Soto City, Outskirts.
A shabby thatched hut.
Pale moonlight spilled across the weathered wooden door. The night wind was cold, and the desolate surroundings seemed eerie. A boy in ragged clothes was curled up on a straw mat, clenching his teeth tightly, enduring the agonizing burning pain of the evil fire consuming his body.
Beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his forehead, soaking his back, leaving him drenched.
Creak—
The broken door was pushed open.
A voice rang out, youthful but tinged with frustration:
"Xiao-ge, you're still so stubborn. If you don't find a woman soon, the evil fire will consume you from within and you'll die a fiery death!"
"After teacher took me to the brothel, I felt completely relieved. Letting out the evil fire didn't hurt—it actually felt good."
"I mean, we may be young, but the evil fire makes us function just like grown men. This kind of thing is inevitable sooner or later, right? What's the point of resisting?"
"Why do you have to be like this?"
At the words, Lin Xiao slowly opened his eyes in a daze.
He followed the voice and saw a chubby, pale-faced boy with a slightly lewd expression, standing next to a tall, hook-nosed middle-aged man.
It was Ma Hongjun—and his teacher, Flender.
"Hongjun, everyone has their own path. Even if I die, I won't commit such a filthy act. I refuse to be ruled by the evil fire like some kind of beast."
Lin Xiao's voice was weak.
He was severely dehydrated from sweating so much. His lips were cracked and dry.
Flender frowned.
"If you think the brothel women are dirty, I can find a clean one for you. You have two options: first, I'll pay to buy the virginity of a commoner girl. Second, I'll find you an older girl to betroth—someone you'll be responsible for."
"Think it over carefully. That evil fire you've been suppressing is already reaching the limit of what your body can endure."
"When it explodes completely, there will be only two endings for you: death by spontaneous combustion, or death by internal rupture."
With that, Flender went silent, quietly waiting for Lin Xiao's response.
He studied the boy curled up on the mat.
Handsome features, brows brimming with spirit—even in such a dire state, there was a pride in his expression, as if his principles could not be swayed.
A promising soul master...
Lin Xiao's martial soul, like Ma Hongjun's, was the Evil Fire Phoenix. In fact, his was even more powerful.
When that phoenix flame first manifested, even Flender felt a moment of dread in his heart.
Of course—unlike Ma Hongjun's innate soul power of level eight, Lin Xiao had full innate soul power.
It was a pity he was so stubborn.
Must he really cling to such ideals, unwilling to compromise even a little?
Though weak, Lin Xiao's voice was unwavering.
"I will not choose either option."
Spending money to buy a girl's innocence, only to abandon her afterward? Lin Xiao couldn't bring himself to do that.
And being betrothed to a stranger just for the sake of sex? That, too, was unacceptable.
"Then you're just waiting to die!!!"
Flender's voice was tinged with anger.
This Lin Xiao is hopeless!
So he scorns the brothel women? Fine, Flender could get him someone clean.
A commoner's daughter—just pay and walk away. Isn't that convenient?
Doesn't he realize he's a noble soul master? And he's concerned about a commoner's purity?
To lie with a soul master should be an honor for them!
Why is this young man so old-fashioned?
The wind howled outside, making eerie noises as it passed through holes in the paper windows. Light rain began to fall, tapping gently on the green bricks outside.
A faint smile lifted Lin Xiao's pale face.
"Then let me die."
His tone was calm. Though the pain twisted his features and made him clench his teeth, there was a sense of transcendence—as if he had already looked past life and death.
Flender, having tried his best to persuade him, was now enraged.
"You're going to die for the sake of some so-called principle?!"
Lin Xiao's expression remained indifferent.
"Better to die a shattered jade than live as intact pottery."
Flender's face changed dramatically. He grit his teeth.
"Fine!"
"Fine, then! Die a shattered jade if that's what you want!"
Ma Hongjun frowned, annoyed.
"Xiao-ge, I asked Teacher to save you out of kindness, but you refuse and spout some nonsense about honor and virtue. Are you trying to act superior?"
"You'd really throw your life away just to keep your so-called purity?"
"Xiao-ge, I used to think you were the smart one. But now I see—you're the most stubborn and foolish of all."
"Whatever. I'm done trying to help."
Ma Hongjun had long feared that if Lin Xiao became Flender's student, he might lose his own favored position.
Now that Lin Xiao had offended Flender and still refused to relieve the evil fire, Ma Hongjun figured he had done his part out of old friendship—there was no need to do more.
Yet Flender still treasured talent.
He had witnessed the power of Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix firsthand, and Lin Xiao's was even stronger. Unfortunately, this kid was as rigid as stone.
"Lin Xiao, I'll give you one last chance."
"Will you purge the evil fire—or not?"
Lin Xiao did not answer.
He closed his eyes and murmured softly:
"A phoenix soars among the highest peaks, yet will perch only on the wutong tree."
A phoenix feeds only on bamboo seeds and drinks only from the clearest spring.
How could Lin Xiao degrade himself willingly?
Flender's face darkened instantly.
This boy—he truly would rather die than yield!
"Fine. Everyone walks their own path. Do as you will."
"Hongjun, we're leaving!"
Ma Hongjun put on an act, shaking his head dramatically.
He looked down at Lin Xiao with a pitying expression.
"What a shame."
"Xiao-ge, you always thought you were smarter than me."
"But in the end, you're the biggest fool."
With that, he followed Flender out the door.
Inside the hut, Lin Xiao was left alone.
He clenched his teeth, enduring searing pain.
It felt as though every organ inside him was burning—worse than death.
"Is this how I die, after living in this world for six years?"
Lin Xiao was filled with unwillingness.
He had once been a college student on Blue Star. By accident, he had transmigrated to the world of Douluo Dalu, becoming an abandoned infant outside Soto City. He grew up eating from the charity of villagers.
He had been smart and mature from a young age. Using the knowledge from his previous life, he helped improve the villagers' lives.
But on the day of his martial soul awakening, he discovered it was the same as Ma Hongjun's—Evil Fire Phoenix.
With full innate soul power, Lin Xiao felt as if the heavens had collapsed.
"If I had the choice, I'd rather have no talent at all, just to live with dignity."
Having received higher education and been raised to value purity, Lin Xiao simply could not accept the idea of defiling himself in a brothel like a beast.
He was afraid—afraid of becoming the ugly, twisted version of himself ruled by evil fire.