Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire (Part 2)

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

"Yo, Fatty!"

Seeing that familiar round figure, Oscar greeted him happily. "What have you been doing these past few days?"

"Don't ask."

Ma Hongjun turned his plump body around. His expression was calm as water, holy as a Buddha, though he could not hide his weakness. "Right now, I just want to rest properly."

"Wow, Fatty, what happened to you?"

Oscar stared in shock. "Did the Dean and Doctor Wang take you somewhere to find girls and drain you dry?"

"It would have been better if that were the case..."

Ma Hongjun's eyelids drooped halfway as he weakly slumped onto the table. "After leaving the dormitory that morning, Teacher and Doctor Wang took me to the Training Ground. One moment they had me breathe fire, the next they were examining my body."

Oscar's eyes widened. "Don't tell me you spent all three days like that?!"

"How could that be?"

Ma Hongjun waved his chubby hand. "If I'd spent three days like that, I'd be dead already. Would I still be here chatting with you? The first day was like that, but on the second day, Doctor Wang said he'd found a connection between my Martial Soul's flames and my physical problem. So the second and third days were spent solving the problem between my body and Martial Soul with Doctor Wang and Teacher's help."

"So your problem's been solved now?"

Le Bai turned his head and asked curiously. This differed from what he had known. "Did Doctor Wang say what caused it? Does it have anything to do with how kidney-deficient you look right now?"

"Yeah, it's solved."

Mentioning it made Ma Hongjun a little happier, and he perked up slightly. "According to Doctor Wang and Teacher, when my Martial Soul produces flames, it doesn't just consume Soul Power. It also absorbs energy from my kidneys—this energy is the source of that strange 'adhesive' effect in my flames. But during that process, the Martial Soul's powerful fire energy stimulated my kidneys, which was why I could never go soft."

"And then?"

Le Bai became interested. He had only mentioned it casually at the time and had not given it much thought. "Once you found the problem, did you manage to solve it smoothly?"

"Of course."

Ma Hongjun said with a hint of smugness, "Since the main cause was my Martial Soul's fire energy stimulating my kidneys, I just had to prevent that. I can't change my Martial Soul, but I can control the energy in my kidneys and actively merge it into my Martial Soul's flames. That way, the Martial Soul's fire energy won't directly stimulate my kidneys, and I can regulate how much energy I merge into the flames."

"That sounds pretty good."

Le Bai smiled. "So you look kidney-deficient today because you've overused your Kidney Energy?"

"Yep."

Ma Hongjun clutched his waist, looking thoroughly traumatized. "Teacher and Doctor Wang are practically devils. They said kids recover quickly anyway, and it wasn't like I needed it yet. For two whole days, two entire days, other than eating, sleeping, and using the bathroom, they kept making me use up my Kidney Energy to sense its existence and learn how to control it... If my talent weren't decent, I might have already died from kidney deficiency."

"Fatty,"

Le Bai asked expectantly, "can Oscar and I also master that Kidney Energy you mentioned?"

"Probably not."

Ma Hongjun shook his head. "I can only sense that energy because of my Martial Soul. Even Teacher and Doctor Wang can't sense it."

"Okay."

Le Bai found that somewhat regrettable, but did not dwell on it. "By the way, after merging more Kidney Energy into it, did your fire change at all?"

"Great question!"

Ma Hongjun became visibly smug. "It changed, and by a lot! My combat ability is much stronger now!"

"Oh? That impressive?"

Le Bai raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Then how about we spar again in a couple of days, once your body recovers?"

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

Ma Hongjun hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.

Although his strength had improved, he had a very clear understanding of the gap between himself and Le Bai. He did not get carried away by his improvement. "Though I don't want to admit it, I'm still not your match. Same as before—when my Martial Soul can support me in flight, then I'll spar with you."

"Hey, Fatty, you're such a coward!"

Oscar egged him on from the side. "Le Bai's Soul Power Level is a full seven levels lower than yours, and he's only a Support System Soul Master. You don't even dare fight him?!"

"This isn't about whether I dare to fight or not."

Ma Hongjun did not fall for Oscar's provocation at all. "My fire's stronger, but there's no point if I can't hit Le Bai. And as for Soul Power, Le Bai has a technique like Spirit Power Overclocking. Back when he was level eight, he could already erupt with nearly level-twenty Soul Power. Now he has to have more than twenty levels' worth at minimum. I don't think I can withstand that hit from him. Knowing I'll lose and still insisting on a match—wouldn't that just be asking for it?"

"Tch!"

Oscar clicked his tongue regretfully. "Fatty, I've noticed that you seem smarter today. Did kidney deficiency make you use the part of your brain that normally thinks about women for actual thinking?"

"You're the one with women on the brain!"

The look Ma Hongjun gave Oscar gradually turned "kind." "Now that you mention it, I may not be able to beat Le Bai, but beating you up should be easy enough, right?"

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

Seeing that Oscar had stopped talking, Ma Hongjun said goodbye to the two of them and returned to the dormitory to rest.

Watching Ma Hongjun walk away, Oscar still felt rather stifled.

"How is it? Feeling pretty annoyed?"

Le Bai whispered into Oscar's ear, like a demon's murmur. "If you start training with me today, then in half a year at most, you'll probably be able to face Fatty head-on without falling behind. Want to try?"

Oscar was somewhat tempted, but he hesitated even more. "But with the amount you train, I don't think I can handle it."

"When did I ever say you needed the same training load as me?"

Le Bai corrected Oscar's mistaken idea. "My training load is high for two reasons. First, it's to speed up my Soul Power Enhancement Speed, so I won't get left too far behind by someone like you with Innate Full Soul Power. Second, I know my physical condition fairly well, so I've gradually increased it without going so far as to injure myself."

This was a lie.

For a normal human, even an adult in excellent physical condition, training every day at Le Bai's current intensity would ruin their body in less than two months.

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

The key lay in the Panel—its no-bottleneck effect did not apply only to Soul Power and skill level increases. Physical abilities likewise had no bottlenecks!

He had discovered this shortly after gradually increasing his training intensity.

The effects of physical training had always been immediate. Even though the Panel did not display numerical values for physical abilities, Le Bai could feel the strength in his body steadily growing. At one point, he had even thought, Why not just switch to body cultivation like this?

Even now, Le Bai had not completely abandoned that idea.

Having his physical abilities improve alongside his Soul Power was not only because "greater physical strength helps contain more Soul Power." It was also preparation for switching to body cultivation more easily if he ever encountered a situation where his Soul Power Level could no longer increase.

"If you're willing to train, I'll tailor a training plan to your situation and guarantee that it won't feel unbearable. After all, if I train your body into ruin, the Dean definitely won't let me off first."

As he spoke, Le Bai pointed in the direction Ma Hongjun had left. "It's fine if you don't want to train, but if that's the case, then in half a year at most, I think Fatty will dare to shit on your head."

Oscar's gaze shifted back and forth between Le Bai and the direction Ma Hongjun had gone. In the end, he gritted his teeth. "I'll train!"