Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luocheng

The red dot rapidly grew larger. Only when it drew close did Ling Feng make out that it was a figure in red.

The red-clad figure was not flying over the lake's surface, but lightly tapping the water with the tips of her feet.

With every tap, her body shot forward like a cannonball, leaving the ripples on the lake far behind.

Thanks to his enhanced eyesight, he could clearly see that not only were the red figure's clothes red, but her long hair was blood-red as well.

Her figure was slender and well-proportioned; she was clearly a woman.

Yet at this moment, the woman radiated a savage aura like a ferocious beast.

In the blink of an eye, a scorching wave of heat swept toward him!

It really is her!

Ma Xiaotao!

Ma Xiaotao was far too fast. In the instant Ling Feng hesitated, she had already arrived before him.

"Hot... so hot..."

"Quick, give it to me!"

Ma Xiaotao seemed to retain a trace of rationality, but her light-red pupils had already begun to lose focus.

Ma Xiaotao did not know whom she had mistaken Ling Feng for. She grabbed his arm and kept muttering.

"You... who are you?... A freshman?!"

Ma Xiaotao's will was engaged in a fierce struggle. She panted heavily, and the breath she exhaled steamed with scorching white vapor.

It was summer right now!

One could only imagine how high the temperature of Ma Xiaotao's breath was!

"Damn it... run!"

Ma Xiaotao shoved Ling Feng away and tried to move again, only to stagger and fall.

"Go... I can't hold on anymore..."

Ma Xiaotao used the last of her rationality to say this to Ling Feng. As soon as her words fell, her originally light-red eyes turned blood-red, just like her hair.

"Ah!"

After a long, agonized scream, terrifying heat erupted from Ma Xiaotao's body. All the vegetation within several dozen meters instantly turned scorched yellow!

Ling Feng felt as though he were standing in a sea of fire, and his exposed arms had already begun to redden slightly.

That was only because Ling Feng was stronger than Soul Masters of the same rank.

If it had been an ordinary outer courtyard student, forget a two-ring Soul Master—even a three-ring Soul Master would have been scalded by this wave of fire!

Seeing that Ma Xiaotao was about to be consumed by her own evil fire, Ling Feng knew that if he let her continue like this, he himself would likely be put in danger!

The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion martial soul instantly possessed him. As one yellow and one purple soul ring appeared, Ling Feng's first soul skill lit up.

"Ice Emperor Bodyguard!"

The instant the soul skill activated, a layer of ice crystals covered Ling Feng's body, blocking the high temperature outside.

Naturally, Ma Xiaotao sensed the commotion on Ling Feng's side.

Especially after Ling Feng used Ice Emperor Bodyguard, when she saw the icy crystal armor on his body, Ma Xiaotao seemed to have seized a lifeline and pounced directly at him.

"Quick, help me..."

"Help my ass!"

Seeing that Ma Xiaotao had not summoned her martial soul and confirming that she posed no threat to him, Ling Feng assumed a fighting stance.

"Perfect. I'll use you to test my new martial soul."

The first and second soul rings on Ling Feng's body flashed alternately, and his outstretched hands and arms became incredibly tough.

"Second soul skill, Ultimate Ice Amplification."

"First soul skill, Ice Empress's Claw."

Ling Feng threw both fists forward, smashing them directly into the shoulders of the incoming Ma Xiaotao.

Bang!

"Mm!"

Two perfectly synchronized impact sounds came from Ma Xiaotao's body. Immediately afterward, she let out a soft groan, and a streak of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.

Ma Xiaotao had not summoned her martial soul, but she was still a Soul Emperor-level powerhouse.

Facing Ling Feng's full-strength strike, Ma Xiaotao merely paused briefly before ignoring his resistance and pulling him firmly into her embrace.

"You female hooligan! Let go!"

Ling Feng struggled desperately in Ma Xiaotao's arms, but her hands locked him in place like iron pincers.

It was not that Ling Feng lacked appreciation for beauty; he simply had the will but not the means—he was still wearing the icy crystal armor from Ice Emperor Bodyguard.

With that layer of armor, Ling Feng could not feel anything at all.

"Psssh!"

Ma Xiaotao's scorching body pressed tightly against the ice-crystal armor on Ling Feng's body, white steam continuously rising from where they touched.

After struggling for a moment, Ling Feng chose to give up as well.

At least for now, unless Ma Xiaotao released him of her own accord, there was nothing else he could do.

"Mm..."

As the heat in her body subsided, Ma Xiaotao gradually regained her clarity of mind.

What had originally been meant only to suppress her evil fire had now turned into enjoyment.

She had not experienced such a blissful sensation in a long time!

"Ma Xiaotao! Let go of him!"

A familiar feminine shout rang out, followed by an extreme chill striking from behind Ling Feng.

"Tch. Ling Luocheng, you won't help me, and you won't let me find someone else?"

Clearly, Ma Xiaotao was very displeased at being interrupted.

Naturally, she was unwilling to let go of Ling Feng, so she simply hugged him and retreated.

The instant Ma Xiaotao pulled back, an ice spike appeared exactly where the two of them had been. Under Ling Luocheng's precise control, the spike targeted only Ma Xiaotao and would not harm Ling Feng in the slightest.

"Ma Xiaotao, I don't care who you go looking for."

"But if anything happens to my little brother, I definitely won't let you off!"

Ling Luocheng's figure quickly appeared before them.

When she saw Ling Feng held intimately in Ma Xiaotao's arms, Ling Luocheng's ice-blue eyes brimmed with fury.

"Your little brother?"

Ma Xiaotao looked at Ling Luocheng across from her in surprise, then lowered her head to look at Ling Feng.

Sensing the arms restraining him loosen, Ling Feng hurriedly broke free and ran to Ling Luocheng's side.

"Big Sis."

Hearing Ling Feng's soft call, Ling Luocheng immediately examined him from head to toe with anxious concern, terrified that he might have suffered even the slightest injury.

"Big Sis, I'm fine."

Even after repeatedly confirming that Ling Feng had not been hurt, the anger in Ling Luocheng's eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"Ma Xiaotao, you've gone so far as to bully my little brother?"

"Do you really think there's nothing I can do to you?"

Ma Xiaotao did not take Ling Luocheng's words seriously at all.

Still, she was in the wrong, and once Ling Feng enrolled in the academy, she would inevitably need his help to suppress her evil fire.

"This was an accident, and you can't put all the blame on me!"

"You bear some responsibility too."

"If you'd been willing to help me suppress my evil fire, I wouldn't have run out, would I? And naturally, I wouldn't have run into your little brother."

Ling Luocheng had never been the eloquent sort.

Hearing Ma Xiaotao absolve herself in just a few words and even shift the blame onto her, Ling Luocheng's fury reached its peak.

"You sharp-tongued, silver-tongued wretch—you even dared to bully my little brother!"

"If I, Ling Luocheng, don't teach you a lesson today, I won't be able to hold my head up in the Inner Court anymore!"

As soon as she finished speaking, five soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—gradually emerged around Ling Luocheng.

At the same time, a two-meter-long ice-crystal staff appeared in her hand.

"I really didn't do it on purpose."

"But if you want to fight, I'm more than willing to oblige!"

Ma Xiaotao licked her lips, unable to suppress the excitement in her eyes!