The tea and fruit were set out. Shen Feng took an apple, bit into it, and got straight to the point.
"Principal, Teacher Zhao, did you come this time to help Junior Hongjun hunt for a Soul Ring?"
Flender nodded. "First, we're here to get Soul Rings for Hongjun and Mubai. Second, we wanted to see how you two boys are doing."
"As for the third reason... sigh."
Shen Feng froze for a moment. It hadn't even been a year since he'd last beaten him, yet the guy had already reached Level 30.
Thirteen years old and Level 30?
Tsk, tsk. His talent was no worse than Tang San's.
No wonder he'd looked so confident when he saw me yesterday.
Heh, I hope you little tiger learn to use your head. Getting stronger without getting smarter isn't a good thing.
Seeing Flender hesitate, Oscar blurted out, "Dean, I've always remembered everything you've done for me. There's no need to hesitate. Just tell us what's going on."
"If there's anything we can do, we'll do our best to help."
"Right, Xiao Feng?"
"Ah, yes, yes. Xiao Ao's right." Shen Feng nodded repeatedly. "Just tell us what's troubling you. If we can help, we will."
"Back then, the dean and Teacher Zhao helped my parents hunt for their Sixth Soul Ring. These days, our Soul Hunting Guild is doing quite well, so helping the dean with a little problem is no big deal."
Flender nodded and sighed. "Hongjun's Martial Soul is a Mutated Martial Soul. It has great potential, but it still has some flaws."
Flender then carefully explained Ma Hongjun's situation. Ma Hongjun, who hadn't yet become the shameless scoundrel he was in the original story, had gone red as a pig's liver.
He was embarrassed, and he felt awkward.
If Zhao Wuji hadn't kept a hand on his shoulder, he probably would have run right out of there.
"As he gets older and his body matures, the Evil Fire inside Hongjun grows stronger and stronger."
"Because the Evil Fire gets the better of him, this boy has to visit a brothel once a week, even at his young age. If he gets any older, I really won't know what to do."
"Of course, I'm not worried about the few Gold Soul Coins. Helping desperate women who've fallen on hard times is charity, after all."
"I'm just worried that if this keeps up, Hongjun will be ruined."
After hearing Flender's explanation, Oscar stared at Ma Hongjun in shock.
"Brother, impressive! You're about the same age as Xiao Feng, right? At ten years old, can you even get it up?"
Smack—
A crisp sound rang out as Shen Feng slapped the back of Oscar's head.
"Enough nonsense. And I can get it up too, so don't say things that could give people the wrong idea."
After warning Oscar, Shen Feng turned to Flender.
"Dean, you want me to think of a solution?"
Flender sighed. "Hongjun is my personal disciple. You've read a lot of books, and you're sharper than the rest of us. I'd like to hear what you think."
Shen Feng nodded and thought for a moment. "If we want to completely fix the flaw in his Martial Soul at its root, I only have one method at this stage."
"But if we just want to suppress the Evil Fire so he can cultivate without trouble, I have quite a few remedies."
Flender's face lit up. He asked urgently, "Completely fix the flaw in his Martial Soul? Tell me, quickly!"
Shen Feng didn't hesitate. He explained, "Everyone should know that when a Soul Master absorbs a Soul Ring, their Martial Soul undergoes subtle mutations depending on the kind of Soul Beast the ring comes from."
"These mutations can be good or bad. Generally speaking, the more closely the Martial Soul matches the Soul Beast in kind, species, traits, attributes, and everything else, the greater the chance that the Martial Soul will mutate in a positive direction after the Soul Ring is absorbed."
"Hongjun's Martial Soul is a Phoenix. As long as each of his Soul Rings comes from a Soul Beast with Phoenix blood, the effects will accumulate. Eventually, enough small changes will bring about a major one, and one day his Martial Soul's flaw will certainly be fixed."
Flender shook his head slightly. "I've considered that method too. It won't work. It's far too slow."
"The Evil Fire in Hongjun grows in proportion to his Soul Power. The faster he cultivates, the faster the Evil Fire grows, and the stronger his urges will become."
"My estimate is that if we use this method, his body will be completely worn out before he reaches the Seven-Ring Soul Sage level."
Shen Feng smiled faintly. "Don't worry, Dean. I still have remedies to help him suppress the Evil Fire."
"As the saying goes, full bellies give rise to lust, while hunger and cold breed theft. Everything needs moderation, and you have to find the right balance."
"Isn't Hongjun suffering because his Evil Fire is flaring up and he has nowhere to expend all that energy? Then he should train. Use physical pain to suppress his desires."
"If he trains until he's completely exhausted, he naturally won't have the energy to think about all that nonsense."
Before Shen Feng could finish, Ma Hongjun shuddered violently.
"No, I don't want to! That kind of training would kill me!"
Flender glanced at Ma Hongjun and shook his head with a gloomy expression.
"Xiao Feng, we've tried that method. It works, but Hongjun..."
Shen Feng nodded. "He can't take the suffering, right? No problem. I have a method that doesn't involve suffering."
Ma Hongjun's eyes lit up. "No suffering is good! I'll choose that one!"
Shen Feng looked at Ma Hongjun's lower half, the corners of his mouth lifting in a mischievous grin. "Then have it cut off."
"Remove the root of your troubles and live a carefree life."
Ma Hongjun's pupils shrank. He immediately covered his crotch with both hands and started yelling.
"No! No! I won't get it cut off! I won't! Teacher, save me! Help me, Teacher Zhao!"
Flender stared at Shen Feng, then turned to look at Ma Hongjun. In the end, he still shook his head slightly.
"That won't work either. If his body is incomplete, he'll develop psychological problems. That would ruin Hongjun too."
"Xiao Feng, do you have any other ideas?"
Shen Feng thought for a moment, then said hesitantly, "I do, but it'll cost quite a bit. I don't know if the dean..."
Flender's face was full of worry. He glanced at Ma Hongjun, who had stopped yelling but was looking at him eagerly. Then he gritted his teeth and forced three words out through them.
"Let's hear it!"
Shen Feng spread his hands and said helplessly, "Heaven and earth are above and below all things; yin and yang divide blood and qi into male and female. Left and right are the pathways of yin and yang; water and fire are their signs. Yin and yang are the source of all things."
"Thus it is said: yin within is guarded by yang; yang without is directed by yin."
Zhao Wuji furrowed his brow, sounding a little displeased. "Speak plainly. I can't understand you!"
Shen Feng paused, then explained, "Heaven and earth give all things their place above or below. Yin and yang distinguish male from female in blood and qi."
"Left and right are the paths along which yin and yang circulate, while water and fire are their manifestations."
"The changes of yin and yang are the origin of everything that comes into being."
"So yin within is protected on the outside by yang, while yin guides yang from the outside."
"Look, everything in the world has two opposing sides, and the two are yin and yang to each other."
"Hongjun has too much fire. You could also say that he has too much yang energy. His yang fire is blazing, and he has no yin energy to balance it."
"That's why his desire is stronger than other people's. He needs that trace of yin energy in women to bring himself back into balance."
"But aside from women, there are countless things in the world that contain yin energy."
"As long as we find one of them, it can counteract his abundant Evil Fire and make him no different from an ordinary person."
Flender furrowed his brow, suddenly feeling that something was wrong.
"Things with yin energy? Can you give us some specific examples?"
The corners of Shen Feng's mouth lifted slightly. "Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice Marrow, Far North Eternal Frozen Iron, Hundred Thousand Year Ice Jade Scorpion Inner Core, Snow Sprite Life Core."
"Stop, stop!" Flender hurriedly rubbed his temples, cutting Shen Feng off before he could continue.
"Enough! These things don't just cost quite a bit. They'd cost me my life!"
"Suddenly, that second suggestion doesn't sound so bad. Maybe we should just cut it off!"
Seeing Flender's sharp gaze turn toward him, Ma Hongjun shrank his neck. His chubby little face immediately crumpled into a miserable expression.
"T-Teacher, can we not cut it off? I'm afraid it'll hurt."
Flender sighed. "All right, all right. Stop looking so miserable. I won't cut it off."
"I don't want your Martial Soul to have a flaw, and I don't want your body to have one either."
"Just put your mind at ease. If there's even the slightest chance, I'll find a way to fix your Martial Soul's flaw."
At that, Ma Hongjun instantly brightened up and grinned. "Teacher, you're like a second father to me."
"You've been so good to me. I'll definitely be there to take care of you in your old age."
"Pfft!" Zhao Wuji burst out laughing, earning a sharp look from Flender.
Suppressing his smile, Zhao Wuji casually slapped Ma Hongjun on the forehead.
"You brat, your teacher's only in his fifties. With how fast he's cultivating, he might even outlive you."
Ma Hongjun thought it over seriously. "Wouldn't that make him an old monster who never dies?"
Everyone present immediately turned away from Ma Hongjun and Flender, struggling to keep their laughter in. They were afraid Flender would hold a grudge and make trouble for them later, but holding back was just as painful.
Flender knitted his brows. He looked at the worthless Ma Hongjun, then at Shen Feng and Oscar, and shook his head, at a loss for words.
They were all about the same age. How could they be so different?
He happened to catch sight of Dai Mubai crouched off to the side, trying not to laugh. Flender couldn't help but freeze. Was it really true that those who spent time with good people became good, and those who spent time with bad people became bad?
Those two boys had spent all year fooling around together, lazing about. After a whole year of Water Treading, they could barely stand on the water. If they were even half as sensible as Xiao Feng and Xiao Ao, I'd be laughing in my sleep.
Flender sighed again and turned to Shen Feng.
"Xiao Feng, your Soul Hunting Guild can post missions, right? I want to put up a bounty for information on those materials you mentioned earlier. Help me look into it."
"But remember this: keep the costs down. You have to keep the costs down!"
At the mention of costs, Flender's hands began to tremble. Having to spend money was more painful to him than being killed.
Shen Feng thought it over. "Putting out a bounty for information about the materials is no problem. Information doesn't cost much. We can get it done for less than ten thousand Gold Soul Coins, which is nothing."
"But we don't know how long it'll take from posting the bounty to getting the materials. We can't let Junior Hongjun's situation go on too long."
"I have a substitute. It won't work as well as the things I mentioned earlier, but it can solve Junior Hongjun's problem for the time being."
Flender's face lit up. "You have it on you? Then why didn't you say so earlier? You got my hopes up for nothing."
Shen Feng shook his head with a wry smile. He turned his right hand over and took a jade tablet out of his wrist guard.
The jade tablet was small, three fingers wide and one finger long. It was made entirely of ice, with wisps of cold mist gathering on its surface.
"This is Millennium Cold Jade. Xiao Ao and I stumbled across it by accident. It can't completely solve Junior Hongjun's problem, but it can suppress the Evil Fire inside him."
"Unfortunately, it's not very old. It'll only work up to Level 40. Once he passes Level 40, it won't have much of an effect."
As he spoke, Shen Feng held the jade tablet out to Flender.
Flender took it excitedly, his voice full of gratitude. "Xiao Feng, Xiao Ao, thank you. How much is this worth? I'll pay you in Gold Soul Coins."
Over the past few years, Shrek Academy had earned nearly ten thousand Gold Soul Coins a year by charging people for guidance, thanks to Shen Feng's strategy.
Their lives had steadily improved, and they now had something to look forward to. Even Flender, who never gave a single coin away, was gradually becoming more generous.
Shen Feng smiled and shook his head. "It's just a little trinket. It isn't worth much."
"Back when the dean and Teacher Zhao helped my parents hunt for their Sixth Soul Ring, they didn't ask for money either."
"Friendship is priceless. I'm just glad I could help."
Oscar smiled too. "That's right, Dean. Xiao Feng is right. Friendship is priceless."
"You brought me to Shrek Academy when I was six. For five years, you treated me like your own child."
"How could a little trinket like this compare to such kindness?"
Shen Feng and Oscar didn't want Flender's Gold Soul Coins.
As the saying went, "Repay a drop of kindness with a spring of gratitude." A debt of kindness was the hardest to repay.
Back when Shen Feng's parents broke through Level 60, Flender and Zhao Wuji had helped them hunt for their Sixth Soul Rings.
Before you continue