The Esteemed Elders' Favoritism, Sea God Pavilion's Beloved

Having decided that Su Qingfeng's first Heavenly Star would be imbued with the Ice Attribute, Mu En personally took Su Qingfeng to the Far North as soon as possible to hunt an ice-type Soul Beast.

The Far North was one of the continent's three great Soul Beast gathering grounds. Its climate was frigid and harsh, and the Soul Beasts it nurtured possessed highly uniform attributes, making it one of humanity's forbidden zones.

Early that morning, Mu En set off with Su Qingfeng.

On Sea God Island, Ma Xiaotao watched them leave with worry written across her face.

How badly she wanted to go to the Far North with them! It was a forbidden zone for humans—freezing and brutal. How dangerous would it be for Little Martial Uncle to go there?

Ma Xiaotao sat in a willow tree by the shore of Sea God Island, gazing northward, her mind filled with thoughts:

I wonder where Little Martial Uncle and the others have reached by now?

How are Little Martial Uncle and the others doing?

How many years will Little Martial Uncle choose for his First Soul Ring?

With Little Martial Uncle's talent, his First Soul Ring should be at least four or five hundred years, right?

Ever since she had met Su Qingfeng, Ma Xiaotao's mind had been filled with that handsome, elegant face, as well as what her teacher had said at the time: a perfect match, suppression of Evil Fire, pure Ice Element...

"Heavens, could it be that the heavens are truly watching over us? First allowing me to endure hardship and suffer the pain of Evil Fire, then granting me a beautiful, bright future?"

"Thank the heavens, thank the Lord, thank the Phoenix God!"

Ma Xiaotao devoutly prayed to her ancestors, and enlightenment dawned in her heart!

It was precisely because of past hardships that future happiness could exist!

Wait, future?

"What's this? The Xiaotao I know isn't one to be so sentimental. Sitting here alone... are you thinking about Qingfeng?"

Yan Shaozhe emerged from the Sea God Pavilion and hurried along the lakeshore, looking somewhat disheveled. Only when he saw Ma Xiaotao sitting in the century-old tree, lost in thought, did he stop and tease her lightly.

It was the first time he had seen Ma Xiaotao in such a state. She seemed to carry a sweet sort of happiness, yet would occasionally furrow her brows, as though troubled and worried by something.

"Teacher, why are you here?"

Ma Xiaotao jumped down from the old tree and sighed.

"Teacher, Little Martial Uncle and Grandmaster have gone hunting Soul Beasts, and they went to the Far North. It's so cold there!"

"I wonder if Grandmaster prepared warm enough clothes for Little Martial Uncle. What if Little Martial Uncle gets frostbite?"

"Why didn't Grandmaster let me come along? I'm a Six-Ring Soul Emperor, after all, and I have Evil Fire. I could help keep Little Martial Uncle warm. At the very least, I could light a fire and cook some food."

"Xiaotao, never in my dreams did I imagine that one day you would become so caring and domestic. Don't tell me you've really fallen for my Little Junior?"

His disciple had always had quite the fiery temper. A disagreement with someone could easily lead to a fight. Yet now she was being so considerate toward his Little Junior, even willing to start fires and cook—it was simply unbelievable.

"Love? So this is love?"

Ma Xiaotao blushed, but she was unfamiliar with such a thing.

Yan Shaozhe pressed his lips together. Thinking of his Little Junior's peerlessly handsome appearance, he felt that his disciple might simply have been captivated by his looks.

"Alright, focus on your cultivation instead. Otherwise, how will you catch up to Lexuan? Little Junior and the others will probably be gone for at least ten days. Besides, with your Grandmaster taking him along, nothing will happen."

Yan Shaozhe comforted Ma Xiaotao.

Ma Xiaotao nodded. Only then did she look Yan Shaozhe over carefully, asking in surprise, "Teacher, why are your clothes so disheveled? You look so bedraggled."

At that, Yan Shaozhe gave a bitter smile and was just about to air his grievances.

Unexpectedly, two figures came rushing after him.

They were none other than Xian Lin'er, Dean of Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department, and Vice Dean Fan Yu.

"Old Yan, isn't this a bit unfair? We only wanted to meet the Saint Son. We're members of the Sea God Pavilion too—don't we even have the right to do that?"

"That's right. Where exactly is the Saint Son staying? Dean Yan, tell us. Otherwise, I'll go tell Zhuang Lao and Lin Lao that you're here."

Xian Lin'er and Fan Yu caught up to him.

Yan Shaozhe spread his hands. "I know what you're after. You want my Little Junior to learn Soul Tools from you, but he's a disciple personally accepted by the Pavilion Master. You dare try to snatch him? Besides, Little Junior's martial soul is of the highest grade. He's a peerless talent meant to follow the martial soul path—how could he possibly go study Soul Tools with you?"

Yan Shaozhe was truly helpless. When the Sea God Pavilion Meeting had ended, his teacher had called him over as well and instructed him to arrange some future training and competitions for Little Junior within the academy.

After all, Su Qingfeng was the Sea God Pavilion's Saint Son. He could not remain hidden away forever. Sooner or later, he would have to go out and attract bees and butterflies... no, sooner or later, he would have to become a leading figure of the academy, make friends, and create glory.

After all, no matter how brilliantly flowers bloomed in a greenhouse, they could never shine through wind and rain.

Mu En, Yan Shaozhe, and the others all understood this principle.

Thus, the Sea God Pavilion's Esteemed Elders and members had all latched onto him, wanting to know about Su Qingfeng. Some even wanted to teach Su Qingfeng personally and pass down their signature skills to him.

The people from the Soul Tool Department, in particular, wanted Su Qingfeng to learn Soul Tool forging and usage alongside them. They even claimed that such a peerless youth, capable of cultivating multiple elemental powers, was equally suited to studying Soul Tools and could unleash combination power greater than that of ordinary Soul Engineers.

In the current era, although Soul Masters were still a noble profession, they were no longer the sole rulers.

More than four thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Continent collided with the Douluo Continent, bringing war and technology with it. The people of the Sun Moon Continent had unique research into Soul Tools.

Those Soul Tools activated by Soul Power surpassed the Hidden Weapons passed down by Tang San of the Tang Sect—a thief who had stolen others' teachings—in both overall might and attack range. To a certain extent, they had shaken the status of the Soul Master system, and Soul Engineers had become a second cultivation path alongside Soul Masters.

As Sea God Pavilion's second-in-command, Xuan Zi went back and pondered it all night. He still felt that a handsome guy like Su Qingfeng, born with the Immortal Realm, was best suited to learn his aura. That casual, free-spirited style—wasn't it a perfect match for Su Qingfeng?

Azure Eagle Douluo Song Lao also wanted to teach Su Qingfeng some techniques for speed and movement, so that if he encountered danger in the future, he would at least be able to run away.

The deans, vice deans, and Esteemed Elders all chimed in, pulling and arguing back and forth until Yan Shaozhe was annoyed to death. The pressure on him was immense, and he had only barely found a chance to slip away.

But Yan Shaozhe had to admit that although Little Junior had started relatively late, his peerless looks, extraordinary Martial Soul, and realm had already made him the darling of everyone in Sea God Pavilion.

"Huh? Dean Xian, Vice Dean Fan, you want to snatch Little Martial Uncle? He's the Pavilion Master's disciple! How dare you?"

Ma Xiaotao understood as well, and felt rather protective. Of course, it was best for Little Martial Uncle to stay with the Martial Soul Department and their grandmaster. That way, she could often find chances to see him.

"You little girl, is that any way to speak to your elders? I'm also the Pavilion Master's disciple. Why would I steal a disciple from my teacher? We only want to teach Little Junior more skills and ways to save his life. What would you know?"

Xian Lin'er snorted.