Blood Profit, I Admire Shrek

"Holy shit, it really is Ma Xiaotao!"

A wave of heat rushed at him, accompanied by a piercing phoenix cry.

Su Ling did not hesitate. His pitch-black third Soul Ring suddenly lit up, and black lightning burst from around him, taking the form of a human figure.

Its outline was identical to his, but its Soul Power fluctuations were only at the Soul Grandmaster level.

This was his third soul skill—Thunder Shadow Manifestation.

At Su Ling's command, the lightning clone sprinted wildly in the opposite direction. Ma Xiaotao's eyes were bloodshot, and she looked like a crazed beast.

She casually glanced at the lightning clone, saw that it was merely a duplicate, and paid it no mind before charging straight at Su Ling's real body.

Terrifying heat enveloped him in an instant. Su Ling felt as though he had been thrown into a sea of fire, and even his vision began to warp.

His new student uniform began to give off a scorched smell, while sweat continuously rolled down his forehead.

"Ahhh!!"

Ma Xiaotao clutched her head in agony, her body swaying in the air. At the same time, the second, third, and sixth of her six Soul Rings lit up.

The flames around her instantly turned dark red, their temperature soaring rapidly. Then, her scarlet eyes glowed a bloody crimson.

With a shrieking phoenix cry, a pillar of dark-red fire carrying the pressure of a Soul Emperor came crashing down upon Su Ling.

Su Ling stared intently ahead. At the critical moment, he suddenly activated the right leg bone skill of the Firmament Thunder Leopard—Firmament.

Just before the flames struck, Su Ling and the lightning clone forty meters away instantly exchanged positions.

The next second, the lightning clone formed from Thunder Shadow Manifestation was reduced to ashes amid the dark-red firelight.

Su Ling, now forty meters away, watched with lingering fear.

"Damn, good thing Thunder Shadow Manifestation and the Soul Bone skill Firmament can switch the positions of physical bodies. Otherwise, I'd have been the one getting burned."

Su Ling immediately made a run for it.

However, Ma Xiaotao, her eyes red with rage, clearly had no intention of letting him go. Having been toyed with by the switch, the flames around her rose several more degrees.

Seeing this, Su Ling had no choice but to repeat the trick, switching places once more and narrowly evading danger.

When she saw that her attack had once again only burned away a clone—

Ma Xiaotao exploded with rage.

"Ahhh!!"

This time, all six Soul Rings behind her lit up. The dark-red phoenix wings on her back spread wide, and even space seemed to twist beneath the extreme heat.

She bore down on Su Ling like a bomber.

Seeing this, Su Ling stood still.

"Xiaotao, stop!!"

A sharp shout rang out.

Su Ling looked up.

An elderly man in a golden robe embroidered with phoenix patterns had appeared before him in an instant. Two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red Soul Rings revolved behind him.

It was Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Martial Soul Department whom Su Ling had met once at Sea God Pavilion.

Yan Shaozhe raised a finger and fired a stream of golden aura of light. Ma Xiaotao immediately went limp in midair, falling from the sky with a splash into the lake.

"Dean Yan!"

An Inner Court senior sister hurried over.

"Go fish Xiaotao out."

"Yes."

At that moment, another elderly man with a white beard and green robes descended from the sky. Su Ling recognized him too; he seemed to be called Elder Zhuang.

Elder Zhuang landed beside him and, without a word, released a fluorescent glow brimming with life force.

The glow poured into Su Ling's body, making him feel as though he were basking beneath the winter sun—fresh and warm.

"Child, do you feel unwell anywhere?"

Su Ling shook his head and took off his charred outer robe.

"That's good, that's good." Yan Shaozhe let out a sigh of relief, still shaken as he looked at the pitch-black student uniform.

Su Ling was someone Mu En and Sea God Pavilion regarded as a key focus.

If he had suffered even the slightest injury because Ma Xiaotao's evil fire had gone out of control—

Then Yan Shaozhe, as both the dean of the Martial Soul Department and Ma Xiaotao's teacher and father figure, certainly would not escape blame.

Getting chewed out would be the least of it.

"Hmph, Shao Zhe, this time you failed to keep proper watch. How did you not notice Xiaotao's evil fire going out of control?"

"I didn't know. Whenever Xiaotao's evil fire was about to lose control in the past, she would always inform me immediately. This time..."

"Enough. You need not explain further. I will truthfully report this matter to Mu En. Su Ling is Shrek's future; it would be more prudent for him to enter Sea God Pavilion to cultivate."

Yan Shaozhe lowered his head without saying a word. Looking at the scorched uniform on the ground, he was filled with guilt. Even the golden phoenix patterns on his robe seemed to have lost their luster at that moment.

If Mu En learned of this matter, Yan Shaozhe would most likely be punished. But that was not what worried him; he was worried about how Xiaotao would be dealt with afterward.

In the past, it had been one thing for her to accidentally injure a few Shrek students. He could placate them with some compensation. But this time, she had nearly injured Su Ling!

The nature of the matter was completely different.

Ma Xiaotao would definitely receive severe punishment for this. If it was serious enough, her evil fire cultivation might even be crippled and she could be expelled from Shrek...

"Elder Zhuang, Dean Yan, I'm actually fine. From what I heard you discussing, that senior sister was also being tormented by evil fire. I don't think there's any need to alarm Mu En over this."

Are you kidding? If this reached Mu En's ears, I'd lose my freedom. Then I'd be stuck cultivating beneath the Golden Tree every day.

He had no desire to be "softly imprisoned" in Sea God Pavilion.

Hearing this, Yan Shaozhe raised his head, his pupils trembling. He looked at Su Ling, who was smiling and nodding at him, and was deeply moved, which only intensified his guilt.

"This..." Elder Zhuang hesitated.

"Though I am young, I know right from wrong. That senior sister does not seem much older than me, yet she is already a six-ringed Soul Emperor. Her talent must be extraordinary, and she is Shrek's true future.

"This accident was not her intention, and besides, I was not injured. Elder Zhuang, let it go."

Su Ling spoke with honeyed words, coupled with his solemn expression and the natural charisma that made people instinctively trust him.

Yan Shaozhe also looked eagerly at Elder Zhuang. Though he said nothing, his meaning was obvious.

Seeing this, Elder Zhuang relented.

"Very well."

"Shao Zhe, once Xiaotao wakes up, have her personally apologize. And keep a strict watch over her from now on!"

"Yes, yes, yes. Until Xiaotao gains control over her evil fire, she will not be allowed out for a single day."

Elder Zhuang nodded, then took out a handful of green pills and stuffed them into Su Ling's hands. They were Soul Ascension Pills—five of them.

"Elder Zhuang? This..."

"Take them. You were greatly frightened by this incident. Consider these five Soul Ascension Pills a token of my goodwill."

There had been no fright, but there certainly was a pleasant surprise.

"Then this junior will gratefully accept."

"Hehe, it's nothing. Hm? Your Soul Power is already at the peak of Rank 35! How strange..."

After Elder Zhuang pointed it out, Yan Shaozhe finally noticed that Su Ling was already a Rank 35 Soul Elder.

His Soul Power had actually risen nearly ten ranks in three days?!

Yan Shaozhe's face was full of shock.

"I was merely fortunate. It is all thanks to Xuan Zi and Shrek's cultivation." Su Ling answered modestly.

Upon hearing this, the two old men smiled and showered him with praise.

After quite some time—

The Inner Court senior sister who had gone into the lake to retrieve someone had already returned, carrying the unconscious Ma Xiaotao.

"Dean Yan, Elder Zhuang, class begins in a few minutes. If there's nothing else, may I go to class first?"

The two old men nodded with smiles.

Before Su Ling left, Elder Zhuang stuffed another handful of pills into his hand. A cool sensation spread across his palm—they were six Mysterious Water Pills.

Su Ling repeatedly thanked him before taking his leave.

He had made an absolute killing. Five Soul Ascension Pills and six Mysterious Water Pills—he no longer needed them himself, but he could use them to win people over!

Even if that did not work out, selling them would still fetch over a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!

Moreover, Yan Shaozhe had promised that after handling this matter, he would bring Ma Xiaotao to apologize in person, and said there would be a surprise.

Yan Shaozhe, Elder Zhuang, and Ma Xiaotao were truly his angel investors!

Who said Shrek was stingy?

Su Ling would be the first to argue with them!

I, Su Ling, admire Shrek!