But Shao Xin didn't know any of that. When he heard Oscar scolding Ma Hongjun, he immediately realized this was no secret he should casually listen in on. He got up to leave.
"Xiao'ao, I still have some things to discuss with Dean Flender, so I'll be going. If you two are hungry, head to the cafeteria. Ma Hongjun, Xiao'ao is badly injured right now. Make sure you look after him, all right?"
"Master, why don't you come out with us later?"
Oscar could see right through Shao Xin's intentions. He got up to stop him, but the damaged meridians hurt so much that he grimaced.
"Yeah, Oscar says it's fine, so please stay."
Ma Hongjun's face flushed as he stood up to stop Shao Xin.
"All right. Since you two little fellows want me to stay, I'll hear you out. If there's a problem, I can offer some advice."
Shao Xin winked at Oscar, signaling that he could continue.
"Master, it's really nothing serious. Ma Hongjun's just too nervous."
Oscar pushed back the covers and apologized to Shao Xin.
"You little rascal, there are some secrets your master doesn't need to know. If I weren't worried you two were young enough to get yourselves into trouble, I wouldn't have stayed and made a nuisance of myself."
Shao Xin waved a hand, though warmth filled his heart.
Xiao'ao had always been a good kid. His only flaw was that he was a little dull and reserved. It seemed Ma Hongjun's arrival had changed him quite a bit.
Of course... he had no idea that the Xiao'ao before him had already spent over a decade surviving in another world.
"Fatty, have you really made up your mind? I'm telling you, you can't back out, and the process will be incredibly difficult."
Oscar had pushed back the covers and sat upright, staring at Ma Hongjun with a grave expression.
"I don't want to keep being called the Grass Chicken Phoenix. Even though going there is fun, I feel empty every time I leave. And I don't want to cause Master any more trouble."
Ma Hongjun had barely visited the Red-light District a few times, and he hadn't yet encountered the self-destructive Dai Mubai. So he was still innocent, not yet the Brothel Phoenix he would become later.
Shao Xin listened from the side, growing more and more uneasy until his brows were practically knotted together.
Could these two little fellows be talking about completely getting rid of the Evil Fire?
Even those old hands like him couldn't solve that problem. Could Oscar really have a way?
But Oscar might have loved to play around, yet he was reliable when it came to serious matters. Shao Xin decided to keep listening, while staying alert in case the two youngsters tried something reckless and hurt themselves.
"Since you've made up your mind, I'll accept you as my junior brother on behalf of our master. From now on, you'll be my junior brother, and your Daoist name will be Jueyu.
"My Daoist name is Yuanzhen. You can call me Senior Brother Yuanzhen."
"Yes, Senior Brother Yuanzhen."
Ma Hongjun's face turned bright red as he spoke excitedly.
He didn't understand what a Daoist name meant, but after all this, he was starting to think the whole thing sounded more and more convincing.
Oscar somehow produced a wooden tablet and held it in his hands. He kept staring at Ma Hongjun without saying a word, making Ma Hongjun feel a little nervous.
"You fool, get down on your knees."
Shao Xin looked over the wooden tablet Oscar had carefully carved the night before and understood. He patted Ma Hongjun on the back.
Good grief. Wasn't Oscar an orphan? Why did it seem like he belonged to some ancient sect?
These rules weren't something an ordinary sect would have. And that wooden tablet didn't look like an ancestral tablet, but more like a symbol of status.
"I told you to kneel to the tablet. Why are you kneeling to Xiao'ao? He's your senior brother! The one on that tablet is your master—or rather, your founding ancestor!"
Shao Xin covered his face. The little fatty was so thickheaded he'd even managed to kneel in the wrong direction.
Seeing Ma Hongjun's foolish expression, Oscar couldn't help smiling.
"All right, Junior Brother Jueyu, get up."
After reverently putting away the wooden tablet, Oscar reached out and helped Ma Hongjun up.
"For now, focus on learning the fundamentals of the mind method and reaching the Joy of Detachment stage through Quiet Meditation.
"Master, you can stay and listen too. This mind method isn't a legacy of techniques or martial arts. If possible, I hope it can be spread far and wide."
"The Supreme says: Fortune and misfortune have no entrance, but people summon them themselves. Good and evil receive their due, like shadows following their forms. Thus, Heaven and Earth have spirits who record transgressions..."
Oscar taught him until the afternoon. Only then could Ma Hongjun just barely recite the entire Classic of the Supreme Response from memory. After understanding a little of it, Shao Xin turned and left.
Afterward, Oscar left the fatty to his own devices and sat cross-legged on the bed, beginning to nourish his meridians.
Time flew by. Before they knew it, two years had passed.
Oscar's meridians had been completely restored, without even the slightest hidden injury left behind. As it happened, having his meridians repaired had made them wider and better suited to the Taiji Technique, the Taiji Primordial Force. They were several times stronger than his original Soul Power meridians, and his energy now flowed more smoothly than ever.
His Soul Power had even risen to Rank 19—a rate of progress he couldn't have imagined two years ago.
Ma Hongjun had made slow progress with the Classic of the Supreme Response, but he had still managed to reach the Joy of Detachment stage, dispel his Evil Fire, and inherit Oscar's techniques and martial arts.
He had now reached Rank 17.
The two were wandering around Suotuo City. One wore a plain black Daoist robe, the other a plain white one.
"Junior Brother, Senior Brother needs to replace his longsword. Could you spare me a little money?"
Oscar looked dashing in his white robes, his long hair fluttering in the breeze. It was just that... his expression was a little awkward.
"S-Senior Brother, did you break it again?"
Ma Hongjun, dressed in black, twitched his chubby cheeks, his face full of distress.
He was still a little plump, but at only eight years old, he looked adorable and delicate.
"The world is in turmoil. If you have any money to spare, I'd be most grateful for your help."
Two years ago, after Oscar shared the Classic of the Supreme Response, everyone at Shrek Academy had improved their state of mind. Although only Ma Hongjun and Flender had officially become Oscar's fellow disciples, that was enough for all the teachers at Shrek to nominate him as the next successor to the position of dean of Shrek Academy.
The mind method had also made everyone at Shrek Academy increasingly loathe evil and yearn for nature. Apart from cultivation, helping others became the greatest hobby of all the teachers and students. As a natural consequence, they wiped out all the Evil Soul Masters in Suotuo City.
In the process, they not only earned a large amount of Soul Coins to keep Shrek running, but even had money left over to donate to beggars by the roadside whenever the mood struck.
Most ridiculously, Oscar even got a Spirit Bone from an Evil Soul Master. Unfortunately, it wasn't compatible with him, so he eventually gave it to Dragon Pattern Staff Li Yusong.
From then on, Shrek Academy was unstoppable. Hunting Evil Soul Masters became its main mission.
"Senior Brother, you go through swords too quickly. Why not... spend a little more and buy a better one?"
Ma Hongjun sighed. His senior brother was great in every way except one: he wore out swords. A fine-iron sword lasted one day at the shortest, three at the most.
Even when he wasn't fighting, he went through them just as quickly during his training.
The rewards from hunting Evil Soul Masters and the resources they seized weren't enough to keep him supplied with new swords!
Before you continue