Chapter 128: Yan Shaozhe, the impact and shock brought by the Snow Empress (3k)

Shrek Academy, Sea God Island.

The morning sunlight slowly enveloped the entire land like a soft gauze. Ma Xiaotao slowly woke up from a deep sleep. She opened her eyes in a daze; the feeling of the evil fire devouring her heart still existed within her body, though it seemed to have been weakened significantly. Her limbs were unexpectedly cold and stiff. She shook her muddled brain, and then her eyes immediately fell upon the white-haired old man standing by the window.

The white-haired old man's aura was very gentle, looking just like an ordinary old man. But if one felt carefully, one would discover that the old man possessed a unique aura of light. This aura of light was very dense, different from the pure aura of light on the Dragon God Douluo Mu En. Within the white-haired old man's aura of light, there seemed to be a hint of something else, yet upon closer inspection, it felt as if there was nothing there at all.

And this old man was none other than the 261st Dean of Shrek Academy, Yan Shaozhe, a Super Douluo powerhouse who possessed the Bright Phoenix martial soul, which was not inferior to the Bright Sacred Dragon martial soul. His title was the Bright Phoenix.

Judging from his background and talent, he was absolutely one of the top figures of the previous generation. The reason why he remained at the level of an early-stage Super Douluo at nearly ninety years old was inextricably linked to his state of mind.

Unlike his teacher Mu En, he had not inherited the essence of Mu En's vision and perspective. On the contrary, possessing the Bright Phoenix martial soul, he was obsessed with petty matters like scheming, which was diametrically opposed to the nature of the Bright Phoenix martial soul. Problems with his state of mind made it extremely difficult for him to break through even a single level of soul power.

The Gluttonous Douluo Xuan Zi, who possessed the Gluttonous God Cow martial soul, was the same. Both of them had fatal flaws in their states of mind, which led to the fact that they could never shoulder Mu En's responsibilities. Even if they had shouldered them, so what? Given their temperaments, they were destined to be far inferior to Mu En.

A phoenix that should have soared high into the nine heavens had the narrow-minded, calculating temperament of a rat, while Xuan Zi was like a dog that couldn't shake off its chain, muddle-headed and not knowing what to do. It could only be said that these two indeed had much in common.

And for the Bright Phoenix and the Gluttonous God Cow—two super martial souls not inferior to the bloodlines of divine beasts—to follow them was truly a waste of talent.

If only the two of them could resolve the problems in their states of mind, how could they have been shackled for so many years? And the prosperity of Shrek Academy would also have been destined to far exceed its current level.

In fact, most of the time, these two were fully capable of realizing where the problems in their states of mind lay; they just weren't willing to change. A large part of Mu En's disappointment also stemmed from this...

……

"Teacher..."

Ma Xiaotao called out softly, lowering her head at the same time.

Yan Shaozhe slowly turned around. Looking at the dispirited Ma Xiaotao, his heart ultimately softened. The other party had been raised by his own hands; the relationship between the two had long since transcended that of teacher and student, becoming more like father and daughter. Yan Shaozhe had always been extremely kind to this only disciple and successor of his.

"Xiaotao, breaking through is not a matter of a moment; do not be impatient anymore... The evil fire in your body has not been vented for a long time. If it continues to accumulate like this, I fear you will often lose control in the future, and it might even cause you to fall into..."

Speaking to this point, Yan Shaozhe sighed softly, his eyes somewhat complex.

He had once let go of Feng Ling, the Evil Phoenix Douluo who was now the Deputy Sect Master of the Holy Spirit Sect, because he couldn't bear to do otherwise. Once Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul completely lost control or was subjected to intense stimulation, she too would fall into darkness. At that time, he would likely have to face the same choice he made back then...

"Teacher..."

Ma Xiaotao opened her mouth, but in the end, she still said softly: "Teacher, I know I was wrong. I thought I could..."

"Enough!"

Yan Shaozhe's tone rarely carried a trace of anger, but soon after, this trace of anger dissipated quickly. Regarding Ma Xiaotao, his anger always disappeared inexplicably, or rather, he simply couldn't bring himself to be cruel.

A gentle soul power of the light attribute entered Ma Xiaotao's body, and the meridians that had developed flaws due to the burning of the evil fire were slowly repaired, but the pain it brought still made Ma Xiaotao unable to help but groan.

It was not until Yan Shaozhe withdrew his hand that Ma Xiaotao raised her head, but when she saw Yan Shaozhe's complexion, she couldn't help but feel a shock.

"Teacher... your complexion, why is it like this..."

Ma Xiaotao did not say the final adjective. In her impression, her teacher had always been the representative of elegance and gentleness, never having looked so disheveled. Even the aura around his body was slightly fluctuating, as if he had just experienced a great battle.

Yan Shaozhe's expression stiffened. He couldn't very well say that he and a group of old fogies were watching a show, only to be unable to resist intervening at the end, and then almost being hammered into psychological trauma by a single strike from the powerhouse behind them, could he? That would be too embarrassing to say out loud, and it would damage his dignity in front of his disciple. After thinking for a moment, Yan Shaozhe said: "Yesterday, your evil fire lost control, and you almost rushed to the outer courtyard. Fortunately, Ling Luochen lured you away. She has had a fortuitous encounter recently; Elder Xuan personally went to see her and said there was an extremely terrifying power guarding her in her spiritual sea. Then, you, having lost control, happened to run into her, so we thought about whether we could let you force it out, and as a result..."

Yan Shaozhe sighed softly, his voice becoming lower.

"As a result, we succeeded. Ling Luochen channeled that power, and a Limit Douluo descended a phantom through the power in that little girl's spiritual sea..."

"Limit Douluo!?"

Ma Xiaotao exclaimed, her eyes full of disbelief.

"Yes, Elder Xuan only said that the power was very terrifying, but because he was in a hurry to drink and eat meat, he didn't investigate carefully. We originally thought it was left behind by a Super Douluo. Who knew it would be a Limit Douluo whose strength was even greater than my teacher's teacher? That Limit Douluo even possessed the Extreme Ice attribute, a super attribute that had never appeared on humans before..."

Yan Shaozhe gave a wry smile, still having lingering fears about yesterday's events. "A Limit Douluo even stronger than the teacher's teacher... Extreme Ice!?"

Ma Xiaotao whispered. Suddenly, she jumped off the bed barefoot, dragging her heavy body as she struggled to the window. Then, she saw a scene she had never dared to imagine before.

The originally beautiful Sea God Lake had turned into a world of ice and snow at this moment. Even the shore had turned into a scene like the Frozen Forest. The clear lake water had turned into a solid ice surface, and many inner and outer courtyard disciples were walking on it; clearly, they were also not lightly shocked.

"This... how is this possible..."

Ma Xiaotao covered her head, saying in disbelief.

"There is nothing impossible. A Limit Douluo can destroy the world with a single thought. Even if it is just a phantom, it is enough to easily crush me. It is a blessing that she did not attack you, let alone that this is a Limit Douluo who possesses an extreme attribute..."

Yan Shaozhe's soft voice sounded from behind, his voice filled with bitterness. Yesterday, he finally understood just how vast the insurmountable chasm between level 95 and level 99 was. It was absolute crushing; every breath and every thought was a power he could not reach even if he tried his best.

Ma Xiaotao was silent for a while, ignoring the astonishment and shock of learning about a Limit Douluo with the Extreme Ice attribute, and then suddenly asked: "Teacher, where is Ling Luochen?"

Yan Shaozhe sighed again, then said:

"Because of yesterday's events, she has already broken through to the Soul King level. Elder Zhuang personally treated her, and her injuries are no longer a problem. The academy... the academy was ultimately not in the right, so it offered to give her a ten-thousand-year soul bone and provide her with the best fifth soul ring for free as compensation. She agreed."

Ma Xiaotao clenched her fists. She had already been quite dissatisfied with the other party suddenly withdrawing from the team and disrupting their original plan. Coupled with the fact that she and Ling Luochen were already at odds, she had briefly regained clarity for a moment yesterday, but upon seeing that it was Ling Luochen, those dissatisfied emotions fueled the evil fire to erupt again, almost causing her to completely lose her mind, and in the end, this was..."

Thinking of this, Ma Xiaotao subconsciously circulated the soul power in her body, only to be surprised to find that her soul power had actually broken through to level 60.

Yan Shaozhe seemed to have noticed Ma Xiaotao's abnormality as well. He said softly: "Your soul power has already broken through to level 60. Yesterday, that powerhouse suppressed the evil fire in your body with just a glance, and your soul power broke through as a result. However, you absorbed too much extreme cold energy. Ice and fire are inherently opposed, not to mention that the senior's Extreme Ice was so powerful that it reached a realm we never dared to imagine before, completely suppressing the phoenix fire in your body and even causing great damage to the fire origin of your martial soul."

"For the next three months, you need to work with the teacher's help to remove some of that cold energy. Otherwise, if the yin is too strong and the yang is too weak, your body and talent will be greatly affected. Only after completing this step can you obtain a soul ring and continue to cultivate."

Ma Xiaotao suddenly raised those beautiful pale pink eyes, but looking at the serious expression on Yan Shaozhe's face, she had no choice but to lower her head in a somewhat dejected manner...

Yan Shaozhe patted Ma Xiaotao on the shoulder and comforted her: "According to our estimates, ordinary Extreme Ice would definitely only be beneficial to you, but this Extreme Ice is too powerful and even mixed with a hint of other attributes, so it is not entirely a good thing for you."

"Don't be so discouraged. After removing the excess Extreme Ice aura, the remaining amount will be enough for you to cultivate peacefully for about three months. After that, the evil fire will be reborn, but because you have been in close contact with Extreme Ice, the new evil fire will be much weaker, allowing us to control it better. This can be considered a blessing in disguise."

After a pause, Yan Shaozhe gave a wry smile again:

"You should rest well first. We will talk about other things later; it's hard to explain clearly for now. The teacher has another major matter to attend to, which might take some time. I will come to see you later..."

As he spoke, Yan Shaozhe prepared to leave.

"Teacher, wait!"

Ma Xiaotao grabbed Yan Shaozhe's sleeve, then asked with a trembling voice:

"Teacher, can you tell me what exactly you are going to do?"

Yan Shaozhe gave a wry smile, then rubbed Ma Xiaotao's head, and said softly: "Silly girl, a Limit Douluo with an extreme attribute has suddenly appeared on the continent, not to mention that we have offended her in a roundabout way. By now, the Sea God Pavilion is probably already anxious to the point of smoking. Elder Mu has even personally convened a Sea God Pavilion meeting. As the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, I must be there..."

After hearing this, Ma Xiaotao silently let go of the hand holding Yan Shaozhe's sleeve, then said: "Teacher, I'm sorry..."

Yan Shaozhe just sighed again, then said:

"Rest well and don't think too much. We of the older generation are still here, and with Elder Mu sitting in charge, everything is not as bad as you imagine..."

As he spoke, Yan Shaozhe patted Ma Xiaotao on the shoulder, then turned and left, disappearing into a streak of golden light...

Ma Xiaotao, on the other hand, seemed to have suddenly lost all her strength and slumped to the ground...

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 129 =====