Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire (Part 2)

Le Bai and Oscar saw Ma Hongjun again in the Academy cafeteria on the morning of the third day after Flender and Doctor Wang had taken him away.

"Yo, Fatty!"

Seeing that familiar, rounded figure, Oscar greeted him with a bit of cheer: "What have you been up to these past few days?"

"Don't ask."

Ma Hongjun turned his round body around. His expression was as calm as water and as holy as a Buddha, though he couldn't hide a sense of profound exhaustion: "I just want to get some good rest right now."

"Whoa, Fatty, what happened to you?"

Oscar exclaimed: "Don't tell me the Dean and Doctor Wang took you somewhere to find girls and you ended up drained?"

"If that were the case, it would be fine..."

Ma Hongjun's eyelids drooped halfway as he slumped weakly over the table: "After I left the Dormitory that morning, the teacher and Doctor Wang took me to the Training Ground. They had me breathing fire one moment and checking my body the next."

Oscar's eyes widened in shock: "You mean you spent three days like that?!"

"How could that be?"

Ma Hongjun waved a chubby hand: "If I'd spent three days like that, I'd be dead by now, not sitting here chatting with you. That was just the first day. By the second day, Doctor Wang said he'd discovered the connection between the flames of my Martial Soul and the issues with my body. So, the second and third days were spent with the help of Doctor Wang and the Dean to resolve the problems between my body and my Martial Soul."

"So, does that mean your problem is solved now?"

Le Bai turned his head curiously to ask, as this situation was different from what he had expected: "Did Doctor Wang say what the cause was? Does it have anything to do with you looking so kidney-drained right now?"

"Yeah, it's solved."

Speaking of this, Ma Hongjun brightened up a little, his spirits lifting slightly: "According to Doctor Wang and the teacher, when my Martial Soul generates flames, it doesn't just consume Spirit Power; it also absorbs energy from my kidneys—this energy is the source of that strange 'adhesion' effect in my fire. But during this process, the powerful heat of the Martial Soul irritates the kidneys, which is why I've always been unable to stay soft."

"And then?"

Le Bai became interested; he had only mentioned it in passing back then and hadn't thought much of it: "After finding the problem, was it solved smoothly?"

"Of course."

Ma Hongjun said with a hint of smugness: "Because the main reason was the heat of the Martial Soul irritating my kidneys, I just had to avoid that. Although I can't change my Martial Soul, I can control the energy in my kidneys to actively merge into the flames of my Martial Soul. This way, the heat of the Martial Soul won't directly irritate my kidneys, and I can regulate how much energy I merge into the flames myself."

"Sounds pretty good."

Le Bai said with a smile: "So, is your kidney-drained look today because of excessive consumption of that kidney energy?"

"That's right."

Ma Hongjun clutched his lower back, looking genuinely traumatized: "The teacher and Doctor Wang are absolute devils. They kept saying kids have strong recovery rates and that it was a waste not to use it. For two whole days, two full days, aside from eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom, they kept making me consume my kidney energy to sense its presence and learn how to control it... If I didn't have decent talent, I might have already died from kidney exhaustion."

"Fatty,"

Le Bai asked with a hint of anticipation: "Can Oscar and I also master that kidney energy you mentioned?"

"Probably not."

Ma Hongjun shook his head: "I can only sense this energy because of my Martial Soul. Even the teacher and Doctor Wang can't feel it."

"Alright then."

Le Bai felt it was a pity, but he didn't dwell on it: "By the way, after merging more kidney energy, have your flames changed in any way?"

"Heh, good question!"

Ma Hongjun clearly started to show off: "They have, and it's a huge change! My combat ability is much stronger now!"

"Oh? That impressive!"

Le Bai raised an eyebrow, interested: "How about we spar again in a couple of days once you've recovered?"

"No, no, that's bad for the body!"

Ma Hongjun waved his hands repeatedly to refuse.

Although his strength had improved, he had a very clear understanding of the gap between himself and Le Bai and didn't let the improvement go to his head: "As much as I hate to admit it, I'm still not your match. Like I said before, let's spar when my Martial Soul can support me in flight."

"Eh~ Fatty, you're such a coward!"

Oscar chimed in from the side: "Le Bai's Spirit Power is a full seven levels lower than yours, and he's just a Support System Soul Master, yet you don't dare to fight him?!"

"It's not a matter of daring or not."

Ma Hongjun didn't fall for Oscar's provocation at all: "My fire has gotten stronger, but it's meaningless if I can't hit Le Bai. Besides, regarding Spirit Power, Le Bai has that technique called Spirit Power Overclocking. Back when he was level eight, he could burst out with nearly level twenty Spirit Power; now he must be at least level twenty-something. I don't think I can take a hit like that. Knowing I'll lose and still fighting—that would just be asking for trouble."

"Tsk!"

Oscar clicked his tongue in regret: "Fatty, I find you've become smarter today. Is it because your kidney deficiency forced you to use the part of your brain that usually thinks about women for actual thinking instead?"

"You're the one with a brain full of women!"

Ma Hongjun's gaze toward Oscar grew increasingly "kind": "Come to think of it, I might not be able to beat Le Bai, but beating you up should be pretty simple."

Oscar's expression changed, and he silently shut his mouth.

Seeing that Oscar had stopped talking, Ma Hongjun bid them farewell and returned to the Dormitory to rest.

Watching Ma Hongjun walk away, Oscar still felt a bit frustrated.

"How about it? Feeling a bit stifled?"

Le Bai whispered in Oscar's ear like a devil's murmur: "If you start training with me today, in six months at most, you'll be able to go head-to-head with Fatty without falling behind. Want to give it a try?"

Oscar felt a bit tempted, but he was mostly hesitant: "But, I feel like I wouldn't be able to handle the amount of training you do."

"When did I ever say you needed to do the same amount of training as me?"

Le Bai corrected Oscar's misconception: "My training volume is high, first, to speed up my Soul Power Level growth so I don't fall too far behind someone like you with Innate Full Soul Power; second, I know my own physical condition well, and I've been gradually increasing the intensity without ever reaching the point of hurting myself."

That was a lie.

For a normal human, even an adult with excellent physical constitution, if they were to train at Le Bai's current intensity every day, they would be broken within two months.

Not to mention that Le Bai was only ten years old.

The key lay in the Panel—the effect of having no bottlenecks didn't just apply to Soul Power and skill level progression; the improvement of physical capabilities had no bottlenecks either!

He discovered this shortly after he began gradually increasing his training intensity.

The effects of physical training were always immediate. Even though the Panel didn't display numerical values for physical ability, Le Bai could feel the strength within his body increasing day by day, to the point where he once even considered, Maybe I should just switch to being a body cultivator.

Even now, Le Bai hadn't completely abandoned that thought.

Ensuring his physical capabilities kept pace with his Soul Power wasn't just because "increased physical strength is conducive to containing more Soul Power," but also because Le Bai was considering the possibility that he might encounter a situation where his "Soul Power Level could no longer increase," and he was preparing to make the transition to body cultivation more convenient if that time came.

"If you're willing to train, I'll tailor a plan specifically for your situation to ensure you won't feel overwhelmed. You should know that if I were to ruin your body with training, the Dean would be the first person to come after me."

As Le Bai spoke, he pointed in the direction Ma Hongjun had left: "It's no problem if you don't want to train, but in that case, I think within six months at most, Fatty will dare to crap on your head."

Oscar's gaze shifted back and forth between Le Bai and the direction Ma Hongjun had left, until he finally gritted his teeth: "I'll do it!"