A Rift Between Husband and Wife

Recently, Ma Xiaotao's cultivation had been going quite poorly.

Previously, there had been an agreement; with Ye Guyi present, no matter how she cultivated, she could always help her suppress the evil fire.

But ever since the incident between the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect and Shrek Academy, Shrek Academy had provided various forms of compensation, and Ye Guyi no longer needed to help her suppress the evil fire in exchange for the opportunity to cultivate within the Golden Tree.

As a result, Ma Xiaotao's evil fire had begun to flare up once again.

The evil fire showed signs of becoming uncontrollable.

As long as she stopped her cultivation, the evil fire remained manageable.

Even knowing this, Ma Xiaotao remained stubbornly determined to continue her cultivation.

This was because she had already reached the peak of level 69.

She only needed to break through one small step to reach level 70.

When that time came, a Soul Saint participating in the Continental Soul Master Tournament would surely be able to make a name for herself and seize the championship in one fell swoop.

She would continue the ten-thousand-year glory of Shrek Academy.

Yet, it was this final step that she could never seem to overcome.

Every time she tried to push forward, the evil fire within her martial soul would suddenly surge. Ma Xiaotao had a feeling that if she didn't resolve this issue, once she broke through, her mind would be completely devoured by the evil fire.

Therefore, she wanted to seek out Ye Guyi again.

Alas, Sister Guyi had gone into seclusion, and it was the kind of deep meditation seclusion at that.

With no other options, Ma Xiaotao had no choice but to seek help from her teacher, Yan Shaozhe.

Upon learning that his disciple was encountering problems with her cultivation, Yan Shaozhe disregarded Mu En's punishment and quietly snuck out of his own seclusion.

"Teacher, I want to improve so badly. I want to become a Soul Saint and win glory for our Shrek Academy."

Seeing her teacher, Ma Xiaotao's eyes were filled with excitement and hope.

"Don't worry, Xiaotao, Teacher will definitely get this done for you."

"How could this Ye Guyi be like this? How can she go back on her word?"

After making the promise to his student, Yan Shaozhe began to complain about Ye Guyi.

She didn't go into seclusion early or late, but chose exactly this moment to do so.

He finally understood: these people from the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect were clearly just here to enjoy the resources without any intention of contributing to the academy.

Ye Guyi going into seclusion at this time was clearly a sign that she did not want to participate in the Soul Master Tournament.

If she didn't want to participate, so be it. With Ma Xiaotao around, Yan Shaozhe truly didn't feel that this so-called Soul Master Tournament posed any difficulty.

The most critical issue right now was to let Xiaotao become a Soul Saint and suppress everyone else.

When that time came, he would also have glory on his face.

"Shaozhe, why have you disobeyed Teacher's orders and come out of seclusion?"

Just as Yan Shaozhe was thinking about how to get Ye Guyi to continue helping Xiaotao suppress the evil fire, Cai Mei'er, who had been busy all day, came to check on her husband's seclusion status and witnessed this scene.

She was very fond of Xiaotao.

At first, she had even treated her like her own daughter, but this "daughter" truly lacked a sense of boundaries.

Many of her actions had crossed the line.

Sometimes, Cai Mei'er even felt that her husband valued this disciple too much—perhaps even more than he valued her, his own wife.

"Mei'er, isn't it because Xiaotao is having trouble with her cultivation?"

"I was thinking of asking Ye Guyi to help suppress the evil fire."

Seeing that it was his wife who had discovered him sneaking out of seclusion, the slight guilt Yan Shaozhe originally felt suddenly vanished, replaced by a sense of composure.

Husband and wife were of one heart; as long as no outsiders discovered he had disobeyed his teacher's orders, it wouldn't be a problem.

"Xiaotao, I have a few words for you."

"Your teacher and I have already consulted Elder Mu about your cultivation issues. As long as you slow down your cultivation speed, the evil fire will not backlash."

"I know you have a strong personality and want to surpass everyone of your age, but you shouldn't just consider your own problems; you must also consider the problems of others. If you break through to the Soul Saint realm first, and there is too great a gap between your strength and Ye Guyi's, will she still be able to suppress your evil fire?"

"Since you cannot cultivate for the time being, why not use this time to compress your soul power and prepare for condensing a Soul Core later? Once Ye Guyi comes out of seclusion, you can have her help you suppress the evil fire again."

"With your strength, you are more than enough to crush this generation of peers. What else is there to worry about?"

Cai Mei'er's words were spoken with genuine sincerity.

She was truly thinking of Ma Xiaotao's best interests.

Because of the evil fire, she would ultimately be dependent on others.

If she crazily improved her strength at any cost, what would happen if Ye Guyi could no longer help her suppress the evil fire?

Furthermore, because of the two previous incidents, their relationship with the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect was so poor—if the other party truly refused to help, what could she do?

Cai Mei'er's thought was to have Xiaotao break through only after finding other ways to suppress the evil fire.

Little did she expect that these sincere words of concern would infuriate Yan Shaozhe, who was standing to the side.

"You're just a woman, what do you know?"

"The reason Xiaotao works so hard on her cultivation is to bring glory to our Shrek Academy and to ensure that the academy's ten-thousand-year legacy continues."

"If she enters the tournament with the strength of a Soul Saint, both of our faces will shine with pride."

Yan Shaozhe spoke these words with heavy weight.

His tone was extremely stern.

Things had not been going his way lately, and just when he had finally encountered something that could make him happy, his own wife refused to support him.

If this were the Cai Mei'er of the past, she might have internalized his reprimand, believing that Shaozhe was right.

After all, she was just a woman.

But she was different now!

She was no longer that same Cai Mei'er!

Ever since Elder Mu had tasked her with temporarily managing the Martial Soul Department, she had been diligent and conscientious, using her strength and serious attitude to prove that she could do a great job—perhaps even better than Yan Shaozhe himself.

Cai Mei'er no longer agreed with Yan Shaozhe's words.

What did he mean by "she's just a woman, what does she know"?

"Shaoze, Elder Mu has given an order: you are not to leave seclusion until you break through to level 96!"

"As for Xiaotao's matter, I will handle it."

Cai Mei'er straightened her back and retorted in a deep, angry voice.

She had completely abandoned the posture of catering to her husband in everything, as she had done before.

"You..."

Seeing his wife act this way, Yan Shaozhe was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Teacher, Mistress, please stop arguing."

"I won't break through for now. I'll wait until Little Sister Guyi comes out of seclusion before I proceed."

Seeing the two of them arguing, Ma Xiaotao hurriedly intervened to dissuade them.

Although the atmosphere between the couple eased slightly due to Ma Xiaotao's interjection, an invisible sense of estrangement had taken root.

Ning Que was completely unaware of all this.

If he had known, he would have surely slapped the table in applause.

This Yan Shaozhe was truly a talent.

At this moment, he was facing a massive headache of his own.

Qian Duoduo, the Dean of the Soul Guidance Department, was earnestly trying to persuade him to participate in the Soul Master Tournament.