"Thud!"
Something heavy struck the ground with a dull crash.
The black mist ahead condensed, and the crow took human form. It was Wu Yun, with a massive body beside him-the Mandala Snake.
A Mandala Snake grew one meter every hundred years. This one was roughly twenty meters long, meaning it had around two thousand years of cultivation...
Before her Martial Soul Mutation, Tang Ya would never have dared to add a Thousand-Year Soul Ring for her second Soul Skill.
But after that slaughter, bolstered by the life force of hundreds of people, absorbing a Soul Ring of around two thousand years would pose little trouble. Even this was the result of Wu Yun deciding, after careful consideration, to lower the difficulty...
"What happened here..."
Wu Yun froze for a moment at the scene beside the campfire.
Xu Cheng remained unruffled, leisurely roasting his meat.
Tang Ya, however, was curled up beside him, her eyes vacant, looking utterly broken.
"We just debated a few things."
Xu Cheng yawned, sounding bored.
"Debated what?"
"Whether Tang San was an Evil Soul Master."
Wu Yun: "..."
You shattered her spiritual faith!
He knew all too well how outrageously persuasive Xu Cheng could be. He could make those Evil Soul Masters who killed without blinking lay down their butcher's knives and run off to save children and help commoners everywhere.
So he could hardly imagine what a crushing blow this poor girl had just endured...
Even Wu Yun, an Evil Soul Master himself, could barely stand the sight. He frowned slightly. "She is our future Holy Maiden, after all. Isn't this going a little too far..."
"I was just telling the truth."
Wu Yun: "..."
"All right, hurry up and absorb the Soul Ring. I have school tomorrow."
Xu Cheng waved a hand.
"Do you think she can absorb a Soul Ring in this state?" Wu Yun asked hesitantly.
Absorbing a Soul Ring was no easy matter, after all. Ten-thousand-year soul beasts could cause Soul Shock, and this soul beast was two thousand years old. Tang Ya would be exceeding her absorption limit, too. In this state, she might even go into it wishing for death...
"That's true..."
Xu Cheng looked somewhat troubled.
He pondered for a moment.
Meanwhile, Tang Ya secretly pricked up her ears, holding her breath and concentrating.
She wanted to hear what else this villain would say.
"I lied. We Evil Soul Masters don't actually honor Tang San as our forefather."
Only after a long while did Xu Cheng speak.
Then came a deathly silence.
"That's it?" Wu Yun's mouth twitched.
"That's it."
"Waaah!!!"
Tang Ya finally lost control and burst into tears.
She could not stop them from falling.
She had never imagined there could be someone so wicked in this world...
He was a thousand, ten thousand times more hateful than an Evil Soul Master!
Wu Yun spread his hands.
He was an Evil Soul Master. What did he know about soothing little girls? Especially one whose convictions had been shattered by this... Xu Cheng.
He looked at Xu Cheng, signaling that he should clean up his own mess.
Xu Cheng swallowed his last mouthful of roasted meat and looked at Tang Ya, still smiling cheerfully.
"Does something have to be true just because I said it? Everything I told you was merely recorded in history books-stuff those in power used to hoodwink later generations. If you want to learn the truth about this world, if you want to uncover the truth about your ancestor Tang San, you have to climb to the very top, step by step, before you earn even a sliver of that right..."
"Your faith wavers just because of one Evil Soul Master's one-sided account, and you think you can inherit the Tang Sect? Restore the glory it had ten thousand years ago?"
"Then you must think awfully highly of this Evil Soul Master."
"..."
Sure enough, Tang Ya's sobbing gradually stopped.
She lifted her head, her eyes red. A trace of indignation appeared on her pretty face, tear-streaked like pear blossoms in the rain.
"I never believed what you said! You're a liar! A huge liar!"
"Then why were you crying..."
"Who was crying?!"
Tang Ya hurriedly wiped away her tears, putting on a brave front.
Xu Cheng shrugged and looked at Wu Yun.
She was an eleven-year-old girl who had always been well sheltered by her parents and had only just suffered her first beating from the world. How much cunning could anyone expect her to possess?
This clumsy provocation could not have suited her better.
"Kill it, sit down, and absorb its Soul Ring. I'll stand guard."
Expressionless, Wu Yun pointed at the unconscious Mandala Snake beside them.
"Hmph! Fine, I'll absorb it!"
Tang Ya's expression was resolute, and she looked at Xu Cheng as though he were a villain guilty of every unforgivable crime.
She refused to let these people have their way.
She would live, and she would become the strongest!
"Slash!"
With a turn of her palm, a sharp hidden weapon appeared in her grip. She walked up to the Mandala Snake, a cold gleam flashed, and the snake silently breathed its last.
Then she sat cross-legged on the ground and began absorbing the pale purple Soul Ring.
Wu Yun said nothing, keeping his gaze fixed on Tang Ya.
But Xu Cheng clearly saw him reach one hand behind his back, out of Tang Ya's sight, curl four fingers inward, and raise his thumb...
Night fell.
Mingde Hall.
A short, portly middle-aged man with a bulging belly sat in a chair, listening to his subordinate's report.
His eyes were closed as he rubbed the crystal thumb ring he wore.
"Hold on!"
Jing Hongchen opened his eyes.
He stopped Lin Jiayi.
"You said His Highness the Eleventh Prince is enrolling this term?"
"Yes." Lin Jiayi nodded. "But His Highness is very close to the Holy Spirit Cult. He even sent someone from the Holy Spirit Cult to handle his registration..."
"The Holy Spirit Cult."
Jing Hongchen rubbed his thumb ring, narrowing his small eyes.
"Hall Master... is something wrong?" Lin Jiayi asked cautiously.
That lot of Evil Soul Masters was shunned even in the Sun Moon Empire.
Yet this eleventh prince was very close to them, which inevitably invited speculation...
After all, the reigning emperor was already in his sixties and likely had little time left. This spectacle of Nine Dragons Compete for the Throne probably was not far off.
They especially needed to tread carefully, lest they choose the wrong side and become embroiled in the turmoil.
"Nothing. It's just that this boy... is rather interesting."
Jing Hongchen shook his head, sounding reflective.
"By the way, assign him to my grandson's dorm room."
"Are you..."
Lin Jiayi was inwardly shaken. Was the Hall Master choosing a side?
Whatever Xu Cheng's background, he had virtually no power base in Mingdu, only a Soul Engineer regiment on the border. Even if he was close to the Holy Spirit Cult and had its backing, there was no need to rush into this now...
"Just do as I say."
Jing Hongchen's expression remained placid.
"Yes! I'll see to it immediately!"
Lin Jiayi swallowed, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.
He wished he could slap himself twice.
As he watched Lin Jiayi leave, Jing Hongchen sat in his chair and quietly pondered.
In fact, in the original story, he had made contact with the Holy Spirit Cult even before Xu Tianran. Thanks to his strength and position, he had met Zhongli Wu face-to-face and knew Xu Cheng's standing within the Holy Spirit Cult...
As long as Xu Cheng lived, he was certain to become its leader and take command of the entire Holy Spirit Cult.
And that meant he would stand in an unassailable position.
In other words, even if he lost the struggle for the throne, the future emperor would never do anything to him, because moving against him would mean losing the Holy Spirit Cult's support.
And if they truly fought, both sides would suffer, while the other three nations might well start entertaining ambitions of their own.
But what reassured him most was this.
This eleventh prince might be called an Evil Soul Master, but the things he did had nothing to do with Evil Soul Masters...
Before you continue