Ma Xiaotao, Get Out of My Way

"Senior sisters, may I ask why you were looking for me?"

Huo Yuhao set down his tray and sat in the empty seat opposite them with a calm expression.

"Junior brother, why are you in the Inner Court?" Wu Ming, whose personality was fiery and direct, was the first to speak. She was genuinely curious; after all, according to the rules, Outer Court students were generally not allowed to enter the Inner Court area at will.

Han Ruoruo was equally curious, her beautiful eyes fixed on the Huo Yuhao before her.

"I stayed in the Inner Court last night because of Senior Sister Ling Luochen."

Huo Yuhao did not choose to hide this, answering her honestly.

"Luochen? Ling Luochen?" Han Ruoruo said softly. As a member of the previous generation of Shrek Seven Devils, she naturally knew the current Shrek Seven Devils.

Wu Ming nudged Han Ruoruo with her elbow, giving her a look.

As best friends for many years, Han Ruoruo immediately understood what Wu Ming meant: this junior brother was likely already taken, and by that girl Ling Luochen, no less.

Han Ruoruo glared at Wu Ming in annoyance, warning her with her eyes not to speak nonsense.

Wu Ming, however, returned a look of encouragement, which only made Han Ruoruo's embarrassment deepen.

For the rest of the time, the three of them chatted back and forth.

Most of the time, it was the outgoing Wu Ming who initiated various questions for Huo Yuhao to answer, while Han Ruoruo would occasionally add a few words or correct Wu Ming's overly flighty remarks.

However, the questions Wu Ming asked felt rather strange; to Huo Yuhao, it felt as if she were conducting a background check on him.

After finishing breakfast, Huo Yuhao stood up to bid farewell to Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming.

Once Huo Yuhao's figure, carrying the packed lunch box, had completely disappeared from the cafeteria entrance, Wu Ming dropped her serious facade, covered her mouth, and giggled, leaning over to whisper in Han Ruoruo's ear:

"Sister Ruoruo, how about it? Are you tempted? That junior brother and Ling Luochen probably haven't reached that stage yet. If you make a move now, you still have a great chance."

Han Ruoruo glared at her in annoyance.

"Ming'er, seeing how you were asking about this and that, you talked so much—could it be that you've fallen for that junior brother yourself?"

"I wouldn't fall for a man weaker than me." Wu Ming stretched lazily, her graceful curves fully revealed. "However, if that junior brother could defeat me with his own strength in the future, I'd be happy to throw myself at him."

"Ming'er, that is exactly why you can never find a suitable partner." Han Ruoruo shook her head helplessly.

"Hmph, Sister Ruoruo, aren't you the same?"

Huo Yuhao walked along the small path on Sea God Island, carrying the lunch box.

The morning sun had just risen, its golden radiance piercing through the mist and spilling onto the shimmering lake, which was still covered in a layer of hazy vapor.

A gentle breeze, carrying the dampness of the water and the freshness of plants, blew against his face, making him feel refreshed and relaxed.

Huo Yuhao slowed his pace, enjoying this moment of peace and comfort.

At the same time, Ling Luochen was leaning on the balcony railing of her second-floor attic, gazing into the distance.

When she saw Huo Yuhao's figure appear at the end of the path, a look of undisguised joy immediately appeared on her cold, clear face.

She had thought Huo Yuhao had already left.

As her gaze fell on the lunch box he was carrying, a wave of warmth surged in Ling Luochen's heart.

As expected, her junior brother still had her in his heart.

Watching Huo Yuhao bathed in the golden light of the morning sun, his figure shining brilliantly, Ling Luochen prepared to raise her hand to greet him.

However, at that moment, a red figure—a tall, slender woman—rushed out from nowhere and lunged straight toward Huo Yuhao.

The smile on Ling Luochen's face froze instantly.

The next moment, a nameless fire surged from the depths of her heart. Cold light flashed in her ice-blue eyes as she shouted sharply, "Ma Xiaotao, get away from him!"

As she spoke, she leaped from the second-floor balcony and activated her Martial Soul Possession in an instant.

Five soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—appeared, rhythmically pulsing around her.

A bone-chilling cold erupted, and a layer of fine ice crystals rapidly covered her entire body.

Immediately after, her second soul ring lit up, and the ice crystals covering her body quickly shifted and transformed, condensing into a suit of ice crystal armor that shimmered with a pale blue luster.

Almost simultaneously, her first soul ring followed suit.

Ling Luochen raised her right hand, fingers spread, and grabbed at the air.

Instantly, a gorgeous staff, two meters long and made entirely of translucent ice crystals, appeared out of thin air amidst a flash of dazzling blue light, and she gripped it firmly in her hand.

Pointing the staff toward the sky, Ling Luochen's third soul ring flashed brilliantly.

A layer of ice-blue light curtain appeared in the sky, and streams of visible ice-blue energy rapidly converged, then, as if guided, surged wildly toward Ma Xiaotao below.

The blue light fell, instantly freezing the space around Ma Xiaotao and forming a sturdy ice prison.

Ma Xiaotao's momentum came to an abrupt halt.

But from that fiery red figure, even more intense and violent phoenix flames erupted.

The crimson flames collided fiercely with the ice-blue cage.

"BOOM!"

In an instant, that seemingly indestructible ice prison shattered, dissolving into wisps of white smoke that vanished into the void.

Yet, this brief obstruction was enough for Ling Luochen to react.

Her figure flickered, drifting down like an ice sprite to stand before Huo Yuhao, shielding him firmly behind her as she faced Ma Xiaotao, who resembled a humanoid beast.

At this moment, the air around Ma Xiaotao was slightly distorted by the extreme heat. Her blood-red eyes were filled with brutality, and her entire body radiated a biting, ferocious aura, much like a terrifying spirit beast.

"Yuhao, don't worry about me. Leave here quickly and return to the Outer Court. I will hold her off here."

Ling Luochen felt a tremor of apprehension in her heart; in this out-of-control state, Ma Xiaotao's strength was likely no less than that of a Spirit Saint who had not yet activated their Avatar.

But precisely because of that, she could not allow Ma Xiaotao to get near Huo Yuhao.

In this state, a single slip could cost Huo Yuhao his life.

But where were the teachers of the Inner Court?

With Ma Xiaotao having lost control to such a degree, why had no teacher appeared to intervene?

Just then, Ling Luochen felt a warm palm suddenly press against her back.

Almost in the next instant, an indescribable, extreme chill surged into her body from behind.

Ling Luochen felt as if her ice-element martial soul had been completely sublimated in that moment, transforming entirely into an existence of a much higher order.