Silence.
An unprecedented silence and tranquility.
Ma Xiaotao's consciousness slowly drifted upward from a cool and comfortable darkness.
She felt as if she had been asleep for centuries, with every cell in her body soaked in clear, cold spring water. That long-lost sense of relief, free from the scorching of flames, made her almost want to sink into it forever.
'What... is this feeling?'
Her thoughts were still a bit sluggish, turning with difficulty like rusted gears.
'So comfortable...'
'Inside my body... that damn fire... it seems... gone?'
She tried to sense the violent evil fire that had plagued her for over a decade within her body.
Nothing.
There was nothing.
The burning pain that had been present every moment, as if it were about to ignite her Soul, had vanished without a trace.
In its place was a gentle, pure, and completely controllable flame of Soul Power.
She could even feel that her total Soul Power seemed... to have improved slightly.
How is this possible?!
A massive shock, like an electric current, passed through her mind, waking her completely from that comfortable darkness.
She opened her eyes abruptly.
What came into view was a World of ice crystals, magnificent to the point of being dreamlike.
The tall trees were completely frozen, and the crystal-clear ice layers refracted colorful halos under the afternoon sun.
The air was filled with a crisp chill that made her feel incredibly intimate.
Directly in front of her line of sight, the boy who had caused all of this was lazily leaning against a frozen tree trunk.
He was not looking at this marvelous scene, nor was he looking elsewhere.
His heterochromatic eyes—left gold, right green—were staring at her unblinkingly and without any avoidance.
There was a hint of playfulness and appreciation in his gaze.
'He... is looking at me?'
Ma Xiaotao's brain was still a bit sluggish.
She remembered that because of her teacher's scheme, her anger had surged, causing the evil fire to erupt prematurely, and then... then she had asked Caelus for help.
After that, a cold force had surged into her body, and that feeling... was incomparably comfortable.
Then, she had lost consciousness.
So, is it... over now?
She subconsciously wanted to sit up, but her body felt weak, unable to muster any strength.
It was also at this moment that she felt something was wrong.
Her body... felt so cold.
Her clothes... seemed... to be sticking tightly to her body, sticky and very uncomfortable.
Feeling a bit strange, Ma Xiaotao subconsciously lowered her head slowly.
The next second, her pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpricks.
What did she see?
Her fiery red uniform, representing her Inner Court status, was now completely soaked with sweat and melted frost.
The soaked fabric, like a second layer of skin, clung without reservation and perfectly to every curve of her body.
That hot figure, which would make all the male creatures in the entire Shrek Academy go crazy and which surpassed her peers, was just like that... completely and clearly exposed to the sight of that silver-haired boy.
A surge of heat instantly rushed from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, and a blush flashed across her face.
But that blush quickly disappeared.
She abruptly raised her head and glared fiercely at the culprit who was still watching her leisurely.
"I didn't expect you to be a little pervert."
She squeezed these words out from between her teeth.
At the same time, she forcibly propped up her weak body and sat cross-legged.
With a thought, a pure Soul Power surged out from within her body.
"Whoosh—"
Scorching flames instantly enveloped her entire body.
Accompanied by a "hissing" sound, a large amount of water vapor rose up, shrouding her figure within it.
In just two or three breaths, when the steam dissipated, her clothes had become dry as before, but the wrinkles caused by the high heat were still telling of the embarrassment from just a moment ago.
After doing all this, she finally felt that she had regained a little sense of security and dignity as a senior.
However, Caelus's next words instantly caused the psychological defenses she had just built to collapse.
"A pervert is a pervert, why add the word 'little'?"
The boy's slightly smiling, nonchalant voice sounded.
Ma Xiaotao was stunned.
She had imagined various reactions from Caelus, such as explaining in a panic, apologizing awkwardly, or being scared out of his wits by her.
But she never expected that he would... actually admit it so righteously?!
Before she could react, Caelus had already straightened his body from the tree trunk, spread his hands, and showed an expression of taking it for granted.
"Besides, this is open and honest appreciation, not some sneaky peeping. Furthermore, Sister Xiaotao, you delivered yourself to my doorstep; I couldn't just close my eyes while helping you suppress the evil fire, could I? I'm not Liu Xiahui; I can't sit still in the presence of beauty."
While saying this, he walked slowly toward Ma Xiaotao, his heterochromatic eyes filled with undisguised teasing.
"And also..."
He walked up to Ma Xiaotao, looked down at her, and a meaningful arc hooked at the corner of his mouth.
"This can also be considered... part of the payment for me helping you suppress the evil fire, right?"
Ma Xiaotao opened her mouth, only to find that she couldn't refute a single word.
Because she discovered that what Caelus said seemed to make sense, and it really was her giving it away for free. If Caelus hadn't known more, it wouldn't have been as simple as just giving away some benefits.
And Caelus, his mood at this moment was indeed very relaxed.
Everyone has an appreciation for beauty.
Ma Xiaotao's figure was indeed top-tier; since she gave the opportunity for free, it would be a waste not to look.
Moreover, this was completely different from when he faced Zhang Lexuan before.
At that time, in the cave, facing a similarly seductive scene, he had spared no effort to force a distance, even at the cost of frostbite, to avoid looking at what he shouldn't.
Because at that time he was not familiar with Zhang Lexuan and needed to keep his distance; this was social etiquette.
But as for Ma Xiaotao... there was absolutely no need for that.
The relationship between them, from the very beginning, was not simply that of a senior and a junior.
It was a transaction.
She needed his Ultimate Ice to suppress the evil fire and continue to Cultivate.
In this transaction, he was the one who held absolute dominance.
He did not need to please her, and even less did he need to pretend anything in front of her.
Moreover, what he just said was not entirely teasing.
Just as he said, this counted as part of the payment.
Suppressing the evil fire was a small effort for him, but for Ma Xiaotao, it was a life-saving grace.
A piece of ten-thousand-year whale gel was not enough; after all, he and Ma Xiaotao were not that close.
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