Douluo Dalu 2: You are an Evil Soul Master, but also a good person ?

"Tie Niu-uncle, is there really no other way to awaken a martial soul?" Tang San frowned.

"There is! Just go to the Sun-Moon Empire. They awaken martial souls for free over there." Tie Niu chuckled, trying to completely kill Tang San's idea, and then continued hammering away at the iron.

"Sun-Moon Empire..."

Tang San's eyes flickered.

That didn't sound like a bad idea.

These past days, though he had been staying in Heaven Dou City, rumors about the Sun-Moon Empire had been spreading widely among the people. Especially recently, when Shrek Academy was eliminated in the round of sixteen, forcibly defeated by the Sun-Moon Empire, its name had become even more well-known.

Even he had heard about it.

It was said that the Sun-Moon Empire not only awakened martial souls for free but also guaranteed education for those with talent, covering all costs—everything fully funded by the government.

Wasn't this basically the Martial Soul Hall?

The more Tang San thought about it, the more excited he became.

But suddenly, his brows furrowed. Wait a minute! This was just a copy of the Martial Soul Hall! What was Shrek Academy doing about this?

Forget it, he would take them down once he rose to power again.

Of course, first, he would eat his fill before smashing the pot—an old tradition.

Leaving behind a letter, Tang San directly contacted a merchant caravan and boarded a civilian carriage heading to the Sun-Moon Empire...

"Ugh, it's all your fault! Of all the people, why did you bring a thankless wretch into our home? Not only did he eat our food for a whole month, but he also took all our savings! And then he just left with a single letter, not even a word of thanks. That kind of beast..."

In the backyard of the blacksmith shop.

His wife sobbed, while Tie Niu sighed deeply, repeatedly flipping through the letter.

There was only one line written on it.

"Farewell, do not miss me."

Tie Niu was at a loss for words. Back then, seeing how the boy was as thin as a stick, he had felt pity. Who would have thought he would turn out to be such a heartless wolf?

"Ahh..."

In the courtyard, only a long sigh remained.

Overnight, Tie Niu seemed to have aged ten years.

Shrek Academy.

Yan Shaozhe looked at the two people in his office and felt a headache coming on.

"Xiaotao, you're an inner court student. Why do you want to go to the Sun-Moon Empire? What could you possibly learn there? Wouldn't it be better to stay in the inner court and refine your martial soul? Can you even fully control your Evil Fire Phoenix yet? What use are soul tools to you?"

"And you, Fanyu, why are you making trouble? Didn't I already agree to assign you some top students from the martial soul department? But the selection takes time..."

"Teacher, Elder Mu already said that the future trend is the combination of soul masters and soul tools! And after the competition, I can now fully control my evil fire. Why can't I go?" Ma Xiaotao protested angrily.

"Your martial soul's nature makes you an easy target for evil soul masters. The Sun-Moon Empire is crawling with them. If you go there..." Yan Shaozhe sighed helplessly.

"I..." Ma Xiaotao's beautiful eyes dimmed.

But he was right. If she went to the Sun-Moon Empire, wouldn't she be walking straight into the tiger's den?

"Dean Yan, I came here today to supervise you." Watching Ma Xiaotao leave, looking disheartened, Fanyu spoke solemnly.

"If you only send second-rate students from the martial soul department, then this rare opportunity to study advanced soul tools will be completely wasted. That's why I came to oversee this."

Fanyu's expression remained unchanged.

To be in a position where a department head could openly "monitor" his superior—he was already overstepping boundaries.

But for the future of Shrek Academy's soul tool division, he had no choice, even if it meant offending Yan Shaozhe or facing backlash.

"Do you really think so little of me?" Yan Shaozhe's eyes narrowed as a powerful soul force surged forth, pressing down on Fanyu.

Yet the latter remained steadfast.

"Dean Yan, past events have forced me to be cautious. Whenever a genius appears in the soul tool department, you try to lure them away to the martial soul department. And in recent years, you haven't held back in suppressing soul tools either. Your credibility, in my eyes, is worth nothing."

"I understand that you want to uphold the martial soul department's prestige, but we are on the verge of a crisis. If Shrek fails to achieve progress in soul tools, can we still rely on the martial soul department in the future?"

"Hah, you're getting bold, aren't you?" Yan Shaozhe sneered coldly.

The martial soul department had always suppressed the soul tool department—for a thousand years, it had been that way.

But now, it was getting harder and harder to keep them down. This stubborn man in front of him was making his irritation worse.

"Not bold, just stating facts." Fanyu remained calm.

He had already put everything on the line—why should he be afraid now?

Besides, he was doing this for Shrek's future...

"Fine, take a good look then!"

Yan Shaozhe threw out a list with a cold snort.

"Am I wrong?" Fanyu chuckled lightly as he scanned the list. "Half of the team consists of outer court students. Among them are three who participated in the tournament as reserve members—Wang Dong, Xu Sanshi, and Bei Bei—along with Ning Tian from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. On the surface, this seems like a strong lineup, but what about the others?"

"The remaining five are all newcomers to the inner court. Not a single official team member from the tournament, not even talented inner court students—just a bunch of nobodies, some even at the Soul Ancestor level. Is this what you call sincerity, Dean Yan?"

"Fanyu, don't push it!" Yan Shaozhe gritted his teeth.

The exchange team consisted of twenty people.

Allowing ten from the martial soul department was already the most he could tolerate.

Sending top talents like Ling Luochen? What if they got swayed by the Sun-Moon Empire's soul tools?

Should the soul tool department rise above the martial soul department? That would be absurd!

At the Sea God Pavilion meeting, he had put on a show—agreeing to support the soul tool department.

But behind the scenes, he had been making little moves of his own. He had planned to delay things until the exchange program was about to begin before revealing the list. Who could have predicted that Fanyu would be this stubborn...

"Dean Yan, looks like I was right to come check in advance," Fanyu said with a faint smile.

"Then what do you suggest, Director Fanyu?" Yan Shaozhe asked through gritted teeth.

"No need to change the outer court selections. But for the inner court, replace five members—let Zhang Lexuan lead the team, add Chu Qingtian (Electric Mad Leopard martial soul, appeared once at Sea God's Fate, extremely fast), and Mo Xuan (later joined Tang Sect, master of group support skills). You can decide on the last two." Fanyu demanded directly.

"Hah! Why don't you pick all of them yourself? Maybe you should just take my position as Dean too!" Yan Shaozhe retorted coldly.

"Dean Yan, don't be upset. I lack the strength and only specialize in soul tools—I'm not fit to be the martial soul dean." Fanyu remained composed.

"Zhang Lexuan is out of the question! Mo Xuan too!" Yan Shaozhe waved dismissively. "Not up for discussion!"

"In that case, I'll ask Vice Dean Qian to convene another Sea God Pavilion meeting."

"...!"

Yan Shaozhe let out a long sigh.

The Sea God Pavilion had just decided to support soul tool development. If he opposed it now, what would Elder Mu think? What would the other elders think?

He cast a deep look at Fanyu.

"Fine."