After Wang Dong, the others also ate with abandon. The value of Succubus Grilled Fish just kept rising!
Su Qing, leaning side by side with Xiao Xiao beneath the same tree, silently glanced toward Sea God Lake. If nothing unexpected happened, Ma Xiaotao should be arriving soon, though there was no sign of her on the lake yet.
As for how to deal with her when she appeared, it was simple. Just as he had dispelled the Demon Flame in the forest, he could instantly elevate the source of Ma Xiaotao's fire to the Ultimate Fire and let her purge the Evil Fire herself. He couldn't maintain it for long, but he could at least restore Ma Xiaotao's clarity of mind for a while.
At the very least, these few of them wouldn't get hurt like they had in the original story.
"Xiao Qing, what are you looking at?"
Xiao Xiao was a little puzzled. Sea God Lake stretched as far as the eye could see. What could he possibly make out? The youngsters who often trained here had long since grown tired of the view.
Hearing Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who had eaten their fill, also looked toward Sea God Lake. And sure enough, Huo Yuhao, whose eyesight was exceptionally sharp, noticed something unusual.
"Sea God Lake looks a little hazy today. Hey, look! There's a red dot in the distance. Wait, why does it seem to be getting bigger?"
Following the direction Huo Yuhao pointed, the three of them spotted a red dot. As it drew closer, they saw that it was actually a person in red, surrounded by rapidly rising, hazy mist. At first, Huo Yuhao and the others were puzzled about how someone could run across the surface of the water. But then they figured it might be an inner court student training hard, and thought nothing more of it.
"As expected of an inner court student. They're so dedicated!"
Watching the figure, Huo Yuhao felt a little ashamed of himself. She was training so hard even without anyone supervising her. There was still so much he needed to work on.
But as time passed, the temperature around them slowly rose. The waves of heat around the figure in red distorted the air, making everything nearby twist and warp before their eyes.
As she drew closer, the sizzling sounds carried by the heat reached them clearly. The mist shrouded her completely. In their eyes, the streak of red vanished altogether, replaced by a dense cloud of white vapor rolling toward them.
"It's so hot. What's going on?"
Xiao Xiao was puzzled. Why was an inner court student training so close to them? Wasn't she worried about accidentally injuring them while testing a Soul Skill? Before Xiao Xiao could figure it out, the sharply rising temperature made the air around them scorching. Her lungs suddenly felt as though they were on fire, and her consciousness began to blur.
But just before she lost consciousness, she suddenly felt someone pull her into their arms. A wave of coolness then eased the pain in her lungs and gradually brought her back to her senses. When she opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was the concern in Su Qing's gaze. Then she noticed his brows furrow slightly as he looked toward Sea God Lake.
"Strange. Huo Yuhao's already passed out, but Sky Dream Ice Silkworm still hasn't done anything. What's it waiting for?"
Su Qing looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who had fainted nearby. Fortunately, he had bestowed the Ultimate Fire upon Ma Xiaotao in time, burning away the Evil Fire that had been controlling her mind. That brought her back to her senses, and she immediately stopped the Soul Skill she had been using.
When Ma Xiaotao came to her senses and realized she had caused trouble, she instinctively wanted to check on them. But worried she might lose control again at any moment, she ultimately decided to leave first and let Yan Shaozhe handle what came next. All she could do now was hope that none of the students had been hurt.
"Xiao Xiao, can you move?"
After Ma Xiaotao left, Su Qing patted Xiao Xiao, who was plastered all over him. The girl definitely still had some strength left. Otherwise, she couldn't possibly be clinging to him like a suction cup.
"Mm~"
But how could Xiao Xiao let this rare opportunity slip by? In response to Su Qing's question, she weakly shook her head and let out a little sound, pretending she didn't even have the strength to speak. Then she went right on clinging to him.
"Fine, fine."
The excitement in her eyes was impossible to hide. Su Qing could tell she was perfectly fine, so he casually set Xiao Xiao down nearby and turned to check on Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. There was no helping it. Those two looked a little dead.
"Brother Sky Dream, am I dead?"
Huo Yuhao, whose consciousness had been drawn into the Sea of Consciousness by Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, asked with a desolate expression. He hadn't avenged his mother yet. How could he die here? But even Su Qing probably couldn't have survived a flame like that.
At the thought, guilt welled up inside him. If he hadn't suggested coming here to grill fish, his companions wouldn't have been killed...
"Don't worry. You only fainted from the heat. That big brother of yours, Su, just used some unknown method to drive off the person who attacked you. What an impressive human. Too bad he didn't need a Soul Ring at the time..."
"Brother Sky Dream!"
As Sky Dream Ice Silkworm went on, his words even took on a hint of regret. Huo Yuhao nearly rolled his eyes and passed out all over again. Brother Sky Dream was far too unreliable. And this was supposed to be a million-year Soul Beast?
"Were you just thinking something rude about me?"
Interrupted before he could finish, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm saw Huo Yuhao's expression and immediately took offense. That kid had definitely been cursing him in his heart!
"No! Absolutely not! Brother Sky Dream is the best, the strongest Soul Beast!"
Huo Yuhao's consciousness hurriedly waved his hands, afraid his little secret had been discovered, and laid on the flattery. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was very receptive to that. Pleased by the praise, he bashfully told Huo Yuhao to keep it down, then sent his consciousness out of the Sea of Consciousness.
"Huh? Why did you two wake up at the same time?"
Su Qing had been about to check whether the two of them were still breathing. But before his hand even reached them, they both opened their eyes. His hand was already out, though, and pulling it back without doing anything felt somehow unsatisfying. So he pressed his thumbs against the philtrums of both of them.
"Ah!!" ×2
After two successive screams, the four of them gathered together again and talked about what had just happened, still shaken. Only two of them had to rub the reddened, swollen flesh beneath their noses each time they spoke.
"Big Brother Su, could you please stop pressing my philtrum next time? It hurts like hell!"
"Exactly!"
Seeing Huo Yuhao complain first, his whole face scrunched up in pain, Wang Dong quickly chimed in. Su Qing's hands were way too strong. They were lucky he'd only pressed once; otherwise, they might have died from the pain even if the fire hadn't killed them.
"Come on, don't blame Xiao Qing. He was just worried about you."
Xiao Xiao took Su Qing by the arm and defended him. She hadn't even had time to get comfortable in his embrace before he'd set her aside to check on the other two. He'd been in such a hurry. It couldn't have been because he wanted to play around by pressing their philtrums, could it?
"Are you all right?"
Before they could finish speaking, a group of people dressed in white teacher's uniforms hurried over.