Martial Soul Evolution, Soul Power Compression
After a while, Dai Huabin patted Di Lingxi's head to make her let go.
"Alright, I need to go to the Inner Academy."
Di Lingxi reluctantly let go of her hand, muttering, "You're leaving as soon as you get back."
"I'll grill some meat for you when I get back."
Di Lingxi immediately beamed with joy. "It's a deal!"
Zhu Lu straightened Dai Huabin's collar and said softly, "I'll be waiting for you to come home."
Dai Huabin bent down and touched her forehead, then turned and left.
I could faintly hear Di Lingxi's voice behind me. "Sister Zhu Lu, when Huabin comes back tonight, I want to eat that honey-flavored one from last time!"
Ice Empress's voice followed immediately. "Who said there was any for you?"
"Huabin clearly said he'd bake it for me!"
He was referring to everyone.
"No, that's not true!"
Dai Huabin shook his head and quickened his pace to leave the dormitory building.
The Inner Academy, Ma Xiaotao's private courtyard.
When Dai Huabin arrived, Ma Xiaotao had already changed into a set of martial-style clothing suitable for cultivation, and her red hair was tied up high.
She even removed the red veil that usually covered her face, revealing a delicate and alluring face.
She had clearly been waiting for a long time, and she stood up straight the moment she saw Dai Huabin enter the courtyard.
"Let's go." Dai Huabin didn't waste any more words. "The cultivation room."
"Come with me."
Ma Xiaotao led him through the back gate of the courtyard and pushed it open.
The training room was small, with protective soul-guiding array patterns embedded in the four walls, and the floor was solid granite. In the center was a thick animal hide cushion.
Ma Xiaotao sat cross-legged.
"This stuff is called Blazing Gel."
Dai Huabin took out a dark red, gelatinous substance from his Storage Soul Tool, about the size of a fist, with faint reddish-gold light patterns flowing on its surface.
Ma Xiaotao stared at the Blazing Gel, her nose catching a scorching yet sweet scent. The Evil Fire within her surged and churned wildly, as if it had smelled some unparalleled delicacy.
"Huabin, is this what you said could make my Martial Soul Evolution?"
"Um."
Dai Huabin nodded.
"However, you cannot take it all at once."
Ma Xiaotao frowned. "Why?"
Dai Huabin held the Blazing Gel in his palm and weighed it in his hand, quickly calculating in his mind.
This medicine is extremely potent. Although Ma Xiaotao is a level 69 Soul Emperor with a strong physique, she has never experienced that level of body tempering.
Even if nothing serious happens, the body can't handle drinking it all at once.
"Your body can't handle absorbing all the medicine's power at once."
Without beating around the bush, Dai Huabin swiftly and neatly cut the Blazing Gel into two pieces.
"Take half first."
Ma Xiaotao stared at the piece of Blazing Gel that had been cut in half, feeling a little itchy inside.
How many years of her life has she been tormented by Evil Fire?
From the time she awakened her Martial Soul in her teens, every time she cultivated or fought, that Evil Fire was like a wild beast locked in a cage, ready to devour her reason at any moment.
She paid an unknown price to suppress the Evil Fire.
Now, the solution is right in front of us.
"Okay, whatever you say." Ma Xiaotao took a deep breath and reached out to take one of the portions.
The dark red, Blazing Gel was warm to the touch and had a supple texture. Ma Xiaotao held it to her nose and smelled it; the burning sweetness shot Celestial Spirit Academy, intensifying the restlessness of the Evil Fire within her.
"Sister Xiaotao," Dai Huabin suddenly spoke.
Ma Xiaotao looked up at him.
"You must calm down after taking it. The evolution process will be very painful, and the Evil Fire will violently clash with the medicinal power of the Blazing Gel. Don't panic, I will help you suppress it."
Ma Xiaotao grinned. "Huabin, what do you take me for? I, Ma Xiaotao, have seen it all."
Dai Huabin didn't reply. Instead, he sat down cross-legged three steps away from her, placed his hands on his knees, and began to slowly circulate the Soul Power of his White Tiger Martial Soul.
Ma Xiaotao's smile faded, and she said seriously, "Huabin, I will hold on."
After saying that, she stuffed the half-portion of Blazing Gel directly into her mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed it.
It melts in your mouth.
A surge of scalding heat rushed down his throat and instantly flowed into his dantian.
Ma Xiaotao's body trembled violently.
The already intensely active Evil Fire within her body was like a powder keg with Blazing Gel fuse the moment she sensed the power of the scorching glue.
All the fire-attribute Soul Power surged wildly through his meridians, causing the temperature to rise rapidly.
The temperature in the training room rose by more than ten degrees in just a few breaths.
Ma Xiaotao kept her lips tightly closed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
A thin, reddish glow appeared on her skin, a sign of overflowing Evil Fire.
Dai Huabin's Soul Power was already gathering in his palm, ready to be deployed.
He didn't rush to make a move because the evolution process is essentially a transformation of the Martial Soul itself, and external intervention too early would disrupt the rhythm.
What Dai Huabin had to do was use the Ultimate Ice to help Ma Xiaotao suppress the out-of-control flames when she couldn't hold on any longer.
Time passed by, second by second.
The temperature in the training room had reached an absurd level.
The protective soul-guiding array patterns on the four walls glowed with a faint blue light, passively absorbing the dissipated heat.
Ma Xiaotao's body began to tremble violently.
She felt strange. The Evil Fire within her was no longer the beast that constantly sought to devour her reason.
The medicinal properties of the Blazing Gel are like a key, unlocking the shackles on that beast one by one.
Once the Evil Fire was released, it ceased to be violent.
It is transforming.
From Evil Fire, it transforms towards a more extreme direction.
Ma Xiaotao could feel that her Martial Soul was undergoing a fundamental change.
The uncontrollable evil within the Evil Fire Phoenix is being gradually sublimated by the medicinal power of the Blazing Gel.
This process is extremely painful.
Ma Xiaotao gritted her teeth and endured it for an hour.
A muffled boom came from inside Ma Xiaotao's body.
The crimson aura surrounding Ma Xiaotao suddenly receded at that moment, replaced by a layer of bright, pure golden-red flame.
The flame was extremely hot, but it had no violent energy whatsoever; it was as pure as the finest molten metal.
The Ultimate Fire is complete!
Ma Xiaotao suddenly opened her eyes, a golden-red light still lingering in them.
She felt the new power within her.
The Evil Fire beast that could have gone out of control at any moment has disappeared; now flowing through her meridians is an extremely pure fire-attribute Soul Power.
But at the same time, she also noticed something was wrong.
"My Soul Power ..." Ma Xiaotao murmured, a hint of confusion mixed with the joy on her face.
"Did it fall?" Dai Huabin withdrew his hand and asked.
Level 64.
Ma Xiaotao checked the total amount of Soul Power in her body and found it hard to believe.
"I dropped from level 69 to level 64?"
Dai Huabin had anticipated this.
One of the costs of Martial Soul Evolution is the compression of Soul Power.
The attribute transforms from Evil Fire to Ultimate Fire, greatly improving the quality of Soul Power, but the total amount will inevitably decrease accordingly.
"Normal."
Dai Huabin spoke in a flat tone.
"As Martial Soul evolves from Evil Fire to Ultimate Fire, the purity of its Soul Power increases several levels. The reduction in Soul Power is an inevitable consequence."
"Although you are only level 64 now, the power of fire attribute alone is no weaker than when you were level 69. Moreover, as you continue to cultivate, the practical benefits of each level increase will far exceed those before. In the later stages, the advantage of the Ultimate Attribute will only become greater and greater."
Ma Xiaotao was overjoyed; this was the Ultimate Fire!
Future battles will be able to be fought with unrestrained, all-out warfare!
This deal was incredibly profitable.