Ma Hongjun's First Spirit Ring

"Teacher Zhao, watch out!" Oscar warned in a low voice, twirling the Iron Bar in his hand.

Zhao Wuji watched Oscar with a smile, making no unnecessary movements. Oscar lunged forward, lowering his body as he dragged the Iron Bar toward him with surging momentum.

Zhao Wuji gave Oscar a rare look of regard, but only regard. He did not believe Oscar could pose any threat to him.

"Whoosh!!"

The Iron Bar swept heavily through Oscar's hands, carrying a howl of wind as it struck toward Zhao Wuji's iron head.

Zhao Wuji raised his right hand and directly grabbed the Iron Club. Then he gave it a hard tug, causing Oscar's body to pitch forward as his center of gravity slipped.

Oscar remained completely calm. He had long expected Zhao Wuji to use brute force against him, so he had come prepared.

Oscar drove off the ground and leaped into the air. The Iron Bar spun with the motion, slipping free from Zhao Wuji's hand as his whole body turned one hundred and eighty degrees in midair before descending.

As he fell, Oscar exerted force again, bringing the Iron Bar down toward Zhao Wuji's head while slowing his own descent.

"You little brat, are you really determined to pick a fight with Old Zhao's head?" Zhao Wuji chuckled.

Zhao Wuji then raised both hands above his head, blocking Oscar's momentum-driven strike. He merely crouched slightly before completely stopping Oscar's Iron Bar.

Oscar withdrew the Iron Bar and retreated two steps to evade Zhao Wuji's fist. Zhao Wuji immediately closed in, giving Oscar no chance to react.

Oscar shifted the Iron Club across his chest to block, but Zhao Wuji's fist carried terrifying power, sending him flying backward.

Oscar reacted swiftly, gripping one end of the Iron Club and planting the other against the ground for leverage. He leaped again, his legs erupting with tremendous force as he charged at Zhao Wuji.

Against an opponent like Zhao Wuji, with both immense defense and attack, defense was of little use. Only offense was the best defense.

Watching Oscar grow fiercer with every exchange, Ma Hongjun was dumbfounded. The hell? This was a Support System Spirit Master? Why did he fight even more fiercely than an Assault System Spirit Master?

Oscar was now even somewhat stronger than Assault System Spirit Masters of the same level—of course, that was without using Spirit Abilities.

Even so, Oscar still found himself lacking against Zhao Wuji. Many techniques were less effective against Zhao Wuji than simply bringing a club down on him.

Zhao Wuji's skin was simply too tough. Those techniques were practically useless against him. Looking back at the original story, Tang San had needed the formidable Dragon Whisker Needle and the Clear Sky Hammer to injure Zhao Wuji through his defenses.

Oscar did not have those Hidden Weapons, but thinking of that, he felt he could pay a visit to Flender's little shop. Perhaps he might find some treasure there.

After the sparring session ended, Oscar was somewhat exhausted, though his injuries were minor. He had not hurt Zhao Wuji, but he had done an excellent job defending against Zhao Wuji's fists and was basically uninjured.

After eating a Sausage he had stored away, Oscar recovered more than half his stamina. His Soul Power had been depleted somewhat, but not by much; one Super Recovery Great Sausage brought it straight back to full.

Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun came over and lavished Oscar with incredulous praise, saying that he would train hard in the future too and have a match with Zhao Wuji. After all, he was an Assault System Spirit Master.

Ma Hongjun knew Zhao Wuji was a powerful Soul Saint. If Oscar, a Support System Spirit Master, could fight Zhao Wuji like that, what about him? Once he trained to Level Ten and obtained a Spirit Ring, he would become a genuine Assault System Battle Spirit Master. No matter what, he ought to be a little stronger than Oscar, a Support System Spirit Master, right?

Of course, that was just Ma Hongjun fantasizing to himself. He did not dare say it aloud. Though Oscar was a Support System Spirit Master, the current Oscar could still easily handle Ma Hongjun.

The days that followed were spent training as usual. Oscar led Ma Hongjun in serious cultivation. Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire was still weak at the moment, so there was basically no need to worry about it flaring up. With Oscar setting an example, the boy trained very diligently.

However, once Ma Hongjun truly began training alongside Oscar, he realized how terrifying it was, because Oscar was simply far too disciplined.

Even if he wanted to rest or give up, he could not. Teacher Flender had placed great expectations on him, yet his performance was worse than that of a Support System Spirit Master?

Two months later, Ma Hongjun broke through to Level Ten. Once he obtained a Spirit Ring, he would become a Spirit Master.

Ma Hongjun had originally possessed innate Level Nine Soul Power, leaving him only one level away from Level Ten. He had followed Oscar for two months without the slightest slackening. The process had been difficult, but the gains had been equally great.

Moreover, after two months of discipline and hard work, even Ma Hongjun's round belly had slimmed down a little. If he kept this up for another half year, he would probably be able to lose weight.

Ma Hongjun was not ugly to begin with. In fact, he possessed a certain masculine air. In the original story, Ma Hongjun became a handsome man after slimming down later on, so Oscar was effectively helping him grow into a heartthrob ahead of time.

He could improve his strength and become more handsome too. Ma Hongjun ought to be grateful to Oscar.

Since Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul was of the flying-beast type, Flender was the one who made the move this time.

Half a month later, Flender brought Ma Hongjun back to Shrek Academy. By then, Ma Hongjun was already a Level Eleven Spirit Master and had obtained a fairly good Spirit Ring.

Just as in the original story, Ma Hongjun's First Spirit Ability was called Phoenix Fire Line. It had an attack range of ten meters and could maintain continuous output until his Soul Power ran out. Its power was quite impressive, and due to the nature of the Evil Fire, Ma Hongjun's flames were difficult to extinguish and possessed a lingering damage effect.

The moment he obtained his Spirit Ring, Ma Hongjun began eyeing Oscar. Although Oscar was now Level Eighteen, Ma Hongjun felt that after obtaining his Spirit Ring, he could have a match with Oscar.

After all, though Oscar wielded the Iron Club exceptionally well, Ma Hongjun had ranged attacks. So he went straight to Oscar and asked for a spar.

Faced with Ma Hongjun's smugness, Oscar merely laughed silently to himself. He had already decided to teach Little Fatty a proper lesson.

In the courtyard of Shrek Academy, Zhao Wuji acted as referee while Oscar and Ma Hongjun stood facing one another. A smug grin spread across Ma Hongjun's face.

"Brother Ao, your little brother here won't go easy on you. If you can't hold on later, you'd better surrender early," Ma Hongjun said proudly.

Oscar remained expressionless, calculating how to beat up Little Fatty. That look on his face was simply begging for a beating.

"Both sides, summon your Martial Souls. The match will begin in one minute," Zhao Wuji said from the side.

Those were the rules of an official match.

Oscar directly took out the Iron Club and held it across his chest, watching Ma Hongjun summon his Martial Soul.

"Ma Hongjun, Martial Soul: Evil Fire Phoenix. Level Eleven Assault System Battle Spirit Master."

As Ma Hongjun spoke, a yellow Spirit Ring rose beneath his feet. A layer of flames covered his entire body, and his red hair transformed into a red mohawk. He looked like a rooster about to crow, with none of a phoenix's majesty—because he really was fat, even though his belly had already slimmed down a little.

Although he was much thinner than two months ago, he had previously been a round little fatty. Slimming down would still take some effort.

"The match begins!" Zhao Wuji announced from the side.

Ma Hongjun grinned smugly. The First Spirit Ring beneath his feet immediately lit up. He opened his large mouth, and a long stream of flames burst forth, shooting toward Oscar.

Oscar did not let his guard down. He pushed off the ground and immediately began moving around. Faced with scorching flames, he was not foolish enough to meet them head-on.

Oscar had charged forward without hesitation when fighting Zhao Wuji because he knew the gap in their strength was too great and techniques would be useless, so he had chosen to clash head-on.

Against Ma Hongjun's mage-like method of attack, Oscar naturally used a different approach.

Although his Soul Power Level was higher, Ma Hongjun's flames were not weak. Even Oscar did not dare take them head-on. After all, he was merely a Support System Spirit Master and had no defensive Spirit Abilities, so he could only fight a battle of attrition.

Flames poured from Ma Hongjun's mouth, changing direction as Oscar moved. The fire chased Oscar all the way, but it always fell just short.

Zhao Wuji shook his head from the side. Ma Hongjun was too foolish. He had no idea how to conserve Soul Power. If he kept burning like this, his Soul Power would be exhausted in a few minutes. Wouldn't he then be completely at Oscar's mercy?

Just as Zhao Wuji expected, Oscar evaded Ma Hongjun's flames but never left his attack range. He even deliberately acted as though he was about to be burned, making Ma Hongjun continue expending Soul Power.

Only five minutes passed before Ma Hongjun's flames weakened. Then... then they sputtered out. Ma Hongjun coughed twice, unable to spit out any more flames. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead as he looked at Oscar, somewhat exhausted.

Oscar then charged over while swinging the Iron Bar, striking him right over the head. Ma Hongjun howled in pain and immediately surrendered, repeatedly crying for Brother Ao to spare him.

Oscar withdrew the Iron Bar and looked at Ma Hongjun with a grin. "You still have a lot to learn, kid. Don't think that getting a Spirit Ring means you can do whatever you want, understand?"

Ma Hongjun nodded repeatedly, saying that he would never dare again. Zhao Wuji smiled silently from the side. He discovered that Oscar was already more than capable of teaching Ma Hongjun, so there was no need for him to exert himself.

Please bookmark and vote with recommendation tickets!

The contract has already been signed, so I'll need all your brothers' strong support from here on out.

Give me more recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Tips would be even better.

Hehe