The food in the Outer Academy cafeteria really wasn't very good, so after taking a lap around the area, Bai Ran decided to head to the Inner Academy and have his uncle make him something tasty.
Bai Ran: Old man, I want fried rice noodles. Add an extra egg and a sausage.
After going around the freshman teaching building and heading east along the southern side of Shrek Plaza, Bai Ran soon arrived at the lakeside path.
Passing through the woods beside the path, he found the sparkling Sea God Lake ahead of him.
Compared to yesterday afternoon, Sea God Lake looked even more beautiful this morning.
A faint mist hovered over the lake's surface, as though it had draped Sea God Island in the middle of the lake with a veil.
"Eh, what's that?"
Just as Bai Ran took out a communication talisman from his Storage Ring to contact his uncle, Ye Tian, and ask him to come pick him up.
He suddenly saw a red dot streaking across the distant lake toward the shore at incredible speed.
Aminos, why is it coming straight at me?!
Before Bai Ran had any time to react, a figure engulfed in flames charged directly toward him the next second, apparently treating Haji Bai like a speed bump.
At that moment, other than using intangibility, Bai Ran couldn't think of any way to dodge it.
After all, by the time he noticed that red dot, they were already less than a hundred meters apart. They collided in the blink of an eye.
The powerful impact made Bai Ran feel as if he'd been sent flying by a heavy-duty truck.
Fortunately, after what had happened in the Star Dou Great Forest last time, Ye Tian had been afraid that his dear grandnephew might get into trouble again. He had given Bai Ran a seventh-rank defensive shield, claiming that it could withstand three all-out attacks from any soul master below Soul Saint rank.
The instant Bai Ran suffered a potentially fatal injury, the seventh-rank defensive shield activated and enveloped him.
Without that shield, Bai Ran wouldn't merely have been sent flying. He would have been smashed into pieces.
Bai Ran: Getting hit by a big rig the moment I head out? I should've just stayed curled up in bed. Haji Bai, Haji Bai, why are you always so greedy?
Before Bai Ran could recover his senses, a flaming fist slammed heavily into the defensive shield before him the next second.
Looking at the woman in red before him, Bai Ran could have guessed with his toes that she was Ma Xiaotao, known as the "Flame Maniac."
But in the original story, hadn't Ma Xiaotao attacked Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong?
Could it be that his arrival as a transmigrator had slightly changed the course of the plot, causing Ma Xiaotao's target to become him instead?
Uh...
For a moment, Bai Ran didn't know whether to call himself unlucky or just plain unlucky.
In the original story, the reason Huo Yuhao hadn't been burned to death by Ma Xiaotao while she was rampaging was mainly because Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had stepped in.
But now that it was Bai Ran himself?
All he could do was pray that the academy's powerhouses would arrive before the defensive shield shattered.
Why didn't Bai Ran run, you asked?
There was nothing he could do. The defensive shield covered the surrounding area, and the moment Bai Ran stepped outside its protection, Ma Xiaotao's flames would swallow him whole.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Every punch Ma Xiaotao threw against the defensive shield felt like a hammer striking Bai Ran's heart.
"Where are the academy teachers? Hurry up! I can't hold on much longer!"
Bai Ran began to pray, hoping someone would arrive quickly and stop that crazy woman, Ma Xiaotao.
"Crack~"
Before long, the sound of breaking came from the defensive shield.
Is this the end for me?
"Damn it, I'll go all out against you."
Seeing that Ma Xiaotao was about to shatter the defensive shield in front of him, Bai Ran immediately took out a cup of Luckin Iced Americano and splashed it straight at her.
With Bai Ran's current Soul Power Level, aside from protective Soul Tools that activated passively, he basically couldn't use offensive Soul Tools. Even if he could, they wouldn't be able to harm a Soul Emperor.
So his only option seemed to be splashing Ma Xiaotao with Luckin Coffee.
Using his first soul skill required chanting an incantation, so it wasn't as quick to use as an Iced Americano. Besides, wouldn't splashing her with a Raw Coconut Latte just let Ma Xiaotao get a taste of sweetness?
"Sizzle~"
The defensive shield shattered completely.
Seeing this, Bai Ran quietly closed his eyes. Maybe it wouldn't hurt as much that way.
Yet the expected fist never struck his body.
Instead, a breathy voice sounded beside Bai Ran's ear. "S-So good... Little brother, splash big sis again..."
Ma Xiaotao was actually a masochist?
Now Bai Ran was at a loss.
Wait, Bai Ran suddenly recalled that when he awakened his martial soul, the teacher overseeing the ceremony had evaluated it as having an "attribute close to Ultimate Ice."
The coffee in the cup could only refresh and invigorate the mind, but the ice cubes inside were extremely cold.
When those ice cubes came into contact with Ma Xiaotao's body, they instantly suppressed the flames around her, allowing her consciousness to briefly clear.
Still, the gap between their Soul Power Levels was simply too great, so the ice from one cup of Luckin Coffee wasn't enough to suppress her completely.
"O-Okay."
Who would choose death when they could live?
Bai Ran hurriedly did as she asked. At the same time, he conjured two cups of Luckin Iced Americano and used both at once, drenching Ma Xiaotao from "head" to toe.
For a child who could only reach someone's knees even when jumping, being able to splash the Iced Americano onto Ma Xiaotao's upper body was already giving it everything he had.
Just as Ma Xiaotao's emotions gradually settled under the cooling effect of the ice.
A white-robed middle-aged man suddenly appeared at the scene the next second.
(Only showing up after everything was over—Bai Ran had every reason to suspect he'd been set up.)
This man was Ma Xiaotao's master, the dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department—Yan Shaozhe.
"I seem to have arrived at an awkward time."
Seeing the drenched Ma Xiaotao, Yan Shaozhe couldn't help coughing twice to hide his embarrassment.
Speaking of which, it had been his oversight. As Ma Xiaotao's master, he had failed to keep watch over her when her evil fire erupted, and it had nearly led to disaster.
If this had happened in the Inner Academy, its disciples were packed with experts. Even if someone couldn't subdue Ma Xiaotao, they could at least hold her off.
Who would have thought that this little girl would run to the Outer Academy to wreak havoc? Against a group of Outer Academy students with an average level only in the thirties, she was practically a wolf in a flock of sheep.
"You did well, child. Which class are you from? I'll have someone take you back to class."
Although Bai Ran looked tiny, Yan Shaozhe assumed that since he was in the Outer Academy, he must be one of its students. Perhaps he was a talented freshman, and the force behind him was quite formidable as well.
A youngster capable of producing a seventh-rank defensive Soul Tool had a ninety-nine percent chance of coming from some great family, where he was also deeply cherished.
"I'm not a student of the academy, Grandpa."
Yan Shaozhe was actually around ninety years old, so there was nothing wrong with Bai Ran calling him that.
"You're not an Outer Academy student? Don't tell me you're an Inner Academy student?"
The moment Yan Shaozhe finished speaking, he heard a familiar voice from behind him.
"Dean Yan, why are you here?"
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