Peerless: Tang San, this time Huo Yuhao is the attacker.

Chapter 96 Ma Xiaotao: Why is it Ling Luochen? I was here first!

Inside the room, Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao sat cross-legged on the bed, palms touching, simultaneously circulating their internal energy.

To Ma Xiaotao's surprise, the ultimate ice soul power's ability to suppress the evil fire had increased compared to last time.

This is not a problem of the quantity of soul power, but a problem of the quality of soul power.

Logically speaking, Huo Yuhao is the ultimate ice master, so the quality of his soul power is much higher than that of ordinary soul masters. And the higher the quality of soul power, the more difficult it is to improve.

But how long has it been? Only a month. Ma Xiaotao was completely baffled, wondering why Huo Yuhao had improved so much.

Compared to Ma Xiaotao's doubts, Huo Yuhao was quite satisfied at the moment. With the amplification of [Frost Blessing], his suppression of the evil fire had become even stronger, and his endurance had improved significantly.

Moreover, Huo Yuhao also discovered that the pain caused by this tempering with evil fire was much less than the last time.

It wasn't that his willpower had increased, but rather that his body had become stronger; all of this was thanks to the Life Gold.

The suppression of the evil fire lasted only a little over half an hour.

After all, the evil fire in Ma Xiaotao's body was less than one-fifth of what it was last time, and Huo Yuhao's ultimate ice was even more durable. With the two combined, the time was naturally much shorter.

Huo Yuhao didn't even stop to recover his soul power before the whole process was over.

The two simultaneously withdrew their palms and opened their eyes. Without the burden of the evil fire, Ma Xiaotao felt a sense of relief.

Ma Xiaotao cherished this moment of ease. Ever since awakening her martial soul, she had been under immense pressure from the evil fire until Huo Yuhao appeared, which completely changed the situation.

"Yuhao, thank you. I really don't know what I would have done without you."

Looking at the tenderness in Ma Xiaotao's eyes, Huo Yuhao was a little puzzled, wondering why she had suddenly become sentimental.

"Senior, there's no need to say such things. They're just small things that I can do, nothing to worry about."

Although the specific reasons are unknown, it does not prevent Huo Yuhao from choosing the strategy that has the highest favorability.

He had a faint smile on his face, clear eyes, and a sincere tone, appearing completely unconcerned.

Ma Xiaotao's gaze softened, and she let out a soft sigh, "Yuhao, I'm very sorry about what happened before, for putting you in danger."

Huo Yuhao thought for a moment and realized that Ma Xiaotao was probably referring to the time when they first met and she almost hurt him. That was the only time they were truly in danger.

However, what he wanted to know more about was why Ma Xiaotao suddenly said all this, first thanking him and then bringing up the previous danger.

Ma Xiaotao has already expressed her gratitude and apologized before, so what is the point of bringing up the past again?

"Those things are all in the past, senior, you don't need to take them to heart, and I have never blamed you."

Huo Yuhao continued speaking, wanting to hear what Ma Xiaotao had to say.

"Yuhao, you really haven't blamed me at all?"

Ma Xiaotao's gaze was intense, and her expression was very serious. Huo Yuhao paused. His previous words were just to comfort her, and it would be too fake to give a definite answer now.

It's simply incomprehensible that a normal person wouldn't experience negative emotions after their life is threatened due to someone else's mistake.

"To be honest, I was very angry at first, but after I learned that my senior was troubled by her own martial soul because of the loss of control of the evil fire, I no longer had such thoughts."

I stopped caring about it a long time ago, so you really don't need to do this, senior. Aren't we doing fine now?

Ma Xiaotao looked at Huo Yuhao, her lips pursed, "But I don't think it's good at all."

"Huh? What do you mean by that, senior?"

Huo Yuhao looked at Ma Xiaotao in confusion. Was it just his imagination? He seemed to sense a hint of grievance in Ma Xiaotao's words.

"You said the same thing before, that you forgave me. Back then, you called me 'senior sister,' but even after all this time, you still call me 'senior sister.'"

We've known each other for a long time, long before you and Luo Chen, but you address her much more affectionately than you address me.

The grievance in Ma Xiaotao's voice gradually became more apparent, her dark red eyes flickered slightly, and a hint of unease lingered in her heart.

Showing weakness is not her style, especially not to a twelve-year-old boy who is so much younger than her.

Ma Xiaotao's real goal was to deepen her relationship with Huo Yuhao.

The only reasonable bond between her and Huo Yuhao was suppressing the evil fire; apart from that, there was nothing more they could do.

All of this is because of their not-so-close relationship. Their current relationship is that of senior and junior, which is to put it bluntly, just ordinary classmates.

But what about Ling Luochen and Huo Yuhao? The way they acted together already suggests they were very close friends.

The bond between Ling Luochen and Huo Yuhao surpasses even that of the regular team members who train together frequently; in fact, it can be said to far exceed it.

She was so certain because she witnessed the entire intimate process of the two applying medicine last night.

The sensory abilities of Soul Masters are completely unimaginable to ordinary people. Highly skilled Soul Masters can see objects using only their mental power.

Ma Xiaotao was able to do this. Logically speaking, unless one is a spirit-type soul master, controlling or even utilizing spiritual power would require at least a seven-ring soul saint level of cultivation.

But Ma Xiaotao is different. She has consumed all sorts of rare and precious herbs since she was a child, many of which are related to mental strength.

In addition, she had been enduring the torment of the evil fire while cultivating, which greatly honed her willpower, and her mental strength was far ahead of her peers.

(Chapter 44 of the original work: Enduring pain can temper one's mental strength.)

Last night, she inadvertently sensed the soul power fluctuations of Huo Yuhao and Ling Luochen gathering together, and also inadvertently overheard their conversation.

Finally, he inadvertently activated his mental vision ability and saw everything that happened in the living room.

The images seen through mental power are different from those seen with the naked eye; they have no color, only images outlined by lines.

Ma Xiaotao didn't know what clothes Ling Luochen was wearing last night.

But when she saw Huo Yuhao applying medicine to her thighs and arms, Ling Luochen didn't make any move.

Huo Yuhao did the same, only applying the medicine and not making any other unnecessary movements.

In other words, Ling Luochen's outfit last night directly exposed her thighs and entire arms.

Ma Xiaotao couldn't imagine what kind of clothes these were, but she understood one thing:

The fact that Ling Luochen would wear such clothes in front of Huo Yuhao indicates that their relationship is definitely not ordinary.

Not to mention she overheard their intimate conversation.

"Remember to apply medicine yourself if you get injured in the future. You can't be as careless as you were before."

"Sister Luo Chen promised to help me apply the medicine later, is she going back on her word?"

"If you get hurt in front of me, you can be careless."

Is this the kind of conversation that should happen between normal classmates or friends? It doesn't seem like it at all!

Looking at herself, she knew that simply cultivating with the extreme ice could only suppress the evil fire, but could not change her martial soul.

Only by engaging in sexual relations can her evil fire phoenix shed its evil nature and transform into a true fire phoenix.

Ma Xiaotao was initially extremely resistant to this kind of thing, but after spending time with Huo Yuhao over this period of time, she felt that it was appropriate to observe and wait.

She originally intended to take her time and do things carefully, since Huo Yuhao was still young. But as she waited and saw, Ling Luochen suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

She's still assembling her soldiers, while Ling Luochen's side is almost finished with the battle; the progress of the two sides is incomparable.

Ma Xiaotao had no choice but to abandon her original plan of slowly building things up and instead confront Huo Yuhao, taking the initiative to take their relationship to the next level.

Huo Yuhao was surprised, not because Ma Xiaotao had such a thought, but because she expressed it.

He had always known that Ma Xiaotao wanted to get closer to him; it was obvious.

This all stems from a yearning for the ultimate form of ice.

But Huo Yuhao also knew Ma Xiaotao's personality well; this didn't seem like something Ma Xiaotao would say.

When someone does something that contradicts their public image, it's because they've discovered something detrimental to them and want to achieve a favorable outcome through this behavior.

Huo Yuhao didn't know what Ma Xiaotao had seen or heard, but one thing was certain: Ma Xiaotao was anxious.

Huo Yuhao responded without hesitation, smiling slightly, "I understand. Sister Xiaotao thinks I still harbor resentment about what happened before. Now, are you relieved?"

He didn't mind getting closer to Ma Xiaotao; in fact, establishing a good relationship with Ma Xiaotao was already part of his plan.

The only uncertainty is the choice of this relationship: best friends or lovers.

Ma Xiaotao needs his ultimate ice, and he also needs Ma Xiaotao's power.

However, in this relationship, he had to take the absolute initiative, so from beginning to end, it was always Ma Xiaotao who took the initiative to approach him, and he only responded appropriately.

After all, Ma Xiaotao didn't know that he needed her strength, and she thought that she was taking from him unilaterally.

This is why Huo Yuhao didn't take action.

He would only step forward to give Ma Xiaotao hope when she could no longer walk and felt hopeless, and guide her to continue.

Just like now, Ma Xiaotao mentioned Ling Luochen. Obviously, she was upset that Ling Luochen had passed her by, which is why she said those words to him.

Huo Yuhao would, of course, promptly provide the necessary feedback; without positive feedback, one can never sustain a relationship in the long run.

Hearing this address, which was several times more intimate than "senior sister," Ma Xiaotao's eyes lit up. She was prepared for the worst—that her enthusiasm would be met with indifference.

For example, Huo Yuhao would say she was boring with a puzzled look on his face, or he would directly curse at her.

However, she didn't think she would be treated that way, because Huo Yuhao had once given her an invincible shield.

This is also the biggest reason why Ma Xiaotao dared to say this to Huo Yuhao.

If Huo Yuhao really disliked her, why did he give Ling Luochen an invincible shield along with one for her?

If she really had no confidence at all, she wouldn't have said those things.

"Why isn't Sister Tao saying anything? Don't you believe me yet?"

"Oh? Oh, no, no, I'm just so happy."

Hearing Huo Yuhao's voice again, Ma Xiaotao finally realized what was happening and quickly replied.

"Well then, Sister Tao, I'll be going now."

"Okay, good luck in tomorrow's competition! Don't worry, Sister Xiaotao will be there to support you," Ma Xiaotao replied happily.

Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao reminded her, "Sister Xiaotao, the dean said that everyone should hide their strength, and tomorrow the main attacker will be Sister Luo Chen."

Ma Xiaotao coughed awkwardly. Huo Yuhao saw this and didn't say anything more. He smiled at her and then opened the door and left the bedroom.

Once the door was closed, Ma Xiaotao let out a long sigh of relief, then fell backward, sinking straight into the bed.

Staring at the snow-white ceiling for a long while, Ma Xiaotao suddenly smiled, her eyes showing a mixture of relief and helplessness.

"If only you had been born a few years earlier, but it's alright, at least you came into this world—"

Huo Yuhao did not return to his own room, but instead knocked on Wang Dong's door.

slap~

The door opened with a sound, and Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao at the door. His face lit up with joy at first, but then he seemed to remember something and his expression turned sour.

"Oh, what brings you here? Aren't you going to keep your senior company?"

"Accompany my senior? What do you mean, accompany my senior?" Huo Yuhao asked, feigning ignorance.

"Stop pretending! You spent the whole day yesterday with Ling Luochen. Are you still trying to deny it?"

"Friendly reminder: our rooms aren't far apart. Sister Luo Chen is a Soul King, so she might be able to hear us."

Wang Dong was startled and subconsciously turned her head to look at Ling Luochen's bedroom. The door was still closed, but after hearing Huo Yuhao's words, she felt as if there was a pair of eyes watching her from behind the door.

She pulled Huo Yuhao aside, closed the door, and, though deliberately lowering her voice, said in a still fierce tone, "Can't I even call her by her name? She's not my elder!"

"Of course you can, I didn't say you couldn't. Why are you speaking so softly? Are you afraid of being heard?"

"you!"

Seeing the smile in Huo Yuhao's eyes, Wang Dong realized he had been tricked. He immediately grabbed Huo Yuhao's collar with both hands, his eyes fierce.

"Still making excuses! You're just trying to change the subject because you're too scared to answer my questions!"

"Why wouldn't I dare to answer? When I'm with Sister Luo Chen, it's always for serious business."

"Then tell me what kind of serious business it is." Seeing that he had achieved his goal of finding out, Wang Dong suppressed his excitement and urged.

"Sister Luo Chen protected me until evening, then we fought in the battle room for an hour, and finally I had a meal and applied some medicine."

Yesterday I could say I spent the whole day cultivating myself, it was all serious business.

Hearing Huo Yuhao gloss over the matter of protecting the Dharma, Wang Dong couldn't help but feel anxious; this was exactly what she wanted to know.

She wouldn't allow Ling Luochen to know more about Huo Yuhao's secrets than she did.

"Protect the Dharma? What good would it do to be a protector? It's not like you're absorbing a soul ring. You're just lying."

Wang Dong retorted verbally, but her beautiful pink-blue eyes were fixed on Huo Yuhao, her fingers nervously intertwined and twitching back and forth.

"Well—I'm not telling you." Huo Yuhao deliberately dragged out his words, saying nothing under Wang Dong's expectant gaze.

"Huo Yuhao, you!"