After all, they were close sisters who had spent years together day and night. After only a brief hesitation, Han Ruoruo still went to find the only ice-attribute Soul Master in the Inner Court who could barely restrain Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire.
"Luochen, don't you think Xiaotao's acting strange?"
In Ling Luochen's single dorm room, Han Ruoruo's face was filled with worry.
"She can barely suppress her Evil Fire anymore, yet she still won't come to you for help!"
"If the Evil Fire inside her really erupts completely, who in the Inner Court besides our eldest senior sister could suppress her then?"
Ling Luochen said nothing. She simply sat cross-legged on her bed, her coldly beautiful face expressionless.
"Ah, the Evil Fire in Xiaotao's Martial Soul really is troublesome!"
Seeing that Ling Luochen remained silent, Han Ruoruo continued sighing to herself.
"To resolve the backlash from her Evil Fire, we can only suppress it with a stronger ice attribute, or... or Xiaotao can only vent it by doing... that with someone of the opposite sex."
At this point, Han Ruoruo's face could not help reddening a little.
"But Xiaotao is a woman, after all, and she doesn't want to debase herself like that... it really is an impossible knot!"
"A stronger ice attribute..."
Ling Luochen, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke, though for some reason a trace of bitterness had crept into her voice.
"You don't need to worry too much. Perhaps someone among this year's students at our academy has the ultimate ice attribute?"
Whether it was to protect Xue Chen or because Xian Lin'er resented Ling Luochen for tattling and costing her half a student, no one knew.
In any case, Ling Luochen had been forbidden from leaving the Inner Court for the time being, which meant she could not go to the Outer Court to cultivate with Xue Chen.
"The ultimate ice attribute?"
Han Ruoruo froze for a moment, then smiled and shook her head.
"How many years has it been since our academy last had a Soul Master with an ultimate attribute, let alone ultimate ice?"
As though something had occurred to her, Han Ruoruo continued.
"Surely that boy Xiaotao brought into the Inner Court couldn't be a Soul Master with ultimate ice?"
"What boy?"
The instant Han Ruoruo finished speaking, Ling Luochen, who had still been sitting cross-legged on the bed, jolted, immediately stood up, and grabbed Han Ruoruo's shoulders.
"What boy are you talking about?"
Han Ruoruo felt Ling Luochen squeezing her shoulders painfully and could not help struggling.
"Luochen, what are you doing?"
"Ruoruo, I'm sorry."
Only then did Ling Luochen come to her senses and hurriedly release her hands, but she continued pressing her.
"Ruoruo, what did you mean about that boy just now?"
"Xiaotao brought a boy of twelve or thirteen into the Inner Court and said he was her junior brother."
Rubbing her shoulders, Han Ruoruo looked at Ling Luochen in some bewilderment.
"But that boy really is good-looking."
"Yes, he's the best-looking boy I've ever seen!"
By the time Han Ruoruo finished speaking, Ling Luochen had already swept out of the dorm like a gust of wind, leaving Han Ruoruo alone, disheveled in the wind.
The living conditions in Shrek Academy's Inner Court naturally far surpassed those of the Outer Court. Elite Inner Court disciples like Ma Xiaotao, in particular, each had a courtyard of their own.
Looking at the half-dead tree with its wilted yellow leaves by the entrance, then at the undergarments hanging out to dry in the courtyard, Xue Chen's lips twitched slightly.
So Ma Xiaotao liked black.
"Senior sister... this is where you live, isn't it?"
"I'm a boy... isn't it a little inappropriate for me to just go inside?"
"Junior brother, what are you talking about!"
Ma Xiaotao blushed and gave Xue Chen a somewhat reproachful look.
"I only wanted to entertain you in my own home. What are you thinking?"
Xue Chen said nothing, merely looking suspiciously at Ma Xiaotao, whose eyes flickered faintly with red light.
Entertain him?
With what?
How was she going to entertain him?
"I'm your senior sister. Would I possibly hurt you?"
Ma Xiaotao avoided Xue Chen's gaze, walked behind him, and all but pushed him into her dorm.
It happened to be noon, when the sunlight outside was at its brightest, yet once he entered Ma Xiaotao's dorm, the light grew noticeably dimmer.
Bang!
A soft sound rang out as the door closed.
"Senior sister!"
For some reason, although he had already anticipated this, Xue Chen's heart still began pounding uncontrollably.
Heavy breathing sounded in the dim room.
Before Xue Chen could react, a blazing-hot embrace suddenly enveloped him.
Slightly hot, damp breaths struck his neck forcefully, making a fine layer of goosebumps rise over his skin.
"Junior brother, don't be afraid!"
"My Martial Soul is a flawed one called the Evil Fire Phoenix."
Ma Xiaotao's voice was very low, as though she were suppressing something.
"Over the years, as I've kept growing stronger, the Evil Fire inside me has grown increasingly powerful too."
"This Evil Fire can almost compare to ultimate fire, and only ultimate ice can suppress it, so I need your help."
Feeling that astonishing softness, Xue Chen swallowed despite himself.
Although Ling Luochen had done similar things while cultivating with him, Ma Xiaotao clearly had a better figure.
"Senior sister, what do I need to do to help you?"
"You don't need to do anything... you don't need to do anything..."
Ma Xiaotao forcefully turned Xue Chen around and pressed his head firmly against her body.
Softness, searing heat, and an indescribable delicate fragrance enveloped Xue Chen's face in an instant.
Perhaps stimulated by the Evil Fire in Ma Xiaotao's body, Xue Chen's ultimate ice attribute was also activated.
"Whew!"
Ma Xiaotao let out a long breath, carrying the release of something long suppressed.
Unlike Xu Sanshi's half-baked water attribute or Ling Luochen's feeble ice attribute, at this moment Ma Xiaotao felt a coolness she had not experienced in a very long time.
The Evil Fire inside her, which she had been suppressing all along, could finally be vented completely.
Dark red light shone from Ma Xiaotao's body, and the Evil Fire pouring out without restraint burned both her clothes and Xue Chen's into nothingness.
Ma Xiaotao was a Six-Ring Soul Emperor, after all, and her strength far surpassed Xue Chen's current level.
Moreover, Xue Chen's ultimate ice attribute was not innate to his Martial Soul, but had been bestowed through the Snow Empress's Soul Ring.
At this moment, Xue Chen had not activated Martial Soul Possession, which instead left his ultimate ice attribute suppressed by Ma Xiaotao's ultimate ice attribute.
Just as Xue Chen was beginning to find it unbearable, a white light suddenly lit up on his right arm.
Hiss!
Copious amounts of hot, damp steam rose from their bodies where they were pressed intimately together.
"Ah!"
Ma Xiaotao moaned uncontrollably, her eyes having turned entirely into hearts, and seized Xue Chen's right hand, pressing it hard against her chest.