Ma Xiaotao's appearance instantly made the already tense atmosphere on Sea God Island turn strange.
As they looked at this Inner Court genius, quite a few elders flushed red, their eyes filled with humiliation.
Could it be that mighty Shrek was truly going to "cede territory for peace" today, handing over a female student to quell a Limit Douluo's wrath?
"Elder Mu! We can't! At worst, we fight him!"
"What utter humiliation! Shrek's ten-thousand-year honor will be destroyed in a single day!"
"Give in today, cede land tomorrow—the heavens want Shrek dead!"
Amid the waves of cries that "Shrek was doomed," a rare trace of anger appeared on Mu En's wrinkled face.
Especially Long Xiaoyao's amused gaze, which pierced straight into his heart like a sharp sword.
"Enough!"
A rebuke infused with immense Soul Power instantly plunged the entire area into dead silence.
Elder Mu was truly angry...
None of the elders could remember how long it had been since the mild-tempered master of the Sea God Pavilion had last shown genuine rage. They immediately fell silent, watching their noses and contemplating their hearts, not daring to utter another word.
Once everyone had quieted down, Mu En turned his gaze toward the proud Ma Xiaotao and spoke in an even tone.
"I brought her here.
But Yan Shaozhe was right about one thing: better to be shattered jade than intact tile.
Xiaoyao, I know you are not one to act without reason.
You came all this way and made such a spectacle to take someone. What exactly do you want?"
Though his tone was calm, it carried the authority of a Limit Douluo.
Seeing Mu En draw the line, Long Xiaoyao stopped concealing his intentions.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he proudly spat out several words. "My disciple possesses a God-tier Martial Soul..."
A God-tier Martial Soul?!
Those four words were like a boulder thrown into still water. Everyone present sharply sucked in a breath, their eyes fixed on Long Yaochen in utter shock.
Meeting their astonished gazes, Long Yaochen's lips curved slightly as he expertly put on a harmless, friendly smile.
"...However," Long Xiaoyao continued only after sweeping an annoyed look over those who had interrupted him, "his Martial Soul was left with a fatal flaw during its mutation. Only Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire can completely restore his Martial Soul Core."
Long Xiaoyao had no intention of hiding it. Before a Limit Douluo like him, what did it matter if this rabble knew? Who would dare touch his precious disciple?
"I, Long Xiaoyao, have roamed the continent for hundreds of years. I am not an unreasonable man."
When Long Xiaoyao looked at Ma Xiaotao, a trace of satisfaction appeared in his eyes. He nodded and declared in an unquestionable tone.
"Let my disciple enter into a marriage engagement with her and give her a proper standing.
As long as my disciple is around, the Evil Fire backlash within her will be resolved with ease.
Let that be her reward for helping my disciple cultivate."
What?!
This turn of events made everyone present widen their eyes.
Except for two people. One was Yan Shaozhe, who coughed up another mouthful of blood and looked at Mu En with profound resentment.
Teacher, you can't possibly be agreeing to this, can you?
The other was Mu En, whom Yan Shaozhe was staring at. His eyes were tightly shut, and he said nothing, as though lost in thought.
So that's how it is...
Mu En mused inwardly.
He knew Long Xiaoyao too well. Though this old man possessed the Dark Sacred Dragon Martial Soul and acted domineeringly, he was by no means a bloodthirsty, wicked person at heart.
Otherwise, how could his Martial Soul resonate with Mu En's Radiant Sacred Dragon?
And this disciple of his...
Mu En slowly opened his eyes. Reflected in his clouded gaze was Long Yaochen's breathtaking bearing and appearance.
If his senses were correct, the boy had already touched the threshold of Soul Ancestor.
Twelve years old, a Quasi-Soul Ancestor, and a God-tier Martial Soul... Truly terrifying.
When all those labels were gathered upon a single twelve-year-old boy, even Mu En, a Limit Douluo who had lived for centuries, could not suppress the stormy waves rising in his heart.
If this child can be brought into Shrek's service...
An exceedingly well-hidden fervor flashed through Mu En's eyes, unnoticed by everyone present.
Only Long Yaochen, who was being watched by him, instinctively shivered, goosebumps rising all over his body.
What does this old man want?
He warily returned Mu En's gaze.
"Words alone are no proof." Seeing that they did not believe him, Long Xiaoyao tilted his chin toward Long Yaochen. "Chen'er, show them."
Seeing that Mu En did not stop him, Long Yaochen took the initiative and stepped forward.
He had waited a long time for this moment.
"Senior... sister, pardon me."
Long Yaochen looked at Ma Xiaotao in the distance. A golden gleam surfaced deep within his eyes, and the divine golden radiance of the Eternal Blazing Sun erupted in an instant!
Roar—!
A resounding dragon's roar rang out.
The expressions of everyone present changed, especially those with beast-type Martial Souls.
Their Martial Souls actually felt a faint pressure?!
As the dragon's roar faded, a dazzling phantom of a blazing sun rose behind Long Yaochen's head. Compared to the pressure from before, another aura overflowing with supreme divinity swept across the entire scene.
This absurd aura made even the unusual "purple, purple, purple" configuration of Long Yaochen's soul rings seem insignificant.
Then, the urge to kneel in worship arose in everyone's hearts.
What kind of joke was this?!
Everyone's expressions changed completely. After all, the weakest among these pavilion elders was still a Title Douluo.
This was... a God-tier Martial Soul?!
At the instant that ultimate divine light appeared, Ma Xiaotao's expression changed drastically!
The Evil Fire that had barely been suppressed within her body seemed to be drawn by some irresistible, fatal attraction. It completely slipped beyond her control, bursting out of her body like a wild horse freed from its reins!
"Wuu—!"
The dark-red Evil Fire transformed into the phantom of a violent Phoenix. With a shrill cry, it shot straight toward Long Yaochen.
"Xiaotao!" Yan Shaozhe turned pale with fright, thinking that Long Yaochen was about to strike a killing blow.
Yet, as he watched the Evil Fire—which would burn an ordinary Soul Elder to ashes at the slightest touch—Long Yaochen's heart beat faster and faster.
It's this. It's definitely this!
Not only did he not dodge, he instead stepped forward to meet it and took a deep breath.
The originally violent flames melted like ice and snow the moment they touched the sacred radiance. The blazing sun phantom behind Long Yaochen's head forcibly crushed them into a thread of dark-red light, which he inhaled through his nose.
The instant it entered his body, it became a warm current that flowed through his limbs and bones.
"Phew..."
Long Yaochen tilted his head back slightly and let out an exceedingly contented sigh.
As the flames laced with negative emotions entered his body, the golden gleam in his eyes faded by an almost imperceptible trace.
Though it was only a trace, it made Long Yaochen incomparably exhilarated!
The imbalance in his Martial Soul Core, like the collapse of the Tower of Heaven, also rarely corrected itself by a fraction.
"Unfortunately... the purity is enough, but the amount is still far from sufficient."
Long Yaochen looked at Ma Xiaotao and unconsciously licked his lips, looking utterly unsatisfied.
At that moment, Ma Xiaotao had gone completely rigid.
Relief...
She felt an unprecedented sense of relief.
The Evil Fire that had tormented her for over a decade, making her wish for death countless times, had actually vanished without a trace in that brief instant!
She stared blankly at the twelve-year-old boy before her, flawless from head to toe beneath the divine light, her mind utterly blank.
The Martial Soul within her body seemed to be pounding madly in place of her heart.
This guy... truly has the bearing of one beyond mortal men!
It was as though a set of shackles in her heart had shattered with a thunderous crash at that moment!
An instinctive urge surged from her Martial Soul through her entire body—
Get close... then let him consume it!
Before you continue