Purification

Looking at Lin Yi's Soul Rings, then comparing them to his age, Ma Xiaotao suddenly understood why their grandmaster had taken this infuriating little brat as his disciple.

"Big niece, close your mouth. Your drool is about to spill."

Hearing that, Ma Xiaotao hurriedly shut her mouth, inhaling as she frantically wiped at the corner of her lips. Naturally, there was nothing there.

She glared furiously at Lin Yi in the distance, unable to hide her anger. "That sounds awful! Who's your big niece?!"

Watching this somewhat frosty young girl stomp her feet in anger, Lin Yi grinned. "You're my grand-niece, and you're older than me. What's wrong with calling you big niece?"

"You..."

Ma Xiaotao's pretty face flushed red with rage, her modest chest heaving violently.

Lin Yi stopped teasing his grand-niece. His smile faded as he said calmly, "Get ready. It's starting."

Without waiting for Ma Xiaotao to react, his First Soul Ring lit up. Golden Growth activated.

The Golden Tree in his hand floated out on its own, growing in the wind into a small tree over a meter tall and as thick as an adult's arm. Its roots wriggled into the ground, continuously replenishing Lin Yi's expenditure.

Since he was uncertain of the strength of Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire, using the power of his Martial Soul as an intermediary was undoubtedly the most suitable approach.

With a thought, the Golden Domain spread out. The powers of Radiance and life began to gather, guided by Lin Yi's Spiritual Power toward Ma Xiaotao.

Then, a stream of Soul Power shot from the Golden Tree and struck Ma Xiaotao squarely.

Instinctively wary of the incoming Soul Power, Ma Xiaotao underwent Martial Soul Possession and subconsciously prepared to strike.

Lin Yi silently praised her. No matter what Shrek students' intelligence was like, their combat instincts were quite impressive. Whether it was Wu Ming earlier or Ma Xiaotao now, both were far better than him in that regard.

Praise was praise, but the moment he saw Ma Xiaotao move, Lin Yi did not remain idle. I'm treating you, and you still dare to attack me?

Not even an instinctive reaction would do!

His Second Soul Ring flashed. Golden Protection transformed—Golden Imprisonment activated.

Within the Golden Domain, Light Power rapidly gathered around Ma Xiaotao, forming a protective barrier that enclosed her.

Golden Imprisonment was a new application Lin Yi had discovered after gaining a deeper understanding of his Second Soul Skill, Golden Protection. Once activated, it formed a barrier that fit tightly around an opponent's body, restraining them. Its restraining strength was equal to that of the barrier formed by Golden Protection.

In other words, breaking this barrier required the full-force attack of an Assault System Soul Master of at least the same rank, or even a rank higher. However, because the barrier fit tightly against the opponent's body, destroying it would inevitably affect the opponent as well. Thus, once imprisoned, one could only choose to trade injury for life.

Using one's own injuries to save one's own life.

Otherwise, they could only compete with Lin Yi in consumption, constantly releasing their own Soul Power to wear down the barrier's Soul Power. After all, there was basically no room inside the barrier to use Soul Skills. But competing with Lin Yi in consumption...

In short, once a Soul Master of the same rank was imprisoned by Lin Yi, it was equivalent to losing their combat ability. Even if they could be rescued, they would essentially be crippled by half.

With the discerning eyes of Mu En and Yan Shaozhe, they naturally saw how troublesome Lin Yi's Self-Created Soul Skill was.

Yan Shaozhe praised him, "Little junior brother truly is extraordinary. To reach this level at such a young age—Teacher truly is remarkable at teaching disciples."

Mu En smiled faintly. "There's no need to flatter me. This is the first time I've seen him use this method as well. He must have comprehended it himself after reading in the Library Pavilion."

Hearing Mu En's words, Yan Shaozhe secretly clicked his tongue. He had gained this insight just from reading? This little junior brother was not only exceptionally gifted, but his comprehension was monstrous as well?

Then he could not help feeling somewhat dejected. Compared to such talent, his own disciple's talent seemed like nothing.

Guessing what Yan Shaozhe was thinking, Mu En said evenly, "Everyone has their own path. Just walk your own path and pay no mind to others."

Yan Shaozhe's heart tightened, and he hurriedly acknowledged it.

If Lin Yi had been here and heard that, he would probably have sighed again over how people in this world drank every kind of motivational platitude.

Looking at the imprisoned Ma Xiaotao, Lin Yi said indifferently, "If I were you, I would focus all my strength on controlling the Evil Fire within your body and obtaining the greatest possible benefit, rather than struggling meaninglessly here."

Her pale pink eyes stared fixedly at Lin Yi, as though she wanted to tear him to pieces with her gaze. Yet when she saw his young face, utterly calm and unruffled, Ma Xiaotao ultimately shut her eyes resentfully and entered a meditative state.

Seeing that Ma Xiaotao had calmed down, Lin Yi withdrew Golden Imprisonment. Light Power gently guided Ma Xiaotao into a cross-legged sitting position, after which Soul Power infused with Extreme Light surged madly into her body.

As he maintained the Golden Domain while steadily injecting Soul Power into Ma Xiaotao, Lin Yi's Soul Power was rapidly depleted. Fortunately, Golden Growth faithfully did its job, constantly replenishing his consumption.

Drawing upon the Spiritual Power that had surged earlier, Lin Yi used his own Soul Power as a medium to sense the condition inside Ma Xiaotao's body.

He had spent more than half a year studying intensely in the Library Pavilion, yet his only research subject had been himself. Now that he had finally encountered a new subject—an Evil Fire Phoenix, a top-tier Beast Martial Soul with a formidable reputation throughout history—Lin Yi naturally would not let this opportunity pass.

Scorching heat. That was Lin Yi's first impression. Yet this heat was not merely physical; even his mind seemed to be ignited by it, and his consciousness was faintly affected.

Was this the Evil Fire Phoenix's source Evil Fire?

It burned the body, the heart, and the spirit. It truly was formidable.

But why did this Evil Fire affect one's consciousness?

A Martial Soul should be power manifested from the deepest part of oneself. How could it possess such an obvious, such exaggerated flaw?

Logically speaking, the body's instinct for self-preservation should prevent things harmful to itself from occurring. Yet the Evil Fire Phoenix was completely different. What was the reason?

Moreover, the Evil Fire Phoenix's Evil Fire was immensely powerful and carried part of the Spirit Attribute. Abilities capable of directly attacking an opponent's spirit were rare across the entire continent.

But why had Ma Xiaotao developed only its Fire Attribute?

He had heard earlier that this Evil Fire gave its host the sensation of Desire Fire burning through their body. Could the Evil Fire Phoenix's secret be hidden within that?

But this was clearly not something he could figure out in a short time. Lin Yi knew his priorities. For now, the most important thing was to purify the Evil Fire in Ma Xiaotao's body and let her live peacefully for a while.

Setting aside his doubts for the moment, Lin Yi began to focus on purifying the Evil Fire.

It had to be said that Extreme Light truly deserved its status as an Extreme Attribute. The Evil Fire that left even Yan Shaozhe and Mu En helpless, able only to suppress it temporarily, behaved like a mouse seeing a cat before Lin Yi's Extreme Light. Wherever his Extreme Light passed, the Evil Fire scattered.

But the space within Ma Xiaotao's meridians was limited. No matter how the Evil Fire fled, where could it go? Before long, Lin Yi's Extreme Light had completely blocked it in.

A trapped beast still fought. The instant the Evil Fire was completely surrounded, it erupted.

Outside, Ma Xiaotao's face almost instantly showed pain. Yet her long struggle against the Evil Fire had already tempered her mind to an exceptional degree. Even in pain, Ma Xiaotao remained utterly motionless.

Facing the erupting Evil Fire, Lin Yi was not the least bit nervous. What a joke—the Evil Fire's host had been completely restrained by a single Golden Imprisonment, let alone a mere mass of mindless Evil Fire.

He controlled the Extreme Light and sent it rushing forward. Moments later, the Evil Fire within Ma Xiaotao was completely purified, leaving behind only pure flame.

As the Evil Fire was purified, the pain on Ma Xiaotao's face gradually faded. She felt incomparably clear and unburdened from head to toe. A sense of ease she had never experienced since her Martial Soul Awakening spread through all four limbs and every bone. The warm feeling enveloping her entire body made her want nothing more than to fall asleep just like this.

Relying on her powerful will, Ma Xiaotao forcibly restrained herself.

Opening her eyes, she saw Lin Yi opening his at the same time.

A trace of embarrassment flashed through her eyes, but Ma Xiaotao was not the bashful sort. She solemnly bowed to Lin Yi. "Thank you, Martial Uncle, for helping me."

Lin Yi was not a bad person either. Seeing Ma Xiaotao take the initiative to thank him, he nodded in acceptance, though he could not help asking curiously, "This Evil Fire of yours seems to originate from your source. Is there any way to resolve it completely?"

Before Ma Xiaotao could speak, Yan Shaozhe took over. "Little junior brother, Xiaotao's Evil Fire is innate. Ordinary methods are simply powerless against it. Ten thousand years ago, Ancestor Ma Hongjun was able to resolve it because the Sea God had obtained a Fire-attribute Immortal Herb, which purified the Evil Fire within Ancestor Ma Hongjun."

Lin Yi summarized the information. "So purifying the flames can resolve this Evil Fire. Are there any other methods?"

"Since this Martial Soul has been passed down for ten thousand years, surely ten thousand years of research has produced more than one result?"

Yan Shaozhe smiled bitterly. "There is, of course, another method, but it is still astonishingly difficult..."

"Could you tell me?"

"Of course. Another method is to find a Soul Master with the Extreme Ice attribute and use them to completely suppress the Evil Fire in Xiaotao's body. However, Extreme Ice has never appeared in the past ten thousand years. Fortunately, there is your Extreme Light, little junior brother. Otherwise, Xiaotao's path as a Soul Master might have come to an end..."

Lin Yi did not reply, merely frowning in thought.

Time passed. It was not until the heat gradually rose as the sun reached its zenith that Lin Yi came back to himself. Looking up, he saw three pairs of eyes staring straight at him.

His hands instinctively rose to protect his chest as he silently took two steps back. "What is it?"

Only then did Mu En speak. "You were deep in thought for quite some time. Did you think of something?"

Lin Yi nodded. "I did think of something."

Yan Shaozhe could not wait any longer. "What did you think of? Can it resolve Xiaotao's Evil Fire?"

Yan Shaozhe could hardly be blamed for his excitement. Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire had nearly become a personal affliction to him, and Lin Yi's displayed comprehension and precociousness had also made Yan Shaozhe instinctively choose to trust this seven-year-old boy.

"I'm not entirely sure whether it can resolve it..."

"But..."

Lin Yi deliberately drew out the last word. After Mu En glanced at him, he hurriedly finished his thought obediently.

"Even if it cannot resolve it, it should at least alleviate it."