"Greetings, Lord Envoy."
The Holy Spirit Cult disciple had been following Lin Xiao from afar until they reached a secluded spot, then slowly approached.
"No need to address me that way in the academy. I'm called Lin Xiao now."
"Yes." Though he acknowledged it, the Holy Spirit Cult disciple's expression remained extremely respectful.
"What do you want?"
"Lord Lin Xiao, the Second Elder, has ordered all members with seven rings or above to prepare."
"Prepare for what?" Lin Xiao's eyes flickered slightly. For the past few months, he had rarely visited the Holy Spirit Cult branch. For Nangong Wan to send someone after him—and to mobilize all members with seven rings or higher—it was clearly no small matter.
"The Elder commands that the Saintess is about to return. All disciples with seven rings or above must be ready at any time to welcome her."
Lin Xiao's heart jolted at the words. Based on his memories from his previous life, there were only two people the Holy Spirit Cult would call Saintess: one was Ma Xiaotao, who possessed the Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul, and the other was Tang Ya, who had awakened the devouring attribute of the Blue Silver Grass.
At this time, Tang Ya should still be at Shrek Academy. So the Saintess Nangong Wan spoke of was likely Ma Xiaotao.
But where exactly had the Holy Spirit Cult encountered Ma Xiaotao?
Lin Xiao walked slowly forward, then suddenly turned his head. "Where did the news come from? Did the Elder say specifically where we're going?"
"Replying to the Lord, I don't know the exact source of the news. I only heard it came from the Ming Dou Mountain Range. The location of the operation is likely related to the Star Luo Empire."
Star Luo Empire… Ma Xiaotao… Soul Dueling Tournament…
Lin Xiao's thoughts drifted far. Something must have happened to cause events to deviate from his memories.
No change was inevitable. After all, Electrolux was currently in his mental sea. If Shrek Academy's group encountered that evil soul master again, something different was bound to happen.
But exactly what had occurred, he couldn't deduce.
"Mm, I understand. I'll speak with the Elder in person later. You may go."
"Yes, Lord."
The Holy Spirit Cult disciple responded, glanced around to ensure no one was nearby, then quickly walked away. Soon after, he blended in with the ordinary students, becoming unremarkable once more.
Lin Xiao watched his retreating figure from a distance, only snapping out of his thoughts after a long while.
Without Nightmare Douluo's restraints, he had thought he was no longer as bound as before. But now it seemed that as long as his strength remained insufficient, he could never escape being controlled by others.
Clenching his fists slightly, Lin Xiao walked silently into the distance.
In recent years, for the people of Mingdu, the Duskwater Alliance was no longer an unfamiliar name. Like the Common Alliance, it operated many legitimate businesses on the surface.
At night, Lin Xiao followed the address left by Nangong Wan and arrived at an underground arena.
The moment he entered, a wave of cheers—so loud that even soundproofing materials couldn't block it—echoed from deep within the arena.
There was a fighting ring here, too, but unlike the one at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, only one person could walk off this stage alive.
It had to be said—the Holy Spirit Cult was quite good at business. Whether soul masters, soul engineers, or ordinary people, the thrill of blood always excited them and made them willing to spend lavishly.
"Hello, are you here to watch or to fight?" The receptionist at the entrance greeted him warmly, looking at him as if he were a bag full of gold soul coins.
"I'm here to see the Second Elder." Lin Xiao adjusted the mask on his face and handed over a token. The receptionist's expression changed drastically upon receiving it.
"Please follow me, Lord."
Lin Xiao nodded and followed silently. After turning through several corridors, he was led to a room.
"Lord, the Elder is inside."
Lin Xiao nodded, then knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Upon entering, he saw Nangong Wan smiling as he counted gold soul coins on the table. His expression sobered slightly upon seeing Lin Xiao.
"What do you want?"
"Elder, it's about the Saintess."
Nangong Wan's face grew serious at the mention. He put away the gold soul coins. "So you've received the news. Anything else you're unclear about?"
"Elder, I don't know where we'll be operating. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy has arranged for me to deliver some soul tools to the Soul Dueling Tournament in a while. I'm afraid…"
Nangong Wan's expression brightened instead. "Oh? Perfect. The place where the Saintess appeared might be the Soul Dueling Tournament itself."
After glancing at Lin Xiao again, Nangong Wan suddenly stood. "You're qualified to know this. Come with me."
Lin Xiao followed. Soon, he saw a not-unfamiliar person.
It was the Hand of Death member who had escaped from him back then.
But now, he was in bad shape. Half his body was gone, the wound charred black with no blood flowing. Though still unconscious, his face was flushed red, and groans kept escaping his throat.
"You should recognize him." Nangong Wan pointed at the man lying nearby. "This is the sign of evil fire invading the body."
Evil fire?
Lin Xiao looked closely and indeed noticed something off.
He quickly realized—this man must have encountered Ma Xiaotao to end up like this.
"You should remember the incident from back then. After receiving your report, the cult sent people to search again. Unexpectedly, we really found him in the Ming Dou Mountain Range."
"At the time, he was using the name Hand of Death to gather a group of bandits. We took the opportunity to recruit them."
Lin Xiao wasn't surprised. Before following Nightmare Douluo to Mingdu, he had been supervising and clearing out these recruited bandits near the border.
As expected of the one called the strongest Soul King in history. Though he looked miserable now, he was the first evil soul master to escape Shrek's inspection team with his life.
Nangong Wan, unaware of Lin Xiao's thoughts, continued, "Yesterday, disciples from the Ming Dou Mountain Range branch sent him back. They said he encountered Shrek's inspection team."
"And the one who attacked him was the very Saintess we've been searching for."
Lin Xiao didn't know the exact criteria the Holy Spirit Cult used to identify a Saintess—perhaps just talented evil soul masters. But seeing Nangong Wan's excited expression, he offered a few words of flattery.
"May the Holy Emperor live ten thousand years. May the Saintess's divine beauty endure forever."
"Enough. It's too early to discuss this now. The cult has only deduced that the Saintess is at Shrek Academy. The Cult Leader has already gone to the Star Luo Empire to investigate the specifics. When the Cult Leader returns, that will be the time to act."
Originally, we only asked you all to prepare. But since you're also going to the Star Luo Empire, you can keep an eye on Shrek Academy's movements for the cult."
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