God of Calmness

Early morning, the stifling frustration in his heart finally resolved.

Ma Hongjun walked toward Shrek Academy, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

With only him and Oscar as students, the massive academy appeared exceptionally empty.

By the time he reached the village entrance, Flender had already been waiting there for quite some time.

"Resolved?"

"Yes, Teacher. There are no more problems."

"Then go back and cultivate diligently. Stop slacking off all day; you can't even keep up with Oscar, a support-type Spirit Master."

Ma Hongjun stuck out his tongue. He was still quite fearful of Flender, so he could only obediently return to the dormitory to sit in meditation and cultivate.

It wasn't until noon that he finally woke from his meditation.

He patted his growling stomach, intending to go solve the problem of lunch.

He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the evil fire produced by this cultivation session was less than usual.

A week later, he completely realized that something was wrong.

Logically, every week of cultivation would trigger an outbreak of the evil fire within his body.

Yet, as this cycle reached its end, he was surprised to find that he could still suppress the evil fire.

It wasn't until two days later that he felt that familiar, burning sensation of the evil fire consuming his body strike again.

"It looks like I'll have to trouble Brother Lu Xian again."

Just as the fatty was about to set off for Red Light Street, a sensation of icy cold erupted from within his body, surging directly through his entire being.

This caused the burning Ma Hongjun to shiver instantly.

It felt just like that cup of ice water he had drunk at the Broom Shop last time.

Likewise, the receding heat soon came rushing back again.

He hadn't taken more than a few steps when a cold, calling voice echoed in his mind.

"Young man, are you content to be driven by this evil fire, becoming nothing more than a machine that only knows how to vent its desires?"

"Who's there?"

The startled fatty nearly jumped on the spot, vigilantly scanning his surroundings, yet he found no one.

At this moment, that cold voice resonated in his mind once more.

"No need to look. I am inside your body."

"Ah?"

"Who... who are you?"

Hearing that the stranger was inside him, the inexperienced Ma Hongjun panicked, terrified that the entity might harm him.

"Do not panic. You may call me the God of Calmness."

"Only a Spirit Master who can control their own desires has the opportunity to reach the pinnacle."

"...A god?"

Ma Hongjun's eyes went round as saucers; he couldn't fathom why a god would suddenly take an interest in him.

"So, what is it?"

"Lord God, is there something you need me to do, now that you've entered my body?"

"Strictly speaking, I am merely a lingering remnant of the God of Calmness's consciousness, used to select a successor for the godhood."

"Young man, do you wish to inherit the position of the God of Calmness?"

Stunned on the spot for several dozen seconds, Ma Hongjun still couldn't believe that such a windfall had dropped right into his lap.

"My Lord, why did you choose me?"

"Although my talent is decent, my martial soul has a massive defect."

The god in his mind seemed to have anticipated he would say this and spoke slowly:

"The defect in your martial soul will gradually turn you into a puppet of desire."

"Yet, overcoming desire and maintaining constant calmness is your advantage."

"It is an advantage that those without martial soul defects do not possess, for they never know when they might fall into various desires."

"And you, who can rise from the depths of desire, are the successor I need."

"Hiss!"

The fat on the fatty's face trembled for a moment.

Although what the god said was extremely profound, it was enough for him to understand one truth.

He was the most suitable person for the inheritance of the God of Calmness.

And his advantage stemmed from this very evil fire that had accompanied him since his martial soul awakened.

"My Lord, if I accept this inheritance, will I be able to get rid of the Evil Fire?"

"No, only by conquering the Evil Fire will you be qualified to inherit the Godhood."

"I understand. I want to give it a try."

Regardless of anything else, the opportunity was right in front of him; Ma Hongjun had absolutely no reason to give up.

As the words fell, the ice block residing in Ma Hongjun's gut transformed into a stream of light and shot directly into the center of his brow.

A pale blue ice-colored divine mark instantly appeared on his forehead.

God of Calmness 99 Trials have now begun.

First Trial: I am the master of my own Evil Fire.

Within one week, you are forbidden from going to the Red Light Street to vent your Evil Fire.

As the voice of the divine trial echoed, Ma Hongjun was left stunned in place before he could even feel happy.

"Holy crap!"

Is this for real?

He was already at the point of no return, and now he's being told to hold it back?

This is going to kill him, isn't it?

Just as Ma Hongjun was feeling utterly hopeless, the divine mark on his forehead suddenly bloomed with a pale blue halo.

Immediately following, a sensation of coolness flowed through his entire body.

Ma Hongjun shivered from the sudden, chilling sensation.

"I... I guess if I get a hit of this every time I can't take it anymore, it might not be impossible to hold out, right?"

"Whatever, I'll try it first. It's only a week, isn't it?"

After locking the door, Ma Hongjun climbed back onto his bed and began to meditate.

It was just simple meditation; he didn't dare attempt to cultivate right now.

Otherwise, the Evil Fire generated within the week would only be even harder to withstand.

And so, Flender discovered a scene that surprised him.

His disciple, who should have long since headed to the Red Light Street, was actually staying inside his dormitory, not stepping a foot outside.

While worried, Flender also felt a trace of gratification in his heart.

This showed that Ma Hongjun had finally started trying to control the Evil Fire within his body.

A week later, Ma Hongjun was disheveled inside the dormitory, his eyes burning with a fiery red.

Clearly, he had reached his absolute limit of restraint.

"Hold on, the week is almost up, I can't let all my efforts go to waste."

"Ah!"

"I can't take it anymore! Cuihua, here I come!"

Bursting through the door, Ma Hongjun didn't even have time to tidy himself up before bolting straight toward the Red Light Street.

Wish Rank F, executor completion rate 100%.

Reward: 20 days of cultivation, Spirit Ring age increased by 10 years.

Inside the Broom Shop, Lu Xian was very happy to receive the reward, as this meant that starting today, he could develop three lines of business.

Well, of course, it could also be considered 2.5 lines; for the sake of the Spirit Ring age, he would barely count Gangzi as half a person.

Lu Xian didn't forget his brand-new worker and immediately distributed the rewards.

Ma Hongjun, who had been rushing toward Suotuo City in a frantic hurry, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

A wave of coolness instantly pulled his sanity back.

God of Calmness First Trial completed.

Reward: 10 days of cultivation, Spirit Ring age increased by 5 years.

Feeling his spirit power increase by a notch, that Evil Fire was also slightly suppressed.

Without a second thought, Ma Hongjun turned around and headed back toward Shrek.

"Red Light Street? Not even a dog would go there."

"I am a man who is going to become a god!"

Returning to the academy, Flender looked at Ma Hongjun entering the dormitory, completely bewildered.

"What's going on? Why are you back so soon this time?"

"Oh no, this kid didn't break himself from holding it in, did he? He didn't go and 'solve it once and for all,' did he?"

An anxious Flender hurried to Ma Hongjun's dormitory and knocked on the door.

"Hongjun, what is going on?"

"Why are you back so soon?"

"Teacher, don't worry about it. From today on, I'm not going to Red Light Street anymore."

Hearing this, Flender became even more anxious.

"Kid, don't do anything stupid. Controlling your evil fire must be done gradually; there is no way to solve it once and for all!"

"I can't cover the costs for this trip, Teacher. You need to go take care of it yourself."

"I'm not going, I'm not going! If you want to go, go yourself, Teacher!"

"From today on, call me Pure and Clean Ma Hongjun."