"You now possess a chilling aura, though not strong, it shows you're drifting further and further down the path of an evil soul master," Mu En said calmly, seeing right through Zhang Peng.
But to Zhang Peng, this was like a thunderbolt; his expression instantly changed.
The atmosphere became strange. Despite being the attacker, Scorpion Tiger Douluo seemed more like the attacked party, flustered.
However, Xuan Zi, Elder Song, Yan Shaozhe, and Xian Lin'er didn't let their guard down, their eyes occasionally scanning their surroundings, wary of the old friend Mu En had mentioned appearing.
In the pitch-black clouds, Zhang Peng stared at Mu En, took a deep breath to calm himself, and said in a deep voice, "I'm where I am today because I was forced into this situation, aren't I? Why should I be labeled an evil Soul Master
just because I absorbed the blood of Soul Beasts?" "I, Zhang Peng, have traveled the Douluo Continent for so many years. Before that, those who died at my hands, while not all deserved to die, were mostly guilty. I have never indiscriminately killed innocent people. Just because I cultivated by absorbing the blood of Soul Beasts, am I to be considered an evil person?"
Mu En frowned. "Precisely because you only absorbed the blood of Soul Beasts, I let you go and even healed your hidden injuries, while also canceling the inspection team's mission. Yet you still chose this path of no return."
Zhang Peng opened his mouth, but ultimately fell silent. After a long while, he finally spoke in a deep voice, "Yes, you helped me and healed my hidden injuries; otherwise, I would never have been able to break through to Super Douluo. But Shrek Academy giving up on hunting me doesn't mean other forces will let me go. I am where I am today because these so-called righteous sects forced me into this situation."
"Elder Mu, you should know that in this vast Douluo Continent, countless people are directly labeled as evil soul masters because of their martial souls. They weren't born evil, but were forced into it."
Zhang Peng's expression turned cold as he finished speaking. He recalled his glorious past, but because it was revealed that he cultivated by consuming the blood of soul beasts, he was hunted down by various forces.
Left with no other choice, he fell into the trap of becoming an evil soul master.
Who the hell would choose to be an evil soul master if they could be a normal one?
Even in the current Holy Spirit Cult, 60% of its members are forced into becoming evil soul masters. 30% are corrupted by desire, and the last 10% are born evil soul masters, destined to be evil.
For those 60%, if you don't join and become one of the evil soul masters, you'll face universal condemnation.
Once your identity is confirmed, your wanted poster will be plastered everywhere.
This is how the profession of bounty hunter came about.
Upon hearing this, Mu En and the Shrek Academy members' expressions changed.
The inspection team had encountered similar situations during their missions; a small number of people were forced into corruption, ultimately causing harm to others.
Huo Yuhao glanced at Zhang Peng, then looked at Elder Mu, already having an idea.
After returning to the academy, it was time to revise the definition of evil spirit masters.
The original standard was jointly chosen by Shrek Academy, the Star Luo Empire, and the Heaven Dou Empire, but that was thousands of years ago. With the changing times, the outdated standard was no longer applicable.
The hatred of evil spirit masters among the people of Douluo Continent was undeniable; there were even wanted posters in major cities.
The bounty for killing them was incredibly high, far exceeding the earnings of a group of people hunting a single spirit beast.
Only the Sun Moon Empire, being outsiders, initially didn't pay much attention to evil spirit masters, allowing them to gather there.
The Holy Spirit Cult was also clever, recruiting new members while rarely committing massacres within the Sun Moon Empire's territory. So for a long time, all was well until Huo Yuhao exposed the Holy Spirit Cult's stronghold.
Actually, what the people of Mingdu cared about wasn't the slaughter of evil spirit masters, but the slaughter of evil spirit masters in Mingdu.
If they didn't protest, what would they do if the executioner's blade fell on their own heads one day?
"You're no match for him, let him come." Mu En looked at Zhang Peng.
Zhang Peng's expression changed slightly, and after respectfully bowing to Mu En, he slowly retreated.
"Some things change." As Zhang Peng flew away, Mu En suddenly spoke.
Zhang Peng's eyes widened slightly, but he shook his head and smiled.
As he spoke, Mu En's gaze shifted to the other side, and he said in a light tone, "Old buddy, it's been a long time, why are you still hiding?"
"Hahaha."
Suddenly, the originally peaceful space twisted eerily, and the next moment it shattered, revealing a dark crack, and an old but powerful laugh echoed throughout.
In an instant, all the other powerful figures except Mu En became alert.
Unless a god descends, the strongest in Douluo Continent will always be the Limit Douluo, each one a being capable of destroying a nation.
As his figure emerged from the spatial rift, his face appeared before everyone for the first time.
The old man was quite tall, probably over 1.95 meters, with neatly combed short silver hair, a ruddy complexion, and excellent health, showing no signs of age. Dressed in black, he stood with his hands behind his back, emanating no soul power fluctuations, yet the sky above his location visibly darkened, as if he were a being transcending heaven and earth.
"Long Xiaoyao," Mu En exclaimed.
"Mu En," the old man replied with a smile.
The two Holy Dragons who once terrified Douluo Continent met again, but neither was young anymore, causing a sense of melancholy.
Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er's eyes widened.
They had heard of the Dragon Emperor Douluo's name but had never seen him in person; now they were witnessing it firsthand.
"Great Elder." At this moment, Zhang Peng, who had slunk away, cautiously approached Long Xiaoyao and transmitted his voice through his soul power.
"You go first, let me catch up with my old friend." Long Xiaoyao said calmly.
"Yes, sir." Zhang Peng nodded respectfully, then glanced at Mu En, his body transforming into a rolling black cloud, disappearing into the distance.
If he had known the team he was supposed to ambush was this powerful, he would never have come.
That bastard Zhongli Wu, wasn't he supposed to have at most two Super Douluo in this team?
These are two Super Douluo?
No wonder that son of a bitch didn't come to ambush them himself, but instead made them come as offerings.
On his way out, Zhang Peng's mind was filled with thoughts of whether he had offended Zhongli Wu at some point. It seemed he had to investigate, lest he be betrayed again next time.
Turning his gaze back, Long Xiaoyao immediately fixed it on Huo Yuhao, then quickly said to Mu En, "It is said that Xuanzi's main purpose in Mingdu is to protect this child, so when you returned to Shrek Academy, I knew you would appear today. This child seems to be very important to your Shrek Academy, and you didn't hesitate to come and take him back in person."
There was no threatening aura emanating from Long Xiaoyao, which allowed Huo Yuhao to calmly look at him.
His feelings towards the character Long Xiaoyao were complex.
Everyone called him a "Love Douluo," and even Long Xiaoyao, a Limit Douluo, was deeply involved. If Long Xiaoyao were a normal person, he would definitely be second only to Da Ming and Er Ming, oh, and perhaps even the patriarch of a certain Sea God family might be stronger than him.
After all, the three conventional Limit Douluos were none other than Mu En, Long Xiaoyao, and Ye Xishui.
"We're all getting old. The future belongs to these kids. What we old guys need to do is protect them as they grow, just as our teachers protected us back then," Mu En said with a slight sigh. "But I never expected you to be secretly involved with evil spirit masters ."
"Everyone has their own choices. I can only say that I've never regretted choosing this path," Long Xiaoyao said, knowing Mu En was bothered by his association with evil spirit masters.
"Yes, everyone has their own choices," Mu En sighed, muttering these words.
"Upon learning that the person they were targeting was from Shrek Academy, I came here on my own initiative. Speaking
of which, I brought Zhang Peng with me." Long Xiaoyao clearly didn't want to talk about himself anymore and chose to change the subject. Hearing this, Huo Yuhao's expression shifted slightly. This was completely different from the original story's reason for the Holy Spirit Cult's ambush . Of course, in this life, he hadn't extorted those rare materials from Jing Hongchen, so the other party naturally had no need to hire someone. Therefore, it was most likely a unilateral action by the Holy Spirit Cult.
It seemed that even after their failed ambush on the official road, they hadn't given up.
"What are you trying to say?" Mu En could tell that Long Xiaoyao had no desire to fight and had truly come to reminisce.
"Your Shrek Academy must know of the Holy Spirit Cult's existence." Long Xiaoyao's eyes flickered. "Many of them joined against their will, yet they still harbor a heart of light. Mu En, you should know what I mean."
Mu En paused, not replying. Of course, he understood.
Long Xiaoyao was reminding him that the Holy Spirit Cult's strength wasn't solely due to its astonishingly large number of evil soul masters, but also to the persecution by certain "righteous" individuals.
Shrek Academy, as the most prestigious institution on the continent, could potentially improve the fate of many by actively promoting the new classification of evil soul masters, preventing them from being persecuted and thus weakening the Holy Spirit Cult's strength.
"You stayed with the Holy Spirit Cult for her sake, didn't you?" Mu En spoke again, not answering Long Xiaoyao's question, but both old friends understood that the other knew their thoughts.
"More or less." A hint of apology flashed in Long Xiaoyao's eyes. "I still owe you an apology for what happened back then."
"It's all in the past, why talk about it?" Mu En chuckled, seemingly unconcerned.
Xuanzi and Elder Song both widened their eyes slightly. This was a story from the previous generation; as younger generations, they had heard many versions, but unfortunately, they didn't know if they were true or false.
Could they be hearing gossip today?
Even Huo Yuhao became interested; he had once complained about the melodramatic plot between the three Limit Douluo.
Because this was a typical version of the story between Qian Daoliu, Tang Chen, and Poseidon in Douluo Continent I.
Unfortunately, both Long Xiaoyao and Mu En stopped there, not elaborating further, leaving everyone somewhat disappointed.
"I came here this time only to catch up with you, but next time, who knows? Mu En, we'll meet again." Long Xiaoyao's body emanated a dark soul force, accompanied by a faint dragon's roar, as he prepared to depart.
Mu En observed everything without speaking.
However, Long Xiaoyao's appearance also reminded Shrek Academy that the Holy Spirit Cult now possessed two Limit Douluos, not to mention numerous other powerful individuals.
This posed a significant threat.
"Senior Long, please wait."
Just as Long Xiaoyao uttered these words, a young voice rang out from Xuanzi's side.
Instantly, everyone turned to look at the voice.
It was Huo Yuhao who had
spoken. "Yuhao?" Yan Shaozhe looked at him with confusion.
"Child, what do you want to say?" Long Xiaoyao, who was about to leave, stopped, his tone softening.
Under everyone's gaze, Huo Yuhao tentatively asked, "I wonder if Senior Long has ever suffered extremely serious injuries?"
Injuries?
Everyone was taken aback.
Only Long Xiaoyao and Mu En remained calm. The former smiled faintly, "On the path of a Soul Master, how can one avoid injury?"
Huo Yuhao said, "The injuries I'm referring to come from a terrifyingly powerful evil Soul Master."
Upon hearing this, both Long Xiaoyao and Mu En's expressions changed slightly. To be honest, they had indeed encountered him before. That person was none other than Zhongli Laogui, the former leader of the Holy Spirit Sect, whose cultivation was extremely terrifying. In that era, he was already a level 98 Super Douluo, and he would likely become a Limit Douluo in the future.
They had both been defeated by him and almost died.
If it weren't for the arrival of the previous Sea God Pavilion Master, they would have both perished. After all, at that time, they weren't even Super Douluo yet.
However, Mu En was the most seriously injured because of his Light attribute, which led Zhongli Laogui, as an evil Soul Master, to focus his attention on him. Long Xiaoyao, on the other hand, was less seriously injured.
Recalling this, Long Xiaoyao's expression changed. "It did happen, but only once. Why are you asking?"
"To be honest, I have a special power that allows me to see into the past, and I just discovered something interesting. If I'm not mistaken, you were saved by a Soul Master with the Light attribute back then, right?" Huo Yuhao explained proactively.
"A Soul Master with the Light attribute?" Long Xiaoyao was taken aback and subconsciously looked at Mu En. The only Light attribute expert he knew was Mu En.
Something interesting to hear?
The other Shrek Academy experts all perked up their ears.
Mu En recalled the past, saying, "After we were rescued, you didn't want to continue owing Shrek Academy a favor, so you forced yourself to leave. I had already passed out. I almost died myself, let alone saved you."
"Speaking of which, I'd like to know, with such severe injuries, you relied on your own recovery to heal?"
Mu En said, puzzled.
Because they hadn't seen each other for many years after that, he hadn't inquired about the aftermath.
Long Xiaoyao's eyes flickered, and he sighed, "You know how powerful Zhongli is. His soul power attacks are extremely sticky, even more threatening to a dark-attribute soul master like me. Although I suppressed it temporarily when I left, it still erupted later, and I almost died. Fortunately, Xishui saved me, but I had already passed out by then. After I woke up, she left, leaving only a note." "
The note said that she had found a light-attribute soul master to remove the evil soul power from my body. Because when I woke up, my whole body was warm, surrounded by the power of light, so she obviously wasn't lying." "Child
, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Long Xiaoyao looked at Huo Yuhao again, his tone becoming impatient. He didn't like talking about Ye Xishui in front of Mu En, because it was a painful memory for the three of them.
"Senior Long, you still have some kind of light-attribute soul power remaining on your body, and it's hidden quite subtly," Huo Yuhao said.
"Impossible." Long Xiaoyao interrupted Huo Yuhao. "As a Limit Douluo, unless a god's power is hidden within me, there's no way it could escape my senses. Why didn't I discover that I possess light-attribute soul power?"
"That's not the key." However, Huo Yuhao's words stunned everyone.
Not the key?
The Shrek Academy experts exchanged bewildered glances, and Long Xiaoyao also paused.
Only Ye Guyi seemed to have a guess, her expression turning strange. She had never met Huo Yuhao before, yet everything was explained to her in one go. Could it be that Huo Yuhao had also seen through the secrets of this Dragon Emperor Douluo?
"The key is that this deeply hidden wisp of light soul power on Senior Long is exactly the same as the one on my teacher."
"Hmm?"
If question marks could materialize, then everyone except Huo Yuhao and Ye Guyi would be filled with question marks.
"Exactly the same as Shao Zhe's soul power?" Mu En subconsciously looked over.
Yan Shaozhe was stunned on the spot. How did he end up becoming the gossip himself while he was just watching the drama unfold?
Long Xiaoyao immediately looked at Yan Shaozhe, and after a moment's thought, asked, "Are you trying to say that his father or grandfather was the one Xi Shui found to save me?"
Long Xiaoyao gradually calmed down. In the end, this kid just wanted him to recall a favor from who-knows-how-many years ago.
However…
"Wrong." Huo Yuhao smiled slightly. "The person who saved you was none other than Xi Shui, whom you mentioned. Oh, I remember her title is Death Goddess, right?"
"What are you talking about?" Long Xiaoyao said in a deep voice. "Xi Shui's martial soul is the Blood Soul Demon Puppet. This martial soul has absolutely no connection to or possibility with the Light attribute."
"What if she has twin martial souls?" Huo Yuhao pointed to his brow.
"Senior, I mentioned that I have a certain ability to see the past and the future. After meeting you, I tried to observe you and suddenly discovered that the aura of your blood and qi is quite compatible with my teacher's, as if there is a bloodline inheritance. And that Light Soul Power is hidden in the bloodline. You must not have suffered any extremely serious injuries since then, right? The Light Power hidden in the bloodline naturally cannot be perceived by you."
"Whoosh."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.
But at this moment, no one cared about twin martial souls or the hidden power within their bloodline. All that echoed in their minds were those four words: bloodline inheritance.
"Yuhao," Yan Shaozhe suddenly spoke, his expression incredibly serious, "This isn't a place for jokes."
Yan Shaozhe was genuinely alarmed; if things continued like this, people would likely claim that Long Xiaoyao was his blood relative.
How absurd!
Still in shock, the crowd gradually recovered. Long Xiaoyao's brows furrowed even more; he no longer wanted to hear Huo Yuhao's words.
Bloodline inheritance?
Are you kidding me?
"No, that's not right." Suddenly, Mu En seemed to remember something, his eyes turning strange. "Back when we were young, I led the Shrek Academy team, and Xi Shui led her team. During the competition, my 'Overlord' soul power surged into her body, and I subtly sensed a similar power, but it quickly disappeared. I assumed it was my own power, since at that time I didn't have a thorough grasp of the 'Overlord' combat technique, so I ignored it."
Mu En's recollection was like a thunderclap, striking everyone.
Huo Yuhao had just said that Ye Xi Shui had twin martial souls, and now Mu En said that Ye Xi Shui had a similar power within her.
What was similar?
It must be an attribute, right?
If Ye Xi Shui really did hide a Light martial soul, and Long Xiaoyao happened to be connected to Yan Shaozhe by blood, this…
For a moment, Xuan Zi, Elder Song, and Xian Lin'er all looked at Yan Shaozhe with complex and surprised expressions.
Yan Shaozhe was stunned, not knowing what to say.
Even Long Xiaoyao, a dignified Limit Douluo, couldn't help but take a few steps back. His pupils contracted the next moment, because Huo Yuhao had somehow produced a small bowl, saying, "This contains Ink Silver Water. Perhaps it can answer everything. I guarantee with my life that my words today are not mere empty talk."
Everyone became serious upon seeing the small bowl in Huo Yuhao's hand.
What was Ink Silver Water for?
Everyone in the Douluo Continent knew.
It was an item for testing blood relations. In the Douluo Continent, it was extremely rare for someone to kill in a fit of rage because of being cuckolded, precisely because of the existence of Ink Silver Water.
This thing could test the blood relationship between a child and the parent with 100% accuracy.
There was absolutely no chance of error.
Long Xiaoyao's breathing tightened. As a Limit Douluo, he could easily see the determination in Huo Yuhao's eyes and the stability of his mental fluctuations. This kid was definitely not lying or making a fuss.
But…
thinking this over, before Huo Yuhao could speak, Long Xiaoyao flicked his sleeves, looking somewhat flustered, "I pretend I didn't hear anything about today's events. Farewell."
The next moment, dense dark soul power receded, enveloping Long Xiaoyao's body, and he instantly vanished.
He needed to immediately return to the Holy Spirit Sect to investigate the secrets of his body and, at the same time, ask Ye Xishui for clarification.
Because he really had a relationship with Ye Xishui.
====================
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