Little Junior Brother, You're Being Unfair (Part 1)

"He's gone far enough."

Once Ling Bai had disappeared from sight, Yan Shaozhe spoke softly.

Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao quickly glanced in the direction Ling Bai had left, a faint blush that seemed almost shy rising to her cheeks.

"Xiaotao, why didn't you tell me you couldn't suppress the evil fire inside you?"

Seeing her rise, Yan Shaozhe frowned deeply, his tone gaining a measure of sternness and reproach. "Do you know that if you hadn't happened to run into Ling Bai, you would have caused a terrible disaster!"

"I'm sorry, Teacher. I thought I could..."

Before her teacher Yan Shaozhe, Ma Xiaotao put away the temper of the Evil Fire Phoenix and lowered her head obediently like a well-behaved little bird, admitting her mistake.

Because she had been too eager to cultivate Soul Power, her evil fire had gradually spiraled out of control. By the time Ling Bai had stumbled in, Xu Sanshi's Soul Power had nearly run dry. Ma Xiaotao would certainly have gone berserk tonight, and Ling Bai had simply been unlucky enough to walk straight into the line of fire.

Yan Shaozhe let out a long sigh. "You're my personal disciple, and Shrek Academy's number one... no, number two genius of the past century. If the evil fire destroys you, your teacher will regret it for the rest of his life!"

"Number two?"

Ma Xiaotao sharply caught Yan Shaozhe's correction. In terms of pure cultivation talent, she was even above Eldest Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan. She had always been the top genius of Shrek Inner Academy—when had she fallen to second place?

"Is there a problem with that?"

Yan Shaozhe glanced at her. "A dignified Soul Emperor was suppressed from start to finish by a Soul Ancestor. Even I was amazed by Ling Bai's final Myriad Bladed Radiance.

"A four-ring Soul Ancestor, a yellow-purple-purple-black super soul ring configuration, a Six-Winged Angel, innate level twenty, an innate domain, a disciple of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect..."

"Teacher, stop listing them... He really does seem a little stronger than me."

Ma Xiaotao bit her red lip lightly. Only now did she realize how astonishing Ling Bai's talent, strength, and background were. He did not even look fifteen!

A thought suddenly occurred to Ma Xiaotao, and she hurriedly said, "Right, Teacher, my evil fire has eased somewhat. That was also because of Ling Bai's ability!"

Yan Shaozhe raised a hand and placed it on her shoulder. A gentle, light-attributed Soul Power flowed through every meridian in Ma Xiaotao's body.

After a long while, Yan Shaozhe said with certainty:

"In the past, we suppressed the Phoenix Evil Fire with the dominant attributes of water or ice. But this time, the evil fire seems to have been directly removed. Before your body is invaded by the evil fire again, you can cultivate and fight to your heart's content. I estimate it will last about a year."

"Great!"

Ma Xiaotao clenched both fists. A whole year—from the moment her martial soul awakened at six years old, she had never had such a long period to cultivate without worry. The surprise made her feel as though tears might spring into her eyes!

"Teacher, why can Ling Bai suppress the Phoenix Evil Fire?" Ma Xiaotao asked doubtfully.

She vaguely remembered Ling Bai sending a streak of golden sword qi into her body. It had charged wildly through her limbs, bones, organs, and meridians, cutting down every trace of evil fire it encountered, utterly domineering.

"Fool, because of the Six-Winged Angel!"

Yan Shaozhe's eyes revealed blazing excitement, and his voice trembled faintly.

"The god-level martial soul, the Six-Winged Angel, is born with ultimate holiness. What does your little bit of evil fire amount to before ultimate holiness?!"

"Ultimate holiness?!"

The Six-Winged Angel was far too ancient. Its disappearance over the past ten thousand years had caused many soul masters to forget its power.

The Evil Fire Phoenix was already extremely close to Ultimate Fire, yet it was still short by that tiny margin. That margin meant the distance between heaven and earth; Ma Xiaotao might never reach the ultimate realm in her lifetime.

Holiness was inherently an immensely powerful attribute, far surpassing the basic elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. Every martial soul with the holy attribute was a top-tier martial soul, such as the Six-Winged Angel, Sacred Dragon, Sacred Unicorn, and so on.

If Ling Bai entered the ranks of Titled Douluo one day, Ma Xiaotao could not imagine who would be worthy of opposing him.

"It's just such a pity that the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect got to him first. Otherwise, I would definitely find a way to bind him to the academy and raise him to become the next master of Sea God Pavilion! You could marry him as well and never have to worry about being unable to suppress your evil fire again!"

Yan Shaozhe slapped his thigh, his regret plainly visible. How he wished Ling Bai's background were as clean as a blank sheet of paper!

After the first generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters ascended to the Divine Realm, Shrek Academy produced three ultimate martial souls over the following ten thousand years. All of them became masters of Sea God Pavilion and led the academy, and those were also Shrek Academy's three most glorious eras. In particular, the master of Sea God Pavilion with Ultimate Fire led the three great empires to defeat the Sun Moon Empire, unifying the two continents under the name Douluo Continent and leaving a bold mark upon history.

After his battle with Du BiSi, the current master of Sea God Pavilion, Dragon God Douluo Mu En, had gradually declined in health. He had personally told the many elders that he had fewer than ten years of life remaining.

Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi's martial soul had flaws, while Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Spirit Soul Department, was still too weak. Neither was suited to take over as master of Sea God Pavilion. Now that a Six-Winged Angel had suddenly appeared in the academy, Yan Shaozhe felt as if heaven itself had bestowed Shrek with an heir!

"You don't need to worry about my affairs!"

No matter how fiery Ma Xiaotao's temper was, she was still an unmarried young woman. At the mention of marriage, her face inevitably flushed red. She turned her head away and said proudly:

"I won't marry someone I don't like just because of the evil fire! Besides, Teacher, don't you think it feels strange for a Six-Winged Angel to become master of Sea God Pavilion? Spirit Hall was destroyed by our ancestors ten thousand years ago..."

"What's strange about it?"

Yan Shaozhe said displeasedly, "Spirit Hall nearly destroyed the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect ten thousand years ago, yet they still hold Ling Bai in high regard now! Xiaotao, remember this: there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests!

"If the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect can do it, then Shrek can do it too!

"Since Ling Bai enrolled at Shrek, it means that he at least does not harbor enormous hostility toward the academy. Therefore, anything is possible!"

"But the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect... Jian Mu Douluo..."

Yan Shaozhe paced anxiously on the spot. Ma Xiaotao opened her mouth, but did not know what to say. It was rare indeed to see Yan Shaozhe so flustered.

Ma Xiaotao's gaze drifted back and forth with Yan Shaozhe until she felt dizzy. Then she sighed. "Teacher, think it over slowly. I'm going back to rest."

"Mm, all right."

Yan Shaozhe agreed absentmindedly, and it was impossible to tell whether he had heard her clearly.

When Ma Xiaotao returned to her residence, she found the room opposite hers completely dark.

"Has he already gone to sleep?"

Dawn split apart the night, welcoming the newborn sun. Beside Sea God Lake, a figure floated down from a towering ancient tree.

That figure was naturally Ling Bai. The moon and stars had shone together beautifully last night, and after parting from Yan Shaozhe and Ma Xiaotao, he had not returned to his room. Instead, he had lain on a tree branch and fallen asleep with the evening breeze as his pillow.

He walked toward his own small house. According to Eldest Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan, an upperclassman would be serving as his guide through the inner academy today.

From afar, Ling Bai spotted a figure.

She leaned against the door, her eyes closed, several tiny drops of dew hanging from her long lashes. Morning light shone from behind her, and her beautiful, picturesque features and exquisitely curved figure appeared pale and hazy beneath the dawn's glow, like a painting.

Ling Bai softened his footsteps as he approached and greeted her slowly.

"Hello, may I ask who you are?"

The woman opened her eyes. Her pupils were dark as a cold pool and hidden spring, while a gentle smile rested on the corners of her rosy lips.

"Hello, little junior brother. I'm Han Ruoruo, your guide through the inner academy today."

"Hello, Senior Sister Han."

Han Ruoruo's eyes shifted as she looked at the young man's devilishly handsome face. Her long lashes fluttered slightly as she said:

"Little junior brother, you're being unfair. You call Lexuan Eldest Senior Sister, but when it comes to me, I'm just Senior Sister?"