Ma Xiaotao's Scheme

"Whale Rubber?"

At the words from Dongfang Hao's mouth, surprise flashed across Cai Mei'er's dignified, mature face, and her arched brows rose slightly.

Beside her, Ma Xiaotao blinked her long, phoenix-shaped eyes in astonishment. She clearly hadn't expected the boy who had the nerve to extort Shrek Academy to name something that wasn't especially rare as the first treasure he wanted.

Neither woman was an ordinary Soul Master, though. In the blink of an eye, they understood.

Whale Rubber was a treasure produced by whale-type Sea Soul Beasts. It offered tremendous benefits for strengthening one's foundations and tempering the muscles, bones, and blood. But its medicinal power carried a violent aphrodisiac effect that was extremely difficult to suppress, so ordinary Soul Masters rarely consumed much of it. For a monstrous talent seeking to strengthen his body and forcefully raise the age limit of the Soul Rings he could absorb, however, it was potent medicine indeed.

"Little one, if you want to use Whale Rubber to strengthen your body, you're on the right track."

Cai Mei'er studied Dongfang Hao's seemingly slender frame with her beautiful eyes, then said thoughtfully, "But ordinary thousand-year Whale Rubber is hardly a rarity to Shrek. Since you've made such a point of naming it as your first condition... could the Whale Rubber at the Treasure Appraisal Fair be rather old?"

"There's no need to ask about its age, Vice Dean Cai. I'll take a look at it myself when the time comes."

Dongfang Hao clasped his hands behind his back, a faint smile touching his lips as he spoke.

Naturally, he couldn't reveal that the Treasure Gathering Pavilion had mistaken it for an impure thousand-year specimen when it was, in fact, Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue whose power lay hidden within.

If word got out, it would only introduce complications. The proper course was to get it firmly into his own hands, use Huo Yuhao's mouth to "feed" it to him, and trigger a windfall that would yield a hundred-thousand-year specimen shocking enough to shake the world!

"Hehe... What arrogance. You little bastard, that mouth of yours is as hard as the rest of you."

The moment Dongfang Hao finished speaking, a teasing laugh, rich with wildness, rang out beside him.

Ma Xiaotao had just straightened her torn fighting clothes. With a graceful step, she moved boldly to within half a foot of Dongfang Hao, her long, straight legs appearing and disappearing beneath the slits of her robe.

A dangerous half-smile curved her beautiful, untamed face. Looking down at Dongfang Hao, she extended a warm, slender finger and gently lifted the boy's chin. Her red lips parted, and she teased him on a breath of heated fragrance:

"You took every advantage of me just now, and the moment you pull up your pants, you put on the airs of an upright gentleman keeping everyone a thousand miles away?"

Dongfang Hao's gaze remained calm. He gave a cold laugh and, far from backing down, met Ma Xiaotao's fiery eyes without the slightest hesitation as he shot back.

"What? If word got out and those fanatical admirers in the inner court who worship you like a goddess learned that their high-and-mighty, fiery senior sister begged me to cool her down like a bitch... I wonder what they'd think?"

"You...!"

Ma Xiaotao's expression froze. His crude, explicit words left her choking with anger, and flames blazed in her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to flatten the foul-mouthed brat with one palm strike. But when she remembered that exquisite feeling of comfort throughout her body, her fury dwindled to a resentful huff.

"Enough, Xiaotao. Stop fooling around."

Cai Mei'er hurriedly cut off their clash and shot Ma Xiaotao a mildly reproachful look. She then turned to Dongfang Hao and said seriously:

"The Treasure Appraisal Fair is held in the heart of Shrek City. Its doors won't open to guests until night falls and the lanterns are lit. It's still early, so please wait a while. When the Xu Hour arrives, I'll take you there myself."

"In that case, arrange a quiet chamber for me. I expended quite a bit of energy earlier and need to recover." Dongfang Hao nodded slightly. He did not press the matter and spoke in an even tone.

"Come with me."

Cai Mei'er led Dongfang Hao through the pavilion's winding corridors and finally brought him into a secluded chamber rich in spiritual energy and enclosed by several Soundproof Barriers.

Boom.

The heavy stone door slammed shut, leaving only Cai Mei'er and Ma Xiaotao outside.

"Dean Cai, do you truly know nothing about that boy's origins?"

Only after the stone door completely cut off Dongfang Hao's presence did Ma Xiaotao's beautiful face lose its earlier flippancy. In its place came a gravity she had never shown before.

"I met him by chance on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. Aside from knowing that he possesses Ultimate Ice, I know nothing of his background." Cai Mei'er rubbed her brow and shook her head helplessly.

"Dean Cai, whatever it takes, we must find a way to bind him to Shrek's great ship!"

A fervent light flashed in Ma Xiaotao's eyes. She seized Cai Mei'er's hand, her breathing quickening as she said:

"You have no idea how terrifying that boy is! While he was treating my injuries, I tried to use the pressure of my level-sixty-four Soul Power to turn the tables and suppress him completely. But inside him... he was circulating a Heaven-Defying Cultivation Technique of unfathomable profundity!"

"He's only a level-twenty-something Soul Grandmaster, yet he used that extraordinary cold to withstand my pressure and even drew on my Soul Power to advance three levels in succession! With a foundation that monstrous, even the original Shrek Seven Monsters might have been left eating his dust!"

"If we can bring him into Shrek, Shrek will sweep across the world once more!"

Yet in the face of Ma Xiaotao's excited urging, a bitter smile touched Cai Mei'er's lips. She sighed wearily.

"Xiaotao, do you think I don't want that? But this little fellow's standards are frighteningly high. He doesn't think much of us at Shrek at all!"

"He looks down on Shrek?!"

Ma Xiaotao's eyes widened, and she drew a sharp breath, disbelief written across her face. Was there really someone of the younger generation on the Douluo Continent arrogant enough to go that far?!

"Then what do we do?"

Ma Xiaotao bit her lower lip, her eyes full of unwillingness. That blissful, floating sensation of complete release she had felt while cultivating with Dongfang Hao had already lodged in her mind like a maggot burrowing into bone, impossible to shake.

No matter what, she could never accept that boy walking out of her life!

"It's difficult. As difficult as climbing to heaven."

Cai Mei'er shook her head, troubled, and gave a bitter smile. "If he didn't need the rare treasures at today's Treasure Appraisal Fair, he'd probably be thousands of miles away by now. I simply have nothing I can use to make him stay."

"Nothing? Hehe... Dean Cai, as long as a man has a cock, how could he truly be a saint free of all desire?"

Just as Cai Mei'er was at her wits' end, a sly, dangerous smile suddenly spread across Ma Xiaotao's beautiful face.

Her eyes shifted, and she lightly tapped Cai Mei'er's proud, full chest with a slender finger. Giggling, she said, "Didn't you notice? That little bastard put on a righteous act, but his eyes... they kept darting to my chest and thighs!"

"And that's not all... On the way here, when he was pressed against your chest, Dean Cai, I bet he kept his hands busy too, didn't he?"