Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky

Chapter 209 Kong Tianxu: Sorry, I'm not a local.

Chapter 209 Kong Tianxu: Sorry, I'm not a local.

Kong Tianxu did not answer. He simply tightened his slightly oversized robe, completely concealing the fine gold and silver dragon scales on his chest that were slowly disappearing.

Silence spread between the two, with only their slightly rapid breathing audible.

Finally, Kong Tianxu broke the silence. He stood up and looked down at Ma Xiaotao, whose face was full of confusion.

"For the sake of a temporary victory, you're even willing to burn yourself out. Ma Xiaotao, do you even remember what you promised?"

I'm very disappointed in you.

It wasn't until he stood up completely straight that Ma Xiaotao realized with a start that Kong Tianxu had changed dramatically from the way she remembered him. He had become much taller, his posture upright like a pine tree, completely surpassing hers. The lines of his face had also lost some of the immaturity of his youth, gaining a more resolute and rugged curve, making him appear particularly handsome and imposing in the dim light.

What exactly happened?

More memories kept surfacing, and the beautiful blush on Ma Xiaotao's face instantly faded. Countless confusions and anxieties came rushing in, almost overwhelming her.

She instinctively reached out, as if trying to grab something and hold onto the departing figure, but her throat felt like it was being choked, and she couldn't make a sound.

Kong Tianxu gave her no further chance to ask questions or explain. Without a second thought, he walked straight to the heavy wooden door and pushed it open.

Outside the door, Yan Shaozhe was indeed already waiting. Upon seeing Kong Tianxu come out, he immediately stepped forward, intending to question him as planned.

However, when he saw that Kong Tianxu's face did not show the expected embarrassment, awkwardness, remorse, or helplessness of a young boy who had caused trouble, but rather a cold and stern expression that should never have appeared, his heart skipped a beat, and the words he had prepared became difficult to utter.

Something's wrong! This is definitely not the reaction we should be having!

"Dean Yan," Kong Tianxu interrupted Yan Shaozhe this time, showing him no respect whatsoever, "I will complete the supervisory team's mission as promised. But I have personally experienced Shrek Academy's methods today."

"Intoxicating to ten thousand, fragrant with spring breeze and dew—and at least seven other bewitching fragrances whose names I cannot even recall. What a profound and meticulously crafted legacy, what painstaking effort!"

Wait a minute, that's not how the script was written. Shouldn't he be full of remorse, expressing his responsibility and begging for forgiveness with a guilty look on his face?

Yan Shaozhe's expression froze completely, his heart churning with turmoil. Every word, every sentence, was enunciated with exceptional clarity by Kong Tianxu, like slaps to the face, shattering his carefully crafted demeanor and rhetoric.

How could he have known!

The ingredients used by Elder Zhuang and Elder Lin were secret recipes passed down in the academy, and their preparation methods were even more secretive. How could he possibly know them all by heart? This plan was meticulously arranged, with the environment of Wutong Pavilion, the guidance of Senior Ma Santong's remaining insights, the precise control of the mixed medicinal power, and even the post-event explanations. It should have been flawless!

Moreover, judging from his tone, doesn't he feel any attachment or guilt towards Xiao Tao at all?

Kong Tianxu ignored the complex emotions on his face, strode past him, and walked straight on. The tall, upright figure didn't hesitate for a moment, retracing his steps and disappearing quickly into the deep, winding passages within the Golden Tree.

Yan Shaozhe stood there, his face flushing red and then turning pale. His lips moved, but he couldn't utter any words of explanation.

He watched Kong Tianxu's figure disappear at the end of the tangled passageway of the golden tree roots. After a long while, he let out a deep sigh, turned around, and walked into the quiet room that was unusually silent at the moment.

Inside, Kong Tianxu seemed to have dealt with the situation using some special means before leaving. The expected strong smell and messy scene did not appear. Instead, it was unusually clean, leaving only a faint and strange aftertaste in the air.

Ma Xiaotao looked at Yan Shaozhe, her face pale. She was now fully dressed in her moon-white robe, but her eyes were vacant. Connecting this to Kong Tianxu's questioning tone, when she heard the words "spring breeze and dew fragrance," she already roughly understood what had happened. "Xiaotao," Yan Shaozhe composed himself, quickly stepping forward and asking with concern, "How are you feeling now? Is that evil fire still affecting you?"

Ma Xiaotao slowly shook her head and said, "Teacher, my evil fire seems to have been completely expelled, and I can't feel any residue."

She raised her eyes, looking directly at Yan Shaozhe, a hint of tears welling up in her pale, peach-colored eyes. "Can you tell me all this—"

"What exactly happened?"

Yan Shaozhe's face showed even more pity and guilt. After hesitating for a moment, he carefully began to speak, starting from Shrek Academy's defeat in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament, and recounting the series of events that occurred after Ma Xiaotao lost her mind.

Of course, Yan Shaozhe selectively ignored some of the more insidious schemes in order to avoid affecting Shrek Academy's image in Ma Xiaotao's mind.

"Xiao Tao, you unleashed the full power of the Black Phoenix during the final match. While that allowed your martial soul to evolve to the level of true ultimate fire, it also caused the Black Phoenix's violent intent to nearly devour your mind. If we don't intervene in time, you are very likely to completely succumb and become an evil soul master. In order to preserve your mind and take this opportunity to completely purify the deeply rooted evil fire in your martial soul, the only way is to find a male soul master with ultimate ice power to perform the most thorough yin-yang complementarity with you. We have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."

Seeing that Ma Xiaotao seemed to be having trouble accepting it, Yan Shaozhe lowered his voice even further.

"This whole affair was planned by your master alone. If you have any grievances, blame me. Take a good rest for a few days. Your cultivation has already reached level seventy. Soon, the academy will send an elder to take you to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for your seventh soul ring."

They actually lost the tournament? No wonder Tianxu acted that way—

Ma Xiaotao lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, concealing the strange emotion that flashed through her eyes.

Even she herself didn't realize that, faced with the massive changes that had taken place over the past three years, what touched her the most was not Shrek Academy's victories or defeats in the tournament, but Kong Tianxu's attitude.

After a long pause, she raised her head again, her face forcibly regaining some of her former determination and stubbornness. "Teacher, I don't blame you. I feel better than ever before. Let's go hunt for the seventh spirit ring tomorrow. I can't wait."

Before she finished speaking, Ma Xiaotao's aura began to undergo a dramatic change.

The air around her body distorted silently, the temperature rose at an alarming rate, and the incredibly tough golden wood floor beneath her began to tinge with a dark red.

With each breath she took, a faint golden-red halo spread outwards, filling the entire quiet room. That scorching and sacred aura, pure and powerful, forced even Yan Shaozhe, a Super Douluo, to take a few steps back in slight surprise to avoid its intense sharpness.

"hold head high-

'

A loud phoenix cry resounded throughout the Sea God Pavilion, and behind Ma Xiaotao, a pair of huge golden-red phoenix wings suddenly spread open.

Yes, this time it was golden red, not dark red, and her own fire attribute aura soared into the sky.

In an instant, it seemed as if a miniature golden-red sun had truly risen in the secret chamber, its intense light bursting forth and the temperature soaring to a terrifying level, even the air crackling with a faint scorching sound.

This light even drew upon the vast power of light inherent in the golden tree itself, subtly resisting it, causing a rich golden halo to flow across the walls of the entire quiet room.

In terms of temperature alone, this was undoubtedly the strongest fire Yan Shaozhe had ever seen in his life, and it was gentle and sacred, without any trace of its former tyranny and evil.

"Pure, ultimate fire!" Upon seeing this, Yan Shaozhe's previous heaviness was instantly replaced by immense joy. "Good! Excellent! Xiao Tao, you should rest well today and stabilize your cultivation. Tomorrow, I will personally take you to hunt for your seventh spirit ring!"

Ma Xiaotao nodded slightly, and the golden-red light gradually subsided. Her fiery red hair regained its luster, each strand looking like it was made of ruby.

She didn't say anything more, but her gaze involuntarily drifted to the closed wooden door, as if she could see through the thick tree wall and see the tall figure that had left.

brat————

She silently snorted in her heart, a strange tremor mixed with guilt and resentment quietly surging within her.

Just you wait. Once I've hunted down the Soul Rings and obtained my Martial Soul True Form, I'll knock you out, tie you up, and make you warm my bed every day! Let's see if you dare give me that sullen face again!

She was unaware that the part Yan Shaozhe omitted included Kong Tianxu's extraordinary feat of single-handedly overthrowing the entire inner courtyard—

Stepping out of the golden tree's embrace and feeling the cool air and sunlight again, Kong Tianxu's tightly pressed lips finally curved into a barely perceptible smile.

Mu En was indeed remarkable, having actually grasped one of the underlying logics of Douluo Continent. Unfortunately, he never expected that Kong Tianxu was not a local at all.

Although the trip to the Golden Tree was filled with all sorts of indescribable events, it not only successfully achieved its set goals but also yielded results far exceeding expectations.

Not only did he successfully obtain the Dragon Pill, but he also completed the absorption and fusion in a near-perfect manner, even when his soul power was exhausted and his body and spirit were on the verge of absolute weakness from repeated extreme releases.

He was worried about how to meet Long Dan's demanding absorption requirement of "having no resistance in the body and being in an absolutely weak state," but unexpectedly, Shrek's scheme paved the way for him.

I just never expected it to be through this method—

Thinking of this, his expression became somewhat strange, fragmented images flashed uncontrollably through his mind, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

Well, although Ma Xiaotao was not very obedient, she never disappointed him in some ways. The extreme envelopment and heat were simply irresistible to him.