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An hour later, inside a Shrek Academy dormitory, Ma Hongjun lay on his bed. His entire body was wrapped in bandages, and not an inch of his skin was visible. He looked like a living mummy.
Standing beside the bed, Flender frowned and looked at Ma Hongjun with a pained expression. He turned to the Yu Xiaogang, whose face was slightly gloomy, and asked in a low voice, "Xiao Gang, you examined Hongjun, is he going to be okay?"
The Yu Xiaogang shook his head and replied in a very low voice, "The flesh in Ma Hongjun's lower abdomen is completely necrotic. Even a Titled Douluo-level healing Spirit Master wouldn't be able to restore it. We have to remove it completely to prevent infection."
"What?!" Flender's face changed drastically as his voice rose a few octaves. "There's no other way?"
The Yu Xiaogang shook his head again. "No. This is already the most conservative and safest way to handle it."
Just then, Ma Hongjun, who was lying on the bed, seemed to have heard their conversation. "Woo wooâ"
He suddenly opened his eyes wide. They were full of terror and pleading as he shook his head desperately. He struggled to raise his hand but was completely unable to move. He could only make weak, urgent whimpers, clearly protesting the decision.
After a long silence, Flender looked at Ma Hongjun, who was lying motionless on the bed like a broken rag doll, his face etched with a complicated expression.
Finally, Flender slowly took a cold, gleaming dagger from his soul tool. He walked towards the bed, one step at a time. With each step he took, Ma Hongjun's eyes grew more terrified, and his face filled with despair.
Flender frowned tightly, unable to bring himself to do it. He sighed and handed the dagger to the Yu Xiaogang. "Xiao Gang, Hongjun is my direct disciple, and I personally taught him. I can't bring myself to do it. Why don't you do it?"
The Yu Xiaogang took the dagger, his brows tightly furrowed. He was silent for a moment, then finally nodded and looked at Ma Hongjun. "I'll try to be quick. Bear with it."
After speaking, the Yu Xiaogang slowly walked to the bed, bent down, and gripped the dagger in his right hand.
Ma Hongjun's eyes were filled with fear. He shook his head desperately, and tears streamed down the edges of his bandages. His body trembled, but he didn't even have the strength to struggle. He could only let out low whimpers, full of resistance, but it was all in vain.
Taking a deep breath, the Yu Xiaogang flicked his wrist, and the dagger flashed with a cold light. "Ahâ!!!"
A shrill scream immediately echoed throughout the dormitory.
At that moment, the Yu Xiaogang didn't know that because of this incident, Ma Hongjun would hold a grudge, leading him to suffer the exact same fate as the latter in the future.
A few minutes later, the atmosphere in Shrek Academy's headmaster's office was exceptionally solemn.
The Yu Xiaogang and Flender sat side-by-side in the main seats, both with grim expressions. Below them, Zhao Wuji, Tang San, Dai Mubai, and others stood in an orderly fashion.
Zhao Wuji was solemnly reporting the details of the previous battle with the Golden-haired woman. Suddenly, the Yu Xiaogang and Flender frowned almost simultaneously, then abruptly stood up and exchanged glances, as if they had heard something unusual.
"What did you just say?" the Yu Xiaogang asked in a low, heavy voice. "That Golden-haired woman can devour her opponent's life force?"
Zhao Wuji was stunned, then nodded. "Yes, when her golden long spear pierced me, I clearly felt my life force rapidly draining away."
"Could it be a Fallen?" Flender's eyes narrowed, a hint of shock flashing in them.
"Yes, the long spear in the Golden-haired woman's hand can indeed devour life force. I'm sure of this; there's no mistake," Zhao Wuji affirmed again.
The Yu Xiaogang's expression immediately turned gloomy. "If that's the case, then it makes sense. No wonder Dai Mubai and Little San weren't a match for them; it turns out they are Fallen."
Tang San frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, what are Fallen?"
"Spirits, strictly speaking, have no distinction between good and evil," the Yu Xiaogang explained in a deep voice. "However, after their Spirits awaken, some people's Spirits will exhibit extreme characteristics, such as being able to devour others' life force, flesh, spirit power, or even their soul. To get stronger, these people embark on a nearly insane path of cultivation, eventually becoming cold-blooded and cruel."
"Their cultivation speed is extremely fast, and their strength far exceeds that of Spirit Masters of the same rank, but the methods they use go against common sense. Such Spirit Masters are called Fallen, also known as Evil Spirit Masters," he continued.
His expression became even more solemn as he slowly swept his gaze over everyone. "However, I remember that the Evil Spirit Masters on the continent were already completely wiped out by Spirit Hall many years ago or driven into the Land of the Fallen.
Logically, they shouldn't be appearing in the outside world again. But now two have suddenly appeared, and there's probably more to this than meets the eye."
Hearing this, Flender's expression darkened. He turned to the Yu Xiaogang with a solemn look and whispered, "Xiao Gang, do you mean... these two Evil Spirit Masters might have been intentionally released by Spirit Hall?"
"It's not impossible," the Yu Xiaogang replied. He frowned slightly, as if pondering his words. After a moment, he slowly nodded. "Today's Spirit Hall is no longer just an organization that maintains the order of Spirit Masters. They are ambitious and have plans to unify the entire continent. What wouldn't they do to achieve their goals?"
"Maybe they deliberately released a group of Evil Spirit Masters from the Land of the Fallen to harm the common people and disrupt order, and then they would step in to eliminate them, thereby winning over public support and undermining the prestige of the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires. It's a classic case of a thief crying 'stop thief,' a common tactic of Spirit Hall."
When the Yu Xiaogang's words fell, Tang San's expression changed. He stepped forward, his voice filled with anger. "Teacher, Spirit Hall is too wicked, aren't they? For their own ambition, they actually allow Evil Spirit Masters to come out and harm the innocent!"
The Yu Xiaogang first nodded, then raised his hand and gently patted Tang San's shoulder. His tone was slightly heavy but full of expectation. "Little San, you must seize the time to cultivate. If one day in the future Spirit Hall truly threatens the entire continent, then someone must stand up and stop them. I hope that person is you."
"Teacher, I will!" A determined light flashed in Tang San's eyes. He nodded heavily, his tone resolute.
He thought for a moment and then asked, "By the way, Teacher, how should we deal with these two Evil Spirit Masters next? They injured so many people from our Shrek Academy; we absolutely cannot let them continue to harm the Spirit Master world."
Hearing these words, Flender's eyes flickered, and Ma Hongjun's image, wrapped in bandages and lying on the sickbed, barely alive, immediately came to his mind. His heart suddenly tightened, and his face instantly turned gloomy.
"You're right, Little San," Flender said in a deep voice, a hint of anger and gritted teeth in his tone. "Hongjun is the best example. If we don't act now, only more Spirit Masters will suffer. As part of the Spirit Master world, we absolutely cannot sit by and do nothing!"
The Yu Xiaogang and Flender exchanged glances, their eyes becoming sharper and more decisive. The Yu Xiaogang said, "Since we've confirmed they are Evil Spirit Masters, we definitely cannot let them go unpunished.
The reason Evil Spirit Masters are evil is because their path of cultivation is destined to be built upon the flesh and soul of countless people. If they are not eliminated in time, they will surely become a great disaster in the future."
Flender also nodded, a chilling glint flashing in his eyes. "Today's Spirit Hall has probably long been in cahoots with Evil Spirit Masters. It's impossible to expect them to act. If we report this matter, it might even alert them."
Nodding slightly, the Yu Xiaogang continued, "So we must act ourselves! How about this: tomorrow morning, all teachers and students of our Shrek Academy will set out and search for these two in Soto City.
Once found, immediately fire a signal, and we will gather to encircle and annihilate them. No matter how strong they are, they won't be able to defeat so many of us working together!"