Chapter 231

Then, Tang Wulin turned his gaze toward those white‑robed Holy Servants.

Sensing his stare, the Holy Servants instantly trembled.

They had also witnessed Tang Wulin's recent bravery, and it could be said that if Tang Wulin wanted to kill them, they would have absolutely no capacity to resist.

However, to their surprise, Tang Wulin sheathed his spear, came before them, and said gently, "Rise, you are liberated; you have endured hardship during this time."

"Huh?"

Hearing him say that, everyone froze; Li Wu stepped forward and said kindly:

"Don't be afraid; these two adults are here to rescue us; we are saved."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but wipe away a tear himself.

Only he knows how agonizing this period has been for him; he constantly thought of simply confronting the Holy Spirit Sect, yet he had to endure because of his parents.

Hearing him say that, the Holy Servants looked at each other, appearing incredulous.

Tang Wulin sighed, took the Shi Laike School Badge from the Storage Soul Conductor Device, and said to them:

"Look, we are members of the Shi Lai Ke Surveillance Team; we truly came to rescue you."

Seeing the Shi Laike School Badge, the Holy Servants finally relaxed completely, and the tension that had been taut loosened; some even sat down on the ground and began wailing loudly.

With mixed feelings as he looked at them, Tang Wulin reminded, "We must leave here quickly; we don't know when someone might arrive."

"Understood."

Thus, under Tang Wulin's lead, everyone left the Holy Spirit Sect Branch and checked into a hotel.

Just after completing their check‑in, Tang Wulin felt a strong dizziness; the side effect of Gongyang Mo's soul technique had arrived.

"Wulin…"

Seeing Gongyang Mo watching him anxiously, Tang Wulin waved his hand lightly and said, "I'm fine, senior; you keep an eye on them, I'll go up to the roof for a chat."

Gongyang Mo gave him a deep look and nodded.

"Alright, have a good rest tonight."

He didn't ask who Tang Wulin was going to talk to, nor did he remind him to stay safe.

Because he knew Tang Wulin could not possibly get into trouble.

Tang Wulin strained to climb onto the roof and said, "Song Lao, come out and chat?"

As the words fell, a hoary figure appeared beside him.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Tang Wulin gave a deep glance at the current Sea God Pavilion's second strongest master and said:

"Talk about what the Holy Spirit Elder said before dying; was what he said true?"

The reason he and Gongyang Mo dared to storm the Holy Spirit Sect Branch together was that Shi Lai Ke, upon learning the Holy Spirit Sect's news, immediately sent Song Lao over.

On this trip to the Holy Spirit Sect Branch they faced no real danger; the reason the three of them acted was that it was a test for Tang Wulin and others—once they passed, Tang Wulin and Zhou Sichen could enter the inner courtyard, and Gongyang Mo could graduate.

Song Lao was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "It's true, but why are you so angry? The facts show he indeed has an evil nature, otherwise he wouldn't have joined the Holy Spirit Sect." At her cultivation level, sensing emotions through spiritual waves was commonplace; she could clearly feel Tang Wulin's intense anger.

Tang Wulin took a deep breath and forced his anger down.

"Because I think those who were directly killed by him didn't have to die in the first place."

Tang Wulin didn't care about the Holy Spirit Elder himself; once he chose to join the Holy Spirit Sect and began harming people, he was, in Tang Wulin's eyes, stripped of any human rights.

Tang Wulin was voicing grievance for those killed after being forced into the Holy Spirit Sect; if the Holy Spirit Elder hadn't been compelled to join, could they have survived?

Song Lao said seriously:

"This is a necessary sacrifice; I trust you, Wulin, understand the danger of an Evil Soul Master—letting even one go would cause endless repercussions. Wulin, tell me, if he truly is an Evil Soul Master but we spared him, what do we do when he harms others again? Who bears that responsibility?"

"..."

Tang Wulin clenched his fists, unable to speak, his face heavy with gloom.

He felt something was off in his heart, yet in that moment he couldn't refute Song Lao's words.

The Holy Spirit Elder was indeed innocent, and Shi Lai Ke indeed acted improperly, but as Song Lao said, if he truly is an Evil Soul Master and Shi Lai Ke mistakenly released him, it would be a catastrophe, resulting in tens of thousands dying because of Shi Lai Ke's mistake.

He was still young, having always clung to his own sense of justice; this was his first encounter with such a dilemma, where whichever side he chose, many innocents would perish.

Tang Wulin didn't want anyone to suffer tragedy; he wished all good people could live happily, and now he was plunged into a completely bewildering dilemma for the first time.

After a while, he said somewhat defiantly, "I will change all this, definitely."

Song Lao smiled.

"Alright, then you must grow quickly; when you mature enough to assume the Sea God Pavilion Master's seat, many things you can't control now will be trivial, and the Academy's power will far exceed your imagination."

She didn't actually agree with Tang Wulin's idea, but it's normal for a child to have their own thoughts, and Tang Wulin's recent conduct in the Holy Spirit Sect Branch already showed he would never show mercy to an Evil Soul Master—a good, kind child.

Given that, she would wait to see with her own eyes how Tang Wulin changes everything; this child, favored by Mu En, possesses a talent that is Shi Lai Ke's first in ten thousand years, and she believes he will surely bring her great surprise.

Tang Wulin stood up and told Song Lao, "I won't return to the Academy for now; I apply for a position as an external permanent member of the Shi Lai Ke Surveillance Team."

The Shi Lai Ke Surveillance Team is divided into two types: one like Dai Yaoheng and Gongyang Mo, who mainly stay in the Academy and only occasionally go out on missions; the other are permanently stationed outside, spending years continuously on missions.

Tang Wulin doesn't want to return to the Academy now, partly because Meng Hongchen is definitely still waiting for him there, and also because he needs time to think carefully about how to resolve the Evil Soul Master issue.

Song Lao nodded lightly.

"Alright, but next I need to take you out of this city; after all, you just destroyed a Holy Spirit Sect Branch here, staying any longer would be too dangerous."

Tang Wulin said nothing, only nodded.

His original reason for applying for this mission was merely to evade Meng Hongchen; he never expected to catch the Holy Spirit Sect's big fish.

Everything he saw while carrying out this mission was overly stimulating, leaving him in a bad mood now.

Side note: the Evil Soul Masters forced into the Holy Spirit Sect receive the same assessment from me as Tang Wulin in the book; regardless of whether they were originally innocent, once they start harming others they are no different from other Evil Soul Masters, unworthy of being called humans.

By the way, I went a bit overboard for the Mid‑Autumn Festival; the remaining three chapters I'll write later, tonight just these two chapters~ (Chapter end).