"Splash—"
A vast amount of lake water had evaporated or frozen, creating a gigantic cloud of mist more than a hundred meters across. No one could see what was happening inside.
Chu Feng held the Ice Whip in his hand, hovering in midair atop a towering ice pillar more than thirty meters tall. He breathed heavily.
He hadn't expected Ma Xiaotao to be so powerful after going berserk. Still, he'd narrowly come out on top, knocking her unconscious with a single lash...
Of course, that was mainly because he'd neutralized Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Evil Fire with his ice-attribute Soul Power. His understanding of ice-attribute Soul Power wasn't quite enough to suppress her Phoenix Evil Fire, but it was more than enough to neutralize it.
With the Evil Fire no longer gnawing at her, Ma Xiaotao had passed out on her own.
Three figures hurried over from afar.
At their head was an old man dressed in a white robe. He was the fastest, reaching the site of the battle between Chu Feng and Ma Xiaotao almost in the blink of an eye.
The old man was Ma Xiaotao's teacher, as well as the dean of Shrek Academy—Yan Shaozhe.
"Strange. That's an incredibly powerful ice-attribute aura. Which teacher from the academy stepped in? But as far as I know, there aren't any ice-attribute teachers at the academy..." Yan Shaozhe looked over the scene of the battle, puzzled. He didn't know who had intervened, but he refrained from using his spiritual power to inspect the area. That sort of behavior would have been very impolite.
Yan Shaozhe rushed straight into the mist. With his keen eyesight, he quickly spotted Ma Xiaotao lying on the ice. She appeared to be unconscious, but otherwise unharmed.
Then he suddenly sensed something and looked toward the distance.
A gigantic ice pillar stood not far away. Following it upward with his gaze, Yan Shaozhe saw a familiar face...
"Dean Yan, long time no see~" Chu Feng greeted him with a smile, waving.
"You—you—you... How is this possible?!"
"What are you doing here, kid? Don't tell me you caused all this..."
The moment Yan Shaozhe saw Chu Feng, his mind went blank for an instant, despite being a Titled Douluo. He just couldn't process what he was seeing.
At Yan Shaozhe's question, Chu Feng's face darkened. He took the initiative, looking at Yan Shaozhe with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Dean Yan, shouldn't you explain first why there's an Evil Soul Master at Shrek Academy—and one with the strength of a Soul Emperor, no less? Do you know I almost got killed by her?"
As Chu Feng finished speaking, a glint of killing intent flashed in Yan Shaozhe's eyes. His first thought was to kill Chu Feng to silence him.
But that killing intent vanished in an instant. He was, after all, the dean of Shrek Academy and couldn't bring himself to do something like that. He'd only reacted instinctively because he was so worried about Ma Xiaotao...
"Ahem, Student Chu Feng, this was purely a misunderstanding... Shrek Academy is a forbidden place for Evil Soul Masters. There's no way one would dare come here and cause trouble~" Yan Shaozhe forced a laugh and hurried to explain.
"Then what about her?" Chu Feng glanced sideways at Ma Xiaotao, whom the two other teachers had helped to her feet, and asked coolly.
"It's a long story. It's one of Shrek's secrets, but I can guarantee, as dean, that there can't be any Evil Soul Masters in the academy. This was purely a misunderstanding..." Yan Shaozhe hesitated, but still didn't tell him the truth.
Ma Xiaotao was his disciple and the strongest member of this generation's Shrek Seven Devils. The flaw caused by her Phoenix Evil Fire was her greatest weakness. Fewer than a dozen people in the academy knew about it, so naturally, he couldn't explain it to Chu Feng.
"Heh heh heh, you're too kind, Dean Yan. If you vouch for it, of course I believe Shrek Academy." Chu Feng waved a hand, putting on an air of magnanimity.
Yan Shaozhe hadn't even had time to feel relieved before Chu Feng continued, "But I was seriously injured in that battle just now. My mind was badly shaken, too, and my tender young heart... Surely you wouldn't want..."
"Enough, enough!"
Yan Shaozhe's face darkened as he hurriedly cut off Chu Feng's complaints. Through gritted teeth, he said, "The academy was indeed at fault. I apologize on its behalf. But don't worry, Student Chu Feng. The academy will give you compensation that you'll find satisfactory for the damage you suffered!"
"Then thank you, Dean Yan. I've suffered a serious mental injury, so I'll definitely forget everything that happened today. Since everything's fine, I'll head back and get some rest~"
Only then did Chu Feng break into a radiant smile. He turned and slowly walked away.
As Chu Feng left, the temperature around them soon returned to normal. The ice on the lake and the ice pillars melted at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Yan Shaozhe watched Chu Feng disappear into the distance and suddenly regretted letting him into the academy.
That guy only had thirty levels of Soul Power, yet he could unleash combat strength on par with a Soul Emperor. It was absurd!
A few days ago, Du Weilun had told him that Chu Feng might have Twin Martial Souls, with ice as his Second Martial Soul. He hadn't believed it at the time. Now he realized that this little schemer was truly a master at playing weak while hiding his strength...
As for Chu Feng's injuries... Anyone with eyes could see that Ma Xiaotao had been utterly crushed. What injuries could Chu Feng possibly have?!
That kid was a bloodsucker, plain and simple—he was extorting him! But Yan Shaozhe had no choice but to pay, and pay dearly...
He was the dean of Shrek Academy, a ninety-fifth-level Super Douluo, a man who could make the whole academy tremble with a stomp of his foot. And yet a mere youngster had shaken him down. He'd never been more humiliated...
"How is Xiaotao?"
Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath, forcing down the urge to spit blood, and turned to ask the two teachers.
"Xiaotao's fine. She's got a few broken bones," one teacher replied as he used a Soul Skill to heal Ma Xiaotao.
"A few broken bones... That kid's that monstrous?" Yan Shaozhe raised an eyebrow, his teeth aching.
"But the Evil Fire in Xiaotao's body seems to have been completely suppressed," the teacher added, having examined her.
"I see..."
Yan Shaozhe sounded calm at that, but his heart was a tangled mess.
Suppressing Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire required two conditions. First, the person needed an exceptionally powerful ice-cold or water-attribute Martial Soul. Second, that person had to be male.
Otherwise, Ma Xiaotao would have gotten together with Ling Luochеn long ago...
He'd wanted Ma Xiaotao to find a man with an ice-cold attribute and form a couple with him. But Ma Xiaotao was far too proud and wouldn't even consider anyone weaker than her...
Ma Xiaotao was one of the academy's most gifted prodigies. Finding a man with an ice-cold attribute who could measure up to her was as difficult as reaching the heavens.
And now, there was one—Chu Feng...
Chu Feng was male, powerful, and possessed an ice-attribute Martial Soul. His talent even surpassed Ma Xiaotao's... He could be called Ma Xiaotao's perfect match.
But what troubled him most was that Chu Feng was a traitor at heart. His loyalty didn't seem to lie with Shrek at all.
If Ma Xiaotao got together with Chu Feng, she might be lured away from the academy altogether. He'd lose a personal disciple, and Shrek would lose an unparalleled genius...
On top of that, Chu Feng was far too young. He might not be able to handle Ma Xiaotao...
What if she drained him dry?
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