Child Marriage

Sea God Island, the dean's office.

Yan Shaozhe sat behind his desk, flipping through the thick stack of documents in his hands. The smile on his face grew increasingly satisfied.

Name: Huo Yuhao.

Age: eleven.

Born in the northern part of the Star Luo Empire. Father unknown. Mother deceased. He currently had no immediate relatives.

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

Every detail was included.

There were practically no omissions.

And such a detailed investigation file had cost only five gold soul coins.

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

He truly was a genius.

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

Five gold soul coins—what an absolute steal.

"Wei Lun, you handled this matter well."

Du Weilun stood before the desk, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"As long as the dean is satisfied."

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

The speed had been absurdly fast.

After reading the file, Du Weilun had fallen completely silent.

Yan Shaozhe had just ordered a thorough investigation, and the people below had immediately compiled every detail of Huo Yuhao's life, from birth to enrollment.

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

Submitting it so quickly would make the reliability of the information difficult to believe.

So Du Weilun gave the matter serious consideration.

He decided to stall.

He dragged it out for a full half month before delivering the file to Yan Shaozhe.

As for why the people below had managed to finish the investigation within a day, Du Weilun did not care.

As long as the task was completed.

"You may go attend to your work."

Yan Shaozhe waved his hand and picked up the documents for another glance.

"Yes."

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

After he left, Yan Shaozhe could no longer conceal the smile 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 two weeks, the Evil Fire within Ma Xiaotao's body had remained extremely quiet.

There had been no agitation.

Nor had there been any backlash.

Such a situation had never occurred in the past decade or so.

The suppressive effect of Ultimate Ice on the Evil Fire Phoenix was even stronger than he had expected.

More importantly, Huo Yuhao's background was clean.

He had no sect.

No family.

Nor any parents or elders.

The file even explicitly stated: unmarried.

Upon seeing those final two words, Yan Shaozhe was completely at ease.

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

When Yan Shaozhe had traveled across the continent in his youth, he had seen two families arrange a marriage contract for descendants not yet born. They had indeed later produced a boy and a girl, who were engaged at one month old and formally married at the age of three.

So it was still necessary to check.

What if?

Holding the documents, Yan Shaozhe left the office directly.

Deep within Sea God Island.

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

Dark crimson flames slowly rose around her, slightly warping the surrounding air with their heat.

But unlike before,

although the flames were scorching, they showed no trace of violence or loss of control.

Soul power within Ma Xiaotao's body circulated rapidly through her meridians.

Each time it completed a cycle, she could feel a wave of comfort spread through every part of her body.

It felt wonderful.

And addictive.

Ma Xiaotao had always loved cultivating.

The Evil Fire Phoenix was already a top-tier beast martial soul. Its soul power grew at an incredibly fast rate during cultivation, and the sensation of her strength constantly increasing made it impossible for her to stop.

Even though she clearly knew that cultivating would cause more and more Evil Fire to accumulate, she simply could not stop herself.

Whenever she was not cultivating, she would grow restless and feel uncomfortable all over.

Sometimes, even when the Evil Fire was 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 Ultimate Ice, she had completely cast aside her reservations.

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

Knock, knock, knock.

A sudden knock sounded outside the door.

Ma Xiaotao frowned and withdrew her martial soul.

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

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

Seeing the thick file in Yan Shaozhe's hand, she suddenly felt a faint sense of foreboding.

"Godfather, what are you holding?"

"Huo Yuhao's investigation file."

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

Ma Xiaotao's body stiffened.

She instinctively lowered her gaze.

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

That drenched young man.

And the lips she had bitten open.

A flush quickly 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 only natural.

Ma Xiaotao abruptly raised her head.

"What?"

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

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

Ma Xiaotao fell silent.

He was only eleven.

It would be bizarre if he had a wife. If Yan Shaozhe knew what she was thinking, he would merely chuckle and tell her she was still too young.

"I intend to arrange a marriage contract between the two of you."

Yan Shaozhe continued, "Later, Huo Yuhao can move to Sea God Island, and the two of you can live together. That will allow you to cultivate your relationship while also making it convenient for him to suppress your Evil Fire whenever necessary."

Ma Xiaotao opened her mouth, the heat in her face steadily rising.

"But he is so much younger than me..."

"Age is not a problem."

"He is still a freshman in the outer courtyard."

"With his talent, entering the inner courtyard is only a matter of time."

"But..."

Ma Xiaotao stopped halfway through her words.

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

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

Though he was somewhat young, he was quite good-looking, and his personality was not annoying either.

And that icy sensation...

Thinking of that, Ma Xiaotao's face turned even redder.

Seeing her appearance, 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 blurted out a retort.

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 aside and said with feigned calmness, "It's fine to settle it first. It is only a marriage contract, anyway."

The outer courtyard library.

Huo Yuhao was lowering his head as he read a book on martial soul mutation research when a tall figure suddenly appeared beside him.

"Huo Yuhao, come with me."

Huo Yuhao raised his head and looked at the expressionless Du Weilun, feeling somewhat 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, even personally pouring him a cup of tea.

"Yuhao, how have you found things since enrolling?"

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

Yan Shaozhe smiled. "You may bring up anything you need. The academy will do its best to help you resolve it."

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

Since the other man 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."