Yan Shaozhe's Fury (Please Keep Reading)

"Insolent! Arrogant! Ignorant brat!"

Yan Shaozhe's face turned livid with rage. A terrifying surge of vast, powerful Soul Power nearly burst from his body beyond his control.

Never had he imagined that this boy, who looked barely into his teens, would dare tear away the fig leaf Shrek Academy had kept in place for ten thousand years, so openly and without mercy!

Worse still, Yan Shaozhe knew the boy's words, however cutting and harsh, had struck the nail squarely on the head!

In that instant, all his admiration for Dongfang Hao's talent turned completely on its head, becoming a chilling urge to kill the ant who had dared defy him to his face!

"What a sharp-tongued little beast!"

Yan Shaozhe's eyes darkened frighteningly. He stared Dongfang Hao down and barked, "If you think so little of Shrek Academy, what are you doing on Sea God Island?! Did you come here just to make a fool of me?!"

Faced with the overwhelming pressure of a Super Douluo, Dongfang Hao did not so much as lift an eyelid. Cai Mei'er, however, hurried a step forward to stand between them and snapped with a frown:

"Shaozhe! Rein yourself in! I went to great trouble to bring him here to save Xiaotao!"

"I've already promised him that if he helps Xiaotao overcome the backlash from the Evil Fire within her, I'll let him enter and leave the Treasure Appraisal Fair as he pleases. And... I'll let him choose three priceless treasures from its top floor, free of charge!"

"What?! Three treasures of his choosing?!"

At the terms Cai Mei'er had offered, Yan Shaozhe's already livid face twitched sharply, and his chest heaved.

Every treasure on the Treasure Appraisal Fair's top floor was worth a fortune. Even Inner Court core disciples who performed great deeds were, at most, awarded a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone or a high-grade Soul Tool—and such rewards were already extravagant. Yet this boy had done nothing and demanded three for free!

He was treating Shrek Academy like a fat sheep to be fleeced!

But when Yan Shaozhe looked at Ma Xiaotao, trapped in the agony of the Evil Fire and clinging tightly to Dongfang Hao just to preserve a shred of consciousness, the violent Soul Power raging through him seemed to lodge in his throat. He could not vent it.

He could certainly crush this brat, who knew neither heaven nor earth, into pulp with one palm strike. But what then? With the Evil Fire inside Xiaotao already running wild, who else in the world could suppress it?!

"Fine... Very fine!"

Yan Shaozhe gritted his teeth, his expression dark. He was the esteemed head of the Martial Soul Department and a Sea God Pavilion Elder. When had a wet-behind-the-ears brat ever forced him into such a stifling position?

But for Ma Xiaotao's life, he could only swallow his fury whole!

"Mei'er, you caused this trouble. Deal with it yourself!"

Knowing he might strike out in anger if he stayed a moment longer, Yan Shaozhe swept his broad sleeve aside. Unwilling to remain even half a second more, he became a furious golden streak and shot away through the air!

Watching Yan Shaozhe's somewhat disheveled figure disappear, Cai Mei'er sighed helplessly and rubbed her throbbing temples.

Shrek was accustomed to looking down on everyone. Now that they were the ones asking for help, being led by the nose felt unbearably stifling.

With Yan Shaozhe gone in a huff, the atmosphere in the center of the hall quietly turned strange and intimate.

Ma Xiaotao lay draped over Dongfang Hao like a boneless water snake, most of her alluring body limp in his arms. Nourished by the intense cold, the savagery had faded from her beautiful face, replaced by a languid look bordering on rapture.

Her long red hair spilled loose, and her eyes were half-lidded. She could even make out the distinctly masculine scent of the young man in black, mingled with that sacred chill. Every meridian scorched by the Evil Fire seemed to drink it in greedily.

"Mmm... So cold... Feels so good..."

Unconsciously, Ma Xiaotao wrapped her warm arms tightly around Dongfang Hao's neck, as though she meant to press herself into him. The full, mature curves of her chest pressed against him.

Feeling her against him, Dongfang Hao raised an eyebrow. But his composure far surpassed that of an ordinary boy. Rather than lose himself in the moment, he placed two fingers against Ma Xiaotao's smooth, slender neck and, with a little force, pushed her alluring face and its fragrant breath away.

"Senior Ma, please have some restraint."

A faint, ambiguous smile touched Dongfang Hao's lips:

"I came here for a transaction that benefits us both. If you want my Ultimate Ice to counteract your Evil Fire, you'll have to follow the rules. You don't get what I have for free."

At the boy's cool words, Ma Xiaotao's body stiffened slightly. Her mind cleared.

When she realized she had been hanging all over a boy she had only just met, even letting him feel the fullness of her chest, her fair face flushed hot with embarrassment and anger!

She was Ma Xiaotao, the famed "Flame Maniac" of the Inner Court. Which Inner Court student failed to treat her with respect and give her a wide berth? Yet today, a boy younger than her had treated her like part of a transaction and told her, with a straight face, to "have some restraint"?!

"You little bastard... You think I'm eager to take advantage of you?!"

Ma Xiaotao ground her teeth. Firelight rose again in her eyes, and her chest heaved dramatically with anger.

"Xiaotao, don't be rude!"

Seeing Ma Xiaotao's temper flare, Cai Mei'er hurried over with light steps and separated them, her elegant, mature face stern.

"Dean Cai..."

Ma Xiaotao bit her lower lip, looking aggrieved. Then she glanced around the empty hall and asked in confusion, "Where's my teacher? Why did he leave?"

An uneasy look crossed Cai Mei'er's eyes. She turned her head away and answered vaguely, "Your teacher... had urgent academy business to handle at the Sea God Pavilion, so he left first. I can look after things here."

Seeing Cai Mei'er avoid her gaze and sensing the traces of Yan Shaozhe's violent Soul Power still lingering in the hall, quick-witted Ma Xiaotao understood at once.

Her teacher had probably been so enraged by this black-clad boy—who looked harmless but had a razor-sharp tongue—that he had stormed off!

At that thought, Ma Xiaotao's gaze toward Dongfang Hao grew stranger and more complicated. Among Shrek Academy's younger generation, he might truly be the first in ten thousand years to infuriate Yan Shaozhe like that!

"Deputy Dean Cai."

Dongfang Hao stood with his hands behind his back, his deep eyes resting on Cai Mei'er. "Dean Yan has left. Does our earlier agreement still stand?"

Cai Mei'er drew a deep breath to steady herself and nodded firmly. "Rest assured. I may be a woman, but my word carries weight. If you can completely suppress Xiaotao's Evil Fire, you'll have your three treasures from the Treasure Appraisal Fair. Even if I must pay for them myself, I won't go back on my word!"

"Good. Straightforward." Dongfang Hao smiled faintly.

"If it's a transaction..."

Ma Xiaotao gave a cold snort. Her eyes fixed on Dongfang Hao, and a flash of resolve and challenge crossed her beautiful face. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's begin!"

At her words, Dongfang Hao's eyes flickered. He gave Cai Mei'er, who stood awkwardly nearby, an enigmatic look and shrugged:

"To suppress a backlash this deep in her Martial Soul, I'll need to bare everything and work closely through her meridians... Deputy Dean Cai, it might not be appropriate for you to stay."

"Bare... everything?!"

At those blunt, suggestive words, Cai Mei'er's dignified face flushed red to the ears like a ripe peach. Even her pale, slender neck turned pink!

How could she miss the teasing implication? And with a young man and woman alone together, their clothes in disarray as he suppressed the Evil Fire, it would be mortifying for her, an elder, to remain!

"You... you two... I'll stand guard outside the Pavilion!"

Cai Mei'er shot Dongfang Hao an embarrassed, indignant glare. Her body trembled, her robe fluttering as she hurried from the hall almost as though fleeing. She pulled the heavy doors firmly shut behind her.

Bang!

With the doors closed, only Dongfang Hao and Ma Xiaotao remained in the spacious, empty hall.

Without an elder present to restrain her, the last trace of shyness on Ma Xiaotao's beautiful, fierce face finally gave way to a fiery wildness!

"You little bastard. Since you keep calling this a transaction with rules..."

Ma Xiaotao sneered. Red light blazed in her eyes as she stepped forward on long, shapely legs. Under Dongfang Hao's intent gaze, she seized the tight red outfit at her chest with both hands!

Riiip!

With a sharp sound of tearing cloth, the taut red garment fell open, revealing a dazzling expanse of pale skin and the full curves barely contained by a strip of black satin!

A terrifying wave of violent heat surged from Ma Xiaotao's body as she threw herself at Dongfang Hao and knocked him down!

"Then today... I won't hold back in the slightest!"

Her long legs coiled around Dongfang Hao's waist like snakes. Ma Xiaotao leaned down until her beautiful face was close to his, her red lips curling into a fierce, untamed smile as she ground her teeth and growled:

"Give me every last bit of the cold inside you!!"