Luo Shaofeng smiled. His expression seemed much kinder now. “All of you are my junior brothers and sisters then. I’m from Shrek as well, and I was once an inner court disciple. The man that you just encountered is Zhun Fang, and they call him Hell’s Ghost Vermin. He is a high-ranking member of the Holy Spirit Cult, and his Ultimate Yin Qi is extremely troublesome. I’ve been pursuing him for a long time, so I came at once when I finally sensed his aura.”
“Holy Spirit Cult?” Tang Wulin asked in confusion.
Luo Shaofeng explained, “This is a mysterious sect that has existed for an unknown number of years. More precisely, it is a sect that is involved in criminal and evil activities of all kinds. All of its members are evil soul masters, and it regards the task of cultivating evil soul masters as its responsibility. They enjoy killing, destroying, and seeking special energies capable of elevating themselves from their crimes. The Holy Spirit Cult caused a serious catastrophe to mankind more than ten thousand years ago. Afterward, the Holy Ice Douluo led the first generation of champions to vanquish them until they finally vanished from the scene. They still appeared occasionally in the following ten thousand years, but fortunately, they didn’t cause as much trouble.”
“However, in the last few years, terrorist attacks by the Holy Spirit Cult have been occurring more frequently. Whenever they’re involved, it’s always a great calamity that brings misery and suffering to the people. It was fortunate indeed that all of you happened to be here today. Otherwise, I’m afraid no one would have survived the train crash. More than that, their spirits would have been extracted by the evil soul masters to refine for their devilry.”
Tang Wulin looked at Luo Shaofeng in astonishment. A sect for evil soul masters? This was his first time he heard of this, but definitely not his first encounter with them. There was no doubt that the evil soul master he confronted on the train with Mo Lan back at the beginning would have been a part of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Luo Shaofeng saw that Tang Wulin was quiet, so he continued talking, “The Holy Spirit Cult is brutal and will pursue its endeavors to the end. It’s also extremely cunning. After learning from their previous downfall, they have been more cautious and secretive. Don’t be reckless and confront them if you chance upon them in the future. Stay away and do not engage with them if possible. Now that the Federation has invested a large amount of manpower in the search for them and even engaged in a few battles, the evil soul masters have been less active recently. I didn’t expect them to create such a disaster. They’re truly despicable!”
Tang Wulin asked, “So it’s true that there’s no way to locate them? How powerful is the Holy Spirit Cult actually?”
Luo Shaofeng shook his head and spoke in a deep voice, “I don’t know. No one knows how powerful the Holy Spirit Cult truly is. However, you should know that there are three factions targeting them. They’re the Federation’s War God Hall, the Spirit Pagoda, and Shrek Academy.”
Tang Wulin was shaken to the core.
Luo Shaofeng continued to speak, “Those evil soul masters are all madmen. They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. If it was not for their lack of ability to fight us, they would have emerged to create havoc sooner.”
Tang Wulin asked, “So what’s War God Hall anyway? This is my first time I’ve heard that name.”
Perhaps it was due to their mutual origin, Luo Shaofeng did not seem to grow impatient with Tang Wulin’s inquiries. “The War God Hall is a high-end combat force cultivated by the Federation. It’s normal to have only heard of it in passing. All the War God Hall’s members receive the Federation’s resources to continue to elevate ourselves. When the Federation encounters danger, the War God Hall’s members will be assigned. Of course, we have a high level of freedom. Moreover, we belong to the military, and as such we all bear military ranks. By the way, all of you are already one-word battle armor masters now and can graduate from the inner court when you’ve become two-word battle armor masters in the future. We would gladly welcome you into the War God Hall if you’re interested.”
Tang Wulin asked in astonishment, “Senior, are there a lot of people in the War God Hall from our academy?”
Luo Shaofeng smiled. “I’m not permitted to go into the specifics, but I can tell you that the academy’s ability to receive so much respect and support from the Federation is very much related to the academy’s neutrality and harmony with the rest of the world. On the other hand, those who graduate from the academy will need a place to go anyhow, especially our inner court disciples. War God Hall is a rather good choice, so please do consider it.”
“Sure. Thanks, Senior. However, Senior, we’ve already joined the Tang Sect, so can we still join War God Hall?”
Luo Shaofeng was stunned for a moment. “Joined the Tang Sect, huh? If you’re not with Battle Soul Hall, then it should be fine. However, if all of you have already joined the Tang Sect’s Battle Soul Hall then it’s best to remain there. Battle Soul all’s treatment is pretty good. The Tang Sect doesn’t publicize its doings, but it’s powerful and has a close relationship with the academy. It’s also a pretty good choice. Oh, I heard that there’s a new generation of Shrek Seven Monsters at the academy?”
Tang Wulin scratched his head and nodded shyly.
He was feeling rather embarrassed to admit it, seeing as how they were soundly beaten by the evil soul master earlier.
Luo Shaofeng was an excellent judge. “Don’t tell me that it’s the few of you, huh?”
Tang Wulin gave a forced smile. “We’ve disgraced the academy.”
“No, no, no!” Luo Shaofeng waved his hand repeatedly and even descended from the sky. He sized Tang Wulin up and down before he said, “It seems like all of you can’t possibly join War God Hall.”
Tang Wulin was stunned.
Luo Shaofeng continued speaking, “The Shrek Seven Monsters are the future of the academy so they can’t possibly be controlled by the Federation. I truly didn’t expect that I’d meet all of you so soon! Don’t think that you disgraced the academy. On the contrary, you can ask the passengers, and they’ll say that all of you are heroes. Did you know that? If not for of all of you, hundreds more lives could have been lost here. All of you have rendered outstanding service today, so you didn’t disgrace the academy. I took a glance and saw that quite a lot of evil soul masters were killed, and you even encountered Zhun Fang. Fortunately, he should have no idea that all of you are the current generation’s Shrek Seven Monsters. Otherwise, I’m afraid he would kill all of you at any cost. Junior, remember not to tell people that all of you are the current generation’s Shrek Seven Monsters before you’re powerful enough. The academy has many friends but also many enemies. And those that dare to oppose our academy are all top-grade powerhouses.”
“So where are all of you heading to? I’ve give you a ride later to ensure your safety.”
Tang Wulin could not help feeling a warm glow in his heart upon seeing Luo Shaofeng’s solemn look. He deserved to be called their senior!
“We’re heading for military training, but we have yet to understand the specific situation.”
“Military training?” Luo Shaofeng shuddered upon hearing these two words. His gaze as he looked at Tang Wulin became peculiar with a sense of sympathy in his eyes.
“Then I can’t send you there. You must depend on yourself for the military training. Junior brother…” Luo Shaofeng was about to say something, but in the end, he kept silent. Instead, he raised his hand to pat Tang Wulin’s shoulder. “Be careful, and all the best.”
Tang Wulin frowned. It seemed like this senior had taken part in the military training before. Moreover, the training managed to leave quite a profound impression on him. It was not a good impression!
The rescue work ended very soon. The severely injured casualties would be transferred to the nearby cities while the damaged train and rails would need repair. These were not Tang Wulin and his companions’ concern.
Tang Wulin and the group concealed their identities with Luo Shaofeng’s assistance. They were not interrogated by the government. They boarded a flying mecha used for transportation, which took them to the closest city.
The best word to describe that night would be “soul-stirring”. It was not a pleasant experience being on the edge of death.
“I’ll never use the soul train ever again!” Tang Wulin said resolutely. “Everyone should rest soon. About Zhengyu…”
Yue Zhengyu was still unconscious. His face was ghastly pale.
“I’ll take care of him,” Xu Xiaoyan spoke without the slightest hesitation.
Tang Wulin felt relieved. “Great. Everyone should rest earlier. We’ll resume our journey when Yue Zhengyu has recovered.”
“Okay!”
The group returned to their rooms. Tang Wulin sent Yue Zhengyu to his room before leaving.
Xu Xiaoyan helped Yue Zhengyu to remove his clothes and wiped down his body with a towel before covering him with a blanket. She pulled up a chair and sat by his bed to watch over him.
Yue Zhengyu remained handsome as ever when he was quiet. He was just as good looking despite appearing a little sickly and pale.