Chapter 5: The Ultimate Darkness Attribute

Zhou Yi carried Ye Xi Xuan swiftly through Shrek Academy, and Ye Xi Xuan felt as though an invisible barrier was protecting him, leaving only the world around him blurred and indistinct.

Without doubt, for him now, Zhou Yi already counted as a soul master of considerable strength.

Yet Ye Xi Xuan remained exceptionally calm, casting a sidelong glance at Zhou Yi’s face within the enclosure of soul power.

Although this was his first time meeting her, he knew the deeds of Teacher Zhou all too well.

In his past life’s memories, the reason Zhou Yi had favored Huo Yuhao in every possible way, even to the point of forcibly transferring Dai Huabin and the others out of Class One, was simply because she valued Huo Yuhao’s spirit detection ability, which could help her husband, Fan Yu.

Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, and the like were core disciples whose studies in the outer academy were only temporary. In time, they were bound to enter the inner academy. Huo Yuhao, by contrast, was her husband Fan Yu’s direct disciple. It was not hard to tell closeness from distance, preference from indifference.

This world was, after all, a very realistic one. Some of Zhou Yi’s actions might seem like abuse of power, but if one looked closely, the reasons behind them all had a traceable logic.

Ye Xi Xuan and Zhou Yi had no conflict of interest, so naturally he was not worried about what she might do to him.

After roughly fifteen minutes, Zhou Yi came to a stop by the shore of Sea God Lake, and Ye Xi Xuan’s feet once more touched solid ground.

Not far ahead of them stood an old man with disheveled hair. His appearance was truly a little dreadful: a robe that should have been white had been stained into a filthy grayish brown, torn in many places, with a roasted chicken in one hand and a wine gourd in the other.

“Elder Xuan.” Zhou Yi bowed respectfully to the ragged old man.

The old man ignored Zhou Yi entirely, instead staring fixedly at Ye Xi Xuan with widened eyes. To one’s surprise, though he looked ancient, his eyes were exceptionally bright, a startling crimson.

At that moment, the old man could no longer be bothered with eating or drinking. He walked up to Ye Xi Xuan with an expression of delight.

“As expected, it is the aura of an ultimate martial soul. Your martial soul should be a shadow, and it should also carry the ultimate darkness attribute. Little one, am I right?”

“An ultimate martial soul?” Before Ye Xi Xuan could say anything, Zhou Yi’s expression had already become wonderfully vivid. In the ten-thousand-year history of Shrek Academy, soul masters of ultimate attributes had appeared only three times. And those three ultimate attribute possessors had all once shaken the continent, becoming top-tier powerhouses of an era.

“Elder Xuan, then what were the black patterns that appeared on him just now?”

“That should be his martial soul’s innate ability. His martial soul is a shadow, and in a sense it counts as a special body martial soul. How could it possibly be related to the abilities of evil soul masters?” Elder Xuan seemed to have guessed Zhou Yi’s thoughts and chuckled twice.

This point had already been confirmed by Elder Mu. All right, Zhou Yi, you may go back first. I am taking this little fellow to Sea God Pavilion to see Elder Mu.”

“Yes, Elder Xuan.” Hearing that Elder Xuan even invoked Elder Mu, Zhou Yi immediately had no further doubts. Before leaving, however, she gave Ye Xi Xuan a deep look.

What Elder Xuan did not say was that even if Ye Xi Xuan’s martial soul truly possessed some abilities similar to those of evil soul masters, so long as Shrek Academy refused to acknowledge it, no one would dare say a word. Was not Ma Xiaotao’s evil-fire phoenix martial soul the best example?

Shrek Academy had a very flexible moral bottom line.

“Elder Xuan, greetings.” Ye Xi Xuan looked at the high-spirited Elder Xuan and stepped forward courteously to pay his respects as well. Whatever the reputation of this “grand elder of the Holy Spirit Cult” might be, one had to maintain proper respect toward a strong expert.

Elder Xuan casually wiped the grease from his hand onto his trouser leg, then, just as Zhou Yi had done earlier, reached out and grabbed Ye Xi Xuan by the shoulder. Once again, the world spun in a rush.

“There is no need for such pleasantries. You come from the Ye family of Celestial Spirit City?”

“Yes.” Ye Xi Xuan nodded frankly. For a powerhouse of Elder Mu and Elder Xuan’s level, it would not be difficult to sense from his martial soul aura the connection to the Ye family’s direct-line dark-element martial soul.

Elder Xuan said solemnly, “The academy knows a thing or two about your family’s matter. If you were given enough time to grow, your family might well rise in the future to become one of the continent’s foremost soul master clans. Who would have thought such a calamity would strike instead?”

“Do you know something?” A deep light gathered in Ye Xi Xuan’s dark eyes.

“There should be the shadow of evil soul masters behind it.”

Elder Xuan’s expression grew somewhat grave, and then, seeing the calm look on Ye Xi Xuan’s face, he instead seemed a little surprised.

“You are not surprised?”

“The ones who would do such a thing seem to be only that group of evil soul masters.” Ye Xi Xuan nodded slightly, his expression solemn. He had not personally witnessed the full catastrophe, being sent away by his elders before the tragedy fully unfolded, and thus did not know the whole picture. Yet he had long suspected as much.

What truly puzzled him was not this.

With Elder Xuan carrying him, their speed was far greater than Zhou Yi’s. After a brief exchange, the two appeared in the open space before Sea God Pavilion.

There were many buildings on Sea God Island, but only one could be called truly magnificent: Sea God Pavilion, standing at the very center of the island.

Apart from the underground world beneath the Golden Tree, Sea God Pavilion had six visible stories, each more than ten meters high. Mist drifted all around it, making it look like an immortal paradise cut off from the mortal world.

In the open area before Sea God Pavilion, an old man in gray cloth robes was half-reclining on a wooden lounge chair, his eyelids drooping, looking every bit the fragile remnant of a life nearing its end. He seemed even older than Elder Xuan.

Elder Xuan called softly, “Elder Mu, I have brought him.”

“Mhm.”

The old man opened his murky eyes and gave a faint reply. Then he looked at Ye Xi Xuan, his gaze kind, yet his words were startling.

“In those years, I and Xiao Yao competed and clashed for more than a hundred years, with victories and losses on both sides. I never imagined that when it came to the talents of the younger generation, it would be his line that proved stronger.”

With those words, not only Elder Xuan, but even Ye Xi Xuan was struck speechless, frozen in place as if by lightning.

“Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao?” Elder Xuan, always impatient by nature, could not remain calm at all.

“Elder Mu, this little fellow is a descendant of Dragon Emperor Douluo? Then what of the Ye family...”

“After that incident back then, Xiao Yao and I both had our own families. The Ye family line took the mother’s surname.” Elder Mu’s hoarse, low voice sounded as he motioned Ye Xi Xuan closer.

“Before leaving the family, your elders should have given you some instructions, yes?”

“Yes, Elder Mu.” Ye Xi Xuan took a deep breath and slowly raised his left hand. His heart was by no means as calm as it appeared, but everything had now come together, and it seemed as if every piece could finally be explained.

With a flash of light, a pitch-black scale appeared in Ye Xi Xuan’s hand. The scale was diamond-shaped, resembling a dragon scale, but unlike an ordinary dragon scale, its texture was slick and heavy to the touch, possessing the sheen of black crystal.

The instant this scale was exposed to the air, all the surrounding light seemed to be swallowed by it, rapidly dimming.

“Indeed, it is the dragon crystal of the Dark Sacred Dragon.” Elder Mu closed his eyes, as though sinking into memory.