Heaven Dou City.
Inside a teahouse.
"Do you all know what happened last night?" A thin middle-aged man with a wretched expression, dressed in coarse linen clothes, said with great animation.
"The Zhang Family and the Lu Family were slaughtered to the last person overnight. Corpses are everywhere, and blood is flowing like a river..."
"Skinny Monkey, where did you get your news? The City Defense Army surrounded both families inside and out long ago; not even a sparrow could fly in."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was naturally shocked.
Another person frowned and asked.
"My brother-in-law just joined the City Defense Team... He was temporarily reassigned last night. He noticed signs of fighting, but by the time they assembled and rushed there, it was already a complete mess," the thin man said with a sigh of emotion.
"The geniuses of the Lu and Zhang families have recently shown signs of rising to the top. It's said they both have innate full soul power and both advanced to spirit elder at the age of eleven. They are monsters with Prodigy-level talent. If they were to join Shrek Academy soon, they would truly soar. But what a pity... the wind will destroy the tree that stands out from the forest. Presumably, that person had the same thought."
"Duke Bai Ling?"
"Shh! Do you want to die?!"
"..."
In a corner of the teahouse.
Two figures sat quietly.
Lu Cheng looked through the window, quietly observing this ancient city. During the day, it was bustling with heavy traffic and flowing crowds. The shops were filled with a dazzling array of items needed by soul masters, such as elixirs, spirit beast hides and meat, and so on.
What a lively scene.
It was as if all the filthy deeds of last night didn't exist.
"Duke Bai Ling..."
Zhang Lexuan lowered her head, her palms clenched so tight that her nails dug into her flesh, causing a few drops of dark red blood to drip out. Her small face was filled with bone-deep hatred.
She could never forget what happened last night.
Moreover, that night, when that group of Black-robed men surrounded the two of them, they also mentioned this name. It couldn't be wrong...
To be called a Duke, he was naturally a high-ranking noble within the Heavenly Soul Empire with deeply entrenched power, definitely not something small nobles like the Zhang or Lu families could compare themselves to.
As for the reason for the lethal strike... perhaps it was just some dispute over interests.
Her father once had a face full of sorrow and seemed to have mentioned the name of Archduke Bai Ling.
"Alright..."
Lu Cheng pulled the young girl's hand away and took out a towel to quietly wipe it dry. The latter had a submissive expression and didn't resist at all. Her eyes held a trace of attachment and tenderness, leaning against Lu Cheng's side like a small beast afraid of being abandoned.
Her home was gone, and her only reliance was Lu Cheng alone...
"Brother, where are we going next?"
The young girl asked softly.
"To Shrek Academy. With our talent, even if we missed the enrollment time, they won't refuse us." Lu Cheng gently rubbed the girl's head and finished a cup of tea on the table. The two figures slowly departed.
"Oh..."
...
Star Dou Great Forest.
Puchi~
A sharpened wooden stick shot into the stream with a bang. When Lu Cheng pulled it out, a green grass carp was skewered on it, its tail flicking crystal-clear water droplets.
As expected of the Blood Pupils.
Lu Cheng thought to himself. The boost to mental force was definitely not just a little bit. Even though he hadn't added a single Soul Ring to this Martial Soul so far, its strength could be called top-tier, only slightly inferior to the Sun-Shooting Bow.
At least it was comparable to the Spirit Eyes after Huo Yuhao's second Awakening in the original story.
His sensing ability, with him as the center, could clearly perceive everything within a diameter of about three hundred meters, as if in slow motion, like a god's-eye view with X-ray vision.
No wonder Huo Yuhao's Mental Detection and Mental Distribution were called top-tier divine skills.
They were indeed very useful.
Just like...
"It smells so good, Brother!" Zhang Lexuan held the grilled fish, her eyes shining. Having been hungry for two days, her stomach growled, and she impatiently began to enjoy the delicacy.
Lu Cheng shook his head with a smile and continued to skillfully flip the grilled fish.
Removing the fishy smell through a special method and then slowly frying the skin until crispy over a gentle fire made the girl eat with great relish, even without any seasoning.
It would be a pity not to use such a strong Martial Soul for grilling fish.
"Eh? Whose children are you?"
A tall and stalwart man swept down from the sky, looking at the two with a surprised expression. Their clothes were shabby, but their facial features and temperament were definitely not like commoners...
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them a golden boy and a jade girl.
Seeing the young girl shrinking behind the boy, her light blue pupils showing not only alertness but also a trace of lingering panic, like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, and recalling the recent massacre in Heaven Dou City, his heart stirred: "Lu Cheng, Zhang Lexuan?"
"How does Your Excellency know our names?"
Lu Cheng was also sizing up Du Weilun. Although he knew this was all Mu En's doing, he still put on a vigilant posture.
It really is them.
Du Weilun's pupils suddenly shrank.
The two Innate Full Soul Powers of Heaven Dou City had caused quite a stir a few years ago. Two years ago in a competition, they had even broken the Dao Heart of a Genius from the Star Luo Empire, Huang Zichen.
One must know that at that time, this boy was barely nine years old and had reached Rank 26. His Extreme Fire amazed the entire audience, fighting across ranks and maintaining a crushing posture.
Now...
God bless my Shrek!!!
The corners of Du Weilun's mouth were hard to suppress.
He squeezed out a smile that looked worse than crying: "Then I wonder if there are still elders in your clan?"
"In both families, except for the two of us, no one survived. All died in that catastrophe," Lu Cheng said softly.
As his voice fell, the girl behind him also recalled the tragedy, clutching Lu Cheng's hem even tighter, her eyes turning red.
"Then that's really great!" Du Weilun said excitedly.
"..."
The scene fell silent.
The corner of Lu Cheng's eye twitched.
Zhang Lexuan glared at him even more angrily.
"Cough, cough, cough, I mean... so, so unfortunate..." Du Weilun's face was awkward, and he began to explain in a fluster.
If he pushed these two geniuses away because of these words, he was afraid he'd be beaten to death by Dean Yan...
Two peerless geniuses with no family and no one to rely on are just too suitable for joining my Shrek Academy!
"I am the director of the Martial Soul Department of Shrek Academy, Du Weilun. Shrek Academy has been dedicated to exterminating Evil Soul Masters for thousands of years. Now, hearing of the tragedy in Heaven Dou City, as a member of the Supervision Group, I naturally had to come over to investigate the situation..."
Du Weilun said with a solemn expression, hurriedly trying to make up for his mistake just now.
"Evil Soul Masters? But those we encountered last night were clearly under the command of Archduke Bai Ling." Zhang Lexuan's small face turned pale.
Her attention was diverted.
Du Weilun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly continued to explain.
"No, little girl, you've misunderstood. Duke Bai Ling doesn't have that kind of ability. Our Shrek Academy Supervision Group has already been there and conducted an on-site investigation; there were indeed traces of Evil Soul Masters... And that kind of cruel method, extracting souls and refining Martial Souls, is something only an Evil Soul Master could do."
Lu Cheng remained silent.
"Evil Soul Master..."
The girl clenched her fists tightly, her heart vaguely understanding. After all, the guys chasing them last night were indeed dressed in black robes and emitted a cold, evil aura.
Notes:
ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
Read advanced chapters at p@atreon/holyangelicdemon