The Making of a Team

Ye Feng stood where he was, looking left and right before giving a slight nod.

The foundation of his future team had already taken shape.

As long as he gave them some time, the so-called Shrek Seven Devils would not even be worthy of carrying their shoes.

What was more, the Shrek Seven Devils had now lost the aid of the Immortal Herbs. Their combat power and potential had taken a direct nosedive.

As for Flender's Ma Hongjun...

A trace of coldness flashed through Ye Feng's eyes.

With Snow Empress and Dugu Bo's Titled Douluo strength, he could have taken revenge on those two immediately.

But Ye Feng did not do so.

After all, revenge was more satisfying when carried out by one's own hand.

Just wait. We would meet again soon.

At the entrance to Phoenix Village.

Flender walked over with his hands behind his back, unhurried and leisurely, with the round Ma Hongjun following behind him.

"Teacher, do we really need to make this trip?"

Ma Hongjun kicked aside a pebble by his foot, his tone lazy. "No matter how tough that brat was, could he withstand the Evil Fire Backlash? He'd probably turned to ash by now."

"Being cautious is never wrong."

Flender narrowed his hawk-like eyes and looked toward the lone thatched hut at the end of the village. "After all, he was an Evil Fire Phoenix with Innate Full Soul Power... If he isn't completely dead, he'll become a future threat."

The two approached the hut.

The door was still tightly shut, but the sight around it made Flender frown.

The Soul Power barrier he had set up earlier had long since vanished. There was not even a trace of residual Soul Power in the air.

"Something's wrong."

Flender raised a hand to stop Ma Hongjun, who was about to push the door open. He stepped forward himself, Soul Power surging in his palm as he gave it a light shake.

"Creak—"

The rotten wooden door opened in response.

The scene inside came into view.

The ground was pitch-black, as though it had been repeatedly scorched by raging flames. Even the soil had baked into hard clumps.

Large reddish-gold scorch marks remained on the walls and roof, while the air carried a faint burnt smell, like molten metal.

There was no corpse, no blood, not even a scrap of torn clothing.

"Whoa!"

Ma Hongjun craned his neck and swept his gaze inside. His fat face immediately broke into a grin. "Burned up nice and clean. Not even any residue left!"

Flender crouched down, wiped two fingers over the blackened ground, rubbed them together, then brought them to his nose and sniffed.

"These marks... don't look like they were caused by the Evil Fire going out of control."

A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes. "They look more like the eruption of some higher-tier flame. Even the moisture in the soil was evaporated."

"Who cares what kind of fire it was!"

Ma Hongjun put his hands on his hips and sneered. "That idiot Ye Feng is definitely gone anyway! For the sake of that worthless pride, he burned himself into ashes. Tsk, he had it coming!"

Flender stood and dusted off his hands, a mocking curve slowly appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"What a pity. Such good talent."

He shook his head, though there was not the slightest regret in his voice. "If he'd obediently acknowledged me as his teacher back then, would he have ended up like this?"

"Exactly!"

Ma Hongjun immediately chimed in, his face full of gloating. "Teacher gave him a chance, but he didn't want it. He insisted on acting all high and mighty! Now look at him. He doesn't even need a grave. He went straight back to nature. So environmentally friendly!"

"Come to think of it, what did that brat shout before he died?"

Flender pretended to ponder, then suddenly remembered. "Oh—'Better to be shattered jade than intact tile.'"

He sneered. "The jade did shatter, but it shattered into worthless scraps. One gust of wind, and it was gone."

Ma Hongjun laughed so hard that the fat all over his body trembled. "Jade, my ass! He was more like a stone in a latrine—stinking and hard! Good thing he's dead. At least he won't be an eyesore anymore!"

Flender cast one final glance into the hut, then turned and flicked his sleeve.

"Let's go. A dead man isn't worth wasting any more thought on."

Ma Hongjun hurried after him, but before leaving, he turned back and spat into the hut.

"Pah! In your next life, learn to be smarter. Kneel when you should kneel, and admit defeat when you should admit defeat!"

Their footsteps gradually faded away.

The charred hut stood silently in place. The wind blew past, stirring up a thin layer of ash from the ground.

The next day, at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Morning.

"They've been absorbing Immortal Herbs for this long?"

Having finished his cultivation for the day, Ye Feng looked at the blue and gold spheres of light in the distance and grumbled.

Dugu Bo, standing at his side, analyzed, "Perhaps the herbs' attributes are well-matched with theirs, so the transformation needs some time."

As he spoke, the cold air around Shui Bing'er suddenly drew in.

Immediately afterward, a clear, resounding phoenix cry rang out from within her body!

Icy-blue radiance shot into the sky, condensing behind her into the phantom of an even more magnificent and majestic Ice Phoenix.

As its wings spread, ice crystals scattered and cold air surged like a tide.

Shui Bing'er slowly opened her eyes.

Within her icy-blue pupils seemed to rest ten thousand years of accumulated frost—clear and crystalline, yet incomparably deep.

She gently raised her hand, and a wisp of icy-blue chill overflowed from her fingertips.

Wherever it passed, the air froze and the light warped.

Freezing space—this was precisely the hallmark of Ultimate Ice!

Seeing this, Snow Empress gave a slight nod. "Congratulations. You have truly touched upon the realm of Ultimate Ice."

Hearing this, Shui Bing'er quickly withdrew her Soul Power and bowed deeply to Snow Empress. "Thank you for your help, Senior."

Snow Empress lightly shook her head. "This was your own opportunity. Even without me, you would still have completed your evolution."

"My own opportunity?"

Shui Bing'er froze for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Ye Feng, who was smiling faintly nearby. A blush instantly spread across her ears.

At the same time.

The dark-gold patterns around Dugu Yan had gradually sunk beneath her skin, while the jade-green Soul Power around her slowly transformed into dark gold.

Faintly, the sound of a dragon's roar seemed to come from within her body.

Dugu Yan suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils having turned vertical.

Behind her, the phantom of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor appeared, but its form had changed noticeably.

Its serpentine body was longer and sturdier. Two small bumps rose from its head, vague claw shadows appeared beneath its belly, and its scales reflected a dark-gold sheen.

"Grandpa! My martial soul really evolved!"

Feeling the surging power inside her, Dugu Yan's little face flushed with excitement.

Thinking back on everything that had happened these past days, it was simply like a dream.

Not only had her inherited poison been resolved, but her martial soul had evolved from a serpent into a Flood Dragon!

And all of it was because of a boy younger than she was.

"Good, good!"

Dugu Bo laughed happily, a faint mist welling in his eyes.

Once upon a time, he had endured the backlash of snake venom and lived a life worse than death.

His only granddaughter had not even been expected to live past thirty.

Fortunately, all of that was now in the past.

He turned to Ye Feng and solemnly clasped his hands. "Young Master, I will never forget your great kindness!"

Ye Feng waved his hand. "We're all on the same side. No need to be polite."

After saying that, he walked up to Shui Bing'er, and a reddish-gold flame ignited in his palm.

Shui Bing'er understood at once. She raised her hand as well, gathering a stream of icy-blue chill.

Ice and fire lightly touched between their palms.

"Hiss—"

There was no violent clash as expected. Instead, it was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, raising a gentle burst of white mist.

The reddish-gold and icy-blue lights blended like milk and water, slowly intertwining and flowing until they finally achieved a subtle balance.

Ye Feng only felt the restless heat constantly churning within him being slowly soaked by a cool spring. It actually calmed down as never before.

"It worked!"

Ye Feng's eyes lit up.

This meant that he could cultivate without any reservations from now on.

Feeling the scorching aura of Ye Feng's flame flowing from his palm, a faint ripple passed through Shui Bing'er's watery-blue eyes.

That warm, bright feeling... seemed not to be unpleasant.

"I'm glad I could help."

Shui Bing'er answered softly, withdrew her hand, and turned her face away, though the tips of her ears had turned slightly red.

Dugu Bo took in the entire scene. He turned to look at his granddaughter, who was resting her chin on her hand in a daze, and could not help shaking his head.

Sigh, he wondered whether this girl still had a chance.