Had she mistaken him for someone else? Ma Xiaotao lowered her head, deep in thought.
Three months ago, Huo Yuhao's Amaterasu had burned away all of Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire. It had even scorched the Soul Power from her body.
When Ma Xiaotao began cultivating again, she was delighted to discover that the temperature of her Phoenix Flame had increased by a degree.
After examining Ma Xiaotao, Yan Shaozhe said that when she had desperately used all her Soul Power to resist the strange Black Flame, the fire attribute in her Soul Power had apparently been purified by it.
Ma Xiaotao had somehow gained a benefit from coming so close to death.
In other words, if she could find a Soul Master with the Ultimate Fire attribute, she could keep purifying her Phoenix Evil Fire by meeting fire with fire.
She could completely refine away the impure side of her Martial Soul.
That would bring about a qualitative transformation in her Martial Soul, elevating it to the level of Ultimate Fire.
In short, whether it was someone with Ultimate Ice or Ultimate Fire, finding them and getting them to cooperate—or cultivate alongside Ma Xiaotao—would bring her enormous benefits.
Naturally, Ma Xiaotao had been overjoyed when she heard this. But she had searched both the Inner Court and the Outer Court over the past two months, and still couldn't find the figure from her memories.
And after all that time, her Evil Fire had built up again to a point where she had no choice but to vent it. That was why she had once again sought out her tool, Xu Sanshi.
She had put him through the wringer.
"Sister Xiaotao, can I go now?" Xu Sanshi asked with a bitter smile from nearby.
After being put through several days of torment, Xu Sanshi had finally endured the intense agony. But his body and Soul Power had both been depleted far too severely.
All he wanted now was to go back to his dorm and sleep.
"You can go," Ma Xiaotao said coolly.
Xu Sanshi felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He turned and left at once.
Before he went, he shot Huo Yuhao a gleeful, schadenfreude-filled look.
Anyone that crazy woman set her sights on was bound to have a bad time.
Heh. That'll teach you to set me up, kid. This time, I'm setting you up instead.
Huo Yuhao had noticed Ma Xiaotao's appraising gaze, but he remained unfazed and strode forward.
It would be best if that madwoman left him alone. But if she picked a fight, the Huo Yuhao of today was nothing like the one from three months ago.
If she tried to start something without reason, Huo Yuhao wouldn't mind showing her what he could really do.
Besides, even he didn't know how strong he was when he went all out.
Ma Xiaotao stared intently into Huo Yuhao's eyes, trying to catch even the smallest hint of anything amiss in his expression or demeanor.
The next second, they passed each other.
"Wait!" Ma Xiaotao suddenly spun around and called out to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao said expressionlessly, "Is something the matter, senior?"
"Your Martial Soul... is it your eyes?" Ma Xiaotao seemed unsure what to say. After hesitating for a moment, she asked the question out of nowhere.
Huo Yuhao nodded. "My Martial Soul is indeed my eyes. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Then he turned and left.
He had answered Ma Xiaotao purely out of politeness.
Huo Yuhao didn't think he owed anyone an explanation or proof.
Watching him leave, Ma Xiaotao frowned.
"Could I really have mistaken him for someone else? How could an eye-type Martial Soul have anything to do with Ultimate Ice or Ultimate Fire? Unless he has a Second Martial Soul."
Hmm? A Second Martial Soul? Ma Xiaotao's eyes lit up at the thought.
That was it! If he had a Second Martial Soul, then it all made sense.
"But he's only at one ring. How could he unleash an attack that powerful?"
The next second, fresh doubts filled Ma Xiaotao's mind.
The more she thought about it, the less sense it made.
Ma Xiaotao's already underpowered CPU was about to burn out.
"Huo Yuhao, I'll remember you."
Huo Yuhao didn't give this little incident a second thought. By then, he had already returned to his hotel room.
As usual, he sat cross-legged to cultivate, and the God Forging Technique in his mind began operating on its own.
The next morning, as pale sunlight spilled across the land, the usually quiet Shrek Academy grew restless once more.
Perhaps it was because the Freshman Assessment had entered the knockout stage: the Shrek Assessment Zone suddenly filled with the sound of voices.
The energetic Shrek students streamed out from every corner of the academy, all headed for the Freshman Assessment Zone.
The annual Freshman Assessment tournament was one of Shrek Academy's major events by the time it reached the knockout stage. Almost all the academy's teachers and students came to watch.
Of course, watching cost money. It was one of Shrek Academy's ways of raking in cash.
After breakfast, Huo Yuhao met up with Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng again, and they headed toward the new assessment area.
Their knockout-stage match was in Zone Eight. When they arrived, they found their opponents already waiting in the middle of the arena.
At the northern end of the Assessment Zone stood a metal platform, twenty meters above the ground.
The freshman homeroom teachers had gathered there. Wang Yan stood at the front, quietly looking down over the Assessment Zone.
Only a handful of teams had gone undefeated in the round-robin stage. Today, Huo Yuhao's team would face one of them.
"Teacher Wang, how confident are you in your class's team today?" a young, attractive female teacher asked as she walked up beside him.
The speaker was Mu Jin, homeroom teacher of Freshman Class 9, whose team would be facing Huo Yuhao's today.
"Heh, Teacher Mu, what a coincidence that our teams should meet today. Of course I'm confident in my class's team. It looks like you're confident too."
Wang Yan smiled as he replied.
"I wouldn't say we're certain to beat your team, Teacher Wang, but we do have a decent chance."
Mu Jin smiled radiantly.
"Hmph. Hypocritical." A harsh, hoarse voice came from nearby.
Zhou Yi was also on the platform. She gave a disdainful snort.
Seeing Zhou Yi didn't anger Mu Jin. Instead, she mocked her: "Well, if it isn't the mighty Spirit Emperor who couldn't even handle a new student with just one ring?"
"What brings you here today? Don't you have any shame?"
Zhou Yi's face turned white, then red. She snapped, "Mu Jin, are you asking to die?"
"You two, why don't we just watch the match? Which side do you think will win?"
Wang Yan stepped between them and tried to smooth things over, steering the conversation elsewhere.
"Teacher Zhou, based on your experience, which side has the better chance of winning?"
Zhou Yi had also spotted Huo Yuhao below. Though she was grinding her teeth with anger, she fell silent.
She hated Huo Yuhao, but even she thought he would win.
But she didn't want to bring him up, so she kept quiet.
Mu Jin, standing nearby, was delighted. She turned to Zhou Yi and said sarcastically, "Hmph, he's just a one-ring kid, and yet he's managed to make our esteemed Teacher Zhou look so humiliated. Just sit tight and watch. My students will restore your reputation for you."
"You!" Zhou Yi had been bested again, but this time she could only swallow her anger.
After all, Mu Jin was telling the truth.
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