Chapter 160: The True Lineage of the Evil Soul Masters Lies Within the Spirit Transferring Tower!
"Once the Demon Emperor awakens, it's highly probable that the passage between the Douluo Continent and the Abyssal Plane will reopen!"
"We must capture that phoenix before the Holy Spirit Cult does!"
"Agreed. The Holy Spirit Cult is the mortal enemy of our Douluo Federation—eliminating them takes priority above all else. Undermining their mission to awaken the Demon Emperor is our duty."
At the same time, Ao Rui received the same report from Mo Zihong—and he too fell silent.
"This Class One… what's going on with them?"
"Who assigned these class divisions anyway?"
"What happened?"
The president of Douluo University, Blood Demon Douluo Talon, looked with curiosity at Ao Rui's grim face. For the First God of War of the Battle God Temple to look like that, something serious had clearly happened.
Talon himself had been born with an "evil-aligned" martial soul, his potential for corruption detected early by the Spirit Transferring Tower.
Thus, he was taken in and raised through the Tower's programs—nurtured through engineered soul cores, soul pills, and artificial spirits.
His ascension to Limit Douluo, with near god-level strength, was eight parts cultivation and two parts the Tower's resources poured into him.
But that didn't mean he was weak. Far from it.
Every Evil Soul Master was a nightmare to fight. Their methods were erratic and deadly, often requiring entire squads of soul masters to encircle and suppress a single one—preventing them from trading blows one-for-one unto death.
Though Talon, trained by the Tower and the Federation, had none of the insanity or malevolence of true Evil Soul Masters, he still retained their dark methods.
His particular ability—soul absorption—gave him a colossal pool of spiritual power far beyond ordinary beings.
Indeed, almost every soul master with "evil potential" possessed a method to rise in level unnaturally fast.
But that didn't mean infinite growth.
Within the Spirit Transferring Tower's special divisions, there were entire departments of "Evil Potential" soul masters—those capable of absorbing blood, corpses, or spirits through countless variations.
Their numbers and variety vastly outstripped those of the Holy Spirit Cult.
After all, the Cult were rats lurking in the shadows—recruiting from outside Federation lands, or from broken souls who, moments before being scouted by the Tower, had already taken a corrupted path.
The Federation, however, covered the entire continent. Its population ensured far more individuals were born with "evil potential"—and unlike the Holy Spirit Cult, they were properly controlled and taught.
In short—the true lineage of the Evil Soul Masters lay within the Spirit Transferring Tower.
Blood Demon Douluo Talon, a product of this system, was a Federation- and Tower-approved orthodox powerhouse in every sense.
Ao Rui sighed bitterly.
"Class One has completed another assessment."
Talon froze. "What?"
As president, he had naturally been keeping a close eye on this year's new students.
Two days ago, when Class One slew a ten-thousand-year soul beast with dragon blood, it had already seemed unbelievable.
Even taking into account Qian Gu Zhangting's two-word battle armor, defeating the Poison Dragon should have taken weeks, not days.
But fine—perhaps strength could explain that.
However, the second test was about finding a legendary creature that didn't even exist on record—a phoenix!
It was a challenge based purely on chance, something the Federation itself had half-jokingly designed, never expecting anyone to accomplish it.
Yet somehow… they completed it on the second day.
"Does Class One have the son of destiny or something?"
Luck this absurd should have defied statistical reality.
If someone could find anything that easily, the Federation would have hired them as "divine treasure hunters" already.
"The question now," Ao Rui muttered, "is whether the mission should officially count as completed."
Talon went over the report.
Everything was crystal clear. Every step, properly documented.
They had simply chosen a random direction—and stumbled into the Holy Spirit Cult mid-hunt for the phoenix.
No inconsistencies at all.
And yet… that was exactly what made it so exasperating.
"What are we supposed to do about this?"
"You're asking me? You're the university president!" Ao Rui countered, annoyed.
"Oh, come on!" Talon retorted. "You're the one in charge of the entire military assessment! Don't tell me you don't know what to do!"
"I don't care what the procedure is, you're handling this," Ao Rui snapped back.
He was, after all, the Federation's famed First Battle God. Once the drill was over, he could wash his hands of everything.
But Talon couldn't. As the founding president of Douluo University, he bore responsibility for everything that happened under its name.
"So you're just throwing the problem at me?"
Ao Rui frowned. He knew the trouble this would cause.
If Class One's results were acknowledged, the other classes would cry foul—whispers of favoritism and corruption would spread.
The Federation's authority might keep those voices quiet in public, but in private? Their resentment would linger—and he himself would be remembered as the man behind the decision.
He didn't need that kind of infamy, especially one that could follow him throughout history as a university administrator and military director.
Every new generation of students would gossip:
"Hey, wasn't that the Battle God who shamelessly bent the rules for the Spirit Transferring Tower's little prince?"
Utterly unacceptable.
And so… an awkward stalemate ensued.
The two men stared at each other, neither willing to yield, their silent standoff resembling stubborn children bickering over candy.
Finally, Talon exhaled.
"All right. Technically speaking, it would be unfair to withhold their credit if they truly passed. But—no instructors are allowed to disclose the progress of any class until the three-month program is officially over. Understood?"
It would look like a symbolic rule, self-deceptive at best, but it was enough to suppress gossip.
"Agreed."
They both nodded, sharing the risk equally. Whichever of them caught the fallout first, tough luck.
Besides, as some of the Federation's most celebrated warriors, they normally wouldn't bother with the opinions of a few students.
But for the first year of Douluo University's existence, appearances mattered.
It wasn't about fairness—it was about legacy.
"Jiang Chen: descendant of a million-year soul beast and human hybrid."
"Gu Yue: disciple of the Spirit Transferring Tower's Deputy Master, Leng Yaozhu."
"Di Xue'er: disciple of Leng Yulei, rumored descendant of the Snow Empress."
"Qian Gu Zhangting: grandson of Qian Gu Dongfeng, heir to the Spirit Transferring Tower."
"Yue Zhengyu: successor of the Angel Clan."
"Tang Wulin: disciple of Saint Craftsman Mu Chen, known as the Little Divine Craftsman."
On and on the roster went.
"How in the world were these all put in the same class?" Talon groaned, rubbing his forehead.
It was supposed to be evenly divided by strength!
Who had done this?
"Oh… Huo family arrangements?"
Well then, no wonder.
Geniuses should be grouped with geniuses—only then could they truly push each other to greater heights.
Perfect logic. No complaints there.
(END CHAPTER)
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