Chapter 10 : Ma Xiaotao's Madness
And so their first school day at Shrek Academy passed.
Three days later,
early in the morning,
Wang Dong'er stretched lazily on the bed.
He raised his arms slightly above his head.
Then slowly let them fall.
The movement was light.
But it carried the trace of the brief comfort that came before the start of the day.
His feet dropped to the floor.
And he sat for a silent second on the edge of the bed.
Then he raised his hand and lightly rubbed the corner of his eye.
As though sleep had not completely left him yet.
As for Ji Lin, he had also woken up.
And remained quiet, as usual.
He did not speak much that morning.
After the two of them got ready, they went out together to eat breakfast.
The morning was still calm.
The air was fresh.
And the academy had not yet filled with its full noise.
Then they bought breakfast.
And returned to the dormitory.
And sat facing each other.
With a simple table between them, covered with the morning meal.
Wang Dong'er ate in silence.
But her eyes sometimes drifted toward Ji Lin without meaning to.
Then quickly returned to the food.
As for Ji Lin, he remained as calm as ever.
He would sometimes raise his hand toward the food.
Then lower it again.
And all his movements looked steady and natural.
After they finished breakfast, they headed together toward the lake.
Wang Dong'er's steps were quiet.
And relatively light.
But her eyes moved more than once along the way.
Looking to the sides.
Then ahead.
Then returning to the distant surface of the water.
As though something there had drawn her attention from the very beginning.
When they arrived, she stopped.
Tilted her head slightly.
Then raised her hand and pointed toward the expanse of water before them.
This seems to be Sea God Lake, right?
Ji Lin nodded seriously.
His gaze was fixed on the lake.
And his eyes moved across the wide surface of the water with clear focus.
Yes.
I heard that the inner courtyard students live near the lake.
And that Shrek's true inner courtyard belongs entirely to the inner courtyard students.
He stood there quietly.
But his mind was not still.
Ji Lin understood that every student in the inner courtyard possessed unique talent.
And that the strength of some of them almost rivaled that of the outer courtyard teachers.
Ma Xiaotao was a clear example of that.
And the moment that name passed through his mind, his eyes suddenly changed.
His body stopped for a moment.
As though his feet had fixed themselves to the ground on their own.
Then his brows drew together slightly.
And a clear look of surprise appeared on his face.
Wait…
Ma Xiaotao?
His voice was not loud.
But it came out slowly.
As though the thought had only just forced its way to the surface at that moment.
His gaze moved across the lake once more.
Then narrowed slightly.
As though the scene before him was beginning to connect in his mind to something older.
Something he knew well.
Ji Lin suddenly remembered something.
That was why this scene felt so familiar to him.
The lake.
The early hour.
Wang Dong'er beside him.
And the stillness that came before something unexpected.
None of that was ordinary.
It was far too close to a scene he already knew.
The first meeting between Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao in the original story had happened here.
In this exact place.
And it had happened directly after breakfast with Wang Dong'er.
The moment that connection fully formed in his mind, his eyes grew still.
But that stillness was not ease.
It was sudden focus.
As though his entire awareness had begun rapidly rearranging everything around him.
And calculating what might happen next.
While Ji Lin stood there in shock, a red shadow suddenly appeared.
It was like a glowing ball of fire.
Rushing toward them at a terrifying speed.
Ji Lin's gaze froze for a moment.
And his fingers tightened unconsciously.
Damn it.
It was Ma Xiaotao.
Ji Lin had not expected the events to match the original story with such precision.
Not after all the changes he had already made.
And not for this scene to appear before him so quickly.
That fireball was not just an ordinary threat.
It was something that could literally burn all of them alive.
Ma Xiaotao was in a state of frenzy.
Very similar to the condition of Ma Hongjun's martial soul in Douluo 1.
But the difference was clear.
Ma Hongjun had been able to control it in the presence of women.
But Ma Xiaotao, because she was a girl, could not control her martial soul.
And it had gone completely out of control.
Run!
At that moment, Wang Dong'er noticed the chaos above the lake.
And her eyes widened abruptly.
Without the slightest hesitation, she released her martial soul.
The Butterfly of Light.
And in the next moment, she rushed forward to take Ji Lin with her.
Her body was tense.
And her movement was fast.
As though she wanted to escape this danger before it swallowed them whole.
She tried to flee toward the horizon.
But after only a few moments, Ma Xiaotao's figure appeared beside them.
Close to a terrifying degree.
Ah—
Then a painful roar burst from the red fireball.
And the air shook violently.
Wang Dong'er fell from the sky to the ground.
And her body slammed down hard.
Pain appeared on her face at once.
Her brows tightened.
And she gritted her teeth.
You…
Stop chasing us…
After that, she stood behind Ji Lin.
Swallowing nervously.
And her chest rose and fell quickly.
Above them, the red sphere rose high into the air.
Then a furious cry burst from it.
Haaah!
The fireball shook again with an unbearable sound.
And that alone was enough to confirm that Ma Xiaotao had completely lost control.
It was no longer possible to hear any words clearly.
Everything around them had turned into utter chaos.
Even the air itself had become unstable.
The heat was rising rapidly.
And the pressure filling the area made the body tense up instinctively.
Hah… hah…
Stop first.
We have something to discuss.
Wang Dong'er watched the growing chaos.
And felt a wave of anxiety strike her chest.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
And she tried to steady herself despite the tension.
Then suddenly, a huge sound exploded.
Boom!
And with another explosion, a dazzling mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
In a single instant, all the trees within a hundred-meter radius were flattened.
And nothing remained on the ground except a deep crater.
About ten meters away from the blast, Ji Lin and Wang Dong'er struggled desperately to avoid the scattered debris.
Ji Lin bent his body quickly.
And raised his arm to block the smaller fragments.
While Wang Dong'er stumbled backward in unsteady steps.
Even from that distance, Ji Lin could still feel the intense heat pouring from the ball of flame.
It was a heat that pressed directly against the skin.
And made breathing heavier.
This woman…
She is not afraid of death at all.
He muttered that inwardly.
His jaw was tight.
And his eyes remained fixed on Ma Xiaotao.
After barely avoiding another wave of flying stones, he cast a quick glance at her.
In that moment, his anger surged.
So much that he nearly ground his teeth from the force of it.
Ma Xiaotao seemed oblivious to everything.
Completely immersed in suppressing her martial soul.
As though the world around her had vanished.
And nothing remained before her except that raging fire devouring her from within.
Her eyes were red like blood.
And her small face was twisted by indescribable fury.
Her features trembled.
Her jaw clenched violently.
And her whole face looked as though it had been burned inside that frenzy.
Die, all of you!
The scream tore out of her.
Sharp.
Ragged.
And charged with blazing madness.
My God—
Boom!!
Explosion!!
In the next moment, Ji Lin rolled across the ground at once.
His movement was instinctive.
Sharp.
And he barely avoided the molten projectiles Ma Xiaotao had unleashed.
The fire passed beside him.
Burning.
Savage.
Even the air around it seemed to tear apart from the sheer heat.
But Wang Dong'er could not withstand the force of Ma Xiaotao's attack.
Her body took the impact directly.
And she lost consciousness at once.
Her body staggered.
Shook.
Then fell without resistance.
You really are merciless…
Ji Lin muttered it.
And his voice came out tight.
Mixed with anger and suffocation.
As though he wanted to shout.
But forced all of it back into his chest at the very last moment.
Even though his strength had grown.
And even though his body had become far stronger than before.
Facing Ma Xiaotao's martial soul head-on was still catastrophic.
It could end his life on the spot.
Even the Wood Technique would not be enough so easily.
Not unless he intended to turn all of Shrek into a forest.
At that moment, he no longer had time to hesitate.
He lowered his body at once.
And raised both hands before his chest.
Then began forming hand seals.
His movement was fast.
But not fully refined.
One finger faltered.
The angle of one palm slipped.
And the instability was obvious as one seal shifted into the next.
Pressure surrounded him from every side.
Heat lashed against his skin.
His heart pounded violently.
But even so, he forced his hands to steady.
Clenched his teeth.
Then finally completed the last seal.
In the next instant, wood burst from the ground.
Branches shot out at speed.
Twisting.
Interlocking.
Then closed around Wang Dong'er's body.
Forming a swift layer of protection around her.
As though the wood itself had embraced her to shield her from the flames.
But Ji Lin did not stop there.
The moment Wang Dong'er's protection was secured, his hands moved again.
And formed another seal.
This time, the movement was fiercer.
Faster.
As though all his tension had surged into his fingers in a single burst.
Then a cluster of sharp branches shot toward Ma Xiaotao.
They erupted from the ground like spears.
Interwoven.
Relentless.
And carried a clear intent to attack and block her advance.
But they never reached her.
Before they could come close, the fire devoured them.
The branches burned in midair.
Blackened in an instant.
Then turned to drifting ash before they could reach their target.
Ah—
Ma Xiaotao kept screaming violently.
Her body was burning.
And her eyes glowed with a deep crimson light.
She looked as though she could no longer hear anything.
Or see anything.
Except that fire that had completely gone out of control.
Then suddenly, a red fireball burst from her mouth.
It came out with overwhelming force.
And in the next moment, a wall of flames took shape.
It stretched for dozens of meters.
With a width of nearly five meters.
And everything before it was swallowed in a single line of burning.
The grass burned.
The flowers burned.
Even the air before it seemed to ignite.
Within a brief instant, everything within ten meters of its path turned into scorched blackness.
My God…
Ji Lin stared at the advancing wall of fire.
And his eyes widened clearly.
Even his gaze froze for a moment.
The reflected red light before him filled his eyes completely.
This time…
there is no escape…
It is all over.
But even though those words left his mouth, it was not complete surrender.
Because his body remained tense.
And his eyes stayed open.
As though something inside him still refused to fall, even at this moment.