4: Chapter 4.4: I'm an evil spirit master, but Ma Xiaotao isn't? Damn it, are you playing double standards?!

When the light blue tide of Soul Power swept past the tree hole for the third time, Lu Jing knew he could no longer hide.

That Soul Power carried the unique, pure aura of the Radiant Goddess Butterfly, almost piercing through the cover of the vines and touching his skin.

If he waited any longer, he would only be surrounded by the three of them, without even a sliver of a chance to resist.

"Now is the time!"

A cold light flashed in Lu Jing's eyes as he fiercely mobilized all the remaining Soul Power within his body.

The World-Destroying Black Lotus above his head instantly expanded, and black mist spilled out like ink, shrouding the entire tree hole.

He pushed his hands forward, and that black lotus platform, which had surged to two meters in diameter, whistled as it tore through the air, heading straight for Tang Ya, who was a hundred meters away!

"Watch out!" Bei Bei reacted the fastest, roaring as blue thunder blocked his front like a giant shield, while he dashed toward Tang Ya to push her away.

The Radiant Goddess Butterfly wings behind Wang Donger flapped, and the light blue wings of light instantly unfolded, transforming into an indestructible wall of light that blocked the front of the three of them.

But the speed of the World-Destroying Black Lotus was too fast.

The aura of destruction contained within that black mist was specifically designed to counter plant-type Spirits.

The Blue Silver Grass that Tang Ya had hastily activated withered the moment it touched the black mist, as if splashed with strong acid, and her Soul Power barrier instantly dissipated along with it.

"Pfft—"

The black lotus grazed the edge of the light wall and slammed heavily into Tang Ya's chest.

She flew backward like a kite with a broken string, smashing heavily against an ancient tree with a dull thud; she spat out a mouthful of blood, and her aura withered instantly.

"Xiao Ya!" Bei Bei's eyes were split with rage, and he turned to help her, only to see Lu Jing's figure darting out from the tree hole, sprinting toward the depths of the forest.

"Stop him!" Bei Bei roared as he gave chase.

Wang Donger, however, stood frozen on the spot.

She watched the tiny figure running under the cover of the black mist—no more than five or six years old, wearing a faded short jacket, his small, thin body staggering through the forest; he looked like an ordinary child no matter how she looked at him.

"Wait..." Wang Donger called out subconsciously, her wings of light retracting slightly, and she asked in confusion: "Senior, is there a mistake?"

"No mistake! It's him!"

Bei Bei's voice carried gnashing anger; blue thunder exploded beneath his feet, and his speed increased slightly as he replied: "His Spirit is extremely evil; you saw it just now!"

Lu Jing hadn't run far when he saw that Wang Donger hadn't followed, so he simply stopped and turned to face the two of them.

The World-Destroying Black Lotus hovered behind him, wreathed in black mist, making his youthful face look exceptionally gloomy.

"Mistake? I think you all are blind!" Lu Jing cursed, saying angrily: "I just awakened my Spirit today, I don't even have a spirit ring, yet you're chasing me down to kill me and labeling me an Evil Spirit Master? What kind of logic is this, damn it!"

Wang Donger watched his chest heaving violently, then looked at Tang Ya, who was coughing on the ground in the distance, and her brows gradually furrowed.

Although she hated Evil Spirit Masters, the child before her... really didn't look like a wicked person.

"Senior." Wang Donger's voice carried hesitation, "Is what he said true? He just awakened his Spirit?"

"Don't be fooled by him!" Bei Bei roared, the thunder around his body crackling: "Evil Spirits carry evil energy from the moment they awaken; keeping him will surely lead to disaster! How many tragedies from ten thousand years ago came about just like this!"

As he spoke, he gathered his Soul Power again, clearly intending to strike.

"Bullshit!" Lu Jing was trembling with anger, pointing at Bei Bei's nose and cursing: "Ten thousand years ago, Bone Douluo's Spirit was a Bone Dragon, is that evil enough? Yet he was an Elder protecting the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School! Are you blind and can't see that?"

Wang Donger's pupils constricted slightly. She had heard of Bone Douluo's deeds; his Spirit was indeed sinister, yet he walked a righteous path.

"That's different!" Bei Bei retorted, stiffening his neck: "Bone Douluo was an exception! The vast majority of Evil Spirit possessors eventually fall into depravity!"

"The vast majority? So because of this, you have to kill everyone with an Evil Spirit?"

Lu Jing sneered and suddenly turned to Wang Donger, his voice rising sharply: "Sister! I have a question for you: does the Evil Fire Phoenix count as an evil Spirit?"

Wang Donger froze for a moment, then nodded subconsciously: "The flames of the Evil Fire Phoenix carry malevolence, so... I suppose it counts."

"Good!" Lu Jing laughed, his shoulders shaking as if he had heard some huge joke: "Then let me tell you, the successor to the next Principal of Shrek Academy, a descendant of Ma Hongjun, has the Evil Fire Phoenix Spirit! What, are you going to kill them too?"

Wang Donger looked sharply at Bei Bei, her eyes full of shock: "Senior, is what he said true?"

This was the first time she had heard this information.

Bei Bei's expression stiffened, but he immediately said righteously: "Senior Sister Xiaotao is a member of Shrek! With the guidance and constraints of Shrek, she will never fall into the evil path! Is this the same as this wild child in front of us?"

"A wild child?" Lu Jing's voice turned cold: "So, whether or not one has a background, or whether or not one is from Shrek, is what decides if someone is an Evil Spirit Master?"

He pointed at himself and said every word clearly: "I have no background, I am not from Shrek, and just because I awakened my Spirit, I must be hunted down and killed by you; yet because Ma Xiaotao is from Shrek, even with the Evil Fire Phoenix, she can be accepted by you? Is this the logic of your Shrek? If this isn't a double standard, what is!"

Wang Donger was silent.

She looked at Bei Bei's righteous face, then at the undisguised mockery and anger in Lu Jing's eyes, and suddenly felt a sense of suffocation.

That's right, both are special Spirits, so why is the treatment so vastly different? Just because of the name Shrek, can the "evil" of the Spirit itself be offset? Then what has this child in front of her done wrong?

"Wang Dong, don't listen to his sophistry!" Seeing Wang Donger waver, Bei Bei hurriedly shouted: "Evil Spirit Masters are best at bewitching people's hearts! If we don't kill him today, he will surely become a great disaster in the future!"

"What kind of disaster?" Lu Jing did not give an inch: "Will it be like you, chasing a child to kill him, or like you, measuring others with double standards?"

He took a step back, and the World-Destroying Black Lotus began to spin again, with the phantom of lotus petals faintly flickering in the black mist: "If you want to kill me, go ahead. But remember, what you are killing today is not some Evil Spirit Master, but just a person who wants to live!"

Wang Donger's wings of light drooped, and the light blue glow in her eyes flickered uncertainly.

She looked at Bei Bei's angry face, then at Tang Ya injured on the ground, and finally at the child who was clearly trembling with fear yet still stiffening his neck; she suddenly felt that this forest night was even darker than she had imagined.

Seeing that Wang Donger still wouldn't act, Bei Bei roared in anxiety and charged toward Lu Jing alone: "If you won't do it, I will!"

Blue thunder tore through the darkness, heading straight for Lu Jing's face.