Su Ming had spent years walking the line between life and death and had hunted Evil Soul Masters many times. His combat experience was exceptionally rich, and he saw through Ma Xiaotao's intentions at a glance. He shook out his slightly numb fist and bellowed at her, "Damn it, you're still trying to use your height to your advantage? I can't summon the Snow Mastiff Colt yet, so if you take to the skies, I'll just have to sit here and wait to die!"
Before the words had left his mouth, Su Ming activated his second Soul Skill—Gravity Squeeze! It was a classic Soul Skill of Zhao Wuji from Douluo Continent, one Su Ming had taken inspiration from.
He had specifically acquired this Soul Skill for his pure-strength Martial Soul. He had honed his body through hard training, so this degree of added gravity had no adverse effect on him. For other Soul Masters, however, it was enough to turn the tide of battle in an instant!
A mighty Gravity Domain enveloped Ma Xiaotao in an instant. An invisible weight descended from above and slammed down on her.
Ma Xiaotao had already risen several meters into the air, but the gravity seized her in an instant, abruptly halting her ascent. Worse still, the Evil Fire in her body, already thrown into disarray by the heavy punch, began to rebel even more violently under Gravity Squeeze.
It surged straight into her mind. The agony turned her face deathly pale, and she could no longer hold herself up. Clutching her throbbing head, she staggered to her knees, the flames around her dimming somewhat.
A perfect opportunity lay before him! How could Su Ming let it slip away? He sprang forward, darting straight to Ma Xiaotao's side, Thunder-Shock Axe gripped tight.
But he didn't attack with the sharp blade. Instead, he turned the axe around and slammed its heavy back into Ma Xiaotao's shoulder!
A dull thud rang out. Ma Xiaotao's already weakened body could no longer take it, and she collapsed to the ground, completely losing the ability to fight back. The Evil Fire still roiled around her, but she could no longer summon even a trace of it.
Seeing this, Su Ming twisted the Universe Belt at his waist. The Taiji pattern slowly turned, and a Seal Card wreathed in brilliant golden light materialized before him. Its surface was engraved with intricate metallic sealing patterns, and it radiated an aura of suppression and purification.
The Seal Card had four remarkable effects: first, it released golden sealing runes that instantly bound a target's body, leaving them unable to move, escape, or even self-destruct;
Second, it stripped away the target's sinister power, suppressed their malice, and greatly weakened their combat strength;
Third, it could forcibly compress and seal a target, storing them inside an armor belt or summoning device;
Fourth, it neutralized dark, baleful energy and purified evil power, preventing the sinister energy from dispersing and contaminating the surroundings.
Su Ming knew Ma Xiaotao wasn't an Evil Soul Master. The Evil Fire in her body had simply gone out of control and clouded her reason. He had no intention of killing her; he only wanted to temporarily suppress the rampaging Evil Fire within her.
Without delay, he gathered metallic energy at his fingertips and activated the Seal Card. He planned to use its dual effects of purification and sealing to temporarily seal the Evil Fire raging inside Ma Xiaotao and restore her sanity.
Golden light surged from Su Ming's palm. The Seal Card, engraved with sealing patterns, floated above it as pure, potent holy metal energy gathered along his arm into his fist. He sank into a horse stance, then drove his fist forward and shouted, "Thunder-Shock Fist!"
A golden punch wrapped in the Seal Card's energy shot straight toward Ma Xiaotao. The moment it touched the Evil Fire roiling around her—
The black-and-red Evil Fire, which had been raging wildly and burning everything in its path, seemed to meet its natural enemy. It thrashed and surged, its flames rolling as it tried to devour the holy metal energy. But the Seal Card's pure, sacred power—
Was the perfect counter to all sinister, baleful energy. No matter how fiercely the Evil Fire struggled, it was driven back into Ma Xiaotao's body, where it was firmly locked away deep within her dantian and Martial Soul.
A moment earlier, Ma Xiaotao's reason had been consumed by the Evil Fire, her eyes bloodshot. The instant the Evil Fire was completely sealed, the scorching flames around her went out.
Her rigid body suddenly went limp. She lost consciousness and slumped to the ground, while the fierce, violent aura around her eased.
Su Ming let out a long breath. With a thought, his heavy Snow Mastiff Armor dissolved into specks of golden light, and he returned to his original appearance.
He brushed the dust from his clothes and walked over to Ma Xiaotao, who lay unconscious on the ground. Crouching beside her, he examined this famed Flame Fiend of the Inner Court, whose reputation had made countless disciples tremble in fear.
He couldn't help clicking his tongue in admiration, privately marveling that she truly was one of Shrek Inner Court's top geniuses. Her strength was indeed nothing to scoff at.
If Ma Xiaotao hadn't been driven mad by the Evil Fire and had kept her distance, using the aerial advantage of her Phoenix Martial Soul to harass him, he would have had no way to deal with her before obtaining the Snow Mastiff Colt. Unable to fight in the air, he would have been forced to defend himself.
But she had lost her mind and insisted on engaging him in close combat. Everyone knew his Snow Mastiff Armor was a bona fide white-skinned battle tank.
When it came to sheer strength and defense, he considered himself among the best of his rank. Even if Tang Wulin, with his Golden Dragon King Bloodline, showed up in the future, Su Ming would still be able to fight him on equal terms in a contest of strength. He wouldn't fear him in the slightest.
Back when he watched the animated Douluo series, Su Ming had already thought that Ma Xiaotao was not only powerful, but also one of the most striking-looking women in the cast.
Now that he was examining Ma Xiaotao up close, he saw that she was even more stunning in person than in the animation. Her skin glowed softly in the lingering warmth of the flames, and even unconscious, her features held a cool, captivating beauty. Su Ming couldn't help marveling that she really was a popular genius of the Inner Court.
Su Ming looked away and didn't linger. He bent down and carefully lifted Ma Xiaotao into his arms, carrying her in a proper bridal carry so she rested securely against him.
He had already decided to take Ma Xiaotao to Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Spirit Department. After all, he'd been beaten up by one of Yan Shaozhe's students. When a student beat someone up, surely her teacher, Yan Shaozhe, had to offer some compensation.
Even if he hadn't been the one defeated, well, had he or had he not been beaten? A student had been relaxing with a walk by the lake when someone had inexplicably beaten him up.
No matter what, he was going to squeeze a hefty sum of cultivation resources out of them as compensation. Besides, Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Spirit Department, was loaded.
In the original story, he had offered Huo Yuhao a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone to win him over. Sure, Huo Yuhao had later obtained the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring himself, but Yan Shaozhe had still made that offer. That alone was reason enough to squeeze him hard.
Su Ming had already worked out a little scheme. When the time came, he would throw himself on the ground and pretend to be gravely injured.
As the dean, Yan Shaozhe would surely offer generous resources to placate him and protect the academy's reputation. That would take care of his cultivation resources for quite some time.
At the thought, Su Ming's lips curled upward. Without realizing it, he tightened his arms a little around the beauty in his embrace. Though the two of them had just fought fiercely, the thought of the generous compensation he was about to receive—
Made the unconscious Ma Xiaotao in his arms seem all the more pleasing to him. He strode off briskly, carrying her straight toward the Spirit Department office building in Shrek Inner Court.