"No... no, it won't do..."
Ma Xiaotao used her last ounce of strength to bite down hard on the tip of her tongue.
The intense pain restored a fleeting moment of clarity to her chaotic mind.
She jerked her head up, her bloodshot eyes, emitting an eerie red glow, locked firmly onto the silver-haired youth not far away.
Ultimate Ice...
That was her only hope.
If she completely lost control and went berserk here, she would hurt many innocent students.
She could not, and would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen.
"Quick..."
A hoarse voice squeezed out from her throat.
In the next instant, her figure left a faint afterimage in place, instantly crossing the distance of over ten meters to appear before Caelus.
Her scalding hot hands, like branding irons, grabbed Caelus's shoulders tightly.
"Help... help me."
Her voice no longer held its previous domineering and proud tone; instead, it carried a hint of pleading.
Deep within those red eyes, the last glimmer of reason was making a final stand against the mad desire for destruction.
Looking at the face before him—distorted by pain and struggle, yet still breathtakingly beautiful—Caelus's gaze did not waver in the slightest.
He did not say a word of nonsense, nor did he show the slightest hesitation.
"Alright."
Before the words had even faded, he moved.
He did not retreat; instead, he stepped forward, meeting the scorching heatwave head-on.
At the same time, his hands shot out like lightning, grabbing Ma Xiaotao's scalding wrists that were pressed against his shoulders.
The moment he grasped Ma Xiaotao's wrists, the Soul Power within Caelus erupted with a roar.
"Hum—!"
A low hum resonated behind him.
A massive and ferocious phantom of a scorpion, entirely ice-jade in color, silently appeared and solidified behind him.
Its enormous body, perfectly streamlined shell, two immense pincers shimmering with a chilling, menacing light, and that high-arched scorpion tail with a ghostly blue light flickering at its tip.
Every detail radiated the pressure of a top-tier predator, enough to make one's Soul tremble.
Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.
As the Martial Soul phantom emerged, a terrifying chill, indescribable in words and seemingly capable of freezing the very Soul, swept out in all directions like a tsunami, with Caelus's body as the center.
The air froze in an instant.
The wind ceased its movement.
Even the light seemed to slow down as it passed through this area.
The sparks ignited by Ma Xiaotao's evil fire were completely extinguished the moment they touched this cold air, turning into cold dust.
This Ultimate Ice cold air naturally enveloped Ma Xiaotao, whose hands were held by Caelus.
However, this terrifying cold current, which could instantly freeze a Soul King into an ice sculpture, became incredibly gentle the moment it touched Ma Xiaotao's body.
Caelus did not let the cold air attack from the outside; instead, he channeled that pure, Ultimate Ice Soul Power through their tightly clasped hands, continuously injecting it like a gentle stream into Ma Xiaotao's body, which was as scorching as a furnace.
Ice and Fire, two diametrically opposed Ultimate powers, began a silent confrontation within Ma Xiaotao's body.
As soon as the Ultimate Ice Soul Power entered Ma Xiaotao's Meridians, it immediately encountered the frenzied resistance of the Evil Fire Phoenix's Soul Power.
That black-red flame, filled with an aura of violence and destruction, rushed at this foreign intruder like a dragon whose territory had been violated, attempting to burn and assimilate it.
However, they were facing the Origin power of a 400,000-year Vicious Beast, the highest tier of Ultimate Ice that surpassed ordinary ice elements.
The collision between Ice and Fire did not result in the violent conflict one might expect.
Under Caelus's control, that pure ice-blue Soul Power quickly constructed lines of defense within Ma Xiaotao's Meridians.
Those violent, disorganized evil fires, upon crashing into this defensive line, were like moths flying into an ice sea, instantly neutralized and purified by the extreme chill.
The black, violent aura was dissolved, and the red, manic energy was calmed.
For Ma Xiaotao, this process was an unprecedented experience, akin to being reborn.
The moment the Ultimate Ice Soul Power entered her body, she felt as if she had been instantly transported from a scorching volcanic crater filled with the smell of sulfur into a crystal-clear, bone-chilling, ten-thousand-year cold pool.
It was a comfort that reached deep into her Soul.
Over the years, the evil fire had been burning her Meridians and scorching her Martial Soul at every moment.
That pain had long since seeped into her bone marrow, becoming an inescapable part of her life.
She had almost forgotten what it felt like not to have her body scorched by flames.
But now, she felt it.
The cool Soul Power, like sweet dew, flowed through every inch of her parched and burning Meridians.
That violence and mania, which had been entrenched in her body like maggots on bones, retreated steadily and dissolved continuously in the face of this cold power, as if encountering a natural predator.
In her Sea of Consciousness, that surging sea of black fire was receding at a visible rate, revealing a clear and rational blue sky.
The sense of relief, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted, and the immense happiness of returning from Hell to Heaven instantly overwhelmed all her willpower.
Her nerves, which had been taut for over a decade, completely relaxed at this moment.
"Mmm..."
An irrepressible, soft moan, carrying a hint of languor and satisfaction, escaped uncontrollably from her lips.
The sound was not loud, but in this frozen, silent forest, it sounded exceptionally clear.
With the relaxation of her Martial Soul, her body also lost all its strength.
Her fiery, alluring body, which had been tense from pain, instantly went limp, and she collapsed straight forward as if she had lost all her bones.
Caelus let out a muffled grunt, feeling a scalding yet soft furnace crash solidly into his arms.
He subconsciously reached out his other hand and wrapped it around her soft waist, avoiding the awkward situation of them both falling to the ground.
The current position became incredibly intimate.
Ma Xiaotao was almost hanging off Caelus.
Her head rested weakly on Caelus's shoulder, and her scorching breath, accompanied by a faint scent of jasmine, brushed against Caelus's ear and neck, sending waves of tingling itchiness.
Her scalding body, separated only by a thin layer of clothing, was pressed tightly and seamlessly against Caelus's.
That astonishing softness and elasticity, those curves capable of making any man's blood boil, were being transmitted to Caelus without reservation.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"