Lin Xiao stopped in his tracks, watching the shadow beneath his feet grow clearer and clearer, until the chilling intent behind him surpassed even the true moonlight in the night sky.
The surroundings were deathly silent. Lin Xiao could almost hear the faint sound of breathing behind him.
"Didn't I tell you not to come to the Sun Moon Empire?"
Lin Xiao slightly turned around. Suddenly, a dazzling light burst before his eyes. A silver-white radiance, sharp as a blade, slashed down but halted just inches from him.
As the light dispersed, the figure before him became clear. Her robes fluttered lightly, and her long hair shimmered faintly under the moon, just like that night many years ago, when she stood atop a branch, like a fairy who had stepped out of the moon itself.
Zhang Lexuan bit her lip, complex emotions swirling in her eyes.
In the past two years, she had imagined countless times what it would be like to see Lin Xiao again. She had also told herself over and over that she must never show mercy to an evil soul master.
Yet now, at this very moment, the moonlight that had reaped the lives of countless evil soul masters like a sickle refused to fall.
Perhaps it was because the person before her had saved her from soul beasts more than once. Perhaps it was their similar backgrounds. Or perhaps it was that night of long conversation after facing a hundred-thousand-year soul beast together…
Just as Mu En once said, the more you try to control yourself from thinking about certain things, the more they appear before your eyes.
Zhang Lexuan opened her mouth as if she had countless things to say, yet for a moment, she didn't know where to begin.
"How… is Xiao Tao?" After a long silence, she finally asked.
"The evil fire within her has completely erupted and continues to grow amid slaughter. It has almost swallowed her consciousness entirely," Lin Xiao paused, suddenly recalling Tang Ya's situation. "However, she should still retain some memories from her time at Shrek Academy."
"Where is she now?"
"That's not a place you can go."
Lin Xiao shook his head at her question.
Not just Zhang Lexuan, even if Mu En came to the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters, he might not fare well against two Limit Douluo and the Evil Emperor.
To fully uncover the Holy Spirit Cult's secrets, at the very least, those two Limit Douluo would need to leave the headquarters they had operated from for so many years.
Another silence fell between them. Lin Xiao looked at Zhang Lexuan, his thoughts surging. "Why are you in Mingdu?"
"You took Xiao Tao away, and evil soul masters are running rampant in the Sun Moon Empire. The academy cannot stand by and do nothing."
"As I said before, go back." Lin Xiao sighed softly.
Zhang Lexuan's cultivation had improved significantly; she was not far from level ninety. He did want Shrek Academy's help in exposing the Holy Spirit Cult's secrets, but Zhang Lexuan alone could not do it.
"Why?"
"The people in Mingdu are not ones you can handle."
Zhang Lexuan stared at Lin Xiao's mask for a long while, her gaze seeming to pierce through the cold mask to see the expression beneath it.
After a moment, she spoke again, "I didn't come alone this time. You…"
"Leave this place."
Zhang Lexuan turned away. A faint voice drifted back, as if she hadn't spoken at all.
Lin Xiao acted as though he hadn't heard. He simply removed his mask and silently watched her retreating figure…
Within Mingdu City, outside the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Fan Yu and the others who had been waiting for a long time finally moved. At some point, a cloaked figure had appeared beside Fan Yu.
The figure lifted its head slightly. When Fan Yu and the others saw who it was, their expressions changed in unison.
"Dean Yan?"
Fan Yu instinctively spoke, then hurriedly glanced around and lowered his voice. "Why did you come personally?"
Yan Shaozhe's eyes carried a trace of sorrow. He gently shook his head. "I was already searching for traces of Xiao Tao within the Sun Moon Empire's borders. After receiving your message, I rushed here."
"Are you the only one who came?"
"No. Besides me, there is also an Elder of the Sea God Pavilion and several inner courtyard disciples."
"However, Mingdu is, after all, the capital of the Sun Moon Empire. If we all entered the city together, we would attract too much attention, so we split up and entered Mingdu separately after deciding on a meeting place."
Yan Shaozhe glanced at the time as he spoke. "At this hour… if nothing unexpected happened, the others should already be inside Mingdu by now."
With that, his gaze swept over Huo Yuhao and He Caitou nearby. "Why did you bring these two as well?"
Fan Yu followed Yan Shaozhe's gaze. "Dean Yan, it was Huo Yuhao who discovered traces of the evil soul masters. Moreover, just tonight, they secretly went to the place that the evil soul master had visited."
"Reckless." Yan Shaozhe frowned. "Xiao Tao has already been taken by them. Do you want the academy to suffer even greater losses?"
"Dean Yan, you know my soul skills; they couldn't possibly detect me. And since we've already been there once, we can bring you and the others…"
"No going." Before Huo Yuhao could finish, Yan Shaozhe cut him off, the sorrow in his eyes deepening. "Tell me the exact details of the place you went to, then immediately return to the dormitory."
"Dean Yan…"
Huo Yuhao tried to speak again, only to be interrupted once more. "Yuhao, I know that, like the other inner courtyard disciples, you hate evil with a passion. But now is not yet the time for you to act."
"Trust us, teachers. What you need to do right now is complete your mission at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. In the future, when your strength has fully matured—that will be when the academy truly needs you."
Huo Yuhao met Yan Shaozhe's intense gaze. Something stirred in his heart, and he lightly nodded. "I understand, Dean Yan."
"Good child." Yan Shaozhe raised a hand and patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder. "Now tell me—what exactly did you encounter earlier?"
"It started with a student from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. At first, I was only interested in the soul tools he made, but later I discovered he was connected to the Death God Messenger we encountered before…"
Huo Yuhao recounted how he discovered the Death God Messenger, followed him to the underground arena, and encountered the three individuals suspected to be Titled Douluo.
Yan Shaozhe's brow furrowed deeper as he listened to Huo Yuhao's description. That attire—he had heard of it from Xuanzi's mouth.
Moreover—
Yan Shaozhe unconsciously glanced toward the distant direction of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
"Dean Yan, after that, we were afraid of being discovered and didn't investigate further."
"You did very well." Yan Shaozhe withdrew his gaze and nodded. "Teacher Fan Yu, take the children back to the academy first. Leave the rest to us."
"Understood, Dean Yan."
Yan Shaozhe looked at them once more before turning and vanishing into the streets of Mingdu.
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