The fiery-red figure strode straight through the corridor of the freshman teaching building. Several freshmen she passed shrank toward the corners under the pressure of her presence.
Others recognized the Inner Court badge on her chest and hurriedly pulled their oblivious companions aside to clear the way.
When the woman stopped at Class Nine's classroom door, Mu Jin was still teaching the students about Shrek Academy's ten thousand years of glory.
Perhaps sensing the scorching heat in the air, Mu Jin turned his head and saw the fiery-red figure standing at the door.
"Ma Xiaotao?"
Mu Jin froze slightly, a somewhat puzzled expression appearing on his face.
"What is an Inner Court student like you doing here at our Freshman Class Nine?"
After saying that, he seemed to think of something and looked belatedly toward Xue Chen, who was dozing in the back row.
Although the Outer Court and Inner Court were like two different worlds, as a teacher, Mu Jin naturally recognized Ma Xiaotao, the genius who had once represented Shrek Academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament.
He also knew a little about the problems with Ma Xiaotao's body.
"Teacher Mu Jin, sorry for the interruption."
Ma Xiaotao's tone was fairly polite, but her long, beautiful legs had already carried her into Class Nine's classroom.
"I'm just here to find someone."
She also noticed Mu Jin's gaze, and her phoenix eyes followed it to the last row.
"Is it him?"
"Yes, him."
Mu Jin lightly bit his lip and nodded somewhat helplessly.
Although he was an Outer Court teacher, he fell far short of this Inner Court student, Ma Xiaotao, in both status and strength.
"Thank you, Teacher Mu Jin."
Ma Xiaotao nodded to Mu Jin, then flashed to Xue Chen's side under the utterly bewildered gazes of Class Nine's students.
"Mm!"
Dozing off, Xue Chen felt a scorching presence suddenly appear beside him and snapped his eyes open.
What greeted his eyes was a red-clad woman whose face was covered by a light veil.
The woman was tall and slender, her long red hair reaching her waist. Her full breasts were tightly confined within her red clothes, and her fair skin faintly glowed with an eerie dark red.
In particular, her phoenix eyes, left uncovered by her veil, somehow always gave off a soul-stealing allure.
Fortunately, her gaze was extremely cold, which slightly suppressed that bone-melting, soul-consuming sensation.
Reaching out with a slightly trembling hand to brush Xue Chen's cheek, Ma Xiaotao felt an icy chill beneath her fingers. Even the Evil Fire within her was suppressed a little.
"This is the feeling... this is the feeling."
Ma Xiaotao narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly, her voice filled with a sense of release she had not felt in a long time.
Xue Chen neither spoke nor dodged, as though he had been frightened.
In truth, from the scorching presence faintly emanating from this woman, he had already guessed who she was.
"Junior brother Xue Chen, I'm your senior sister. My name is Ma Xiaotao."
Seeing Xue Chen staring blankly at her, a blush flashed across Ma Xiaotao's face beneath her veil.
She had never imagined that the Soul Master with the Ultimate Ice attribute would actually be such a handsome boy.
Swallowing, Ma Xiaotao finally continued:
"Teacher sent me to bring you to him. Let's go now!"
With that, without waiting for Xue Chen's answer, she took his right hand and turned into a streak of red light, darting out of Class Nine's classroom.
Mu Jin watched the pair disappear from sight, then looked at Class Nine's dumbstruck students. With a wry laugh, he lightly tapped the blackboard.
"Student Xue Chen... has something else to attend to. Let's continue the lesson!"
Though he said that, having the class's three strongest students absent from the very first lesson of the school year was a first in Mu Jin's teaching career.
Transformed into red light, Ma Xiaotao swept straight across Sea God Lake and landed in the Inner Court with Xue Chen.
The Inner Court's students and guards all knew Ma Xiaotao, so not one dared stop her. At most, they cast curious glances at the boy whose hand she held.
"Senior sister Ma Xiaotao, weren't you taking me to see Teacher?"
Looking at the tranquil island in the middle of the lake, where the energy of heaven and earth far surpassed that of the Outer Court, Xue Chen turned a somewhat puzzled gaze toward Ma Xiaotao.
"Teacher should still be in a meeting right now."
Ma Xiaotao smiled at Xue Chen.
"Come to your senior sister's place first. I'll treat you properly."
See Teacher?
What teacher?
She still had to give Xue Chen's body a thorough examination... no, that wasn't right either. Perhaps Xue Chen would be examining her body!
Looking at Xue Chen's handsome, innocent face, Ma Xiaotao felt that she could barely keep the Evil Fire within her suppressed.
As a direct descendant of Ma Hongjun, one of the Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago, Ma Xiaotao had also inherited her ancestor's Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul.
In fact, because the best traits were passed down, her Evil Fire Phoenix was even more powerful than her ancestor Ma Hongjun's.
Naturally, she had also inherited that unspeakable desire within the Evil Fire.
For some vague reason, Xue Chen suddenly felt a chill down his back.
"Xiaotao, you're back?"
Just as Ma Xiaotao was desperately suppressing the Evil Fire within her, a gentle voice suddenly sounded behind her.
Ma Xiaotao and Xue Chen turned their heads at the same time and saw a woman whose figure and looks were only slightly inferior to Ma Xiaotao's walking toward them.
"Ruoruo!"
Ma Xiaotao greeted the newcomer.
Ruoruo?
Xue Chen searched his mind and immediately recalled the woman's identity.
Han Ruoruo, said to be the Inner Court's number one control-type Soul Master.
"Xiaotao!"
Han Ruoruo quickly walked up to them, but her gaze could not help turning toward Xue Chen, whose hand Ma Xiaotao was holding.
As Ma Xiaotao's close friend, Han Ruoruo had never seen her act so intimately with a member of the opposite sex in all these years.
"This is the first time I've seen you bring an outsider into the Inner Court."
Han Ruoruo's large eyes swept over Xue Chen before she gave Ma Xiaotao a teasing smile.
"Who exactly is this child?"
"He's my teacher's new student."
Blushing at Han Ruoruo's smile, Ma Xiaotao could not help giving her a light shove and saying somewhat reproachfully:
"My teacher asked me to cultivate with him..."
After a pause, the smile slowly faded from her face. She leaned close to Han Ruoruo's ear and lowered her voice.
"No time to talk. I'm having trouble suppressing my Evil Fire."
At those words, Han Ruoruo's expression immediately turned serious as well.
Glancing at Xue Chen, whose hand Ma Xiaotao still held in a tight grip, then at the faint red glow rising in Ma Xiaotao's eyes, Han Ruoruo also spoke quietly:
"Then what should we do?"
"Should I go to the Outer Court and bring Xu Sanshi over... or go find Luochen?"
"No need... I have a way."
Ma Xiaotao lightly bit her lip, then suddenly pushed Han Ruoruo aside and dragged her tool man, Xue Chen, toward her Inner Court dormitory.
"Xiaotao... nothing will happen, will it?"
Watching Ma Xiaotao's retreating figure disappear, a trace of worry flashed through Han Ruoruo's eyes.