Douluo:Peerless Tang Sect: Douluo of Peaceful Heaven

Morning.

Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao stepped out of the room together. Yan Shaozhe had already left.

Ziyang's face was marked with clear exhaustion. After maintaining high levels of tension for so long, the sudden release brought on a wave of fatigue. Coupled with the depletion of his soul power, he now wanted nothing more than to return to his room and sleep for days.

In stark contrast, Ma Xiaotao's energy was radiant. Her entire being exuded an unprecedented lightness and joy. Her pink eyes gleamed with excitement and elation.

The medicinal energy of the Phoenix Tail Crestflower was incredibly potent. It had not only eradicated the Evil Fire that had taken root in her very bones, but it also purified her martial soul.

She no longer needed the name "Evil Fire Phoenix." Her martial soul had truly become the legendary Fire Phoenix—a super martial soul imbued with the extreme fire attribute.

That's right. After the expulsion of the corrupted force, Ma Xiaotao now possessed true Ultimate Fire.

Currently, her soul power sat at Rank 64, and the leftover medicinal strength from the Phoenix Tail Crestflower had granted her an additional two levels.

"Ziyang, I owe you more and more," Ma Xiaotao said softly, wrapping her arm affectionately around his shoulder. Her pink eyes shimmered with a subtle charm.

Ziyang chuckled lightly. "No need to worry about that. Between us, there's no need to talk about debt."

His mind, however, involuntarily drifted to the "scene" he had awakened to earlier. Just the memory was enough to make his blood stir. Quickly, he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Xiaotao-jie, I'm going back to rest. See you this afternoon."

"Got it!" Ma Xiaotao nodded immediately. "Go get some sleep—I want to test out my new martial soul."

"See you later," Ziyang said, turning to leave.

As he walked away, Ma Xiaotao called after him, "Ziyang, on behalf of our teacher… I want to apologize."

Ziyang paused in his steps. He didn't look back.

"That's not your fault, Xiaotao-jie," he said quietly. "I'm just not ready to talk about it yet."

And then he left.

Ma Xiaotao stood there in silence, letting out a deep sigh. Of course they weren't fools. How could they not realize this was all orchestrated by Yan Shaozhe?

While the Phoenix Tail Crestflower was potent, with Ma Xiaotao's strength and willpower, she should've been able to absorb it alone.

Yet somehow, the herb's energy had turned uncontrollably violent, to the point that she could only subdue it with Zhu Ziyang's help.

The whole thing felt far too convenient—as if engineered.

And indeed, it was.

Once the two had stabilized the Phoenix Tail Crestflower's energy, they'd detected a lingering trace of soul power—one with both light and phoenix attributes. There was no question who it had come from.

They both knew exactly why Yan Shaozhe had manipulated the situation.

He had never given up trying to match them together. This time, he had gone so far as to try and force a relationship—hoping to turn a convenient moment into something irreversible. If not for Ziyang's restraint, they might've really fallen into the trap.

Now Ziyang understood why Mu En held such deep disappointment in Yan Shaozhe.

To use such a critical moment—vital to Ma Xiaotao's future—just to push an emotional agenda… Even though Shaozhe had controlled the dosage enough to avoid real harm, the process had been needlessly painful for her.

In Ziyang's eyes, Shaozhe had fallen to rock bottom.

Compared to him, even Xuan Zi—who was known for being brash and reckless—seemed more likable. At least Xuan Zi wasn't calculating.

Back in his cabin, Ziyang collapsed onto his bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep, his snores echoing moments later.

Elsewhere, Ma Xiaotao sought out Yan Shaozhe.

"Teacher, why did you do that?" she demanded, her tone sharp with anger.

"Xiaotao, I did it for your sake," Shaozhe said, forcing a bitter smile. He had hoped she would understand him, but in the end, he was alone in his decision.

Ma Xiaotao took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice.

"Teacher, I know you meant well," she said. "But please… stop interfering in things between me and Ziyang. Can you do that?"

Yan Shaozhe stared at her, eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions. Finally, he nodded slowly.

"Alright," he said softly. "I promise—I won't interfere again."

"Thank you," she replied, visibly relieved. Then, with a touch of guilt, she added,

"Teacher, I apologize for speaking so harshly just now."

"It's fine," he waved her off, smiling faintly.

"In some ways, Xiaotao, you've grown far beyond me. More decisive, more mature. Sometimes I wonder if Lin'er should've been your teacher instead."

"Teacher, I…"

She wanted to comfort him, but he held up a hand to stop her.

"No need. Come on—let's test your new martial soul."

"…Alright," Ma Xiaotao nodded, helpless but accepting.

When Zhu Ziyang finally awoke, it was already 1:00 p.m.

Sitting up immediately, he began examining the changes in his body. Though the Phoenix Tail Crestflower had been for Ma Xiaotao, he'd still absorbed some of the overflow from the herb's potent energy.

His soul power had risen to Rank 53, and more importantly, his Ultimate Ice attribute had advanced again.

His affinity with the ice element now exceeded 95 points, unlocking the exclusive innate talent of Ultimate Ice.

While Ultimate Light had two innate gifts, Ultimate Ice had only one—a stark contrast that highlighted the gap between high-level elements like Light and basic elements like Ice.

The talent was called:

Frost Dominion — a passive aura.

When activated, this aura spread from Zhu Ziyang's body in all directions, creating a fear-inducing field. It instilled psychological pressure in any creature within range, weakening their will to attack.

It functioned similarly to dragon might—especially effective against ice-element creatures, and still moderately effective against other types depending on Ziyang's own strength.

"Hm… this would pair well with Sovereign's Reign," Ziyang mused aloud. He quickly developed ideas for combining the two skills and nodded in satisfaction.

"You're awake, Lord Ziyang!"

A cheerful voice chirped.

He looked up to see Xingcai, who had been standing silently in the room. She trotted forward, her eyes filled with warmth and admiration. She nuzzled him affectionately.

"Good to see you, Xingcai!"

Ziyang smiled and stroked the unicorn's sleek mane.

"You're out of closed-door training—looks like you made a breakthrough!"

Half a year ago, Xingcai had entered the Golden Tree's underground chamber to cultivate—thanks to Ziyang's help. Now, her soul power had reached 3,500 years, and her body had matured to match her mother's in size.

For Starlight Unicorns, once they reached their juvenile phase, their body size would stabilize. Only their horn and wings would continue to grow.

"Yep, yep!" Xingcai nodded rapidly.

"I'm now a 5,000-year-old soul beast! I could beat up ten of my old self!"

"Haha! That's amazing!"

Ziyang laughed heartily, then paused.

A sudden idea popped into his mind:

What if I brought Xingcai to the Icefire Yin-Yang Well?

With its unique environment, and the way one year inside equaled ten years outside, Xingcai's cultivation could skyrocket. With her talent, she could reach ten-thousand-year soul beast level in no time.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

Once I'm strong enough to keep the other immortal herbs in line, I'll take her there right away.

"Come on," he said, standing and patting her head.

"Let's go stretch our legs."

Xingcai neighed happily in response and followed him eagerly outside. Ziyang mounted her, and together they galloped across Sea God Lake, their laughter echoing across the grassy shores.