Half a year ago, the scene of countless senior and junior disciples falling into a sea of blood, her parents dying tragically, resurfaced in her mind.
"Huff… Huff…"
The young girl suddenly bent over, clutching her head tightly.
Bloodthirst, slaughter—the feelings surged once more.
Deep within her soul, a hoarse voice whispered, "Kill them! Kill your way out of this city! They stood by and did nothing. They are the ones who got your parents killed!"
Beneath her feet, thick vines began to emerge, as if on the verge of losing control!
But after a long moment—
Tang Ya's face turned pale, and she regained consciousness.
She staggered two steps, finally suppressing the bloodlust within her heart.
Exhaling twice, she looked around. Seeing no one nearby, she quickly left the area.
Meanwhile—
Directly opposite the Tang Sect plaque, inside a two-story teahouse.
Wu Yun sat leisurely on a wooden bench, taking a slow sip of tea.
His vision extended outward.
Behind him, the entire second floor of the teahouse was littered with corpses—dozens of armored city guards lay sprawled across the floor, blood seeping through the cracks, dripping down to the lower level.
In the corner, the teahouse owner cowered in fear.
"Sigh, still need to clean up the loose ends. This girl really is a handful," Wu Yun muttered helplessly.
After whispering to himself, his gaze turned to the trembling teahouse owner.
The man's entire body shuddered, his fear intensifying.
The once-arrogant and powerful city guards—who usually lorded over the common folk—hadn't even lasted a single round against this man. He had merely snapped his fingers, and a swarm of crows had emerged, tearing into the guards' throats until they struggled and perished.
Was it his turn next…?
The owner gritted his teeth, eyes widening. He blindly groped around, pretending his vision had failed, adopting the look of a lost blind man.
This was his final act of defiance before death.
Wu Yun nearly burst into laughter, barely holding it in.
Recalling Xu Cheng's instructions, he waved his hand.
"Boss, the bill."
The teahouse owner: "…"
Trembling, he staggered forward, keeping up his blind act as he approached Wu Yun. "S-Soul Master sir, this tea is plain tea. I-I won't charge you…"
"Nonsense!" Wu Yun frowned. "Our Holy Spirit Cult—cough, no… wait, what was the next line? …Anyway, I'm not the kind of person who dines and dashes!"
"Bill me!"
"Y-Yes, of course!" The teahouse owner quickly nodded and bowed.
"One silver soul coin will do…"
Bang!
Wu Yun slammed the table and shot up.
Glaring at the owner, he bellowed, "This was clearly two cups of tea, but you're only charging me for one? Aren't you just bullying an honest man?!"
The teahouse owner quivered in fright, his fat shaking.
"Yes, yes, it was two cups…"
"Hmph! Don't let it happen again." Wu Yun finally let his anger subside.
But after searching his storage soul guide for a long while, he suddenly realized—
The smallest denomination he had was a gold soul coin. Not a single silver one.
"…Here, take a gold soul coin. Consider the extra a tip."
Wu Yun waved his hand.
Dark energy shrouded him, transforming into countless crows that dispersed in all directions.
"Holy Spirit Cult…"
The teahouse owner peeked out cautiously, gazing at the clear sky.
"This sect… isn't too bad…"
But as his gaze fell upon the corpses of the city guards around him, his head began to ache.
As a small-time businessman, he understood all too well—
His troubles had only just begun.
The noble lords… they were the ones who truly devoured people without leaving bones behind.
Shrek Academy was located at the border of the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires, near the Star Dou Forest. This meant that Tang Ya had to pass through the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest once more.
After two more days of travel—
A towering city finally appeared in her sight.
It was slightly smaller than Mingdu, but compared to the Heavenly Dou City, it was still an impressive sight.
Countless merchant caravans bustled in and out.
As the central hub connecting three nations, it was one of the largest cities on the continent—Shrek City, with a history spanning thousands of years.
Tang Ya gazed from afar, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
As a child, she had never visited Shrek City. She had only heard her father speak of it. Shrek Academy was the holy land of all soul masters on the continent—the ultimate dream. Her father had graduated from there.
So, in her childhood heart, the place had seemed sacred and solemn.
But ever since the Tang Sect's destruction, Shrek Academy had never offered a single shred of aid. Over the past six months, though she had been in Mingdu, she had kept an eye on Shrek Academy's stance toward the Tang Sect's annihilation.
Nothing. No reaction at all. As if they were high above, untouched and indifferent.
This left the young girl feeling bitterly disappointed.
But to honor her father's last wish, she still came…
Upon entering Shrek City—
After asking for directions, she made her way straight to Shrek Academy.
At the entrance, several upper-year students with armbands were casually chatting.
Noticing Tang Ya's approach—
A tall, handsome blond student's eyes lit up, and he immediately stepped forward.
"Hello, this is Shrek Academy. I'm Beibei, a second-year student. Can I help you with anything?"
The others around him also looked at Tang Ya with curiosity.
After all, such a beautiful girl would be considered a campus beauty even at Shrek Academy.
"Thank you… My name is Tang Ya. I've come… to enroll," Tang Ya said, nodding slightly.
"Enrolling at this time? Uh, sorry, classmate, but this isn't the enrollment season. If you want to join, you'll have to wait six more months…" Beibei explained gently.
He felt a pang of regret.
This girl was exactly his type. But the academy's rules were not something he could change alone.
"I am from the Tang Sect. Due to some incidents, I was delayed in reporting in. Can you make an exception?" Tang Ya bit her lip, pleading.
Seeing her like this, Beibei's heart nearly melted.
It pounded furiously.
He wished he could bend the rules, even go to his great-grandfather for help.
But before he could respond, a sharp voice interrupted.
"Tang Sect? I remember them—weren't they wiped out by evil soul masters? And you, a survivor? You sure you didn't slaughter your own sect and join the evil soul masters, only to come here as a spy?!"
A tall male student beside him narrowed his eyes, his tone full of suspicion.
"I did not!" Tang Ya's beautiful eyes flared with anger.
Watching her loved ones die had already been enough pain. But now, her heart was being stabbed once more.
She was nearly losing control!
Clenching her fists tightly, she glared at the tall male student.
"Hmph, whether you did or not, that's not for you to decide." The tall male snorted coldly.
At the end of the day, the Tang Sect was simply too weak. A fallen sect whose leader was barely at the Soul Ancestor level—barely even comparable to a fourth or fifth-year student at Shrek Academy.
If it had been the Haotian Sect, these students would have had a completely different attitude.
But more importantly—
Shrek Academy had never truly valued the Tang Sect.
Otherwise, in the original story, Tang Ya wouldn't have ended up the way she did…
"You…!!!"
The violent urges within Tang Ya surged uncontrollably.
She had already been teetering on the edge of darkness. Just as Jing Hongchen had speculated—if it weren't for Xu Cheng suppressing her, she would have long since lost control.
And today…
(End of Chapter)