Disable Ma Hongjun (Part 3)

Wu Xing was in no rush to make a move.

He walked toward Ma Hongjun step by step, unhurriedly, the soles of his shoes crunching against the gravel with a rhythmic sound.

With every step he took, the White Tiger behind him faded by a fraction.

With every step he took, the temperature in the air rose by a degree.

By the time he reached a spot three paces away from Ma Hongjun, the White Tiger had completely dissipated.

In its place was a sea of golden-red light.

A firebird, its entire body wreathed in golden-red flames, rose from behind Wu Xing, its wings spreading wide to illuminate the entire street.

The flames were not dark red, nor were they a sinister purple.

They were a pure golden-red, like the rising sun, like molten lava.

They possessed a true, crushing momentum that overwhelmed everything.

Ma Hongjun's martial soul released uncontrollably.

It was not that he wanted to release it; the Evil Fire Phoenix sensed a massive crisis and instinctively sought to resist.

A dark-red firebird manifested behind him, wings unfurling as two spirit rings rose into the air.

And then.

The moment that dark-red firebird saw the golden-red Vermilion Bird opposite it, it cowered.

Its wings folded, its flames dimmed, and the entire phantom shrank into a ball, shivering violently.

It looked like a startled chicken.

No.

It was just a chicken.

A mangy chicken with disheveled feathers, cowering in the corner and trembling.

"What... what are you doing!"

Ma Hongjun's voice trembled, his legs went weak, and his back pressed against the base of the wall.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

Wu Xing looked at him without speaking, raising his right hand.

Golden-red flames condensed in his palm, the temperature climbing higher and higher until the air itself began to distort.

Ma Hongjun's pupils contracted violently; he suddenly understood what Wu Xing wanted!

"No... don't! I was wrong, I shouldn't have..."

He wanted to run, but his legs refused to obey.

He wanted to release a spirit skill, but the Evil Fire Phoenix remained curled into a ball, ignoring him entirely.

He could only kowtow repeatedly, begging for mercy, hoping the other party would spare him for his willingness to admit his mistake.

"When your mouth was running wild, did you think about this moment?"

Wu Xing's voice was calm, yet it made Ma Hongjun's hair stand on end.

"When those little girls you harmed were begging you in agony, did you ever spare them?"

"Since you wanted to let Rongrong taste the flavor of your Evil Fire Phoenix, I shall let you taste the sensation of being burned by fire."

He flicked his finger.

A cluster of golden-red flame shot out; it was small, no larger than a thumb.

But it moved with a speed so great that Ma Hongjun could not even track it.

The flame did not strike his face, nor did it strike his chest.

Instead, it landed with pinpoint precision just below his lower abdomen.

"Sss..."

It sounded as if something had been ignited.

Ma Hongjun froze for a second.

And then.

"Ah...!!!"

A scream tore through the entire street, sounding less like a human voice and more like the wail of a creature being burned alive.

Ma Hongjun clutched his crotch and rolled on the ground, kicking his legs wildly, his expression twisted to the point of agony.

The golden-red flame burned through his pants, scorched his skin, and continued to burn deeper.

That was no ordinary fire.

It was the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire.

It did not burn the flesh; it burned the very root.

The root of the evil fire.

Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul let out a mournful cry at this moment, then completely dimmed.

Not disappeared, but crippled.

The martial soul was still there, but the part that produced the evil fire, its root, was burned to ashes.

From now on, he would no longer be tormented by the evil fire, nor could he use the evil fire as an excuse.

Wu Xing had, in a way, done a good deed. Not only had he avenged the little girls under eleven or twelve, but he had also helped the other party cure their martial soul's defect.

It was killing two birds with one stone.

Doing such good deeds without leaving a name, from now on, please call him Wu Lei Feng.

Ma Hongjun curled up on the ground, trembling all over, his face indistinguishable between tears and cold sweat.

His pants had a hole burned in them, revealing charred skin underneath. That area was no longer presentable.

Wu Xing withdrew his hand, and the golden-red flames dissipated.

He looked down at Ma Hongjun, his tone flat.

"With this, you won't need to harm people anymore."

Because the other party no longer had the ability to do so.

Ning Rongrong watched all of this, a complex mix of emotions churning within her.

She hadn't cried when Ma Hongjun insulted her with his foul mouth.

She hadn't been afraid when Dai Mubai glared at her threateningly.

But now, her eyes were red.

Not out of sadness, and certainly not out of pity for that guy Ma Hongjun.

It was because someone had avenged her.

Not with words.

With fists, with flames, with actual action!

This reminded her of when she first joined Shrek Academy. Back then, she was ostracized by everyone, scorned by everyone for being pampered.

Back then, no one had ever stood up to protect her. She had kept it in her heart and never forgotten.

But today, Brother Wu Xing, for her sake, had personally crushed the person who bullied her under his feet, fiercely seeking justice for her.

This protection was scorching and sincere.

Xiao Wu stood nearby, looking at the curled-up Ma Hongjun, then at Wu Xing's back, her eyes sparkling.

So fierce.

So domineering.

And so protective.

But she liked it so much!

Dugu Yan crossed her arms, her gaze towards Wu Xing filled with hearts.

Decisive, resolute in his actions, and protective when he said he would be – it all came true.

This was the man she had her eye on!

Ye Lingling still hadn't spoken, but her gaze never left Wu Xing.

To vent his woman's anger, to go to such lengths, it wasn't about the cruelty of his methods.

It was that he remembered.

He remembered who bullied his women, he remembered to stand up for each of them.

The Nine Heart Begonia only bloomed once in a lifetime.

At this moment, it wanted to bloom.

Who it would bloom for no longer needed to be thought about.

Zhu Zhuqing stood the closest, her Hell Spirit Cat martial soul still restless.

Wu Xing was still holding her, and now he was stepping up for Rongrong.

Originally, she should have been jealous.

But she wasn't.

Because she had never felt protected by Dai Mubai.

Nor had he ever said, "She's mine, you dare touch her again and see!"

That feeling of being cherished, of being cared for, was something she had never experienced.

Except now.

At this moment, she wanted to get closer, to be even closer.

Just like his own restless martial soul, he merged into one with the other.

Wu Xing turned around and walked back to the girls, his face devoid of expression, as if he had just performed a trivial task.

"Let's go."

Two words, spoken in a flat tone.

Yet, they brought the girls back to their senses.

Ning Rongrong was the first to catch up, walking to Wu Xing's side without a word, simply keeping pace with him.

Xiao Wu followed behind, skipping and hopping, unable to suppress the joy and excitement in her eyes.

Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling exchanged a glance before following as well.

Behind them.

Dai Mubai lay sprawled in the ruins, never once lifting his head from start to finish.

He no longer had the strength to look up.

His right arm was broken, several ribs were fractured, and a footprint remained imprinted on his chest.

Ma Hongjun curled up in the corner of the wall, his entire body still trembling.

His pants had been burned through, leaving the skin beneath charred black.

The root of the Evil Fire Phoenix had been incinerated.

There would be no more evil fire, but he would never be able to be a man again...