You Three, Together?

"What a line: If they want to reason with me, then the sword in my hand is reason!"

Seeing the determination in Chen Lang's eyes, Poison Douluo did not try to persuade him further. Instead, his admiration grew even stronger.

So loyal and righteous. He had not misjudged him.

"Grandpa Poison, thank you and Sister Yan for taking care of me these past days. If you ever need me in the future, just say the word." Gratitude filled Chen Lang's eyes.

After all, over the past year and a half, he had seen everything Poison Douluo had done for him and remembered it all in his heart.

If a person did not know gratitude, how were they any different from beasts?

"No need to be so polite. I've long regarded you as my own grandson. Besides, when your grandfather left, he asked me to look after you. If you keep being this formal, I'll get angry." Poison Douluo spoke sternly, but his eyes were filled with indulgent affection.

"Exactly. We're family, so don't talk like strangers."

Dugu Yan had finished washing up as well. She pouted at Chen Lang, clearly unhappy that he was leaving so soon.

"Yan, I never agreed to marry you," Chen Lang teased.

"I never said I wanted to marry you either! You smug brat, you narcissist!" Dugu Yan clenched her little fists again, ready to throw a couple of punches at Chen Lang.

"I'll give you one last chance. Do you want me to help you teach Yu Tianheng a lesson? If not, I'm leaving." Chen Lang brought up the matter again.

"I already said there's no need. He's gone after Ning Rongrong."

At that, Dugu Yan hesitated. A trace of resentment flashed through her eyes as she asked, "Grandpa Sword got drunk last night and said you and Ning Rongrong have a marriage engagement. Is that true?"

"It's true."

Chen Lang deliberately teased Dugu Yan, but when he saw tears welling in her eyes, his heart softened. "But I called it off."

"Huh? Why?"

Dugu Yan looked curious, though she felt even more happy inside.

Perhaps that was what happened when someone fell in love—they became prone to worry about gains and losses.

"You guess."

"Get lost!"

Shrek Academy.

"Dai Laoda, don't you have Lang Ge's contact information? It's been a year and a half already. Why hasn't he come back?" Ma Hongjun asked in confusion.

"Why are you so concerned about Lang Ge? If I knew what he was thinking, I'd be Lang Ge." Dai Mubai stood bare-chested, his body covered in taut muscles. He held a three-hundred-jin barbell in each hand, exuding raw masculine vigor.

"Exactly. We should just train hard and improve ourselves. When Lang Ge comes back, won't we be able to give him a huge surprise?" On the other side, Oscar, whose body had likewise become exceptionally fit, was also training shirtless with weights.

His muscles were not nearly as exaggerated as Dai Mubai's, though.

"Of course you two aren't worried. But my Evil Fire flared up once this month. I managed to suppress it, but if this keeps going, I feel like I won't be able to hold it down much longer."

Ma Hongjun was training with weights as well, and the weight he was lifting was actually even heavier than Dai Mubai's. Yet he still looked rather fat.

Anyone who worked out knew what this was: muscle covered by fat. Since he had not controlled his diet, the muscle beneath had been wrapped in fat, making his physique look far from aesthetically pleasing.

Yet it was precisely this kind of deceptively bulky physique that was especially terrifying. For example, there was the famous male actor from Korea, the one-punch man—Ma Dong-seok.

Then again, Ma Hongjun really was developing toward Ma Dong-seok's build. It just so happened that they both had the surname Ma.

Douluo Ma Dong-seok?

"Isn't this the perfect opportunity to temper your will?"

At that moment, Chen Lang, who had not returned for a year and a half, looked at the three of them, whose appearances had changed drastically. A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes.

Holy shit, had these three all turned into muscle-bound beasts?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three thunderous crashes rang out. The moment Dai Mubai and the others saw Chen Lang, delighted smiles immediately appeared on their faces. They tossed their massive barbells to the ground, surrounded Chen Lang, and began calling him Lang Ge one after another.

They had not forgotten that they had found the right way to train, as well as such an excellent training environment, all because of Chen Lang.

Even though they had not seen each other for a year and a half, Chen Lang's words still carried tremendous weight in their hearts.

"Lang Ge, what do you mean by tempering my will?" Ma Hongjun was the first to ask.

"It's simple."

Chen Lang began his motivational lecture. "The exhaustion in your body is no longer enough to suppress the Evil Fire within you. That means your physical body has reached its current limit."

"If you want to keep suppressing it, you'll need to rely on your powerful will!"

"And this is the perfect way to temper that will, allowing you to possess the heart of a powerhouse and a will like steel!"

"When both your will and body have reached their limits, then once the Evil Fire erupts, it will be your opportunity for Rebirth from Flames—to break and rebuild yourself!"

"As long as you endure it, you will no longer have Evil Fire. You will have Nirvana Fire!"

"By then, your Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul will evolve into a Sacred Phoenix!"

"Lang Ge, I understand now!"

With just a few words, Chen Lang painted a grand vision. Ma Hongjun's eyes immediately lit up, and he became utterly excited.

"When Heaven is about to entrust a great responsibility to a man, it must first torment his mind, exhaust his muscles and bones, starve his body, leave him in poverty, and disrupt all that he does. Thus, it stirs his heart, toughens his nature, and strengthens what he lacks."

Chen Lang brought out another piece of brainwashing classical prose. "I hope you understand."

"I understand!"

Ma Hongjun did not understand a damn thing, but admitting that now would be too embarrassing.

"You understand my ass!"

Oscar kicked Ma Hongjun irritably, because he still wanted to hear Chen Lang explain it.

"Exactly. Lang Ge, explain what that means. It sounds like I understand it, but when I think about it carefully, I have no idea what it's saying." Dai Mubai asked curiously as well.

"Then take your time figuring it out."

Too lazy to explain, Chen Lang changed the subject. "We haven't seen each other in a year and a half. What level are you at now?"

Because it was just empty motivational nonsense.

It was meant to encourage workhorses to endure hardship, work diligently, and obey arrangements.

The reality was that before any great responsibility ever arrived, many people had already fallen on the path of tormenting their minds, exhausting their muscles and bones, starving their bodies, and leaving themselves in poverty.

And even those who persevered would fall amid endless desires.

Though it was somewhat disrespectful, Chen Lang still felt this was the earliest empty promise drawn up in ancient times—or perhaps merely self-consolation.

Only by standing in the right place at the right time and working hard along the right path could one have hope. If you charged against the wind and even worked in the wrong direction, what use was it?

"Lang Ge, why don't we spar and find out?" Dai Mubai clenched his fists and looked at Chen Lang excitedly.

Chen Lang smiled. He also wanted to see how much the three of them had improved, so he raised a brow.

"Then you three, together?"