Su Ming carried the unconscious, limp Ma Xiaotao in his arms and strode steadily toward the office of Yan Shaozhe, dean of the Spirit Department.
Though his aura was somewhat disordered from the fierce battle, his gaze remained resolute and confident, without a trace of panic.
Along the way, many Shrek teachers and students turned to stare at him carrying Ma Xiaotao, the Inner Court's talented student.
Their faces were full of surprise and suspicion, but Su Ming paid them no mind. He went straight to the office door without any intention of knocking and kicked hard at the heavy wooden door.
"Bang!"
A deafening crash suddenly rang out. The tightly shut door was kicked wide open, slamming against the wall with a dull boom. Even the furnishings inside the office trembled slightly.
Inside, Yan Shaozhe, dean of the Spirit Department, was reclining comfortably in a grand chair covered in soft beast hide.
He had one leg lazily crossed over the other, and held a warm celadon teacup between his fingers, leisurely sipping fine spirit-leaf tea.
The sudden crash made his hand jerk, spilling the hot tea from his cup. The scalding liquid splashed onto his robe, but he didn't even notice. The sheer rudeness of the act had stunned him into stillness.
Yan Shaozhe's face instantly turned livid, and a fierce blaze of anger surged in his eyes. He slammed the teacup onto the table.
The pressure of a Titled Douluo faintly leaked from him as he glared furiously toward the doorway, intent on seeing which ignorant fool had dared to do this.
How dare anyone barge into his office so crudely, without the slightest regard for manners? It was as if they had no respect at all for him, the dean of Shrek's Spirit Department!
But when he saw what was in the doorway, all his anger froze on his face, replaced by shock and flustered alarm.
Su Ming stood there carrying the unconscious Ma Xiaotao in his arms. Her cheeks were unnaturally flushed.
Her brow was furrowed, and she lay unconscious against him, her clothes somewhat disheveled. A few faint bruises could be seen on her body.
Yan Shaozhe's pupils contracted. The mouthful of tea he had just sipped, but hadn't yet swallowed, sprayed out with absolutely no regard for his dignity, splattering all over the table before him.
He could no longer be bothered with maintaining a dean's dignity. He sprang up from his chair, his Soul Rings flashing faintly beneath his feet, and rushed straight to Su Ming. With hands both careful and urgent,
he took his precious disciple, Ma Xiaotao, from Su Ming's arms, hurried to a soft leather sofa nearby, and gently laid her down, moving as if afraid of disturbing her.
Once Ma Xiaotao was settled, Yan Shaozhe immediately bent down and gently placed a hand on her wrist. He activated the pure Light Spirit power of his Martial Soul and carefully examined her condition.
After examining her, he first breathed a sigh of relief. Ma Xiaotao had only suffered minor flesh wounds and a few faint bruises. They were all superficial, with no damage to her foundation, and her life was in no danger.
But then Yan Shaozhe's expression abruptly changed. In his eyes flared an incredulous delight. He could clearly sense that
the Evil Fire that had raged inside Ma Xiaotao for years and was nearly incurable had been completely suppressed by a strange and powerful force! That force carried a sharp, chilling aura of metal.
It was steady yet domineering, firmly locking down the restless Evil Fire and making it utterly docile and stable, when it had once been liable to spiral out of control at any moment.
Though this seal wasn't completely secure—an extraordinarily powerful impact or excessive circulation of Ma Xiaotao's Soul Power could still break it—this alone was enough to send Yan Shaozhe into ecstasy!
After all, Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire had always been a thorn in his side. She was one of the most talented students in Shrek's Inner Court, with exceptional gifts.
Yet the Evil Fire held her back. Whenever she cultivated too quickly, it would erupt beyond her control. At best, she suffered unbearable pain; at worst, she lost her mind and went berserk.
Even when he frequently used his own Light-attribute Soul Power to help suppress it, that could only offer temporary relief. He had no way to resolve the problem at its root. It had held back Ma Xiaotao's cultivation and kept this genius from fully developing her strength.
Now, however, the Evil Fire within Ma Xiaotao had been completely stabilized. It would no longer obstruct her cultivation.
As long as she had sufficient cultivation resources going forward and took good care of her health, her talent might well make her the youngest Soul Saint in the history of the Douluo Continent!
If Ma Xiaotao could compete in the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament at her peak, she would surely shine, sweep aside one opponent after another, and carry on Shrek Academy's glory, reaching new heights!
At the thought, Yan Shaozhe abruptly came back to his senses. He quickly turned, fixing his gaze on Su Ming nearby.
As a level ninety-five Titled Douluo, his perception was exceptionally sharp. He immediately sensed the clear traces of Su Ming's metal-element Soul Power remaining within Ma Xiaotao.
Su Ming's aura was somewhat unsteady, and his clothes were a little rumpled. Clearly, the two of them had fought fiercely.
Putting together Ma Xiaotao's injuries and her suppressed Evil Fire, Yan Shaozhe instantly understood that Su Ming was undeniably involved.
Yan Shaozhe knew Su Ming very well. He was a renowned fourth-year student in the Outer Court, with extraordinary talent and limitless potential. He was also acquainted with two of the academy's pillars, Mu En and Xuan Zi. He was truly no ordinary student.
Yet Su Ming refused to focus on cultivating his Martial Soul. Instead, he was obsessed with blacksmithing and crafting Soul Tools, and was always asking for leave to go out and buy various forging materials.
In Yan Shaozhe's view, that was completely putting the cart before the horse and wasting his exceptional talent.
What left him helpless was that even though Su Ming devoted himself to Soul Tools, his cultivation progress hadn't fallen behind at all.
He had always kept pace with a group of talented students like Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi. And since Mu En had already tacitly approved of his choice, Yan Shaozhe had no way to interfere.
There was another thing that had made a particularly deep impression on Yan Shaozhe: everyone on the continent despised the Evil Soul Masters who wreaked havoc everywhere, but most people simply avoided them.
Su Ming alone dealt with Evil Soul Masters with extreme ruthlessness, never holding back when he struck. Before every fight, he spoke sharply, every word striking home, and showed no attempt to hide his loathing as he cursed their evil deeds in the thick of battle.
The number of Evil Soul Masters who had died at his hands far exceeded that of students his age. Yan Shaozhe had always tacitly approved, never once intervening.
Besides, Su Ming had already become roommates with Bei Bei, Mu En's great-grandson, and Xu Sanshi of the Xuanming Sect. The three had had no connection before.
They had simply been cut from the same cloth, and all were among the leading talents and fighters of their generation. With Mu En quietly arranging things as well, they had ended up assigned to the same dormitory.