Ma Xiaotao Flees in Panic

That was what he said.

Huo Yuhao would not directly expose anything related to the Evil Fire.

The best hunters often appeared in the form of prey.

"May I ask why Senior Sister stopped me? I still need to go register and report in."

Huo Yuhao wore an obedient expression, and coupled with his exceptionally handsome appearance, it was hard not to feel favorably toward him.

"Eh?!"

Ma Xiaotao's face reddened. For some reason, she suddenly became nervous. Once she came back to her senses, her straightforward nature made her realize that she might have been too abrupt.

Stopping him so rashly was indeed rather presumptuous, but at the time, she had only wanted to find the source of what made her feel comfortable and had not thought too much about it.

Moreover, the junior before her was only a newly enrolled freshman. His Soul Power Level was merely twenty-seven. Even if he possessed a high-quality ice martial soul, it would be difficult for him to help her much right now, wouldn't it?

Looking at Huo Yuhao's handsome face, then at the distant Sea God Lake, she inexplicably felt a little embarrassed.

"Junior Yuhao, um... ah, how about I show you around Shrek Academy?"

Ma Xiaotao clumsily changed the subject, clearly trying to conceal her true intentions.

How embarrassing. She really was acting rather strangely.

Look at you, getting all worked up again!

If Junior Yuhao connected this with the rumors those people had just let slip, wouldn't he think she was some kind of weirdo? How tragic!

Looking at the alluringly beautiful face so close before him, Huo Yuhao nodded.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Sister. I also happen to want to learn more about Shrek Academy."

That was a lie.

He had merely watched Ma Xiaotao hesitate, stop herself, then hesitate again. After standing there blankly for a while, she had finally come up with such a lousy excuse, so he simply went along with it.

As for registration? No rush.

He would play with Ma Xiaotao first.

The two walked side by side along the shore of Sea God Lake, and the atmosphere gradually eased.

"Junior Yuhao, this lake is called Sea God Lake. It is an artificial lake built to commemorate Thousand Hand Douluo Tang San, because he inherited the Sea God's divine position. We Inner Court Disciples study on Sea God Island in the middle of Sea God Lake..."

"As an Inner Court Disciple, Sister Xiaotao seems rather famous?"

"Call me Sister Xiaotao. If you run into any trouble at Shrek in the future, just mention my name, Ma Xiaotao. I'll look after you. Let's see which blind fool dares to cause trouble!"

"Then thank you, Sister Xiaotao."

"Yuhao, you freshmen will have a practical assessment three months after enrollment. I believe you'll definitely pass it."

"Mm-hmm."

As they walked and chatted, the two arrived at a secluded, deserted corner.

She had said she would introduce Shrek Academy to him, but not long into their conversation, sensing that the time was right, Ma Xiaotao could no longer resist revealing her true purpose.

"Yuhao, your martial soul is ice-attributed, right? And its quality seems quite high too?"

"That's right. Could it be that Sister Xiaotao stopped me because of that?"

Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and turned the tables on her.

Having her thoughts guessed, Ma Xiaotao's pretty face flushed. She shot Huo Yuhao an annoyed, coquettish glare before continuing her explanation.

"My martial soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix. This martial soul has the flaw of Evil Fire, and only Soul Masters with ice-attributed martial souls can resolve it."

"And from you, Yuhao, I can sense the power of a top-tier ice-attributed martial soul. The ice and fire of the two of us complement each other. Perhaps we're very suitable for cultivating together..."

During her brief contact with Huo Yuhao, she had already sensed that the Evil Fire accumulated through her cultivation showed signs of being dispelled.

Therefore, she directly stated her intentions and went straight for the point.

It had to be said.

Sister Xiaotao, although you look quite flustered as you only make things sound worse, those bewitching phoenix eyes of yours are truly captivating.

Some people were clearly only eighteen, yet brimmed with the charm of a mature woman.

While some people had lived for nearly a million years, their Spiritual Body still looked like that of a young child; others had the figure of a petite lolita, only one and a half meters tall...

Huo Yuhao did not deny that the beauty before him was indeed more attractive.

Huo Yuhao's expression remained unchanged. "My martial soul is the Ice Jade Scorpion—Ultimate Ice."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiaotao was startled. Her red phoenix eyes lit up. It was actually Ultimate Ice!?

She had struck gold this time. Perhaps there really was a way to resolve her Evil Fire problem.

Before she could speak again, Huo Yuhao directly grabbed Ma Xiaotao's slender jade hand. The Netherworld Ice Soul Domain instantly unfolded, enveloping her within it.

He was not someone who hesitated.

"How does it feel now, Sister Xiaotao?"

Most of the time, fancy words were nowhere near as solid as actual actions.

Unable to help herself, Ma Xiaotao hugged Huo Yuhao. At that moment, she was like a little kitten high on catnip, immersed in that coolness and silent for a long while.

Within the Spiritual Sea, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm laughed.

"Yuhao, I approve of this marriage. This woman's Martial Soul is a perfect match for yours. She suits you better than Tang Ya did."

Ice Empress joined in as well.

"This Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul carries the Phoenix bloodline. It truly is one of the finest beast Martial Souls. Unfortunately, it is constrained by the Evil Fire and has failed to reach the ultimate level."

Huo Yuhao ignored them both, wrapping his arms around Ma Xiaotao's slender waist as he felt himself being squeezed so tightly that he could barely breathe.

The Ice Soul Body—Ice Jade Empress Scorpion instantly possessed him, suppressing and dispelling the evil fire coming from Ma Xiaotao.

Watching Ma Xiaotao flee in disarray, Huo Yuhao shook his head.

This Ma Xiaotao was such a loser!

This time, the evil fire had not reached the point described in the Original Work, where it would backfire on her and erode her mind.

Therefore, under the suppression and control of his domain, along with Ma Xiaotao's willing cooperation, resolving the evil fire had been an effortless task.

However, perhaps because she was too embarrassed, after tossing him a badge that granted entry to the Inner Court, Ma Xiaotao transformed into flames and fled in total defeat.

"I'm going back first. Remember to come find me in the Inner Court later."

Huo Yuhao understood as well. Because the evil fire had flared up, Ma Xiaotao's clothes were slightly disheveled. It truly would not have looked good for her to continue traveling with him.

He still had to register as a freshman afterward.

It was also fortunate that the Ice Soul Body came with forced calmness. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao might not have been able to hold himself back just now either...

Calm down, calm down.

Before Ma Xiaotao left, she had even left behind two achievement rewards.

Achievement Triggered!

Achieved Ma Xiaotao's "Your Name" achievement. Reward obtained: Pure Water Gu.

Achieved Ma Xiaotao's "Evil Fire Trouble" achievement. Reward obtained: Fire Brazier Gu.

Pure Water Gu: One-Turn Gu Insect. It can cleanse a Soul Master's body and dispel foreign auras.

Evaluation: With evil fire in your heart, remain pure and untainted.

Fire Brazier Gu: Two-Turn Gu Insect. It can store fire energy for use in attacks and also provides resistance to cold.

Evaluation: You're really fired up. Bear with it.

After examining the effects of the Gu Insects, Huo Yuhao's mood gradually calmed.

Compared to vague and intangible gratitude, he preferred practical rewards like these.

Besides, only mutual exchange could be called a favor.

Next, let the bullets fly for a while longer.

Ignoring the curious expressions of the people around him, Huo Yuhao returned to the main road along the lakeside path and continued onward until a broad rectangular square appeared in his view.

This was Shrek Square.

Behind Shrek Square stood a series of tall teaching buildings. These buildings came in different colors, mainly white, yellow, purple, and black.

The colors of the teaching buildings represented different grades, distinguished according to the colors of Spirit Rings. White was for the Freshman Teaching Building, yellow for the Outer Court's second- and third-year teaching buildings, purple for the fourth- and fifth-year teaching buildings, and black for the Sixth Grade teaching building.

Looking into the distance north of Shrek Square, there was also a cluster of gray teaching buildings there, belonging to the Soul Tool Department.

Judging from the area, the Soul Tool Department occupied roughly one-third of the main teaching area, while the Martial Soul Department occupied two-thirds.

Apart from the teaching buildings at the front, there were many specialized teaching facilities behind them as well, such as the Soul Fighting Arena, Assessment Area, dormitory area, Teacher Office Area, and so on.

The white Freshman Teaching Building stood at the southernmost side and was also closest to the lakeside path. After passing through the southern side of Shrek Square, Huo Yuhao entered the building.

Although it was currently the period for recruiting new students, today was already among the final few days. There were not many freshmen like Huo Yuhao who had come to register.

Other than specially admitted students from great families who possessed exceptional talent, Shrek Academy assigned its freshmen to classes according to the time they reported in.

Thus, Huo Yuhao was directly assigned to Freshman Class Nine.

The reporting and registration process went very smoothly. After paying the customary registration fee of ten Gold Soul Coins and submitting his letter of recommendation, everything was complete.

After receiving a dormitory key, two sets of school uniforms, and a white freshman badge, Huo Yuhao left the Freshman Teaching Building and headed toward the dormitories behind it.

When he passed a notice board, he subconsciously stopped.

The notice read:

Freshman Class One Class Teacher: Zhou Yi

Freshman Class Nine Class Teacher: Mu Jin

In the Original Work, Huo Yuhao, who enrolled on the first day, had been assigned to Freshman Class One.

But now, having only come to register in the later days of freshman enrollment, he had happened to be assigned to the class of Mu Jin, Zhou Yi's sworn rival.

If he remembered correctly, wasn't this the class where Ning Tian and her Red Dragon companion were in the Original Work?

He wondered whether they had any Achievement Tasks.

If they did, that would be perfect.

If not, it didn't really matter.

A new book sets sail—please add it to your collection and keep reading.