Little Barbecued Chicken

At that, Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up, and Ma Xiaotao beside him could hardly hide her excitement.

"Then that couldn't be better."

"Xiaotao is my personal disciple. I brought her to Shrek Academy when she was very young. All these years, she's been like a daughter to me. Her Phoenix Evil Fire doesn't just torment her; it fills me with worry, too. Today, Xiaotao... I'm entrusting her to you."

"Teacher..."

Ma Xiaotao looked at Yan Shaozhe, her voice slightly choked.

Just as Yan Shaozhe had said, ever since he brought her to Shrek Academy, he had held nothing back in teaching her. Beyond her daily cultivation, he had also looked after her well-being. He had even gone everywhere, searching for a way to solve her Evil Fire problem.

Yan Shaozhe said he treated Ma Xiaotao as his daughter, but hadn't Ma Xiaotao always treated him as her father, too?

Watching Yan Shaozhe reveal such sincere, heartfelt emotion, Yang Jian couldn't help sighing inwardly.

When he'd read the original story, he really hadn't noticed the bond between Yan Shaozhe and Ma Xiaotao. Maybe there had been something there, but he didn't remember much. After all, he'd been young then, and his attention had always been on the Child of Fortune, Huo Yuhao.

But now, it seemed the bond between master and disciple far exceeded his expectations.

Perhaps, when Ma Xiaotao was abducted by the Holy Spirit Cult and led astray, Yan Shaozhe, her teacher, had been the one who suffered the most.

"Dean Yan, you flatter me. Since I agreed, I'll naturally do my best. But... shouldn't we first find a room where no one will disturb us? We can't suppress her Evil Fire right here, can we?"

Yan Shaozhe had already made arrangements for Yang Jian's question.

Under his guidance, Yang Jian entered the Golden Tree for the first time and made his way into the Sea God Pavilion.

The inside of the Sea God Pavilion wasn't nearly as magnificent as Yang Jian had imagined.

Its central section was a treehouse beneath the ancient Golden Tree on Sea God Island. A small wooden plaque hung above the door, with the words "Sea God Pavilion" written on it.

The interior space, however, was larger than Yang Jian had expected. It was spacious and well-lit, with a faint golden glow shining everywhere and bathing everything in gold.

Aside from the reception hall where Sea God Pavilion Meetings were held, there were many rooms inside. Most of them were empty; only a few housed the pavilion's elders.

Apart from those elders, only a handful of people had the right to live in the Sea God Pavilion.

Most of them were Titled Douluo. The only ones who lived there without being Titled Douluo were Zhang Lexuan, the senior sister of the Inner Court who had grown up there, and Bei Bei, who had already moved to the Outer Court.

Even Ma Xiaotao, though she was Yan Shaozhe's disciple, hadn't been given that privilege.

Yan Shaozhe led Yang Jian and Ma Xiaotao into an empty room. It was bare of any unnecessary furnishings, with only a simple bed and a set of tables and chairs.

Once inside, Yang Jian could smell a strange, delicate fragrance.

This scent... wasn't just the fragrance of the Golden Tree.

Noticing Yang Jian's surprise, Yan Shaozhe briefly explained, "Elder Zhuang, one of the Sea God Pavilion's elders, once refined pills in this room. The fragrance you smell should be the remnants of those pills."

"This is also the most secluded room, which is why Elder Zhuang chose to refine pills here."

Yan Shaozhe smiled, then turned and walked out of the room.

He's leaving just like that?

In such a hurry?

Yang Jian watched Yan Shaozhe's departing figure in surprise, but didn't think much of it. After all, Ma Xiaotao had been plagued by Evil Fire for more than ten years. It was understandable that her teacher would be in a hurry.

At that, Yang Jian turned to Ma Xiaotao. She stood with her back to him beside the bed, already unfastening her clothes.

?

Wait, I'm helping you suppress your Evil Fire. Why are you taking your clothes off?

Is this really appropriate?

Whether you're being proper or not... I'm the one who's supposed to be proper here!

If you want special services, you shouldn't be doing it in the Golden Tree. You should go upstairs!

"Wait a second... can you explain why you're getting ready to take your clothes off?"

At his question, Ma Xiaotao immediately turned around. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes flickered. "Don't I need to take them off? That's how it was drawn in the storybooks I read."

Drawn?

Could those storybooks of yours even pass censorship?

Yang Jian couldn't help taking a deep breath. "There's no need to take your clothes off. Suppressing the Evil Fire isn't as complicated as you think. Just open your mind and let my Soul Power enter your body."

Huh?

Ma Xiaotao was a little dazed.

Yang Jian looked perfectly serious, and what he said sounded perfectly proper, too. But being alone in a room with a man... she couldn't help letting her thoughts wander.

"Then... do I need to sit on the bed?"

I wouldn't mind if you sat on the floor, either.

Yang Jian silently grumbled to himself, then walked over. His voice grew much more serious. "Don't think about anything else. Focus."

As he spoke, Yang Jian gently placed a hand on Ma Xiaotao's shoulder.

When Yang Jian suddenly touched her, Ma Xiaotao's body trembled despite herself.

A warm current of Ultimate Water Soul Power abruptly compressed in Yang Jian's palm, then shot into Ma Xiaotao's body.

"Mm~"

When the pure Soul Power of Ultimate Water entered her body, Ma Xiaotao let out a muffled groan before she could stop herself. The sound, though, came out a little... strange.

The Soul Power of Ultimate Water coursed through every meridian in Ma Xiaotao's body. Her Evil Fire had just flared up once and was now lying dormant, but it instantly sensed the warm power.

Before the Evil Fire in Ma Xiaotao's body could erupt, the warm Soul Power of Ultimate Water rapidly spread, instantly enclosing the violent flames.

A rare, cool warmth rippled through Ma Xiaotao's heart.

This feeling...

Ma Xiaotao's beautiful eyes widened, and another muffled groan escaped her lips, beyond her control.

Two consecutive, rather embarrassing sounds seemed to send Ma Xiaotao into a state of surrender. One after another, the sounds slipped from her lips, and as that refreshing sensation washed over her, her whole body seemed to melt into a pool of spring water.

Yang Jian caught a breath of the flower-like fragrance wafting from Ma Xiaotao's lips and couldn't help inhaling deeply.

No wonder Ma Xiaotao had made it onto the Peerless Tang Sect Must-Eat List.

Yang Jian wouldn't claim to be some paragon of virtue. And with Ma Xiaotao looking like this, it was... hard to look away. His gaze inevitably lingered for a moment on her stunning figure.

"Focus, will you? Carefully feel the warmth and coolness of Ultimate Water, okay? Looking like this, you're making it hard for me to keep helping you suppress it!"