Yan Shaozhe walked very quickly, his steps carrying a sense of urgency.
One didn't even need to guess to know that he was in a hurry to go back and figure out how to reform Shrek Academy again. Compared to the major matters Furina had mentioned before, this time things were relatively simple, mainly involving adjustments to the dormitories and cafeteria, though the registration and admission systems would require more effort.
Those were old traditions that had been followed for who knows how many years; changing them all at once would likely draw objections from various factions.
However, Furina didn't care what Yan Shaozhe thought or what he intended to do. Whether Shrek Academy's reforms succeeded was their own business. She had merely offered a few pointers and some necessary assistance to make Shrek owe her a favor, so they would stay out of her business in the future.
Unifying the continent was a must, and Shrek returning to being an ordinary academy was also a must. One mountain cannot hold two tigers.
She didn't want things to turn into the separation of powers or even the fragmented situation seen in the fourth installment of Douluo.
In the fourth installment, although Shrek and the Tang Sect collaborated closely, both factions possessed immense autonomy. Their strength and heritage were profound, and they were neither governed nor commanded by the Douluo Federal Empire, let alone sharing resources or technology.
Meanwhile, the Douluo Federal Empire and the Spirit Pagoda were two other forces. Even after the events of the Legend of the Dragon King and the collusion with Evil Soul Masters, the Spirit Pagoda still enjoyed great autonomy in the fourth installment as a major power, merely maintaining close cooperation with the Douluo Federal Empire. It wasn't until a thousand years after the God Realm's return that it merged with Shrek.
However, it would be more accurate to call it an annexation rather than a merger; who was dominant and who was subordinate was clear at a glance.
In a sense, the Douluo Federal Empire was truly useless to the core.
Despite having unified the continent and even expanded into outer star systems, in the end, within its own sphere of influence, its say only accounted for a quarter. Although the Spirit Pagoda, Shrek, and the Tang Sect were nominally a level lower in status and smaller in scope of power, they could actually stand on equal footing with the Douluo Federal Empire.
So it could only be said that the Douluo Federal Empire was truly useless.
Pulling back her wandering thoughts, Furina turned her gaze toward Ma Xiaotao. There was a hint of appraisal in her eyes, as if she were examining an object that needed careful scrutiny, or perhaps pondering an important question.
"Ma Xiaotao, your Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix, right?"
Ma Xiaotao was slightly startled, then nodded. She didn't quite understand the point of Furina asking this; surely her teacher had already told her about such things?
"Your ancestor was Ma Hongjun, one of the Original Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago, right?"
"That's right!" Ma Xiaotao's voice carried a hint of matter-of-factness. "Because the Evil Fire Phoenix was inherited from ancestor Ma Hongjun; there's no other possibility."
She felt that Furina was asking obvious questions. Only Ma Hongjun possessed the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, so anyone with that Martial Soul was essentially a descendant of Ma Hongjun, including herself.
Just like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon; those who could inherit the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul were either descendants of the survivors of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect or descendants of Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang. Who else could be a successor? Even with a Martial Soul mutation, without the inherited Bloodline, it would be impossible to mutate into the exact same Martial Soul.
Furina didn't mind Ma Xiaotao's slightly furrowed brow and simply spoke slowly: "Then do you know how Ma Hongjun suppressed the Evil Fire ten thousand years ago?"
Ma Xiaotao blurted out almost instantly: "I've read the books. They record that ancestor Ma Hongjun obtained an Immortal Herb from Thousand Hand Douluo Tang San, which caused his Martial Soul to evolve, thus ridding him of the Evil Fire."
Furina shook her head. "I'm asking how it was resolved before that. You should know that the Evil Fire of the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul stays with you for life. As long as you have Soul Power, the Evil Fire will grow more intense as your Soul Power increases, becoming harder and harder to suppress. Before obtaining the Immortal Herb, how did Ma Hongjun deal with it?"
She narrowed her eyes, a meaningful smile playing on her lips, and just stared at Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Xiaotao's face suddenly flushed red, as if scorched by fire. "You mean... that... coupling with someone else to dissipate the Evil Fire by releasing lustful fire?"
Furina nodded slightly. "Exactly. Have you ever tried that method?"
Ma Xiaotao's face turned even redder, almost to the point of dripping blood. She snapped her head up, her voice filled with a mix of embarrassment and stubbornness: "No! I don't want to do that kind of thing. I want... I want to do it with someone I like, and I'll only marry someone I like."
"Oh, I see." Furina's tone was neutral. "Then you're quite pure-hearted. Let me ask, what did your father's generation do? Surely others in your lineage had Evil Fire issues too? What were their methods? After all, Immortal Herbs are rare. Just as the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School has never seen another Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul, I imagine it's the same for your Evil Fire Phoenix."
Ma Xiaotao's mood visibly dampened, and her voice grew much softer: "That... I only know that my mother was a water-attribute Spirit Master, and she used that to suppress my father's Evil Fire. Later, they both sacrificed themselves... in a battle against a powerful Evil Soul Master."
"I see. Very well!" Furina nodded, her expression becoming more thoughtful. "Next, I will give you four methods to choose from."
"Four methods? So many?" Ma Xiaotao's eyes widened, her surprise evident. One must know that the academy had only been able to find two methods for her at most.
"The first is to find a powerful water or ice-attribute Spirit Master as a partner; the second is to have a water, ice, or Spirit Master like Xu Sanshi help suppress it, though Xu Sanshi had the Black Tortoise Bloodline, which was essentially a water-attribute Martial Soul."
"But the first was hard to find, and she didn't like Spirit Masters with water or ice-attribute Martial Souls anyway. As for the second, as her Rank grew higher, their suppression became weaker, unless she stopped her Cultivation to wait for their Rank to catch up."
"But stop Cultivating? How could that be possible! Ma Xiaotao was never one to settle for being behind others."
Furina smiled slightly, her expression carrying a hint of pride and confidence: "Of course. I am the Supreme Pontiff of the Axis Cult and the Water God herself, the great Furina! Do not doubt me."
"First, the most inferior method." She held up one finger. "That is to find a man. Ideally, as your teacher said, find someone of the ice or water attribute to be your partner. Someone you like is fine too, as long as it's consensual, and then just vent your lustful fire on him every day. I just wonder who would give in first?"
Ma Xiaotao shook her head almost immediately, like a rattle. "Let's forget about that one! Aren't there three more? I want to see the other three."
Furina nodded slightly and held up a second finger: "The second method is to try absorbing the light attribute, or more powerful fire attributes—especially Ultimate Fire—and Soul Beasts with Phoenix Bloodline as spirit rings. It might cause your Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul to evolve and rid you of the Evil Fire."
"And it can be used in conjunction with the other three methods."
She paused, her tone tinged with regret: "But to be honest, your Rank is too high now, and you're on the verge of losing control at any moment. It's really too late to try this. It requires luck and opportunity; it's not something that can be forced now."
She spread her hands helplessly and sighed while shaking her head.
A flash of disappointment crossed Ma Xiaotao's eyes. If only she had known sooner, she might have truly escaped the torment of the Evil Fire.
Her fingers twisted together unconsciously as she whispered: "Then... what about the third and fourth?"
"The third—" Furina held up a third finger, "—is to find Ultimate Ice or Ultimate Water. Like me, I can help suppress it temporarily to free you from the Evil Fire's torment. There might even be a chance to completely purify the Evil Fire. But as I said, it's only a chance, because I've never done such a thing before."
"Do you really have Ultimate Water?" Ma Xiaotao's eyes suddenly lit up with a light that held both surprise and unconcealable joy.
Furina nodded as if it were obvious. "Of course. How could a Water God not use water? Am I supposed to be like a certain Sea God who only has grass and a hammer?"
To be honest, she couldn't understand why the Sea God would choose someone who only had grass and a hammer to inherit his position. It would have made slightly more sense if it were the Asura God.
"Uh..." Ma Xiaotao was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to respond.
Although Furina's words seemed to insult Thousand Hand Douluo Tang San, what did that have to do with her? Her mind was currently filled only with thoughts of how to eradicate the Evil Fire. As long as the Evil Fire could be removed, she would do anything Furina asked—she'd even call Furina her mother! She was even willing to kneel on the spot and kowtow to acknowledge her as an Godmother.
At that thought, Ma Xiaotao's gaze became increasingly fervent.
Furina held up a fourth finger, her tone as light as if she were commenting on the weather: "And then there's the fourth method: find an Immortal Herb. Just find an Immortal Herb like the one from ten thousand years ago!"
"Is that even possible?" Ma Xiaotao asked almost subconsciously. Where would one find an Immortal Herb from ten thousand years ago now? The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had long since ceased to exist, and even if it did, the Immortal Herbs inside must have been picked clean long ago, right?
"What a joke—" A confident smile curled onto Furina's lips. "I am the Water God. I only need to make a slight move to know if it's possible."
She withdrew her hand and looked at Ma Xiaotao with leisurely interest, a hint of playfulness in her eyes. "So, what is your choice?"
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