"Come out."
Su Wen wiped the blood from his hand, eyes flicking toward a corner.
The air felt frozen.
No one stepped from the shadows.
Su Wen remained calm, quietly watching the corner, as if dueling with an unseen presence.
After a while, a tall, wheat-skinned girl in the Sun and Moon Royal Academy's black-and-red sixth-year uniform stepped out, like a frightened rabbit, black eyes full of terror.
"I-I'm not with the Holy Spirit Cult… No, I was forced to join… please don't kill me."
Her words tumbled over each other.
Her long legs trembled.
She had hidden in the earth-altar just now, narrowly avoiding Su Wen's sweep thanks to quick wits, and had watched with her own eyes as this absurdly handsome boy effortlessly suppressed the sub-hall's elites. Even the ever-enigmatic Holy Son was like a mouse before a cat—crushed with ease…
"…"
Su Wen looked her up and down.
He'd guessed a few things. He kept wiping his hands, unhurried. "Name?"
"Na Na…" she whispered.
"Martial soul: Ghost?"
"Yes." She was stunned—he knew?
"I recall… you were supposed to be in another Holy Spirit sub-hall. Why are you here?" Su Wen asked with interest.
In the original story, Na Na was in a different sub-hall, whose hall master was only Soul Sage level. But this was the Sun and Moon Empire's largest local sub-hall—the Mingdu branch. Something had clearly changed…
Na Na swallowed, her back going cold.
She felt stripped bare under Su Wen's gaze, with nowhere to hide.
"Because of the Holy Son. He promised that if I obeyed and served him, he'd cleanse my parents and let them pass on without further torment." Na Na spoke softly.
"…"
Su Wen glanced at Huo Yuhao's corpse.
With Huo Yuhao's standing in the cult, he very likely had a shot at the Holy Son seat.
So recruiting and building a faction early made sense.
"You don't recognize me?"
Su Wen raised a brow.
Though he'd only recently arrived in the Sun and Moon Empire, at least seventy or eighty percent of students recognized him—especially after his fight with Ji Juechen, and then Meng Hongchen yanking his pants down to reveal that little bear pattern. He'd gone viral like a meme.
Na Na was aloof, sure, but claiming she didn't know him was a stretch.
"I…" Na Na cast him a sidelong glance.
In this situation, admitting she knew him probably meant getting silenced, right?
But looking at that devilish smile, maybe she'd be killed whether she lied or not… she muttered inwardly, stealing another glance.
The youth's handsome, slightly boyish profile and his forever unruffled air stood in stark contrast to the mountain of Holy Spirit corpses behind him.
That composure wasn't an act—it came from real power.
Also… kind of handsome.
Na Na's cheeks flushed.
Su Wen finished wiping his hands and noticed her blush, head drooping in who-knows-what thoughts. A vein throbbed in his temple. Was his pressure not working? At a time like this, why are you blushing like you just sipped bubble tea?
"Go say your goodbyes to your parents inside."
"You… noticed me back then?!" Na Na looked shocked.
On second thought, with power like his, not noticing would be strange. She thought she'd hidden well, but in truth, he'd spared her.
"Mm."
At the mention of her parents, Na Na's face dimmed.
"…"
Su Wen nodded.
Then gray mist rolled from under his feet, spreading fast, cocooning the entire courtyard.
"Such pure, ultimate darkness!" Na Na blanched.
He's an evil soul master?!!
Despair crept over her.
So Su Wen wasn't some righteous Shrek inspector punishing evil—but a prehistoric behemoth within the Holy Spirit Cult, to whom Holy Sons and Grand Holy Spirits were mere shrimp…
Su Wen's figure seemed to grow.
Within the hazy gray—
He stood like a god.
Countless spirits rose from beneath the altar, flocking to him like devout pilgrims.
Among them were Na Na's parents.
Na Na's fear spiked.
Out of the wolf's den, into the tiger's maw?
"Life to death, flesh to bone, soul to homeland, turn the wheel—this is the true meaning of death…" Su Wen's eyes turned gray. A holy radiance speared the sky. In Na Na's stunned gaze, the souls drifted upward as if toward heaven. Her parents' spirits regained brief clarity, held hands with gentle smiles, waved farewell to Na Na, then stepped into the golden pillar and vanished from the world.
"Life and death should cycle without end, but this world's death-law is broken. That's how these ill-intentioned people exploit it," Electrolux frowned.
"Doesn't matter—won't you just become the God of Death?" Su Wen smiled.
"That is true…" Electrolux laughed boldly.
"This world's death-law is incomplete, and none other has laid claim. Once more of my divine sense returns, I might give it a try!"
"Skipping the God Seat inheritance entirely?" Su Wen mused.
"Precisely!"
"…"
The gray mist dissipated.
Seeing Na Na still standing there in a daze, Su Wen said, "With death-law broken here, if the dead don't enter the cycle at once, they become wandering ghosts. The best end awaiting them is to scatter—no one to guide them."
"I, on the other hand, send them into their next turn."
"Thank you…"
Na Na bowed a full ninety degrees.
Tears splashed on the floor. She bit her lip, long unwilling to rise.
"This is the truth of death," Su Wen said with a smile, speaking inwardly to Old Yi in his spirit sea.
"Indeed. Those who insult death will face the wrath of the Reaper…" Electrolux said coolly.
"You're not humble at all. We're not even at the first stroke of the character yet."
"Heh, what do you know? Since I've said it, I'm absolutely confident of godhood." Electrolux folded his hands behind his back, serene as a sage.
Bantering with the kid from time to time was actually fun.
His twilight years had found a certain flavor.
…
Sun and Moon Empire Royal Palace.
Past thick-walled corridors, deeper within, Ju Zi held a token, face calm. Guided by two maids, she passed unimpeded.
She halted outside a side hall.
After a brief hesitation, she entered.
"Ju Zi, you're here?"
Seeing the girl, Xu Tiannan accepted a white robe from a maid and draped it on. A gentle smile softened his face—harmless and amiable.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Ju Zi knelt on one knee, every courtesy observed.
Inside, her heart was still. Perhaps only she knew the prince's true nature: seemingly cultured and mild, but suspicious and ruthless. Yet if she wanted to cling to this pillar to avenge her parents, she had to endure, approach, earn his trust at any cost…
"Rise."
Xu Tiannan chuckled.
"You don't often come to the palace. What's the rush today—using even the special pass I granted you?"
"Recently, I, Keke, Huo Yuhao, and Su Wen went to the Jingyang Mountains to test the all-terrain soul tool detector," Ju Zi said steadily.
"…"
At the name Su Wen—
Xu Tiannan's eyes narrowed. He waved the maids away and fixed his gaze on her. "Speak."
"He showed his strength. That white ape alone easily wiped out a pack led by a ten-thousand-year Silver Moon Wolf King, three ten-thousand-year Golden Wolves, and hundreds of adult Golden Wolves. But he didn't slaughter them…" Knowing how seriously the prince regarded Su Wen, Ju Zi kept it concise, recounting events and sharing her assessment.
"By my estimate, that white ape alone can rival a Soul Douluo-level expert."
"Su Wen is easygoing and doesn't kill indiscriminately, but he's not indecisive—what he did to Wang Shaojie shows he repays grudges. Even as a newcomer, he never chose to let things slide.
He looks like a conservative type—unlikely to proactively start wars in the future. More a guardian of continental peace."
Ju Zi spoke earnestly.
"Oh?" Xu Tiannan smiled faintly.
"You rate him highly."
"His potential is terrifying. Put aside his martial talent—just in soul tools, in mere months he went from a newbie worse than me to the equal of Xuan Ziwén at the level of an eighth-rank soul engineer. Often, Teacher Xuan discusses as a peer with him," Ju Zi said.
"Teacher Xuan is a genius with wild ideas in soul tools—and proud. Very few in Mingde Hall can make him treat them as equals."
"Talent that strong?"
Even Xu Tiannan, usually composed, couldn't stay calm. His brow lifted, voice suspicious.
Soul tools are the Sun and Moon Empire's foundation.
If Shrek overtook them on the curve, what then? Su Wen's talent sounded insane… In just days, he'd reached eighth rank?!!
"This isn't a secret. Su Wen just keeps a low profile, so few know," Ju Zi sighed.
With a monster like him around, could the Sun and Moon Empire really sweep the three kingdoms as cleanly as the sandbox predicted?
She was no longer sure.
From an enemy's perspective, if she were supreme commander right now, she'd order his death without hesitation—kill the threat in the cradle.
But personally, Su Wen's charisma made it hard to raise her hand. The longer she was around him, the deeper she sank.
Do charm demons really exist?
Even Ju Zi felt unsure.