Douluo Dalu 2: You are an Evil Soul Master, but also a good person ?

At the top floor of the Sea God's Pavilion.

An elderly man sat in a wooden wheelchair, quietly listening as Yan Shaozhe reported the earlier events in detail.

"That's everything…"

As he finished speaking, Yan Shaozhe let out a long breath, as if expelling the congestion in his chest along with the report.

The old man slowly opened his eyes. Without moving his hands, the wooden wheelchair carried him forward, stopping by the window. Through the wooden frame, the view stretched out before him—vast and open.

A gentle breeze blew in, bringing with it the damp scent of the lake.

This was the core of Shrek Academy, located on Sea God's Island, surrounded by an endless expanse of emerald-green water.

After a long silence, Mu En finally spoke slowly.

"You're telling me… you drove away the last orphan of the Tang Sect?"

"…I…"

Yan Shaozhe opened his mouth but ultimately lowered his head in defeat.

"This was my mistake. Please punish me, Teacher."

"…"

Mu En said nothing. He merely gazed out at the scenery.

For hundreds of years, he had looked at this same landscape, yet it never grew dull. Only here, in this wooden house built by his predecessors, could he find some measure of peace.

"It's not your fault…"

After a while, Mu En sighed.

"It is Shrek that has grown too proud."

His bright and gentle eyes turned to Yan Shaozhe.

"Shrek's ten-thousand-year legacy, today… has become a burden, a…"

Mu En shook his head and did not finish his sentence.

Yan Shaozhe's expression was complicated.

He understood that his teacher was not referring only to this incident but also to something deeper.

For example… the academy's reluctance to develop soul tools.

"But, Teacher, if Tang Ya joins the Holy Spirit Church, she may become another Ye…" Yan Shaozhe hurriedly said.

"…"

Mu En waved a hand dismissively.

"Are you planning to storm their headquarters?"

"I…"

Yan Shaozhe fell silent, realizing his own powerlessness.

As one of Shrek's high-ranking elders, he knew the truth better than anyone—if Shrek Academy were to go all out, even with the elders of the Sea God's Pavilion joining the fight, at best, they would end up like the Body Sect… a pyrrhic victory at most.

"In the end, it was Shrek Academy's inaction that led to the Tang Sect's tragedy. And today, your actions have completely pushed that girl into the Holy Spirit Church's embrace," Mu En said lightly.

"The fact that she came to Shrek Academy at all shows that she still had hope for us. The students on duty at the gate… I suspect they withheld certain details."

"I'll go back and question them!" Yan Shaozhe frowned.

"It's too late."

Mu En slowly closed his eyes.

"I believe this is an open scheme—a scheme targeting Shrek Academy in broad daylight."

"You mean, Ye…"

"I don't know. But from the moment that little girl stepped through Shrek's gates, everything had already played into the hands of the one behind her."

Mu En sighed.

"I always thought the Holy Spirit Church was full of mindless fools… but I was wrong."

Yan Shaozhe's face darkened.

Mu En glanced at him.

Shrek's ten-thousand-year glory truly had a way of corroding the minds of its people…

It was time to teach the younger generation a lesson.

"Ugh… my head hurts…"

Tang Ya slowly opened her eyes.

A sharp pain surged through her mind, forcing her to curl up and clutch her head tightly.

After a long while, the pain finally subsided.

She opened her eyes again—only to find herself in a small room.

Through the window, she could see a lush green vegetable garden. Most of the plants seemed to be crops, and beside them was a modest flower garden in full bloom.

The atmosphere was warm and peaceful.

"I'm… not dead?"

Tang Ya looked down at herself in disbelief.

She distinctly remembered—she had enraged a high-ranking member of Shrek Academy, and a massive palm had come crashing down on her…

"You're awake?"

A lazy voice sounded from outside the door.

Tang Ya turned warily toward the source.

At the doorway stood a tall, wheat-skinned girl clad in black robes, scrutinizing her from head to toe.

"You're… Nana?"

Tang Ya's light blue pupils contracted sharply.

After spending a semester at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy and participating in the end-of-term assessments, she was well aware of this girl—one of the top ten students, a dual-wielding expert.

They had even sparred once before. Though Nana had lost by a narrow margin, her strength was undeniable.

"What are you doing here?"

Tang Ya's mind was in turmoil. She couldn't make sense of the situation.

"You want to know? Then follow me."

Nana stretched like a lazy cat, then beckoned to Tang Ya with a wave of her hand before turning and walking away.

"…"

Tang Ya hesitated, swallowing hard as she watched Nana disappear beyond the doorway.

After a brief pause, she gritted her teeth and followed.

The moment she stepped outside, she was stunned.

Before her lay towering cliffs and rolling mist, with mountain peaks stretching endlessly into the distance.

She was in a valley.

And around her—

Farmlands stretched across the land.

Countless farmers were tending to their crops, fertilizing and watering them.

Despite their hard work, every face bore a contented smile, filled with hope for the future.

As she walked further, she saw a cluster of houses.

Peering through one of the windows, she saw a makeshift classroom.

Inside, children of seven or eight years old sat attentively at their desks.

Many wore coarse linen clothes, clearly from ordinary peasant families.

At the front stood a young man in his twenties, passionately explaining soul power and martial spirits—basic knowledge she had long taken for granted.

But what truly shocked her were the children's eyes, filled with an insatiable hunger for knowledge.

And even more astonishing…

All these children had awakened martial spirits.

Most had only a faint trace of soul power, but to her, a former resident of Heaven Dou City, this was already an unimaginable sight.

After all, commoners had no access to martial spirit awakenings.

Let alone farmers' children.

Wait!

Tang Ya's body stiffened.

She suddenly noticed something.

The young teacher wore a black robe—the same kind she had seen on Xu Cheng and Wu Yun.

It was the emblem of the Holy Spirit Church.

This place was…

"That's right, this is a branch of the Holy Spirit Church."

A voice sounded beside her.

Tang Ya turned sharply.

Beside Nana stood a strikingly handsome young man—Xu Cheng.

The one who had altered the course of her fate.

"What exactly… are you trying to show me?"

Tang Ya's expression grew cold, her lips curling into a sneer.

"I get it now. You knew I had left all along, but you didn't stop me. You wanted me to go to Shrek, to provoke a conflict, to sever all ties—just so my identity would be exposed!"

"…"

Xu Cheng simply smiled faintly, offering no explanation.

Instead, he walked to the window and looked at the young teacher inside.

"He was born a commoner. Like Nana, he came from a farming family. But after graduating from the Sun Moon Imperial Academy, he gave up a prestigious future to come here—to awaken martial spirits for free and to educate children."

"…"

Tang Ya bit her lip.

She sneered.

"One classroom… that's not a very expensive 'act of charity.' What a pitiful performance."

(End of Chapter)