Hearing Tian Chen say that, Ma Xiaotao grew puzzled. After thinking for quite a while, she asked in confusion.
"Isn't that the case? Every time I cultivate, this evil fire grows stronger. Not only does it stop me from cultivating normally, it makes me endure the agony of lust burning through my body. Worse still, it invades my Sea of Consciousness and makes me lose my reason."
"If it weren't for this evil fire, I would probably have broken through to Soul Saint long ago!"
As she spoke, Ma Xiaotao radiated a powerful sense of frustration.
Tian Chen smiled and said, "Xiaotao, let me ask you something. What is your martial soul called?"
"The Evil Fire Phoenix? What about it?" Ma Xiaotao asked, puzzled.
"Since it's called the Evil Fire Phoenix, why do you always try to remove the evil fire instead of controlling it?"
"As far as I can tell, using the evil fire would at least double your combat strength."
Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao shook her head and said, "Junior, my teacher actually thought of that method too."
"But no matter what they tried, my teacher and the others couldn't make me control the evil fire myself. They could only prevent me from losing control by forcibly suppressing it and shortening my cultivation sessions!"
Tian Chen chuckled at her words. "Xiaotao, just because you at Shrek don't have a way to control evil fire doesn't mean nobody else does!"
Ma Xiaotao frowned, then suddenly thought of something unbelievable. She looked at Tian Chen excitedly. "You mean...?"
Tian Chen smiled faintly, a hint of mystery in his eyes. "You guessed right!"
"You have a method for controlling evil fire!"
A surge of excitement swept through Ma Xiaotao. She sprang to her feet and grabbed Tian Chen's shoulders.
Tian Chen gently held Ma Xiaotao's hand and breathed into her ear. "I do have a method, but what price can you pay in exchange?"
What a joke. He wasn't the sort to believe suffering a loss was a blessing. He would only hold nothing back for his own people. If Ma Xiaotao were his, he might help her.
Feeling the faint breath against her ear, Ma Xiaotao's delicate, snow-white neck rapidly flushed crimson.
Yet she still lifted her head and said, "Whatever the price, I'm willing to pay it!"
"Then I want you, Xiaotao..."
A meaningful smile curled Tian Chen's lips.
"No, absolutely not." Ma Xiaotao shook her head desperately and hurriedly moved a little farther away from Tian Chen.
"Junior, you can ask for anything else, but not that!"
Seeing Ma Xiaotao like this, Tian Chen found her rather cute.
So he said softly, "Xiaotao, why are you so nervous? I haven't finished yet."
"What I meant was that I want you to be my sparring partner, so we can spar regularly."
Hearing this, the crimson on Ma Xiaotao's face instantly faded, replaced by astonishment and embarrassment.
Then her eyes widened, and she stared blankly at Tian Chen, as though unable to believe what she had just heard.
"A sparring partner? You want me to be your sparring partner?" Ma Xiaotao sounded torn between laughter and tears, and her tension instantly eased.
She was a Soul Emperor powerhouse. Unleashing her full strength, she could even hold off a Soul Saint for a short time, yet this little junior wanted her to be his sparring partner.
Ma Xiaotao covered her mouth and laughed. "Of course I can be your sparring partner, but you'd better think this through, little junior. I'm not Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, or Zhou Yi. If you want me to help train you, you'd better prepare yourself!"
Ma Xiaotao's smile stirred something in Tian Chen's heart, but he quickly regained his composure.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone teasing. "Senior, I'm not someone who admits defeat easily. I know you're very strong, but I have abilities of my own."
In truth, asking Ma Xiaotao to be his sparring partner was also a way to spend more time with her. Given enough time, he wouldn't have to worry about failing to win her over.
"All right! Junior, it's settled, then. But what exactly is this method you mentioned for controlling my evil fire?"
"You'll find out in a moment," Tian Chen said mysteriously.
They went to the front desk, rented a room at the inn from the attendant, and entered it together.
As soon as they stepped inside, Ma Xiaotao said impatiently, "Tian Chen, hurry and begin!"
Tian Chen nodded, and a staff whose entire body blended black, white, and gold appeared in his hand.
Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao drew a deep breath and slowly nodded, her expression solemn.
"Xiaotao, relax your mind. Don't resist." Then, just as he had done when cultivating with Tang Ya, Tian Chen outlined a magic array with his staff before drawing a mark with Undead Magic. The final step was to draw all the evil fire into it.
Unlike the time with Tang Ya, Electrolux wanted to test Tian Chen's control over his Holy Necromancer martial soul, so Tian Chen performed the procedure himself rather than having Electrolux do it.
But Ma Xiaotao's evil fire was so violent that drawing it into the Undead Mark burned away almost all her clothes, exposing a great deal of her body.
Tian Chen's eyes widened at the sight, and he hurriedly turned his head away.
An hour later, all the evil fire was finally stored within the Undead Mark. After all, Ma Xiaotao was no Tang Ya; there was a considerable amount of evil fire inside her.
Once it was over, Ma Xiaotao slowly opened her eyes and summoned a wisp of phoenix evil fire into her hand.
She could now clearly feel that the fire was no longer scorching and violent as it had been before. Instead, she could freely control it according to her wishes.
Her heart filled with delighted surprise, and she couldn't help murmuring, "It worked... I really did it!"
Only upon hearing her voice did Tian Chen cautiously turn his head back. Seeing the joy overflowing on Ma Xiaotao's face, he breathed a sigh of relief as well.
However, when he saw the disheveled state she was in, his face flushed slightly.
But immersed in her joy, Ma Xiaotao's mind was filled with excitement, and she failed to notice her exposed body at all.
She rushed forward excitedly and pulled Tian Chen into her arms, thanking him over and over. "Thank you, little brother Tian Chen, for freeing me from the torment of evil fire. I really don't know how to repay you!"
Damn... charging into me with those balls.
Feeling the surging waves against his chest and Ma Xiaotao's fair skin, Tian Chen felt a warm trickle slowly emerge from his nose.
Uh... a nosebleed.
After that brief burst of excitement, Ma Xiaotao gradually calmed down. Seeing Tian Chen's expression and his nosebleed, she lowered her head and looked at the tiny amount of clothing she had left.
Her pretty face instantly turned scarlet. She hurriedly released Tian Chen and shouted, "Turn around! Don't look, or I'll beat you up!"
Tian Chen whipped his head away almost instantly. He feared he would lose too much blood if he kept looking.
Ma Xiaotao took a red dress out of her Soul Tool and quickly put it on.
"All right, you can turn around now!" Tian Chen slowly turned his head, traces of blood still lingering on his face.
Seeing them, Ma Xiaotao said in embarrassed annoyance, "Don't think about what just happened, you little rascal."
Hearing Ma Xiaotao's words, Tian Chen hurriedly nodded, doing his best to look a little more composed.
He gently wiped the blood from his face with his hand and smiled awkwardly. "Senior, it was only an accident just now..."
Ma Xiaotao glared at him, her tone reproachful. "And you still claim you didn't do it on purpose! You little rascal, all you know is how to take advantage."
Although she said that, a hint of a smile remained on her face. Clearly, she wasn't truly angry.
"Senior, I really didn't do it on purpose. The evil fire was too violent just now. I never expected something like that to happen."
Tian Chen scratched his head.
Watching his embarrassed expression, Ma Xiaotao found him rather cute and couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"All right, all right, I know you didn't do it on purpose. But if something like this happens again, I won't let you off." Ma Xiaotao raised her fist threateningly.
Tian Chen hurriedly raised his hand and promised.
"All right, now that we're finished, I should return to the inner court. Keep this badge. If anything happens at the academy, or you want to come find me for a spar, you can use it."
Tian Chen accepted the badge and said, "Thank you, senior. That's really thoughtful of you."
With that, Ma Xiaotao turned and left, her figure gradually disappearing into the distance.
Tian Chen carefully put the badge away, then opened his left hand and took out a white Soul Ring.
Next, he opened his right hand and took out the Emperor-Slaying Ghost Blood Blade.
Sensing the compatibility between the Emperor-Slaying Ghost Blood Blade and the Soul Ring, Tian Chen was instantly delighted.
"Wonderful! I can finally obtain my fourth Soul Ring. Let's see what sort of soul skill this Evil Fire Phoenix Soul Ring can give me."
As he spoke, Tian Chen slipped the Soul Ring onto the Emperor-Slaying Ghost Blood Blade and poured energy into it to increase its age.
Before you continue