"So beautiful."
Xiao Xiao spread her arms, feeling the breeze blowing in from the lake.
"Indeed."
Zhang Lan nodded slightly.
Shrek might have had its disgusting rules and its ten-thousand-year glory pickled right down to the bone.
But in terms of scenery, it was indeed an excellent place to visit.
"Young master, look!"
"What's that over there?"
Nan Qiuqiu pointed at a red dot moving rapidly across the lake.
It was a red figure racing over the water at incredible speed.
That person had not released her martial soul, yet she moved across the water as though it were solid ground, as fast as an arrow loosed from its bow.
"Lan, are you going to use your second martial soul?"
"The flames over there are extremely hot."
Tian Meng spoke from within the Sea of Consciousness.
Since Zhang Lan gave Tian Meng nothing to worry about.
Tian Meng had barely had anything to do over the past few years.
He only occasionally helped Electrolux research advances in soul spirit techniques.
Aside from that, he also expended some of his spiritual origin to help Zhang Lan expand his Sea of Consciousness.
Thanks to Tian Meng's efforts, Zhang Lan's spiritual power had not fallen behind over these years either.
Though its progress could not compare to his soul power, his spiritual power had still reached the level of an ordinary Soul Saint.
"You worm, sitting around for too long has dulled your brain."
"After undergoing the Ice and Fire Golden Body tempering in that pool, our young friend's body has developed strong resistance to ice and fire."
"Ordinary elemental powers can hardly harm him."
"And while the flames on that approaching young woman are astonishingly hot."
"They have yet to reach the level of what you call ultimate fire here, so they cannot hurt our young friend."
Having said that, Electrolux sighed helplessly beside him.
"Oh, right."
With that, Tian Meng actually went to sleep.
His lazy demeanor left Zhang Lan at a loss for words.
"Not sure."
Of course Zhang Lan knew who she was, but now was not the time to tell them.
"Get back!"
"That figure is coming this way."
With that, Zhang Lan immediately summoned the Star of Eden.
He used repulsive force to push Nan Qiuqiu and the others away.
At the same time, the figure reached him.
She showed no intention of stopping, charging straight at Zhang Lan with terrifying heat radiating from her.
"All students, an Evil Soul Master is attacking!"
"Get back immediately!"
The instant the surrounding students heard the shout, they scattered and fled.
Only Nan Qiuqiu's group hid at a distance, watching the situation unfold.
Of course, a few students who never feared trouble when there was a spectacle to watch were hiding even farther away.
Soul rings appeared around Zhang Lan one after another, then his fourth, black soul ring flashed.
"Fourth soul skill, Eight Desolate Heavy Prison."
With that, Zhang Lan tapped the tip of his staff against the ground.
Half a gravity ball materialized around him.
It enclosed the figure.
It formed a gravity mire, restricting her movements.
The figure tried to break free of its influence, only to discover gravitational forces tearing at her from every direction.
The figure that had been moving so swiftly was stopped dead by Zhang Lan's soul skill.
Her tremendous speed was halted in an instant, leaving no buffer for the terrifying momentum.
The powerful force slammed through Ma Xiaotao's body, which was already suffering from her rampaging evil fire.
It actually made her cough up several mouthfuls of blood.
But this only further stimulated her evil fire, which surged wildly inside her.
As though it would burn her entire body to ashes.
She let out a heart-rending, beastlike roar, and eerie black streaks began to appear within the scarlet flames.
As Zhang Lan activated his soul skill, he also imposed tenfold gravity on Ma Xiaotao.
Under this double suppression.
Though Ma Xiaotao's savage aura grew ever stronger, she could not launch any attacks.
She could only stand rooted to the spot, as though being punished.
"Go get a teacher!"
"An Evil Soul Master has broken in!"
Seeing this, the remaining students scattered and fled as well.
"A white uniform, two purple and three black soul rings."
"It's him!"
"The new student who overpowered a Six-Ring Soul Emperor teacher in the Soul Fighting Arena!"
Several senior students were about to rush forward to help, but stopped when they saw Zhang Lan.
Seeing that he seemed able to handle it, they quietly backed away.
The more Ma Xiaotao's evil fire was suppressed, the stronger it became.
After several eruptions, it actually broke through the suppression of the tenfold gravity.
She moved to attack Zhang Lan, but her attack struck the gravity barrier enclosing her instead.
At that moment, the third soul ring behind Zhang Lan flashed.
The surrounding gravity ball erupted with deep purple light, firing it at Ma Xiaotao, who was trapped in the center.
Sensing danger, she let her evil fire run rampant once more.
"Sixth soul skill, Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike!"
She thrust both palms forward, and a flaming phoenix with a wingspan of only one meter flew from her palms.
It scattered the gravity rays rushing toward her.
It slammed into the gravity barrier, sending ripples across it.
But the gravity rays did not vanish after being scattered.
They shot off in every direction.
After striking the surrounding gravity barrier and gravity mire, they rebounded.
The gravity rays ricocheted freely within the gravity barrier, quickly weaving a dense web of gravity rays.
Every time a gravity ray touched the evil fire, the flames dimmed a little.
Before long, all the evil fire erupting from Ma Xiaotao had been extinguished.
Once her evil fire was exhausted, Ma Xiaotao fainted and fell to the ground.
Far away, in the depths of Sea God Lake.
A white figure swept across the lake at an unbelievable speed.
He appeared before Zhang Lan in an instant.
It was none other than Yan Shaozhe.
"Fortunately, none of the students were hurt."
Yan Shaozhe looked around and found no injured students.
He let out a sigh of relief.
"Dean Yan, how should we deal with this Evil Soul Master?"
Zhang Lan asked, pointing the tip of his staff at the unconscious Ma Xiaotao nearby.
Upon hearing those words, Yan Shaozhe swayed.
Since when had Ma Xiaotao become an Evil Soul Master?!
There was merely a problem with her martial soul, leaving her unable to suppress her evil fire and causing her emotions to spiral out of control!
He had watched this girl grow up. How had she become an Evil Soul Master?
Though displeased inwardly, Yan Shaozhe still explained Ma Xiaotao's identity to Zhang Lan.
Lest Ma Xiaotao truly be mistaken for an Evil Soul Master.
Wang Dong stepped forward to stand beside Zhang Lan, tilting his head up to look Yan Shaozhe straight in the eye.
"Dean Yan, you just said there was merely a problem with her martial soul, and her evil fire went out of control."
"But this is Shrek Academy, beside Sea God Lake. There are students everywhere."
"She was moving so fast when she lost control, and her flames were so hot. What if she had hit someone while charging over here?"
"What if she had hit one of the new students who are only at rank ten or so?"
He paused, narrowing his pinkish-blue eyes.
"Zhang Lan stopped her and kept her from hurting anyone. That's a fact."
"As soon as you arrived, you said she was your disciple and there was a problem with her martial soul."
"Then may I ask where you teachers were before she lost control?"
"She charged all the way from the middle of the lake to the shore at that speed, and not one of you stopped her."
"If Zhang Lan hadn't been here, how would this have ended today?"
Yan Shaozhe looked at him without speaking.
Wang Dong did not avoid his gaze and continued:
"You say she isn't an Evil Soul Master, so we'll believe you."
"But surely there needs to be an explanation for something like this?"
"You can't just say 'there was a problem with her martial soul' and leave it at that."
"The academy owes the students here an explanation."
After finishing, he stepped half a pace back to stand beside Zhang Lan again, folding his arms across his chest and lifting his chin slightly.
Before you continue