Upon hearing this, Zhang Lexuan suddenly looked up at Lin Xiao.
"Then what about you?"
"Me?" Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Me what?"
"When will you be able to cross the threshold in your heart?"
Hearing Zhang Lexuan's words, Lin Xiao's body stiffened slightly.
"Before, when I came to the Extreme North to find you, you told me that you had established the Tongming Cult, a place to accommodate evil soul masters who still possessed a conscience and give them a new life."
"Then what about you? You let so many evil soul masters abandon their past and start anew as ordinary people, yet what about yourself?"
"You're still hung up on your previous identity as an evil soul master, aren't you?"
For a moment, Lin Xiao didn't know how to respond; even his gaze toward Zhang Lexuan carried a slight avoidance.
Having come to this world alone, he carried far too many secrets in his heart, and he had long grown accustomed to the feeling of loneliness.
But the woman before him, her words seemed to suddenly appear in his heart, touching on something he had been unwilling to bring up for so long.
For a time, he felt somewhat unaccustomed to this sensation.
Seeing that Lin Xiao remained silent for a long while, Zhang Lexuan moved closer, so close that they could almost hear each other's heartbeats.
"After you returned, have you gone to see your Tongming Cult? In the eyes of those residents, in the eyes of outsiders, the disciples of the Tongming Cult have never been evil soul masters, and the same goes for you."
"You once told me that, in your eyes, I represented the so-called righteous and upright path of the prestigious sects. If you had never entered the Holy Spirit Cult, perhaps you would have become the version of me that you envisioned."
"And I feel the same. The Shen Hao who once acted chivalrously and righteously was also the kind of person I hoped to become."
"Now, although we have not become the people we once imagined, we are both changing in that direction; we have long ceased to be who we originally were."
"If you were still the same evil soul master you used to be, then why is there not even the slightest trace of an evil soul master to be found in your Tongming Cult?"
Zhang Lexuan's voice was very soft, soft enough that it almost seemed about to dissipate into the wind, but it still drifted into Lin Xiao's ears and sank even deeper.
After pondering for a long time, Lin Xiao lowered his head slightly and looked at Zhang Lexuan again. "You're right. I have long been different from who I was at the very beginning. But I may never be able to completely cast aside the identity of an evil soul master."
"And until I complete some things that I must complete, I don't want to abandon the identity of an evil soul master either."
After Lin Xiao finished speaking, the room fell silent for a moment.
"What's the matter? You're the vice dean of Shrek Academy, surely you're not going to arrest me, this evil soul master, are you?" Lin Xiao said with a smile.
Zhang Lexuan did not reply. Instead, a faint smile appeared on her face as well, dispelling the coldness that usually marked her features and washing away all the fatigue she had carried during this period.
The wind and snow outside the door had lessened at some point. Though the chill remained, it could no longer seep into this small guest room.
Probably thanks to the heating soul guidance device.
"You came to find me this time, surely it wasn't just to say a few words to me, right?"
Hearing Lin Xiao's tone grow more serious, Zhang Lexuan also straightened her posture. "Mm… I wanted to ask you about something concerning Little Tao."
"Ma Xiaotao?" Lin Xiao frowned slightly. "What's wrong with her?"
"After the competition in Heavenly Dou City, Elder Xuan brought her back to the academy. But ever since then, she has never woken up again."
"Yet Xiaotao's talent is truly terrifying. Even without consciousness, the flames within her body grow stronger day by day."
"If this continues, I'm afraid she will end up being harmed by the flames she can no longer control."
After hearing Zhang Lexuan's words, Lin Xiao shook his head.
"If it were other evil soul masters, perhaps I could resolve their problems. But Ma Xiaotao is different. Back when she was in the Holy Spirit Cult, she was never an ordinary disciple; she was the Holy Spirit Cult's Saintess."
"Most disciples in the Holy Spirit Cult are divided into Holy Spirits and Holy Servants. The way the Holy Spirit Cult controls Holy Servants is mostly by using their family members or other means of coercion."
"As for those with greater talent, the Holy Spirits, they use the Ascending Spirit Ceremony to split their souls and hold their lives in their grasp."
"The Holy Spirit Cult is, after all, an organization of evil soul masters. They can't demand absolute loyalty from every disciple, so brainwashing methods are unavoidable."
"But Ma Xiaotao, as the Saintess, I'm not entirely sure what method Zhongli Wu used on her. Her soul remains intact; it doesn't seem as though she underwent the Ascending Spirit Ceremony."
"And coercion through other means is even less likely. I suspect it was probably brainwashing, but as for the specific method… at that time I was not yet an elder of the Holy Spirit Cult, so I don't know the details."
"To resolve Ma Xiaotao's problem, rather than coming to me, it might be more effective to find a healing-type soul master."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lexuan's expression became slightly unpleasant.
"Is there really no other way?"
"I don't have any here," Lin Xiao said with a soft sigh. "However, Ma Xiaotao's coma may not be because of brainwashing. Back when she was still in the Holy Spirit Cult, she was able to move about normally."
"Not because… is it because of her martial soul?" Zhang Lexuan also realized.
"Mm. Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes and cannot say for certain, I suspect her coma is more likely due to that evil power within her martial soul."
"To wake her up, perhaps it would be better to help her resolve the issue with her martial soul."
Though it was only a guess, Lin Xiao had considerable confidence in his heart. After all, in his memories, the original Ma Xiaotao had only recovered after her martial soul problem was resolved.
"Shrek Academy has been passed down for ten thousand years. Surely you have quite a bit of experience dealing with martial soul backlash, right?"
"Mm." Zhang Lexuan nodded. "In fact, the academy has already gone through quite a few records… I'll think about it more when I get back."
Lin Xiao did not say much more. Some things he could reveal, but others absolutely could not be spoken.
Now that he was acting under the decree of a deity, no one knew just how much of the god's gaze remained upon him.
Some things could be discovered, but they could not be discovered through him; otherwise, prying into a deity's plans without authorization would implicate not only Lin Xiao himself, but likely many others as well.
With memories from his previous life, Lin Xiao never doubted whether that deity would personally take action over certain matters.
"I…"
Zhang Lexuan lifted her head slightly, only to see Lin Xiao looking down at her. "Go take care of your matters. I know you still have many things to do. In the future, we will have plenty of time."
"Mm." Zhang Lexuan nodded gently and soon left the Tongming Cult.
Lin Xiao stood at the doorway. Not long after, Wuyun quietly appeared from the side.
"Cult Master."
"What is it?"
Wu Yun glanced in the direction Zhang Lexuan had left. "In the future, when this guest comes again, should we directly escort her to your room?"
Hearing this, Lin Xiao looked at Wu Yun and helplessly shook his head.
It seemed that after joining the Tongming Cult, Wu Yun's courage had grown considerably.
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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