The people of the Inner Courtyard quickly learned that Zhu Ziyang had adopted two Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear cubs. The two Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears immediately became the focus of the Inner Courtyard Disciples' after-dinner conversations. Everyone had heard of the Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear's fearsome reputation, but few had actually seen one, so they all came to observe out of curiosity.
The two bear cubs, called Bear One and Bear Two by Xingcai, were delighted. Every day, unfamiliar people came to see them, and each person would give them lots of delicious meat. The two bear cubs, who had only recently been born, quickly became immersed in the colorful World of humans, living in a state of blissful abandon every day.
The elders' attitude towards these two Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear cubs was much more serious. They understood very well what two Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears meant, so they were very willing to help Zhu Ziyang raise these two big eaters. After all, Zhu Ziyang was not the first Pavilion Master to keep pets in Shrek Academy; there was still a thousand-year-old Black Jade Turtle in Sea God Lake, which was the pet of a previous generation's Pavilion Master.
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As the Continental Youth Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition drew near, on the last night before the Shrek Academy team departed, Zhu Ziyang returned to his residence after concluding an emergency meeting at Tian Yuan Pavilion, only to find Ma Xiaotao waiting at his door. He was a little surprised.
"Sister Xiaotao, it's so late, why aren't you resting? Is there something you need my help with?" Zhu Ziyang asked.
"That's right!" Ma Xiaotao replied, her voice clearly a little off, with a hint more charm and allure than usual. She raised her head, her cheeks flushed, and said coquettishly, "I need you to help me suppress my evil fire!"
"Huh?" Zhu Ziyang was stunned, not immediately understanding Ma Xiaotao's intention. And in that moment of distraction, he was grabbed by the arm by Ma Xiaotao and pulled into the room.
"Sister Xiaotao!" Inside the room, Zhu Ziyang's voice involuntarily rose considerably.
"Are you yelling at me?" Ma Xiaotao's voice was full of grievance as she said, "You promised me before, and I've been ready, but half a year has passed, and you haven't made a move. Do you really want a girl to take the initiative?"
"Uh!" Even though Zhu Ziyang's expression couldn't be seen, his tone alone revealed that he was now a bit awkward and guilty. "Isn't it because I've been too busy?"
"Busy? Do you mean taking Nannan to visit a friend and bringing back two Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear cubs along the way?" Ma Xiaotao's voice became even more aggrieved, listing what Zhu Ziyang had been doing recently. "Anyway, I don't care, you have to do it today, whether you want to or not!"
"Uh-huh-huh!" Zhu Ziyang felt a wave of embarrassment, and finally had no choice but to say, "Sister Xiaotao, could you please get off me first?"
"No!" Ma Xiaotao's voice was filled with determination, yet this determination seemed to carry a hint of suggestive shyness and tremor.
"Be good, get up for a moment!" Zhu Ziyang coaxed softly, "I don't like being passive, I like being active!"
"Ah?" After a confused sound from Ma Xiaotao inside the room, an astonished and expectant "Ah!" followed.
After a "smack!", the bright moon in the night sky immediately dimmed a little. Looking up, it turned out a cloud had covered the moon's face, like a woman who, upon seeing a shy scene, raised her handkerchief to cover her face, both refusing and inviting.
The next morning, Zhu Ziyang woke up from his sleep, feeling a bit heavy. He looked up and saw Ma Xiaotao lying on top of him, her pretty face still carrying the flush of last night.
"Sister Xiaotao, it's time to get up!" Zhu Ziyang patted Ma Xiaotao's perky bottom and called out.
"Hmm?" Ma Xiaotao was still a bit groggy. Propping herself up on Zhu Ziyang's chest, she sat on him, her beautiful qualities once again displayed before Zhu Ziyang's eyes. She rubbed her eyes, then called out, "Ziyang!"
"What's wrong?" Zhu Ziyang looked at her in confusion and replied.
"I… I seem to have broken through." Ma Xiaotao paused, feeling her sleepiness completely gone. Her body, which had been very tired from last night's ordeal, instantly felt light again, and her pretty face was filled with surprise and excitement.
"Really?" Zhu Ziyang immediately sat up, a movement that instantly toppled Ma Xiaotao, who was sitting on him. Fortunately, he was quick-handed, grabbing her jade hand and pulling her into his arms. His eyes were filled with more surprise, constantly gazing at Ma Xiaotao's flushed jade face.
"Of course it's real!" Ma Xiaotao chuckled, sitting naturally in Zhu Ziyang's embrace, and said, "Do you think I'm someone who would joke about such a thing?"
"No, of course not!" Zhu Ziyang decisively denied it, then explained, "I'm just very surprised. You've been stuck at rank eighty-nine for almost a year, so breaking through now is truly a good omen!"
"Hehehe!" Ma Xiaotao laughed incessantly, wrapping her jade arms around Zhu Ziyang's neck, pressing her cheek against his, and said sweetly, "My dear little brother, I have to thank you for this!"
"Haha!" Zhu Ziyang naturally understood Ma Xiaotao's meaning and couldn't help but laugh, saying, "If breaking through a bottleneck were that simple, there would be no single people on this continent long ago. I think, Sister Xiaotao, you must have already reached the bottleneck, just lacking an opportunity. Last night you were relaxed enough, the tightly wound string loosened, and didn't you just break through?"
"Yes, yes, you're right." Ma Xiaotao didn't care. She only knew that she had double happiness: not only had she successfully united with her beloved, but she had also broken through to the Titled Douluo realm, completing the Fire God's Seventh Trial. This was simply wonderful.
"Alright, let's get up quickly, we still have things to do later." Zhu Ziyang patted Ma Xiaotao again. He found that in just one night, he had already become infatuated with Ma Xiaotao's perky bottom, soft and bouncy, like jelly.
"Mm!" Ma Xiaotao's eyes were like silk as she nodded.
The two quickly dressed and cleaned up the mess from the previous night. Then Ma Xiaotao sat upright on Zhu Ziyang's bed, beginning to respond to the call of the Fire God's Seven Trials, while Zhu Ziyang stood to the side, protecting her.
Zhu Ziyang faced a living deity for the first time. The Fire God's divine imprint emanated from Ma Xiaotao's body, golden-red light enveloped her, flickering flames surrounded her, and mysterious starlight continuously sprinkled down.
Before long, all the anomalies disappeared, and Ma Xiaotao's figure reappeared. Her closed eyes naturally drooped, and the corners of her mouth curved up uncontrollably. Clearly, the reward from the Fire God's Seven Trials made the girl unable to help but burst with joy. It must have been a very generous and gratifying reward!
"Hahaha!" Ma Xiaotao opened her eyes and laughed immediately. Looking at Zhu Ziyang in front of her, she didn't hide anything and said, "Little brother Ziyang, guess what the rewards for the Fire God's Seven Trials are?"
"How can I guess that?" Zhu Ziyang smiled helplessly.
"Just guess, it's very easy to guess!" Ma Xiaotao hugged Zhu Ziyang's arm and called out coquettishly.
"Alright, then I'll guess." Zhu Ziyang seemed to be someone who responded to softness rather than hardness, and Ma Xiaotao was undoubtedly soft. He thought for a moment and said, "I guess there must be Fire God affinity, right?"
"Nonsense!" Ma Xiaotao rolled her eyes at Zhu Ziyang and said, "Isn't that obvious?"
"Haha, and spirit ring age limit? spirit power rank? Or a god-bestowed spirit ring?" Zhu Ziyang continued to guess with a smile.
"Hehe, I won't keep you in suspense," Ma Xiaotao couldn't hold back, saying with a beaming smile, "The rewards for the Fire God's Seven Trials are ten percent Fire God affinity, one rank of spirit power, an increase of one thousand years to all spirit ring age limits, a god-bestowed spirit ring, and then a divine artifact."
"Mm-hmm..." Zhu Ziyang nodded as he listened, looking as if he had guessed it all and the Fire God was very generous and worthy of praise. But when he heard Ma Xiaotao mention the last reward, he became a little unsettled, looking at Ma Xiaotao in surprise and saying, "Sister Xiaotao, what did you say? A divine artifact?"
"Uh-huh!" Ma Xiaotao nodded and extended her hand. A red light swirled in her palm, and a treasure sword, predominantly red with gold accents, appeared in Ma Xiaotao's hand. This sword emitted a red divine light, but the light seemed not very strong, as if it were being obscured by something. Zhu Ziyang looked closely and saw that the gold and red parts were actually the scabbard.
"The Fire God Sword, the Fire God's divine artifact, and also the content of my next trial." Ma Xiaotao introduced, "The content of the Fire God's Eight Trials is for me to gain the Fire God Sword's recognition and pull it out of its scabbard."
As Ma Xiaotao spoke, she tried to pull it out. She held the hilt with one hand and the scabbard with the other, then pulled back with force, but the Fire God Sword did not budge. Clearly, pulling out the Fire God Sword could not rely on brute force. Ma Xiaotao still had a lot of progress to make if she wanted to inherit the Fire God's position!
She wasn't in a hurry. After retracting the Fire God Sword, she began to absorb her ninth spirit ring, thoroughly achieving the Titled Douluo realm, and Zhu Ziyang naturally stayed to protect her.