The secret chamber was silent, with no sense of time passing.
When Ma Xiaotao woke and pulled herself out of her immersed consciousness, she saw the handsome boy lying beside her, and her memories gradually returned.
"I was far too reckless!" Ma Xiaotao patted her forehead, feeling embarrassed and terribly sorry for her young junior.
Back then, even Xu Sanshi, with his higher cultivation, had been caught between ecstasy and agony while suppressing her evil fire, though nothing serious should have gone wrong. This time, she really had been too impatient, leaving her junior unconscious even now. She had to find a way to compensate him.
Not long afterward, Xiao Zi slowly woke, the slick, smooth sensation still lingering in his hands.
He actually felt fine. After all, neither of them had taken that final step; at most, they had bared themselves to each other. Put simply, there had only been some rubbing. Ma Xiaotao had taken the lead throughout, while he had been the one enjoying himself.
Still, to maximize his gains, Xiao Zi put on a weak appearance, as though the evil fire had invaded him and drained his strength, and coughed softly twice.
"You're awake!" Ma Xiaotao hurried over and channeled soul power into him to regulate his breathing. At the same time, she scooped him off the floor and held him in her arms, comforting him gently.
Feeling something, Xiao Zi's body tensed. To avoid giving himself away, he kept up his feeble act. "Senior, I'd feel better if you eased up a little."
Being held felt comfortable, but having his blood stirred by outside stimulation made his body suffer terribly (if you knew, you knew).
Ma Xiaotao loosened her hold a little, letting fresh air flow back in between the peaks. She asked with concern, "Is that better?"
Xiao Zi gave a soft hum. "I'm fine. I'll be all right after some rest."
The Golden Horned Beast turned nothing away. Whether metal or evil fire, he could swallow it all. After absorbing all of Ma Xiaotao's evil fire, Xiao Zi's meridians had not weakened in the slightest. Instead, they felt as though they had been fully opened, with both their soul power capacity and thickness expanded severalfold.
"Senior, could you do me a favor?"
"Of course, little Lezi. I was careless this time. From now on, you're one of mine. If anyone in our academy bullies you, just tell me, and I'll take care of them!" As she spoke, she brandished her delicate fists a few times.
She really was a fierce woman...
Compared with the woman whose thoughts galloped like a wild horse as she made solemn promises, Xiao Zi was much calmer. He asked her to go notify his homeroom teacher, Mu Jin, and request leave for him, while announcing their relationship along the way.
Once she left, his earlier frailty vanished instantly. He sprang to his feet with a kip-up. "This feeling... is absolutely wonderful~"
Those words expressed both the pleasure of the Golden Horned Beast having eaten his fill and a certain indescribable emotion.
His soul power circulated within him, having made considerable progress. He had risen from rank twenty-eight to the peak of rank twenty-nine, putting the Soul Elder realm within reach. As his physique improved, his capacity to withstand soul rings also increased.
Phoenix evil fire could temper the body, and it had refined his physique imperceptibly. After carefully examining himself, Xiao Zi was very satisfied with his current state.
Qian Renxue's soul emerged, watching him with a brooding gaze. "Are you two finished?"
Xiao Zi came back to his senses, his expression immediately turning serious. "The plan is progressing smoothly. I'm sure Yan Shaozhe will hear about this before long!"
Qian Renxue glared at him several times, utterly disdainful of a certain someone's feigned seriousness. Fortunately, she was not unreasonable, and she said nothing for the sake of the bigger picture.
He left the secret chamber to get some fresh air, only for another fragrant breeze to rush toward him. This time, it was not Ma Xiaotao, who had gone to request leave, but Ling Luochеn!
A fellow Inner Court disciple, she was on poor terms with Ma Xiaotao, and the two usually could not stand the sight of each other. News traveled quickly, and Ling Luochеn hurried over from the other side of the Inner Court to check on her junior.
Ever since he had given her the soul bone, their relationship had advanced by leaps and bounds, almost triggering the Douluo Continent's underlying code and plunging them into love.
Xiao Zi existed on a higher level and did not mind, but Ling Luochеn was affected most severely. She rushed up in a single stride. "Lezi, are you all right? Did Ma Xiaotao do anything to you?"
Xiao Zi deliberately put on a complicated expression. "I'm fine. I went to cultivate with Senior Ma earlier. You know how unusual her martial soul is..." He intentionally stopped there, letting her imagination fill in the rest.
"Junior, I've requested leave for you, but the dean wants you to see him!" Ma Xiaotao's voice carried over from afar.
Remembering Yan Shaozhe telling her to consider her lifelong partner made her cheeks burn, until she spotted a familiar figure...
Ling Luochеn's face was frosty. The moment Ma Xiaotao landed, she bombarded her with accusations. "Ma Xiaotao, look at what you've done to our junior!"
With someone else present, Xiao Zi pretended to be pale and feeble, making Qian Renxue call him an outright drama king.
Ma Xiaotao had felt guilty to begin with, but the sight of Ling Luochеn ignited her temper. The two began squabbling right in front of their junior, neither willing to yield.
Unable to endure such a romantic battlefield, Xiao Zi used going to see Yan Shaozhe as an excuse and quickly left Sea God Lake.
The dean's office.
Yan Shaozhe smiled and invited him to sit, then personally poured him a cup of tea. It was an unprecedented first for him to do so for a student.
Ma Xiaotao's evil fire had always been a thorn in his heart. As her age and soul power increased, the problem was becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.
Only when Li Lezi appeared and used the Golden Horned Beast's devouring ability to drain the evil fire did he see a ray of hope. Compared with Huo Yuhao's ultimate ice, this was clearly a little better.
As for how to make Li Lezi willingly help Ma Xiaotao suppress her evil fire without conditions, that question was simple. Utterly confident in his disciple's looks and figure, Yan Shaozhe refused to believe the boy would remain unmoved after spending so much time with her!
Perhaps influenced by his elders, his martial soul was the bright phoenix, yet his conduct was anything but open and upright. It had even affected the development of his state of mind, leaving him stuck at rank ninety-five to this day.
The more he thought about it, the sweeter the prospect became. Even the way he looked at Li Lezi changed. He was no longer looking at an ordinary student, but appraising a future son-in-law, his flickering gaze making him look thoroughly scheming.
Feeling uncomfortable all over beneath that stare, Xiao Zi could not help asking, "Dean, did you want something from me?"
Yan Shaozhe coughed lightly. "I just wanted to see how you were doing, nothing more. I know Xiaotao's evil fire better than anyone. You really have been through a lot. If there's anything you want, just say the word!"
The Golden Tree's origin essence.
Xiao Zi said it inwardly but did not actually voice it. With his current strength and standing, he had no right to come into contact with such a treasure. Not only would he be refused, but he would also arouse suspicion.
Fortunately, he had not intended to obtain everything in one step by resolving Ma Xiaotao's evil fire this time. If it really were that easy, he would not dare accept it anyway.
Ma Xiaotao's position was certainly important, but it was insignificant compared with the Golden Tree. Shrek's leadership could never agree.
He would at least have to improve his strength and enter the Inner Court before he could slowly scheme toward it.
"You flatter me, Dean. I'm only doing my duty. For Shrek's glory, what does resolving a mere bit of evil fire amount to?"
That round of flattery made Yan Shaozhe very happy. Then he opened the door and saw his guest out without giving him so much as a little gift, truly taking freeloading all the way.
Cursing the stingy old bastard in true Zu'an fashion, Xiao Zi turned and left. The moment he stepped through the doorway, he ran into someone else...