Opening Up

"Want to team up with me? You're a Power Attack Type, but your Soul Skills work really well with mine. We'd make a perfect team, so give it some serious thought."

Dai Yueheng looked at Yue Ling, his eyes full of expectation.

Yue Ling glanced at him, then turned to Ma Xiaotao and Gongyang Mo beside him. "Sorry, I already have a regular team."

"What a shame."

Dai Yueheng didn't press the matter. He immediately turned to Gongyang Mo.

"What about you? Gongyang Mo, right? Want to join my team?"

Gongyang Mo shook his head firmly, then pointed at Yue Ling and Ma Xiaotao. "Sorry, Dai Yueheng. These two have always been my teammates."

"All right."

Dai Yueheng didn't waste time. He nodded, then turned to recruit other talented students in the class.

Once he'd left, Ma Xiaotao, standing nearby with her arms crossed, curled her lip and retorted, "Who said I'd team up with you? Don't flatter yourself."

Seeing her sulky expression, Yue Ling played along, deliberately indulging her. "Yes, yes, we're begging you, all right? Great Ma Xiaotao, team up with us, and we'll crush the competition in the freshman assessment!"

"What kind of halfhearted attitude is that?" Ma Xiaotao glared at him.

"My attitude's plenty good. I even lowered my head to beg you. Besides, we're friends. Isn't it only natural to team up?" Yue Ling spread his hands.

"You!"

Ma Xiaotao was instantly vexed. She was about to keep bickering with him when Gongyang Mo quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Stop arguing, you two. Class is over! Let's go get something to eat. I heard a new dessert shop just opened in Shrek City, and the food's really good."

"Sounds good," Yue Ling said. He turned to Ma Xiaotao, his eyes clearly asking if she wanted to come.

Ma Xiaotao was still frustrated, but she didn't refuse. She spat out two stiff words. "Fine. Let's go."

"Then let's go!"

The three headed out together. Yue Ling and Gongyang Mo chatted and laughed along the way, the mood easy and relaxed. Ma Xiaotao alone walked beside them in silence, like an awkward outsider.

After walking for a while, she finally spoke, her voice tinged with awkwardness. "If you're only being friends with me because Dean Yan told you to, there's no need. I don't need anyone's pity. I can explain things to the teacher myself later."

Yue Ling chuckled at that. "Sure."

Ma Xiaotao's eyes immediately dimmed. A strange ache welled up in her chest, and she turned to leave.

Just as she lifted her foot, Yue Ling's voice drifted over, calm and certain. "The three of us got to know each other through a fight. I've considered you a friend for ages. Are you saying that, in your eyes, I was just going through the motions this whole time?"

"That really hurts, you know."

"Huh?"

Ma Xiaotao stopped, a glimmer lighting her eyes.

Yue Ling even lifted a hand to dab at the corner of his eye, putting on an aggrieved expression.

Gongyang Mo couldn't help covering his mouth to hide a laugh, then hurriedly chimed in. "Exactly! Xiaotao, you're really doing us wrong. If we actually disliked you, we'd have refused, even if Dean Yan had asked us. Isn't that right?"

"Exactly," Yue Ling said, immediately pressing his advantage with a perfectly serious face. "To punish you for making wild assumptions, you have to pay for dessert today."

At that, the awkwardness and distance in Ma Xiaotao's heart vanished completely. So they hadn't approached her because of the teacher's arrangements. They really did consider her a friend.

She gave an arrogant huff. "Fine. Eat as much as you want, until you're stuffed."

The three got along much more naturally for the rest of the way. Ma Xiaotao no longer stayed silent the whole time and occasionally joined in with a remark or two. She was still stubborn and awkward, unused to getting close to people, but she gradually learned to open up.

Gongyang Mo had been curious for a while and couldn't help asking, "Xiaotao, you cultivate so fast! Level thirty-two at twelve? Isn't that outrageous?"

At that, Ma Xiaotao's expression turned faintly gloomy. She shot Yue Ling a resentful glance. "My Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix. It looks powerful, but it comes at a huge cost. The faster I cultivate, the more fiercely the Evil Fire inside me turns on me, scorching my meridians and soul day and night."

"I have a bad temper because the Evil Fire drives me to it. I really can't control it."

"Besides, the teacher's always searching everywhere for cold-natured herbs and ice-attribute pills to suppress it. But they only provide temporary relief. They can't cure it at the root."

She muttered, sounding a little unwilling. "Otherwise, my level would've surpassed yours long ago."

After hearing her out, Yue Ling immediately had an idea.

He fell silent, thinking for a moment. Then a perfect place came to mind: Sunset Forest, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

The place balanced yin and yang, with ice and fire sharing the same source. It could cleanse and refine the Martial Soul Origin, not only helping Ma Xiaotao eradicate the Evil Fire completely but also greatly improving all three of their cultivation.

He just didn't know whether Sunset Forest and the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well had changed much over the past ten thousand years.

Seeing him spacing out, Gongyang Mo waved a hand in front of him. "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"

Yue Ling came back to himself and shook his head. "Nothing. Just thought of something."

"You're so mysterious," Gongyang Mo muttered.

Yue Ling looked at Ma Xiaotao beside him, his tone serious. "Xiaotao, I might have a way to eradicate your Evil Fire completely and turn your Evil Fire Phoenix into a true Ultimate Fire Phoenix."

Ma Xiaotao's eyes lit up at once, brimming with hope, but the next moment they dimmed again. "Seriously? Even Dean Yan is at a loss, and you're only twelve. How could you possibly do it?"

Yue Ling immediately took offense. "What do you mean, 'only twelve'? Aren't you twelve too? Don't underestimate me!"

He spoke earnestly. "I really am confident I can cure it. It's just that the time isn't right yet, so I can't explain in detail."

Seeing how serious he was, Ma Xiaotao felt a warmth in her heart and nodded gently. "All right, I believe you. I'll wait and see how you fix the flaw in my Martial Soul."

Looking at her half-believing expression, Yue Ling secretly snickered.

Just you wait.

Once I find the right Immortal Herb, I'll have you clinging to my leg and crying before I finally cure your Evil Fire!

Yue Ling snickered to himself.

Gongyang Mo noticed his lecherous grin, as if he were plotting something bad.

He hurriedly said, "Come on, let's go! We won't get a seat if we wait!"

Yue Ling's daydream was interrupted. He quickly shook his head, tucking the thought away.

"Got it. Let's go."

"Mm!"

Only then did the boy and the girl hurry toward Shrek City.

Under the shade of a tree some distance away, Yan Shaozhe quietly watched the three of them together. Seeing Ma Xiaotao gradually open up, he smiled with satisfaction.

After confirming that Xiaotao had finally made friends her own age and was no longer so withdrawn and stubborn, he turned and left, reassured.

Before long, the three arrived at the dessert shop and dug in.

They ate until their mouths were sweet and their bellies were round, stopping only when they couldn't eat another bite.

They'd said Ma Xiaotao would pay, but when it came time to settle the bill, Yue Ling got there first and paid, claiming she could treat them next time.

After eating their fill, the three headed back to Shrek Academy together.

At the school gate, they said their goodbyes. Ma Xiaotao returned to her lodgings in the Shrek Inner Court, while Yue Ling and Gongyang Mo went back to their Dormitory in the Shrek Outer Court.

And with that, the three-person team for the freshman assessment was finally settled.