"Elder Lin, calm down." Elder Song stood beside the furious Elder Lin, soothing him.
Mu En glanced at Yan Shaozhe, who had drawn his neck into his shoulders, and said helplessly:
"Shaozhe, you're almost a hundred years old. Use your brain before you act."
Yan Shaozhe hastily nodded. "I understand, Teacher."
Mu En gave him a long look, feeling that this scoundrel would bring trouble down on Shrek again before long.
"I hope you really do."
Then he turned to the elders present and said with a genial smile:
"When dealing with the 'Dark Web' organization, just follow Huiqun's approach. Neither befriend them nor antagonize them."
The elders all nodded to show they understood.
Just as they thought today's meeting was over, Mu En spoke again:
"Oh, right. Stop targeting that young woman with the six-winged angel martial soul. A bunch of fellows nearly two hundred years old, picking on a girl in her twenties-have you no shame?"
Several of the elders present flushed at those words.
Xuan Zi said somewhat indistinctly, "Mu En, this is the six-winged angel we're talking about, a remnant of Spirit Hall. We can't let our guard down."
Mu En glanced at Xuan Zi. "You want to suppress someone who has spent six years tirelessly eliminating Evil Soul Masters just for that?"
Xuan Zi waved a hand. "Why do we need her to eliminate Evil Soul Masters? Don't we have the Shrek Inspection Corps? She's stealing our work."
Bang!
Mu En slammed his hand against the table and glared furiously at Xuan Zi.
"Has the Shrek Inspection Corps eliminated as many Evil Soul Masters in a hundred years as she has in one? And you, Xuan Zi! You loaf around all day! Every day, you're eating those damned chicken legs of yours,
"That young woman in her twenties has already killed a Titled Douluo Evil Soul Master! What about you? As the so-called deputy commander of the Shrek Inspection Corps, can you kill even one Soul Douluo Evil Soul Master in an entire year?"
Seeing Mu En erupt in anger, the elders fell silent as cicadas in winter.
Xuan Zi trembled in fright as well, and the large chicken leg in his hand dropped to the floor.
He muttered, "It's not as though I've actually done anything to that little angel..."
Mu En calmed himself a little and said gravely:
"If you really did anything to her, I would be the first to cripple you. Do you know how powerfully the six-winged angel martial soul counters Evil Soul Masters? With seven rings, she fought her way out of a group of Titled Douluo Evil Soul Masters and even killed one of them. If she's already that strong with seven rings, what happens when she becomes a Titled Douluo?
"Now that we know the Evil Soul Masters have grown into a force to be reckoned with, this young woman with the six-winged angel is even more important. Had I met her a few years earlier, I would have taken her as my disciple.
"So not only must we avoid antagonizing her, we must do our best to befriend her. Is that clear?"
Mu En swept his gaze around the room. Every elder it landed on nodded like someone pounding garlic.
They were shocked as well. They had never expected Mu En to place such importance on the wielder of this six-winged angel martial soul.
Xuan Zi spoke again. "If she eliminates all the Evil Soul Masters, won't that make our Shrek Inspection Corps look useless...?"
Mu En asked in puzzlement, "Is it particularly useful?"
Xuan Zi opened his mouth, his aged face turning crimson, but had no idea what to say.
Mu En waved a hand. "Enough. Xuan Zi, stop loafing around all day. I'll give you a year. Don't come back until you've killed a Titled Douluo Evil Soul Master out there."
Xuan Zi wanted to say something else, but that stern gaze made him shut his mouth and nod in agreement.
"All right. Meeting adjourned."
Only then did everyone dare draw a deep breath before slowly filing out of the Sea God Pavilion.
Once everyone had left, Mu En sighed again.
"I'll have to live a few more years. I absolutely cannot let this bunch of crooked melons and cracked dates ruin Shrek..."
When Ma Xiaotao woke, her head was throbbing terribly, leaving her groggy and dazed.
Although the swelling in her cheeks had subsided, they still burned painfully.
"What exactly happened? I think there was someone with white hair..."
Ma Xiaotao pressed a hand to her forehead and murmured softly.
Before long, she recalled the gist of what had happened.
It seemed her evil fire had erupted, and she had nearly hurt her juniors from the Outer Academy. Then a white-haired boy had subdued her...
"Thank goodness I didn't make a terrible mistake..."
Ma Xiaotao patted her ample chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she touched her pretty face, feeling a little annoyed.
That white-haired boy had actually dared to hit her in the face. She had better not find out who he was.
Otherwise, she would make him pay.
Yet for some reason, recalling that scene now gave Ma Xiaotao a strange thrill...
Especially when she thought of those long, slender hands landing on her body... that excitement grew even stronger.
It was as though some sort of trait had awakened...
If that hand hadn't slapped my face, but instead slapped...
Ma Xiaotao shook her head, hurriedly banishing the strange thought from her mind.
Just then, the door opened.
Yan Shaozhe walked in and sighed in relief when he saw that Ma Xiaotao was largely unharmed.
Then he addressed his disciple sternly. "Xiaotao... how many times have I told you? When you feel you can't control your evil fire anymore, stop cultivating.
"You nearly caused a disaster today. If that had happened, not only would you have been punished, I would have been punished too!"
Ma Xiaotao lowered her head and admitted her mistake. "I'm sorry, Teacher. I thought I could suppress it..."
Yan Shaozhe sighed. He actually understood what his disciple was thinking.
The Continental Soul Fighting Tournament for Advanced Soul Master Academies would begin before long, and she was desperate to win that glory for Shrek.
"Don't worry. I will definitely find a way to resolve the evil fire inside you."
Despite saying that, he had little confidence himself.
Ma Xiaotao thanked him first, then asked, "By the way, Teacher, who was the person who finally subdued me?"
Yan Shaozhe's face twitched. Thinking of how that brat had gotten the better of him twice today left him rather displeased.
Still, displeased though he was, he acknowledged that white-haired brat's strength.
Especially after the move he had demonstrated on Sea God Lake today.
Even Yan Shaozhe had been deeply shocked.
"He's a new student, the strongest of this year's intake. Do you need him for something?"
Whatever Ma Xiaotao thought of made her ears redden, but she forced herself to remain composed. "He slapped me several times. Of course I'm going to give him trouble."
Yan Shaozhe gave a dry cough. "Forget about that. Focus on getting your evil fire under control first. Everything else can wait until I find a way to resolve it."
He truly feared that brat would give his precious disciple another round of slaps...
"Teacher, are you worried I can't beat him?"
"Hard to say..."
Before you continue