Hypocrites, Old and Young Alike!

"You have a death wish!"

Yan Shaozhe was furious.

Shrek Academy had always styled itself as the continent's guardian of peace.

Every year, it dispatched Inner Court Disciples to eradicate Evil Soul Masters, earning widespread praise throughout the continent.

Yet today, some little girl had called them Evil Soul Masters!

How dare she!

An even more powerful pressure descended.

Tang Ya felt as though a heavy hammer had struck her, her body plunging downward. Yet even as blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, she trembled and struggled to lift her head.

"The Tang Sect and Shrek's students came from the same roots. The Tang Sect's decline over the years was our own failure. We couldn't blame anyone else. But when we were destroyed, and even afterward, you remained unmoved. I was fooling myself when I came here looking for you... but!"

Tang Ya's expression was resolute as she spoke.

"You can look down on the Tang Sect, and you can look down on me! But just because you saw my talent, you wanted to use it to force me into Shrek Academy... what was that supposed to mean?!!"

"Is this your supposedly righteous Shrek Academy?!"

"If you want to die, I'll grant your wish!"

Yan Shaozhe's face was icy.

The next instant.

He slowly pressed his palm downward.

A massive hand formed from soul power, vast enough to blot out the sky, slowly descended as well.

"Heh..."

Tang Ya could not raise her head.

But she could clearly see the phantom outline of a hand slowly expanding around her.

The terrifying pressure of its soul power made her feel death drawing near.

Her eyes slowly closed.

A trail of bloody tears slowly trickled down.

She remembered her father's tone as he had told her about Shrek Academy, the sacred land every Soul Master on the continent yearned for. Grand and magnificent, it held the glorious achievements of countless predecessors...

She could almost see the longing and hope on her father's face.

Father, your daughter has failed you...

Tang Ya murmured inwardly.

She waited for death to come.

Bei Bei's expression was conflicted.

Although he had only met this girl once, he felt as though he had fallen in love at first sight, plunging instantly into love. That feeling even far surpassed his love for his eldest senior sister...

With that thought, he flashed forward and appeared in front of Tang Ya.

"Dean Yan, Tang Ya, she..."

"Shut up!"

Yan Shaozhe cast Bei Bei a cold glance.

He had already noticed something was wrong with this brat, but falling for her at their very first meeting?

And he deserved to be Mu En's great-grandson?

What a pity for that girl Lexuan...

"Have you lost your mind?!" His companions hurriedly pulled him away.

He actually dared to challenge Dean Yan under these circumstances...

"Sigh."

Bei Bei turned his head aside, his eyes full of bitterness.

Just as the enormous palm was about to strike Tang Ya and crush her into a bloody mist, a rough voice rang out with laughter.

"Yan Shaozhe, it's been years, and you've really gone downhill. Since when did you start attacking little girls?"

At the same time.

The palm formed from soul power shattered with a thunderous crash, dissolving into glittering motes of light.

"You?!!"

Yan Shaozhe's expression changed.

The others saw black crows streak across the ground.

Surrounded by the black crows, Tang Ya's figure slowly vanished into the horizon.

Another figure shrouded in black robes appeared in the sky, facing Yan Shaozhe from a distance.

"Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng!"

Yan Shaozhe's face was grave. "And Crow... two consecrated elders appearing at once. Your Holy Spirit Cult certainly spared no expense."

His eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of mockery entering his voice.

"But a pack of rats that can only hide in the shadows and scrape out a miserable existence actually dares to run wild at Shrek Academy? Aren't you getting a little too brazen?"

"Listen to you. How is this running wild? I've always held Mu En in great respect..." A hoarse voice emerged from beneath the black robes, relaxed and faintly teasing.

"But you were about to kill our cult's Saintess. Naturally, I couldn't stand by and watch."

"So she really is the Holy Spirit Cult's Saintess!" Yan Shaozhe said through gritted teeth.

If I'd known, I should have killed her outright!

Tang Ya's talent was at least as great as Xiaotao's.

And within the Holy Spirit Cult, without any restrictions, her strength would only grow at an even more terrifying pace.

Once she left, protected so tightly by the Holy Spirit Cult, he would probably never get another chance...

"Heh, Yan Shaozhe, don't bother trying to stall for time. This is just one of my beast soul avatars. My real body is already a thousand miles away."

Zhang Peng's voice held a trace of derision.

"And I think what our Holy Spirit Cult's Saintess said just now was spot-on. 'Hypocrite' suits you perfectly! Hahaha..."

"In all of Shrek Academy, Mu En was the only one I respected. Sadly, he's already passed away. As for the rest, every last one of you is a hypocrite, old and young alike!"

"Hahahaha..."

As his words faded, the black-robed figure flickered, then slowly dissipated into the air.

Only silence remained.

"Bei Bei!"

Gritting his teeth, Yan Shaozhe shot Bei Bei a cold glance.

Only to discover that Bei Bei actually looked delighted, seemingly relieved that someone had rescued Tang Ya.

The corner of his mouth twitched violently.

These lovesick idiots all deserved to fucking die!

Had this brat not been Mu En's great-grandson, he would have wanted to slap him to death.

If he hadn't stalled me...

"No one is to speak of what happened today to anyone!" Yan Shaozhe steadied his emotions and addressed everyone around him sternly.

Fortunately, today was not a holiday.

The entire academy was in class.

There were not many people present...

"Yes!"

Everyone answered, still shaken.

They had never expected an encounter with someone from the Tang Sect to expose the Holy Spirit Cult behind her.

They knew all too well how notorious the latter was throughout the continent.

"All right. Carry on as usual."

Yan Shaozhe waved his hand, then vanished from the sky.

He needed to find Mu En at once and discuss this with him.

The Holy Spirit Cult's Saintess might have limitless prospects. And now that the Holy Spirit Cult dared to appear at Shrek Academy's gates, did that mean... they were no longer hiding?

"Pfft!"

A pitch-black crow flapped twice, then dissolved into black mist.

Xu Cheng stood quietly atop the mountain.

He opened his right hand. Where the crow had just vanished, a crumpled ball of paper now lay in his grasp.

He unfolded it and read through the message written on it.

A smile appeared at the corner of Xu Cheng's mouth.

He shook his head helplessly.

"It worked..."

He gently crushed the paper in his palm, then opened his hand, letting the tiny scraps drift away on the wind.

His original plan had been to have Tang Ya infiltrate Shrek Academy, then slowly discover the academy's darkness through a series of subsequent events. He had never expected...

But this Bei Bei really was something.

Xu Cheng chuckled.

When pure love turned into slavish devotion, it became worthless.

You'll never move your goddess's heart, and I won't give you that chance either...

"Big brother, you seem really happy?"

A lively voice sounded behind him.

Like a ghost, Nana leaned close to Xu Cheng's cheek, her pretty face full of curiosity.

"Ahem, the plan went very smoothly."

Xu Cheng did not hide it from her, answering with a chuckle.

"Oh, then when are we going to the front lines?" Nana did not care about Tang Ya at all.

What she cared about more was when she would get to meet his family.

Because in Xu Cheng's eyes, that grandmother, whom he had not seen for years and communicated with only through letters, was his sole surviving elder...

"Once she gets here. She still needs a dose of strong medicine..."

Xu Cheng said.