Chapter 169 Ling Luochen Retorts to Ma Xiaotao, Even the Ice and Fire Goddess Feels Guilty?
After the sparring session, Du Weiren announced that today's training was over.
The people on the field dispersed in twos and threes, each stretching their muscles.
Wang Dong'er came to Xiao Xiao's side, her long, light blue hair slightly disheveled by the wind. As she gathered her hair, she glanced in Dai Huabin's direction.
Ling Luochen was standing two steps to the right of Dai Huabin, the distance between them was much closer than yesterday.
"Don't you guys think..." Wang Dong'er lowered her voice.
However, before Wang Dong'er could finish speaking, Xiao Xiao interrupted:
"Senior Ling Luochen's cooperation today is completely different from before."
Cui Yajie crossed her arms, her long pink hair casually draped over her shoulders, her tone filled with gossipy excitement:
"It's not just different. During previous joint training sessions, Senior Sister Ling Luochen and Hua Bin barely communicated. But today, the Ice Prison positioning was so precise, it was as if they had exchanged secret signals beforehand."
Ning Tian stood behind the four people, her short hair neat and clean. She did not participate in the discussion, but her ears were perked up.
"Do you think something happened between them?"
Cui Yajie's tone was full of gossip.
Wang Dong'er twisted a strand of hair between her fingers, saying nothing, but her heart felt heavy.
Xiao Xiao patted Wang Dong'er on the shoulder. "Don't overthink it, it's probably just the tacit understanding that comes from training and getting along."
"Getting used to each other?" Cui Yajie rolled her eyes. "You couldn't develop that chemistry in half a month, and it just happened overnight? Xiao Xiao, do you believe that?"
Xiao Xiao gave an awkward smile; she didn't believe it either.
After listening for a while, Ning Tian finally spoke up: "Senior Ling Luochen's ice element Spirit is naturally compatible with Hua Bin's ultimate ice, making it easier for them to work together than for us."
That made sense, but all four people present knew that this wasn't simply a matter of Spirit compatibility.
...
On the other side.
Ma Xiaotao withdrew from her flame form, shook off the remaining heat from her wrists, and strode towards Dai Huabin.
"Hua Bin."
Her voice wasn't quiet; both Ling Luochen and Zhu Lu heard it.
Zhu Lu glanced at Ma Xiaotao, then at Ling Luochen who was standing next to Dai Huabin.
She didn't say anything, but gave Dai Huabin a meaningful look, then turned and walked towards Wang Dong'er.
Dai Huabin returned a smile.
Ma Xiaotao walked up, hands on her hips, her long red hair cascading down her back. She was covered in a light sweat from training today, and her tight-fitting clothes clung to her body, outlining an extremely exaggerated figure.
She was completely unaware, only tilting her head to look at Dai Huabin, and then glancing at Ling Luochen beside him.
"Hua Bin, what's going on between Ling Luochen and you?"
Ma Xiaotao asked a very direct question, which was very much in line with her personality.
Ling Luochen's expression remained unchanged; she simply turned her head slightly, waiting for Dai Huabin's reply.
Dai Huabin thought for a moment and said, "We're friends, I guess. It's similar to how I am with Senior Xiao Tao."
Ma Xiaotao raised an eyebrow. "About the same as me?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
Ma Xiaotao responded with an "oh," her expression somewhat subtle.
She turned to Ling Luochen, lowered her voice, but didn't deliberately avoid Dai Huabin. "Luochen, you don't like Hua Bin, do you?"
Ling Luochen raised her head. Her hair, which had turned ice blue due to the possession of her Spirit, had not yet completely turned black, making her face appear as cold as ice.
She looked at Ma Xiaotao and said in a flat tone, "Aren't you the same?"
Ma Xiaotao's expression froze for a moment.
She opened her mouth, but couldn't immediately refute it.
Dai Huabin stood to the side, watching the scene with great interest.
Ma Xiaotao neither denied it nor became angry; instead, she guiltily looked away.
"That was..."
Ma Xiaotao hesitated for a moment.
"Hua Bin and I have a cooperative relationship. He helps me suppress the evil fire, and I protect him in the inner courtyard. It's a fair trade."
Ling Luochen didn't press further, but simply turned her gaze away.
Ma Xiaotao never expected that Ling Luochen, who was usually aloof and taciturn, would respond so directly.
In the past, Ling Luochen would always ignore Ma Xiaotao's questions with a cold face, but today she actually took the initiative to fight back.
Dai Huabin was somewhat surprised to see the two standing together calmly, without any tension or hidden rivalry.
These two people didn't have a good relationship before.
He knew the reason.
Ma Xiaotao's evil fire would get out of control every now and then. Before Dai Huabin and Xue Di, Ma Xiaotao's way of suppressing her evil fire was simple and brutal: she would find someone to fight.
As the only ice-attribute soul master in the team, Ling Luochen naturally became Ma Xiaotao's first choice as a punching bag.
The Ice Element Soul King must have felt utterly awful facing the full force of the Evil Fire Phoenix Soul Emperor.
Therefore, Ling Luochen never really liked Ma Xiaotao.
But ever since Xue Di froze Ma Xiaotao with one move, and Dai Huabin took over the work of suppressing the evil fire, Ma Xiaotao had not sought out Ling Luochen for "training" for a long time.
Her temper had also calmed down considerably.
Ling Luochen's prejudice against Ma Xiaotao gradually faded away.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Ma Xiaotao waved her hand, reverting to her carefree demeanor. "Hua Bin, are you free in a few days? The feeling of fighting with all my might is so exhilarating, and my inner demons are starting to stir again."
"We'll see how things go then."
"Okay." Ma Xiaotao didn't press the matter, patted Dai Huabin on the shoulder, and left.
Ling Luochen stood there, waiting for Ma Xiaotao to walk away before speaking: "You personally suppress her evil fire every time?"
"Well, after all, Xue'er doesn't like these troublesome things," Dai Huabin replied.
Ling Luochen nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Dai Huabin looked at her and took the initiative to speak: "Senior, you cooperated very well today, very good."
Ling Luochen's expression didn't change, but her tone was slightly gentler than usual:
"As long as you're satisfied."
Dai Huabin smiled, calculating Ling Luochen's value in his mind.
Ice element Spirit, control type, level 55 Soul King.
While her individual combat strength wasn't top-tier among the main team, her ability to control the battlefield was truly outstanding. Today, her use of Ice Prison combined with Ice Mist and Chilling Force steered the entire battlefield in his favor.
Changing terrain, manipulating weather, controlling large-scale fields... If the ice element is upgraded to ultimate ice, Ling Luochen's potential will be greatly increased.
"I'm leaving, I'm going back to the outer Academy." Dai Huabin snapped out of his thoughts.
Ling Luochen nodded and headed towards the inner courtyard dormitory.
Zhu Lu was already waiting there, and Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, Cui Yajie, and Ning Tian were all ready.
The six of them left the inner courtyard's fighting arena together, passed through the bamboo forest path, and headed towards Poseidon Lake along the way they had come.
There was no need to cross Poseidon Lake on the return trip, as there was a dedicated passage connecting the inner courtyard to the outer courtyard area.
Along the way, Cui Yajie and Xiao Xiao walked in front chatting, while Ning Tian followed behind quietly listening. Wang Dong'er walked to Dai Huabin's left, occasionally glancing at him, but never saying a word.
Zhu Lu walked quietly to Dai Huabin's right.
[end of the chapter]
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