Accepting the Evil Fire

Huo Yuhao was helpless. You'd put it that way, so what else could he say...

"!"

Ma Xiaotao only felt the faint, watery aura around the little puppy in her arms grow much deeper, and a low dragon's roar rang out.

What came next wasn't cold, but an incredibly comfortable coolness, like taking a refreshing gulp of an ice-cold soda on a sweltering summer day when your mouth was parched.

After letting out an indescribable moan, Ma Xiaotao closed her eyes in bliss and instinctively hugged little Yuhao even tighter...

Huo Yuhao: ...

It wasn't Ma Xiaotao's fault that she reacted so intensely. Ever since she began cultivating, she had been tormented by the Evil Fire. What was perfectly ordinary, focused cultivation to others was an extravagant luxury to her.

To keep himself from being smothered to death, Huo Yuhao could only darken his expression and increase the release of his Ultimate Water Soul Power, pouring even more of it into Ma Xiaotao so she could hurry up, suppress the Evil Fire, and let him go.

Like a tiny flame meeting a flood, Ma Xiaotao could feel the wicked energy accompanying the flames of her Martial Soul cowering before little Yuhao's deep-blue Soul Power as if it had met its natural enemy.

Ma Xiaotao was already a star pupil of the dean of Shrek Academy, and she immediately reached her own conclusion about what was happening.

Th-this couldn't be the power of an Ultimate Martial Soul, could it? It would have to be at least on the level of Ultimate Water to counter the Phoenix Evil Fire, right?

No wonder the little puppy was so captivating. It all made sense now...

After they'd struggled for most of the day, night had completely fallen before Ma Xiaotao was finally satisfied.

The two of them were now sprawled together: Ma Xiaotao lay on the stone bed, while Huo Yuhao lay on top of her, his face buried deep in her chest as they clung tightly to each other...

Relying on his formidable willpower, Huo Yuhao finally managed to free himself from Ma Xiaotao's grip and sit beside her. Ma Xiaotao didn't get up. Instead, she lay awkwardly on her side, her long legs still trembling slightly for some reason.

Fortunately, Huo Yuhao's Soul Power reserves were deep enough. Though he was only at level 36 and far behind Ma Xiaotao, a Soul Emperor, he had cultivated the Spirit Ice Art, and his Ultimate Martial Soul could compress Soul Power. In terms of sheer Soul Power reserves, he was still quite confident.

On top of that, his spiritual power had improved considerably after fusing with the Golden Hawksbill Turtle. He had just barely managed to suppress and purify all the Evil Fire in Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul without passing out.

Huo Yuhao stared blankly at Ma Xiaotao for a while before guiltily turning his head away.

Ultimate Water was just too... something in certain situations. Unlike Ultimate Ice, its temperature wasn't low enough, so it could easily be evaporated by the Phoenix Evil Fire...

As a result, both Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao were soaking wet... Ma Xiaotao was one thing, but Huo Yuhao had really drawn the short straw...

Two enticing legs in black stockings were wrapped in a damp skirt, and her red dress clung tightly to her shapely figure, displaying it all before Huo Yuhao's eyes. The kicker was that this young lady had the bad habit of not wearing underwear...

Well, that was that. He'd seen everything, both what he should and shouldn't have...

"Ahem..." Ma Xiaotao coughed awkwardly twice. After all, she was quite a bit older than Huo Yuhao and relatively mature. She gave him a coquettish glance and raised her hand, releasing a stream of Phoenix Flame to dry the dampness on both of them.

Huo Yuhao kept his head lowered, too embarrassed to look at her, while Ma Xiaotao stared intently at his profile.

Staying silent forever wasn't an option, so Ma Xiaotao, the big sister, spoke first. "N-no matter what, I still have to thank you properly, little Yuhao."

"Um, let's not get into that yet, Sister Xiaotao. The way you used to suppress the Evil Fire... was it always like what we did today?"

Ma Xiaotao hurriedly waved her hands, afraid the little puppy would misunderstand. "No, no! Today... today was purely an accident. Before, before..."

Huo Yuhao coughed a few times. "I'm not trying to criticize how you lived before, Sister Xiaotao. I just want to tell you that this way of suppressing the Evil Fire is wrong."

Ma Xiaotao pouted slightly. Why was the little puppy suddenly so old-fashioned about this? He hadn't been this way before; he'd been so cute...

Wrong? What was wrong with it? Wasn't using ice- or water-attribute Soul Power to suppress her Evil Fire the most natural solution?

Seeing Ma Xiaotao's confusion, Huo Yuhao patiently explained, "Evil Fire—the main part is 'fire,' not 'evil.' It's still fire, and it's part of your Martial Soul. You've simply been rejecting this part of yourself, thinking it's wrong, and that's why you've kept suffering the Evil Fire's backlash."

Ma Xiaotao was stunned. She had never thought about the Evil Fire from this angle before. She had always felt that the wicked, sinister fire was so out of place in her fire-attribute Phoenix Martial Soul that it was repulsive, so all she had ever thought to do was suppress it.

Seeing that Ma Xiaotao had taken his words to heart, Huo Yuhao continued, "I think you could try looking at it from a different angle. Take complete control of the Evil Fire's power. Don't reject or suppress it; accept it from the bottom of your heart."

"Whether it's darkness or evil, it's only an adjunct to your fire attribute. This power has always belonged to you."

Ma Xiaotao gave a bitter smile. "It's not as easy as you make it sound, little Yuhao. You must have felt the mental heat the Evil Fire causes..."

Huo Yuhao nodded in understanding. "Mm... It's not your fault, Sister Xiaotao. It's the fault of your ancestor, Ma Hongjun. He didn't pass down the complete Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, or even the method he used to remove the Evil Fire."

Ma Xiaotao's expression darkened. "He did pass down the method for removing the Evil Fire. It requires an immortal herb called the Cockscomb Phoenix Tail Peony. If I could find that herb, I wouldn't have to suffer so much..."