Child Marriage

Sea God Island, Dean's Office.

Yan Shaozhe sat behind his desk, flipping through the thick file in his hands, the smile on his face growing more and more satisfied.

Name: Huo Yuhao.

Age: eleven.

Born in the northern part of the Star Luo Empire. Father unknown. Mother deceased. Currently had no immediate family members.

The file not only documented Huo Yuhao's life experiences over the years, but even clearly recorded the exact day he had been born and how many times he had nursed as a child.

It covered every last detail.

There were almost no omissions.

And such a detailed investigation file had cost only five Gold Soul Coins.

Yan Shaozhe set down the file and could not help rubbing his chin.

He really was a genius.

He had thoroughly investigated Huo Yuhao's background without using too many academy resources.

Five Gold Soul Coins—what an incredible bargain.

"weilun, you handled this matter well."

Du Weilun, standing before the desk, had the corner of his mouth twitch slightly.

"As long as you're satisfied, Dean."

In truth, this file had reached Du Weilun's hands the day after Yan Shaozhe gave the order.

The speed had been outrageously fast.

After Du Weilun finished reading it, he fell completely silent.

Yan Shaozhe had only just ordered a thorough investigation, yet the people below had immediately organized every experience Huo Yuhao had had from birth until enrollment with perfect clarity.

Anyone unaware of the truth might have thought they had been watching Huo Yuhao since eleven years ago.

Handing it in so quickly would make the file's credibility difficult to believe.

So Du Weilun gave the matter serious thought.

He decided to stall.

He had forcibly delayed for half a month before delivering the file to Yan Shaozhe.

As for why the people below could complete the investigation in a single day, Du Weilun did not care.

As long as the task was completed, that was enough.

"Go take care of your work."

Yan Shaozhe waved a hand and picked up the file for another look.

"Yes."

Du Weilun turned and left the office, casually closing the door behind him.

Once he was gone, Yan Shaozhe could no longer conceal the amusement in his eyes.

Half a month had passed since Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire lost control and she forcibly took Huo Yuhao away.

During those half a months, the Evil Fire within Ma Xiaotao had remained exceptionally quiet.

There had been no agitation.

Much less any backlash.

This was something that had never happened in the past decade or so.

Extreme Ice suppressed the Evil Fire Phoenix even more effectively than he had anticipated.

More importantly, Huo Yuhao's background was clean.

No sect.

No clan.

No parents or elders.

The file even explicitly stated: unmarried.

Seeing those final two words, Yan Shaozhe was completely relieved.

Though the chances of an eleven-year-old already being married were extremely low, they were not zero. After all, Douluo Continent had no complete legal system. Murder was not illegal, and neither was child marriage.

When Yan Shaozhe had traveled across the continent in his youth, he had seen two families arrange a Marriage Agreement for descendants not yet born. The children had indeed turned out to be one boy and one girl. They became engaged as soon as they were a month old, then formally married at the age of three.

So it still had to be checked.

What if?

Holding the file, Yan Shaozhe directly left the office.

Deep within Sea God Island.

Inside a spacious cultivation room, Ma Xiaotao sat cross-legged on the floor.

Dark crimson flames slowly rose around her, making the air around them faintly distort from the heat.

But unlike in the past.

Though those flames were scorching, they showed not the slightest sign of violence or losing control.

Ma Xiaotao's Soul Power rapidly circulated through her meridians.

With every completed cycle, she could feel waves of comfort spreading through every part of her body.

It felt wonderful.

And addictive.

Ma Xiaotao had always enjoyed cultivation.

The Evil Fire Phoenix was originally a top-tier beast Martial Soul. Its Soul Power grew extremely quickly during cultivation, and the feeling of her strength constantly increasing made it impossible for her to stop.

Even knowing full well that cultivation would cause more and more Evil Fire to accumulate, she simply could not stop.

When she did not cultivate, she grew irritable and uncomfortable all over.

Sometimes, even when the Evil Fire was already nearly impossible to suppress, all she could think about was cultivating for one more hour.

Just one hour.

Then came the next hour.

Now that the Evil Fire was suppressed by Extreme Ice, she had completely cast aside her reservations.

Over the past half month, her cultivation time had nearly doubled.

Knock, knock, knock.

A sudden knocking came from outside the door.

Ma Xiaotao frowned and withdrew her Martial Soul.

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

Hearing Yan Shaozhe's voice, Ma Xiaotao rose and opened the door.

As she looked at the thick file in Yan Shaozhe's hand, a faintly bad premonition suddenly rose in her heart.

"Godfather, what are you holding?"

"Huo Yuhao's investigation file."

Yan Shaozhe entered the room and handed the file to her.

Ma Xiaotao's body stiffened.

She subconsciously lowered her head for a look.

When she saw the handsome photo in the file, everything that had happened in the bathroom half a month ago instantly surged back into her mind.

That drenched young man.

And the lips she had bitten open.

A flush swiftly spread across Ma Xiaotao's face.

"Why did you investigate him?"

"Of course, for the sake of your lifelong happiness."

Yan Shaozhe said it as though it were perfectly natural.

Ma Xiaotao abruptly raised her head.

"What?"

"His identity is not a problem, and his background is also very clean."

Yan Shaozhe pointed at the file and said seriously, "Most importantly, he is not married, and he has no wife."

Ma Xiaotao fell silent.

He was only eleven.

It would be strange if he had a wife. If Yan Shaozhe knew she was thinking that, he would only smile and tell her she was still too young.

"I plan to arrange a Marriage Agreement for the two of you."

Yan Shaozhe continued, "Later, I'll have Huo Yuhao move to Sea God Island so you can live together. That will both foster your relationship and make it easier for him to help suppress your Evil Fire at any time."

Ma Xiaotao opened her mouth, the temperature on her face steadily rising.

"But he's so much younger than me..."

"Age is not a problem."

"He's still a new student in the Outer Court."

"With his talent, entering the Inner Court is only a matter of time."

"But..."

Ma Xiaotao stopped midway through her words.

She realized that none of the reasons she had come up with seemed to be real problems.

Huo Yuhao possessed Extreme Ice, and his talent was no worse than hers.

Though he was a little young, he was quite good-looking, and his personality was not annoying.

And that icy sensation...

At that thought, Ma Xiaotao's face turned even redder.

Seeing her like this, how could Yan Shaozhe fail to understand her attitude?

"If you are unwilling, I will not force you."

"Who said I'm unwilling?"

Ma Xiaotao instinctively retorted.

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

The room fell quiet.

The smile on Yan Shaozhe's face became increasingly obvious.

Ma Xiaotao turned her head away and said with feigned calm, "It's fine to settle it first. It's only a Marriage Agreement anyway."

The Outer Court Library.

Huo Yuhao was lowering his head as he flipped through a book on Martial Soul mutation research when a tall figure suddenly appeared beside him.

"Huo Yuhao, come with me."

Huo Yuhao looked up at the expressionless Du Weilun, puzzled.

Had he skipped class too many times? Was the academy finally preparing to expel him?

A few minutes later.

Huo Yuhao was brought into the dean's office.

Yan Shaozhe warmly invited him to sit and even personally poured him a cup of tea.

"Yuhao, how have you felt during your time at the academy?"

"Have you encountered any problems with your studies or daily life?"

Yan Shaozhe said with a smile, "You can bring up anything. The academy will do its best to help you solve it."

Huo Yuhao picked up the teacup and gave him a thoughtful look.

Since the other party had put it that way, there was no need for him to be polite.

"There are indeed some problems."

"In less than three months since enrolling, I have discovered three major problems with the academy."