"Huo Yuhao..." Ma Xiaotao stared blankly at the weak youth before her. Recalling everything that had just happened, for a moment she didn't know how to face him.
There was no doubt that she had just experienced a wonderful illusion. The ultimate pleasure and unrestrained release still lingered in her memory. Even though she knew nothing had actually happened between her and this boy, deep down, she could no longer bring herself to lay a killing blow on this so-called Holy Son of the Holy Ghost Cult.
Facing Ma Xiaotao's complicated gaze, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but awkwardly touch his nose. After all, he had just created such an illusion for a girl. Although it had the merit of awakening her martial soul, from both their standpoints, Huo Yuhao's actions were undeniably suspect.
"You should die..." Ma Xiaotao's red lips trembled slightly. She took a large stride to stand before Huo Yuhao, her jade-like hand grabbing his collar. A majestic soul power surged, looking as if she would strike at the slightest disagreement.
"You should be thanking me. From now on, you will no longer be troubled by the evil fire. Your martial soul has also evolved into the Sinful Desire Demonic Phoenix, recorded only in the legends of ancient texts," Huo Yuhao shrugged, looking as if he were her great benefactor.
"Besides, you can't kill me."
"What did you say? You despicable and shameless evil soul master..." Ma Xiaotao's beautiful eyes turned red. Just as she was about to teach Huo Yuhao a lesson, she suddenly felt her entire body go limp. All her strength seemed to be instantly drained away, and she collapsed softly into Huo Yuhao's arms.
"I have planted a brand in your spiritual sea. With just a single thought, I can turn you into an idiot on the spot," Huo Yuhao said, casually patting Ma Xiaotao's head with a smile. "Why don't we compare? Is your fire faster, or are my brainwaves faster?"
Although she didn't understand what Huo Yuhao meant by "brainwaves," Ma Xiaotao knew that she had truly fallen this time. Not only was she captured and brought to the Holy Ghost Cult's territory, but even her life was now easily held in the hands of their Holy Son.
"If you have the guts, then kill me. I will not submit to an evil soul master!" Ma Xiaotao closed her eyes, tears uncontrollably streaming from their corners. She buried her head in Huo Yuhao's chest. The familiar masculine scent inevitably made her recall her shameful state during her martial soul's awakening, and for a moment, she wished she were dead.
"Why would I kill you? I came to save you," Huo Yuhao said helplessly, lifting Ma Xiaotao's head to face him directly. "I only placed a spiritual brand on you out of self-preservation."
"You're an evil soul master. Why should I believe you?" Ma Xiaotao gave a cold laugh. "Don't even think about using me. I am perfectly capable of taking my own life."
"Sigh..." Huo Yuhao rubbed his tired brow. He placed his hands on Ma Xiaotao's fragrant shoulders and, after having Bibi Dong's divine sense scan the room to confirm there were no other ears, his expression turned serious as he looked at her.
"Listen to me..."
...
"A whole night?"
Listening to the report from the two maids, Zhongli Wu's expression couldn't help but look a little strange. Zhongli Yu, who had been sitting to the side drinking tea, trembled so much upon hearing that Ma Xiaotao had been "tormented" by Huo Yuhao for a whole night and had let out moans of pleasure that she nearly spilled all the tea in her hand.
"Although the Holy Son has infinite potential, he is clearly overly enthusiastic about matters between men and women. I'm afraid..." an elder began to say, but was rudely interrupted by Zhongli Wu.
"Get out of here! The Holy Son is still young. Not to mention whether his character is set, even if he had the inclination, he is probably powerless to act on it right now!"
"This subordinate was overthinking..." the old man could only say with a bitter smile.
"Reporting to the Cult Master, the Grand Supreme Cult Master has returned," a subordinate reported at this moment.
Mother is back? Perfect. Let the old lady meet the Holy Son and be happy. Zhongli Wu thought to himself and immediately went out to greet them. But a bloody light appeared before them first.
Two figures emerged very abruptly from the bloody light, appearing out of thin air in front of everyone. When one of them appeared, the surrounding air visibly distorted. All the bloody light seemed to be paying homage, accentuating her arrival in this world.
"Mother, Uncle Long," Zhongli Wu hurriedly bowed.
"Is there some joyous occasion in our Holy Ghost Cult?" It was a woman who appeared to be over fifty. Her voice was full of magnetism, slightly hoarse, yet it held a special magic that made it easy for people to feel close to her, even to revere her.
"Reporting to Mother, on this trip to Star Luo, we unexpectedly found a Holy Son and a Saintess for the cult. We had a good celebration yesterday," The furnishings in the Holy Spirit Hall after the banquet must have been seen by her, Zhongli Wu replied with a smile.
"A Holy Son and a Saintess?" The other person was also an old man in his twilight years. He was tall, with a head of silver hair combed immaculately. His face was as ruddy as a baby's, and long eyebrows drooped down the sides of his face. He had his hands clasped behind his back, quietly floating in mid-air without releasing a single fluctuation of soul power.
The visitors were none other than the Grand Supreme Cult Master of the Holy Ghost Cult from the original novel, Ye Xishui, and the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.
"Yes, their martial souls are the Resentful Soul Spirit Eyes and the Evil Fire Phoenix, respectively. And the Holy Son, moreover, possesses the legendary innate level thirty full soul power!"
"What? Innate level thirty full soul power?" Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao looked at each other, both their faces showing utter shock.
If what Zhongli Wu said was true, then the Holy Ghost Cult would surely have a true god in the future!
"Take us to see them," Long Xiaoyao's face was solemn. The impact of this news was too great for him, and moreover, such a prodigy was an evil soul master.
"Uh, about that... the Holy Son and Saintess are currently cultivating. If you're not in a hurry..." Zhongli Wu hesitated, thinking about how Huo Yuhao was still doing some indescribable things with Ma Xiaotao.
"The Saintess with the Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul you mentioned, you captured her from Shrek's side, right?" Ye Xishui glanced at Long Xiaoyao and asked faintly.
"Yes, at that time the Saintess was leading the Shrek Inspection Team..." Zhongli Wu described the scene of meeting the Saintess and Holy Son that day.
"Return this Saintess to Shrek. Since our cult has been blessed with a Holy Son of such talent, a mere Evil Fire Phoenix is of no use," Long Xiaoyao said directly.
"Why is that?" Zhongli Wu's eyes widened upon hearing this. Isn't it a good thing to have one more member with powerful aptitude? he thought. He immediately cast an eager gaze towards his mother, Ye Xishui.
"Listen to Xiaoyao. It's to prevent those old undying fellows from Shrek from coming to make trouble for us collectively," Ye Xishui surprisingly held the same opinion and added, "That girl is Yan Shaozhe's direct disciple. The entire Shrek is going crazy right now."
"The Saintess is the direct disciple of the dean of Shrek's martial soul department!" Zhongli Wu exclaimed in shock. Then, as if thinking of something, he hurriedly said, "Mother, why not use the Saintess as a hostage? That way, those fellows from Shrek won't bother us for several years."
"If we use her as a hostage, I'm afraid that old fellow Mu En will come looking for us personally," Long Xiaoyao said with a chuckle.
"Mu En? The Radiant Holy Dragon, the Dragon God Douluo Mu En?" Hearing this name, a chill went down Zhongli Wu's spine. He had grown up hearing the great name of the Dragon God Douluo. He never thought that person was still in the mortal world.
Yes, because of Ma Xiaotao's disappearance, the dean of the continent's number one academy's martial soul department, Yan Shaozhe, had nearly gone mad. After finding the traces left behind by Ma Xiaotao's group before they disappeared, he was almost certain they had been captured by the Holy Ghost Cult.
One must know, Ma Xiaotao was the descendant of one of the original Shrek Seven Devils. Yan Shaozhe immediately reported the matter to the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.
In the original novel, Mu En had always kept in contact with Long Xiaoyao, and Long Xiaoyao had been by Ye Xishui's side for countless years, partly to atone for their misunderstanding, and partly to restrain Ye Xishui's slaughter to a certain extent.
In this timeline, the Dragon God Douluo Mu En had not yet reached the end of his lifespan, so he contacted his old friend Long Xiaoyao, forcing Ye Xishui and the Holy Ghost Cult to return Ma Xiaotao. In the original novel, by the time Ma Xiaotao left Shrek, Mu En didn't have much time left to live. Even though he knew Ma Xiaotao was trapped in a dark place like the Holy Ghost Cult, he was powerless to help.
The right to speak is always directly linked to strength. Every living Limit Douluo is the strongest fist on the continent.
There was another point that no one knew. That Yan Shaozhe was the only son Ye Xishui had borne for Long Xiaoyao. In a sense, Ma Xiaotao could be considered Ye Xishui's grand-disciple.
So the two elders were not too resistant to handing over Ma Xiaotao, not to mention that Ye Xishui had just learned the good news of the Holy Son's discovery, which directly diluted her displeasure about returning the Saintess.
Now, Zhongli Wu only felt that he seemed to have done something wrong. The person they wanted back surely had to be returned intact. Right now, Ma Xiaotao had probably been played with and broken by Huo Yuhao. Could she still be returned in perfect condition?
Therefore, Zhongli Wu was panicking internally at this moment...
On the other side, Ma Xiaotao's eyes burned as she stared at the youth before her. "Is everything you said true?"
"Eighty to ninety percent true. Don't worry! And you must keep it a secret," Huo Yuhao touched his nose. From his god's-eye view, he had told her about the possible development of the Holy Ghost Cult returning her, including the melodramatic plot between the three Limit Douluo, as well as Yan Shaozhe's parentage.
"Just who are you?" Ma Xiaotao was completely bewildered. She felt that the youth before her was practically omniscient and omnipotent.
"Holy Son, the Cult Master has requested that we take the Saintess away now," at this moment, the voices of Feifei and Yingying came from outside the door.
"Relax, we'll have a chance to meet again," Huo Yuhao smiled. There was no need to explain too much to Ma Xiaotao for the time being. After her martial soul awakening, Ma Xiaotao's soul power had directly soared to level seventy. After she returned, she only needed to hunt for one soul ring to become the only Soul Sage in the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament!
Ma Xiaotao looked at the brightly smiling Huo Yuhao with complex eyes, then suddenly leaned in and gave him a light peck on the cheek.
"Thank you."
---
TLNote: Chapter 12 was not a real chapter.