Act four, the end

[The fourth arc, concluded]

[Zhang Lexuan returned to Shrek Academy after a scare but without harm. Mu En, Xuan Zi, and Yan Shaozhe watched with complicated expressions as the young woman poured out her grievances. Xuan Zi, in particular, had one eye wrapped in white cloth and a strange expression on his face, but under Mu En's suppressive gaze, he could only hold it in and pretend nothing had happened. Meanwhile, Lu Cheng's name stirred another wave through the Shrek Inner Court. The fearsome reputation of the great demon king, once suppressed into silence by Shrek Academy for three years, now stirred unstoppable towering waves.]

[Soon, through your deliberate efforts to spread the news, countless factions learned that you had shot out Xuan Zi's eye. From then on, even though you were merely an Evil Soul Master Holy Son holed up in the Sun Moon Empire, your fearsome reputation swept across the entire continent. Xuan Zi stamped his feet in fury, but could do nothing to you. He did not really dare venture deep into the Sun Moon Empire to make trouble for you.]

[Two years passed in a flash. As the Holy Spirit Cult's Holy Son, you kept stirring up the relationship between the Holy Spirit Cult and the Sun Moon Empire. First, you forced Crown Prince Xu Tianran to sign a treaty that surrendered sovereignty and humiliated his nation... in the future, Evil Soul Masters would reign supreme, be supplied with countless living sacrifices to feed upon, and be allowed to run rampant, among other things. Otherwise, you would not support his ascension to the Sun Moon Empire's throne.]

[Xu Tianran bowed and scraped on the surface, treating you with the utmost reverence and addressing you as Imperial Preceptor at every turn, while secretly hating you to the bone. You knew he was a rare, ruthless hero, and you knew he hated you, but you acted as though nothing was wrong, because in your plans, he was the final blow to the Holy Spirit Cult...]

[Evil Soul Masters had long since put down roots in the Sun Moon Empire and amassed immense power, so they indeed wielded crucial influence over the princes' struggle for succession. Especially with the old emperor muddleheaded and weak, the more overbearing you became, the further the Sun Moon Imperial Family retreated.]

[Countless Holy Spirit Cult disciples felt proud of you. They always believed that these were rights you, their Holy Spirit Cult's Holy Son, had won for them. Through nearly a century of lying low under Ye Xishui's leadership, despite possessing great strength, they could only cower in the sewers like rats. They had long since grown sick of those stifling days, so you gained countless supporters in a short time.]

[Make Evil Soul Masters great again. With your status and formidable strength, you took complete command of a revel belonging to Evil Soul Masters within the Holy Spirit Cult and even the Sun Moon Empire. Countless commoners seethed with grievances, while the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Engineers rapidly grew more hostile toward the Holy Spirit Cult, and friction intensified. Quite a few Evil Soul Masters within the cult were well versed in the art of lying low, but faced with the overwhelming momentum of the entire cult's return, they were powerless to stop it and could only let things take their course.]

[During this time, Ye Xishui noticed things slipping out of control and sought you out several times, but you remained proactive in admitting your mistakes and adamant about not changing. Later, even Ye Xishui stopped advocating keeping a low profile. Deep down, she, too, yearned for the Holy Spirit Cult to stand at the pinnacle of the continent and be feared by all righteous Soul Masters. Her heart was twisted as well. She wanted revenge on the entire continent.]

[That same year, the All-Continent Soul Master Academy Tournament was held in the Heavenly Soul Empire's imperial capital. Shrek Academy sent the fourteen-year-old Ma Xiaotao, who had just joined the inner court, to lead its reserve team, which also included Ling Luochеn, Dai Yueheng, and others, with Zhang Lexuan accompanying them as their teacher. Meanwhile, you also sent the younger generation of Evil Soul Masters from Holy Spirit Academy to compete, personally leading the team and overseeing matters.]

[At the tournament, you encountered Zhang Lexuan again and discovered that she had already advanced to Titled Douluo, but she was still no match for you. Because of your identity as an Evil Soul Master, you were targeted by numerous factions. Even Xuan Zi was so furious that he nearly attacked you, but you still declared that everyone present was trash, intensifying the conflict between the Holy Spirit Cult and the many factions of the original continent...]

[In this tournament, the Holy Spirit Cult's disciples defeated Shrek Academy and took first place, throwing the entire continent into an uproar. What gave a bunch of Evil Soul Masters the right to act so brazenly? But when you revealed your backing and summoned Dragon Emperor Long Xiaoyao, Wu Yun, and the other powerful Holy Spirit Cult consecrators, fully exposing them to the world, the sight silenced countless factions across the continent, yet also drove the many loosely scattered factions toward an alliance...]

[But when you returned to the Sun Moon Empire, you were dumbfounded to see someone who should never have been among Holy Spirit Academy's team... Ma Xiaotao. Your eyelids twitched wildly as you demanded to know from the academy's person in charge who had brought her in, but the girl had already sprinted into your arms. No matter how you tried, you could not drive her away. She insisted on joining the Holy Spirit Cult and becoming its Holy Maiden, saying that the two of you were a match made in heaven.]

[Wu Ya teased you about your backyard catching fire, while after Ma Xiaotao displayed her Martial Soul's talent, Zhongli Wu ignored your objections and excitedly appointed Ma Xiaotao as the Holy Spirit Cult's Holy Maiden on the spot. Her Martial Soul was simply too well suited to corruption.]

[You were helpless and could only let her fall into corruption, but you stopped Zhongli Wu from brainwashing Ma Xiaotao and kept her by your side, watching over her carefully. To her, the Holy Spirit Cult was a dragon's pool and a tiger's den, a place of filth. You had already fallen yourself, and you did not want this girl, ignorant of the ways of the world, to be tainted by these things as well.]

[With your invisible hand fanning the flames and driving the waves, the Holy Spirit Cult had already placed itself in opposition to all righteous Soul Masters. Even the Sun Moon Empire ground its teeth in hatred. Then, one day, you broke through to become a rank ninety-five Super Douluo. You knew the time had come.]

[After so many years of planning, this grand play had finally reached its closing curtain.]