Everyone heard those words. Though they found them somewhat crude, they all nodded in agreement, and the gloom in their hearts was swept away.
However.
Just as they had regained their confidence and prepared to continue searching the Golden List for their names.
The image on the Heavenly Curtain suddenly changed.
The blue light filling the sky faded away, replaced by a dark red scorched cloud.
The clouds churned and surged like boiling lava, carrying an evil and violent aura.
[Martial Soul Ranking, eighteenth place!]
Several large golden words crashed down on the hearts of the Shrek group like heavy hammers.
[Name: Ma Hongjun!]
[Affiliated power: Shrek Academy.]
[Martial Soul: Evil Fire Phoenix (Mutated).]
Deathly Stillness.
The once-lively hall instantly fell into a dead silence.
The smile on Oscar's face froze.
Ning Rongrong covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes wide open.
Even Yu Xiaogang, who had maintained the bearing of a Grandmaster all along, had his pupils contract sharply, his expression becoming extraordinarily colorful.
Ma Hongjun?
It was actually Ma Hongjun?
Eighteenth place?
How was that possible!
It was not that Ma Hongjun was weak. The ranking was simply too awkward.
Shui Yue'er was nineteenth, while Ma Hongjun was eighteenth.
There was only a single rank between them.
In the Shrek group's understanding, they stood far above Skywater Academy.
Yet now, reality told them that the Top-tier Attack Soul Master they regarded so highly was merely one place above that filler Vice Captain from the other side.
Even more fatal was this.
Ma Hongjun had made the list. What about the others?
In terms of quality, the Evil Fire Phoenix was absolutely a Top-tier Beast Martial Soul. It could even be called the strongest Martial Soul apart from Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer.
If even Ma Hongjun could only rank eighteenth.
Then did Dai Mubai, whose Martial Soul Quality was somewhat inferior, and Oscar and Ning Rongrong, who were support-type Soul Masters, still have any chance of making the list?
How was this a good omen?
This was clearly a last meal!
Yu Xiaogang felt his cheeks burning as though someone had fiercely slapped him across the face in public.
He had just confidently declared that everyone would make the list, yet reality dealt him a fatal blow in the next instant.
"Cough, cough."
Yu Xiaogang coughed twice awkwardly, attempting to salvage the situation.
"This... Hongjun's Martial Soul is, after all, a top-tier mutation. It is only natural that he made the list."
"As for his ranking... perhaps he was held back by the Evil Fire Flaw."
"If the Evil Fire issue is resolved, his ranking will certainly not stop here."
Yet this time, no one echoed his words.
Oscar lowered his head with dim eyes, then silently turned and walked upstairs.
He was a smart man.
The moment he saw that ranking, he knew he had no chance.
No matter how Innate Full Soul Power he was, the so-called Sausage Martial Soul could not compare to a phoenix in quality.
Ning Rongrong bit her lip as well and returned to her room without saying a word.
In the blink of an eye, only Yu Xiaogang and Ma Hongjun remained in the hall.
Yu Xiaogang stood where he was, watching everyone's departing backs. His fists clenched until they crackled, his heart filled with the humiliation and anger of being ignored.
These ignorant little brats.
They actually dared to show him attitude?
If he did not still need Tang San's Becoming a God to prove his theories, he would have walked away long ago.
"Trash... a bunch of trash..."
Yu Xiaogang cursed inwardly. With a dark expression, he turned and left without even sparing Ma Hongjun a glance.
Only Ma Hongjun was left standing in the vast hall.
Yet he did not care at all that everyone had left. If anything, he was so excited he was about to explode.
"Hehehe..."
"Though I'm only eighteenth place, I still made the list!"
"Boss Dai, Boss Dai, it looks like the position of Shrek's boss will have to be taken by Fatty here from now on!"
Ma Hongjun stared at his own name on the Heavenly Curtain, the fat meat on his face trembling with excitement.
With a God-Bestowed Reward, he would become a true phoenix!
The image on the Heavenly Curtain shifted.
[Character Introduction: One of the Shrek Seven Devils, possessing the top-tier Beast Martial Soul Evil Fire Phoenix. Though troubled by Evil Fire, resulting in a distorted figure and a vile temperament, his explosive power is exceptionally strong. Current Soul Power Level: Level 93 Titled Douluo.]
As the introduction ended, a pitch-black pillar of light descended from the sky, directly piercing through the roof of the Great Tang Guesthouse and enveloping Ma Hongjun.
[Reward granted: Martial Soul Ultimate Evolution!]
[Evolution direction: Sky Demon Fire Phoenix!]
[Remove impurities from the body, transform Evil Fire into Sky Demon Black Flame, and gain two God-Bestowed Soul Rings!]
Boom!
A terrifying black flame instantly erupted within the hall.
The flames were no longer their former purplish-red, but pure black, as deep as the entrance to hell.
The previously lecherous Fatty let out a pained yet exhilarated roar as the black flames burned him.
Sizzle, sizzle.
Large amounts of grease and impurities were refined out of his body.
Ma Hongjun's round body began shrinking at a visible rate, becoming broad and muscular.
The clothes on his back exploded apart, and a pair of enormous black wings spread open, burning with Demonic Flame that made hearts tremble.
The Sky Demon Black Flame did not radiate intense heat. Instead, it carried a coldness and brutality that came from the depth of the soul.
"Roar—!"
A clear phoenix cry echoed through the clouds.
Yet there was no holiness left in that cry, only endless arrogance and evil.
Sky Demon Fire Phoenix!
This was no longer an ordinary Martial Soul Evolution. He had completely fallen into the demonic path, becoming a Demon God who controlled Darkness Fire.
Ma Hongjun slowly opened his eyes.
His once-small eyes had become narrow and sinister, black flames dancing within his pupils.
Feeling the surging power within him reach its peak, he grinned all the way to his ears, revealing rows of white teeth.
"This power..."
"Hahahaha! This is the power I, Ma Hongjun, should have!"
"What Evil Fire bullshit? This is Divine Fire! This is demon fire!"
"Shui Yue'er? Dai Mubai? From now on, whenever you see me, you'll have to kneel before Fatty!"
That smug expression looked especially savage beneath the black flames.
Chang'an City, Taibai Restaurant.
On the first floor's main hall, Dai Mubai had been drowning his sorrows in drink. As he watched the scene on the Heavenly Curtain, his face darkened like the bottom of a pot.
The wine cup in his hand had already been crushed to powder. Wine flowed through his fingers, soaking his expensive brocade robes.
"Fatty..."
"Why can even that Fatty make the list..."
Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, his eyes full of jealousy and unwillingness.
This Golden List was likely fated to have nothing to do with him.
Since Becoming a God was hopeless, he might as well enjoy himself while he still could.
Dai Mubai let out a breath of foul air, his distinctive double pupils beginning to roam wantonly through the restaurant hall.
It had to be said that the women of the Great Tang Empire truly had a unique charm, a few degrees more soft and alluring than the women of the Star Luo Empire.
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