Yan Shaozhe's voice was hoarse. The Super Douluo who could move heaven and earth across the continent now stood with both hands trembling uncontrollably.
"Only for things to end up like this."
"Is there still a way to save Xiaotao? As long as you can keep her alive, I'll pay any price!"
Looking at Ma Xiaotao in the center of the hall, almost completely swallowed by black-and-red flames, Xiao Yan let out a long sigh.
To Yan Shaozhe, that sigh was no different from a death sentence.
Yan Shaozhe's eyes instantly reddened, and his vision blurred.
It was as if all the strength had been drained from him. His shoulders slumped, and he staggered half a step forward. Looking at his apprentice struggling in agony, he choked out, "Xiaotao, your teacher has ruined you!"
Just as Yan Shaozhe was on the verge of mental collapse, Mu En, who had been stooped over the whole time, suddenly sprang into action.
The Radiant Sacred Dragon Soul Power poured without restraint from the body of the Sea God Pavilion Master, dazzling and brilliant.
Blinding golden light instantly flooded the entire hall. The pure power of light solidified into chains that wound around Ma Xiaotao's body, layer upon layer.
Amid a series of rapid explosions, the black-and-red Evil Fire that had already invaded her organs and even tried to reach her Sea of Consciousness was forcibly torn away by this vast power, compressed, and finally sealed deep within her dantian.
Ma Xiaotao's twisted features finally eased somewhat. Her labored, ragged breathing gradually steadied. Though she remained unconscious, she had at least escaped being corrupted by the Evil Fire and turned into an Evil Soul Master, and her life had been spared.
After completing all this, Mu En coughed violently several times, deep exhaustion showing in his once-bright eyes.
He slowly turned toward Xiao Yan, who stood not far away, and a warm smile creased his deeply lined old face.
"Xiao Yan, we meet again." Mu En's voice held the calm of one who had weathered countless storms. "I just didn't expect that before you had a reason to come see me at the Sea God Pavilion, we'd be the ones needing your help."
Mu En pointed to Ma Xiaotao on the ground, his tone sincere.
"From here on, you need only do your best. Whatever the final result, we won't hold you responsible. Even if you fail, our previous agreement still stands. You can still take a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone from the Sea God Pavilion's treasury as your reward."
Hearing the Limit Douluo humble himself so much, Xiao Yan naturally understood his sincerity.
Being free of responsibility and getting a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for nothing was an irresistible temptation to any Soul Master.
But he knew perfectly well that this reward wasn't enough to make up for facing the Evil Fire, which had now fully erupted.
"Elder Mu." Xiao Yan stepped forward and met Mu En's gaze, openly laying out the risks. "Three months ago, even if her Evil Fire had run wild, I'd have been completely certain I could evolve her Martial Soul into Ultimate Fire without suffering any harm myself. But the situation now is a little more difficult."
He pointed at the black-and-red seal that continued to throb in Ma Xiaotao's dantian.
"The Evil Fire has devoured all the energy from those fire-attribute natural treasures. It's grown several times stronger, and even mutated, gaining an extremely potent ability to corrode and fight back. If I try to use my zither music to untangle and suppress it by force, the mutated Evil Fire might follow the sound waves and spiritual energy back to me and take the opportunity to invade my body. If I get tainted by something so filthy and violent, it's bound to hinder my cultivation in the future."
Hearing Xiao Yan's explanation, neither Mu En nor Yan Shaozhe looked the least bit discouraged. Instead, their eyes lit up at the same time.
They weren't afraid of difficulties; they were afraid there'd be no solution.
Since Xiao Yan could analyze the risks and how the backlash might happen so thoroughly, he must already have a plan in mind!
It wasn't that this kid couldn't cure her. He just thought the risk was too great and the Sea God Pavilion hadn't offered enough in return!
Yan Shaozhe immediately turned to his teacher, his gaze urgent.
Without wasting a word, Mu En raised his withered right hand and lightly swept it through the air in front of him.
A black rift split open in space.
Accompanied by a low dragon's roar and a strange sonic boom, a right arm bone emanating powerful energy drifted slowly out of the rift.
The moment the Soul Bone appeared, the air in the hall grew unbearably heavy.
Unlike ordinary Soul Bones, which gleamed like jade or metal, this one was a deep, dusky purple from end to end, its surface covered in silver patterns that swirled like a nebula.
Most strangely, space around the Soul Bone seemed to warp at all times, and silent ripples of sound waves shimmered in the air.
Xiao Yan's gaze was instantly drawn to it.
His spiritual power was immense. In an instant, he sensed that the pressure radiating from this Soul Bone far surpassed that of an ordinary Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. It even carried the vast, ferocious aura of an ancient Soul Beast.
He'd known it—after ten thousand years of inheritance, Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion had to be hiding something truly valuable deep within its halls.
Watching Xiao Yan's eyes light up, Mu En held the bone in his palm and slowly began to recount its origins.
"This is the right arm bone of a three-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast, the Taixu Sound-Suppressing Hou."
Mu En's voice echoed through the hall, tinged with memories of the past.
"The Taixu Sound-Suppressing Hou was a rare Ferocious Beast from ancient times, naturally in control of the dual laws of space and sound waves. My grandmaster encountered it by chance. It was very likely the last of its kind on the Douluo Continent."
"The Taixu Sound-Suppressing Hou was extremely ferocious and fiercely territorial. When it discovered a human had entered its territory, it immediately unleashed a sonic attack to shred him. My grandmaster was already a Limit Douluo who stood at the pinnacle of the continent, and had no desire to fight a creature born from the forces of nature to the death. But the beast wouldn't let up. In the end, my grandmaster fought with all his might, killed it, and obtained this right arm bone."
At this point, Mu En let out a long sigh.
"But the cost of that battle was too great. The beast's primal sonic attack shattered my grandmaster's physical foundation before it died. As a Limit Douluo, he should have had several hundred years to live, but his severe injuries meant he passed away before reaching a hundred. This Soul Bone became a forbidden object sealed away by the Sea God Pavilion. Generation after generation of Pavilion Masters failed to find a suitable successor."
Mu En pushed the dusky purple Soul Bone in his hand forward, stopping it before Xiao Yan.
"Your Martial Soul is an ancient zither. This Soul Bone might as well have been made for you. Both its Soul Bone Skills are domain-type, and I've never seen anything as powerful in my life."
"The first Soul Skill is called 'Void: Immeasurable.' It's a rare domain for controlling space. Once you activate it, you'll be able to influence and even command the space around you. It'll greatly deepen your perception and understanding of spatial power, allowing you to wield spatial folding, tearing, and displacement without the slightest resistance."
"The second Soul Skill is called 'Suppression of Sound - Ten Thousand Laws.' It's a domain that gives you absolute dominion over sound and vibration. Within its range, you can control the frequency of every sound and vibration. It can multiply the effects of your zither music while suppressing any Soul Power or attack that travels through vibration."
Mu En looked at Xiao Yan, sincerity in his eyes.
"Is this reward enough to match the risk you'll be taking?"