Flame Fiend Ma Xiaotao

The night passed in the blink of an eye. With the new homeroom teacher now in place, Class 1 of First-Years resumed its regular lessons, and everyone arrived on time.

Perhaps it was because Qian Renxue had been far too stunning some time ago.

The girls in the class knew they could not compete with Qian Renxue in either talent or looks, so they reined in their previously restless thoughts. Quite a few of them quietly shifted their attention to Wang Dong.

Previously, Lu Chen had been too dazzling, completely overshadowing Wang Dong. But now that they thought about it carefully, Wang Dong was outstanding too.

Not only was he handsome and refined, but his Martial Soul was also the Light Goddess Butterfly, and even his Second Soul Ring was Millennium Purple.

Most importantly, Wang Dong did not have a childhood sweetheart like Qian Renxue.

The competitive pressure was much lower.

For a time, Wang Dong became the most sought-after target among the girls in class.

Quite a few girls secretly passed him notes, sent messages, and asked him out, leaving Wang Dong's cheeks flushed and making him unable to sit still.

At the same time, he shot Lu Chen resentful looks.

When he had just been surrounded by all those girls, Lu Chen had simply sat beside him and watched the show.

"Don't look at me like that. You seemed to be enjoying yourself just now."

Lu Chen shrugged and returned the very words Wang Dong had said to him before, word for word.

After hearing that, Wang Dong silently added another mark against Lu Chen. Petty bastard, and he held grudges too.

Just then, the classroom's front door was gently pushed open.

A middle-aged man in a white teacher's robe and glasses slowly walked in.

This middle-aged man was none other than Wang Yan, the new homeroom teacher of Class 1 of First-Years.

Behind him followed an eye-catching fiery-red figure that instantly seized the attention of everyone in the class.

The young woman wore a sharply tailored crimson combat outfit, its hem embroidered with dark golden phoenix patterns. Her fiery-red hair was tied into twin buns, with loose strands falling around her cheeks. Her pale pink eyes seemed to burn with faint flames. She was tall and poised, with straight, well-proportioned legs, and a faintly scorching soul power lingered around her. She was coldly beautiful, yet naturally wild and flamboyant.

Her explosive figure left the boys in the class completely defenseless.

Some of the more thin-skinned boys even lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at the girl in red.

"Who is she? Why are there two teachers?"

"How would I know? She's probably Teacher Wang's disciple or student."

"So big, so sexy. I like her so much."

At the sight of the girl in red behind Wang Yan, quiet discussion broke out across the classroom as everyone guessed at her identity.

Wang Yan stood at the podium, lightly coughed, and called out, "Class!"

However, after Wang Yan's voice fell, the class that had been quietly discussing things instantly became silent, yet not a single person stood up.

All the students turned their eyes in unison toward Lu Chen, who was leaning by the window.

Their eyes were full of expectation as they waited for their class monitor to give the order.

Standing at the podium and seeing this scene, Wang Yan's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and he did not know whether to laugh or cry.

He knew that Lu Chen was highly respected among the first-years, but he had not expected it to be this extreme.

It was only his first day taking over Class 1 of First-Years, and Lu Chen had already stripped him of his authority.

These students gave him no face at all. They recognized only Lu Chen as their uncrowned leader.

The girl in red at his side quietly suppressed a smile at the sight.

It was the first time she had ever seen such a bizarre scene.

A first-year student had actually overshadowed the homeroom teacher and made the entire class listen only to his commands. She could not help but feel intensely curious about Lu Chen.

Sensing the gazes gathering on him throughout the classroom, Lu Chen lightly coughed and calmly said, "Stand."

The moment his voice fell, the entire class rose in unison. Their neat greeting rang through the classroom. "Hello, Teacher Wang!"

Wang Yan suppressed the helplessness in his heart, cleared his throat, and formally introduced himself. "My name is Wang Yan. My Martial Soul is the Coiling Dragon Staff, and I am a Spirit King. From now on, I will serve as the homeroom teacher of Class 1 of First-Years and be responsible for our theoretical courses."

"Besides that, the academy has specially assigned an assistant instructor for combat training to our class. From now on, she will lead all your practical combat training."

With that, Wang Yan turned slightly and gave the girl in red beside him a meaningful look.

The girl in red stepped forward. Her scarlet combat outfit emphasized her fiery, flamboyant figure, while a faint layer of flame seemed to burn in her pale pink eyes.

Though she was only a few years older than them, she showed none of a young girl's timidity or shyness. She raised her chin slightly, her tone blunt and filled with wild confidence. "My name is Ma Xiaotao. My Martial Soul is the Evil Phoenix, and I am a level 67 battle-type Spirit Emperor. For quite some time to come, I will be in charge of your practical combat training. When the time comes, don't blame my fists if you shrink back during a fight."

As she spoke, Ma Xiaotao cast a somewhat guilty glance at Lu Chen.

This was the method she had spent two days thinking up: approaching Lu Chen as an assistant instructor.

During practical combat training, Lu Chen would definitely use his Ultimate Ice Martial Soul. That would be perfect—she could use that power to suppress the Evil Fire inside her body.

That way, not only would her identity be reasonable, but her excuse would be reasonable too. She would not have to lower her head and beg him to help suppress the Evil Fire in her body.

It was simply killing three birds with one stone.

Wang Yan, standing beside Ma Xiaotao, smiled helplessly. Inwardly, he could only pray that Lu Chen would take care of himself.

When Ma Xiaotao had come to find him yesterday, she had told him about this matter. He had refused without even thinking about it.

He also knew what Ma Xiaotao wanted: nothing more than to use Lu Chen's Ultimate Ice to suppress the Evil Fire within her.

But given Ma Xiaotao's strength, he had no choice but to yield. Otherwise, Ma Xiaotao truly would have torn his office apart.

The moment Ma Xiaotao finished those few short sentences, the classroom instantly exploded. Sharp gasps echoed one after another.

"My god, level 67? She only looks a few years older than us!"

"Isn't that talent way too absurd?"

"We're all Spirit Masters and Grand Spirit Masters, while she's already a Six-Ring Spirit Emperor. The gap is way too huge..."

Scattered exclamations continuously rose from between the desks. Everyone looked at Ma Xiaotao with shock written all over their faces.

Ma Xiaotao was the youngest Spirit Emperor they had ever seen.

But only a few seconds later, several well-informed students cried out, "I know who she is!"

"She's Flame Fiend Ma Xiaotao of the Shrek Seven Devils, and she's also the captain of the Shrek Seven Devils!"

As soon as those words were spoken, the shock in the classroom intensified even further.

Shrek's Inner Court was already a place beyond everyone's reach, let alone the Shrek Seven Devils of the Inner Court!

They represented the highest standard of teaching at Shrek Academy!

Hearing that Ma Xiaotao was the current captain of the Shrek Seven Devils, Lu Chen lightly tapped his fingertips against the desk.

"Her surname is Ma, and her Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix. Could she be a descendant of that little fatty Ma Hongjun?"

Before transmigrating, he had not only encountered the protagonist group; he had crossed paths with them once or twice.

Back when he was short on Gold Soul Coins and happened to be in Suotuo City, he had gone to the Soul Duel Arena there.

And in that visit, his first opponent had been Dai Mubai, one of the Shrek Seven Devils.

That little fatty had watched from below the stage and personally witnessed how badly Dai Mubai had been beaten by him.

But Lu Chen did not know that battle had directly left Ma Hongjun with psychological trauma. For a long time afterward, Ma Hongjun had resisted going to the Soul Duel Arena.

"Then her target should be me."

Lu Chen continued to think.

The status of students from Shrek's Inner Court was generally higher than that of ordinary Outer Court instructors.

Not to mention that she was the current captain of the Shrek Seven Devils. How could someone with that status possibly come to serve as a practical combat assistant instructor for a class that had not even participated in the Freshman Assessment?

The only explanation was that she had targeted him from the beginning!

The Evil Fire Phoenix was a very special Martial Soul. After its awakening, Evil Fire would arise within the body and require regular release.

Otherwise, its wielder would lose control and might even burn to death.

Therefore, she needed someone like him, someone with an Ultimate Ice Martial Soul, to suppress the Evil Fire in her body.

"Hey, stay farther away from her from now on."

Just then, Wang Dong's voice sounded by Lu Chen's ear.

From the very first moment he saw Ma Xiaotao, he had disliked her.

He did not know why. It was simply a feeling.

He had disliked her at first sight.

"Mm."

Lu Chen softly nodded in response.

His guess had been established. All that remained was to verify what their assistant instructor's real purpose was.

At the podium, Wang Yan waited until the discussion gradually died down before raising a hand to quiet them and speaking gently. "Assistant Ma, for this class, just find a seat and sit down to listen."

Ma Xiaotao nodded faintly. Her gaze quickly swept across the classroom seats before locking onto an empty seat not far behind Lu Chen.

This spot would allow her to observe Lu Chen perfectly.

With that, Ma Xiaotao walked toward the empty seat behind Lu Chen.

After sitting down, she still occasionally cast her gaze toward Lu Chen by the window.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen had already immersed himself in Wang Yan's lesson.

Ten thousand years ago, he had never undergone systematic theoretical study as a Spirit Master.

Although Wang Yan's strength was a little lacking, his understanding of Martial Souls was quite good.

Lu Chen had benefited greatly from this lesson.

Lu Chen was considering whether the inherited combat techniques of the Cloth could be applied to Hyorinmaru.

For example, using the Light-Speed Fist as a foundation to develop techniques such as the Light-Speed Slash and Atomic Thunderbolt Light-Speed Slash.

If that was possible, his combat strength could rise by another level.

"All right, that's it for today's class. You're dismissed."

"Remember to go directly to the training grounds tomorrow. We'll begin practical combat training."

After class ended, Wang Yan arranged the plan for tomorrow's lesson.