'Right, I can't rush... can't rush... I've waited so many years, one more night won't hurt.'
She sat back down in the chair, but her clasped, tightly clenched hands still betrayed her inner turmoil.
"Then... I'll go find him tomorrow."
She said in a heavy voice.
"Naturally."
Yan Shaozhe nodded with a smile, an old fox-like grin appearing on his face.
He looked at his Disciple and felt the timing was about right.
"Xiao Tao."
He spoke earnestly.
"Even though you and Caelus know each other, you're asking for a favor after all, and it's a major matter concerning your whole life. We can't show up empty-handed; that would seem insincere."
Ma Xiaotao was stunned for a moment, thinking her teacher had a point.
"Then... Teacher, what should we give him?"
She wasn't good at social niceties and was momentarily stumped.
Yan Shaozhe smiled and flipped his hand, and a warm white jade box emitting a faint glow appeared in his palm.
"I already prepared it for you."
He handed the jade box to Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Xiaotao took the jade box; it felt ice-cold to the touch, forming a sharp contrast with her own scorching Soul Power.
She opened the jade box with some curiosity.
The moment the lid opened, a rich, majestic aura of life, seemingly from the ancient ocean, rushed toward her.
Inside the jade box lay a fist-sized, translucent amber-colored gelatinous solid.
Inside the gel, golden light seemed to flow slowly, emitting a warm glow that calmed the mind.
Just by smelling the scent, Ma Xiaotao felt that the vitality she had just consumed suppressing the evil fire had recovered significantly.
"This is..."
Her eyes widened instantly, her face filled with disbelief.
"Ten-thousand-year... whale gel?!"
She exclaimed in shock.
"Teacher, you... when did you become so generous?!"
Ma Xiaotao looked at Yan Shaozhe with surprise; although there was a hint of disrespect in her words, it was mostly shock.
"A treasure of this Rank, I... I've never even used it."
She wasn't joking.
Even as his core Personal Disciple, what she had used for cultivation before was only the best quality thousand-year whale gel.
ten-thousand-year whale gel? That was a strategic-level resource that could be sought but not easily found.
Whale gel could only be produced by whale-type Soul Beasts.
And whale-type Soul Beasts were all overlords of the ocean.
In the vast and unpredictable sea, hunting a ten-thousand-year-level whale Soul Beast was no less difficult than hunting a top-tier Soul Beast with seventy or eighty thousand years of cultivation on land.
Without the strength of a Spirit Douluo leading a complete team, it was simply unthinkable.
And in the entire Douluo Continent, how many Spirit Douluo-level experts were there?
Most of them held high positions or key roles in Sects or academies; who would have the spare time to go to the perilous sea to hunt sea Soul Beasts?
This resulted in whale gel, especially high-year whale gel, becoming a luxury among luxuries.
In Shrek Academy's exchange list, thousand-year whale gel was already priced astronomically and was perpetually out of stock.
As for ten-thousand-year whale gel, it wouldn't even appear on the list available to ordinary students; it was a rare reserve that only the Sea Gods Pavilion had the authority to mobilize.
In the entire Inner Court, perhaps only Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan, because of her special status and being valued by Elder Mu, had been granted ten-thousand-year whale gel to improve her physical constitution.
Now, her teacher, this usually somewhat stingy teacher, had actually brought out a whole piece of ten-thousand-year whale gel.
How could she not be shocked?
"Ahem."
Yan Shaozhe's old face reddened slightly at his Disciple's words. He coughed twice before saying solemnly:
"What nonsense are you saying? This is only right. After all, Ultimate Ice is of too much significance to you. We must show enough sincerity so the other party will do their best to help you, right?"
He paused and added:
"Besides, you've seen Caelus's talent; he's definitely a monster-level genius. I also intend to focus on nurturing him. This piece of whale gel can greatly improve his physical constitution and lay a more solid foundation for his future cultivation. Just consider it an early investment."
Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao nodded in understanding.
So her teacher was planning to kill two birds with one stone.
However... Yan Shaozhe's next words made her freeze.
"Furthermore, if you two end up together in the future, what's his is yours, and what's yours is his. What difference is there between giving it to him now and giving it to you? I'm considering your lifelong happiness, hahahaha."
Yan Shaozhe became happier as he spoke, finally unable to resist laughing loudly, as if he could already see his future grand-Disciples.
"Teacher, what... what are you talking about?!"
Ma Xiaotao's face turned completely red in an instant.
That redness was even more vibrant than when she was in battle, spreading all the way down to her snow-white neck.
Both ashamed and angry, she stomped her foot.
"How old is that kid? He's just a brat. I won't get married, and I certainly won't choose a wet-behind-the-ears brat."
"What foolish words."
Yan Shaozhe's face immediately stiffened, his smile vanished, and his tone became serious.
"You girl, a girl has to get married eventually. Besides, can a Soul Master's age be viewed with the eyes of an ordinary person? He's young now, but won't he grow up in a few years? With his talent, his future achievements will be limitless; he's more than a match for you."
"And."
Yan Shaozhe's tone became even more solemn.
"To tell you the truth, if you want to completely root out the evil fire in your body rather than just suppressing it, you and him... probably need to have further, most intimate contact. This is the principle of Yin and Yang harmony, which cannot be changed by human effort."
These words were half-true.
Ultimate Ice could indeed suppress the evil fire, but to root it out, Dual Cultivation was undoubtedly the best and most thorough method.
These words made Ma Xiaotao's face even redder, and her heart was in a mess.
'Most intimate... contact...'
Caelus's handsome but slightly youthful face flashed uncontrollably in her mind, and her heart skipped a beat.
'No, no, what am I thinking? He's still a child.'
"Alright, alright, I get it."
Ma Xiaotao didn't want to listen anymore. She snatched the jade box from Yan Shaozhe's hand, hugged it tightly, and then began to push Yan Shaozhe toward the door.
"Teacher, I need to rest. You don't need to worry about this. We'll talk about tomorrow's matters tomorrow."
She wouldn't listen to her teacher's nonsense.
Make her take the initiative to pursue a brat so many years younger than her? She, Ma Xiaotao, couldn't afford to lose that face.
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