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**
Following Yu Xiaogang's speech, Ma Hongjun—who had initially wanted to give up on the Evil Underworld Wraith because of Flender's words—felt a faint trace of desire grow within his heart.
He wanted power.
He wanted revenge.
Those four people had left him with such a disgraceful stain; how could he afford not to become stronger as quickly as possible?
Even if it meant falling into depravity, he would not hesitate.
"I believe in Teacher."
With a face full of resolute determination, Ma Hongjun spoke up and agreed to the plan. If someone wasn't thoroughly familiar with Ma Hongjun, they might have easily been fooled by his expression.
Flender happened to be one of those who were fooled. Although he knew Ma Hongjun well, he was also exceptionally indulgent and forgiving when it came to him. Since Ma Hongjun had already put it this way, Flender was willing to believe him.
However, that being said, he still intended to establish a strict set of conditions.
"Little Ma, since you have made this decision, as your master, I will agree to it."
"However, if you show signs of falling into evil, I will personally take you to the Far North to undergo bitter cultivation, and you will not be allowed to take a single step back into the continent for the rest of your life."
"If you have already completely fallen into depravity, then I will have no choice but to personally take action and send you into the Slaughter City."
Hiss!
Hiss!
...
The moment Flender said this, several sharp gasps echoed one after another throughout the entire office. Looking at Flender as he placed his large hand on Ma Hongjun's shoulder with a face full of absolute resolve, none of them doubted that he meant exactly what he said.
The Slaughter City... a place like that...
"Yes. I definitely won't fail your expectations."
Upon hearing those words, the expression on Ma Hongjun's face remained unchanged, still projecting a solemn and resolute facade.
In reality, his inner heart was leaping with joy. With that kind of martial soul, his strength would definitely skyrocket. Right now, he had to cultivate properly and become strong as quickly as possible.
Although the path he was taking had already turned crooked, Ma Hongjun had unexpectedly stepped onto a route that granted rapid growth in power.
"You all talk a big game. Why don't you let me see if you actually have that kind of conviction first?"
At this moment, Liu Erlong's clear and beautiful voice cut straight into everyone's ears. In the very next second, before the eyes of the incredulous crowd, Liu Erlong moved forward and single-handedly pinned Ma Hongjun down.
"Erlong, what are you doing?"
Seeing this, Flender grew anxious and immediately asked with a heavy frown. If he hadn't trusted Liu Erlong's character implicitly, he might have already taken action to stop her.
"Flender, since this kid is so confident, then let him show us his willpower."
As Liu Erlong's voice fell, a faint smile surfaced on her face.
"Didn't he cause the deaths of innocent citizens in Heaven Dou City? Then let him stay in Heaven Dou City's prison for half a year. Let's see if he truly has the willpower. At the same time, this can serve as his atonement, so he won't tarnish the reputation of my Blue Tyrant Academy."
Liu Erlong's reasoning was very simple: Ma Hongjun had killed people, so he had to pay for his crimes.
However, Ma Hongjun was a noble soul master after all, and he had suffered such severe psychological trauma himself. He was a victim in his own right, so confining him for half a year would be sufficient punishment.
If Ma Hongjun truly changed for the better during these six months, then Liu Erlong would believe him this once. If not, she, Liu Erlong, would personally escort Ma Hongjun to the Slaughter City when the time came.
Very quickly, this group of legally illiterate people actually agreed with Liu Erlong's words and decided to send Ma Hongjun to the Heaven Dou City prison.
At this moment, Ma Hongjun maintained an understanding facade on the surface, even smiling as he told Flender not to worry about him. In reality, the resentment in Ma Hongjun's heart had already reached its absolute peak, and the evil fire within him flared up violently once again.
By now, Ma Hongjun had already decided in his heart to exact revenge on Liu Erlong in the future. It was just that he was currently narrowing his small eyes, making it impossible for anyone to read his true thoughts.
...
On the other side.
Xiao Lin and his group of four had successfully escaped from Heaven Dou City, heading straight toward the Sunset Forest.
This trip out was truly dangerous, we almost exposed ourselves.
This was the thought currently running through Xiao Lin's mind.
At this moment, Xiao Lin only wanted to return to focus on his research, and then cultivate to become stronger. In two years, the Continental Elite Young Soul Master Tournament would begin.
If Tang Ni and the others were seen through by Bibi Dong at that time, he couldn't allow himself to be left feeling completely powerless. It would be for the best if such an incident never happened at all.
Inside the carriage, Tang San was still silently sighing with regret.
He had forgotten to sell the Godly Zhuge Crossbow to Ning Fengzhi, and he had also forgotten to go to the auction house to purchase some high-quality ores. If he had known it would turn out like this, he wouldn't have gone to the Soul Fighting Arena in the first place.
Meanwhile, a look of regret also surfaced on the faces of Xiao Wu and Tang Ni.
Xiao Wu's regret was purely because she hadn't had enough fun yet, whereas Tang Ni had discovered that a person who would have a major impact on soul beasts had appeared. That person would slaughter a massive number of soul beasts in the future.
Tang Ni would absolutely not sit idle regarding something like this.
It was just that, up until now, she still didn't know who that person actually was.
Was it that fat little guy who had been stalking them? It wasn't him.
Tang Ni hadn't observed any particularly remarkable destiny tied to him at that time. However, these strands of destiny and fortune she had observed were things she had only just discovered.
But if it wasn't him, who else could it be?
What exactly was going on?
Tang Ni clearly had something weighing heavy on her mind, and everyone inside the carriage—Xiao Lin, Tang San, and Xiao Wu—noticed it. But then again, who among those present didn't hide a few secrets of their own?
Thus, Xiao Lin and the others didn't press Tang Ni for answers.
"Speaking of which, when I was fighting that White Tiger soul master, I noticed something off about him, and the same goes for that soul master who stalked us afterward."
Xiao Lin suddenly initiated the day's topic.
(A sound-blocking array had been set up inside the carriage; it functioned by creating vibrations within the array, blurring and distorting any sound.)
Because they were familiar strangers—referring to Dai Mubai and the others—Xiao Lin was somewhat interested in chatting about them. Upon hearing Xiao Lin's words, the remaining three quickly pricked up their ears, eager to hear what he had to say.
"Those two soul masters, did any of you sense something off about them?"
"Specifically, that kind of feeling that makes people feel they are incredibly evil."
As Xiao Lin spoke, the others instantly cast their minds back.
Truth be told, there really was a trace of malicious evil clinging to both Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun. However, in the eyes of Tang San and the others, it definitely couldn't be classified as 'incredibly evil' just yet.
"Do not commit an evil act simply because it seems minor. Though the evil within them is only minor right now, it's hard to say what will happen in the future."
"I've recently done some dedicated research into why Fallen Soul Master turn out the way they do."
The moment Xiao Lin said this, the other three sat up straight, their faces filled with curiosity.
Every single one of them had encountered Fallen Soul Master before, and they even had to venture to the Far North in the future to deal with a guy who was highly likely to be a Fallen Soul Master.
They were definitely interested in understanding more about it.
"First of all, I want to propose a viewpoint: it is always the person who falls into depravity, never the martial soul itself."
"This point holds true even in the world of soul beasts. Take the Man-Faced Demon Spider, for example; although it can grow stronger by devouring the lifeforce of other soul beasts, it is fundamentally a soul beast that simply enjoys slaughtering by nature."
"A martial soul might influence a soul master whose will is weak, but the root cause for a Fallen Soul Master's depravity is their own weak willpower. Hypothetically, Little San, if you obtained an ability that allowed you to grow stronger just by devouring others, would you use it?"
"And Tang Ni, Xiao Wu, you two should also put yourselves in that scenario and think about it."
Hearing Xiao Lin's words, Tang San froze for a moment before shaking his head vigorously.
He would absolutely never do such a thing.
Leaving aside the fact that he needed to save his mother—which required his soul power to be exceptionally pure and his soul rings to be brimming with lifeforce—his Mysterious Heaven Skill was fundamentally a Daoist cultivation technique.
How could he possibly practice crooked and evil ways?
Their Tang Sect could act both righteously and eccentrically, but they were definitely not a demonic cult.
"I wouldn't either. My Golden Dragon Spear can devour lifeforce, but I generally avoid doing so," Tang Ni said, shaking her head as well.
"Neither would I," Xiao Wu added with a shake of her head.
Mm-mm, a silly rabbit like Xiao Wu definitely wouldn't, Xiao Lin thought, agreeing deeply.
"But do you know? A person's life is closely intertwined with the changes in their surrounding environment. In other words, wherever a Fallen Soul Master appears, there might very well be a whole cluster of them gathering together."
"For example, the Slaughter City, or that specific group of people..."
Xiao Lin's main purpose in bringing up this topic was to let Tang San know that the Slaughter City housed a great number of Fallen Soul Master, especially since they had already experienced incidents involving them.
He hoped that when Tang San went to obtain the Deathgod Domain in the future, he wouldn't end up blowing up the Slaughter City.
Indeed, Tang San firmly committed this point to memory.
However, Tang San and the others were more inclined to believe that Xiao Lin was implying there was a hidden organization of Fallen Soul Master backing those three individuals.
Hiss!
As they followed that terrifying train of thought, a sharp gasp escaped the trio's lips.
Tang San found it hard to believe that an organization of Fallen Soul Master could actually exist in a place like Heaven Dou City.
Tang Ni found it hard to believe that Ma Hongjun and his companions had joined the ranks of Fallen Soul Master at such a young age.
Wasn't this human behavior exactly like soul beasts deliberately breeding creatures like the Man-Faced Demon Spider or the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger?
Xiao Wu didn't think too deeply into it; she was simply mimicking Tang San and Tang Ni's reactions.
"Brother Lin, then how can we completely resolve the issue of these Fallen Soul Master?" Tang San suddenly asked. Having already witnessed the existence of Fallen Soul Master, he naturally disliked having such individuals around.
"It can't be resolved," Xiao Lin stated with absolute certainty, giving Tang San a somewhat peculiar look.
The fact that Evil Soul Masters would become so rampant ten thousand years later might partially be blamed on the Tang San of the original timeline, but the greater cause was the cooperation between the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult, wasn't it?
**
Hello everyone,
Thank you for your support! If you enjoy my work, you can check out my Patreon—there are 100+ early access and exclusive content. I update 5 advanced chapter from Monday-Saturday
www.patreon.com/c/FanficTranslator
I truly appreciate it!