Evil Soul Masters

Inside the office of the Shrek Martial Soul Department's Outer Court.

The man seated at the desk was Yan Shaozhe, but he no longer had the confidence and composure of two months ago. His hair was disheveled, his eyes were bloodshot, and stubble lingered around his mouth.

Du Weilun stood respectfully to one side.

"Weilun, what has happened at the academy lately?"

"Dean..." Du Weilun briefly recounted what had happened over the past two months.

Yan Shaozhe listened to Du Weilun's account with a frown.

"I'm no longer the dean of the Martial Soul Institute!"

"No!" Du Weilun hurriedly said. "In my heart, you have always been the dean of the Martial Soul Institute!"

Yan Shaozhe nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Are there any promising seedlings among this year's freshmen?"

"Yes." Du Weilun recounted the freshman tournament, placing particular emphasis on the performances of several Soul Elders and some Soul Grandmasters, as well as the allocation of core disciples.

"Core disciples? Core disciples of the Martial Soul Department?"

Yan Shaozhe mulled over those words. Naturally, he understood what they meant. Then a sharp glint flashed through his eyes as he heard a name. "Huo Yuhao!"

Two days earlier, Mu En had finally let Yan Shaozhe out, ordering him to sweep Sea God Lake alongside Xuan Zi, who had only just returned!

After coming out, Yan Shaozhe had discovered that this person had been among those with Mu En two months ago. The class Zhang Lexuan had come to the Outer Court to teach also happened to be Huo Yuhao's, and Xiaotao's situation seemed to involve him as well!

One month earlier.

After finishing Mu En's treatment, Huo Yuhao took out a device and had Ma Xiaotao place one hand on it.

"Before I help you, I need to ask you a few questions."

Although he had promised to help Mu En, Huo Yuhao still needed to confirm a few things first. If the answers failed to satisfy him, he would not mind adding something extra during the treatment.

"Go ahead." After learning that Huo Yuhao had healed Mu En's injuries, Ma Xiaotao had much greater confidence that he could cure her as well, and her attitude toward him had improved considerably.

"Have you ever lost control before?"

"Yes."

A green light. She was not lying.

"Frequently?"

"Not very often before, but it happens more frequently now. It's probably related to my cultivation getting higher."

"Have you been cultivating recently?"

Ma Xiaotao pursed her lips. "No. Mu En gave the order himself. How would I dare?"

"Are you conscious when you lose control?"

After a moment of silence, Ma Xiaotao spoke in a somewhat subdued voice. "I used to retain some awareness, but I couldn't control myself. Now I have none at all."

"Then," Huo Yuhao said, his voice growing serious as he recalled the information he had read about Ma Xiaotao, "do you know that you've killed people while out of control?"

"What did you say?!" Ma Xiaotao's voice rose several pitches, trembling slightly. "I've killed people?"

The light remained green.

Seeing this, Mu En's expression darkened as well. "Tell me what Yan Shaozhe said."

"T-Teacher said those junior students only suffered some injuries. He had people heal them and gave them compensation. He also said those students were all very satisfied and told me not to blame myself..."

As she spoke, Ma Xiaotao's voice grew quieter and quieter, and her body began to tremble. My teacher has been lying to me all along?

Green light!

Mu En flew into a rage and flung the documents on the table into Ma Xiaotao's face.

"Read them yourself!"

Ma Xiaotao read the documents in her hands detailing what she had done over the years. Some students she had injured had received compensation, but it had amounted to only two pills. As for those who had died, what did dead people need cultivation resources for?

She finally understood why Ling Luochеn loathed her so much, and why Xu Sanshi looked as though he had lost both parents every time he saw her.

After all, helping her suppress her Evil Fire supposedly posed no threat to their lives, and they received plenty of cultivation resources as compensation afterward.

Now it seemed that the claim of no danger was false, while the supposedly generous compensation had probably been a perfunctory gesture, if it had existed at all! Although helping suppress her Evil Fire did indeed benefit them, the gains did not outweigh the losses.

"What should I do?" Ma Xiaotao closed her eyes heavily.

What felt like a long time passed before Ma Xiaotao recovered. She rushed toward Yan Shaozhe's confinement room, and the others followed behind her.

"Xiaotao!" Yan Shaozhe's delighted voice rang out. "What brings you here? Has Mu En..."

His voice abruptly stopped. Yan Shaozhe noticed that something was wrong with Ma Xiaotao.

"Teacher, why did you lie to me?!"

"What did I lie to you about?" Yan Shaozhe was astonished. When have I ever lied to Xiaotao? I've always treated her like my own daughter.

"These!" Ma Xiaotao raised the documents in her hands. "Why?!"

"I did it for your own good!" Yan Shaozhe exclaimed in shock and anger.

"For my own good?" For a moment, she did not know whether to be angry or laugh. Ma Xiaotao slowly turned around and said evenly, "That was the last time I'll call you Teacher."

"Should I do something?" Ma Xiaotao was somewhat dazed and desolate over her actions throughout the years and her teacher's deception.

"I'll go with you," Zhang Lexuan comforted her gently.

"Thank you, eldest senior sister."

She isn't beyond saving yet. Watching the two women leave, Huo Yuhao silently passed judgment.

Mu En also wore a sorrowful expression. That Yan Shaozhe!

"As for Xiaotao...?"

"I'll help."

"Thank you. Fortunately, we discovered this early. Otherwise, Xiaotao would certainly have fallen and become an Evil Soul Master!"

"Evil Soul Masters? Tell me about them." Hearing this term gave Huo Yuhao an unsettling thought. It was not as though he had seen no information about Evil Soul Masters lately, but Shrek Academy did not have many records of them either.

Mu En then told Huo Yuhao about Evil Soul Masters, in far greater detail than the books in the Inner Court's library.

They cultivated using other people's flesh, blood, and souls! They grew stronger by torturing others!

They deserve to die!

"And in Xiaotao's case, if we don't stop it, she'll join the ranks of Evil Soul Masters before long."

Mu En was deeply distressed. That idiot Yan Shaozhe! Did he want to raise a Super Douluo who was an Evil Soul Master?!

"I'll wipe out every Evil Soul Master!" Huo Yuhao said firmly.

"Good! I wasn't wrong about you.

"Actually, Evil Soul Masters emerge by chance. The Douluo Three Kingdoms have them too.

"But the Sun Moon Imperium has the most. I suspect some people in the Sun Moon Imperium are working with Evil Soul Masters."

"Understood." With that, he left.

Although Huo Yuhao considered Mr. Mu a respectable elder, he still planned to have Na'er send people to take a look.

Inside the office.

"Tell me about Huo Yuhao," Yan Shaozhe instructed Du Weilun.

Du Weilun immediately replied, "Huo Yuhao's martial soul is Spirit Eyes, a spiritual-type body martial soul. He's a Soul Grandmaster, though his exact soul power is unknown. He has two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, but his specific soul skills are unknown. His swordsmanship is outstanding, and he seems to possess extensive knowledge of soul tools."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

Yan Shaozhe nearly laughed in anger. He's been enrolled for months, and all you know is what his martial soul is?

"Tell me about the other core disciples."

"What's going on with Dai Huabin?" Upon hearing that Dai Huabin seemed to have contracted a serious illness, Yan Shaozhe asked about him. After all, the White Tiger Duke's Mansion and Shrek Academy shared ten thousand years of friendship.

"We don't know. His condition is terrible. Even Elder Zhuang can only slow its progression."

"Then hurry up and send him back. Doesn't the Star Luo Empire have a more capable Medicine Immortal Douluo?"

We can't let him die at Shrek Academy.

"Yes."

"I'll take a look at this year's freshmen myself."