A Thousand Years Later

The days that followed were, for Huo Yuhao, both painful and joyful.

By day, he raced between the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Guidance Department, absorbing a vast amount of knowledge. At night, he was often "kidnapped" by a red-haired figure—Ma Xiaotao.

To avoid another accident like the one at the bottom of Sea God Lake, Ma Xiaotao had learned her lesson.

Instead of waiting until her Evil Fire was nearly impossible to suppress before seeking out Huo Yuhao, she adopted a "little and often" strategy.

As soon as she felt even the slightest warmth stir inside her, she would immediately drag Huo Yuhao to her dormitory in the inner court to "put out the fire."

And so, a strange sight began appearing at Shrek Inner Court.

Every two or three days, the famous new student from the outer court, Huo Yuhao, would be hauled into the inner court by Ma Xiaotao.

"Hey, Xiaotao, bringing your little boyfriend back again?"

A passing senior student from the inner court watched them and covered her mouth with a teasing smile, her gaze full of innuendo.

"Oh, stop it! Don't talk nonsense. This is... this is treatment!" Ma Xiaotao's pretty face flushed red as she glared at her, but she didn't loosen her grip on Huo Yuhao's hand at all. In fact, she held it even tighter and quickened her pace, looking very much like she was fleeing.

Huo Yuhao was dragged along with an helpless look on his face. He had long grown used to this sort of teasing and could even smile and wave to the senior student.

Once they entered the dormitory and shut the door, cutting off the noise outside, it was just the two of them.

Who could know what they did in there?

"Yuhao, hurry, get on the bed..." Ma Xiaotao beckoned him.

Huo Yuhao pressed a hand to his forehead. They were only suppressing her Evil Fire with Ultimate Ice, so why did Ma Xiaotao always say things that sounded so suggestive?

I suspect you're trying to seduce me, but I have no proof.

As their treatments grew more frequent, Ma Xiaotao discovered the secret too. Whenever Huo Yuhao helped suppress her Evil Fire, not only did her Soul Power circulate more smoothly, but it also grew much faster than usual.

Huo Yuhao seemed to benefit just as much, his Soul Power rising at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Dean Yan's office.

"You're saying that while you suppress her Evil Fire, your Soul Power resonates, and both of you improve significantly?" Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up like two enormous light bulbs as he listened to Ma Xiaotao's report.

"Yes, Teacher." Ma Xiaotao hesitated. "We tried Martial Soul Fusion, but it failed. This improvement comes purely from the complementarity of our attributes and... the mingling of our auras."

"That's it!" Yan Shaozhe slapped his thigh and paced excitedly around the office. "Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire in the process of mutation. You two are a match made in heaven! Xiaotao, if you weren't troubled by your Evil Fire, you'd have broken through to Spirit Saint long ago, given your talent. Huo Yuhao is the key that can unlock your shackles!"

As he spoke, Yan Shaozhe mysteriously pulled a yellowed ancient book from a gap in the bookshelf and placed it in Ma Xiaotao's hands.

"This is a dual cultivation technique treasured by the academy, called Dragon Phoenix Harmony. The name's a bit corny, but it's incredibly powerful. It's specifically for Soul Masters whose attributes complement one another to cultivate together. Take it and find a chance to try it with Yuhao."

"D-dual cultivation?!"

Holding the scorching-hot manual, Ma Xiaotao's pretty face flushed all the way to her neck, and she stammered, "Teacher, this... this isn't appropriate, is it? There's such a big age gap between us..."

"Why should cultivators concern themselves with age?" Yan Shaozhe looked at her as if she were beyond hope. "Besides, that kid's more mature than an old monster, as steady as a rock. Wang Dong from the outer court, and Xiao Xiao too—aren't they both utterly devoted to him? If you don't make a move soon, you won't even get a taste!"

Ma Xiaotao froze.

That was right. Wang Dong.

Ordinary people might be fooled by Wang Dong's masculine appearance, but as a top student at Shrek, Ma Xiaotao knew that the beautiful Light Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul was passed down only to women, never men.

Wang Dong had enrolled disguised as a boy.

Over the past two months, watching Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong come and go together and share a room, Ma Xiaotao had felt an inexplicable pang of jealousy.

That night, in Ma Xiaotao's dormitory.

After they finished suppressing her Evil Fire, a lingering, intimate warmth filled the air.

Huo Yuhao was about to pull away when he noticed Ma Xiaotao hanging her head, her fingers clutching the hem of her clothes as if she were struggling with a difficult decision.

"Xiaotao-jie, what's wrong?" Huo Yuhao asked softly.

Ma Xiaotao took a deep breath, then abruptly raised her head and held out the Dragon Phoenix Harmony manual to Huo Yuhao. Hesitation and coyness were never in her nature.

"Yuhao, Teacher gave me this."

Huo Yuhao glanced at the cover and understood at once. A playful smile tugged at his lips. "Dean Yan sure is... thoughtful!"

"Would you... would you mind that I'm older?" Ma Xiaotao bit her red lip, a trace of insecurity and apprehension—feelings she had never shown before—flickering in her eyes.

Usually decisive and forceful, she now found herself caught in a whirlpool of feelings and had become entirely unlike herself.

"I know Wang Dong is a girl, and I can tell how Xiao Xiao feels about you. They're your age, and their cultivation is about the same as yours. They're more suited to walking alongside you than I am. And I'm six years older than you..."

At that moment, the fiery, domineering Flame Maniac who faced the world had vanished, replaced by a young woman who was anxious and uncertain in the face of love.

"If you mind, I can wait for you, or... you can just reject me."

Ma Xiaotao's voice trembled. She even humbly said that as long as Huo Yuhao would cultivate with her, she would accept it even if she were only a passing visitor in his life, even if she wasn't the only one.

After all, as things stood, Huo Yuhao was the partner best suited to her, the one who could help her overcome the flaw in her Martial Soul.

Looking at the girl who had lowered her defenses for him, Huo Yuhao couldn't help swallowing.

He knew that Ma Xiaotao didn't like him enough yet to make such a huge concession.

The temptation of improving their strength through dual cultivation was the main reason.

But after living two lives, with such a stunning beauty right in front of him, ready for the taking, it would have been a lie to say he had no interest.

Huo Yuhao knew his answer now would be crucial. It would determine whether he could completely break through Ma Xiaotao's defenses.

He reached out and gently took Ma Xiaotao's trembling hand, lacing his fingers with hers.

"Xiaotao-jie, look at me."

Huo Yuhao's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable resolve.

"Age? What's that?"

"To ordinary people, even six years isn't a gulf. And to Soul Masters—or even gods—what does six years matter?"

Huo Yuhao's gaze burned brightly. "If our goal is to become Titled Douluo, we could live for hundreds of years. If we become gods, our lives will be eternal."

He gazed deeply into Ma Xiaotao's flustered eyes and spoke, one word at a time:

"A thousand years from now, you and I will still be separated by only the tiniest little difference."

"As long as we become gods, true love will last forever."

Boom!

Ma Xiaotao felt as if a dazzling firework had exploded in her mind.

A thousand years from now...

Becoming gods...

This boy's ambition was so grand!

And his promise was so romantic, so domineering!

All her insecurities, concerns, and apprehensions vanished in an instant.

Ma Xiaotao could no longer contain her surging emotions. She threw herself into Huo Yuhao's arms, hot tears spilling from her eyes as she clung tightly to the boy six years younger than her, who had given her a sense of security unlike anything she had ever known.

"Yuhao... we're going to become gods together!"

"Mm. Together."

That night, red candles flickered as their hearts finally became one.

As for the Dragon Phoenix Harmony manual, it naturally came in very handy.