Journey to the Far North

The next morning.

Golden sunlight filtered through the mist rising from the lake, refracting over Sea God Island and shining upon the lush vegetation.

Su Qingfeng had been assigned a courtyard on Sea God Island. The residence was a two-story pavilion built from millennium-old silverwood. It was resistant to rain erosion, exceptionally sturdy, and shimmered with a silvery gleam beneath the sunlight.

Mu En's residence was right next door, built to the same specifications.

Courtyards like these were originally allocated only to Esteemed Elders of the Sea God Pavilion and its outstanding members, but as the Sea God Pavilion Saint Son, Mu En had arranged one for Su Qingfeng as well.

Early that morning, someone arrived at Su Qingfeng's courtyard.

That person was Ma Xiaotao.

Just yesterday, Su Qingfeng had awakened the Extreme Star Martial Soul and the Immortal Realm.

With the matchmaking of his senior brother Yan Shaozhe, he had met Ma Xiaotao, who possessed the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul.

Ma Xiaotao had practically fallen in love with Su Qingfeng at first sight. Especially after learning that he could cultivate an Ice Attribute Martial Soul, she had pestered Yan Shaozhe all night for information about Su Qingfeng.

At last, she had found out that Su Qingfeng possessed the potential to cultivate top-tier Ice Element power, which might even be able to ease the evil fire within her body.

From that moment onward, Ma Xiaotao could no longer contain herself.

Before dawn had even broken, she got up to make breakfast. Then, brimming with excitement, she came to Su Qingfeng's courtyard and sat waiting in the gazebo, all just to see him one more time.

Only when sunlight streamed through the windowsill did Su Qingfeng wake up. He rubbed his eyes, straightened his clothes, opened the door, and slowly walked outside.

Light fell across his sleepy face, as though an immortal had just stretched after waking.

The vegetation on Sea God Island was luxuriant. Many plants had grown for centuries or even millennia, towering trees reached over a hundred meters high, and flowers bloomed through every season without ever withering, making the place resemble a paradise beyond the mortal world.

Pink-and-white petals drifted down from the sky. The flowers and grass swayed for him, while birds and beasts sang because of him. It was dreamlike and illusory.

Su Qingfeng washed up groggily, only then noticing that Ma Xiaotao was gazing at him with affectionate peach-blossom eyes.

In an instant, Su Qingfeng developed a headache.

"How did you get in?"

He had clearly locked the courtyard gate!

"Hehe, I flew in." Ma Xiaotao smiled.

"Uh..."

"I mean no harm. I knew you'd just arrived at the Sea God Pavilion, so you might not know how to cook or where to go for meals. I was afraid you'd go hungry, so I made you some pastries and porridge."

Ma Xiaotao opened the food container and brought out a steaming pot of porridge and a plate of lovely little pastries.

The fragrance soon filled the courtyard.

"Eat." Ma Xiaotao crossed her legs, cupped her flushed cheeks in her hands, and watched Su Qingfeng.

She could never get tired of looking at that face!

Whenever she saw him, an inexplicable restlessness rose in her heart!

Her teacher had told her that although Su Qingfeng might be able to suppress her evil fire, he was also her teacher's Little Junior. She could not force him to cultivate an ice-type martial soul, much less force him to marry her.

So, if she wanted to develop their relationship, Ma Xiaotao would have to work hard herself!

Su Qingfeng calmly sat across from Ma Xiaotao. He really was a little hungry, so he took the Golden Nan Spoon and had a few bites.

It looked quite good, but the taste was less than ideal.

Ma Xiaotao asked expectantly, "How is it? Is it good?"

Su Qingfeng could only nod politely and force it down. "It's all right."

Damn it, it feels like something isn't cooked through! It's raw!

Did she cook something from the soul master world as if it were ordinary food?!

"As long as you like it, I can cook for you every day. I read up on it last night—if you want to win a man's heart, you first have to win over his stomach."

Ma Xiaotao spoke happily. In truth, before today, she had never known how to cook. She had only hurriedly learned last night.

As for this porridge, she had burned it twice. Once, she forgot to add ingredients and boiled all the water away; another time, she forgot the main ingredient.

Only on the fifth try had she learned from her mistakes and made barely presentable porridge and pastries. After some decoration and extra work, she had finally completed the barely acceptable breakfast now laid before Su Qingfeng!

Still, to be fair, while old Mu En treated him quite well, he truly did not know how to take care of others. On the way back to Shrek Academy, Su Qingfeng had often gone hungry.

The reason was simple. Powerful people like Mu En—aside from exceptions like Xuan Zi, with his Taotie Martial Soul and unique cultivation—no longer needed to eat regularly. They only ate occasionally to satisfy a craving.

But Su Qingfeng, despite looking like an unparalleled banished immortal, was actually just an ordinary person! He got hungry! He needed to use the toilet!

As long as it was edible, that was enough.

That was how Su Qingfeng comforted himself.

Hearing her words, Su Qingfeng felt somewhat helpless. "What books did you read?"

Ma Xiaotao put on a serious expression and answered frankly, "Mm, I read quite a few."

"How to Be a Virtuous Wife and Loving Mother."

"The Tastes of Men with Different Personalities."

"How to Win a Man's Heart"

"How Beautiful People Think"

"..."

"Wait, setting aside the useless trashy books you were reading, how did you manage to finish so many books in one night?"

Su Qingfeng was stunned. Were books on the Douluo Continent just one page each?

"That's perfectly normal. Generally speaking, the higher a Soul Master's rank, the better all aspects of their body function. Their spiritual power and memory are stronger too. I'm already over Rank Sixty, so I can basically read ten lines at a glance and remember everything I see. If I'm in a hurry, finishing a three-centimeter-thick book in half an hour isn't a problem."

Ma Xiaotao spoke as if reading books were the simplest thing in the world. Otherwise, how could Soul Masters remember so many Soul Beasts' weaknesses and traits?

Su Qingfeng was speechless after hearing that. With a skill like that, wouldn't he ace every exam if he went back to Earth?

"All right."

Su Qingfeng filled his stomach and said calmly, "Actually, you don't need to take care of me just to suppress your Evil Fire, nor do you need to sacrifice your marriage because of it.

"By seniority, I'm your Little Martial Uncle. Caring for juniors is what elders ought to do, so I'll cultivate Ice Attribute elemental power first. Not only can it suppress your Evil Fire, but Ice Element power itself is also very powerful. It has both control and offensive capabilities."

"No, no, no, I'm willing too!"

Ma Xiaotao stared at him in a daze. "That feels so sweet, Little Martial Uncle! All right, even though you're younger than me, I'll call you Little Martial Uncle from now on. You're so kind. So you were thinking about me. I'm so happy!"

Even in the way Su Qingfeng spoke, there was an unusual aura about him!

However, under Ma Xiaotao's fangirl gaze, Su Qingfeng really found it hard to keep eating... The atmosphere was far too awkward...

"It smells wonderful so early in the morning. I wonder if this old man is lucky enough to mooch off some breakfast?"

Mu En descended from the sky at that moment, landing in the courtyard and smiling faintly at them.

In that instant, Su Qingfeng felt that the courtyard gate did not seem to serve any purpose anymore. They could all fly!

He was just a small fry who had only recently awakened his martial soul. Did he have any privacy left among all these big shots?

"But I only made enough for Little Martial Uncle. Martial Ancestor, how about next time?"

Ma Xiaotao stood up. She had not expected the Pavilion Master to come as well.

In truth, Mu En had remained rather mysterious for decades. He drifted freely like an idle cloud and wild crane, rarely involving himself in affairs. Even Ma Xiaotao did not get to see him often, yet now he was following Su Qingfeng around every day.

"Red Abalone Yang Worm Congee, Ice Jade Blood Cake. Why have I never heard Shaozhe mention that you had such culinary skills? It seems this old man isn't fortunate enough to enjoy them."

Mu En spoke lightly.

"Still, both of these foods are highly nourishing. Little girl, do you have ulterior motives? Are you trying to build up Qingfeng's body in advance?"

The moment Mu En said that, the atmosphere became even more awkward.

After speaking, Mu En seemed to sense the suggestive mood as well and hurriedly said to Su Qingfeng:

"Qingfeng, are you done eating? Once you're finished, we'll set out."

"Where are you going?" Ma Xiaotao froze for a moment.

"To the Far North."

Mu En spoke lightly as he looked north.