Xiaotao, Do You Want a Husband?

Su Chen was speechless at the giant bug, whose mind was full of filthy thoughts.

About ten minutes later, the Evil Fire in Ma Xiaotao's body was finally completely suppressed, and she returned to a temporary calm.

He withdrew the hand pressed against Ma Xiaotao's back. The angel wings behind him slowly folded away, and the six pristine white wings dissolved into specks of golden light.

"All right." Su Chen's tone remained flat. "It's been temporarily suppressed. But unless the root of your Evil Fire problem is resolved, it'll flare up again."

Ma Xiaotao stood up from his arms, a little unsteady. She quickly straightened her disheveled clothes and hair—her red uniform was soaked with sweat and clung to her body, outlining curves that took the breath away.

Her face was still red, but she had already tried to regain her usual big-sister aura, forcing herself to appear calm.

"Thank you." Ma Xiaotao looked at Su Chen, her dark red eyes full of earnestness. "I'm Ma Xiaotao, a student of the Inner Court. I owe you one today. If you ever need help with anything, just come to me."

After saying this, she was about to add something when her vision suddenly went black and her body went limp.

"Hey!" Su Chen reacted quickly and caught her.

Ma Xiaotao had completely lost consciousness, her face pale as paper. Only then did Su Chen remember—the injuries caused when Guliang Meng had stopped her were only now fully showing.

An ice-attribute attack at the Titled Douluo level, even if intended to restrain rather than harm, was more than Ma Xiaotao, a Soul Emperor, could fully withstand. Just now, while her Evil Fire had flared up, she hadn't felt much pain. Now that it was suppressed, her injuries surged over her like a tide.

"What a nuisance..." Su Chen sighed and carefully laid Ma Xiaotao flat on the grass.

Just then, a soft groan came from not far away.

Wang Dong rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up, looking utterly confused. "I... Why did I pass out? Su Chen, where's that crazy woman? Are you all right?"

She shook her head, feeling that her bottom was both sore and cold. She'd been caught in the edge of Ma Xiaotao's fiery waves earlier. Although Guliang Meng had frozen the area around them in time, the heat had still burned her a little. Now she was caught between ice and fire, and the feeling was beyond excruciating.

Su Chen walked over to Wang Dong and pulled her to her feet. "It's all right now. We should head back."

Only then did Wang Dong notice Ma Xiaotao lying not far away. When she got a good look at her face and figure, her eyes widened without her meaning to.

So... so pretty!

And... so big!

Wang Dong's eyes drifted involuntarily to Ma Xiaotao's chest. Even lying flat and unconscious, her impressive curves were breathtaking. Her uniform shirt was stretched taut over them, the buttons looking ready to pop.

She glanced down at her own flat chest—she was wearing men's clothes, of course she was flat as a board. But even when she changed back into women's clothes, it seemed... she still wouldn't be that big?

Wang Dong suddenly felt defeated.

"So Su Chen really does like them big..." she muttered, her voice sour.

But then she puffed out her chest and reassured herself: I'm dressed as a boy right now! When I change back into girls' clothes, I definitely won't be smaller than her! Yeah, definitely not!

"Let's go." Su Chen pulled Wang Dong, who was still standing there in a daze, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Wang Dong suddenly remembered something and struggled to look back. "You're just leaving her there? What if something happens to her?"

"People from the Inner Court will find her soon," Su Chen said without looking back. "Staying here would only cause us trouble."

Wang Dong thought about it and said no more. But after a few steps, she suddenly realized something was wrong—

"Wait! Su Chen, what exactly happened just now? Why did I pass out? And..." She touched her bottom, scrunching her face up. "Why is it so sore and cold?"

Su Chen: "..."

How was he supposed to explain? That Wang Dong had rushed over to take him flying, only to get scorched by the Evil Fire and then injured by Guliang Meng's Ice Seal?

"You fell down," Su Chen said without changing his expression.

"Really?" Wang Dong looked at him skeptically. "Then why don't I remember any of it? I only remember that crazy woman charging at us, and then... then nothing."

"People who pass out don't remember," Su Chen continued to bluff.

Wang Dong tilted her head and thought it over. It seemed to make some sense, but something still felt off. She followed after Su Chen, chattering like a little bird. "What happened to that senior? Why did she pass out too? What did you do to her?"

Su Chen's head started to ache from all her questions. He simply let go of her hand. "Walk by yourself."

"Hey! Wait for me!" Wang Dong hurried after him. "You still haven't answered me!"

The two of them walked one behind the other, their figures gradually disappearing at the end of the Lakeside Path.

Not long after Su Chen and Wang Dong left, dozens of figures raced toward them from the depths of Sea God Lake at astonishing speed.

At the head of the group were three old men, all dressed in white robes, their auras deep as the sea. A dozen middle-aged teachers followed behind them, each brimming with Soul Power; even the weakest was a Soul Emperor.

In just a few blinks, the group reached the shore.

"Xiaotao!" The old man at the head spotted Ma Xiaotao unconscious beneath a tree, and his expression changed dramatically. He took a single step and appeared beside her like a ghost, placing his fingers on her wrist.

A moment later, the old man let out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness. She's only exhausted her Soul Power and suffered a little cold invading her body. A few days of recuperation should do it."

This old man was Yan Shaozhe, dean of the Spirit Department at Shrek Academy, a ninety-fifth-level Super Douluo with the title "Bright Phoenix."

Yan Shaozhe's gaze swept over the area—the scorched grass and trees, the rising water vapor, and the lingering, interwoven traces of heat and cold in the air. His brow furrowed.

"What a powerful ice-attribute aura..." Yan Shaozhe crouched down and carefully examined Ma Xiaotao, discovering a thin layer of frost covering her skin. "The ice-attribute Soul Master must be at least a Soul Douluo. Otherwise, they couldn't have suppressed Xiaotao this badly."

He stood and said to the teachers behind him, "Take Xiaotao back to Sea God Island first. Everyone else, search the area and see if any other students are injured."

"Yes, Dean!"

Several teachers carefully lifted Ma Xiaotao and flew toward Lake Heart Island. Yan Shaozhe remained where he was, sharply scanning every corner of the lakeside.

An ice-attribute Soul Douluo...

There were plenty of ice-attribute teachers at Shrek Academy, but not one of them had reached the Soul Douluo level.

Yan Shaozhe was full of doubts. But Ma Xiaotao's safety mattered most for now. With a flash, he too flew toward Sea God Island.

Inside a quiet room on Lake Heart Island, in the middle of Sea God Lake.

Ma Xiaotao slowly woke from her unconsciousness.

"Mmm..."

She moved and instinctively pressed her right hand to her still-dizzy head, struggling to sit up in bed.

The room was a simply furnished chamber. Its walls were smooth jade, glowing faintly. The air was filled with the scent of herbs, clearly showing that someone had treated her while she was unconscious.

Ma Xiaotao jumped down from the bed, revealing a pretty face that looked a little pale. She appeared to be barely twenty. Years of battling her Evil Fire had given her features a somewhat cold cast, but that couldn't hide her stunning beauty.

Her red hair fell over her shoulders, slightly mussed from the sweat. She stood there, her soaked uniform tracing the full, breathtaking curves of her figure, bringing a touch of warmth to the otherwise chilly room.

"You're awake."

A gentle voice came from the doorway.

Yan Shaozhe pushed the door open, concern and exhaustion on his face. He walked over to Ma Xiaotao and let out a long sigh. "Xiaotao, you really took a reckless risk this time. If someone hadn't stopped you in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable."

Ma Xiaotao lowered her head, her voice full of apology. "I'm sorry, Teacher. I... I couldn't control it."

"You're not entirely to blame." Yan Shaozhe shook his head, his tone complicated. "Your Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul is inherently difficult to control. It's just..."

He paused, his expression turning serious. "Xiaotao, your Evil Fire has been completely depleted. How did that happen? Do you remember what you encountered after you rushed out of Sea God Lake?"

Ma Xiaotao furrowed her brow, trying to recall.

Her memories by the lake were blurry—the rampaging Evil Fire, her mind slipping out of control, the searing pain... And then, a warm, sacred golden light.

"I remember..." she said slowly. "There was an ice-attribute Soul Master there. He must have been the one who first stopped me."

Yan Shaozhe nodded. "I sensed traces of ice-attribute Soul Power, at least at the Soul Douluo level. What happened after that?"

"As for my Evil Fire..." Ma Xiaotao's face suddenly turned red, and her voice grew a little vague. "I remember a... student saving me. And I could feel that all the Evil Fire I'd accumulated was gone. It definitely won't cause trouble again for a while."

When she remembered how Su Chen had treated her Evil Fire—the warm hand pressed to her back, the sacred power flowing into her body and driving away all the heat and pain—her face grew uncontrollably hot.

That feeling... had been so wonderful.

Yan Shaozhe naturally understood the look on Ma Xiaotao's face. As someone who'd been through it himself, he knew all too well the expression of a young woman in love. But he didn't call attention to it, instead asking, "Xiaotao, can you tell me who saved you?"

Ma Xiaotao shook her head, a little frustrated. "I don't know either... He hadn't even told me his name before I passed out."

She tried to recall those golden eyes, that handsome face, and those three pairs of pristine white angel wings...

"But I vaguely remember," Ma Xiaotao lifted her head, a spark in her eyes, "that he had a Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul."

"I knew it!" Yan Shaozhe clapped his hands, wearing an expression that said, "Just as I thought!" "It really was him! Only he could have completely depleted the Evil Fire!"

He paced around the room excitedly. "Right, right! How did I not think of that? A mere Evil Fire couldn't stir up a single wave in the face of the Six-Winged Angel's sacred attribute! That's the Ultimate light and holiness, the natural bane of all wicked things!"

Ma Xiaotao was startled by her teacher's reaction. "Teacher, you know him?"

Yan Shaozhe stopped and looked at Ma Xiaotao, his tone complicated. "Xiaotao, his name is Su Chen. He's a first-year student in Class Nine of the Outer Court. His Martial Soul is the Six-Winged Angel you mentioned, and his Soul Power should be around level twenty-eight."

"Level twenty-eight?" Ma Xiaotao's eyes widened in surprise. "But his sacred attribute was so powerful. He could even suppress my Evil Fire..."

"That's the key." A glimmer of wisdom flashed through Yan Shaozhe's eyes. "From what I know, an ordinary sacred attribute couldn't suppress your Evil Fire so easily, especially when your Soul Power Level is over thirty levels higher than his. So I suspect—"

He paused and said, word by word, "His sacred attribute has definitely reached the Ultimate level."

"Ultimate holiness?!" Ma Xiaotao gasped.

As a genius of Shrek's Inner Court, she knew all too well what an "Ultimate Attribute" meant. It was an existence above ordinary attributes, and its owners were all geniuses who appeared only once in a thousand years.

"No wonder..." Ma Xiaotao murmured. "No wonder he suppressed my Evil Fire so easily..."

Yan Shaozhe's eyes glittered. He'd originally paid attention to Su Chen only because the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul had reappeared on the mainland, but now it seemed the boy's worth far exceeded his expectations.

An Ultimate holy Six-Winged Angel—this was a treasure bestowed upon Shrek by the heavens! If properly nurtured, Su Chen would surely become another peerless powerhouse in the future.

Yan Shaozhe suddenly realized he had to get Su Chen "hitched" to Shrek's chariot as soon as possible. A genius like him absolutely couldn't be allowed to fall into the hands of another power!

As for what had happened by the lake... Oh, that wasn't important. The most important thing right now was Su Chen, this precious student.

With that thought, Yan Shaozhe suddenly turned around and stared at Ma Xiaotao, asking a question that nearly made her jump:

"Xiaotao, do you want a husband?"

Ma Xiaotao: "...Huh?"

She wondered if she'd heard him wrong.

Yan Shaozhe, however, looked completely serious as he spoke earnestly. "Your Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul is powerful, but its side effects are severe. Only by becoming a well-matched couple with him can you resolve the side effects caused by your Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul."

He paused, then continued, "Although he doesn't have Ultimate Ice and can't resolve your Evil Fire problem at its root, as long as he's there, he can keep suppressing your Evil Fire. At the very least, you won't lose your way again and be controlled by it."

Yan Shaozhe's voice grew solemn. "Only then will you truly be able to soar to new heights in the future, inherit your teacher's mantle, and perhaps even... surpass me."

Ma Xiaotao's face flushed scarlet.

Have Su Chen as her husband?

Her heart raced uncontrollably. Su Chen's image surfaced in her mind—the golden hair, the handsome face, those focused golden eyes, and the warm hand that had treated her...

Maybe... it wouldn't be so bad?

A little drama began to play out in Ma Xiaotao's mind:

"But he looks only twelve! I'm twenty! Wouldn't it be shameless for an old cow like me to eat tender grass?"

"But he's so handsome... And he can cure my Evil Fire..."

"But would he think I'm too old? Would he think I'm too fierce?"

"Whatever! If it's Su Chen, then yes! Absolutely yes!"

As she thought about it, Ma Xiaotao's face grew redder and redder, until even her ears had turned scarlet.

Yan Shaozhe watched her expression and understood. A knowing, wily smile curled his lips. "Xiaotao, what do you think?"

Ma Xiaotao took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but her voice still trembled a little. "Teacher... This is so sudden. And... how am I supposed to bring it up to Su Chen?"

Was she supposed to march up to him and say, "Junior, would you marry me to cure my illness?"

How embarrassing would that be!

Yan Shaozhe smiled. "No rush, no rush. We'll take our time with this. You should focus on recovering first. Once you're better, your teacher will make arrangements."

He was already figuring out how to arrange a "chance encounter," create an opportunity, and bring the two young people together naturally...

For the sake of his student's happiness—and Shrek's future—he was willing to set aside his dignity for the time being!