Angrily Confront Yan Shaozhe, Save Ma Xiaotao

Shrek Academy, Lake Heart Island.

The whistling wind came to an abrupt halt beside his ears.

Huo Yuhao felt the grip on his shoulder loosen, his feet once again touching solid ground.

He showed no signs of panic, instead brushing the wrinkles from his clothes with natural ease before lifting his head to survey his surroundings.

This was the Lake Heart Island of Sea God Lake.

The scenery was truly pleasant; the air was saturated with rich moisture, and in the distance, one could faintly discern several exquisite pavilions. A gentle evening breeze blew, making the atmosphere feel exceptionally cool.

Yan Shaozhe stood three paces away from him, not in a hurry to lead him to the stone chamber.

Just a moment ago, upon landing, Yan Shaozhe had already used the soul power imprint he left within Ma Xiaotao to investigate. The Evil Fire was temporarily suppressed by the pure soul power he had left behind, meaning there was no risk of it exploding in the short term.

Since the person was safe for the moment, Yan Shaozhe felt it necessary to properly discipline this ignorant freshman.

He watched Huo Yuhao's composed demeanor, his brows slightly raised.

The words Wang Yan had reported in the office earlier suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"The soul power fluctuations on him are different from ordinary soul masters; he cannot be viewed through a conventional lens."

It seemed Wang Yan was indeed correct.

Had it been any other outer court freshman snatched away to the inner court's restricted area by the Dean of the Martial Soul Department without a word, they would likely have been trembling with fear by now.

Yet this kid actually had the leisure to admire the scenery?

Yan Shaozhe clasped his hands behind his back, the pressure belonging to a rank 95 Super Douluo radiating faintly as he spoke in a low voice.

"Do you know why I brought you here?"

Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze, looking at Yan Shaozhe's stern face without flinching, his tone remarkably calm.

"It's because of Sister Xiaotao, isn't it?"

Yan Shaozhe froze for half a second, his heart filled with astonishment.

Not only was this kid not intimidated, he didn't even bother with any roundabout talk, admitting it directly?

And with such righteous confidence?!

This caused the bellyful of reprimands he had prepared to get stuck in his throat.

Yan Shaozhe's expression darkened further as he took a step forward, staring Huo Yuhao down.

"Since you know, you should be aware of her status!"

"She is the top genius of the inner court and my, Yan Shaozhe's, direct disciple!"

"Do you have any idea how dangerous the Evil Fire in her body is? You, a first-ring freshman who just enrolled, what kind of love potion did you feed her that she dared to resist the Evil Fire on her own?!"

The more Yan Shaozhe spoke, the angrier he became.

If it weren't for him, Xiaotao wouldn't have ended up in this state!!

He was determined to expose every secret this kid had today!

Facing this level of pressure, Huo Yuhao didn't even blink.

He simply looked at Yan Shaozhe calmly and spoke.

"I don't care about any of that."

The words Yan Shaozhe had just readied were choked back by Huo Yuhao's statement.

Ignoring whatever Yan Shaozhe was thinking, Huo Yuhao continued in a calm tone.

"Whatever her status is, or how much weight she carries in the inner court, it has nothing to do with me."

"I only know that for every useless word we waste standing here, Sister Xiaotao is in that much more danger."

"What you should be doing right now is taking me to see Sister Xiaotao."

"Instead of standing here spouting useless nonsense!"

"You..."

Yan Shaozhe pointed at Huo Yuhao, unable to squeeze out a complete sentence for a long time.

He, the dignified Dean of the Martial Soul Department and the second-in-command of Shrek Academy, was actually being lectured by a freshman?

And yet, everything the kid said was perfectly logical!

Yan Shaozhe gritted his teeth, flicked his sleeves violently, and said indignantly.

"Fine, very fine!"

"Follow me!"

He had no time to bicker with Huo Yuhao now, so he turned and strode toward the stone chamber deep in the woods.

Huo Yuhao followed behind at a steady pace, his heart completely undisturbed.

Trying to pressure him with status?

As if he, Huo Yuhao, was someone easily frightened.

He had already faced a pervert on the level of the Ghost Demon Venerable; this bit of pressure from Yan Shaozhe was nothing.

Honestly, if it weren't for the suppression of God King Tang and the Ghost Demon Venerable, he would have been off on his own long ago, rather than enduring this nonsense at Shrek Academy.

In a few years, you won't even be qualified to look me in the eye.

The two soon arrived before the stone chamber door.

Even through the thick stone door, Huo Yuhao could feel a suffocating, manic heat.

Yan Shaozhe finally stopped, turned his head to stare at Huo Yuhao, his tone laced with undisguised threats.

"Once you go in, you had better truly have a way to heal Ma Xiaotao."

"If even the slightest thing goes wrong with her, I guarantee you won't be walking off this Lake Heart Island!"

Huo Yuhao couldn't be bothered to trade harsh words with him; he simply tilted his chin and commanded.

"Open the door."

The corner of Yan Shaozhe's eye twitched.

This brat was getting quite comfortable bossing him around, wasn't he?

He had never suffered such indignity in his entire life; as the dignified Bright Phoenix Douluo, he had actually been reduced to a door-opening lackey for a one-ring Spirit Master today!

But for the sake of Ma Xiaotao, Yan Shaozhe had no choice but to swallow his rage.

He raised his hand, circulated his spirit power, and once again activated the mechanism for the stone chamber.

The stone door slid open slowly.

A terrifying wave of heat, instantly mixed with dark red flames, rushed toward them.

Yan Shaozhe immediately erected a white-hot spirit power barrier, shielding Huo Yuhao firmly behind him.

Using the light from the spirit power barrier, Huo Yuhao saw the scene inside the stone chamber clearly.

He saw Ma Xiaotao sitting cross-legged on a stone platform; her clothes were long gone, leaving only a layer of dark red spirit power cocoon.

Blood was seeping from her entire body, her features were twisted, and she was emitting painful muffled groans; she was clearly on the verge of collapse.

She could still be saved.

Huo Yuhao made his judgment after only a single glance, then decisively spoke to Yan Shaozhe.

"Get out."

After all, he had too many secrets on him; he absolutely could not let Yan Shaozhe see any clues.

Yan Shaozhe had been preparing to use his spirit power to help Ma Xiaotao stabilize her meridians, but he froze upon hearing Huo Yuhao's words.

He turned his head, his face full of disbelief.

"What did you say?"

Huo Yuhao's expression remained unchanged, and he even pointed a finger toward the door.

"I told you to get out, and close the door on your way."

Yan Shaozhe truly exploded this time.

"Are you insane?!"

He really couldn't fathom how this brat dared to say such a thing?!

Xiaotao was currently delirious, and she wasn't even wearing any clothes!!

A man and a woman alone in a room—how could Yan Shaozhe possibly leave him here by himself?!

He stared fixedly at Huo Yuhao, his face full of wariness.

"What kind of shameful secret do you have that you absolutely must have me leave?!"

Yan Shaozhe knew all too well the petty thoughts men could have.

Furthermore, Xiaotao had basically lost her sanity and had no ability to resist.

How could he leave his precious disciple alone with a mere pup? What if this brat took advantage of the situation and did something reckless?

Facing Yan Shaozhe's interrogation, Huo Yuhao remained as steady as an old dog.

"If you don't leave, then just stand there and watch her die."

Huo Yuhao's tone was very flat, as flat as if he were discussing what to have for dinner tonight.

Faced with this attitude from Huo Yuhao, Yan Shaozhe clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on the back of his hands bulged.

He took a deep breath, attempting to reason.

"Get your situation straight! The temperature inside is something even a Spirit King couldn't withstand."

"Without my spirit power barrier, a one-ring Spirit Master like you would be burned to ash the moment you stepped inside, or torn to shreds by a delirious Xiaotao!"

"That is none of your concern."

Huo Yuhao met Yan Shaozhe's gaze without backing down, stating plainly.

"At worst, Xiaotao and I will just die in here together."

With these words, Yan Shaozhe was completely deflated.

Having lived for so many years, he had seen the reckless and the suicidal, but he had truly never encountered a guy like Huo Yuhao who was both reckless and suicidal, yet still held everyone in the palm of his hand.

Mutual destruction?

Huo Yuhao's life was cheap, and if he died, he died, but Yan Shaozhe's disciple could not!

"Fine, I'll leave."

Yan Shaozhe gritted his teeth and swallowed his pride, stepping back out of the stone chamber one step at a time.

Before leaving, he paused and pointed a finger at Huo Yuhao, issuing a fierce warning.

"I'm warning you, you'd better behave! If you dare touch a single hair on Ma Xiaotao, I will skin you alive!"

Huo Yuhao didn't even look at him, simply waving his hand.

"Close the door, quickly."

"Boom—"

The heavy stone door slammed shut, completely cutting off the view from inside and out.

Only the flickering dark red firelight remained in the stone chamber.

Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and cursed silently in his heart.

What a lunatic.

Acting holier-than-thou.

Who in the entire Shrek Academy didn't know that you, Yan Shaozhe, were a notorious playboy in your youth, leaving broken hearts everywhere you went?

Now you come here to play the upright gentleman with me?

If it weren't to verify the suppressive effect of the Ghost Killing Art on the Evil Fire, who would want to deal with this mess?

Huo Yuhao put his thoughts aside and felt the surrounding temperature becoming increasingly manic.

Yan Shaozhe's soul power barrier dissipated the moment the stone door closed.

The dark red flames, like sharks smelling blood, lunged frantically toward Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao did not panic, calling out directly into his Sea of Consciousness.

"Brother Sky Dream, time to work."

"You got it!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had been bored out of his mind; hearing the call, he immediately released pure ice-attribute power through Huo Yuhao's meridians.

A faint layer of ice-blue light instantly covered Huo Yuhao's entire body.

As soon as those manic Evil Fire flames touched this halo, they hissed as if they had encountered a natural predator and rapidly retreated.

Although the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't seem reliable most of the time, in this regard, the foundation of a million-year soul beast was the real deal.

Just like that, Huo Yuhao braved the high temperature and walked step by step toward the stone platform.

The closer he got, the more clearly he could see Ma Xiaotao's condition.

She looked as if she had been fished out of a pool of blood, her body spasming uncontrollably due to extreme pain.

Suppressed groans escaped her throat, and her complexion was an unnaturally deep flush.

Huo Yuhao stood before her without any unnecessary movements.

The Ghost Killing Art within his body began to circulate wildly.

He gathered all his emotions, transforming them into pure, extreme killing intent.

No sympathy, no pity, not even fear.

Only absolute rationality.

Under Huo Yuhao's control, this killing intent was not aggressive like it had been against Wu Feng; instead, it transformed into an invisible net, slowly enveloping Ma Xiaotao on the stone platform.

Sensing the change in the external aura, Ma Xiaotao struggled to lift her head.

Her eyes, once bright and beautiful, had turned a strange pink, her pupils unfocused; she was clearly on the verge of a mental breakdown.

But the moment she saw Huo Yuhao, her body shuddered violently.

Huo Yuhao looked at her, his voice steady.

"Don't be afraid, Sister Xiaotao."

"I'm here."