Chapter 208: I'd Even Call You Mom.
Yan Shaozhe left quickly, a hint of urgency in his stride.
No guesswork was needed—he was clearly in a rush to go back and figure out how to push through another round of reforms at Shrek Academy. Compared to the major issues Furina had raised before, this time the matters were relatively simple, mainly adjustments regarding the dormitories and the cafeteria. Only the enrollment and admissions system would require a bit more deliberation.
Those were old traditions, ingrained for who knows how many years. Changing them all at once would likely draw objections from all sides.
Furina, however, didn't particularly care what Yan Shaozhe was thinking or what he planned to do. Whether Shrek Academy's reforms succeeded was their own business. She was merely offering a few pointers, providing the assistance she owed them, letting Shrek incur a favor so they'd meddle less in her affairs in the future.
Unifying the continent was a necessity, and Shrek reverting to a simple academy was also a necessity. Two tigers cannot share one mountain.
She had no desire to see a situation like Douluo Dalu 4, with power split three ways or even fragmented into four.
One had to remember that in Douluo 4, although Shrek and the Tang Sect cooperated closely, both factions held immense autonomy, rich in both strength and accumulated resources. They weren't under the jurisdiction of the Douluo Federation, didn't obey its commands, let alone share resources or technology freely.
And the Douluo Federation and Spirit Pagoda were two separate forces. Even after the events of the Legend of the Dragon King and the collusion with evil soul masters, Spirit Pagoda still enjoyed great autonomy in Douluo 4, a major power in its own right, only maintaining close cooperation with the Federation. It wasn't until a thousand years after the Divine Realm's return that they merged with Shrek.
Though, calling it a merger was less accurate than calling it an annexation—who was the master and who was the subordinate was clear at a glance.
In a sense, the Douluo Federation really was utterly useless.
They had already unified the continent, even expanded to other planets, yet in the end, within their own sphere of influence, their voice only accounted for a quarter. Although Spirit Pagoda, Shrek, and the Tang Sect were nominally a rank lower in status and smaller in scope, in reality, they could rival the Douluo Federation on equal footing.
So really, the Douluo Federation was just pathetic.
Pulling back her scattered thoughts, Furina turned her gaze to Ma Xiaotao. Her eyes held a hint of appraisal, as if scrutinizing an object that needed careful examination, or pondering an important question.
"Ma Xiaotao, your martial soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix, correct?"
Ma Xiaotao paused briefly, then nodded. She didn't quite see the point of Furina asking this; surely her teacher had already told her as much?
"Your ancestor is Ma Hongjun, one of the original Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago, right?"
"Right!" Ma Xiaotao's voice carried a note of obvious fact. "Because the Evil Fire Phoenix was inherited directly from Ancestor Ma Hongjun. There's no other possibility."
She felt Furina was asking obvious questions. The Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul was unique to Ma Hongjun alone. So anyone possessing the Evil Fire Phoenix was basically a descendant of Ma Hongjun, herself included.
Just like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon—those who could inherit that martial soul were either the remaining descendants of the old Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect or descendants of Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang. What other inheritors could there be? Even if a martial soul mutated, without the hereditary bloodline, it couldn't mutate into an identical martial soul.
Furina watched Ma Xiaotao's brow furrow slightly but paid it no mind, simply continuing slowly. "Then do you know how Ma Hongjun suppressed the evil fire ten thousand years ago?"
Ma Xiaotao practically blurted it out. "I've looked through the records. They say Ancestor Ma Hongjun obtained an immortal herb from the Thousand Hands Douluo, Tang San, which caused his martial soul to evolve and thus freed him from the evil fire."
Furina, however, shook her head. "I asked, how was it resolved before that? You have to understand, the evil fire of the Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul is lifelong. As long as one has soul power, as soul power increases, the evil fire burns ever stronger, harder and harder to suppress. Before obtaining that immortal herb, how did Ma Hongjun handle it?"
She narrowed her eyes, a meaningful smile playing at the corner of her lips, watching Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Xiaotao's face instantly flushed crimson, as if scorched by fire. "You mean... that... coupling with someone, resolving the evil fire by releasing the fires of desire?"
Furina inclined her head slightly. "Exactly. Have you ever tried this method?"
Ma Xiaotao's face grew even redder, practically dripping blood. She whipped her head up, her voice tinged with both embarrassment and stubborn defiance. "No! I would never want to do such a thing. I want to... to do it with someone I love, only marry the person I love."
"Oh, I see." Furina's tone was neutral, neither praising nor criticizing. "Then you're quite pure at heart. Let me ask, what did your father's generation do? Surely other ancestors of yours also had the evil fire problem, right? How did they handle it? After all, immortal herbs are rare. Just as the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda Sect hasn't produced a second Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda martial soul, I imagine it's the same for your Evil Fire Phoenix."
Ma Xiaotao's mood visibly dampened, her voice growing much softer. "That... I only know that my mother was a water-attribute soul master, and through that, she could suppress my father's evil fire. Later, they both sacrificed themselves... in a battle against a powerful evil soul master."
"I see. Alright then!" Furina nodded, a thoughtful look crossing her features. "Next, I'll give you four methods. You can choose from them."
"Four methods? That many?" Ma Xiaotao's eyes widened, her astonishment unmistakable. As far as she knew, the academy had only managed to find her two methods, at best.
One was to find a suitable match with a powerful water or ice-type soul master. The second was to have a water, ice, or similar martial soul soul master—like Xu Sanshi, though his Black Tortoise bloodline made him essentially a water-type—help with suppression.
But the first was hard to find, and the person she liked wasn't a water or ice-type soul master anyway. As for the second, as her own level grew higher, their suppression effect grew weaker and weaker. Unless she stopped cultivating and waited for their levels to catch up.
But stop cultivating? How could that be possible?! She, Ma Xiaotao, was never someone content to fall behind others.
Furina smiled, a hint of pride and confidence in that smile. "Of course. I am the Pope of the Church of the Water God, and the Water God herself—the great Furina! Do not doubt me."
"First, the most inferior method." She extended a first finger. "Find a man. Ideally, just as your teacher said, find an ice or water-type person as a suitable match. Someone you like is fine too; at least it'd be mutual. Then just find him every day to vent your fires of desire. Though I wonder—who would end up unable to endure it first?"
Ma Xiaotao shook her head almost instantly, her head bobbing like a rattle drum. "Let's just forget that one! Weren't there three others? I want to hear the other three."
Furina nodded slightly and extended a second finger. "Second method: try absorbing light-attributed soul beasts, or more powerful fire-attributed ones, especially those of the ultimate fire attribute, or those with a phoenix bloodline, as your soul rings. It's possible your Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul could undergo evolution and thus shed the evil fire."
"This can also be combined with the other three methods."
She paused, a hint of regret creeping into her tone. "But honestly, your current level is far too high. You're at the edge where a rampage could happen at any moment. To try this now is simply far too late. It would require luck and an opportunity—nothing that can be forced right now."
She spread her hands helplessly and shook her head with a sigh.
A flicker of disappointment crossed Ma Xiaotao's eyes. If only she'd known sooner... maybe she could have truly escaped the evil fire's torment.
Her fingers twisted together unconsciously as she whispered, "Then... what are the third and fourth methods?"
"Third method—" Furina extended a third finger. "Find ultimate ice or ultimate water. Like me, for instance. I could provide short-term suppression, helping you escape the torment of the evil fire. There's also a chance it could completely purify the evil fire. But as I said, only a chance, because I've never actually done this before."
"You really have the ultimate water attribute?" Ma Xiaotao's eyes immediately lit up, the light within them a mix of shock and irrepressible joy.
Furina nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course. How could a Water God not use water? Did you expect me to be like some Sea God, with only grass and a hammer?"
Honestly, she could never understand why the Sea God would choose someone with only grass and a hammer to inherit his Sea God position. It would have made more sense even if it were the Asura God.
"Uh..." Ma Xiaotao was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond.
Though Furina's words seemed to insult the Thousand Hands Douluo Tang San, what did that matter to her? Her mind was entirely consumed with how to root out the evil fire. As long as she could help her get rid of the evil fire, Furina could do anything—she'd even let Furina be her mother! She was even willing to kneel on the spot and kowtow to acknowledge her as her adoptive mother!
At this thought, Ma Xiaotao's gaze grew increasingly fervent.
Furina extended her fourth finger, her tone as light as commenting on the nice weather. "And then the fourth method: find an immortal herb. Just find one exactly like the one from ten thousand years ago!"
"Is that even possible?" Ma Xiaotao blurted out almost subconsciously. An immortal herb from ten thousand years ago—where could she even begin to search now? The Yin-Yang Eyes of Ice and Fire had long since ceased to exist. Even if it still did, wouldn't the immortal herbs within have been completely harvested ages ago?
"Ridiculous—" A confident smile curved the corner of Furina's lips. "I am the Water God. I need only make a slight move to know if it's there."
She withdrew her hand, looking at Ma Xiaotao with an amused expression, a hint of playfulness in her eyes. "So, what's your choice?"
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Thanks for reading the chapter!
I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation story. It's a crossover of Toaru and One Piece... Well, the only Toaru element here is one cute Misaka. This is all that came of my desire to translate a Toaru fanfic, but I'm not complaining—even though I've only just started reading and translating it, I'm really enjoying the story. It has plenty of slice-of-life elements, and the pacing is quite slow and detailed. It's written in a sweet, positive way—at least for now. There likely won't be any romance, as there were no tags indicating such, but I won't say for sure until I've finished reading it myself. I'd recommend it to those who aren't craving violence, carnage, or excessive cruelty. In my opinion, it's a worthwhile story, though it's definitely a matter of personal taste—especially since the protagonist is a girl, which isn't everyone's cup of tea (though it doesn't really matter for now—at least as of 30+ chapters in, Misaka is still 6 years old). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.
One Piece: Railgun Misaka Misaka https://www.webnovel.com/book/one-piece-railgun-misaka-misaka_37195209600636405