Douluo Dalu 2: Reincarnated as the Auspicious Beast

Where... am I?

Ma Xiaotao looked around in a daze.

She remembered charging towards Sea God Lake before losing consciousness...

Now, behind her was a vast expanse of water. The air was still filled with steam from lingering heat, and the distant scenery was shrouded in mist, leaving only a blank white void.

Beneath her was scorched, barren earth. Not far away, charred trees still clung to smoldering, dark red flames...

She was on the opposite shore of Sea God Lake, at the outer courtyard of the academy.

Ma Xiaotao shivered.

A cold sensation poured over her like a bucket of ice water, making her scalp tingle and her back go numb. Even though she possessed the most powerful fire-type martial soul, at this moment, Ma Xiaotao felt as though she had fallen into an icy abyss.

This was the outer courtyard of the academy. Then... those two charred corpses, shorter than adults by just a little...

The answer was right in front of her, but her mind felt numb, too terrified to continue the thought.

Ma Xiaotao tried to get up, but as soon as she pressed her hands to the ground, she realized her arms were as limp as if the bones had been removed. The next moment, she lost her balance and fell to the ground. Yet, she couldn't care less about the pain and frantically crawled over to the two charred skeletons.

She raised her trembling hand, wanting to pick up the scattered, blackened bones. Though she was a Soul Emperor, her fingers shook uncontrollably. But just as her fingers touched the still-warm bones, they crumbled into ashes, having been barely maintaining their shape.

"No... no..." She froze in place, overwhelmed with helplessness.

Ma Xiaotao had killed before—countless times, in fact.

She was the most gifted student in the Shrek inner courtyard in centuries. She had joined the Shrek Monitoring Group at an early age, completing far more than the thirty required missions for graduation. Never once had she used her status as Yan Shaozhe's adopted daughter to shirk her duties. If she ever used her privilege, it was only to say, "I'm the dean's disciple; I'll take the front line, you all stay back."

She had slain many evil soul masters who preyed on human lives and had burned countless bandits who harmed innocents.

But those were enemies!

Killing someone who stood on the opposite side was entirely different from unintentionally killing an innocent.

Ma Xiaotao was fiery-tempered, impulsive, even arrogant to the point of being overbearing. She was indeed the "Flame Demon" feared by all in the academy. But she was also generous, loyal, and fiercely protective.

She was Yan Shaozhe's adopted daughter, expected to reach the rank of Soul Sage by the age of twenty, with a future guaranteed in the Sea God Pavilion. With her immense strength, she naturally saw herself as a protector, believing it was her responsibility to safeguard the academy as the dean's daughter.

Sister Xiaotao was supposed to protect all the students of Shrek Academy.

She was impulsive, short-tempered, and headstrong, but when trouble came, she stood firm.

And now, she had lost control and killed two innocent outer courtyard students.

Those students might have one day entered the inner courtyard, respectfully calling her Sister Xiaotao.

They were people she was supposed to protect.

But now... they were all...

Ma Xiaotao was only eighteen years old. She was not a cold-blooded monster who killed without remorse. Her life had always been smooth and privileged, aside from occasional disturbances from her martial soul during cultivation. She had never faced such a devastating blow.If she had merely woken up to Yan Shaozhe's calm recounting of events, she wouldn't have truly felt the weight of it, wouldn't have learned her lesson, and wouldn't have reflected on her actions. But now, the bloody reality lay before her in the most brutal way, leaving no room for escape.

In that instant, guilt and remorse threatened to crush her.

"Aaah..." A hoarse, meaningless scream escaped her lips, echoing along the desolate, scorched shore of Sea God Lake like the wail of a wounded beast.

Dark red flames, as dry as congealed blood, burst forth, yet a small area around Ma Xiaotao remained untouched, centered on her body.

Lost in despair, Ma Xiaotao did not notice the presence behind her.

With a sigh filled with helplessness, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

"You're awake?" an elderly voice asked, calm yet tinged with concern. "Do you remember who I am?"

"Teacher..." Ma Xiaotao mumbled.

"Good, at least you're still lucid." Yan Shaozhe huffed coldly. "Do you realize the trouble you've caused?"

"I know... I killed two junior students from the outer courtyard." Ma Xiaotao lowered her eyes. She was no coward and would never deny the mistakes she made.

"The Sea God Pavilion has decided your punishment. You are to be confined on Sea God Island for one year. You're forbidden from cultivating and cannot leave your room. If you lose control again, the Sea God Pavilion will treat you as an evil soul master. Don't even think about escaping—guards are posted outside." With that, Yan Shaozhe turned and left the room.

The moment he stepped outside, the stern expression on his face collapsed into one of deep exhaustion.

He was protecting his adopted daughter. Ma Xiaotao's martial soul was uniquely flawed, and this time, she had indeed killed someone—if no one had died, he could have covered it up, even if she had burned down the entire outer courtyard.

But lives were lost—outer courtyard students. For Shrek, this was a scandal of monumental proportions. During the Sea God Pavilion meeting while Ma Xiaotao was unconscious, some elders argued that Shrek must not harbor evil soul masters and suggested executing her.

The issue wasn't about being an evil soul master; it was about the damage to Shrek's reputation. But how could Yan Shaozhe accept that?

He would protect Ma Xiaotao even at the cost of his own life. Confining her was to shield her from the fallout... Yan Shaozhe shook his head.

Inside the room, Ma Xiaotao sat against the wall, her head buried between her knees, clutching her disheveled red hair. Her dark red eyes were bloodshot, as though veiled by a haze of blood.

She was trapped in unprecedented confusion.

She was only eighteen, just one step away from becoming a Soul Sage. Yet now...

Should she stop cultivating and remain a mediocre Soul Emperor, trapped at this level forever?

Since she could remember, Ma Xiaotao had lived in Shrek City, raised by Yan Shaozhe. The closest elder in her life was one of the most powerful beings on the continent—she had practically lived at a height unimaginable to ordinary people since she was a child.

But outside of Shrek, her power as a Soul Emperor would be considered immensely strong.Yet at Shrek Academy, what did that amount to?

Disregarding age, a Soul Emperor at Shrek Academy was barely better than the lowest of the low.

Living among the most elite powerhouses, how could Ma Xiaotao possibly accept being stuck at the level of a Soul Emperor? How could she be content with such mediocrity, as insignificant as an ant?

But her martial soul was flawed. Just now, she had killed two innocent children.

In the past, she believed she could control it, believed she could master the turbulence within her martial soul. She was confident she could conquer that sinister force and remain unaffected.

But now?

What should she do now?

Was she really going to... stop cultivating here and live out her life as an ordinary Soul Emperor, trapped at this level forever?