Douluo Continent II: The Peerless Tang Sect: I, Huo Yuhao, join the Sun Moon Sect.

Chapter 197 I am Xiao Yan of the Soul Palace
Ling Luochen hesitated, after all, doing so could potentially cause Ma Xiaotao serious harm.

For Elder Zhuang of the academy, some injuries could be easily healed, while others were difficult to cure. She did not want to leave Ma Xiaotao with indelible damage.

Ma Xiaotao gasped for breath, her eyes gradually turning red: "Xu Sanshi is no good, he's too weak."

My problem with excessive internal heat is getting worse. Normally, I could ask him to help suppress it.

But in this situation, only you can help me suppress my inner fire, Luo Chen. Please help me, I can't suppress it anymore.

As she spoke, Ma Xiaotao's breathing became increasingly rapid, and her expression turned extremely agitated.

The rationality that belonged to a human soul master was also rapidly fading at this moment. She gritted her teeth and stared straight at Ling Luochen, looking as if she wanted to devour him.

Oh no! He's already lost his mind from the evil fire so quickly?

Ling Luochen's heart skipped a beat. Actually, the reason she and Ma Xiaotao were able to come to the vicinity of the Sea God Pavilion was because Yan Shaozhe had given them special permission. Normally, students would not be allowed to come to such an important place as the Sea God Pavilion without permission.

Yan Shaozhe did this to improve Ma Xiaotao's health, after all, he was Ma Xiaotao's teacher and should consider his student's well-being.

Furthermore, Ma Xiaotao is a descendant of Ma Hongjun, one of the original Seven Devils who made significant contributions to the academy. Shrek Academy would naturally do everything possible to protect Ma Xiaotao.

"Xiao Tao, calm down. Don't lose your mind. Think about Dean Yan. He certainly doesn't want you to lose your mind."

Anxiety showed on Ling Luochen's fair face. No matter what, she didn't want anything to happen to Ma Xiaotao.

She hopes that Ma Xiaotao can regain her senses and be able to communicate normally.

But her attempts were in vain.

As soon as she finished speaking, Ma Xiaotao directly activated her martial spirit.

Crimson wings unfurled from her back, and flames quickly enveloped her, blazing and bright, making her appear from afar as a fiery red figure.

The temperature in the air suddenly rose, and the thin mist that had been near Poseidon Lake also turned into water vapor and quickly dissipated under Ma Xiaotao's influence.

Ma Xiaotao's expression as she looked at Ling Luochen was also very strange. It was more like a hunter sizing up its prey than looking at a friend.

For a moment, Ling Luochen also sensed the crisis.

She knew that Ma Xiaotao had lost her mind, and that words alone could not bring her back to her senses.

Ling Luochen gritted her teeth, and a staff made entirely of ice immediately appeared in her hand.

A chill immediately filled the air.

This is her first soul skill—the Ice Staff.

She then needed to unleash her other soul skills to suppress the evil fire within Ma Xiaotao's body and restore her sanity.

Although doing so might injure Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it.

After a while, Ling Luochen collapsed to the ground, his face pale and bloodstains appearing at the corners of his mouth.

The ground beside her was charred black and riddled with craters of varying sizes.

The damage to the external environment was actually a result of the battle between the two.

Ling Luochen stared at Ma Xiaotao not far away, somewhat incredulous.

Because she hadn't expected that Ma Xiaotao's problem with her inner fire hadn't been resolved yet, but the other party had become so much stronger.

Could it be that for Ma Xiaotao, the increased corrosive effect of the evil fire could actually enhance her strength?
She subconsciously activated her soul-guiding shield, and soon she was enveloped in a golden-glowing shield.

The appearance of the soul-guided shield gave Ling Luochen a sense of security.

"However, once my soul power is exhausted, even a defensive soul tool will not be able to sustain me."

"What should I do then? Without soul power, how can I possibly contend with Ma Xiaotao?" Ling Luochen felt a heavy weight in her heart. She sensed that her situation was dire, and she might even die at Ma Xiaotao's hands. After all, Ma Xiaotao was currently impossible to communicate with.

However, Ling Luochen could not back down.

Because she knew that letting Ma Xiaotao leave in this state would definitely harm the students in the academy, she had no choice but to stay here for their safety.

"If only there were someone around here."

She felt somewhat helpless; despite the commotion she and Ma Xiaotao had caused, no one had come to help.

This means that the elders of the Sea God Pavilion could not possibly be here; otherwise, they would have already come out to resolve Ma Xiaotao's problem.

"As expected, when it comes to one-on-one combat, Ling Luochen is no match for Ma Xiaotao."

Ma Xiaotao is not only of a higher level than Ling Luochen, but she is also a powerful attack-type Soul Master. In addition, unlike in the original work, Ma Xiaotao's evil fire was not suppressed by Huo Gua.

Therefore, Ma Xiaotao's erosion by the evil fire deepened significantly, and her strength also increased.

The main reason why Ma Xiaotao could not become the ultimate flame was that her martial soul was not pure enough.

However, Ma Xiaotao doesn't actually need to pursue the ultimate fire. As long as she's corrupted by the evil fire to a certain degree, her martial soul can move to another extreme. Combined with the Sword of Judgment, she'll become a Black Phoenix, and then she can join the Holy Spirit Cult and become a Holy Maiden.

Huo Yuhao used his simulation soul skill to simulate the surrounding environment, and at this moment he was in a "stealth state", so Ling Luochen and Ma Xiaotao present did not notice his figure.

He was just underground in the Sea God Pavilion when he heard some noises outside.

He chose to leave the Sea God Pavilion to see what was happening outside, and then he saw Ling Luochen and Ma Xiaotao fighting.

"Hmm, I should give Ma Xiaotao a hand, since she is Ma Hongjun's descendant. I can make some arrangements with Ma Xiaotao, and maybe even sow discord among the Seven Devils. The Seven Devils are basically Tang San's core group. These guys followed Tang San from Douluo Continent to the God Realm, and they are basically Tang San's most loyal henchmen."

If they succeed in sowing discord, Tang San will definitely suffer a lot.

According to the original novel, Ma Hongjun is a man who misses his wife in the legends of the gods. Such a person would probably occasionally pay attention to his descendants.

In the novel, Ma Hongjun has a descendant named Ma Xiaotao, which means that Bai Chenxiang must have been pregnant with Ma Hongjun's child.

Even so, Tang San didn't manage to get a single piece of Bai Chenxiang, which is truly outrageous.

Although, according to the original setting, there is a limit to the number of people in the Upper God Realm.

But Tang San is a God King, after all. Rong Nianbing is weaker than Tang San, only a first-level god, yet he managed to get so many people up there. There's no reason why Tang San couldn't do the same.

With that thought in mind, Huo Yuhao put on a mask, then revealed his figure and walked out.

Perhaps because she didn't come into contact with the Sword of Judgment, Ma Xiaotao didn't become the Black Phoenix and then get targeted by the Holy Spirit Cult.

Therefore, Ma Xiaotao is still in Shrek Academy and has not become a Holy Maiden of the Holy Spirit Cult.

Ling Luochen's face lit up with joy when he saw someone approaching.

But when she saw Huo Yuhao's figure and attire, her expression immediately darkened, because in her memory, there was no such person among the elders of the Sea God Pavilion.

So, the other party is a student from the inner courtyard?

Ling Luochen immediately asked for help: "You're wearing a mask, so I don't know which student you are from the inner courtyard."

However, you should know Ma Xiaotao. She's in trouble now, and I hope you can help me. Once Ma Xiaotao leaves here, the students from the outer courtyard might be attacked by her.

"I'm not an inner court student," Huo Yuhao shook his head.

"Not an inner court student?" Ling Luochen asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, I come from the Soul Palace. You can call me Xiao Yan." Huo Yuhao directly chose to put on a disguise, which was an essential prelude to fooling people later. As for Ma Xiaotao, she was actually easy for Huo Yuhao to deal with.

The Soul Palace? Xiao Yan?
What and what?
Ling Luochen was a little confused. The Soul Palace sounded like an organization, but did such an organization exist on the Douluo Continent?
(End of this chapter)