Ma Xiaotao's origins

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Chapter 25: Ma Xiaotao's origins

Ma Xiaotao sat in the clearing outside the Sea God Pavilion with Ye Xixuan in her arms, while Yan Shaozhe followed Mu En into the first-floor hall.

Mu En reclined in the wooden chair at the head of the table, his eyes closed and his expression peaceful.

Yan Shaozhe stood beside Mu En, opening his mouth several times only to swallow his words.

Mu En knew his disciple's temperament all too well. With a hint of resignation, he said, "Shaozhe, if you have something to say, say it."

"Teacher, I'm only thinking of what's best for Xiaotao." Yan Shaozhe looked earnest.

"With Xiaotao's talent, she should have achieved far more, but the flaw in her martial soul has held her back. Xixuan possesses both an ultimate dark attribute martial soul and a body of pure light. If he could practice dual cultivation with Xiaotao in the future, he would surely be able to eliminate the evil fire in her martial soul completely. What happened today proved that."

"Is evil fire really Xiaotao's problem?!" Mu En, normally so kindly, rebuked Yan Shaozhe with a severity he rarely showed.

"Ma Hongjun, the Phoenix Douluo of the original Shrek Seven Devils, developed a flaw in his martial soul because it mutated. Is that what happened to Xiaotao?"

"Teacher!" Yan Shaozhe's face drained of color, and he dropped straight to his knees. At this point, how could he fail to understand? His teacher had probably known Xiaotao's true identity all along.

Looking at his disciple, who was as stubborn as a lump of gristle that no knife could cut, Mu En closed his eyes again, disappointed by his failure to do better.

"When you were young, you clung to your feelings and couldn't bear to kill her, so you let her go. Did you ever think how many people across the continent would suffer because of that? Her evil phoenix was one of the greatest talents an Evil Soul Master could possess. Later, you concealed Xiaotao's true identity and brought her back to the academy. Did you ever consider how Mei'er would feel if she learned the truth? You used Ma Hongjun, the Phoenix Douluo and one of Shrek Academy's forebears, to vouch for Xiaotao's identity. Did you ever consider how that dishonored our predecessors?"

"Teacher, I was wrong!" Yan Shaozhe knocked his forehead hard against the floor before Mu En. Though he was over ninety, tears streamed down his face like a child who had done something wrong.

Mu En drew a deep breath and sighed softly. "Is Xiaotao your grandchild with her, or your great-grandchild?"

"I wasn't even twenty when we parted. I later made a point of checking. Xiaotao should be our great-grandchild." Yan Shaozhe froze at Mu En's question, then raised his head and answered truthfully.

A great-grandchild... Mu En murmured inwardly. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Ma Xiaotao and Ye Xixuan outside the Sea God Pavilion, an inscrutable glimmer in his dim eyes.

"What an ill-fated bond. Yet more than two hundred years have passed, and they have long since fallen outside the five degrees of kinship..."

Mu En said nothing more, and Yan Shaozhe remained on his knees.

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In the end, Mu En took the initiative and pronounced Yan Shaozhe's punishment.

"You will temporarily step down as dean of the academy's Martial Soul Department. Let Mei'er take your place. Starting now, you will enter secluded cultivation. You may not emerge until your cultivation has broken through."

"Yes, Teacher! Please take care of yourself." Yan Shaozhe bowed respectfully to Mu En, then turned and resolutely left the Sea God Pavilion.

Outside the Sea God Pavilion, Ma Xiaotao let Ye Xixuan lie comfortably with his head on her lap, completely unaware of what had happened inside. Since she had caused the incident, she naturally had to take responsibility to the end.

Mu En's gaze fell on Ye Xixuan and Ma Xiaotao again. In the end, his heart had softened.

In the past, he would certainly have imposed stricter demands on Yan Shaozhe. After all, Shrek Academy's next generation had been unable to fill the gap left by their elders, and ultimately, Yan Shaozhe would have had to shoulder the academy's great banner.

Now, however, they had Ye Xixuan, and even the flaw in Ma Xiaotao's martial soul might be resolved. There was no longer any need for Yan Shaozhe to take over. They only needed Xuan Zi to serve as Sea God Pavilion Master for a time, until Ye Xixuan and Ma Xiaotao matured.

Moreover, they had the older, steady-tempered Zhang Lexuan to assist the two of them.

Shrek Academy now had a promising future.

By the time Ye Xixuan woke, night had fallen.

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Perhaps because of the Golden Tree, the night sky over Shrek Academy was noticeably clearer than the sky over Shrek City. A silver moon hung high above, and the stars shone brilliantly. Lush vegetation covered the island, where insects chirped and birds called everywhere, filling it with a rich breath of life.

Ye Xixuan opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a pair of exaggerated peaks; only then did he see a breathtakingly beautiful face, cool and alluring without losing its charm.

"Xiaotao?"

"You're awake?" Ma Xiaotao looked down at Ye Xixuan with delight, then spoke somewhat apologetically.

"It's all my fault for losing control earlier. How do you feel now?" Ma Xiaotao's attitude toward others largely depended on how important they were to Shrek Academy. Since Mu En valued Ye Xixuan, she had become much gentler toward him as well.

With Huo Yuhao at the beginning of the story in Ye Xixuan's memories of his previous life, she had simply gone to his door and hauled him off to suppress her evil fire. She had never bothered with so many considerations.

Though Ye Xixuan felt rather frustrated, there was nothing wrong with his body. To his pleasant surprise, after absorbing the evil energy in Ma Xiaotao's martial soul, his soul power cultivation had even broken through to rank twenty-three.

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His greatest gain, however, was not in his soul power cultivation.

"Xiaotao, I think the ages of my soul rings have increased. Both seem to have gained about two hundred years."

"What did you say?!" Ma Xiaotao sprang to her feet with a startled exclamation, her reaction especially dramatic.

"You mean you absorbed the evil energy in my martial soul, and not only did it do you no harm, it actually increased your soul rings' ages by two hundred years?!"

"That seems to be the case." Ye Xixuan checked carefully once more before nodding seriously.

The straightforward Ma Xiaotao's expression changed at once. She reached out with both hands, pinched Ye Xixuan's cheeks, and huffed in annoyance.

"And here I was worrying so much about you! All that worry was for nothing. It turns out absorbing the evil energy in my martial soul doesn't harm you at all-it only benefits you."

But at that thought, she grew excited again and spoke eagerly.

"Then why don't we try again now?"

"Xiaotao, if I use my martial soul's ability to absorb the evil energy inside you, I need to touch your body." Ye Xixuan's expression was frank and innocent, but his words seemed to remind Ma Xiaotao of something. She instinctively pressed a hand against her lower abdomen, her cheeks warming slightly.

"You little brat. Are you trying to take advantage of me?"

Despite her words, Ma Xiaotao showed little bashfulness. She lifted the hem of her red top herself, revealing her fair, soft, beautifully shaped lower abdomen.

"Here, right?"

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"Huh?" Ma Xiaotao's actions instantly left Ye Xixuan at a loss.

"Enough, stop talking nonsense. Hurry up and get started...";psme&;psme&

Ma Xiaotao's origins are something I, Shushu, freely came up with based on my own deductions. The original never gave a definite answer anyway, so taking creative liberties in fan fiction is perfectly normal, right? Everyone, please cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Give Shushu your wholehearted support.

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(End of chapter)