Douluo Continent: God Descends

Chapter 29 Anomaly

The spirit medium paused, then added:

"I know that judging a person's character based on their martial spirit is too arbitrary, and not all possessors of evil spirit martial spirits will go astray. But in recent years, the frequency of crimes committed by evil spirit masters has been increasing, especially along our eastern coast..."

At this point, the spirit medium's voice carried a hint of helplessness and resentment.

Among all regions of mainland China, the eastern region has the most evil spirit practitioners committing crimes.

Needless to say, the central region is dominated by three major forces: Shrek Academy, the Spirit Pagoda headquarters, and the Tang Sect headquarters. Few evil spirit masters dare to commit crimes there.

The western region, as the core sphere of influence of the federal capital, Mingdu, is guarded by the War God Temple, which is directly under the federal government.

The Soul Masters of the War God Temple are all elites who have undergone countless trials and tribulations. Their crackdown on evil Soul Masters is extremely severe, and evil Soul Masters dare not act recklessly here.

Although the northern region is vast, it is resource-poor and has a harsh climate. Occasionally, evil spirit masters will appear there to commit crimes in search of rare spirit beasts, but the overall situation is relatively calm and has not reached a large scale.

The southern region is recognized as a "forbidden zone for evil spirit masters" because the Holy Angel Family is located there, and angelic martial spirits are quite sensitive to dark and evil attributes.

Even the most deeply hidden evil spirit masters are easily detected by angel spirit masters.

More importantly, Soul Masters with Angelic Martial Souls have always maintained a zero-tolerance attitude towards Evil Soul Masters, almost to the point of "better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free." Once they discover the traces of an Evil Soul Master, they will do everything in their power to eliminate him.

This is why there are almost no evil spirit masters to be seen in the southern part of the mainland.

The eastern region is different; it borders the sea and is rich in sea spirit beast resources.

Unfortunately, there are no top-tier forces here—the Spirit Pagoda's branch has limited strength, the Tang Sect's branch focuses on commercial trade with the other two continents, and the War God Temple is even further behind.

The lack of overall strength makes the East China Sea region the most likely place for evil spirit masters to commit crimes. There are even occasional rumors that fishing boats have seen evil spirit masters slaughtering sea spirit beasts in the nearby waters.

"Therefore, Ms. Cocolia, I must report this child's condition immediately."

The spirit medium's tone was resolute, "The branch tower will likely send someone to assess her—whether to guide her onto the right path, or…"

Cocolia interrupted him, saying, "I understand, Your Excellency Spirit Master, but this child is also from our orphanage, so I will report her situation to the Federation and have the Federation personnel come to investigate as well."

"That's how it should be."

The Spirit Master nodded, his tense expression easing slightly. As the Awakening Host dispatched by the Spirit Tower, he was merely fulfilling his duties. How to handle the matter afterward was for those at a higher level to decide; he had neither the need nor the right to interfere excessively.

"Then, the awakening ceremony continues, next child."

After the little incident with Meu, the originally relaxed atmosphere in the Awakening Room became somewhat oppressive. The Spirit Master straightened his long robe embroidered with orange patterns, trying to draw attention back to the ritual itself.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

However, just as the next child was about to step onto the soul-guiding array, a sudden burst of applause rang out in the closed awakening room.

Immediately afterwards, a voice as cold as the winter wind rang out, licking at everyone's ears like the tongue of a venomous snake:

"Wonderful. I never expected that just a whim to pay more attention to the place where that 'master' came from would lead me to such a promising talent. It seems that I am really lucky."

"Who goes there?!"

Cocolia and the Spirit Master were both startled and almost instinctively turned to look in the direction from which the sound came.

The door to the Awakening Room was clearly bolted from the inside, but at some point it was pushed open a crack, and the sound came from behind the crack.

At the entrance, a middle-aged man dressed in a pure black robe was leaning against the door frame.

His black robe was embroidered with eerie dark red patterns along the edges, which looked like congealed bloodstains in the dim light. The collar was turned up high, covering most of his neck.

The man's face was so pale it was almost transparent, as if he had never seen the sun in years. Only his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, and deep within his pupils seemed to be two flickering will-o'-the-wisps. He was scanning the scene in the awakening room with a playful expression.

A moment later, his gaze precisely locked onto Meu in the corner, like a hunter who had found his most desired prey.

"The Netherworld Serpent, what a rare martial soul."

The man spoke slowly, his voice filled with undisguised greed, "If we take him back to the sect and train him properly, and temper him with secret techniques, he will surely become a Title Douluo-level combatant in the future."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man began to walk slowly toward the center of the awakening room. His steps were very light, and he landed without making a sound, as silent as a ghost.

"stop!"

Cocolia reacted first, stepping forward to block Meu's path, her eyes sharp as knives. "Sir, this is the private property of the Skysea Orphanage. I don't recall inviting anyone like you today. Please leave immediately, or I will call the police for trespassing."

The spirit medium stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Cocolia, his soul power beginning to circulate subtly, his tone carrying a warning:

"Sir, today is an important day for our Spirit Pagoda to awaken children's martial souls. This matter concerns the Federation's future pool of soul masters and cannot be disturbed in the slightest. If you don't want to get into trouble, please leave immediately."

The spirit master deliberately emphasized the words "Spirit Pagoda," attempting to use the immense power represented by those three words to make the person before him think twice.

"Whoosh!"

However, the middle-aged man seemed to completely ignore their warnings.

A mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips, his figure suddenly blurred, and in the next second, as if teleporting, he easily bypassed Cocolia and the Spirit Master's obstruction.

The two didn't even see his movements clearly, only feeling a cold wind sweep past them. When they came to their senses, the black-robed figure had already appeared in the center of the soul guidance array, raising his pale hand to stroke Mei Wu's face.

"Not bad, it really is a Netherworld Serpent, a truly promising seedling." A satisfied smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face, a smile that, to onlookers, only sent chills down their spines.

The little girl, Meiwu, who was touched by him, turned pale instantly and subconsciously took two steps back, trying to get away from this strange person.

"Hehe, are you scared?"

The middle-aged man chuckled softly, his voice carrying a coaxing tone, "It's alright, you'll soon become one of us. Once you experience the thrill of being nourished by blood and having your soul power surge like a tidal wave, you'll definitely thank me."