Chapter 379.3. Ma Xiaotao

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. He already had his initial judgments from the strength that Ma Xiaotao had displayed before this. “Her martial soul is an Evil Phoenix, and she’s inherited that from Shrek Academy’s first Seven Monsters. Her martial soul seems to have completely mutated into a Dark Phoenix now. You can visualize that as Ultimate Fire that possesses the element of darkness. In terms of element, the two of us have to team up against her to even stand a chance at restraining her. However, she has eight soul rings. If my senses are right, my sister’s soul power has increased enough for her to have eight soul rings, but she’s not a Soul Douluo.”

Ye Guyi drew a cold breath as she heard Huo Yuhao’s words. She hadn’t wasted her time at the Tang Sect when she was there, and she now knew a lot more about soul masters.

An eight-ringed Soul Douluo who possessed Ultimate Fire… what kind of concept was that? This existence was probably more terrifying than normal soul masters who had just become Titled Douluo. Furthermore, she also wielded the element of darkness!

Xu Sanshi forced a laugh and said, “If that weren’t the case, how could she become the Holy Lady? In the previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, Xiaotao was Shrek’s team leader, and her martial soul mutated because she unleashed too much power during the tournament’s final round. She was eventually kidnapped by the Holy Ghost Church. We are in trouble now, because she isn’t just powerful… We can’t kill her, so we have already lost this battle in psychological terms.”

Huo Yuhao shook his head softly and said, “That may not be true. Sister Xiaotao doesn’t seem to have lost her mind as completely as teacher Xiao Ya has; her Ultimate Fire is just too brutal and violent. Even the evil soul masters might not be able to control her emotions entirely. I tested her before this, and she seemed to respond to my voice. If I can break her out of her trance, then our operation will have a much higher chance of success.”

“No, that’s too dangerous,” Xu Sanshi muttered.

Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly and said, “I have to try no matter how dangerous it is, because she’s already here. Leave right now, the two of you; her mental state is still a little confused. Don’t worry, even if I can’t defeat her, I know how to escape.”

Yes, Ma Xiaotao was here.

Ma Xiaotao was standing on the street outside their inn, still dressed in her long dark red dress, and just silently standing there. It was now late at night, and there wasn’t a single soul on the street. She was waiting quietly, as if she were the sovereign queen of the dark night. She had locked onto Huo Yuhao way before this with her spiritual power.

Huo Yuhao had felt a thread of Ma Xiaotao’s spirit locking onto his avatar when he was escaping. Thoughts spun in his mind like lightning when that happened, and he made a decision.

The Holy Ghost Church had stationed more forces in Sunrise City than he had predicted. If he couldn’t break through via Ma Xiaotao, their operation would have a less than fifty percent chance of success. After all, they had to help several hundred people escape. He had some confidence to break the locks and restraints, but getting a sufficient distance away safely was too difficult.

Huo Yuhao leapt through the window and landed on the street outside quietly. He stared at Ma Xiaotao opposite him, and his eyes gradually became excited and passionate. An image surfaced in his memory..

He was back on the Sea God’s Lake’s shores, and Ma Xiaotao had nearly murdered them because she had lost her mind. He felt like he was back inside the icy lake water once more, when his soul power had interacted with Ma Xiaotao’s soul power.

Ma Xiaotao was his hot-tempered sister, but she had always been concerned about him, and she had always cared about him. He felt so much love and kinship from Ma Xiaotao, and even a little bit of gentle charm.

Back inside the room, Ye Guyi wanted to follow Huo Yuhao outside, but Xu Sanshi grabbed her arm.

“Let’s go.”

“But she’s an evil soul master who possesses Ultimate Fire! She’s also a Soul Douluo, how can Yuhao…?”

Xu Sanshi lowered his voice and said, “Trust him. We can’t help him here, and we will only attract more enemies. Let’s go!” He dragged Ye Guyi forcefully as he spoke, and they rose through the air and jumped through another window on the other side before they vanished into the night sky in the blink of an eye.

“Do I know you?” Ma Xiaotao’s voice sounded a little husky amidst her coldness, while her voice was a lot more pleasing to the ear than before.

“Of course!” Huo Yuhao took a deep breath as he forcefully suppressed his riling emotions at the same time.

“Who are you?” A thread of struggle flickered beneath Ma Xiaotao’s eyes. Her emotions were a little off and confused since she had sensed Huo Yuhao’s outcry inside the water, and scene after blurry scene flashed by in her mind. She felt as if something very important was about to happen, or had already happened before.

“I’m Huo Yuhao, your younger brother!” Huo Yuhao removed his makeup as he spoke and revealed his true face.

“Huo Yuhao? That name sounds familiar. Who is that?” Ma Xiaotao’s eyes became even more confused and perplexed.

Huo Yuhao gradually stepped towards Ma Xiaotao. He was walking very slowly, but every step was very stable. He had been observing the dark red flames that were dancing in Ma Xiaotao’s eyes this entire time.

“Sister, I am Yuhao. Do you still remember me? We first met on the shores of the Sea God’s Lake, on Shrek Academy’s Sea God’s Lake. You lost control of yourself because of your evil fire back then, and you nearly killed Dong’er and I.

“My martial soul possesses Ultimate Ice, and I have suppressed the evil fire inside your body multiple times. You treated me as if you were my own sister, and you loved me and took care of me. We participated in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament together, and we eventually clinched the championship and defended Shrek’s honor. You were our team leader, and you were the one who led us to our ultimate glory.”

“Huo Yuhao? Shrek?” Ma Xiaotao seemed to have remembered some things.

Suddenly, she took a step out and instantly appeared before Huo Yuhao, grabbing at Huo Yuhao’s shoulder with one hand.

Huo Yuhao didn’t dodge, and he didn’t use any of his abilities. He just let her grab him however she wanted, and a wave of searing heat poured into him from Ma Xiaotao’s palm. Huo Yuhao could see dark red flames rising from her right hand, and the clothes on his shoulder were immediately burnt to a crisp, then into ash.

What was more terrifying was that Huo Yuhao’s skin was starting to burn, and half his body subsequently became dark red.

Huo Yuhao’s body reacted instinctively at this moment. Green light surged from his body, and the outline of his skeleton could be seen as green light continued to flicker. Intense chills subsequently burst forth and collided with that wave of searing heat.

Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao’s bodies glowed at the same time, one body flickered with green light glimmering with faint icy-blue, while the other rippled with dark red light. The air around her was starting to twist and contort from all that heat.

Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire – two great extremities, and two formidable soul power types that were polar opposites of one another, fought against each other on Huo Yuhao’s shoulder.

Ma Xiaotao had a much stronger cultivation than Huo Yuhao, but for some reason, her Ultimate Fire couldn’t continue deeper once it entered his body.

The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s skeleton amplified Huo Yuhao’s elemental strength, and he had also assimilated part of the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress’ origin power, which had allowed him to raise his Ultimate Ice to another level. Huo Yuhao’s elemental power still surpassed Ma Xiaotao’s.

No matter what, Ma Xiaotao’s Ultimate Fire wasn’t pure enough, because it also possessed the element of darkness.

But Huo Yuhao still winced in pain and agony. This contest between the two extremities was still occurring in his body, and Ma Xiaotao just had to slap him with her palm if she wanted to kill him.

Huo Yuhao could break free from her clutches, but he would have to pay a heavy price, and he didn’t move because he didn’t want to abandon this opportunity. He was very clear that he only had a chance to move her when her emotions were still considered stable, and he wouldn’t stand a chance at all when her emotions became confused and disorganized once more.

Huo Yuhao’s glossy eyes were filled with passion and emotion, and he resisted the intense pain in his shoulder with great difficulty as he called out softly, “Sister, sister!”

Ma Xiaotao’s hand that was holding him suddenly stiffened when she felt his Ultimate Ice fighting back against her, and she just stared at Huo Yuhao from a close distance away. The light around them, with the two of them at its center, was twisted. The high-altitude surveillance soul tools in the sky couldn’t see anything at all.

The reason for that was because this entire region was within Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Interference and Imitation. Two powerful million-year soul skills were being used together, and unless there were thermal detectors close to where they were, nothing could possibly detect them. Furthermore, even if there were thermal detectors nearby, this contest between Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire going on between them meant that it wouldn’t take more than three seconds before those thermal detectors exploded.

“Sister…” Huo Yuhao was still calling out to her.

“You are… Yuhao…” A tinge of consciousness finally appeared within the fires dancing in Ma Xiaotao’s eyes.

“Yes! It’s me, Yuhao.” Huo Yuhao called out softly.

“No, you’re my enemy!” The dark red flames deep in Ma Xiaotao’s eyes became stronger, and she applied strength once more with the hand that was still holding onto Huo Yuhao’s shoulder.

Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth, and he called out yet again with a hoarse voice. “Sister!”

Ma Xiaotao’s hand loosened a little more. The skin on Huo Yuhao’s shoulder had peeled off, revealing his tendons and the flesh beneath. Huo Yuhao’s Life Gold bestowed immense life energy to him, but even his Life Gold couldn’t help him repair his tissues amidst this standoff between Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire. Fresh blood was vaporized continuously as Huo Yuhao’s life energy seeped away.

Tears flickered in Huo Yuhao’s gleaming eyes. “Sister, do you know how much I’ve missed you over the years? I have no family, and I’ve always treated you like my own sister. I’ve suffered so much pain and agony for so, so long after you disappeared without a trace. I’ve finally found you, sister. Don’t ever leave me again, okay?”

He took a step forward as he spoke as he reached out with his right hand for Ma Xiaotao’s waist.

Ma Xiaotao instantly raised her left hand and cut towards Huo Yuhao’s neck.

Right at that moment, Huo Yuhao’s glistening eyes suddenly flared as he shouted at the top of his voice, “Sister!”

Ma Xiaotao’s left hand stopped half a foot away from Huo Yuhao’s neck, just like that. Ultimate Fire continued to burn as the light of Ultimate Ice rippled continuously from Huo Yuhao’s body. He took this chance, and his right hand finally wrapped itself around Ma Xiaotao’s waist as he hugged her well-developed body tightly.