"Your teacher and Sister Chang Li have already settled on the conditions. Sister Jingliu will help you dispel the evil fire from your body three days from now. By then, you won't have to suffer from its torment anymore," Keqing said with a smile.
Watching the red-haired girl quietly drinking fish soup, Keqing felt a surge of admiration. From Lu Jingming, she learned about the nature of Ma Xiaotao's evil fire—a flame capable of igniting primal desires.
Ma Xiaotao's ancestor, Ma Hongjun, to suppress this evil fire, had resorted to constantly venting his desires from a young age to alleviate the pain, going through girlfriend after girlfriend, all of whom left because they couldn't endure the intense needs caused by his evil fire. Ma Xiaotao, however, endured an evil fire that was even more intense than Ma Hongjun's.
Yet, with her tenacious willpower, she steadfastly persevered. Since awakening her martial soul, she had always maintained her integrity and purity, never succumbing to the desires brought on by the evil fire. In terms of sheer willpower alone, she far surpassed her ancestor.
It was precisely for this reason that Keqing felt a strong affinity for Ma Xiaotao. Keqing herself was an extremely disciplined person, and she admired those who possessed strong self-control.
This was why she had taken the initiative to care for Ma Xiaotao. After all, the City Lord's Mansion never lacked maids; the people of Haiyuan City took pride in sending their daughters to serve in the mansion.
"Clang!!"
Two crisp metallic clashes echoed across the training ground. Lu Jingming's longsword transformed into streaks of afterimages, rapidly thrusting towards Jingliu.
Each strike was as fast as lightning, the sword wind howling as if to tear the air. However, Jingliu's expression remained calm. Holding her sword with one hand, she effortlessly parried each of Lu Jingming's attacks.
Whenever their swords met, dazzling sparks would fly into the air, like brilliant fireworks blooming in the night sky.
Lu Jingming's offensive was like a surging tide, with an endless stream of exquisite sword techniques.
His figure flickered, sword aura circulating continuously around him, stirring up powerful air currents that fiercely impacted the training ground. This ground, meticulously forged from soul tool metal, though incredibly tough, now bore shocking white marks from the sword aura's rampage.
Despite Lu Jingming giving his all, displaying his swordsmanship to its fullest, Jingliu remained composed and at ease.
Every swing of her sword was perfectly executed, as if she had merged with her surroundings, exuding the demeanor of a true master in every movement.
The instant Lu Jingming's old strength waned and new strength had yet to form, a cold glint flashed in Jingliu's eyes, and her longsword darted out like lightning.
Lu Jingming only felt a cold flash before his eyes, his body instantly stiffening, the sword tip halted inches from his throat.Looking at the cold, gleaming sword tip, Lu Jingming helplessly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, yet still wore a mischievous smile. He said, "As expected of Teacher Jingliu, your swordsmanship is unparalleled! You can defeat me so easily even without using soul power."
"I am not Herta. Also, you've been slacking off recently," Jingliu didn't respond much to Lu Jingming's flattery, merely offering a faint critique with a hint of imperceptible sternness in her tone.
Lu Jingming chuckled awkwardly. He knew in his heart that he had indeed been neglecting his swordsmanship training recently, with noticeably less time dedicated to it. But this was also out of necessity; he had many affairs to plan and arrange in advance, leaving him stretched thin. Jingliu naturally understood Lu Jingming's recent busyness.
She nodded slightly and calmly said, "No matter how much planning you do, at the critical moment, you still have to rely on your own strength."
Lu Jingming nodded in profound agreement. He understood this principle, so he had already planned to hand over his current affairs to others and fully dedicate himself to cultivation, striving to improve his strength.
After all, with his True Authority, he could confidently entrust matters to those he absolutely trusted.
At this moment, Zhang Lexuan walked forward with light steps, holding a delicate handkerchief.
She gently wiped the fine sweat from Lu Jingming's forehead and softly said, "Sister Chang Li has already settled things with Dean Yan."
"Oh? If that's the case, then I'll leave the rest to you, Teacher," Lu Jingming said, showing no surprise upon hearing this news.
He knew very well that to resolve Ma Xiaotao's evil fire issue, as long as the conditions weren't too harsh and didn't endanger Shrek Academy's fundamental interests, Yan Shaozhe would most likely agree.
Since Yan Shaozhe had agreed to their proposed terms, it was now Jingliu's turn to act.
Having just undergone an intense sword training session, Lu Jingming was already drenched in sweat.
He returned to his residence, took a comfortable shower, and changed into clean clothes before heading to the reception hall with Zhang Lexuan and Jingliu. There, they met Yan Shaozhe again.
Yan Shaozhe saw Lu Jingming and the others arrive, a satisfied smile on his face. He said, "City Lord Lu, I, on behalf of Shrek Academy, agree to the three conditions you proposed. When can the evil fire be removed from my disciple?"
The three conditions that Chang Li had negotiated with Yan Shaozhe were all within Shrek Academy's acceptable range, without any exorbitant demands, which greatly pleased Yan Shaozhe.
The first condition was that Shrek Academy must provide two slots to cultivate for one year under the Golden Ancient Tree on Seagod Island.
In Shrek Academy, cultivating under the Golden Ancient Tree on Seagod Island was an extremely rare opportunity, usually only available to inner court disciples, who typically only got to cultivate for a few months.
However, Yan Shaozhe, as a member of the Seagod Pavilion and the Martial Soul Department Dean, held certain decision-making power and could meet this demand. Moreover, once Ma Xiaotao's evil fire problem was resolved, Shrek Academy would very likely cultivate another Seagod Pavilion Master with an extreme attribute.
It is important to remember that the previous Seagod Pavilion Master in Shrek Academy's history who possessed an extreme attribute was a legendary figure.
Four thousand years ago, when the Sun Moon Continent and the Douluo Continent collided, and the Sun Moon Empire invaded the Douluo Continent, causing the original three Douluo nations to suffer continuous defeats, he led over a hundred formidable Titled Douluo to successfully defeat the powerful Sun Moon Empire, turning the tide and pushing Shrek Academy to an unprecedented height of glory.
It was also that Seagod Pavilion Master with the extreme attribute who forced the Sun Moon Empire to cede territory and rename the Sun Moon Continent to the Douluo Continent.