Yan Shaozhe: The Sky Has Fallen, My Cabbage Has Been Stolen

Shrek Academy, Sea God Island.

BOOM.

Accompanied by a dull roar, the stone door to Ma Xiaotao's seclusion chamber slowly creaked open.

The morning sunlight and the mist from the lake squeezed through the gap, dispelling the lingering, stifling heat inside.

Yan Shaozhe had been guarding the door for an entire night, his eyes bloodshot.

As soon as the door opened a crack, he stepped inside impatiently, shouting his disciple's name.

"Xiaotao! Xiaotao!"

Yan Shaozhe's gaze swept across the stone platform, and seeing that familiar, beautiful figure standing there, the heart that had been hanging in his throat finally settled back into his chest.

Ma Xiaotao had already changed into a clean inner court red uniform. Not only was there no trace of the weakness caused by the Evil Fire backlash, but her skin even looked more radiant than usual, glowing with health, and she appeared completely revitalized.

Yan Shaozhe stepped forward quickly, examining her carefully, his voice trembling slightly.

"Xiaotao, the Evil Fire in your body... has it been suppressed?"

"It's not just suppressed."

Facing her teacher, Ma Xiaotao proudly lifted her chin. She clenched her fist, feeling the smooth flow of soul power within her, her tone filled with unconcealable excitement.

"Teacher, I can feel it. I can already exert preliminary control over this power now."

"Just a few more times, and the problem of the Evil Fire can be completely resolved!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Shaozhe gasped, caught between shock and joy, unable to believe it.

A problem that had plagued the Martial Soul Department for over a decade, one that even he, a Super Douluo, was helpless against—yet now, after just one night, a freshman from the outer court had actually managed to fix it?

After the initial ecstasy, Yan Shaozhe's attention immediately shifted to Huo Yuhao, who was standing to the side.

The boy didn't even have a single hair out of place; he was calmly brushing dust off his clothes as if he had just taken a nap inside.

Yan Shaozhe frowned, regaining the stern demeanor of an elder and dean.

To be able to suppress Xiaotao's Evil Fire, he must be hiding some unspeakable secret.

With this thought in mind, Yan Shaozhe took two steps forward, staring fixedly at Huo Yuhao, and questioned him severely.

"What exactly did you do to Xiaotao?"

"What kind of cultivation technique did you use? Why were you able to..."

Facing Yan Shaozhe's interrogation, Huo Yuhao didn't even give him a glance. He simply walked past Yan Shaozhe and headed toward the door.

"Hey, you brat!"

Seeing his words ignored by Huo Yuhao, the frustration that had been building up in Yan Shaozhe's heart for so long instantly flared up. He reached out to grab Huo Yuhao's shoulder.

It was at that moment that a fair hand shot out from the side, swatting Yan Shaozhe's arm away.

Ma Xiaotao immediately stepped in front of Huo Yuhao like a mother hen protecting her chick, looking at her teacher with dissatisfaction.

"Teacher, what are you doing!"

"Yuhao is my savior. How can you treat him like this?"

Yan Shaozhe froze, looking at his reddened hand, then at his direct disciple.

"I..."

"I what? Yuhao has been exhausted all night. I'm taking him to eat!"

Ma Xiaotao didn't give Yan Shaozhe a chance to speak. She turned, grabbed Huo Yuhao's wrist, and dragged him away.

Before leaving, she looked back and threw one last complaint over her shoulder.

"Teacher, you can stay here and study it yourself. We're leaving!"

The two walked away side by side.

Under Yan Shaozhe's gaze, Ma Xiaotao even thoughtfully slowed her pace, turning her head from time to time to chat and laugh with Huo Yuhao.

He was left alone in the empty stone chamber, feeling the world spin around him.

It felt as if the sky had collapsed.

The cabbage he had painstakingly raised for twenty years had actually run off with a little yellow-haired brat from the outer court whose first soul ring was only ten years old!

And that brat's attitude was so arrogant!

Yan Shaozhe took several deep breaths on the spot, barely suppressing the urge to chase after them and beat the boy up.

He flipped his hand to produce a Soul Tool for voice transmission, found Wang Yan, and gritted his teeth.

"Wang Yan, send all the information you have on the freshman Huo Yuhao to my office immediately!"

"Everything! I don't care what aspect it covers, I want it all!!"

Shrek Academy, First Canteen.

The canteen was at its busiest during the early morning, with outer court students gathered in small groups to eat breakfast.

Ma Xiaotao was in an excellent mood today, humming an unknown tune as she dragged Huo Yuhao straight to the most expensive Grade A window on the second floor.

"Auntie, I'll take one portion of Ten-Complete Bone Strengthening Soup, two portions of Millennium Snow Ginseng Stewed Meat, and that Stir-fried Iron-Armored Beef Tendon—yes, that's right, double portions for everything!"

Ma Xiaotao didn't even pause for breath as she ordered, choosing top-tier ingredients that would make an ordinary soul master's heart ache just from looking at the price tag for half a year.

The ladle in the cafeteria auntie's hand trembled. She looked at the staggering amount of food, then at the thin, frail-looking boy standing behind Ma Xiaotao, unable to believe her eyes.

Seeing that she was about to continue ordering, Huo Yuhao hurriedly spoke up to stop her.

"Sister Xiaotao, that's too much. We can't finish all of this."

"Who says we can't?"

Ma Xiaotao was uncharacteristically displeased by Huo Yuhao's words. She turned around, glared at him, and said, "You put in so much effort last night, tossing and turning all night long, and consumed so much energy—this is barely anything!"

"Besides, at your age, you're in the middle of a growth spurt and lacking nutrients; you absolutely must nourish yourself properly!"

As soon as these words left her lips, the bustling second floor fell instantly silent.

Dozens of eyes from the surrounding area swept over them in unison.

What did she mean by "tossing and turning all night"? What did she mean by "lacking nutrients and must nourish properly"?!

And "put in so much effort"??!

It was hard not to let one's imagination run wild when those sentences were put together.

The boys from the outer courtyard turned red with envy. Looking at Ma Xiaotao's delicate, alluring appearance and then at Huo Yuhao, they were so jealous they could have ground their back molars to dust.

What kind of blind luck did this kid have?!

Not only did he snag a beautiful girl, but she was actually a senior from the inner courtyard?!!

Pah!!

Shameless! You don't want to suffer even a little bit, do you???

Why couldn't good things like this ever happen to them?!!

Facing the predatory glares of the crowd, even Huo Yuhao couldn't handle this public execution and hurriedly pulled Ma Xiaotao to the side.

"Alright, alright, Sister Xiaotao, that's enough. I really can't eat any more than this."

Seeing that Huo Yuhao was so firm, Ma Xiaotao finally relented. She carried the tray, which was piled as high as a small mountain, and found a seat by the window.

The table full of luxurious delicacies radiated an enticing aroma.

Huo Yuhao was indeed hungry, picking up his chopsticks and beginning to devour the food like a whirlwind.

Ma Xiaotao, however, barely touched her chopsticks.

She rested her chin in her hands, watching the boy across from her with a beaming smile.