Douluo Continent: My name is Lu Mingfei, and my martial soul is Lu Mingze.

Ma Xiaotao carried Lu Mingfei at breakneck speed, her phoenix wings drawing two blinding streaks of fire across the night sky, the clouds along the way hissing in the heat.

Lu Mingfei was carried under her arm like a sack of potatoes, his face down as he watched Shrek Academy below grow smaller and smaller, his heart sinking.

He tried to struggle, but Ma Xiaotao's arms were like iron hoops around his waist, and he couldn't move an inch.

"Where are you taking me?!"

Ma Xiaotao didn't answer; her current state was clearly not right.

Lu Mingfei could feel the heat emanating from her body growing stronger with each wave, burning his skin even through her clothes.

Her breathing was rapid and hot, and she looked like a volcano about to erupt.

In the blink of an eye, Poseidon Lake came into view. Ma Xiaotao swooped down and suddenly braked when she was still more than ten meters away from the lake surface, and then she hovered in the air.

"Quick, quick, quick!" Ma Xiaotao turned Lu Mingfei over to face her, grabbing his shoulders with both hands so hard that Lu Mingfei felt his shoulder blades were about to shatter.

"Use your cold attribute! Quickly!"

Lu Mingfei looked at her face and his heart skipped a beat.

Two solidified flames surged in Ma Xiaotao's eyes, and the fire patterns on her skin were more pronounced than before, making her seem as if she were ignited from the inside out.

"How do I use it?"

"Use it however you like! Just spray the cold air on me!"

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath, mobilized the remaining soul power in his body, and raised his hand to unleash a Word of Power: Vortex.

A water ball the size of a washbasin materialized out of thin air and splashed onto Ma Xiaotao's face.

Ma Xiaotao was drenched and stunned for a moment.

Water droplets dripped down her hair, rising as white steam rose from her burning skin.

But the evil fire not only did not subside, but instead surged violently as if it had been provoked.

The flames on Ma Xiaotao's body suddenly shot up half a foot, engulfing both her and Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei's clothes were scorched on the spot, and the tips of his hair curled up.

"Not enough! Not enough at all!" Ma Xiaotao's voice trembled with pain.

"Again! Go for it!"

Lu Mingfei gritted his teeth.

Okay, you're going to go all out, huh?

Suddenly, a layer of icy blue light shone on his right arm. That was the soul skill of his 100,000-year-old external right arm soul bone—Snow Guidance.

A very thin, ice-blue thread shot out from his fingertip and burrowed into Ma Xiaotao's wrist.

The moment she crawled inside, Ma Xiaotao froze.

Snow Seed has a simple yet domineering characteristic—it implants a snow seed into the enemy's body, continuously absorbing the enemy's overflowing soul power and heat, and can be detonated at any time to cause forced interruption and stun.

To put it bluntly, it's like planting a time bomb inside someone else's body.

Of course, Lu Mingfei didn't intend to detonate it. He just needed to let the snow seed help Ma Xiaotao absorb the heat from the rampaging evil fire.

The effect is immediate.

The flames on Ma Xiaotao's body were noticeably shorter. The evil fire that had almost burned through her skin was continuously drawn away by the snow seed, turning into icy blue light spots that dissipated into the air.

Her breathing gradually calmed down, and the flush on her face subsided somewhat.

Then she let out a very comfortable groan.

"Um--!"

The hum was soft and long, carrying a sense of relief and comfort, with the last note rising slightly.

Lu Mingfei froze completely.

No, if you're comfortable, then you're comfortable, but can you please not use that kind of voice to express yourself?

That voice is really misleading!

But Ma Xiaotao clearly didn't care about her image anymore.

The process of the snow seed absorbing the evil fire in her body brought an extremely comfortable coolness. The coolness that spread from the depths of her bone marrow was like rain after a long drought, making all the pores on her body open up.

She closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and let out an even longer groan.

Lu Mingfei's face turned so red it could fry an egg.

Just as he was about to push Ma Xiaotao away a little, the heat absorbed by the refrigerant suddenly reached a critical point.

The evil fire within Ma Xiaotao was temporarily suppressed, but at the same time, it made her feel as if all her strength had been drained, and her whole body suddenly went limp.

The phoenix wings on her back flashed briefly, then vanished.

The two people fell freely from a height of more than ten meters.

Lu Mingfei didn't even have time to scream before he and Ma Xiaotao crashed into the Sea God Lake.

The water splashed up several meters high.

The icy lake water surged in from all directions.

The wound on his left shoulder touched the lake water, causing him to gasp and almost swallow a mouthful of water.

But Lu Mingfei quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly activated his soul power to invoke the incantation about underwater breathing.

A thin, icy blue film covered his mouth and nose, making his breathing instantly easier.

His body also became lighter, and the lake water was no longer an obstacle, but rather seemed to have become a part of his body.

Lu Mingfei steadied himself underwater and looked down to see Ma Xiaotao sinking.

The flames on her body had completely died out, and she slowly sank to the bottom of the lake like a statue. Her wet black hair spread out in the water, making her face look pale and serene.

Lu Mingfei quickly swam over, grabbed her waist, and swam upwards.

As the two broke through the water, Lu Mingfei gasped for breath, dragging Ma Xiaotao toward the shore.

But things are far from that simple.

Halfway through the swim, Ma Xiaotao in his arms suddenly stirred.

Lu Mingfei looked down and his heart sank – her eyes were open again, and that damned flame was burning in them once more.

The effect of the refrigerant is fading.

The evil fire is not so easily suppressed. The snow seed has only temporarily absorbed some of its heat, but the source is still there and is launching a fierce counterattack.

Ma Xiaotao's body started to burn again, this time even more intensely than before.

She opened her eyes groggily and saw Lu Mingfei's face so close to hers. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Her body temperature soared rapidly, and the lake water vaporized into white steam upon contact with her skin.

"Hot..." Her voice sounded like it was being squeezed out of her throat, hoarse and painful.

Then flames suddenly burst out of her body again.

This time it was the real Phoenix Fire; the crimson flames exploded on the water's surface, turning the lake water within several meters around it a blood red.

Steam rose into the air, and waves of heat rolled in.

Then Lu Mingfei discovered a critical problem.

Ma Xiaotao's clothes started to burn away.

The fire spread quickly, starting from the cuffs, then the collar, and then the hem.

The shards of fabric, burned to ashes, drifted in the air, revealing the fair skin beneath.

Lu Mingfei's mind went through an extremely intense internal struggle at that moment.

On the one hand, he admitted that he did have a tiny bit of anticipation for seeing certain scenery.

After all, he was just a normal teenager, full of youthful vigor, and the impact of this scene on him was no less than the full-force attack of a Soul Emperor.

But on the other hand, he was a good boy.

Okay, mainly because I'm a coward.

If Ma Xiaotao finds out about this later, given her temper, things might get complicated.

And what if Old Song found out—never mind, he didn't dare to think about that scenario.