Of the twelve people in Zhang Lexuan's party, five needed Soul Rings. Yet after nearly a month in the Star Dou Great Forest, they had only helped three obtain their rings. Now only she and one other remained.
With Zhang Lexuan's talent, she would never settle for a Soul Ring less than eighty thousand years old. That was why they had spent so much time here.
That night, they made camp beside a stream.
Having gone nearly a month without bathing, Zhang Lexuan temporarily left the camp after discovering a nearby lake. It was not far away, so she could rush back to support her teammates if danger arose.
But just as she reached the vicinity of the lake, her beautiful eyes suddenly widened, and her entire body went on alert.
Her Martial Soul instantly possessed her body, a silver moon hovering behind her, poised to strike. At the same time, seven Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath her feet: two yellow, two purple, and three black.
"An Evil Soul Master?"
Huo Yuhao had noticed someone approaching long ago. Once he sensed that she was merely a Soul Saint, he had no intention of bothering with her. He did not even care when she summoned her Martial Soul and revealed her Soul Rings. He was no monster, after all. If he could avoid killing someone, he would!
But the woman's shout broke his rhythm and interrupted his spell, forcing Huo Yuhao to turn his gaze toward the source of the voice.
Before him stood a young woman in a long red dress, seemingly in her twenties. Her gentle, lovely face possessed a beauty that could topple cities, her raven hair fell to her waist, and her willow-leaf brows were lightly drawn. Yet Huo Yuhao could clearly see the disgust and loathing covering that beautiful face. A cold gleam shone in her eyes, as though she might attack at any moment.
Huo Yuhao immediately understood. Looking at the undead remains around him and what his hands were doing, he did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"If I said I wasn't an Evil Soul Master, would you believe me?"
At those words, Zhang Lexuan's expression instantly turned into one that said, Who do you think you're fooling?
"With that evil aura all over you, and those methods you're using to toy with Soul Beast corpses, you claim you aren't an Evil Soul Master? Do you even believe that yourself?"
"You have a very good point. If I were you, I wouldn't believe it either."
Huo Yuhao nodded as though he thoroughly agreed, but his hands did not stop moving. He was not annoyed that the interruption had caused his attempt to fail. Moving the Hundred-Year Soul Beast skeleton from that failed attempt aside, he casually drew another crocodilian Hundred-Year Soul Beast toward him and began preparing his next spell.
"So what do you intend to do?"
Seeing this Evil Soul Master pay her so little regard and continue practicing his evil arts as he pleased, even someone as gentle and good-tempered as Zhang Lexuan began to feel angry.
"Evil Soul Masters commit countless atrocities. Anyone has the right to put them to death. I will capture you and take you back to Shrek Academy to stand trial."
Anyone has the right to put them to death?
The woman's words caught Huo Yuhao's attention, and his hands stopped moving. Shrek Academy really is so righteous it has turned sinister! Just because I possess evil powers? Couldn't I simply have a darkness-type Martial Soul? Are you that certain I'm an Evil Soul Master? Have you personally seen me kill anyone? Your Shrek Academy certainly has a broad definition of evil.
"Then tell me, emissary of justice, you want to put me on trial simply because I brutally killed a few mere Hundred-Year Soul Beasts? Did you see me kill anyone? Why are you so certain I'm an Evil Soul Master?" Huo Yuhao demanded, his gaze sharp.
The young woman had suddenly piqued his interest. He could hardly wait to have a proper discussion with her from the position of an Evil Soul Master. After all, he had spent so long in the Star Dou Great Forest and truly had not seen many living people.
Zhang Lexuan was momentarily at a loss for words. Huo Yuhao had indeed not killed anyone, but as a member of the Shrek Inspection Corps, her guiding principle was to kill any Evil Soul Master she encountered without mercy. Better to kill the wrong person than let one escape.
"You haven't killed anyone, true, but you are toying with Soul Beasts' souls and desecrating their corpses. Today it's Soul Beasts. Tomorrow it will be people."
Zhang Lexuan answered in disgust. Seeing that the young Evil Soul Master actually wanted to argue with her stoked her anger as well. How could a mere Evil Soul Master think he could outargue someone who upheld the Shrek Inspection Corps' code of justice?
Huo Yuhao laughed. So this was the famous logic of: dare to eat meat today, and tomorrow you'll dare to eat people?
"You boast of your righteousness, but didn't you come to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Soul Beasts for their Soul Rings? You kill their bodies, absorb their energy, shatter their lingering souls, and finally strip their bones and eat their flesh. How is what you do any different from what I do? Why is it justice when you kill, but evil when I kill?" Zhang Lexuan's brows furrowed slightly at his words. She knew that the young Evil Soul Master before her was simply twisting logic.
"Soul Masters hunting Soul Beasts is a law of nature. It cannot be avoided. But we don't slaughter indiscriminately, whereas you Evil Soul Masters torture them to death to strengthen your evil powers."
Clap, clap, clap.
Huo Yuhao could not help applauding Zhang Lexuan. He smiled and said, "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."
Seeing Huo Yuhao's reaction, Zhang Lexuan's brows knitted even more tightly.
"What are you laughing at?"
Huo Yuhao sneered, "Since you're all so kind, should the Soul Beasts you kill thank you, then? Thank you for the mercy of giving them a good death?"
"You-"
"You utterly unreasonable wretch! It seems I can only capture you and take you back to Shrek Academy for trial." Zhang Lexuan was furious. She had never imagined she would lose an argument to an Evil Soul Master.
With that, the first yellow Soul Ring around Zhang Lexuan suddenly lit up. Several silver crescent blades shot from the crescent moon behind her, hurtling toward Huo Yuhao. Yet faced with this attack, Huo Yuhao did not so much as blink.
"In the end, so-called justice still depends on strength to speak for it. Your Shrek Academy has influence and power, so you represent justice. Meanwhile, those of us born with Evil Martial Souls can only become rats crossing the street, hated and hunted by everyone. People are born good at heart. Sadly, even though we carry justice in our hearts, we are ultimately forced into darkness."
Huo Yuhao did not want to fight today. If he did, he could shatter the woman before him with a single punch, but he had no desire to attack.
First, he was not an evil person. Although the young woman's thinking was flawed, her intentions were ultimately to punish evil and uphold good. Everyone had the right to carry out justice, and he could not deny that. After all, if he were the crocodilian Soul Beast in his hands, about to undergo an undead experiment, Zhang Lexuan would undoubtedly be his savior.
Besides, this was his first encounter with someone from this world's Shrek Academy. He wanted to see just how twisted the thinking of this academy, so righteous that it had turned sinister, really was.
After all, Shrek Academy had only made a handful of appearances, and every one had been filled with arrogance, conceit, and contempt for everyone else. Ten thousand years of glory made them naturally consider themselves countless ranks above others. It was truly laughable.
Teachers can expel students on a whim. Is that really an academy? If teenage children were already that sensible, why would I, as a parent, send them to an academy for you to educate? They came up with an Ultimate Soldier Plan that sounded grand and impressive, only for it to amount to stealing things. This number-one academy under heaven is more like the Holy Spirit Cult than the Holy Spirit Cult itself. It's outrageously sinister.
"You're simply twisting logic! Our Shrek Academy is called the continent's greatest academy and regarded as the embodiment of justice because we nurture talented people far and wide and work for the continent's welfare. We established the Shrek Inspection Corps to oversee the continent, eliminate Evil Soul Masters like you, and protect its ordinary people."
"Our justice is recognized by the entire continent. It isn't determined by strength!"
The blades of light stopped an inch from Huo Yuhao's eyes. Looking at his unchanged expression, Zhang Lexuan seethed with rage. All her gentleness and composure had vanished, leaving her breathtaking face filled with anger.
She could tolerate Huo Yuhao criticizing her, but she could not accept anyone slandering Shrek Academy. After all, it was where she had grown up. It was her home, her faith.
Dear readers, although this book has already missed its best investment opportunity, getting signed after only a few chapters was indeed very sudden, and there was nothing the author could do about it. But a new author's new book has neither recommendations nor exposure. If it can reach one hundred investments, there's a chance it might get a recommendation. So Tutu Beast is begging you all to tap those little fortune-making fingers and give this book a free investment. This book will keep updating without interruption, has already been signed, and will go premium. Your investment won't be a loss. Of course, if it requires spending coins, forget it. Tutu Beast knows his own limits.
Also, thank you all for your monthly tickets, investments, recommendation tickets, and bookmarks. Thank you, everyone.
In a few more chapters, once Huo Yuhao becomes the Plane Master, things will really get wild.
(End of chapter)
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