Yan Shaozhe's Calculations

"So this is how a genius of the Shrek Inner Court treats a guest..."

Faced with the savage force that threatened to turn the entire hall into a sea of flames, Dongfang Hao showed not a trace of panic. A mocking smile slowly tugged at his lips. He was no soft persimmon for others to squeeze!

Boom!

In the split second before Ma Xiaotao's flame-wreathed hands reached his chest, a supreme chill beyond description erupted without warning from deep within his body!

Dongfang Hao had unleashed less than thirty percent of his Divine Ice Martial Soul's power, keeping the rest in reserve. Yet that cold, fiercer even than Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice, still produced a terrifying phenomenon that made heaven and earth tremble.

Crack! Crack!

The two opposing powers collided. But the expected earth-shaking explosion never came. The dark-red Phoenix Evil Fire, so fierce and unstoppable a moment ago, failed to last even half a breath against the bone-white chill. It was visibly extinguished and frozen!

Piercing cold spread from the point of contact. Crystal ice several inches thick shot across the floor like a host of ice pythons, turning everything within several yards into an absolute domain of deep-blue ice!

A cold wind howled. In an instant, the spacious pavilion hall plunged from scorching heat to freezing cold!

"What?!"

Ma Xiaotao shuddered mid-charge. The violent scarlet in her eyes gave way to horror. She could clearly feel the Evil Fire within her recoil before that cold as though it had met the king of all beasts, forced back into the depths of her Martial Soul!

Behind her, Yan Shaozhe stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His refined face froze, his pupils shrank to pinpoints, and disbelief filled his eyes. Even the hands hidden in his sleeves trembled violently.

This cold... it can freeze flames, and it's even suppressing the flow of Soul Power between heaven and earth?!

Stormy waves surged through Yan Shaozhe's heart. "Ultimate Ice... this is genuine Ultimate Ice! It's even more domineering, even purer, than any Ultimate Ice recorded in the ancient texts!"

"That feels so good..."

As Yan Shaozhe lost his composure, Ma Xiaotao, standing at the heart of the cold, let out an enticing moan. The burning pain that had tormented her for countless days and nights vanished, replaced by a cool clarity she had never known!

It was as though someone dying of thirst in an endless desert had suddenly been plunged into an icy mountain spring. Every pore in her body seemed to open in bliss.

"Ultimate... Ultimate Ice! It's real!"

Ma Xiaotao's eyes shone with delight, her lovely face radiant with joy. Far from retreating, she seized her chance and lunged forward!

Whoosh!

Her long, burning-hot hands swept through the lingering mist and clamped around Dongfang Hao's wrists. Desperate to draw in the pure cold radiating from him, she leaned forward until her alluring body pressed against his without the slightest restraint!

Her full breasts struck his chest through her thin, close-fitting clothes. Her long legs, weakened by relief and yearning, instinctively wound around his lower body. A rich, maidenly fragrance mingled with her heated breath and washed over him.

"Mmm... don't stop... give me more..."

A tempting flush spread across Ma Xiaotao's beautiful face. Her eyes half-closed, she nestled against Dongfang Hao like a puddle of mud, her mind hazy with pleasure. Her hands wandered over his chest and waist.

Feeling the remarkable softness in his arms, Dongfang Hao's lips twitched. A teasing glint crossed his Golden Eyes. The Evil Fire Phoenix's backlash of desire truly lived up to its name. Once she got her hands on someone, she was like a ravenous beast. Anyone with less self-control would have been consumed by desire on the spot.

But a slight tremor of the Divine Ice Soul Power within Dongfang Hao dispersed every wave of heat. He let the provocative woman rub against him while his expression remained perfectly calm.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, Yan Shaozhe emerged from his initial shock and was swept up in boundless joy!

"Hahaha! Heaven has not forsaken Shrek! Heaven has not forsaken my disciple Xiaotao!"

Yan Shaozhe clapped his hands and laughed, a great weight falling from his heart. In the face of such ironclad proof, words were pointless. This young man was the sole key to saving Ma Xiaotao's life—and perhaps taking her even further!

Overjoyed, Yan Shaozhe turned to Cai Mei'er with warmth and gratitude in his eyes. "Mei'er! You've rendered a service beyond measure! If you hadn't brought this young fellow back to Sea God Island, Xiaotao might truly have been doomed beyond redemption!"

A grateful smile on his refined face, Yan Shaozhe stepped forward and reached for Cai Mei'er's soft, fair hand.

Yet at this unprecedented show of affection from him, Cai Mei'er's curvaceous body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Just before his hand touched hers, Cai Mei'er shifted half a step back. Her expression remained calm as she slipped both hands into the wide sleeves of her dark-green robe, avoiding his touch.

"Hm?!"

Yan Shaozhe's outstretched hand froze in midair, surprise crossing his face. Cai Mei'er had always harbored grievances against him. Ordinarily, an affectionate gesture from him would have delighted her. Why was she acting so strangely today?

Yan Shaozhe could not have known what complicated emotions churned within Cai Mei'er.

You're cold as ice to me most days. Now that I've brought back the one person who can save your prized disciple, you suddenly remember I'm your wife...

Cai Mei'er bit her lower lip, self-mockery and resentment flickering in her eyes. She still could not drive from her mind the heat and wildness of the young man in black when he had buried his face against her chest above the clouds. The memory left her body burning. By comparison, the middle-aged man before her—whom she had known for decades, yet who always spoke down to her as if lecturing her—stirred a new trace of resistance and aversion deep within her.

Cai Mei'er was accustomed to holding a high position, however. After a deep breath, her expression quickly turned cool. "Dean Yan, you're too kind. I watched Xiaotao grow up as well. Helping her is my duty, hardly something worthy of such praise."

Dean Yan?

At that distant form of address, Yan Shaozhe frowned. Something about Cai Mei'er seemed odd today, but Ma Xiaotao's condition mattered most. He did not dwell on it. He withdrew his hand awkwardly and gave a dry cough.

"Ahem... Mei'er, we may not know where this boy comes from, but with Ultimate Ice of a kind that appears only once in ten thousand years, he's a treasure Shrek cannot afford to lose!"

Yan Shaozhe looked toward Dongfang Hao, whom Ma Xiaotao still held tightly in her arms. His eyes gleamed. "No ordinary instructor is qualified to teach such an exceptional talent. Why don't you take him as your final disciple?"

"That way, we can give him the finest resources. And once he's on Sea God Island, he'll have every reason to stay at Xiaotao's side and use his Ultimate Ice to resolve the flaw in her Martial Soul once and for all!"

"If affection grows between them and they marry, all the better for Shrek! What do you think, Mei'er?"

The more Yan Shaozhe spoke, the more excited he became. He could not hide the light in his face.

But as Cai Mei'er listened to his confident plans, a strange, bitter helplessness touched her lips.

She glanced at the black-clad young man in Ma Xiaotao's arms. His expression was indifferent, his eyes full of mockery. Cai Mei'er took a deep breath. "Shaozhe, I'm afraid you're celebrating too soon..."

"I already did everything I could to invite him, but..."

Cai Mei'er paused. A bitter smile appeared on her mature, graceful face as she told the astonished Yan Shaozhe, one word at a time, "This young man... has no intention of joining Shrek Academy!"

"He doesn't want to join Shrek?!"

Yan Shaozhe's refined face went rigid. He looked utterly bewildered, as though he had heard a tale from the Arabian Nights.

"Mei'er, surely you're talking nonsense?!"

Yan Shaozhe swept his sleeve sharply, disbelief and undisguised pride filling his voice. "There are tens of millions of Soul Masters in this world. Which of them wouldn't consider entering Shrek an honor that brings glory to their ancestors?! This boy's Ultimate Ice makes him a monstrous talent, certainly. But does he not know that only Shrek's ten thousand years of accumulated strength and the guidance of Sea God Pavilion's elders can help him reach the very pinnacle?!"

"How could he refuse? What right does he have to refuse?!"

Seeing Yan Shaozhe's outrage—as though Shrek's appeal were self-evident and the refusal a personal insult—Cai Mei'er shook her head helplessly and sighed inwardly.

Years at the summit of the continent's foremost power had driven Yan Shaozhe's arrogance deep into his bones. He had no idea that, in the eyes of certain true monsters, Shrek's illustrious name was worth nothing at all.

"Shaozhe, put those arguments aside..."

Cai Mei'er bit her red lip, then repeated Dongfang Hao's earlier words with a bitter smile:

"He said... Shrek's reputation over the past ten thousand years comes from using the claim of being 'the continent's finest' to gather young talents who were already extraordinary, then putting them through brutal selection like raising venomous creatures in a jar. Shrek did not make those geniuses. Their achievements were what gilded Shrek's name!"

Boom!

Every word struck Yan Shaozhe's heart like a heavy hammer!