"Your teacher has already discussed the terms with Sister Chang Li. Sister Jingliu will help you purge the evil fire within three days. After that, you won't have to suffer its torment anymore," Ke Qing said with a gentle smile.
Looking at the red-haired girl quietly sipping the fish soup, Ke Qing felt a surge of respect welling up in her heart.
From Lu Jingming, she had learned about the nature of the evil fire inside Ma Xiaotao — a flame that could awaken primal desires in a person.
Ma Xiaotao's ancestor, Ma Hongjun, had tried to suppress this evil fire since he was very young by constantly releasing his desires to ease the pain. He had gone through one girlfriend after another, all unable to endure the intense cravings caused by the evil fire and thus leaving him.
Ma Xiaotao's burden of evil fire was no less than Ma Hongjun's — in fact, it was even stronger.
Yet she had endured it all with tenacious willpower.
Since awakening her Martial Soul, she had always remained true to herself, living a pure and upright life, never succumbing to the temptations stirred by the evil fire.
In terms of sheer perseverance, she had far surpassed her ancestor.
It was precisely for this reason that Ke Qing felt a strong liking toward Ma Xiaotao.
Ke Qing herself was an extremely disciplined person; she admired those who possessed equally powerful self-control.
That was also why she had taken the initiative to care for Ma Xiaotao.
After all, in the city lord's mansion, there was no shortage of young female servants. The people of Haiyuan City took pride in having their daughters serve there.
"Clang! Clang!"
Two crisp sounds of metal clashing echoed through the training ground as Lu Jingming's longsword left trails of afterimages, thrusting fiercely toward Jingliu.
Each strike was as fast as lightning, the sword winds howling as if ready to tear through the air.
But Jingliu remained calm and composed, holding her sword with one hand, effortlessly parrying each of Lu Jingming's attacks.
Every time their swords met, sparks flew, dazzling like brilliant fireworks bursting in the night sky.
Lu Jingming's attacks came in relentless waves, unleashing exquisite sword techniques. His body moved like a flash, sword energy swirling continuously around him, stirring powerful air currents that crashed against the training ground like raging tides.
The floor, meticulously forged from soul metal, was incredibly tough, but even it now bore shocking white scars from the relentless sword energy.
Though Lu Jingming exerted all his skill to bring his swordsmanship to its peak, Jingliu handled everything with ease and grace.
Every swing of her sword was perfectly timed, as if she had become one with the environment, exuding the aura of a true master.
At the moment when Lu Jingming's old strength was exhausted and his new energy had yet to arise, a cold gleam flashed in Jingliu's eyes. Her sword shot out like a lightning bolt.
Lu Jingming felt a chill flash before his eyes; his body stiffened instantly, the sword tip stopping just inches from his throat.
Seeing the cold gleam flicker on the sword tip, Lu Jingming helplessly raised both hands in surrender, yet his face remained playful as he grinned and said, "No wonder you're Teacher Jingliu — your swordsmanship is unparalleled! Even without using soul power, you can defeat me so easily."
"I'm not the Black Tower," Jingliu replied coolly. "Also, you've been slacking off lately."
Her comment was calm but carried a subtle hint of sternness.
Lu Jingming laughed awkwardly.
He knew all too well that he had indeed been negligent in his sword training recently, spending noticeably less time on it.
But it was unavoidable — he had many other matters to plan and arrange, leaving him stretched thin.
Jingliu was naturally aware of his recent busy schedule. She nodded slightly and said calmly, "No matter how much you plan, when it comes to the crucial moment, you have to rely on your own strength."
Lu Jingming nodded in deep agreement.
He understood this truth well, which was why he had decided to hand over his current affairs to others so he could focus entirely on cultivation and improving his strength.
After all, he possessed true authority and could confidently entrust matters to people he trusted completely.
At that moment, Zhang Lexuan approached with light steps, holding a delicate handkerchief.
She gently wiped the sweat from Lu Jingming's forehead and said softly, "Sister Chang Li has already spoken with Dean Yan and worked things out."
"Is that so? Then I'll leave everything to you, Teacher," Lu Jingming said without the slightest surprise upon hearing the news.
He was well aware that to resolve the issue of the evil fire within Ma Xiaotao, as long as the conditions weren't too harsh or detrimental to the fundamental interests of Shrek Academy, Yan Shaozhe would most likely agree.
Since Yan Shaozhe had already accepted the terms they proposed, it was now time for Jingliu to step forward and put the plan into action.
Having just undergone an intense swordsmanship training session, Lu Jingming was drenched in sweat.
He returned to his residence, took a comfortable shower, changed into clean, neat clothes, and then headed to the reception hall together with Zhang Lexuan and Jingliu.
There, they met Yan Shaozhe again.
Upon seeing Lu Jingming and the others arrive, Yan Shaozhe's face broke into a satisfied smile. "Lord Lu, the three conditions you proposed — on behalf of Shrek Academy, I accept them. When can my disciple have the evil fire purified?"
The three conditions that Chang Li had negotiated with Yan Shaozhe all fell within what Shrek Academy could accept; there was no outrageous price demanded, which pleased Yan Shaozhe quite a bit.
The first condition was that Shrek Academy would provide two quotas for training under the Golden Ancient Tree on Sea God Island for one full year.
Within Shrek Academy, the opportunity to train under the Golden Ancient Tree on Sea God Island was extremely rare. Usually, only inner academy disciples qualified for such a chance, and even then, most could train only for a few months at most.
However, as a member of the Sea God Pavilion and the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, Yan Shaozhe held some decision-making authority and was able to meet this requirement.
Moreover, once the evil fire within Ma Xiaotao was eliminated, Shrek Academy would very likely cultivate a new Pavilion Lord of the Sea God Pavilion with an ultimate attribute.
It was worth noting that in Shrek Academy's history, the previous Pavilion Lord with an ultimate attribute was a legendary figure.
Four thousand years ago, when the Sun Moon Continent collided with the Douluo Continent and the Sun Moon Empire invaded, the former Three Kingdoms of Douluo were losing ground step by step.
At that critical moment, he led over a hundred elite Title Douluo and successfully defeated the powerful Sun Moon Empire, turning the tide of the war and propelling Shrek Academy to unprecedented glory.
It was also this ultimate attribute Pavilion Lord of the Sea God Pavilion who forced the Sun Moon Empire to cede territory and pay reparations, leading to the renaming of the Sun Moon Continent to the Douluo Continent.
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