

Ma Xiaotao folded her arms.

"He's just disgusting."

Tang Ya fell silent.

She did not want to believe that a hero from the records could be like this.

But Ma Hongjun had said those things right in front of her, and Xiaotao had indeed roasted him like a suckling pig.

None of it was something another person had made up.

Qian Renxue looked at them both.

"Shrek Academy has always protected its own."

Tang Ya raised her head.

"Protected its own?"

Qian Renxue nodded.

"They live by a saying."

"Those Who Dare Not Cause Trouble Are Incompetent."

"It sounds like an exhortation for Soul Masters to face powerful foes bravely, but at Shrek Academy, it often becomes an excuse to stir up trouble as they please."

She looked in the direction Ma Hongjun had gone.

"Ma Hongjun once harassed female students from Canghui Academy outside the Star Dou Great Forest."

"They were only passing by, but he went up and pestered them."

"When they refused him, he said all sorts of vile things."

Ma Xiaotao frowned.

"Again?"

Qian Renxue continued, "It wasn't Dai Mubai's first time causing trouble, either."

"Back in the Star Luo Empire, he used his status as a prince to bully commoners."

"After coming to Heaven Dou City, he still frequented brothels. He even clashed with someone over a woman he'd taken a fancy to."

"Shrek Academy never reins them in."

"Whenever things get out of hand, the academy steps in to protect them."

Tang Ya tightened her grip on the Storage Soul Tool.

"No wonder Ma Hongjun thought we wouldn't dare touch him the moment he brought up Shrek Academy."

"They're used to bullying people in the academy's name."

"Don't Shrek Academy's teachers do anything?"

"Not only do they do nothing, they often make excuses for them."

Qian Renxue said, "Ma Hongjun claims his Evil Fire flares up, so he needs women to relieve it."

"Shrek Academy treats it as a problem caused by his Martial Soul."

"They think that as long as Ma Hongjun hasn't killed anyone, it's nothing serious."

Ma Xiaotao's expression grew darker.

"A flaw in his Martial Soul is no excuse to hurt others."

"If he can't control his Evil Fire, he should find a way to deal with it."

"He shouldn't use other women as tools to vent it."

Tang Ya nodded.

"The records make it sound as though none of them had a choice."

"For Ma Hongjun, it was his Evil Fire. For Dai Mubai, the Imperial Succession Struggle."

"For Tang San, it was his companions and the continent."

"Every one of the Shrek Seven Devils had a reason they supposedly had no choice but to act on."

"But when they do wrong, can they simply say they had no choice and pretend it never happened?"

Qian Renxue glanced at her.

"Later generations remember only the victors."

"Once they became gods, the wrongs they'd committed were gradually covered up."

Tang Ya lowered her head.

She stared at her palm and said nothing for a long time.

She had always treated the records handed down by the Tang Sect as something to believe in.

But first came the truth about Spirit Hall and commoners, and then this other side of the Shrek Seven Devils.

Each new fact shook what she thought she knew.

Ma Xiaotao was silent too.

As Ma Hongjun's descendant, she had always been proud of her ancestor.

Now her face burned with shame.

"I used to think my ancestor was someone worthy of respect."

"Now I think I need to get to know him all over again."

"At least the Ma Hongjun I met today deserves none."

Tang Ya nodded gently.

"I don't like a Shrek like this, either."

"If Shrek Academy really has always protected its own this way, they'll only cause more trouble."

Qian Renxue looked at them.

"You attacked Ma Hongjun. Shrek Academy won't let this go."

"They may come after you before the Soul Master Tournament begins."

Ma Xiaotao raised an eyebrow.

"If they dare, I'll teach them another lesson."

"Roasting him like a suckling pig clearly wasn't enough."

Tang Ya looked at Ma Xiaotao.

"Xiaotao, please don't kill anyone."

"We still have to compete in the Soul Master Tournament."

"Don't worry."

Ma Xiaotao raised her hand, and crimson flames danced at her fingertips.

"I'll leave them alive to compete."

"Once we're in the arena, I'll show them what the real Phoenix Flame is."