Watching Mu En leave, Xuan Zi stood there for a long time, still unable to figure it out.
After a long while, unable to find an answer, Xuan Zi couldn’t help but snort:
“Since its founding, our Shrek has always acted for justice and guarded the peace of the continent.”
He raised his hand to wipe the grease from his face, his tone suddenly becoming impassioned.
“For so many years, we have carried the banner of the Spirit Master’s Holy Land, cultivating countless pillars for the Douluo Continent.”
“The Sun Moon Empire is full of wild ambitions, repeatedly raising armies to cause trouble and coveting the territory of the original three nations.
Who was it that stood up time and again to block them at the forefront?
It was our Shrek!”
“The Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult bring chaos to the World and harm living beings.
Who was it that did not hesitate to sacrifice the lives of their disciples to clear out the evil and protect the peace of the land?
It was still our Shrek!”
“To protect the morality of the continent, how much blood have we shed, how many top disciples have we sacrificed, and how much effort has been exhausted?
Yet we have never retreated a single step!”
“Which Spirit Master in the entire continent doesn’t view Shrek as a Holy Land?
Who doesn’t long to step through this gate?
But that kid, why does he have such a terrible impression of us?
He’s even unwilling to join Shrek Academy?”
“Just because he encountered a few failure disciples in the Outer Court, he dismisses all of Shrek entirely.
It’s simply absurd!”
Xuan Zi’s face was cold, filled with disdain.
“I will personally go and find out where this kid is hiding, to see just how much grievance he has suffered to dare slander Shrek’s supreme glory like this!”
“Especially with such extraordinary talent; not entering Shrek, wouldn’t that be a waste?”
As his voice fell, the Soul Power around Xuan Zi’s body suddenly surged.
His hunched figure instantly straightened, his tattered robes moving without wind, and the majestic aura of a Level 98 Super Douluo spread out like a tide.
With a flash of his figure, only a faint afterimage remained in place.
“Even if he hides at the ends of the earth or in the depths of the Sun Moon Empire, I will drag him out and demand an explanation!”
The afterglow of dusk spilled over the plaza.
Only the residual fluctuations of Soul Power and those words carrying unwillingness and obsession remained in the air, gradually dissipating in the evening breeze.
…
Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu.
In the dormitory building of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, Lu Ren sat cross-legged on his bed, eyes closed, regulating his breathing.
All the opponents he defeated today—the unwillingness, humiliation, frustration, and anger surging in their hearts—turned into wisps of invisible negative energy, which were being continuously absorbed by him.
Cursed Energy surged through his meridians, intertwining with Soul Power like two rivers flowing into the same lake.
A faint crisp sound came from deep within his body, as if an invisible barrier had been broken through.
Lu Ren opened his eyes and pulled up the system panel.
[Host: Lu Ren]
[Soul Power Level: 45]
[spirit ring Configuration: Purple, Purple, Black, Black]
[Current Cursed Techniques: Malevolent Shrine, Blood Manipulation…]
“Not bad.” He curled his lips.
Level 45.
Soul Power and Cursed Energy progressed together, nourishing each other.
This dual-track cultivation method allowed him to find almost no rivals at the same level.
And the abilities granted by those Cursed Techniques gave him the capital to fight above his level.
What the Spirit was, or what the specific effects of the Spirit Abilities from the spirit rings were, he didn’t care.
He only needed to know the quality of the Spirit and the age of the spirit rings; that was enough.
But precisely these things he didn’t care about were the most important existence for a Spirit Master—so important that they could become chips for him to exchange for even greater power.
That was the Binding Vow.
Establishing a Binding Vow with oneself, using a certain price to exchange for greater power.
He had long since thoroughly figured out Sukuna’s “loan-style” self-restriction.
While he was thinking, an old voice sounded deep in his mind without any warning:
“What a disgusting yet familiar power.”
Lu Ren’s pupils contracted slightly.
The grey, unremarkable bead that had been silent in his Sea of Consciousness had disappeared.
In its place was an ancient consciousness, slowly awakening.
“Young friend, it seems your existence is not so simple.”
Electrolux had awakened.
Lu Ren suppressed the waves in his heart and did not rush to respond, instead quietly perceiving the changes in that consciousness.
The voice continued, carrying scrutiny and doubt:
“Although it is not the Necromantic Power that I have mastered, what you are absorbing now is energy condensed from the negative emotions in the hearts of living beings…”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone able to cultivate in this way.”
“Aren’t you afraid, young friend, that one day you will be backlashed and swallowed by these negative emotions?”
The old voice echoed in his mind.
Lu Ren’s expression remained unchanged, his tone calm and composed:
“As long as one masters the correct method, one can harness negative emotions.
Where would a backlash come from?”
He paused, a few hints of surprise and doubt appearing in his eyes at just the right moment.
He frowned slightly, looking like he was sizing up a stranger who had suddenly broken into his courtyard.
“It’s just…
I have yet to ask, who exactly are you?
Your aura is ancient and weathered, not at all like someone of this era.”
“You have been hidden and silent in my Sea of Consciousness, and now you suddenly awaken and appear.
What is the reason?”
“Furthermore, you can see through the essence of my cultivation power at a glance.
Such insight and foundation are definitely not something an ordinary Spirit Master could possess.
I hope you can enlighten me.”
His tone was neither humble nor arrogant, carrying the alertness a youth should have while also showing a bit of serious insistence.
Electrolux’s voice softened a lot, as if moved by this steadiness:
“Kid, I originally did not belong to this World.”
“I only remember that I was about to die.
Perhaps because my soul power was too strong, at the moment death descended, it tore through space, and a wisp of Divine Sense survived.”
“As a result, I came to this World of yours.
At that time, you were absorbing energy condensed from negative emotions, which was somewhat similar to the abilities I mastered in my past life, and so I was drawn to you.”
“Thus, this wisp of Divine Sense of mine moved into your Sea of Consciousness.
Rest assured, I have no ill will toward you, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to leave this place in the future.”
Lu Ren’s brow furrowed slightly, and a few hints of surprise and wariness appeared on his face at the right moment, looking as if he was processing this shocking information.
“So that’s the reason.”
He spoke slowly, his tone steady and measured.
“No wonder when I occasionally focused my mind, I could always sense a faint, strange fluctuation lingering deep in my Spirit.
It turns out you have been residing here for a long time.”
He looked up, his gaze scrutinizing, and continued to ask:
“You were on the verge of perishing and crossed dimensions with a remnant Divine Sense, and were drawn here by my energy.
Does that mean the power you controlled in your past life also shares the same source as the negative emotions of this World?”
Electrolux’s consciousness fluctuated slightly, as if nodding or sighing.
“Somewhat similar, but ultimately different paths.
What I wield is the Essence of Necromancy, cultivating through the silence of all living things and the residual power of souls, while you absorb negative emotion energy condensed from the resentment, anger, joy, and sorrow of living beings.”
“The two share a common dark origin, which is why they were drawn to each other.”
There was a hint of reassurance in his voice.
“However, you can rest easy.
Now I am only a remnant soul, barely able to protect myself.
I have absolutely no intention of possessing or seizing your body.”
*******************************
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