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Inside the dormitory, Yuwen Tuo finished his night of cultivation and opened his eyes. He muttered to himself, "The time... should be about right. Yan Shaozhe, you ought to be looking for me now."
Just as he predicted, within the Inner Court, Yan Shaozhe was currently pacing anxiously.
"What's going on? Little Tao has been in seclusion for almost nine months now. Even though it's for breaking through to Soul Sage, with her talent, how could it be this difficult?"
Ma Xiaotao not emerging from seclusion for nine months had indeed worried quite a few people.
Logically, her Evil Fire issue should have been resolved, so the breakthrough shouldn't have been this challenging.
"Little Tao's Evil Fire wasn't actually completely eradicated. There's still a final trace left. I fear it's precisely this trace that's restricting her. I can sense that she could actually break through at any moment, but she's afraid that once she becomes a Soul Sage, that hidden final seed of Evil Fire will erupt again," Mu En stated.
Yan Shaozhe asked worriedly, "Teacher, what should we do then?"
Mu En sighed. "Ai, fetch Yuwen Tuo. Perhaps right now, only he has a solution."
"Yuwen Tuo again... We've already harmed him for six years, must we do it again...?" Cai Mei'er truly couldn't bear the thought; women often tend to be more sentimental.
"Teacher, you previously judged Yuwen Tuo as having no cultivation value, which is why you used him in this way. But now it's been proven that his Pure Fire Martial Soul is extraordinary; no matter how the Evil Fire erodes it, it can't cause even the slightest contamination. Therefore, I believe, as he continues his cultivation, the power of his Soul Rings will be even less capable of shaking that purity. As he grows stronger, perhaps his fire Martial Soul will also reach the Ultimate level. At that point, he would be an unprecedented Super Soul Master, fusing the utmost purity of the Ultimate attribute with supreme strength! How can we harm him again?"
"But Little Tao is at a critical juncture right now! Can't Yuwen Tuo make a small sacrifice? Since the Evil Fire couldn't affect his ultimate purity for the past six years, is it really going to destroy him this time? At worst, it will just weaken his Soul Power by a few ranks. I'll give him a Soul Ascension Pill as compensation. That should be acceptable, right?" Yan Shaozhe retorted.
No matter how much of a genius Yuwen Tuo was, Ma Xiaotao was his only direct disciple. If he didn't dote on his own disciple, was he supposed to dote on an outsider?
He could clearly sense that Yuwen Tuo was fundamentally not aligned with Shrek anymore.
Seeing her husband's mind was made up and he couldn't be persuaded, Cai Mei'er could only leave without another word.
Yan Shaozhe knew Ling Luochen had a relatively good relationship with Yuwen Tuo, so he sent her over.
Ling Luochen arrived at the door to Yuwen Tuo's room, found it open, and walked inside. "Little Tuo, your plan can begin."
Yuwen Tuo stood up and smiled, "Well then, Sister Luochen, I'll have to trouble you to put in a few good words for me later."
Ling Luochen sighed helplessly. "Who asked you to be my little brother? No matter how willful you are, I can only tolerate it. Let's go."
The two arrived together at the Inner Court in the center of Sea God Lake, standing before the door to the room where Ma Xiaotao was in seclusion. Only Yan Shaozhe remained there now.
Mu En had already left. After all, for such a despicable matter, how could an upright gentleman like him be present? That would ruin his image.
It could only fall upon Yan Shaozhe to 'request' Yuwen Tuo's help.
As soon as Yan Shaozhe saw Yuwen Tuo, he came forward and grabbed him. "Yuwen Tuo, quickly! Right now, only you can help Little Tao! As long as you help her solve the final Evil Fire problem, I can promise you anything you want!"
"Does that include leaving Shrek?" Yuwen Tuo retorted with a smile.
Hearing this, Yan Shaozhe thought inwardly, 'Just as I thought. Even now, this child is still fixated on leaving Shrek.'
But how could he possibly let go of a true genius with Innate Level 20 Soul Power, especially one whose Pure Fire Martial Soul had already demonstrated potential comparable to an Ultimate attribute?
Even if he didn't belong to Shrek, he couldn't belong to anyone else! Thinking further, if they let him go and he became powerful, what if he came back in the future seeking revenge against Shrek for the six years he was crippled?
"Alright, I promise you! Once you cure Little Tao, I will let you leave the academy!" Yan Shaozhe declared.
He'd deal with the consequences later. He agreed first; once Yuwen Tuo completely cured Ma Xiaotao, worst case scenario, he would just find an excuse to renege on the promise. For instance, claiming Yuwen Tuo had absorbed too much Evil Fire and needed to be observed for several more years to ensure there were no problems before letting him go.
Yuwen Tuo gave a scornful laugh. "Heh, does Dean Yan truly take me for an idiot? You think I'd believe that?"
Yan Shaozhe angrily gripped Yuwen Tuo's shoulder. With his disciple concerned, he could no longer maintain his elder's decorum. "Kid, don't refuse the easy way only to be forced into the hard way! Even if you don't agree, I can throw you into Little Tao's room right now, and you'll still have to help her! Can you resist the Evil Fire eroding your Martial Soul?"
Yuwen Tuo felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. It seemed Yan Shaozhe truly cared deeply for his disciple.
Ling Luochen quickly stepped forward to mediate. "Dean, please calm down! Let's hear what Little Tuo has to say first. If he's unwilling and you continue to force him, I fear he'd rather be shattered jade than intact tile."
"Sister Luochen understands me best," Yuwen Tuo said with a smile. "Dean Yan Shaozhe, it's true that I couldn't resist before. But now... why don't you try and see if my fire can still be eroded?"
Yuwen Tuo raised his palm, and a flame ignited upon it.
It looked exactly the same as it did back then, but seeing it again today, Yan Shaozhe felt a distinct difference.
Seeing Yuwen Tuo's expression, Yan Shaozhe thought, Fine, let's test it.
He also raised his palm, conjuring a milky-white flame. This was the Spirit Light Holy Flame from his Radiant Phoenix Martial Soul, quite powerful and not much weaker than the Evil Fire.
The Spirit Light Holy Flame touched Yuwen Tuo's fire.
Due to the vast difference in cultivation level, Yuwen Tuo's flame naturally dispersed instantly. However, it merely dispersed—broken apart by absolute power.
But that wasn't Yan Shaozhe's goal. He wanted Yuwen Tuo's fire to purify the light attribute within his Spirit Light Holy Flame, just like how Ma Xiaotao had previously forcefully used his fire to purify the evil attribute within her Evil Fire.
"Do you understand now, Dean? For these six years, my Soul Power was constantly crippled, and my Martial Soul continuously eroded. But I never gave up cultivating for a single day. It was like being constantly killed and reborn, making my Soul Power and Martial Soul stronger and stronger. Now, even though killing me might be as easy as turning your hand for you, trying to forcefully use my Martial Soul for purification without my consent is nothing but a fool's dream! Even if you throw me into Ma Xiaotao's room, the most that can happen is I get burned to death by her fire. But you will absolutely never see the day your disciple obtains the Ultimate Fire!" Yuwen Tuo declared.
"This time, I will not yield anymore, Yan Shaozhe! Those eight words, 'Rather be shattered jade than intact tile'—don't think I don't understand their meaning! I don't want to die, but I am not afraid to die either!"
Yan Shaozhe narrowed his eyes. "Then what exactly will it take for you to help? Let me be direct: letting you go is impossible!"
He knew he couldn't deceive Yuwen Tuo anymore, so he might as well be blunt.
Since Yuwen Tuo had come here with Ling Luochen, he certainly wanted something. Yan Shaozhe wasn't afraid of him having demands; he was only afraid of him being utterly impervious to persuasion.