Li Qinglian's Evil Fire Erupts, Shui Bing'er Loses Control

Li Qinglian felt his heart growing calmer and calmer.

Several more months had passed since the first eruption of the evil fire.

That familiar feeling had come again.

Just like the last time the evil fire had burned through him, his internal organs felt as if they had been set over a flame to roast. This time, the evil fire seemed to have grown even more violent.

According to the notes he had gotten from Huo Lie, for those Soul Masters who resisted the evil fire with their bodies, each eruption of the evil fire would only become more and more intense.

Even the most brilliant among them had only survived it four times.

"I, Li Qinglian, really refuse to believe in that cursed fate."

"Since no one has ever made it through, then I'll be the first."

Li Qinglian gritted his teeth.

He picked up the Green Lotus Sword and swung it with abandon.

Only this time, Li Qinglian's sword no longer had the same effortless freedom as before.

"Li Qinglian."

"Hold fast to your heart. Weren't you going to pursue your own path?"

"Believe in yourself. You can do it."

Huo Lie, the dean of Blazing Fire Academy, rushed into the courtyard.

Heat waves churned through the courtyard, and even the air swept up by the wind from Li Qinglian's sword was scorchingly hot.

"Dean, what do we do?"

"Qinglian looks like he's in so much pain."

Huo Wu panicked.

"At Li Qinglian's current stage, relying on ice-attribute Soul Masters should basically be enough to suppress it. Go now and invite Bing'er and Yue'er over," Huo Lie said.

"I'll go right now. Dean, keep an eye on him. If there's really no other way, I'm willing to help him too. Even if he really becomes a fallen, evil Soul Master like those people, I don't want him to go on suffering like this."

Huo Wu clenched her fists and said it seriously.

"Girl, why put yourself through this?"

"Don't you already know what Li Qinglian's future outcome will be? Last time in the office, those words of mine weren't only meant for Li Qinglian. They were also to remind you of Li Qinglian's future."

Huo Lie sighed.

"Dean, you don't understand what it's like to fall for someone."

Huo Wu's beautiful eyes turned toward Li Qinglian.

He was still young, but she was willing to wait for him to grow up.

"Ah. Do as you like."

Huo Lie opened his mouth, but in the end, he did not try to persuade her any further.

Li Qinglian truly was outstanding. Perhaps he really could get through this trial.

At least Huo Lie had never seen a monster with such terrifying potential before.

It was deep into the night.

Shui Bing'er could not sleep at all.

Her mind was filled with Li Qinglian's warm smile. Whenever she thought of the cruelty hidden behind that smile, her heart felt uneasy.

In the room next door, Shui Yue'er was also tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

She had just left crying, but in truth, she had used the chance to run to Blazing Fire Academy's library and look up information.

There were extremely detailed records about the Evil Fire Phoenix in Blazing Fire Academy's library. She now already knew what kind of torment Li Qinglian faced every day.

That only made her feel even worse.

Not only had it failed to make her want to distance herself from Li Qinglian, it had instead deepened her feelings for him.

"Bing'er, are you asleep? I have something urgent to ask you."

Knock, knock, knock.

Huo Wu knocked heavily on the door, just short of kicking it open outright.

"Huo Wu. What are you doing here again? Looking for trouble?"

Shui Bing'er had not been asleep, but seeing Huo Wu come to pick a fight in the middle of the night made her somewhat angry.

"Bing'er, I'm not here to cause trouble for you. I need your help with something."

Seeing Shui Bing'er's angry expression, Huo Wu softened her tone.

"Huh?"

"Then beg me."

Shui Bing'er didn't believe it.

Huo Wu was always playing tricks on her. Maybe this was one of them too.

"Bing'er, I'm begging you. Little Brother Qinglian's Evil Fire has erupted. He needs your help."

Huo Wu said it through tears. Her legs went weak, and she was about to kneel to Shui Bing'er.

"Ah, don't do that... I-I-I'll definitely help."

In a fluster, Shui Bing'er held Huo Wu up and didn't let her actually kneel.

Her beautiful eyes turned to Huo Wu, and she realized that perhaps, just like her younger sister, Huo Wu had fallen in too.

The ever-proud Huo Wu would one day become like this for a boy.

"Huo Wu. Tell me. Do you like him?"

Shui Bing'er asked softly.

"Mm."

Huo Wu nodded.

"All right. Let's hurry."

Shui Bing'er gave Huo Wu a deep look, then followed her memory and ran toward Li Qinglian's dormitory.

"Sister. Has Li Qinglian's Evil Fire erupted? Wait for me, I'm going too."

Shui Yue'er had heard the conversation between her sister and Huo Wu from inside the room long ago. She hurriedly put on her clothes and followed them.

In the courtyard.

Huo Lie's expression was grave.

He watched Li Qinglian dance his sword across the sky, and the worry in his heart grew even heavier.

Judging from Li Qinglian's sword moves, his heart was becoming more and more chaotic, and his killing intent was growing stronger and stronger.

Before long, Huo Wu arrived with the Shui sisters, panting hard.

"Dean. How is Little Brother Qinglian?"

Huo Wu braced both hands on her knees, gasping for breath in great gulps.

"The situation isn't good. Our Blazing Fire Academy is a cultivation holy land for fire-attribute Soul Masters, able to speed up their cultivation. But the fire-elemental heaven-and-earth energy around the academy is too dense, and that makes it even easier to stir up Li Qinglian's Evil Fire. It will also make the eruption faster and fiercer."

Huo Lie frowned.

"Sister. What do we do?"

Shui Yue'er asked in a panic.

"We'll all release our Martial Souls and lower the temperature here. Then I'll go in. Yue'er, you wait here."

After Shui Bing'er finished speaking, she took a deep breath and stepped toward the center of the courtyard.

Flames and heat waves surged in front of her, yet she could sense the Evil Fire inside Li Qinglian's body madly tearing at his reason.

Li Qinglian's eyes were scarlet, and as his sword qi swept out, it carried an out-of-control killing intent.

"Shui Bing'er. Why are you here?"

The chill on the girl's body restored a trace of clarity to Li Qinglian's consciousness.

He raised his head, looked at Shui Bing'er, and said in surprise.

"If I didn't come, you might have burned yourself to death."

"Blazing Fire Academy suits your cultivation, but it doesn't suit you for enduring the tribulation of Evil Fire. A place where fire elements gather will instead fuel your Evil Fire."

"So that's it. I was wondering why I suddenly lost control this time."

Only then did Li Qinglian come to a sudden realization.

He had only been thinking about Blazing Fire Academy being a holy land for fire-type cultivation.

But he had forgotten that his Evil Fire was also more easily stirred up in this place, and that its eruption would be even more violent.

"You can cultivate at Blazing Fire Academy. But if your Evil Fire is about to erupt, you can actually go to our Tianshui Academy. The heaven-and-earth environment there might greatly reduce the intensity when your Evil Fire erupts."

"I've learned something."

Li Qinglian nodded.

"I don't know what I should do to make you feel better. I can only use my own method."

Shui Bing'er spoke softly. Then, without the slightest fear, she walked forward, opened her arms, and hugged the scorching-hot Li Qinglian tightly.

"Mm."

Shui Bing'er's pretty face flushed slightly, and she let out a soft hum.

The situation was much worse than she had imagined.

When her body embraced Li Qinglian's burning-hot body, her whole body went weak and limp, and she felt itchy all over.

"It feels awful."

"Mm..."

Under the influence of Evil Fire, Shui Bing'er, whose will was far less firm than Li Qinglian's, completely lost her reason.

She wrapped her arms straight around Li Qinglian's neck, and her legs wound around him as well.

Her whole body was like a beautiful serpent.

"Ahem. Looks like there shouldn't be much of a problem now. This old man will be leaving first. Huo Wu, girl, if anything unexpected happens, call me at any time."

Huo Lie gave a light cough and quickly left.

Huo Wu and Shui Yue'er both turned bright red.

Watching Shui Bing'er cling to Li Qinglian like a water snake, their beautiful eyes went wide.

They hadn't expected that Li Qinglian himself would still be fine, while Shui Bing'er had lost her reason first.