Classic Entrance

After leaving Yan Shaozhe's office, Lin Yan headed straight toward Sea God Lake.

Yan Shaozhe had two offices. The place where the two had spoken just now was the one in the Outer Courtyard.

Therefore, if Lin Yan wanted to find Ma Xiaotao in the Inner Courtyard, he still had to cross the entirety of Sea God Lake.

However, the moment Lin Yan reached the lakeshore, he caught sight of a handsome, upright figure sitting quietly by the shore, where Blue Silver Grass grew thickly.

A gentle breeze blew past, lightly stirring the young girl's distinctive short pink-blue hair. Her soft, fluffy strands outlined a delicate and beautiful face.

"Wang Dong?"

That was right. This figure was Wang Dong—the person he and Yan Shaozhe had just been discussing—or rather, Wang Dong'er!

Although he had run into Wang Dong here, Lin Yan did not go over to greet her.

After all, Tang San's divine consciousness was most likely hidden within Wang Dong. Though it should have been dormant, it was still better to stay as far away as possible.

However, sometimes events did not unfold according to one's will, just like now!

A thin mist drifted over the lake. Then, a blazing red figure suddenly burst from deep within the fog, moving at incredible speed. The figure rapidly grew larger in his vision, carrying a fierce momentum as it charged directly toward Wang Dong by the shore.

The red figure was unbelievably fast, closing to within a hundred meters of the shore in an instant.

A scorching wave of heat, mixed with a violent, sinister aura of madness, swept over them. Wang Dong's pupils contracted sharply, and terror instantly filled her eyes.

With a crisp swish, a pair of clear azure wings unfolded from Wang Dong's back. She immediately flapped them, trying to take flight.

But in that split second, the red figure had already arrived before her.

A violent, blazing heat erupted. Wang Dong felt as though she had been swallowed by an endless sea of fire. The blue wings behind her curled under the searing heat in an instant, and piercing pain swept through her body, making her stiffen before she crashed heavily to the ground.

Centered on her, all the grass, trees, and vegetation within dozens of meters instantly turned yellow and withered under the terrifying heat.

Just as Wang Dong was being overwhelmed by the horrifying heat, gripped by fear and despair, a tall figure suddenly stood before her. Like a towering mountain, he blocked every violent impact for her.

Barely steadying herself, she finally saw the person standing in front of her.

It was Lin Yan—the classmate who had overwhelmingly crushed Zhou Yi earlier that day, shocking all of Shrek!

Ignoring the countless thoughts swirling behind him in Wang Dong's heart, Lin Yan's face was already grave.

From the moment the red figure appeared, Lin Yan had guessed her identity.

The only person who could go mad and rampage through Shrek Academy, possess a fire attribute, and make such a classic entrance was his original target for this trip—Ma Xiaotao!

But if he remembered correctly, wasn't Ma Xiaotao's rampage supposed to happen several days after the official start of school?

Why had it happened early?!

Was this the butterfly effect caused by him?

What Lin Yan did not know was that the cause of this really did lie with him.

His appearance had provoked Ma Xiaotao, driving her to cultivate madly without regard for the consequences. In the end, the Evil Fire accumulated within her body erupted ahead of time.

The first time Ma Xiaotao met Lin Yan had been when the new students entered the academy.

At the time, Lin Yan had merely seemed like an ordinary new student with a decent appearance in her eyes. Meanwhile, she was Yan Shaozhe's direct disciple and a genius of the Inner Courtyard, so she had looked down on Lin Yan with arrogant superiority.

But when Ma Xiaotao met Lin Yan for the second time, their circumstances had reversed.

Lin Yan had transformed into the possessor of the Ultimate Fire that she had desperately sought but could not obtain, while she herself could only tremble in fear under the suppression of Ultimate Fire, unable even to summon her martial soul.

On top of that, Yan Shaozhe had repeatedly hinted afterward, both openly and indirectly urging her to take the initiative to approach Lin Yan. That only further provoked Ma Xiaotao, who had already become displeased with Lin Yan because of the gap between them and her jealousy.

With all those emotions piling up, Ma Xiaotao began cultivating madly after returning. In the end, the Evil Fire within her lost control and erupted early, resulting in the scene before them.

And seeing Wang Dong caught up in Ma Xiaotao's madness, setting aside whether Tang San would descend if Wang Dong truly neared death—and what chain reaction that might trigger—

Even simply standing by and watching Wang Dong "die" when he clearly had more than enough ability to help did not suit Lin Yan's nature.

After all, he was a young man raised under the red flag and educated through nine years of compulsory schooling. Though he did not consider himself a good person, he still possessed a measure of compassion.

Moreover, Wang Dong was different from Little Scumbag. In the end, she was also a victim.

Having her soul torn apart by her own biological father and her fate manipulated by him—such an experience would be immensely painful for anyone!

Still, confidence was one thing.

But against a rampaging Ma Xiaotao, Lin Yan did not dare lower his guard in the slightest.

After all, although both were Soul Emperors, there was simply no comparison in strength or foundation between someone like Zhou Yi and a genius like Ma Xiaotao, who had been carefully nurtured since childhood.

Seeing someone block her path, the completely crazed Ma Xiaotao surged with Soul Power. Blazing Evil Fire coiled around her palm as she struck directly toward Lin Yan's chest with tyrannical, searing force.

Since Wang Dong was sprawled on the ground directly behind him, Lin Yan had no choice but to raise his hand and take Ma Xiaotao's attack head-on.

Thanks to the natural suppression of Ultimate Fire, the flames in Ma Xiaotao's palm could not harm Lin Yan in the slightest. However, as a veteran Soul Emperor, her physical strength far surpassed Lin Yan's at his current stage.

Taking that heavy blow head-on, Lin Yan let out a muffled grunt. Borrowing the force of the impact, he retreated with the momentum, then swept Wang Dong up from the ground with one hand and activated his second soul skill in an instant.

Flame Spirit Armor—Merge!

Thunder Fire Wings spread once more with a powerful flap, carrying both of them as they shot into the sky.

The reason a hero saving a beauty could become an eternal classic, endlessly praised by the world, was that it had never been a deliberately staged romantic scene. It was the purest form of salvation and responsibility amidst desperate life-and-death circumstances.

Ordinary day-to-day life was too mundane to shake the heart. But when someone fell into an abyss, engulfed by boundless despair, believing death was inevitable, only for a figure to emerge against the odds, shield them from disaster, and bear every danger—such unexpected protection possessed the power to pierce through every defense of the heart.

Held securely in Lin Yan's arms, Wang Dong felt stormy waves rise within her heart, and she could no longer remain calm.

The burning pain that had seemed to scour her tendons and bones, the terror of standing at death's door—those were despair and fear she had never experienced in her life.

But at the moment her consciousness blurred and her heart turned deathly still, Lin Yan's tall, steady back, firm as a mountain, had suddenly stood before her, wiping away all her panic and unease.

Now, nestled in Lin Yan's warm, solid embrace, she stared at the young man's sharp, handsome features beneath the gilded armor and could not help becoming entranced.

Her heart pounded violently beyond her control. The thump-thump of its beating echoed clearly in her ears, while a scorching blush quietly crept across her cheeks.

The lingering heat around them had long since been dispersed, yet her ears and cheeks only grew hotter.

The wings behind Lin Yan's back flapped, stirring wisps of gentle evening breeze.

Wang Dong leaned blankly against his chest, vividly feeling his steady, powerful arms and his tall, resolute frame. An unprecedented sense of warmth and security welled up in her heart, mingled with faint, innocent fluttering emotions that lingered there for a long time.