On Sea God Island, in the eastern Training Ground on Sea God Island.
The Training Ground stood atop a hundred-meter-high hill. Its summit looked as if it had been sliced flat, and the hundred-meter-wide arena was littered with oddly shaped rocks. The rocky walls beneath their feet were exceptionally sturdy.
The Fifth Soul Ring beneath Qian Renxue's feet shimmered. Holy Fire spread over her body, and brilliant golden light ignited along the gleaming Angel Sword. As she swung it, the scorching heat instantly warped the air.
Before her stood a woman dressed in a pale yellow gown. Golden Crow Leftover Woman Wu Ming let out a sharp cry, and a pair of blazing orange-gold Golden Crow Wings flared behind her. Sun True Fire streaked down like a meteor from the heavens.
The clash between the Angel Sword and Sun True Fire melted some of the rocks on the ground into lava, which promptly cooled and hardened.
Zhang Lexuan stood outside the Training Ground and clapped her hands. "All right, that's enough sparring for today."
The Angel Sword vanished from Qian Renxue's hand, and the pair of golden Angel Wings behind her disappeared as she slowly descended.
After landing, Wu Ming strode angrily over to the eldest senior sister and complained, "Eldest Senior Sister! If you'd given me a little more time, I could've beaten Xiao Xue!"
Zhang Lexuan looked at Wu Ming helplessly. As one of the Inner Courtyard's two active volcanoes, Wu Ming had a notoriously fiery temper.
Zhang Lexuan smiled. "All right, you're sisters. There's no need to fight to the death. If your opponent were a male student, I'd let you beat him up as much as you liked. Isn't that right, Xiao Xue?"
"Exactly!" Qian Renxue said with a smile and nodded. She walked gracefully over to Zhang Lexuan. "Eldest Senior Sister, if we run into Dai Yueheng next time, don't stop me! That bastard's younger brother dared to bully my younger brother. I'm going to cut him down!"
"Is this because of that little fellow named Huo Yuhao?"
"Seriously? Has that kid already become so famous?" Qian Renxue asked, looking at Zhang Lexuan in surprise.
"Of course. The senior elders at our academy think highly of Huo Yuhao. His Body Martial Soul, the Time Eye, can control Time Flow, which is already impressive. But its range of three thousand three hundred and fifty meters is truly unprecedented."
Zhang Lexuan smiled. "Who knows? Maybe one day, when Huo Yuhao breaks through to Soul Douluo, he'll be able to enter the Sea God Pavilion too."
Qian Renxue drew in a sharp breath. During her time in the Inner Courtyard, she had learned many Soul Master principles and unique Cultivation Methods that hadn't existed Ten Thousand Years Ago.
As Qian Renxue absorbed what she had learned, she also quietly memorized a number of Cultivation Methods. She hoped that once the semester was over, she and Huo Yuhao could return to Spirit Hall and tell her grandfather what they had learned here.
The Sea God Pavilion was the academy's most important institution. Compared with Spirit Hall's Worship Hall, it had even more powerful experts.
Qian Renxue looked at Zhang Lexuan. "By the way, Eldest Senior Sister, what did the academy say about my application to study Soul Tools?"
"Xiao Xue, take my advice. Ten Thousand Years Ago, your Six Winged Angel Martial Soul was a God-tier Martial Soul, and it even produced a deity. Studying Soul Tools would distract you. Right now, the academy is focused on training you as a Soul Master," Zhang Lexuan urged earnestly.
"But..." Qian Renxue started, then stopped. She knew full well how powerful the Six Winged Angel Martial Soul was. Everything she had read in Shrek Academy's many records spoke of how terrifying Evil Soul Masters were—and how completely her Six Winged Angel Martial Soul countered them!
The academy had every reason to consider her future in this regard. But Soul Tool Crafting was tied to Spirit Hall's fate, and Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment.
Just then, a white figure flashed past.
"Yun Xue, I need your help!" Yan Shaozhe said gravely. At the same moment, a pillar of fire shot into the sky.
Zhang Lexuan and Wu Ming's faces changed at the sight. Qian Renxue didn't understand what was happening, but she spread her wings and followed them anyway.
In a secret chamber in the Inner Courtyard.
Yan Shaozhe said helplessly, "Lexuan, Xiaotao's Evil Fire has been flaring up far too often lately. I advised her to stop cultivating for a while, but that girl has her heart set on the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Competition a year from now."
Zhang Lexuan's beautiful eyes narrowed. "Xiaotao is being completely unreasonable. Which matters more, the competition or her life?"
Then Yan Shaozhe looked at Qian Renxue and said, "Yun Xue, the Holy Attribute of your Six Winged Angel Martial Soul can purify the evil energy inside Xiaotao. I'm asking you to help her."
Ma Xiaotao was Yan Shaozhe's only disciple. He had raised her from childhood, and she was like his own daughter.
"Of course." Qian Renxue agreed without hesitation, then added, "But, Dean Yan, I want to study Soul Tools."
Yan Shaozhe was the dean of the Martial Soul System and a rival of the Soul Tool System.
Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brow. "But if you go down the path of Soul Tools, your talent could go to waste!"
Qian Renxue shook her head. "It won't. I can promise you that I'll raise my Soul Power to level seventy within two years. If I fail, I'll give up Soul Tools and focus solely on the Martial Soul System. What do you think?"
Yan Shaozhe thought for a moment, then finally nodded. "All right, I agree. But don't neglect your Soul Master cultivation."
"Don't worry, I won't neglect my cultivation." Qian Renxue was secretly delighted. She could finally study Soul Tool Technology.
Yan Shaozhe kept watch outside the secret chamber while Qian Renxue, Zhang Lexuan, and Wu Ming went inside.
In the center of the chamber, Ma Xiaotao lay on a bed of ice, dressed in red. Her fiery hair fell loose down her back. Her oval face was flushed, and though a hint of pain showed between her brows, it did nothing to diminish her beauty. Her figure was flawless—in fact, it was already the best among the four women, especially in its bewitching curves.
"Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul?" Qian Renxue recognized it at a glance.
"Xiaotao inherited her Martial Soul from her ancestor, Ma Hongjun. She's been tormented by Evil Fire for more than a decade. Otherwise, her Soul Power cultivation would be far higher than it is now." Zhang Lexuan looked deeply worried.
"Let me try first." Qian Renxue reached out with her right hand, and the Angel Sacred Sword appeared. A dense, sacred aura surged toward Ma Xiaotao, who lay moaning on the bed.
In an instant, wisps of dark red energy vanished from Ma Xiaotao's body, leaving only the purest flames burning within her.
"This can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. If she keeps going like this, it won't be long before the Evil Fire completely consumes her!" Qian Renxue said gravely.
"Is there really no way to help her?" Wu Ming asked anxiously, looking at Zhang Lexuan.
"There is a way. We just need to find a Soul Master with an ice attribute—ideally Extreme Ice—and have him marry Xiaotao. Then the problem would be solved."
Zhang Lexuan shook her head. "Extreme Attribute Soul Masters appear only once in a thousand years, if that. And Shrek Academy has experience with only one Ultimate Attribute Soul Master. Besides, Xiaotao wouldn't want that."
"Extreme Ice?" Qian Renxue's expression turned strange as she couldn't help thinking of Huo Yuhao.
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