“We’ve already informed the guards from the Star Luo Empire stationed near the Ming Dou Mountains before we departed. They’ll provide us with a detailed map and accurate information in due course. If there are no further questions, we have to depart at full speed. Keep your Guardian Rings properly. You can only wear them when you’re executing a mission.”

Everyone expressed that they were ready one after the other. Ma Xiaotao then said, “The ones with lower cultivations will slow us down. There’s no way we can accommodate to you guys, so we’re going to do things this way. I’ll take Huo Yuhao along with me. Dai Yueheng, you take Wang Dong. Ling Luochen, you take Xiao Xiao with you. Let’s go.”

Ever since Ma Xiaotao started giving her presentation regarding the Guardian mission, Elder Xuan hadn’t said another word – everything was in Ma Xiaotao’s control. This was not only his confidence in Ma Xiaotao’s ability to command a group, but it was also a way for her to polish her skills. It would be no good if a dragon lacked a leader. This Guardian mission was also the final learning curve for them all before the tournament started.

“I want senior sister Ma to take me with her.” Wang Dong suddenly spoke before rushing to Ma Xiaotao’s side. He continued talking as he smiled with admiration, “Senior sister Ma, I admire you the most. Can you take me along with you?”

Ma Xiaotao was stunned for a moment before she smiled and said, “Fine, I’ll take you with me. Dai Yueheng, you take Huo Yuhao with you. Let’s go.” As she spoke, she dragged Wang Dong’s underarm up with her right hand and leapt up, taking off on their journey.

Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen also reacted in the same way, taking Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao respectively as they accelerated.

Huo Yuhao was silently cursing in his heart. Since when did Wang Dong admire Ma Xiaotao? It actually seemed as though the ineffable hostility he had directed toward senior sister Ma before was real. What was that guy doing?!

Just because he knew this didn’t mean that Ma Xiaotao knew it too. With Ma Xiaotao’s help, Wang Dong now had a contented look on his face. He was extremely pleased with himself for what he’d done. Only he knew of the little scheme he’d concocted in his heart.

This full-scale acceleration revealed how powerful the inner courtyard disciples were. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were already going all-out, but they were still finding it extremely tough to follow along. On the other hand, He Caitou was in slightly better condition than them because he had an accelerator soul tool helping him. He could control how much he wished to speed up with a Rank 4 accelerator soul tool. Adding onto the fact that he had a robust body, it wasn’t that strenuous for him to follow closely behind Ma Xiaotao.

Even though Ma Xiaotao was bringing Wang Dong along with her, she’d remained at the forefront since they’d set off. She even had to slow down from time to time and wait for those behind her. The immense speed stemming from her torrential fire phoenix soul could be seen as clear as day.

Huo Yuhao felt like he was riding on clouds as Dai Yueheng pulled him along. Dai Yueheng supported Huo Yuhao’s underarm with his wide and powerful palm, just like a steady and soft support. Dai Yueheng would cover more than ten metres every time the tips of his feet touched the ground, darting forth like an arrow. When he was just about to slow down, the tip of his foot would immediately touch the ground once more, causing him to speed up. As a result of that, he was extremely stable even though they were advancing very quickly. Huo Yuhao didn’t have to do anything, but could still move forward at such a high speed thanks to Dai Yueheng.

The scenery on both sides of the road was a blur. Even with his Spirit Eyes, Huo Yuhao still felt rather dizzy at the sight.

“Yuhao, I heard that things aren’t pleasant between you and my younger brother?” Dai Yueheng asked Huo Yuhao as he ran at full speed.

Huo Yuhao was taken aback, not because of what Dai Yueheng said, but because he could actually talk without the slightest hint of a tremble in his voice while running at such a high speed. He spoke just like he was holding a normal conversation. Dai Yueheng was really a person of formidable ability!

“Yeah.” Huo Yuheng ambiguously snorted out.

Dai Yueheng had a sincere look on his face as he said, “Even though I don’t know how you guys became enemies, I think Huabin is in the wrong. As his elder brother, I’ll apologise on his behalf. Huabin’s been exceptionally talented ever since he was a kid, which eventually formed the arrogant attitude he has now. I’ve already reprimanded him before, and even slapped him across the face. Now that I think about it, that was the first time I’ve hit him. Let bygones be bygones. We’re all in Shrek Academy to cultivate. You’re now a member of the Guardian team, so we’ll be brothers-in-arms and fellow soldiers from now on. I hope you won’t hold any more grudges in your heart, and speak up if you need help. I’ll repay what Huabin owes you on his behalf.”

Dai Yueheng worded his sentences too beautifully. If it wasn’t for the fact that Huo Yuhao had truly felt the maliciousness and strong killing intent coming from Dai Yueheng before, he might’ve really felt embarrassed by his actions before because of what Dai Yueheng said. However, he could only sneer at the other party in his heart now. Is Dai Yueheng trying to rope me in?

“Senior brother, I am actually in the wrong as well. You’re right. Let bygones be bygones.” Huo Yuhao really couldn’t mask his expressions like Dai Yueheng; he couldn’t put such a sincere look on his face. He could only try his best to remain calm. How could a few apologetic sentences settle the grudge he held towards them for killing his mother, along with the miserable and hard life that he’d faced since he was a child? What’s more, Huo Yuhao’s perception was sharper than most people’s. With the Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao saw that Dai Yueheng’s pulse was calm all throughout when he was talking a moment ago, with nothing out of the ordinary. That also meant that he was in a stable frame of mind, which was incompatible with how one would usually be a little excited when being sincere.

Dai Yueheng was slightly more pleased when he heard what Huo Yuhao said. He could see that Huo Yuhao still harboured ill feelings in his heart, but from his point of view, Huo Yuhao was only a child who didn’t reveal his emotions regardless of how talented he was. Conversely, it was normal for him to show reluctance and hesitation in his expression. However, it wasn’t a bad start, since he was willing to let the previous matter pass. From his point of view, it wasn’t that difficult to rope in a child. Moreover, Huo Yuhao’s skill was quite good, but his level of cultivation was too low after all was said and done. At the moment, his level of cultivation was still far from a level that could threaten him. Thus, Huo Yuhao was far worse than Dai Huabin if he were to compare the both of them.

Dai Yueheng smiled faintly and said, “That would be for the best. Once we spend more time together, you’ll get to know what kind of person I am.”

If Huo Yuhao had been who he was before he entered Shrek Academy, he might not have been able to mask his emotions, and would definitely have been at a loss when confronting Dai Yueheng. However, he had matured a lot over the past year. He knew that it was definitely not possible for him to get his revenge in such a short time. Since that was the case, he could only feign civility.

“Senior brother, I heard senior sister Ma mention an evil soul master just now. What’s that?” Even though Huo Yuhao wasn’t at Dai Yueheng’s level of cultivation, he hardly needed to expend a great deal of effort in running now. As a result of that, he could still use soul power to protect his nose and mouth to speak.

Dai Yueheng chuckled and said, “I knew you were going to ask that question. Evil soul masters are also soul masters, but they’re very scary.” Even with his cultivation and self-confidence, Huo Yuhao actually caught a smudge of fear in Dai Yueheng’s eyes when he uttered the words ‘evil soul master’. Huo Yuhao had originally asked this question without thinking it through. However, he was secretly shocked that an elite of Shrek Academy like Dai Yueheng was actually afraid of an evil soul master.

“Evil soul masters have been in existence since long ago. It is said that Ancestor Tang San, who was part of the first generation of Shrek’s Seven Devils encountered a powerful evil soul master one year. What’s more, that individual was also an evil Douluo. He was nevertheless able to obtain a domain-type ability from the other party. A so-called evil soul master is a soul master who has a few very exceptionally evil martial souls.”

Huo Yuhao was shocked when he heard this and said, “There are evil martial souls too?”

Dai Yueheng nodded and said, “Martial souls can be anything. There’s no distinction between good and evil if you view a martial soul on its own. But when the martial soul needs to be cultivated through special means, then that martial soul must definitely be evil. You’ll understand when I give you an example.”

“More than six hundred years ago, a powerful evil soul master appeared on the continent. He eventually became a Titled Douluo powerhouse, and granted himself the title of Blood Baby. His cultivation method was extremely unique, and his martial soul only awakened when he was eighteen years old. After his martial soul awakened, he had a certain craving for babies. He needed to suck a baby’s brain and swallow a baby’s heart before he could cultivate. Don’t you think this kind of soul master is evil? How many babies did he need to kill to cultivate from being a normal soul master to a Titled Douluo?”

Huo Yuhao felt a shiver run up his spine, all the way up to his scalp. That feeling that resembled pins and needles almost made him cry out in surprise. He never thought that a soul master like that actually existed in this world.

Dai Yueheng had a same look of fear in his eyes, “Titled Douluo Blood Baby was tyrannically strong. In a short span of twenty years, he attained the rank of a Titled Douluo through that evil cultivation method of his before he even turned forty. When he was using his soul power, a blood baby would appear, and with it would come incomparably frightening firepower and corrosive abilities. Amongst all of his nine soul rings, the lowest one was a thousand years old, and he even had two ten thousand-year soul rings. Later on, the previous commander of the academy’s Guardian squad personally undertook the task of disposing of him. It took him five whole years to find him before eradicating him from the face of the earth. Before that, he had killed tens of teachers and students from our academy. What do you say, isn’t this evil soul master frightening?”

“Perhaps evil soul masters weren’t born evil, but the strength and power of every soul master is the same, and so it is very easy for one to walk the path of darkness. Who can resist the temptation of obtaining such powerful and readily available power? In the end, one can only follow the devil’s path and fall from grace. These evil soul masters are the biggest enemies of the Guardian squad, and they are also the most difficult for us to deal with. But once we realise that an evil soul master has appeared, we must quickly eradicate them as fast as we can, because not only are they extremely destructive, but their growth is very rapid. Even though it is very difficult for an evil soul master to live too long a life, they can cause massive destruction in the years that they walk the face of the earth.”

Huo Yuhao suddenly felt enlightened, “So it’s like that! Thank you, senior brother!” Even though he’d been on his guard around Dai Yueheng from the start, he couldn’t help but admit that as an inner courtyard disciple, Dai Yueheng’s knowledge and experience was far greater than his.

“Senior brother, I still have a question. Senior sister Ma said that we have to complete this mission in three days. We’ve been progressing very quickly, but our academy is in the Heavenly Soul Empire, bordering the central north region of Star Luo Empire. On the other hand, Ming Dou Mountain is to the west of Star Luo Empire, and is more than a thousand miles away. We might not be able to hurry there in three days even if we were to give it our all! Let’s not even talk about killing the enemy!”