Shrek Academy, Sea God Island.
Rumble.
With a muffled rumble, the stone door to Ma Xiaotao's chamber slowly slid open.
The morning sunlight, carried in on the lake's mist, squeezed through the crack in the door and into the stone chamber, dispelling the lingering heat inside.
Yan Shaozhe had stood guard outside for the entire night, his eyes bloodshot.
The moment the door opened a crack, he hurried inside and called out his disciple's name.
"Xiaotao! Xiaotao!!"
Yan Shaozhe's gaze swept over the stone platform. When he saw the familiar, graceful figure standing there, the heart lodged in his throat finally sank back into his chest.
Ma Xiaotao had already changed into a clean red uniform from the Inner Academy. Not only was there no trace of the weakness she'd suffered when the Evil Fire had turned on her, but her skin even looked brighter than usual—fair and rosy, her whole body brimming with vitality.
Yan Shaozhe hurried over and carefully examined her. His voice trembled slightly.
"Xiaotao, the Evil Fire inside you... it's been suppressed?"
"It's not just been suppressed."
Facing her teacher, Ma Xiaotao proudly lifted her chin. She clenched her fist and felt the Soul Power flowing smoothly through her body, her voice brimming with unconcealed excitement.
"Teacher, I can feel it. I can already control this power to some extent."
"Just a few more times, and the Evil Fire problem will be completely solved!"
At her words, Yan Shaozhe drew in a sharp breath, astonished and overjoyed, unable to believe it.
The Martial Soul Department had struggled with this problem for over a decade. Even he, a Super Douluo, had been powerless to solve it. Yet after just one night, an Outer Academy freshman had actually managed to sort it out?
After his initial rush of joy, Yan Shaozhe's attention immediately shifted to Huo Yuhao, who was standing off to the side.
The kid didn't even have a single hair out of place. He was leisurely brushing the dust off his clothes, as if he'd merely taken a nap inside.
Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brow, reclaiming the authority of an elder and the dean.
If he'd managed to suppress Xiaotao's Evil Fire, then he must be hiding some secret.
With that thought in mind, Yan Shaozhe stepped forward and fixed Huo Yuhao with a hard stare, questioning him sternly.
"What exactly did you do to Xiaotao?"
"What cultivation method did you use? How were you able to..."
Faced with Yan Shaozhe's interrogation, Huo Yuhao didn't even look his way. He walked right past him and headed for the door.
"Hey, you brat!"
Seeing Huo Yuhao ignore him, Yan Shaozhe's pent-up anger flared up in an instant. He reached out to grab Huo Yuhao by the shoulder.
Just then, a fair hand shot out of nowhere and slapped Yan Shaozhe's arm away.
Ma Xiaotao immediately darted in front of Huo Yuhao, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, and glared at her teacher in displeasure.
"Teacher, what are you doing?"
"Yu Hao saved my life. Why are you treating him like this?"
Yan Shaozhe froze. He looked at the back of his hand, reddened by the slap, then at his own prized disciple.
"I..."
"What do you mean, 'I'? Yu Hao's been working hard all night. I'm taking him to eat!"
Ma Xiaotao didn't give Yan Shaozhe a chance to speak. She turned, grabbed Huo Yuyao by the wrist, and dragged him out.
Before leaving, she looked back and tossed out one last, aggrieved remark.
"Teacher, you can stay here and study it at your leisure. We're leaving!"
Then the two of them walked away side by side.
Under Yan Shaozhe's gaze, Ma Xiaotao even thoughtfully slowed her pace, occasionally turning her head to chat and laugh with Huo Yuhao.
He was left all alone in the empty stone chamber, feeling as though the world were spinning around him.
It felt as if the sky had fallen.
The cabbage he'd painstakingly raised for twenty years had actually followed some blond kid from the Outer Academy, whose First Soul Ring was only ten years old!
And that blond kid was so insolent, too!
Yan Shaozhe took several deep breaths before managing to suppress the urge to chase after them and beat someone up.
He turned his hand over and pulled out a voice-transmitting Soul Tool. Finding Wang Yan, he ground out through clenched teeth:
"Wang Yan, bring every last scrap of information you have on the freshman Huo Yuhao to my office right now!"
"All of it! I want everything, no matter what it's about!!"
Shrek Academy, First Canteen.
The canteen was busiest in the early morning, with Outer Academy students gathered in small groups to eat breakfast.
Ma Xiaotao was in an excellent mood today. Humming an unfamiliar little tune, she dragged Huo Yuhao straight to the most expensive window on the second floor, Window A.
"Auntie, one Ten-Complete Bone Strengthening Soup, two servings of Millennium Snow Ginseng Stewed Meat, and that Stir-fried Iron-Armored Beef Tendon, too. Yes, yes, double portions of everything!"
Ma Xiaotao rattled off her order without pausing for breath. Everything she picked was top-grade fare, the sort of thing ordinary Soul Masters would wince at paying for.
The serving auntie's ladle trembled. She looked at the astonishing amount of food, then at the slender young man standing behind Ma Xiaotao, unable to believe her eyes.
Seeing that Ma Xiaotao was about to keep ordering, Huo Yuhao hurriedly cut in.
"Sister Xiaotao, you've ordered too much. There's no way the two of us can finish all this."
"Why wouldn't we be able to finish it?"
Ma Xiaotao seemed unusually displeased by Huo Yuhao's words. She turned around, glared at him, and said:
"You worked so hard last night, toiling away the whole night and using up so much energy. This is nothing!"
"And you're at an age when you're growing and need nutrition. You absolutely have to nourish yourself properly!"
The moment she said that, the noisy second floor fell silent.
Dozens of pairs of eyes turned toward them in unison.
What did she mean, "toiling away the whole night"? What did she mean, "you need to nourish yourself properly"?!
And he'd "worked so hard"?!
It was hard not to read something into those words when they were put together like that.
The Outer Academy boys' eyes turned red. They stared at Ma Xiaotao's radiant beauty, then at Huo Yuhao, so jealous their back teeth were about to shatter.
What kind of damn luck had this kid stumbled into?!
Not only had he hooked a gorgeous beauty, but she was also an upperclasswoman from the Inner Academy?!!
Bah!!
Shameless! Didn't want to suffer even a little, did he???
Why couldn't something this good ever happen to them?!!
Even Huo Yuhao couldn't withstand everyone's murderous stares. He hurriedly pulled Ma Xiaotao aside.
"Alright, alright, Sister Xiaotao. Let's leave it at this. We really can't eat any more."
Seeing how firm Huo Yuhao was, Ma Xiaotao finally relented. Carrying their trays piled as high as little mountains, she found a seat by the window.
The sumptuous feast covering the table gave off an enticing aroma.
Huo Yuhao was indeed hungry. He picked up his chopsticks and immediately began devouring the food.
Ma Xiaotao, on the other hand, barely touched hers.
She propped her chin in her hands and watched the young man across from her with a bright smile.
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