Refuse Freebies, Starting With Me

"I can help you suppress your evil fire."

Yang Jian raised his head and spoke slowly: "The condition is that I need you to use all your connections to help me find a soul beast that is at least thirty thousand years old and possesses the Ultimate Fire attribute."

"What I need is an exact location."

Before he had even absorbed a soul beast with the Ultimate Earth attribute as his third soul ring, the Title Douluo of the Offering Hall had already begun searching for a soul beast with the Ultimate Fire attribute suitable for him to absorb.

Unfortunately, soul beasts with Ultimate attributes were rare and hard to come by, and with the added requirement of a specific age, the Title Douluo of the Offering Hall had searched for two and a half years, only to end up empty-handed.

"Fine, no problem."

Ma Xiaotao agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Only after agreeing did she realize with a start: "Aren't you a soul master with the Ultimate Water attribute? Why are you looking for a soul beast with the Ultimate Fire attribute?"

"That's none of your concern. You just need to use all your connections to help me find it. Remember, all your connections."

Yang Jian deliberately emphasized the words "all your connections."

Ma Xiaotao alone was simply not enough. What he needed was for Yan Shaozhe, the Dean of the Martial Soul Department at Shrek Academy, to mobilize the Shrek Academy intelligence network to search for him.

"Alright, I will have my teacher help with the search."

Although Ma Xiaotao was puzzled, she agreed readily, followed by a flash of undisguised joy.

She had been plagued by the evil fire for far too long. If not for the evil fire, she could have achieved much greater heights instead of having to divert her energy to suppress and endure it as she did now.

Although Yang Jian's current soul power could only suppress it for a short time, for Ma Xiaotao, even a brief suppression was precious.

"So, when do we start? Now?"

"Now? Don't tell me you want me to suppress your evil fire in front of everyone."

Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao glanced around casually and realized that most of the people in the cafeteria had their eyes fixed on them.

"What are you looking at! Eat your food!"

Ma Xiaotao barked a dry, fierce command, scaring the students present into lowering their heads before she looked back at Yang Jian with a hint of expectation: "Then why don't you come with me to the Inner Court? Help me suppress the evil fire there, and I'll send you back afterward."

"There's no rush for that. Your current state is stable enough to last for a while. You might as well tell your teacher about my conditions first. I want to see you take action on my terms before I help you suppress the evil fire."

Yang Jian shook his head, directly rejecting Ma Xiaotao's proposal.

Refusing to be a free rider starts with me.

Yang Jian had guessed correctly; Ma Xiaotao had indeed just experienced an outbreak of the evil fire. The faint red light lingering on her was the residue from that eruption.

Her relatively stable state could indeed last for a few more days, so there was no need to rush.

Hearing this, although Ma Xiaotao was a bit disappointed, she still nodded: "That's true, that's only fair."

With that, Ma Xiaotao hurried out of the cafeteria in a flurry.

Judging by her demeanor, she must have gone to find Yan Shaozhe.

Yang Jian felt a sudden sense of relief—with the Title Douluo of the Offering Hall and the intelligence network of Shrek Academy working in tandem, he should be receiving good news soon, right?

"Second Brother, will helping her suppress the evil fire have any negative impact on you?"

Ye Qingyuan looked at Yang Jian with some concern. Although she felt a certain sympathy for Ma Xiaotao, in her heart, Yang Jian was undoubtedly more important.

If there was any chance Yang Jian could be harmed in the process of suppressing the evil fire, then there was no need to help.

"Don't worry, there won't be any impact. Little White is here, right, Little White?"

Yang Jian lowered his head and stroked the white fur on top of Little White's head.

Little White whimpered twice in response.

"Besides, even if there were any impact, it would be a positive one. Helping her suppress the evil fire might even bring me some benefits. Mastering the power of the fire attribute in advance might also be helpful for absorbing an Ultimate Fire attribute soul ring in the future."

"If Second Brother says so, then I'm relieved."

Ye Qingyuan nodded, finally setting her mind at ease.

Yang Jian sat back down at the table and patted Bei Bei on the back: "What are you thinking about so intently?"

During this time, the relationship between Tang Ya and Ye Qingyuan had grown much closer, and his relationship with Bei Bei had also become quite familiar.

Bei Bei, who was deep in thought, flinched subconsciously at the pat, only then snapping back to reality.

"I was just wondering why you would choose a soul beast with the Ultimate Fire attribute for your soul ring."

"Have you figured out why?"

"Uh... no."

Bei Bei shook his head and admitted it quite frankly.

He really couldn't understand why Yang Jian, who possessed the Ultimate Water attribute, would choose to absorb a completely opposite soul ring. Even if they were both Ultimate attributes, they were fundamentally opposed. Not to mention whether he could improve his strength after absorbing it... it shouldn't even be possible to absorb it at all, right?

"It wouldn't hurt to tell you."

As his voice fell, Bei Bei's eyes brightened slightly, and Tang Ya, sitting opposite, also sat up to listen attentively.

"Strictly speaking, my martial soul doesn't possess any attribute, or rather, chaos is its attribute. I call it Ultimate Chaos."

Yang Jian stroked the tuft of hair on Little White's head, causing it to rub against his palm comfortably before he continued: "Its characteristic is that it can absorb any Ultimate attribute soul ring without needing to consider the issue of attribute conflict. Moreover, after absorbing an Ultimate attribute soul ring, I will master the power of that Ultimate attribute."

"The rumors you've heard about me possessing Ultimate Water are the result of the power I gained after absorbing a spirit ring with the Ultimate Water attribute."

Bei Bei and Tang Ya instantly gasped in shock.

A martial soul with the Ultimate Chaos attribute... he can gain the power of any Ultimate attribute simply by absorbing a spirit ring of that type?

Isn't that just too heaven-defying?

Doesn't this mean that as long as Yang Jian can cultivate to become a Title Douluo, he could possess all nine Ultimate attributes!?

A spirit master with a single Ultimate attribute can rival veteran Title Douluos once they reach that rank, so if Yang Jian masters nine Ultimate attributes, wouldn't he possess strength comparable to a Limit Douluo the moment he becomes a Title Douluo?

"It is precisely because of this that spirit beasts meeting my spirit ring requirements are incredibly rare. Spirit beasts of this caliber are truly as scarce as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. That is why I proposed such conditions to Ma Xiaotao."