Flame Maniac Ma Xiaotao

Star Luo City, Central Food Street.

Tang Wulin held several skewers of meat in his hand, his cheeks puffed out as he chewed the fish balls Huo Yuhao had just fed to his mouth.

Beside him, Huo Yuhao smiled as he carried a large steaming bowl of assorted meatballs.

Inside were shrimp balls, fish balls, beef balls, pork balls, Four Happiness Meatballs, takoyaki... every kind of ball imaginable.

Only after Tang Wulin had finished all the meat skewers in his hand did Huo Yuhao continue feeding him the various meatballs one by one.

As Tang Wulin walked and ate, he suddenly spotted a vendor not far ahead making sugar figurines. He immediately went over to watch the owner at work.

Seeing this, Huo Yuhao had a sudden idea. He said to Tang Wulin, "Wulin, do you want some soft, fragrant cookies? I can make whatever design you want, too."

Tang Wulin's eyes brightened. The hair at both sides of his face fluttered in the wind like lively airplane ears. He said happily, "I want one with Brother Yuhao's face on it."

Huo Yuhao prepared the right amounts of flour, butter, powdered sugar, egg wash, and light cream, then returned to the hotel with Tang Wulin. After that, he patiently and carefully mixed the ingredients together and kneaded them into dough.

After evenly baking the dough with fire element until it was crisp and soft, he carefully carved his own likeness onto it. The soft, fragrant cookies were complete.

Tang Wulin took a small bite of the crisp cookie and could not help exclaiming, "As expected of Brother Yuhao, everything you make is delicious. And it looks like Brother Yuhao too, so it tastes even better."

Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Is it really that good?"

Tang Wulin nodded repeatedly and held the cookie to Huo Yuhao's mouth. Huo Yuhao took a small bite of the cookie he had made himself. "It really is good."

Tang Wulin chewed slowly, savoring the cookie's flavor as though he could not bear to finish such a pretty and delicious biscuit all at once.

"Keep eating. I'll make more."

With that, Huo Yuhao followed the same steps and began making another batch of cookies, each with a different design. Only then was Tang Wulin willing to quickly finish the cookie in his hand.

Afterward, he happily ate cookies printed with all sorts of expressions of himself, as well as cookies depicting various interactions between himself and Brother Yuhao.

Tang Wulin was utterly immersed in the delicious treats. Huo Yuhao wore a gentle smile as he shared the comfortable, warm atmosphere with him.

Elsewhere, Wang Yan used Shrek Academy's credit, reputation, and proof of funds to bid for dozens of soul tools at the auction house, distributing them among the six students who had come with him.

A new day arrived as promised.

Today was the sixth day of the tournament, and the second round of the round-robin stage began.

In the first match of the second round, Shrek Academy's team faced Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Master Academy from the Dou Ling Empire. The draw had determined a seven-versus-seven team battle.

"Although they have only one Soul King, their formation is as solid as a fortress. They even have dual ice-and-fire control in the rear, along with the Thousand Strike Spear, which excels at both ranged and close combat."

Wang Yan continued analyzing to himself below the stage. "The key to breaking through in this team battle lies with Ma Xiaotao and Tang Wutong, who can fly around to their rear."

Shrek Academy's formation was relatively loose. Dai Yueheng and Bei Bei held the front. Tang Wutong and Ma Xiaotao flew along the two wings at the center of the team. Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and He Caitou stood at the rear.

He Caitou steadily set up his soul tool artillery platform and maintained continuous firepower from behind. Yet the defensive barrier formed by the opposing four Soul Ancestors was not so easily breached.

Fei Yuyan consecutively used the three soul skills Flame Ring, Blazing Wings, and Azure-White Flames, coating Shen Ce's Thousand Strike Spear in fire. Shen Ce immediately hurled the Thousand Strike Spear toward his opponents.

Standing at the very front, Dai Yueheng immediately used White Tiger Body Barrier, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, and White Tiger Demon God Transformation. Relying on his formidable defense, he took the opponent's devastating blow head-on.

When an opponent unleashed their strongest move, it was also when their body was at its weakest. Tang Wutong and Ma Xiaotao made their decision at once and flew respectively toward Fei Yuyan and Shen Ce.

"Light Butterfly God Slash!"

"Phoenix Piercing Cloud Strike!"

An Lengye immediately summoned the Frost Bear, which radiated freezing air, to help Fei Yuyan defend herself. It successfully blocked Tang Wutong's sharp wing-blade attack.

However, Shen Ce was not so fortunate facing a Soul Emperor-level attack alone. Even after exhausting every means at his disposal, he could not block Ma Xiaotao's most powerful single-target piercing attack.

Fortunately, the referee appeared in time and blocked Ma Xiaotao's attack for him. However, that also meant he had been declared eliminated.

An Lengye refused to be outdone. She poured out all her soul power and unleashed her fourth soul skill—Frost Vortex. Its attack instantly spread across the entire arena.

Hot-tempered Ma Xiaotao let out a cold laugh. She had long since thrown Wang Yan's pre-match warning to conceal her strength to the back of her mind.

"Phoenix Meteor Shower!"

Blazing flames roared and fell like a meteor shower. The entire competition stage seemed to be enveloped by a fire phoenix, its scarlet radiance flashing in everyone's eyes.

The Frost Vortex had already been burned away by the flames without a trace. The six remaining Soul Ancestor-level members of Thousand Spirits Academy simply could not withstand Ma Xiaotao's relentless meteor-shower bombardment, and all cried out in misery as the scorching flames burned them.

Clearly, Shrek Academy ultimately won this match, completely crushing their opponents in the second round of the round-robin stage.

The spectator stands had already gained countless male and female fans, all calling out Ma Xiaotao's name.

"Flame Maniac! Flame Maniac! Flame Maniac! Sister Xiaotao, I love you—"

Seeing this, Xu Sanshi, seated in the resting area, could not help saying narcissistically, "When will it be my turn to compete? I want people shouting my name too."

Jiang Nannan looked disdainful and snorted. "Know your limits."

Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly. "Then you can be the first to go up later."

Xu Sanshi gave a roguish smile, seeming to have already devised his battle strategy.

Before long, it was Spirit Pagoda Academy's turn to compete in the second round of the round-robin stage. This time, they faced a team with one Soul King and six Soul Ancestors. The draw had determined one-on-one individual elimination matches.

Huo Yuhao guessed, "I estimate their Soul King will fight in the third match, so you should try to avoid using up too much energy in the first two matches."

Xu Sanshi threw Huo Yuhao a flirtatious wink. "When I'm handling things, you can relax."

Seeing this, Tang Wulin promptly stepped in front of Huo Yuhao and instantly "bounced" Xu Sanshi's flirtatious wink back at him.

Huo Yuhao covered his mouth and chuckled. Wulin was so self-aware, and so practiced at it too.

Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes. "If you don't take down all seven, bring me your head."

Xu Sanshi gave an irreverent salute. "Understood! I guarantee I'll complete the mission."