Inside Ma Xiaotao's secret room on Sea God Island, Huo Yuhao propped himself up from the bed with a look of utter helplessness.
Generally speaking, suppressing the Evil Fire only took an hour or two, but he didn't know what Ma Xiaotao was up to—she had kept the tossing and turning going for the entire night...
Both of them looked disheveled. Especially Ma Xiaotao; her thin nightgown could hardly conceal her curvaceous figure. Her long legs were blindingly white, and those two massive fruits looked as if they were about to burst from their shells.
Ma Xiaotao, however, was grinning and completely unbothered. She stretched out her foot to touch Huo Yuhao's calf, rubbing it back and forth. "I couldn't help it. Who told this Evil Fire to be so strange?"
A bitter smile appeared on Huo Yuhao's face. "Regardless, at least it was suppressed thoroughly this time. There definitely won't be any issues for a month."
Clearly, the Evil Fire was already under control...
Forget it, forget it. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing; the blending of water and fire could be considered a form of cultivation.
"By the way, Sister Xiaotao, you aren't far from becoming a Soul Saint, right?"
Ma Xiaotao stepped forward and took Huo Yuhao's hand, locking their fingers tightly together. "Thanks to you helping me suppress the Evil Fire during this time, I'm already Level 68. It's just a pity that there isn't much time left before the competition; I definitely won't be able to break through to Soul Saint."
"Let's not talk about that. As for you, Little Yuhao," Ma Xiaotao asked with concern, "You are a Core Disciple, so you are fully qualified to request a soul hunt from the academy. With how much the academy values you, they would at least send a Soul Douluo level powerhouse to take you to the Star Constellation Great Forest. At the very least, Eldest Senior Sister and I could accompany you."
"...No need. Doesn't Sister Xiaotao already know my strength? Don't worry."
Seeing Huo Yuhao's confident expression, Ma Xiaotao felt it wasn't right to push further. Everyone had their secrets, and it wouldn't be good to pry too deeply; that would only make things awkward.
"Alright, you must be careful."
Gazing at the concern in those pale pink eyes, Huo Yuhao nodded with a light laugh.
But Ma Xiaotao did not let go of his hand. Instead, she suddenly bit her lip, lost in thought.
After a long while, Huo Yuhao asked tentatively, "...Sister Xiaotao?"
She seemed to have made a decision. Taking a deep breath, she raised her soul-stirring pink eyes, which were filled with longing and reluctance. Then, Ma Xiaotao leaned over and gently touched her forehead against his.
"Little Yuhao..."
"Once you are truly grown up, you must give a proper response to your sister's feelings..."
...
The next day, at the South Gate of Shrek City.
Looking at the somewhat distracted Huo Yuhao, Zhang Lexuan patted his shoulder and asked caringly, "Yuhao, you don't seem to be in good spirits?"
Huo Yuhao blinked blankly, his voice sounding a bit unnatural.
"Teacher Lexuan, I'm fine."
"Is that so? Speaking of which, Xiaotao is really something—you're about to leave, and she didn't even come to see you off."
"Ah, it's nothing. Last night we were suppressing the Evil Fire until very late, so Sister Xiaotao went to sleep first."
Zhang Lexuan said with a hint of complaint, "Is that right... Xiaotao really is something. Didn't she say she could already control the Evil Fire? She keeps troubling you every day; what if it delays your cultivation?"
"It's nothing, really," Huo Yuhao said. "Sister Xiaotao was teaching me a very sophisticated way to use soul power, so it took a bit longer."
"Well, if you say so..." Zhang Lexuan affectionately rubbed Huo Yuhao's short blue hair. "I won't say much else. Just make sure to come back early."
"Mhm, I will definitely be back soon."
"It's a promise. Goodbye."
After watching Zhang Lexuan return to the gates of Shrek City, Huo Yuhao exhaled softly. He planned to go to Star Net City first to let his mother know, and then head to the Extreme North.
After Huo Yuhao had run westward for a while, he suddenly sensed something. He stopped in his tracks and looked up at the sky.
Before long, a white figure wearing a flying soul tool glided down from the horizon.
It was Long Qiu'er. She also spotted Huo Yuhao, retracted her flying soul tool, and landed gracefully on the ground.
Huo Yuhao stepped forward to greet her. "Miss Qiu'er."
A faint smile appeared on Long Qiu'er's face. "Mhm, long time no see, Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao asked curiously, "Are you heading back to the Star Constellation Great Forest?"
Long Qiu'er had no intention of finding a soul master academy to attend. She had worked so hard to run out of the Star Constellation Great Forest; to not travel around and instead find a school to study in would just be asking for misery.
"I'm out traveling. I happened to come by Shrek City and thought I'd head back to visit."
Long Qiu'er then noted, "Eh? You're at Level 40!"
Huo Yuhao nodded and shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, it's just that the Old Turtle can't provide me with a soul ring anymore. I'm planning to head to the Extreme North to try my luck and find a soul beast to become my soul spirit."
"I see..."
Knowing how rare mental-type soul beasts were, Long Qiu'er, as the Emperor Auspicious Beast, naturally understood. It was justifiable for Huo Yuhao to choose the Extreme North over the Star Constellation Great Forest. After all, the soul beasts in the Star Constellation Great Forest were currently extremely powerful and quite brutal in temperament—they didn't seem like the type willing to become a human's soul spirit.
However... Long Qiu'er suddenly thought of a soul beast she had once encountered.
Long Qiu'er spoke up, "I once encountered a soul beast in a certain part of the Star Constellation Great Forest. Its species shouldn't typically be mental-type, but perhaps because it underwent a mutation, it is now considered one."
"And its strength is definitely formidable—it has over 50,000 years of cultivation. If you need it, I can tell you where it appeared. Of course, you don't necessarily have to make it your soul spirit; that fellow is still quite ferocious."
Huo Yuhao's eyes immediately lit up. "Really? That's great! Thank you, Miss Qiu'er."
Over 50,000 years meant its intelligence was definitely not low, so communication might be smoother. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Huo Yuhao did not want to obtain a soul ring by killing a soul beast.
"Follow me!"
Long Qiu'er took off with her long legs, leading Huo Yuhao as they ran toward the Star Constellation Great Forest.