Chapter 209: Join My Water God Church
Ma Xiaotao was stunned. Four methods were laid out clearly before her, yet she stood like someone at a crossroads, momentarily uncertain which path to take.
The first was far too embarrassing. Not to mention she didn't yet have someone she truly deeply loved in that sense—even if she did, resolving the evil fire through such a method made her blush and her heart race just thinking about it. She would absolutely never choose it.
The second required luck and opportunity. If she had started trying from childhood, it might truly have been useful. But now her level was too high, and her evil fire blazed fiercely right at its critical threshold. She simply couldn't afford to wait for those illusory, uncertain chances.
The third... seek Furina's help? Could ultimate water truly purify the evil fire completely? But at least one thing was certain—it could genuinely let her continue cultivating, genuinely suppress that power on the verge of spiraling out of control.
As for the fourth, she lifted her eyes to look at the confident smile on Furina's face. Immortal herbs? How could those things be so easy to find? If they were that easy, the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda Sect would have long since evolved their entire membership into Nine Treasures Glazed Pagodas, wouldn't they? After all, they were a great sect that had been passed down to this day, still active across the continent, still renowned and prestigious. And her own Shrek Academy, over these ten thousand years, had never been able to find the immortal herbs that the original Seven Devils had once consumed.
Yet Furina had spoken with such unwavering confidence, coupled with her freakish talent and the ability to make even her own teacher lower his stature.
Everything was telling her: this person, perhaps, truly had a way.
Ma Xiaotao bit her lip, her fingers twisting together unconsciously.
After a long silence, she finally lifted her head, a hint of probing and hope in her eyes. "You... you truly have a way to find them?"
"How many times have you asked me that now?" Furina didn't answer directly, instead tilting her head slightly in response, a teasing lilt in her tone.
"..." Ma Xiaotao pressed her lips tightly together, saying nothing. She knew her question was somewhat redundant, but this matter was simply far too important to her—so important she couldn't help but confirm it again and again.
Furina smiled faintly and walked slowly over, gently reaching out to pat her shoulder. The gesture was casual, as if soothing a nervous little animal.
"In any case, it depends on your choice. Different choices, different prices." Her tone was offhand, as simple as deciding what to eat today.
"But it doesn't matter. Your teacher is footing the bill anyway. I don't mind. If you feel sorry for your teacher, you could also help him cover it—just pay a small, modest price, that's all."
"What price?" Ma Xiaotao immediately pressed, her eyes fixed intently on Furina.
Her mind raced with calculations: she might not be as wealthy as Dai Yueheng, born of a prestigious, affluent family, but her talent was far superior.
Even if she couldn't repay it now, once she became a Titled Douluo in the future, wouldn't repaying these favors be effortless? Moreover, her teacher Yan Shaozhe was the Dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department. In the future, he might even advance further and become a member of the Sea God's Pavilion.
By then, with power and influence, she would certainly be able to repay Furina's favor.
"Very simple. It doesn't even require a very big price—" Furina paused, a meaningful glint flashing in her eyes. "Just join my Water God Church."
Ma Xiaotao froze.
Furina watched the shifting expressions on her face, but her own mind was elsewhere. In the original story, Ma Xiaotao's early portrayal was that of a madwoman who cultivated obsessively. Besides growing stronger, practically nothing else existed in her eyes.
But it had to be said, her talent was truly high, and she was far more hardworking than Ma Hongjun from Douluo 1. It was just a pity she'd been so badly held back by this broken martial soul.
If she had any normal martial soul of the same quality as the Evil Fire Phoenix, things wouldn't be this way.
Moreover, judging by the fact that her teacher was Yan Shaozhe, she was highly likely to inherit the position of Dean of Shrek's Martial Soul Department in the future.
Building good relations with the old guard was certainly important, but building good relations with the new generation was equally crucial. Securing both would allow Shrek to be completely turned into one of their own.
"This..." Ma Xiaotao hesitated, her brow furrowing slightly.
Her debt of gratitude to Shrek was simply too immense. When both her parents had died, Shrek had taken her in, provided her with so many resources, and cultivated her to where she was today. It was her second home. One could even say, without Shrek, there would be no Ma Xiaotao of today.
Have her join another sect or organization? The mere thought emerging sent a sliver of guilt through her heart.
Yet, on the other hand, this was her only opportunity to break free from the evil fire.
The two thoughts clashed fiercely in her mind, her expression fluctuating in response.
Furina watched her tangled appearance without impatience, simply speaking in a slow, unhurried voice. "I'm not asking you to decide right now. You can go back and speak with your teacher. I believe he will agree."
She paused, her tone growing even more relaxed. "Besides, my Water God Church doesn't restrict anyone's personal freedom. If you join the Water God Church, as long as you don't betray us, don't become an evil soul master, don't murder, commit arson, or engage in illegal or rule-breaking activities, it's all fine."
"Furthermore—" A meaningful smile curved the corner of Furina's lips. "Shrek and the Water God Church are currently in a cooperative state. There's nothing bad about you joining the Water God Church, and certainly no harm. Don't you think?"
Each word was like a soft whisper, yet they precisely struck against the defenses in Ma Xiaotao's heart—doing this wouldn't violate her principles, wouldn't affect her repaying Shrek's kindness, wouldn't saddle her with the label of an ungrateful wretch. Every last worry was untangled one by one.
Ma Xiaotao took a deep breath and finally made her resolve. She bent at the waist and bowed deeply, that customary haughtiness of hers deeply restrained at this moment, leaving only sincerity.
"Fine. I, Ma Xiaotao, am willing to join the Water God Church. I will never betray it. And please rest assured—as a student of Shrek, how could I ever stoop to the deeds of an evil soul master?"
She straightened up, her gaze openly meeting Furina's line of sight. She paused, then added, "Additionally, regarding the matter of attacking you all before, I express my deepest apologies. At that time, I truly had lost control; even my memories were very hazy. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing."
By the end, her voice had lowered, tinged with a shame hard to voice.
At this point, she was in the wrong, and she was the one asking for help. To not set aside her pride would be utterly unreasonable. Moreover, compared to Furina's talent, what was her own meager pride worth? Furina was even a food-type soul master. The gap was so vast that Ma Xiaotao couldn't even muster the thought of catching up.
Before, she had always believed she was the strongest among the younger generation. Now, she finally understood what it meant that there was always someone better, always a higher heaven beyond heaven.
Her teacher had spoken this principle before, but it had always gone in one ear and out the other. Only now was it truly carved into her heart.
Furina nodded with satisfaction. "Very good. I'll help you find the immortal herb and will hand it over to your teacher when the time comes. Before that, I'll use my ultimate water to help suppress it for you first."
She paused, her tone growing serious. "Also, when you're cultivating, have your teacher or other teachers of a higher level than you keep more of an eye on you, lest you lose control again afterwards."
Furina knew perfectly well in her heart: Yan Shaozhe was busy reforming Shrek. What if he forgot about this matter again, or hadn't taken it to heart before, and then Ma Xiaotao lost control once more—wouldn't that be directly harming the new students? With her combat strength, who among her peers could stop her?
"Alright, alright, I definitely will!" Ma Xiaotao nodded repeatedly, her tone as sincere as a sworn oath. "I will tell my teacher and the others. Please be at ease. I will also control myself well."
Furina's expression remained unruffled, but inwardly, she shook her head.
Don't make me laugh. If you could control yourself well, would the earlier incident have even happened? Even in the original story, when Huo Yuhao used his ultimate ice to help suppress it for you, didn't you still come running over every few days to snatch him away, borrowing him to suppress your own evil fire?
It was only thanks to Huo Yuhao being kind-hearted, plus his good impression of Shrek. Had it been any other protagonist, your fate would likely have been "you've brought this death upon yourself," or endless obstacles and tribulations.
One could only say that Shrek's worldview was truly comfortable—aside from the existence of evil soul masters.
But the problem was, the reason evil soul masters could run rampant during the Douluo 2, 3, and even 4 eras was fundamentally because that pure and pristine Lord Sea God had destroyed the City of Slaughter and wiped out the Spirit Hall, which had specialized in clearing out evil soul masters.
Leaving his own mess for future generations to clean up, was that it?
Furina sighed inwardly: Tang San, you really do deserve to die.
But these thoughts merely flickered past. She quickly pulled back her musings and beckoned to Ma Xiaotao. "Alright, alright. First, I'll take you to the baths. I'll use my ultimate water to help suppress it for you, and see if it can be completely purified. If so, it'll save me the trouble of searching for immortal herbs. If not, you'll just have to make do for this period."
"Okay, okay. Thank you very much." Ma Xiaotao nodded repeatedly, gratitude practically brimming from her eyes.
At this very moment, in her eyes, Furina had completely transformed into that life-saving straw, and the only thing she had to do was seize it tightly and absolutely never let go.
The two walked out, one after the other. Ma Xiaotao followed behind Furina, watching that calm and unhurried figure from the back, and a strange feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.
How could this person, who looked even younger than herself, make her feel the urge to rely on her?
Perhaps this was what a true powerhouse was like.
She retracted her gaze and silently matched her pace. The matter of the evil fire finally had a direction; the stone that had pressed on her heart for many years seemed to loosen slightly. Although the road ahead was still unclear, at the very least, she had already grasped that straw.
That was enough.
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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