Huo Yuhao sneered. "Nurturing talent far and wide? That much is true. Your Shrek Academy only accepts geniuses, single-handedly monopolizing the talent of the entire continent. It wasn't so bad before, but it's grown even worse over these past few thousand years.
"Now you only admit students with recommendation letters from city lords. What? Anyone who isn't a noble doesn't deserve to step through Shrek Academy's gates? Is that your academy's justice?"
"An academy should teach without discrimination, but you do the exact opposite, sorting people into ranks. The lowest aren't even worthy of your notice. Those in the middle have to climb up themselves, and if they fail, all that awaits them is a command to get lost. Only the finest geniuses get treated like human beings. What laughable justice."
"As the leader among academies, Shrek Academy sets this example, and every soul master academy across the continent follows suit. Commoner soul masters have even less chance of getting ahead, and ordinary people are left with nothing but despair-yet you won't even let them resist?
"Your Shrek Academy deserves half the credit for evil soul masters running rampant across the continent. How laughable that you commit such monstrous sins yet still proclaim yourselves righteous.
"You monopolize the continent's geniuses, then take all the credit for making them powerful, wallowing in past glory and patting yourselves on the back.
"Fighting evil is your duty to begin with, yet you make it sound so noble. Are all you people from Shrek Academy this thick-skinned? Do you really feel no shame?"
"You-"
Zhang Lexuan's face flushed red at his words, her chest rising and falling. Clearly, she was extremely agitated.
"What about me? Nothing left to say, have you? Honestly, your Shrek Academy is nothing but a clown in my eyes."
"You-"
"What? Have you got something to say?"
"It's true that Shrek Academy only accepts geniuses, but every academy does the same. Besides, what gives you the right to call Shrek Academy the chief culprit behind evil soul masters running rampant? Do you know how many alumni we lose fighting evil soul masters every year? No, you don't know anything."
Zhang Lexuan was deeply agitated. She, the extraordinarily gifted senior sister beloved by the inner court disciples, actually felt wronged at that moment. After all, someone had misunderstood Shrek Academy so profoundly, yet she was powerless to refute him.
"Only a small fraction of the evil soul masters you kill awakened as evil soul masters from birth, and those people are often dealt with on the very day of their martial soul awakening.
"So the vast majority of the continent's evil soul masters became that way later. Ordinary people have been oppressed to this extent by the forces led by Shrek Academy. Other than becoming evil soul masters, what way out do they have? Do you still dare claim your academy has nothing to do with it?"
Huo Yuhao's gaze blazed. He seemed to be speaking up for himself. Looking into his resolute eyes, Zhang Lexuan faltered slightly, even beginning to wonder whether she was wrong.
Were we really wrong?
No, we weren't.
Punishing evil and promoting good wasn't wrong.
Faced with this situation, she could only capture this silver-tongued evil soul master who twisted right and wrong, then take him back to the Sea God Pavilion, convene a Sea God Pavilion Meeting, and discuss the issues Huo Yuhao had raised with the elders.
"There is some truth in what you say, and I really can't outargue you. But you are still an evil soul master, so you leave me no choice. Forgive me."
There was no longer any loathing in Zhang Lexuan's eyes. From what Huo Yuhao had just said, she could conclude that this young evil soul master before her was one of those who had been forced down that path.
Moreover, he could still remain true to himself, using only soul beasts to improve his cultivation. His character was actually rather good, so Zhang Lexuan even decided that she would make sure to protect Huo Yuhao after returning.
Having made up her mind, Zhang Lexuan attacked Huo Yuhao without holding anything back, only for him to casually swat her attack aside.
"I told you, I don't feel like fighting today," Huo Yuhao said calmly.
"Then what do you want? No matter what, I'm taking you back to Shrek Academy today," Zhang Lexuan said firmly.
But her trembling hands told Huo Yuhao that her heart was already in turmoil. She hadn't even reacted when he casually swatted aside her attack, and still hadn't realized that he was actually quite powerful.
"Since I'm an evil soul master, I'll naturally handle this the way an evil soul master would." Huo Yuhao's expression was calm. Zhang Lexuan didn't know what he meant by an evil soul master's way of handling things, but she could guess it was nothing good.
Then, under her bewildered gaze, Huo Yuhao began speaking on his own.
"Head south from here until you get near the Star Luo Empire, then go west out of the Star Dou Great Forest. A little over twenty kilometers away, there's a place called Luoyun Village. Several hundred families of ordinary villagers live there. They love life, and they're simple, kind, and hospitable."
Zhang Lexuan's expression changed at once. She seemed to have begun guessing what Huo Yuhao meant by an evil soul master's way of handling things.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Nothing much. I just want to see how much weight your justice really carries in your heart. I have a subordinate in Luoyun Village. I can contact her at any time through special means. You could say the lives of everyone in that village are in my hands.
"Now, then, things have become interesting.
"I think you're quite pretty. You've held me up for so long that there's a raging fire inside me now. If you can quench that fire, I might consider letting them go."
Huo Yuhao gave a wicked smile. Yet although the words coming from his mouth were frivolous, there wasn't the slightest trace of lust in his eyes.
Zhang Lexuan's expression changed drastically when she heard him. She hadn't expected the young evil soul master before her to be a lecher.
"You're shameless."
"Shameless? Perhaps! I'm not forcing you. You can leave whenever you want. You can gamble on that village not existing, or gamble on me having a sudden burst of kindness and sparing them.
"Of course, you can also choose to kill me. But that last option is dangerous, because the instant I die, my subordinate will sense it and immediately slaughter the village. That works even better than sending a message."
"You-" Zhang Lexuan's face had gone pale. She had thought this boy had merely been forced to become an evil soul master, but he really was a devil guilty of every conceivable evil.
"What's wrong, emissary of justice? You were going to capture me and take me back for judgment. Did you really think an evil soul master like me was easy to push around?
"My patience is limited. Your own happiness, or the lives of an entire village-which carries more weight? Which choice better serves justice? You'd better think carefully. After all, if you choose wrong, your Shrek Academy's so-called justice will become a joke."
Huo Yuhao pressed her relentlessly.
"I can exchange my life for theirs, but not my body. There's someone I love. If you want to defile me, I'd rather die than submit." A glint of resolve flashed in Zhang Lexuan's eyes.
"Unfortunately, I have no interest in your corpse. Since that's how you feel, there's nothing left to discuss. I'll just have to slaughter the village."
After saying that, a trace of regret flashed through Huo Yuhao's clear eyes. "It seems your Shrek Academy's so-called justice amounts to nothing more than this. But thinking about it, that makes sense. How could a few hundred lowly commoners compare to a young genius like you? You've made the right choice."
As he spoke, Huo Yuhao swept his hand through the air, and an image of a small village instantly materialized before them. The village in the image was none other than Luoyun Village.
In the image, the villagers of Luoyun Village wore happy smiles and lived in harmony. The atmosphere even moved Zhang Lexuan. This place was practically a paradise on earth.
Unfortunately, the scene changed. Zhang Lexuan saw a black-clad figure enter the room of a boy likewise dressed in black in Luoyun Village on a dark, windy night. After leaving a mysterious, bag-like object on the table, the figure departed from Luoyun Village under cover of darkness.
The black-clad figure who had entered, left something behind, and departed was none other than Huo Yuhao!
That village really existed!
What should I do?
Here, the protagonist only wanted to test the limits of her justice. This is equivalent to the famous trolley problem: do the lives of a carriage full of people matter more, or does one person's life matter more? It's a question with no solution. Whichever she chooses, Zhang Lexuan's Dao heart will waver, and whichever she chooses, Huo Yuhao will let her go. The author never intended to win Zhang Lexuan over in one go. This is only an appetizer; there will be a few more rounds of torment later. But only mild torment, so please don't flame me.
(End of chapter)
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