--- Chapter 72 ---
A wise man once said, "Fire always lives within everyone's heart as long as the ember burns till the last breath. A phoenix comes from ashes, reviving itself like scattered sparks."
"He also said, It doesn't make sense, but whatever." Huo Yuhao rubbed his imaginary smooth white beard and examined Ma Xiaotao's flawless skin with appreciation. "Hmm, truly profound and immaculate."
'Stop! What are you doing, Yuhao!' Tian Meng yelled from the spiritual sea. She can't help but feel speechless because her host has been watching the naked woman for hours without blinking.
Huo Yuhao shook his head gently and responded, "Aih, Sister Daydream. This younger brother only appreciates the beauty before my eyes."
"Is it wrong?"
"You're watching Bing Di's sleeping face for hours, and I don't complain. What kind of elementary-level hypocrisy is this?"
Tian Meng was taken aback and felt a cold aura lingering on her neck. 'T-That's different. I only watched her fair and beautiful face, not her naked tummy- I mean body...' She tried to counter the argument but fell right into Huo Yuhao's trap.
'Oy, pervert worm. What did you say?' Bing Di clutched Tian Meng's shoulder with her cold hands. The Skydream Ice Worm trembled in fear, but she couldn't do anything because the Ice Emperor sealed her in Ultimate Ice.
"Fuck! It isn't fair!" A frustrated groan of the Skydream Ice Worm echoed in the spiritual sea.
Huo Yuhao smiled and focused on burning all evil attributes inside Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix. Her martial soul was one of the more powerful Fire Elemental Spirits, but the backlash made her suffer rather than enjoy life.
"Eyes of the Lord." His royal blue eyes gained a grayish-golden hue. He could see the origin of Ma Xiaotao and even witnessed something Douluo Dalu 2's story doesn't uncover. And it was surprising because Ma Xiaotao was not only the descendant of Ma Hongjun and Bai Chenxiang from Tang San's era, but she also possessed the purest bloodline that exceeded them.
10.000 years of stacking pure bloodline allowed Ma Xiaotao to possess Evil Fire Phoenix with more Evil Nature and Ultimate Fire. And These attributes collided with each other since she was a child.
Huo Yuhao watched Ma Xiaotao's skin slowly become dark-like charcoal and smiled because the cleansing process was almost over. He let the Hell Thunderfire spread across her bountiful body, hastening the procedure even more.
[Ma Xiaotao's Evil Attribute has dropped to 69%] Evo notified him with a progressive bar.
[50%]
[33%]
[26%]
[12%]
[9%]
[2%]
Ma Xiaotao's scarlet hair released several drops of black liquid and became shinier. She breathed in and out instantly, inhaling the oxygen to burn more energy inside her body. A bunch of golden embers flashed inside her heart, spreading all over her nerves.
[1%]
[0%]
Poof!
She suddenly turned into dust, which caused Tian Meng and Bing Di to stare in shock. Eluxia observed the ember from Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea and pondered because a strong soul was burning in the ashes. It was impossible to see with naked eyes, but the necromancer could clearly witness a beautiful phoenix crying to the sky.
"Reborn from the ashes." Huo Yuhao commented with a grin.
Ma Xiaotao's body appeared from the pile of ashes, waking up slowly with a fuzzy feeling in her head and a gentle breeze brushing her skin. She looked around with a confused look on her face because the process didn't only erase her darkness but also everything related to it. It means her Spirit Rings and Spirit Energy too.
[Name: Ma Xiaotao]
[Age: 23]
[Cultivation: Level 78/Spirit Trainee(Erased)]
[Martial Soul: Fire Phoenix Empress(Variant)]
[Description: Pure Lady]
"Where am I?" A soft voice comes from her lips.
"Um, Yuhao. What happened to me?"
Huo Yuhao was surprised because Ma Xiaotao became more soft-spoken than before. When the description says "Pure." he didn't expect it to be like this. Well, it's not that bad, and she's more adorable.
"Congratulations, Senior Xiaotao." He replied naturally. "We have burned every evil trait in your Evil Fire Phoenix."
"Really?" Ma Xiaotao's ruby-like eyes gleamed excitedly. She activated her martial soul and sensed pure warmth generating inside her heart. No spirit ring came up, but she felt happier because it was like a curse lifted from her. And Tears came up from Ma Xiaotao's eyes because it's been so long.
She suddenly went for Huo Yuhao and hugged him tightly as if her life depended on it. "T-Thank you, Yuhao. I finally could live without being afraid of my dark side. I could make friends and laugh with them." She said while looking at her benefactor's face.
Their position was awkward because Huo Yuhao was on the bottom while Ma Xiaotai was hugging him with no piece of cloth whatsoever to cover her skin. Her soft mountains are rubbing against Huo Yuhao. It looks rather sensual, and Bing Di began to cover her nose from bleeding.
It took more than five minutes for Ma Xiaotao to stop crying, and Huo Yuhao respectfully let her lean on him. He coughed a few times to signal something, and the phoenix lady didn't notice it.
"Are you calm now?" Huo Yuhao looked at Ma Xiaotao, who loosened her hug and sat on his stomach.
"Um, yes." Ma Xiaotao nodded gently.
He moved his head away and added, "By the way, you're naked the whole time."
"Eh???"
...
...
A day passed after Huo Yuhao helped Ma Xiaotao cleanse her Evil Fire Phoenix. Inside the Dean's office, Yan Shaozhe cried like a baby because the cost was 10 Spirit Bones above 10.000 years old and several rare minerals.
He weakly leaned on his chair and mumbled, "I should have asked for the price earlier... That evil brat makes me poor in just two days."
"Fuck!"
"At least Ma Xiaotao is happy now." He sighed while thinking about his financial status. After all, ten spirit bones with a cultivation age past 10.000 years old are not cheap. And rare minerals Huo Yuhao wanted cost more than three years' worth of his salary.
Yan Shaozhe looked at the paper on the table, which was the list of rare minerals Huo Yuhao wanted. He opened it and saw nine different minerals with specific usages for creating Spirit Guidance Tools.
"Hmm? Use your Spirit Energy on this black dot." He noticed a small note on the edge of the paper. Yan Shaozhe felt something was wrong but activated the hidden rune on the list. As he added his Spirit Energy, the parchment exploded and released ten more parts with a new list of materials.
"T-This..." The corner of Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched.
"HUO YUHAO!!!"
...
Housing Dorm No.14, Backyard.
Huo Yuhao rubbed his ears because someone seemed to shout his name. He shrugged and dodged an incoming attack from Scathach.
He used Kenbunshoku Haki to see the red spear moving in the air and stabbed several places. He used Busoshoku Haki to harden his left hand and deflected every single one without fail.
"Good, your reaction speed isn't rusty," Scathach commented while increasing her pace.
Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, "You're looking down on me, Shishou. Even though I don't use my body quite often in the Shrek Academy, I'm fast enough to dodge your attacks."
The god slayer smiled and returned, "Is that so?"
"Then you don't have a problem with three seals off, right?"
Crack!
The ground below her shoes cracked from sheer pressure, and Scathach disappeared from her position. Huo Yuhao used the future sight and tilted his head to the right, seeing a red spear go through like a flash.
He summoned Frost and lifted two of his seals off to match up with Scathach's overall strength. "Don't blame me for ruining your morning, Shishou." He said while waving the dagger at Scathach.
She sneered and answered, "Try me, Yuhao."
BOOM!
"A-Are they even humans?" Ma Xiaotao watched Huo Yuhao and Scathach's warm-ups match with a shocked expression. They are moving too fast for her eyes to handle.
"I don't know..." Xiao Xiao answered while sitting outside the bounded field. She knew Huo Yuhao was strong, but to think he would have such power despite being the same age was outstanding.
She narrowed her green eyes at Ma Xiaotao and asked, "Also, what are you doing here, Senior?"
Ma Xiaotao blushed and replied, "W-Well, I only wanted to see how powerful Dragon Nest's exchange students were. It's nothing special Since the Shrek Academy allowed me to become representative to observe them."
Xiao Xiao's green eyes become somewhat colder when hearing Ma Xiaotao's answers because it's clear that this senior wants to become closer to Huo Yuhao.
"I see... Good for you." She returned while moving her gaze back to Huo Yuhao. She bit her finger because he was so hot when dodging Scathach's spear. Unlike Ma Xiaotao, Xiao Xiao could see Huo Yuhao's movement because her eyes "actually." were enhanced with Spirit Skill.
...
...
At the entrance of Shrek Academy, a group of people walked inside after gaining permission from the guards. They wore white hoods with golden lining, showing their noble origin from the Qianye Clan.
"So this is the Shrek Academy?" A young man with golden hair commented while opening his hood. "Not bad for a place to learn something."
"Oh well, I'm here not for studying, though."
He looked at the vast land of Shrek Academy and chuckled excitedly, "Ying'er, your fiance is coming for you."