Chapter 132: Ma Xiaotao
Meanwhile, at the heart of Sea God's Lake, on the island at its center, within a secluded chamber reserved specifically for quiet recuperation and healing...
The red-haired woman lying upon the soft bed felt her eyelashes flutter slightly. Slowly, she opened her eyes. This was none other than Ma Xiaotao, who had previously lost control. As her consciousness gradually returned, she felt a lingering weakness in her body, and her memories were a blur of confusion and fragmented images.
"Nngh..." She braced herself and sat up, surveying the familiar furnishings around her. Her brow furrowed deeply. "I remember... the evil fire was acting up again, and couldn't be suppressed... and then... I lost control?"
"That is correct, Xiaotao. Your evil fire did indeed erupt and spiral out of control." An aged and solemn voice resounded in the quiet chamber. The speaker had clearly been waiting here for quite some time.
Ma Xiaotao followed the sound and saw her teacher—Yan Shaozhe, Dean of the Martial Soul Department—standing not far away. His brows were deeply furrowed, and his gaze as he regarded her was complicated.
"Teacher..." Ma Xiaotao lowered her head, a trace of unease stirring within her.
Yan Shaozhe walked closer and spoke in a heavy voice: "Xiaotao, this time, you nearly caused an irreparable catastrophe. By a stroke of fortune—whether it was mere serendipity, or whether that Furina of the Church of the Water God truly possesses divine abilities—an extraordinarily pure and powerful water-attribute force surged into your body. Not only did it temporarily extinguish your evil fire, it also seems to have triggered some kind of strange, counteracting reaction with your phoenix flames."
"Although this caused you some internal injury, it can also be considered a blessing in disguise. The restlessness of your evil fire has been temporarily suppressed."
He fixed his eyes on Ma Xiaotao and asked, "Do you still remember what happened after you burst out from the lake?"
Ma Xiaotao struggled to recall, but all she could find in her mind was a searing expanse of blazing red, followed by surging waves and a piercing, bone-deep cold. After that, an endless darkness—and then waking up here.
She shook her head blankly: "I don't remember... all I saw was a sheet of red, and then it seemed like an enormous wall of water crashed over me... and when I woke up again, I was already here."
Hearing this, Yan Shaozhe's frown deepened and he let out a sigh: "The evil fire inside you had built up to such a degree—why didn't you inform your teacher in time? Do you have any idea how dangerous this was? Several new students from the outer courtyard nearly lost their lives under your evil fire!"
Ma Xiaotao's entire body shuddered. The color drained from her face, and her eyes filled with shock and lingering dread. "I... I didn't know it would be this severe this time. I thought... I thought I could still control it, but..." Her voice trailed off, laden with remorse.
"Evil fire is one of those things—the longer you suppress it, the more violent and ferocious its rebound when it finally erupts." Yan Shaozhe's tone was heavy with gravity. "Xiaotao, things have come to this pass. You must now make a choice. Three paths lie before you."
Ma Xiaotao raised her head, her eyes burning with stubborn resolve: "Teacher, I don't want to stop cultivating. Please tell me the other two paths."
Yan Shaozhe spoke slowly: "The first path: suspend your cultivation for the time being—even halt the growth of your soul power entirely—and make self-preservation your foremost priority. You are one of the most exceptionally gifted disciples our Shrek Academy has produced in centuries. The academy cannot sacrifice your future for the sake of immediate combat strength. If the next time the evil fire completely devours your reason... your teacher would carry that regret for the rest of his life."
"No, Teacher! I want to continue cultivating!" Ma Xiaotao refused without the slightest hesitation, her eyes resolute. "Please tell me the second and third options."
"The second option," Yan Shaozhe said after a moment of deliberation, "is a suggestion that came from... a certain bystander. I shall personally escort you to the Far North. That land is gripped by bitter cold year-round, and its ice-attribute heaven-and-earth energy is abundant. It is the natural nemesis of flame—especially the phoenix fire you carry, tainted with evil fire as it is. Training there, even if you were to lose control once more, you would be unlikely to harm innocents, for the region is virtually uninhabited. At the same time, the extreme cold environment itself may help you better temper and command your own flames."
"The third option," Yan Shaozhe's gaze turned profound, "is to seek the aid of the Pope of the Church of the Water God—Furina. I am almost entirely certain that she, as the so-called Water God, must possess a second martial soul, and one of the utmost quality—an ultimate water martial soul. Otherwise, there is absolutely no way she could have so effectively suppressed your phoenix evil fire, which itself verges on the ultimate fire attribute. She is years younger than you, yet her soul power has already reached rank forty-nine, just a single step away from the Soul King level. Her natural talent is nothing short of monstrous."
A flame of hope kindled in Ma Xiaotao's eyes. She immediately said, "Then I'll go find her right now!" She moved as if to rise.
"Hold!"
Yan Shaozhe raised a hand to stop her, his tone stern. "You must not act on impulse. The Church of the Water God behind her is a deeply entrenched power with considerable influence. The imperial family of the Star Luo Empire has already openly declared it the state religion. Even our Shrek Academy must treat this with caution. It would not be appropriate to rashly apply pressure or make demands. Xiaotao, you must be patient for now and wait for the right moment. Perhaps... this upcoming freshman assessment will allow us to see certain things more clearly, and also create a more natural opportunity for contact."
Hearing this, though burning with anxiety, Ma Xiaotao understood the thoroughness of her teacher's reasoning. She could only forcibly suppress the impulse to take immediate action and settle back down. Her face was a portrait of unwillingness and aggrieved frustration, and she murmured in a low voice, "But... I'm afraid of the next time I erupt..."
"Going to the Far North—you can still cultivate there," Yan Shaozhe reassured her. "In that place, you can freely vent the heat and impulses born of the evil fire without any fear of harming others. Only remember this: you must not, on your own initiative, venture deep into the dangerous zones. Even more critical, you absolutely must not wantonly hunt soul beasts, lest you enrage the mighty existences of the Far North and bring a siege upon yourself."
"Mm... I understand, Teacher." In the end, Ma Xiaotao nodded. Her gaze drifted out the window of the secluded chamber toward the shimmering, rippling surface of the lake. Within her heart, toward that mysterious young woman named Furina, an intense curiosity—and a faint, fragile thread of hope—quietly took root.
As for Furina, far off in the dormitory district, she remained entirely unaware that a talented senior sister from the Inner Courtyard had already set her sights on her. She was, at this very moment, eagerly and enthusiastically mapping out exactly how to launch her "treatment booth" on the morrow. Though, even if she had known, she likely wouldn't have paid it much mind.