Princess Jiujiu

Lu Jingming said nothing further. True powerhouses deserved the respect due to them.

Yan Shaozhe was a Level 95 Super Douluo. Across the entire Douluo Continent, he undoubtedly stood among the strongest.

Even Ma Xiaotao, who had always been hot-tempered, obediently reined herself in. She could only sullenly kick at the pebbles beneath her feet instead of shouting, which showed just how intimidating Yan Shaozhe was.

At most, Ma Xiaotao occasionally shot Lu Jingming a vicious glare to vent her dissatisfaction.

Though quick-tempered, she was not foolish. From her teacher's attitude, she keenly sensed that Jing Liu had to be an exceptionally powerful expert, someone worthy of her teacher's serious regard.

Under such circumstances, she knew perfectly well that she had no right to interrupt.

"The rules of soul hunting have always been first come, first served. Whoever kills a Soul Beast naturally owns it. If you have objections, let your strength do the talking." Jing Liu's tone remained cold and detached, her words concise.

Her meaning could not have been clearer. So what if they had set their sights on the Blazing Phoenix Bird first? They were the ones who had defeated and killed it in the end.

If they had a problem with that, fine. They could settle it with their fists.

Yan Shaozhe's cheek twitched slightly. He truly had not expected Jing Liu to be so unyielding and domineering, showing Shrek Academy no respect whatsoever.

Now that the Blazing Phoenix Bird was dead, he had not wanted to make a big issue of things. If Jing Liu had simply yielded a little, offered some compensation, or apologized, the matter could have been dropped.

But Jing Liu's forceful attitude left him in an awkward position. If he backed down now, it would not merely be his own pride that suffered, but Shrek Academy's dignity as well.

Caught in such a dilemma, it seemed this conflict had reached the point where a fight was unavoidable.

"Good, very good! Since you insist, then let's settle this with our hands!" Yan Shaozhe laughed in fury. The instant his words fell, a clear phoenix cry suddenly rang out.

In an instant, the radiant phantom of a Bright Phoenix slowly emerged behind him. Powerful Soul Power surged outward like raging tides, sweeping in every direction.

That surging power of light instantly dispelled the dark shadows pervading the forest, illuminating the surroundings as brightly as day.

"Clang—" Almost at the same moment, a crisp sword cry soared into the heavens.

An incomparably chilling Sword Intent, enough to freeze all things, pierced the clouds. As it spread, the surrounding air instantly solidified, the temperature plummeted, and cold seeped everywhere.

In the blink of an eye, heavy snow began to fall from the sky. The strange phenomenon of snow in June had appeared.

Under the pressure of Jing Liu's formidable Sword Intent, the powerful aura Yan Shaozhe had just released was instantly suppressed.

Ma Xiaotao instinctively took a step back. In her daze, she seemed to see a longsword wreathed in icy mist, capable of cleaving apart the stars, as well as moonlight like frost and snow that could freeze all things.

Strangely, beneath this bone-piercing chill, the body that had once burned unbearably due to the evil fire tormenting her now felt more comfortable than ever before.

The evil fire that had tormented her for years and caused her endless pain had unexpectedly dissipated by quite a bit in that instant.

The irritation that had flared up after Lu Jingming enraged her also gradually calmed, leaving her heart exceptionally peaceful.

"Ul-ti-mate Ice!" Yan Shaozhe said word by word. His eyes were filled with deep wariness, mixed with a trace of irrepressible delight.

Heaven knew how much effort he had spent over the years trying to help Ma Xiaotao eradicate the stubborn evil fire in her body. He had tried countless methods and searched everywhere for Soul Masters with the Ultimate Ice attribute, yet had always come up empty-handed.

Both he and Ma Xiaotao had nearly fallen into despair. Never had they imagined that, while hunting Ma Xiaotao's third soul ring, they would unexpectedly encounter such a powerful expert with the Ultimate Ice attribute.

Yet after the initial delight, Yan Shaozhe quickly developed a headache. Given the current situation, this was truly difficult to handle.

Had he known Jing Liu was an expert with the Ultimate Ice attribute, he never would have rashly come into conflict with her over a mere Thousand-year Soul Beast.

Now he was truly stuck. If they really fought and he thoroughly offended her, how could he possibly shamelessly ask her to help eliminate Ma Xiaotao's evil fire in the future?

Besides, from their brief clash of auras just now, he knew very well that he was likely no match for Jing Liu.

But making him so easily admit defeat and yield left him deeply unwilling.

After all, Shrek Academy's reputation resounded throughout the Douluo Continent. As the dean of the academy's Martial Soul Department, retreating like this would damage the academy's reputation.

As Yan Shaozhe wrestled with himself, he turned to look at Ma Xiaotao, who stood beside him and whom he cherished like his own daughter.

Gritting his teeth, after a difficult struggle, he ultimately decided to cast aside his so-called pride and yield.

"You two, please stop. We can talk this over properly."

At that critical moment, a clear and pleasant female voice, as sweet as a lark's song, suddenly rang out.

Upon hearing that voice, Jing Liu and Yan Shaozhe almost simultaneously withdrew their released auras.

Yan Shaozhe secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling immensely fortunate. He hurriedly looked toward the newcomer, a trace of goodwill unconsciously appearing in his eyes.

A golden-haired girl in a luxurious golden dress approached with light, graceful steps.

Her figure was graceful and her bearing elegant. Every step seemed to carry an innate nobility and poise.

Several figures followed behind her. Each one possessed an extraordinary aura and was clearly no ordinary person.

Yet from their positions, it was obvious that they all deferred to the golden-haired girl and treated her with great respect.

Among them was an elderly woman with white hair. Though her expression was kindly, she emanated an extremely powerful fluctuation of Soul Power.

It was she who had silently blocked the powerful shockwave created by Jing Liu and Yan Shaozhe's clash of auras, protecting the golden-haired girl from harm.

"Senior Jing Liu, Dean Yan, it is only a Thousand-year Soul Beast. There is truly no need to make such a fuss over it. Whatever the matter is, everyone can sit down and discuss it calmly." With a gentle smile on her face, the golden-haired girl used her soft, pleasant voice to unhurriedly mediate the tense atmosphere.

Hearing this, Lu Jingming was greatly surprised and could not help looking at the golden-haired girl a few more times.