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Inside the council hall, the air was cold and heavy. Zhao Wuji stared with wide eyes, completely unable to believe what he was hearing.
"You want us to kill innocent people and absorb their Souls?" Zhao Wuji yelled.
Liu Erlong looked at Tang San with total disgust. "Tang San, you have completely lost your mind."
Qin Ming stepped forward, his voice deep and serious. "This is not a test. This is the Evil Path."
Tang San's gaze turned cold as he looked at the teachers standing before him.
"The Evil Path?" Tang San asked, his voice filled with mockery. "What is good, and what is evil? When Chen kills Spirit Beasts and absorbs spirit rings, everyone calls him a genius. When Qian Renxue inherits the Angel God position, people say it is holy. But when I absorb Souls to become stronger, you call it the Evil Path? You are all just trapped by the useless morality of this world. Power itself has no right or wrong. There is only strength and weakness."
Tang San then turned his eyes toward Yu Xiaogang.
"Teacher, you should understand me best," Tang San said calmly. "Haven't you always wanted to prove yourself to the world? Haven't you always wanted everyone to know that your theories are right? Now, your chance is right in front of you."
Yu Xiaogang had been keeping his head down the entire time. Hearing Tang San call his name, he slowly raised his face. The soft candlelight of the council hall shone on him, and everyone was shocked. Yu Xiaogang's skin was no longer a normal color. It was a strange gray-white color, stained by a cold, dark energy. Faint purple-black markings were visible in his eyes.
Liu Erlong felt a sharp pain in her heart. "Xiaogang?"
Yu Xiaogang did not look at Liu Erlong. His eyes were completely fixed on the Rakshasa token in Tang San's hand. In those eyes that had always been full of pain, sadness, and anger, a scary, crazy look appeared.
"Power..." Yu Xiaogang whispered to himself. "Power that can fix the flaws in my Spirit. Power that can finally prove my theories."
Flender's expression changed instantly. "Xiaogang, what are you talking about?"
Yu Xiaogang slowly stood up. His body moved in a stiff way, but his face was filled with crazy excitement.
"Flender, Erlong, you don't understand," Yu Xiaogang said, his voice rising. "You will never understand how I felt. In my life, how many people have laughed at me? They called me a useless waste who cannot cultivate. They said I am just someone who writes stupid theories on paper. So many people questioned my ten core competencies. When Chen beat my theories again and again, the whole world said I was wrong. But was I really wrong? No! I was not wrong! I just did not have enough power to prove myself! If I get the power of the Rakshasa God, if I can fix my Spirit, who will dare to call me a waste ever again?"
Liu Erlong was completely shocked. She stared at Yu Xiaogang in deep disbelief.
"Xiaogang, wake up!" Liu Erlong shouted with tears in her eyes. "That is dark power from the Rakshasa God! That is evil power you only get by killing people and taking their Souls!"
Yu Xiaogang turned his head and looked directly at Liu Erlong. His eyes felt so cold that she felt like she was looking at a total stranger.
"Erlong, deep down, you also think I am just a useless waste, don't you?" Yu Xiaogang asked quietly.
Liu Erlong's face turned completely pale. "I have never thought that about you!"
Yu Xiaogang sneered. "All of you look at me with pity. Flender pities me. You pity me. Tang San used to respect me, but what about later? Later, everyone saw that Chen's path was right, and I was just a big joke."
He reached out his shaking hand toward Tang San.
"I join," Yu Xiaogang said without hesitation. "I am willing to join the Rakshasa Divine Court. I will take the test."
Hearing these words, Flender felt like lightning had hit his heart.
Zhao Wuji couldn't hold back his anger and cursed loudly, "Yu Xiaogang! You are totally crazy!"
A cold smile appeared on Tang San's face. He waved his hand, and the purple-black token flew straight into Yu Xiaogang's hand. The moment Yu Xiaogang grabbed it, his body shook violently. A huge amount of dark power poured into him from the token. Yu Xiaogang let out a low, painful roar.
His Spirit, Luo San Pao, automatically appeared on the floor. But Luo San Pao was no longer small or cute. Dark purple mist wrapped around its body as it twisted painfully. Sharp bone spikes grew out from its back, and its eyes turned a ghostly green color.
Yu Xiaogang looked at Luo San Pao and trembled with extreme joy.
"Evolution..." Yu Xiaogang muttered. "It is really evolving! My Spirit can finally become strong!"
Tang San looked at him calmly. "Teacher, this is only the beginning. Once you finish the first test and offer one hundred Souls, your Spirit will completely transform."
Liu Erlong couldn't stand it anymore. She raised her palm and tried to smash the token in Yu Xiaogang's hand.
"Throw that evil thing away!" she cried out.
Tang San's eyes turned icy, and the Rakshasa Demonic Scythe in his hand hummed. A strong dark barrier appeared in front of Liu Erlong, blocking her attack with a loud bang. The shockwave pushed Liu Erlong back several steps.
"Teacher Erlong, I still respect you as my former teacher, so I didn't harm you," Tang San warned coldly. "But if you try to stop us again, don't blame me for being heartless."
Flender slowly stepped forward, his eyes full of sorrow and anger.
"Heartless?" Flender laughed bitterly. "Tang San, do you really have the face to talk about old feelings with us now?"
Tang San frowned slightly. "Dean Flender, I don't want to be your enemy."
Flender's anger exploded. "Don't want to be my enemy? When you killed those innocent people, did you remember what Shrek taught you? When you turned Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun into dead puppets, did you remember they were your brothers? Now you come back and tell us to kill people with you, and you say you don't want to be my enemy?"
Tang San's face darkened. "Dean, things are different now. What Shrek taught me cannot save Xiao Wu, and it cannot save anyone else. Only true power can decide everything."
Flender slammed his hand onto the table, shattering it. "That is complete trash!"
His loud roar echoed through the entire hall. Flender walked right up to Tang San. Even though he was old and his spirit power was weaker than Tang San's, he stood tall.
"Tang San, listen to me," Flender said, pointing at him. "No matter how poor Shrek Academy was, I never taught my students to murder innocent people! We taught you to fight so you could protect the people you love, not so you could kill regular people for their Souls! Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were your brothers. Xiao Wu was your lover. Look at what you have done to them! You turned your brothers into puppets, you turned Xiao Wu into a walking corpse, and you kill innocent people like animals. Do you really think you are saving her? You are not saving Xiao Wu. You are just insulting her memory!"
Tang San's expression finally snapped. "Xiao Wu belongs to me! You have no right to judge how I save her!"
Flender yelled back, "If Xiao Wu were truly conscious right now, you would be the very first person she would kill!"
A terrifying explosion of dark energy burst out from Tang San. The entire hall shook violently, and all the tables and chairs turned into dust.
Zhao Wuji and Qin Ming quickly summoned their Spirits to protect Flender. Behind Liu Erlong, a giant red dragon appeared, surrounding her with bright fire.
Tang San stood inside the dark mist, his face looking twisted and evil.
"Fine," Tang San sneered. "It seems you refuse to join me."
Zhao Wuji laughed angrily. "Ask me to kill people for Souls? Keep dreaming!"
Qin Ming said seriously, "We from Shrek can die in battle, but we will never become Evil Spirit Masters!"
Liu Erlong looked at Yu Xiaogang with tears falling down her face. "Xiaogang, please, come back to us!"
Yu Xiaogang held the dark token tightly. For a second, he hesitated, but the purple light in his eyes quickly consumed his last bit of kindness.
"Erlong, you will understand one day," Yu Xiaogang whispered softly. "I am not doing wrong. I am just finding a new way to be strong."
Flender looked at Yu Xiaogang, his eyes filled with complete disappointment. "Yu Xiaogang, if you really do this, then from this moment on, you are no longer my brother!"
Yu Xiaogang's body shook, but he did not drop the token.
Tang San laughed coldly. "Dean Flender, you are so foolish. Do you really think you can just walk away from this?"
Tang San slowly raised his Rakshasa Demonic Scythe.
"I will give you one last choice," Tang San said coldly. "Join the Rakshasa Divine Court, or become its very first sacrifices."
As soon as he spoke, dark fog flooded in from outside the hall. Figures slowly walked out from the dark shadows. Xiao Wu was standing at the front. She wore her pink dress with her long braid, but her face was pale and her eyes were completely lifeless. Behind her were the dead bodies of Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Tai Long, and the two Titled Douluos, Yue Guan and Gui Mei. A heavy, terrifying death aura filled the entire academy.
When Flender saw Ma Hongjun standing there like a corpse, his heart broke.
"Hongjun..." Flender called out weakly.
Ma Hongjun didn't move or respond. Ghostly green flames burned silently on his body. Flender took off his glasses with shaking hands. He knew his dear student was already dead, and the thing standing there was just a hollow shell controlled by dark magic.
"Tang San," Flender said softly, his voice surprisingly calm now. "You were the one who killed Xiao Wu."
Tang San's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"
"You killed her," Flender repeated firmly. "If Xiao Wu were truly alive, she would never stand beside you while you murder innocent people and turn her friends into monsters. You are just forcing your own obsession onto a dead body. You are not saving her. You just made a puppet that obeys your orders."
"Shut up!" Tang San screamed in rage.
He swung his scythe down with immense force, but Flender did not run. Behind Flender, his Four-Eyed Owl Spirit appeared with all its spirit rings lit up. Liu Erlong roared and rushed forward with her fire dragon. Zhao Wuji transformed with his Vigorous Vajra Bear Spirit, and Qin Ming summoned his Fire Wolf.
The four teachers attacked together. They knew they could not defeat Tang San, but they refused to surrender Shrek's honor.
"People from Shrek can die in battle, but we will never become monsters!" Flender shouted.
Tang San watched them charge at him and raised his hand casually. "Xiao Wu, stop them."
The dead Xiao Wu disappeared in an instant and reappeared right in front of Liu Erlong. Liu Erlong panicked and pulled back half of her attack because she couldn't bring herself to hit Xiao Wu. But the puppet Xiao Wu felt no mercy. She hit Liu Erlong directly in the chest, blasting her backward through the wall.
"Erlong!" Yu Xiaogang cried out, his hand trembling on the dark token.
Tang San looked at him coldly. "Teacher, since you joined me, leave your useless emotions behind. They only make you weak."
Meanwhile, the dead Dai Mubai slammed into Zhao Wuji with terrible strength. Even though Zhao Wuji was famous for his defense, the dead body felt no pain at all, completely overpowering him.
At the same time, the dead Ma Hongjun flew directly toward Flender with green fire wings. Flender hesitated for a second when he saw his student's face, and that brief moment allowed the evil fire to hit his chest. Flender coughed up blood and fell back, but he forced himself to stand straight again.
"Hongjun... I used to scold you every day for being lazy," Flender said with tears in his eyes. "I never thought we would fight like this."
The dead Ma Hongjun raised its sharp fire claws toward Flender's heart without any feeling.
Flender closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them with pure determination. "Since you are already gone, I will send you to rest!"
Flender turned into a streak of light and flew toward Ma Hongjun. But before he could reach him, a purple-black blade of energy slashed across his body. Tang San had moved.
Flender froze in place as his Spirit disappeared and his life force drained away rapidly. He looked down at his bleeding chest, then looked at Tang San with sad eyes.
"Tang San... Shrek failed to teach you properly..." Flender said weakly.
Tang San stared at him with an icy face. "No, it is just that Shrek was always too weak."
Blood dripped from Flender's mouth, but he smiled gently. "At least... we never taught you to turn into a monster..."
Flender's eyes slowly closed, and his body fell lifelessly to the floor.
"Flender!" Liu Erlong screamed in total agony, her fire burning wildly as she charged blindly toward Tang San.