Chapter 111: Ma Xiaotao's Birthday
After returning to the academy, Ye Chen escorted Tang Ya back to her dorm for some rest before heading to his own room.
It was class time, so Wang Dong wasn't there.
Ye Chen lay back on his bed and opened the Heaven and Earth Infinite Eye, scanning the inner courtyard.
His main goal was to locate Ma Xiaotao—by now, her mission should've been complete.
It didn't take long for him to find her.
She had just finished training, taken a bath, and was now changing her clothes…
Ye Chen's gaze lingered for a few seconds longer than necessary.
Besides admiring her curves, he noticed something worrying.
Although Ma Xiaotao looked normal on the outside, his divine sight could see inside her body—and the evil flames within her were beginning to leak again.
Fortunately, the recent mission must have been easy—her accumulated demonic fire wasn't too severe. Judging by the signs, she could hold out for a few more days.
"Good… she made it back just in time," Ye Chen breathed out in relief.
Because of him, Ma Xiaotao trained and fought without restraint lately. But her evil flame could only be suppressed for ten days.
If he didn't help her expel it by then, she would lose control, fall into temporary madness, and only Yan Shaozhe could restrain her.
To completely cure her, they'd have to go to the Icefire Yin Yang Well and find rare immortal herbs.
With his current strength, Ye Chen still faced a bit of risk going there, so he planned to wait until he reached the Soul Emperor realm.
But he wasn't too worried—he had already come up with a long-term solution to help Ma Xiaotao suppress the flames.
In this world, there existed something called a "milk bottle," an artifact used to store and restore soul power.
However, current technology made manufacturing them difficult. They had serious flaws—rapid soul power leakage and extremely slow absorption rates, both fatal in battle.
But the method recorded in Ye Chen's All-Phenomena Codex had none of those weaknesses.
The bottles described there could store soul power indefinitely and release it quickly when needed.
Ye Chen planned to seal some of his own icy soul power into a bottle and gift it to Ma Xiaotao.
By absorbing that icy energy, she could neutralize her inner demonic fire.
One bottle would last her a whole month—convenient and efficient.
Still, that was only a backup plan. As long as Ye Chen was around, he would personally "help" her suppress the flames himself.
Only if he had to leave for extended periods would he let her rely on the device.
Just as he was about to withdraw his vision, he noticed something that made him pause.
Ma Xiaotao, still dressing, murmured something under her breath, looking wistful.
Though he couldn't hear her voice, he read the shape of her lips—"sheng…ri."
"Birthday…"
"Crap."
Ye Chen's heart sank.
Ma Xiaotao had mentioned it before—but he hadn't paid attention back then and forgot.
Now that he thought about it… her birthday was today.
Right at that moment, knocking sounds came from her door.
"Coming~"
Ma Xiaotao answered, tidied up her clothes, and ran to open the door.
Through the Heaven and Earth Infinite Eye, Ye Chen saw a group gathered outside—Shrek's Six Monsters and Zhang Lexuan among them.
At the front stood Ling Luochen, holding a cake. The others had party poppers in their hands.
The door opened.
"Bang—!"
"Happy birthday!"
"Captain, happy birthday!"
"Sister Xiaotao, happy birthday!"
Laughter and cheers filled the room as they surrounded her in celebration.
After so long together, the Shrek Seven had become close friends who knew each other's birthdays well.
"Thank you, everyone~"
Ma Xiaotao smiled warmly, but her eyes glanced through the crowd—searching for someone who wasn't there.
"Ye Chen didn't come?" she asked softly, disappointment flickering in her voice.
The others exchanged awkward glances. Ye Chen, the transfer student, had only attended two classes since arriving—they didn't really know him.
"Little Chen probably had something to do. He took a leave from the academy," Zhang Lexuan said gently. As someone with access to insider information, she kept up with Ye Chen's movements.
"Oh… I see."
Ma Xiaotao's expression dimmed as she muttered under her breath.
Her teammates were good people, but for her, no one mattered more than Ye Chen.
He hadn't even come for her birthday—unforgivable.
And her evil flame was already nearing its limit. Without him, she didn't even dare to continue cultivating…
"Xiaotao, make a wish~"
Ling Luochen, noticing her mood, quickly cheered her up, placing a paper crown on her head and leading her to the cake table.
Nineteen candles now flickered before her. Ma Xiaotao, just turned nineteen—an older sister figure indeed.
"Mhm~"
She smiled again, forcing the gloom away. She couldn't let her friends see her upset just because of one person.
She closed her eyes and made her wish.
...
Meanwhile.
Ye Chen was having a mild panic attack.
"Oh crap, what do I do? I forgot Ma Xiaotao's birthday! She's going to kill me!"
His heart sank.
Girls valued moments of significance—birthdays most of all.
If he told her he forgot, she'd ignore him for days.
"No way. I have to fix this."
He bolted for the Soul Tool Department.
He had to get her a birthday present—the perfect apology.
The day wasn't over yet. As long as the gift was sincere enough, he could make it work.
Sure, he truly had forgotten—but she didn't need to know that.
...
Inside the inner courtyard.
Ma Xiaotao and her friends laughed, tossing bits of cake at one another. The celebration was lively and warm.
In the Soul Tool Department, Ye Chen worked alone—Lin'er wasn't there.
He labored nonstop, forging and etching arrays, until nightfall.
Finally, he finished his masterpiece: two silver rings.
A matching pair—something he found in the All-Phenomena Codex, called the Resonance Set, a fourth-level soul device.
Because the outer shells were simple and the core formation small, production was fast.
The rings functioned as paired transmitters. When one bearer infused their soul power into it, the other ring would resonate instantly.
Once connected, the two wearers could feel each other's location clearly—the closer they were, the stronger the sensation.
They could even develop a code system to send messages, like Morse code.
Ye Chen didn't know actual Morse, but he could assign his own signals:
"Miss you." "I love you." "Come to me."
It was, after all, a couple's ring set—meant to strengthen their bond in more ways than one.
The core formation ensured communication within a 100-kilometer range.
Later, it could be upgraded to extend even farther.
"I hope Sister Xiaotao likes it…"
Ye Chen wiped the sweat from his brow, checked the time, and smiled. He could still make it.
The gift served two purposes—to celebrate her birthday and to deepen their bond.
Maybe, just maybe… this would be the moment he finally won her over.
(END CHAPTER)
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