Killing
"Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the old site in Sunset Forest. Come quickly..."
Shrek Academy.
Sea God Island.
A graceful, slender figure stood by the lake. A breeze stirred a strand of her dark hair as the beauty quietly studied the letter in her hand. For some reason, by now, she could instead face everything about him calmly.
Even when that proud, aloof figure had appeared again during the last All-Continent Soul Master Academy Tournament, her heart might have rippled a little, but compared to before, it had long since grown as placid as water.
Her once-unrealistic fantasies had long since dissolved into bubbles.
Between her and him, there had never been anything but the divide between righteousness and evil.
One in the light, one in the dark, dividing them down the middle into two worlds of starkly contrasting colors.
"Lexuan, what are you looking at?"
A figure slowly appeared behind her. It was Yan Shaozhe, dean of Shrek's Martial Soul Department. This once-dashing, handsome man now had a few white streaks at his temples. Wearing gold-rimmed glasses, he resembled a handsome older gentleman as he approached with a warm smile.
"..."
Zhang Lexuan's gaze instinctively grew evasive. She hid the letter behind her back. "N-nothing..."
"Ah, after all these years, he has long since fallen into the Holy Spirit Cult and become its undisputed next leader-the cult master, the head of every Evil Soul Master under heaven. Who knows how many wronged souls have died at his hands over the years? His sea of blood surges to the heavens. And now he's leading that bunch of fools from the Holy Spirit Cult who don't know their own limits, trying to launch a counteroffensive against the continent." Yan Shaozhe sighed softly. With his strength, he had naturally glimpsed the contents of the note long ago.
"I know, Dean Yan."
Zhang Lexuan lightly bit her red lip. Her gaze soon regained the composure befitting the inner court's eldest senior sister, and she nodded slightly.
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well-is it connected to the place he took you last time?" Yan Shaozhe asked warmly, wearing a faint, casual smile.
"Yes." Zhang Lexuan hesitated, but still nodded slightly.
Clearly, she could no longer conceal it now...
After returning to the inner court last time, she had completely absorbed the hundred-thousand-year Blood-Eroding Devil Python's Soul Ring and Soul Bone, and had stabilized her foundation in just three months, without the slightest sign of instability. She had also brought back an Immortal Herb that existed only in Shrek Academy's secret records...
This had shaken the entire Sea God Pavilion.
But Zhang Lexuan had refused to speak, no matter what. Facing the elders' anxious faces and somewhat angry gazes, she had kept her head lowered without uttering a word. Only when Mu En intervened midway, overruling all objections, had they stopped questioning her about it.
Not long afterward, while she was leading the team, Ma Xiaotao had mysteriously vanished. When she appeared again, she had become the Holy Spirit Cult's Holy Maiden, making Zhang Lexuan the target of public criticism at Shrek Academy for a time.
Of course, her position as the Sea God Pavilion's successor after the next generation remained secure, and her strength was unshakable. But there had been considerably more controversy, and even Yan Shaozhe's gaze had carried a trace of something unfathomable whenever he looked at her since then.
"..."
Upon hearing Zhang Lexuan's words, a flash of barely restrained greed and fervor crossed Yan Shaozhe's eyes.
Finally. He had finally discovered where the Immortal Herbs were.
For him, and for all of Shrek Academy, this would be a tremendous feast and celebration.
"In that case, leave it to me..." Yan Shaozhe raised his head. Sunlight reflected off his lenses in faint patterns, while his gentle words carried a trace of an irrefusable "command."
In his eyes, Zhang Lexuan was ultimately nothing more than a tool. She could never be one of his own. There was even a risk that this tool might turn against Shrek Academy, making her too hot to handle, so he could not possibly bare his heart to her.
And the person he truly considered "one of his own" had already been poached by that little brat...
"But..."
Zhang Lexuan's gaze froze, and her red lips parted slightly.
"Hmm?"
Yan Shaozhe raised an eyebrow, looking faintly curious.
"Before you go, shouldn't you ask Mu En's opinion first?" Zhang Lexuan lowered her head and asked quietly.
"Teacher is busy meeting with Du Busi, the Body Sect's sect master, Xu Jiawei, the ruler of the Star Luo Empire, and some of the major sect leaders from the original continent, preparing to join forces against the Holy Spirit Cult... Well, this meeting has already been going on for two days and a night. I'm afraid they still have a long way to go." Yan Shaozhe smiled.
"Once I've investigated the situation, I can come back and discuss the details with Teacher..."
Yan Shaozhe thought to himself.
There are powerful people gathered around Teacher, too many eyes and ears. If this gets out, it'll be troublesome.
He had no desire to let other factions divide up the Immortal Herbs.
Besides, he was only investigating the situation. Even if that brat Lu Cheng noticed something amiss, he had enough trump cards to withdraw.
Zhang Lexuan vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but seeing how certain and resolute Yan Shaozhe was, she could hardly say anything more. She could only silently hope that he would go and return quickly.
Sunset Forest.
Following the information he had coaxed out of Zhang Lexuan, Yan Shaozhe roughly determined the valley's location.
The Bright Phoenix radiated sacred light in the sky. The might of a rank-96 Super Douluo dispersed the poisonous miasma that blotted out the sky, and the beautiful valley, so incongruous with its surroundings, came fully into Yan Shaozhe's view.
"This is it. There's no mistake!"
Yan Shaozhe's eyes filled with wild delight.
He flew toward the valley.
Once again, it was Youyou and another Immortal Herb that he encountered.
"You are the masters of this place? Where is Lu Cheng?" Yan Shaozhe stared at the two large flowers, his eyes narrowing slightly as he surveyed the surroundings.
"You mean that human? That damned fellow enslaved our entire valley, throwing his weight around and running rampant. I wish he would hurry up and die," Youyou vented, her anger half true and half false.
"He's not here?" A strange gleam flickered in Yan Shaozhe's eyes.
He believed that.
After all, how kind could anyone expect an Evil Soul Master to be? Wherever he went, cries of resentment would surely fill the roads, and hatred would surge to the heavens. Perfect-the enemy of his enemy was his friend.
"He went to the Star Dou Great Forest, and said he was going to Shrek Academy to take care of something. He probably won't be back for another day or two," Youyou said.
"I am Yan Shaozhe, dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department. Here is my business card..."
Yan Shaozhe seized the opportunity to assiduously cultivate a friendship with Youyou, and she seemed quite receptive. In less than a quarter of an hour, the man and the flower had finalized an alliance.
"This flower... was something that person entrusted me to leave for Shrek Academy's descendants after he ascended to the Divine Realm back then. It has a tremendous evolutionary effect on sacred Martial Souls. That little girl from your academy ate an Immortal Herb of the same type." Striking while the iron was hot, Youyou offered him a small white flower.
"Whew..." Yan Shaozhe's eyes burned with fervor.
Without much suspicion, he swallowed the little white flower.
Afterward, he would have to return and report to Mu En, then send people to secretly relocate this valley to the Sea God Pavilion.
But the instant he swallowed it-
Sizzle, sizzle. Sounds like flames scorching raw flesh suddenly came from inside his body.
"Dean Yan, it's been a long time..."
A black-robed figure slowly appeared.
He regarded Yan Shaozhe mockingly as the latter clutched his chest, down on one knee, his expression ugly and ashen.
I've fallen into a trap...
When did it begin?