Chapter 5: Xiadie, an Evil Soul Master?

Xiadie stood quietly, her gaze fixed on the depths of the forest, her tone calm and without ripples.

"Crunch, crunch."

The sound of stepping on fallen leaves came from the direction Xiadie was watching.

A man with gray-black cropped hair, black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, and an air of scholarly refinement walked toward this side.

However, his scholarly, refined aura was completely at odds with the baseball bat-like martial soul in his hand.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black.

The pressure of five soul rings spread through the air, slowly pressing toward Xiadie.

Xiadie's expression remained unchanged; one could not even detect any pressure on her.

"Huh?"

The man's voice of surprise rang out, "To be able to withstand my pressure, little girl, you are stronger than I expected, but Evil Soul Masters must be eradicated by all."

Xiadie frowned and said coldly, "Is your Shrek so indiscriminate?"

"Insulting a Shrek student, speaking recklessly of Lord Sea God, and furthermore, you are an Evil Soul Master, little girl."

As he spoke, the man snorted coldly, "My name is Wang Yan, and I am a teacher at Shrek Academy."

"My martial soul, the Panlong Staff, contains the righteous energy of heaven and earth and also has the ability to identify Evil Soul Masters."

"The aura of death on you might deceive others, but it cannot deceive me. Come with me to the academy to face Judgment, otherwise..."

"I refuse." Xiadie said decisively, interrupting him before he could finish.

What a joke, does he really think she is stupid!

With her and Yilaikesi, if the two of them went to Shrek to be investigated inside and out, would they still have a way to survive?

"Sir, the road is wide, let us each go our own way; it is better for you and better for me."

Wang Yan did not speak; he leaned his body forward and set his fighting stance.

"Whoosh."

The spot where he stepped sank slightly, and Wang Yan vanished from where he stood.

"First Soul Skill—Panlong Sweeping."

The Panlong Staff whistled with power as it swung, covering the fan-shaped area in front of him, and Wang Yan controlled the Panlong Staff, slamming it toward Xiadie's shoulder.

Xiadie stepped back.

Using her heel as a pivot, she leaped lightly, barely dodging Wang Yan's attack zone.

As her feet touched the ground, Xiadie's purple gaze turned slightly cold: "Those who kill others will always be killed themselves."

"Since this is your wish, Sir, I can send you on your way."

Xiadie retreated again, pulling away from the attack of Wang Yan, who had already reached her.

"Boom."

A cloud of dust and smoke surged up.

The Panlong Staff smashed heavily into the ground, creating a deep pit half a meter in diameter.

Gravel flew, kicking up waves of dust and sand.

Having had two consecutive attacks dodged by Xiadie, Wang Yan could not help but feel some surprise.

Even if he was not skilled in combat, he was, after all, a five-ring Soul King.

He had roughly judged the opponent's strength.

"Around level 20?"

But could a mere level 20 have such fast reaction speed?

The energy fluctuations emitted when the opponent dodged the attack, and the power felt through the Panlong Staff.

That faintly surging aura was undoubtedly an evil martial soul.

Wang Yan stopped thinking, the veins on his hand gripping the Panlong Staff bulging.

"Second Soul Skill—Dragon Pattern Heavy Strike."

Wang Yan began to run, and one end of the Dragon Pattern Staff in his hand turned red.

Like a sharp blade, it thrust fiercely toward Xiadie's chest.

This time it was not for capture, but for a heavy blow, or even assassination.

"The power is strong, but the combat experience is lacking."

This time Xiadie did not dodge, but instead went straight to meet him.

She turned slightly, her body tilting at an angle like a contortionist, brushing past the force of the wind within the Panlong Staff's reach.

The moment the Panlong Staff finished its thrust, Xiadie took another step forward.

She clenched her right hand into a fist and swung it with force.

"Bang."

A piercing pain shot through Wang Yan's wrist, and because of the numbing pain, he could not hold the Panlong Staff firmly, and it was sent flying.

The Panlong Staff spun in the air a few times before landing on the ground seven or eight meters away, making a "clatter" sound.

Xiadie glanced at her left arm; because of dodging the attack, she had been grazed by the soul power of the Panlong Staff, leaving a shallow wound.

"Injured..."

Is her body unable to keep up with her mind's reactions?

Xiadie's thoughts raced; her left hand reached out and grabbed Wang Yan's arm, which was a beat slow due to the numbness in his acupoints.

A surge of purple death energy condensed.

"Not good." Wang Yan was shocked, "How is this possible, an ultimate Death Attribute."

Wang Yan summoned the flying Panlong Staff back, and all the soul power in his body erupted.

Xiadie tapped her toes lightly, narrowly avoiding the sweep of the dragon-coiled staff.

As the dragon-coiled staff swept, the gale it whipped up brushed past a point half a foot from Xiadie's nose, blowing her silver-purple hair into a chaotic dance.

Xiadie continued to retreat, not stopping until she was ten meters away.

Wang Yan gripped the dragon-coiled staff, feeling the righteous energy of heaven and earth within it, and only then was the unease in his heart barely suppressed.

"Fifth soul skill—Panlong Roaring Heaven Smash!"

Wang Yan launched his attack, his slender frame becoming brawny and powerful under the enhancement of his fifth soul skill.

He was faster than ever before, leaping high into the air when he was still five meters away from Xiadie.

The dragon-coiled staff, supported by soul power to form a phantom image, slashed down from above, clearly intending to take down his enemy in one blow.

"Your time is up, sir."

As if to confirm Xiadie's words, the dragon might on Wang Yan's body vanished, and the soul power condensed on the dragon-coiled staff suddenly dissipated.

"Pfft!"

Wang Yan sprayed a mouthful of scarlet blood.

He fell heavily to the ground, and his martial soul slowly faded away after he hit the ground.

"You, what did you do to me?" Wang Yan raised his head with difficulty.

With a red smear of dirt still on his forehead from the hard fall, he lay on the ground, his body trembling incessantly as he struggled to get up.

"A medicinal powder that can affect the circulation of soul power."

Xiadie said calmly, "When you were secretly protecting those two Shrek students to hunt for soul rings, you should have heard what I said."

"I am a healer; I don't have the combat strength you possess, but when one is out and about, one must always think of their own safety, right?"

"You, you are despicable!" Wang Yan gritted his teeth.

"Despicable?" Xiadie shook her head lightly. "If you want to kill, you must have the resolve to be killed."

Xiadie extended her palm and pressed it against Wang Yan's head.

"Touch of Death."

Wang Yan's vitality dissipated rapidly.

After a long while, Xiadie slowly opened her eyes.

"He speculated that I was an Evil Soul Master and came to track me; he was too confident and didn't tell anyone else."

"A Soul Saint named Han Ruoruo has taken over the task of protecting Beibei..."

Xiadie shook her head: "The martial souls of Douluo Dalu are truly peculiar; even Tang San couldn't detect the abnormalities in me, yet a Soul King actually did."

Although it was only a speculation and not yet certain, it was still absurd.

The opponent was a theoretical Soul Master not skilled in combat; otherwise, she might have had to leave her life here.

It was also fortunate that when she was in Wengfaluosi, she had spent dozens of cycles learning pharmacology from the teaching assistant Feng Jin.

Otherwise, in this strange world, it would have been truly difficult to use unfamiliar herbs to concoct a colorless and odorless powder capable of taking down a Soul King.

Her authority was suppressed and her body had shrunk, but her mind was as sharp as ever.

In over thirty million cycles, she didn't just write novels; through Polyukes's resonance, she sent the novels to the Underworld to entertain her sister Bolüxiya.

Alchemy, pharmacology, medicine, and so on.

She had to round out her capabilities; otherwise, would it be worth the pain of Bai E stabbing her in the chest every time he took the fire seed?

If she didn't learn anything, she would go insane sooner or later.

See, isn't it coming in handy now?

Even if she didn't know what the herbs in the Star Dou Great Forest were, or what the concocted powder was, knowing it could hinder a Soul Master's soul power circulation was enough.

The rest could wait; if her life were gone, it would truly be gone.

Xiadie shook her head, casting aside the cluttered thoughts.

She skillfully cleaned up the scene.

From Wang Yan's memories, Xiadie obtained quite a bit of information and common knowledge about this world.

She was finally no longer completely in the dark.

Looking at Wang Yan's corpse, which bore no wounds, Xiadie sighed softly:

"For the sake of my personal safety, I can only erase your soul. Please rest in peace!"

Taking the Soul Guidance Device from Wang Yan's wrist, Xiadie turned and left.

Not long after Xiadie left, a graceful figure arrived at the scene; it was none other than Han Ruoruo.

She looked at Wang Yan's corpse, unable to speak for a long time.

"Hm? That is..." Han Ruoruo's gaze noticed an anomaly.

She took out a vessel and approached the low plant a few meters away from Wang Yan's corpse.

She carefully collected the golden liquid, which was on the verge of dripping from the back of the plant's leaves, into the vessel and sealed it.

Han Ruoruo clenched her fists: "Teacher Wang Yan, I will definitely find the murderer who killed you and bring them to justice."