Shrek Academy, Zhou Yi's office.
"You slaughtered over ten thousand Man Faced Demon Spiders in two months just to obtain an External Soul Bone and retrace Ancestor Tang San's path?"
Zhou Yi gasped in astonishment, admiration practically spilling from her eyes. She could not help applauding.
"What spirit! Tang Yin, you truly put that supreme teaching principle into practice: 'There are only useless Martial Souls, not useless Soul Masters.'"
"To think you accomplished such a feat with nothing but a mere Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul."
"Can you tell your teacher how you did it?"
Tang Yin swept his gaze over Bei Bei and Tang Ya in the office, along with Du Weilun and another teacher, then said with a faint smile:
"It was the Tang Sect Secret Skills. I used the Tang Sect Secret Skills!"
"The Tang Sect Secret Skills!" The shock in Du Weilun's eyes had yet to fade, and it was not just because Tang Yin had obtained the Eight Spider Lances.
There was also the fact that Tang Yin, with a mere three rings, had accomplished something like this using the long-declining Tang Sect Secret Skills.
Which raised the question: how exactly had the Tang Sect fallen into decline?
When Tang Ya heard that Tang Yin had not only obtained an External Soul Bone similar to their ancestor's, but had done so using the Tang Sect Secret Skills, she nearly fainted from sheer happiness.
This little disciple of hers was simply outstanding, so gifted in the Tang Sect Secret Skills.
It was as though he had been born for the Tang Sect.
Most importantly, he even had a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul!
Bei Bei felt that something was off about the atmosphere. Obtaining an External Soul Bone was a good thing, but they had not even determined how to characterize his killing of so many Soul Beasts before starting to praise him.
He instinctively exchanged a glance with the other teacher.
The teacher wore silver-rimmed glasses and casual clothes, his expression grave. Seeing that Bei Bei had not excitedly praised Tang Yin, he thought:
Shrek still has a few normal people.
But most of them are still freaks.
And they call this the fucking sacred land of Soul Masters? Aren't Tang Yin's methods and disposition those of an Evil Soul Master?!
Poisoning over ten thousand Soul Beasts to death for their bones-if anyone had it rough, it was the Man Faced Demon Spiders. In the great empires, even pointing a Soul Tool at the emperor's head would only get your nine degrees of kinship executed.
Most orthodox Evil Soul Masters had never managed to exterminate an entire population, even if they wanted to.
Could it be that the true orthodoxy of our Holy Church lies in Shrek?!
Zhou Yi pondered for a moment, then looked at the teacher wearing silver-rimmed glasses and said:
"Teacher Wang Sheng Jia, you only recently joined the academy, so there are many things you don't understand very well."
"I hope we can present a united account when we report this to our superiors."
Wang Sheng Jia adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses and nodded solemnly. "Of course."
He just had to go with the current. In any case, he understood now: a sinister fellow like Tang Yin would only be given important positions at Shrek!
"Director Du, Tang Yin slaughtered the Man Faced Demon Spiders on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest to extinction. He has the heart of a powerhouse."
Zhou Yi looked at Du Weilun. Seeing his hesitant expression, she immediately frowned.
"Director Du, Tang Yin is the Tang Sect's junior disciple, and its eldest disciple is one of the Outer Court Twin Stars."
Du Weilun's face twitched slightly. Anyone reasonably well-informed in the academy knew that Bei Bei had someone from the academy's very highest ranks behind him.
But a mere intermediate teacher is borrowing a tiger's hide to pressure me without even discussing it first?
Have you not noticed how ugly Bei Bei's expression is?
Du Weilun was no pushover either. He handled the matter strictly by the book.
"Student Tang Yin, please first show us this External Soul Bone. I will report this matter truthfully to Dean Yan."
Shrek Academy, the dean's office.
"Xiaotao, if you still can't suppress your Evil Fire, you'll have to sit out this tournament."
With white hair, white robes, and a white beard, Yan Shaozhe had the bearing of an immortal sage. Looking at Ma Xiaotao's stubborn face, he shook his head.
"The last time your Evil Fire erupted, you nearly killed two outer court students."
"Luckily, they hadn't seen much of the world. I managed to pacify them with two Soul Ascension Pills."
"If you burn someone from the Douluo Three Kingdoms to death at the tournament, heaven knows how much money it will cost me."
Dressed entirely in red, Ma Xiaotao sat on the sofa, expressing her protest with a blank face and silence.
She was an extremely proud person, and her master and his wife had shown her great kindness. She had also trained diligently for the tournament for years, vowing to personally carry on Shrek Academy's ten thousand years of glory.
If there was even the slightest possibility of competing, she would do her utmost to try.
Knock, knock!
A knock sounded at the door. Before Yan Shaozhe could speak, Du Weilun pushed it open and entered.
"Dean, something major has happened!"
Yan Shaozhe raised a cup of tea toward his lips. "What kind of conduct is this, rushing about in such a panic?"
"Dean, do you remember Tang Yin, the outer court student who was a month overdue returning to the academy?" Du Weilun tried to keep it brief. "He obtained an External Soul Bone similar to Ancestor Tang San's!"
The teacup paused, then was set back on the table. Yan Shaozhe approached Du Weilun and stared into his eyes.
"Similar?"
Du Weilun said, "He obtained it by killing over ten thousand Man Faced Demon Spiders."
Yan Shaozhe automatically filtered out the unimportant information and stressed, "Man Faced Demon Spiders?!"
Du Weilun confirmed, "Professional testing verified it."
"A pillow delivered just when I wanted to sleep!" Yan Shaozhe clapped his hands in praise, then smiled at Ma Xiaotao.
"Xiaotao, there may finally be a cure for your Evil Fire."
Du Weilun voiced Ma Xiaotao's question for her.
"Dean, doesn't Xiaotao's Evil Fire require extremely high-quality water- or ice-attribute Soul Power to suppress it?"
"Tang Yin's Martial Soul is only Blue Silver Grass. Although his talent is somewhat better, its attributes are still very weak."
Yan Shaozhe stroked his beard and smiled.
"Weilun, although you're already an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo, your horizons remain narrow."
"Everyone believes Ancestor Tang San's Eight Spider Lances were renowned for their powerful offensive capabilities."
"But their most important ability was actually devouring life force. Ahem, absorbing and converting various forms of energy."
"Dean, are you saying..." Du Weilun exclaimed.
Yan Shaozhe nodded. "Exactly. We can have Tang Yin use the Eight Spider Lances to absorb Xiaotao's Evil Fire."
Sitting on the sofa, Ma Xiaotao's eyes gradually lit up.
Yan Shaozhe made the final decision.
"This time, not only will I grant Tang Yin core disciple status, but as compensation, I will also take him directly as my disciple and vindicate his name!"
A day later, news that Yan Shaozhe had taken Tang Yin as his final disciple spread throughout Shrek Academy.
Since the details had not been made public, students throughout the teaching building buzzed with discussion.
"What makes Tang Yin qualified to become the dean's final disciple?"
"They actually let an asshole like that rise to the top. Good thing I'm graduating soon."
"Tang Yin is a Tang Sect disciple? Are the Tang Sect Secret Arts really that uncanny?"
"Isn't Tang Yin way too lucky? After over ten thousand years, how come he's the one who hit the jackpot in one shot?"
Wang Sheng Jia, wearing his silver-rimmed glasses, frowned and snapped:
"The bell has already rung! Quiet down!"
A spy!
There was definitely a Holy Church spy among Shrek's upper ranks!
The Holy Church's guest elder, Scorpion Tiger Douluo, had merely consumed some animal blood to assist his cultivation in his youth, and he had been branded an Evil Soul Master.
Yet Tang Yin had nearly exterminated an entire population at such a young age.
With achievements like that, he would at least be revered as one of the Holy Sons in the Holy Church.
If there was no Holy Church spy among Shrek's upper ranks, how could they turn a blind eye to such textbook Evil Soul Master behavior from Tang Yin?
Shrek Academy, beside Sea God Lake.
Xuan Zi sat on the shore in clothes torn in several places, his bare feet soaking in Sea God Lake as he drank from a large purplish-red gourd.
Looking over Tang Yin's personal information, Xuan Zi shook his head with a smile and sighed in admiration.
"Freed from the trouble of her Evil Fire, Ma Xiaotao possesses Quasi-Ultimate Fire."
"Tang Yin, the dean's personal disciple with the Eight Spider Lances and Tang Sect Secret Skills, also has boundless potential."
"Our Shrek truly brims with talent!"
"Wonderful! Simply wonderful!"
Before you continue