The surrounding pressure receded like the tide. Zhongli Wu slowly walked a couple of steps to the table and sat down.
"After a Holy Envoy of the church is promoted to Elder, they can return to headquarters to retrieve their own soul lamp. However, I imagine your soul lamp is already in your own hands."
Although it differed slightly from the truth, it wasn't far off. Lin Xiao didn't speak; he merely nodded lightly.
"Hmph, what a useless fellow." There was a trace of anger in Zhongli Wu's tone, but it wasn't because of the death of the Nightmare Douluo—it was because, as an Elder, he had been unable to deal with even Lin Xiao.
"Never mind. In a way, this misfortune has turned into a blessing. You already heard what I said earlier; there's no need for me to explain the rest too clearly."
"Originally, I intended for you to take over Old Eighth's duties, but I never expected Jing Hongchen to take such a special interest in you. Over this past year, he has approached me no fewer than ten times."
As he spoke, Zhongli Wu swept another glance over Lin Xiao. "Forget it. I'll find someone else for matters concerning the Dou Ling Empire. You stay in the Mingde Hall. This is an internal affair of our Holy Spirit Cult, do you understand?"
"I understand, Cult Leader."
Lin Xiao nodded.
Going to the Dou Ling Empire was due to the cooperation between the Holy Spirit Cult and Xu Tianran; it was necessary to investigate the situation there. However, probing the Mingde Hall was something that absolutely could not be known by anyone outside the Holy Spirit Cult.
Zhongli Wu gave a slight nod. "By the way, what exactly happened to you this past year?"
"Reporting to the Cult Leader: at that time, the Grand Elder took me to the ocean floor to steal something from the mermaid clan..."
Most of what Lin Xiao said was the truth. He only omitted the part where he had borne the full brunt of the mermaid clan's mental attack in the end, merely stating that he had been injured by the mermaids.
"Is everything you said true?"
"Reporting to the Cult Leader, every word is true."
"Then, have you seen the Grand Elder again since then?"
"I have." Lin Xiao nodded. "This disciple was being relentlessly pursued by the mermaid clan. It was the Grand Elder who helped me escape, and because of that, I even obtained my eighth soul ring."
"Then where did she go?"
"This..." Lin Xiao hesitated for a moment. "After that, because I gained some insight during the battle, I entered a state of deep meditation. I don't know what happened afterward."
"Deep meditation..." Zhongli Wu repeated the words, staring at Lin Xiao for a long while, as if trying to discern the truth in his words.
"If what you say is true, then this was no small opportunity." Zhongli Wu did not pursue the matter further. "Evil soul masters possess all sorts of abilities, but once soul power surpasses Soul Sage, those abilities become far less pronounced."
"For you to have gained something from this will be beneficial for your future advancement." As he spoke, Zhongli Wu had already risen and walked to the door of Lin Xiao's dormitory.
"I hope in the future you won't end up stuck at the position of Eighth Elder as your teacher did."
"Yes."
"Also, those not of our kind will always have different hearts. In the future, keep your distance from the Grand Elder."
"Yes, this disciple will remember."
"Mm." Zhongli Wu nodded. "I will inform the others about the change in your position. You're already acquainted with the other Elders. If anything comes up in the cult, someone will notify you."
"That previous sub-altar will still be handled by you. You may dispose of all the gains as you see fit. I cannot stay long. The rest will be explained in detail on the next Elder Council day."
"Yes, this disciple sees the Cult Leader off."
Only after a long time, when Lin Xiao could no longer sense Zhongli Wu's presence, did he straighten up and let out a long breath.
He didn't know how much of what he had just said Zhongli Wu actually believed, but for now, even if there were doubts, the Cult Leader had no intention of digging deeper.
Perhaps, to Zhongli Wu, having one more evil soul master like Lin Xiao in the Holy Spirit Cult was far more important than a single Elder.
Slowly sitting back on the bed, Lin Xiao fell into a slight daze.
It felt as if, in just a moment, he had gone from being the mere vessel of the Nightmare Douluo to truly becoming the Eighth Elder who held real authority in the Holy Spirit Cult.
The matter of the Nightmare Douluo now had its conclusion. As for the Grand Elder, being a soul beast, it was normal for her to sleep for decades at a time. In the short term, it seemed there was nothing else he needed to worry about.
Looking back, ever since he had been brought into the Holy Spirit Cult, every day had been spent amidst killing and bloodshed. Even after entering the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, he still had to be on guard at all times.
Only today did it seem he finally had a moment to catch his breath...
"Huff—huff—"
Heavy breathing seemed to come from beside him. Lin Xiao turned his head and saw a child no older than eleven or twelve, his chest heaving violently. The boy tightly gripped a short dagger riddled with chips, fresh blood dripping from its tip, pooling together before falling drop by drop.
As if sensing Lin Xiao's gaze, the boy turned to look at him too. "You survived too, huh."
"Mm." Lin Xiao nodded lightly.
"Huff— I hope I'll still see you tomorrow." The child forced a smile that looked utterly out of place in the dim dungeon. "You'll definitely see me again tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Because I have to survive." Flames of hatred burned in the boy's eyes. "They destroyed my hometown. My family was killed by them. If I want to deal with them, I have to be more vicious than them—more vicious than everyone."
Lin Xiao said nothing. He didn't know if the boy was right, but to him, the outcome didn't seem to make any difference. When tomorrow came, he would still have to fight the others to the death.
"My lord... my lord? What are you thinking about?"
Lin Xiao snapped back to reality. The bloodstained child beside him was gone, replaced by a pair of twin sisters who looked very similar. They had just escaped the devil's den, their faces lit with the smile of finally gaining freedom.
Only they didn't know what awaited them ahead.
"Nothing. I was just wondering, have you ever thought about what you want to do in the future?"
"No." The sisters shook their heads. "Wherever my lord goes, we will follow."
Lin Xiao didn't comment. Where he would go in the future—even he himself didn't know.
When he looked up again, he was already standing in the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters. Scolding voices rang out nearby. A figure curled up in the corner looked so much like his younger self from years ago.
"Seventh Elder, the Cult Leader has instructed that people from Shrek Academy have recently appeared in the Sun Moon Empire. It's best to be cautious..."
Lin Xiao looked at Tang Ya, whom he had brought back to the Holy Spirit Cult. He didn't know if his words would help at all, but he still stepped forward and spoke them.
Even though he knew that if he truly felt compassion, he perhaps should never have brought Tang Ya back to the Holy Spirit Cult in the first place. There were already far too many people like her there.
Sunlight streamed through the window onto Lin Xiao's face, startling him awake from his dream. Only when he saw the familiar dormitory around him did he finally come back to his senses.
He really had been tired. Unknowingly, he had fallen asleep.
Getting out of bed, Lin Xiao raised a hand and brushed the corner of his eye.
What a long dream that was.
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