Reborn as Ma Hongjun! Six Years of Training!

The first ray of morning sunlight passed through the paper-covered window lattice and fell on Ma Hongjun's face.

He opened his eyes, his amber pupils narrowing slightly in the morning light.

Another day had begun.

Six years had passed.

Ma Hongjun rolled over and sat up, his movements far too nimble for a six-year-old child.

He lowered his head and looked at his slender yet sturdy arms.

These six years of training had not been in vain.

Every day, before dawn, he got up to run, do push-ups, sit-ups, horse stance—he had not missed a single form of physical training he could do.

Those reincarnated protagonists in web novels who did not train were all idiots. Ma Hongjun was not one of them.

He walked to the window and examined himself through the reflection in the washbasin.

Lean, strong, handsome.

That was the assessment of this body he was most satisfied with.

The original Ma Hongjun had been a little fatty, and he had put on considerable weight as an adult.

But through deliberate training and restraint, this six-year-old body had smooth lines and distinct contours, already carrying some of a young boy's delicate good looks.

"Hongjun! Are you up? Today is your Martial Soul awakening. Don't be late!" his mother called from the outer room.

"Coming."

Ma Hongjun answered, got dressed, and walked out of the room.

Grass Chicken Village, an ordinary little village outside Suotuo City.

Six years ago, when he had awakened in this body, it had taken him three whole days to accept reality.

He had transmigrated, becoming Ma Hongjun of Douluo Continent—the Ma Hongjun with the Evil Fire Phoenix.

It would have been a lie to say he had not panicked.

In his previous life, he had been a huge Douluo fan. He had read the novel over and over and finished watching the animation as well.

He knew Ma Hongjun's fate all too well—plagued by Evil Fire, forced to visit brothels, mocked by everyone at Shrek Academy. Although he eventually became a god, the path there had hardly been glorious.

The pain of the Evil Fire's backlash in particular had not been described in detail in the original work, but as a transmigrator, merely imagining it made his scalp tingle.

So he had done two things.

First, he had insisted on training ever since he could walk.

The original Ma Hongjun had not lacked talent, but he had been lazy, gluttonous, and indolent, wasting the potential of the Evil Fire Phoenix for nothing.

Ma Hongjun was different. From the very beginning, he would put this body on the right track.

Second, he had thought about a solution.

The Evil Fire Phoenix was strong because of its fire, yet weak because of the word "evil."

Flender's solution in the original work had been to let him vent his desires in brothels. It treated the symptoms, not the root cause.

He had only found relief after consuming the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower.

And the issue had only been completely resolved after he became a god, but that was far too distant.

The solution Ma Hongjun had thought of was—Soul Rings.

The evil within Evil Fire was essentially an impurity in the Martial Soul's attribute.

If pure Light Element Soul Rings could be used to neutralize and cleanse it, then in theory, the evil nature could gradually be removed, eventually allowing the Evil Fire Phoenix to transform into a true Light Phoenix.

People had discussed this idea online in his previous life, but no one had tried it in the original work.

The reason was simple—Light Element soul beasts were rare, and few would think to use Soul Rings to alter a Martial Soul's attribute.

But he was a transmigrator. He knew this was a direction worth attempting.

"Hongjun, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up!" his mother urged from ahead.

Ma Hongjun came back to his senses and followed her.

Grass Chicken Village was not large. It only took a quarter of an hour to walk from one end to the other.

The Awakening Square was in the center of the village. Normally, it was a grain-drying yard, but today it had been cleared out, with several tables set up and a strange formation diagram drawn on the ground.

By the time Ma Hongjun arrived, quite a few people had gathered in the square.

They were all six-year-old children from the village, a sparse group of more than a dozen. Some were excited, some nervous, while several timid children clung to the adults' legs and refused to let go.

Ma Hongjun silently stood at the edge of the crowd without pushing forward.

He glanced at the center of the square. The formation diagram had been prepared, but the person presiding over the awakening had yet to arrive.

"I heard a big shot from the city is hosting this year's awakening. It's different from previous years," villagers murmured among themselves.

"A big shot? What sort of big shot?"

"I think he's from... Shrek Academy? Anyway, I heard he's a Soul Saint. Incredible!"

Ma Hongjun's ears twitched slightly.

Shrek Academy? A Soul Saint?

He already had a guess, but he did not reveal it.

Over the past six years, he had deliberately avoided seeking out any information about the original plot. First, the village was poorly informed, and second, he did not want to trigger a butterfly effect ahead of time.

But today, what was meant to come would come.

The sun climbed higher.

Just as the villagers' patience was about to run out, a figure approached from the direction of the village entrance.

Ma Hongjun raised his head, his gaze settling on the man.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties, thin in build and stern in appearance, dressed in a grayish-blue robe.

He did not walk quickly, but every step carried a peculiar rhythm, as though it matched some cadence between heaven and earth.

Ma Hongjun's pupils contracted slightly.

He recognized him.

Though he had only seen him on a screen in his previous life, that temperament, those eyes, were exactly as the original work had described.

Flender.

The dean of Shrek Academy, a Soul Saint-level powerhouse, and Ma Hongjun's teacher in the original story.

"He's here, he's here!" The villagers quickly made way for him.

Flender walked expressionlessly to the center of the square. He swept his gaze over the villagers and children present, his eyes calm and unreadable.

He clearly did not have high expectations for an awakening ceremony in such a small village—over the years, he had traveled far and wide and seen too many dreams of genius shattered.

"Stand properly. Don't move around."

His voice was not loud, yet it entered every person's ears with perfect clarity.

Ma Hongjun's heart tightened.

Such exquisite control over Soul Power—worthy of a Soul Saint.

Flender crouched down and began setting up the awakening formation.

His movements were practiced. He had clearly done this countless times before.

Drawing lines on the ground, placing Soul Tools, every step was meticulous.

Ma Hongjun watched quietly, but inwardly, he was far less calm than he appeared.

Six years. He had been waiting for this day all along.

In the original work, Ma Hongjun had awakened the Evil Fire Phoenix with level-nine Innate Soul Power.

But that had been the result of the original Ma Hongjun's laziness.

After six years of relentless training through wind and rain, combined with the soul and will of a transmigrator, would his awakening result be different?

Innate Full Soul Power?

He could not be certain, but it was worth hoping for.

More importantly, at this moment, he had to earn Flender's approval.

Flender seemed cold and hard on the surface, but he was truly loyal and affectionate.

In the original work, he had devoted himself wholeheartedly to Ma Hongjun, his disciple. He had merely taken the wrong approach.

In this life, Ma Hongjun wanted not only to become his disciple, but also to make him believe that he was walking a different path.

"The awakening ceremony will begin shortly." Flender stood and dusted off his hands. "Come forward when your name is called. The rest of you are not to make noise."

The villagers quieted down.

The dozen or so children were called forward one by one.

Ma Hongjun was last in line.

He watched as the children ahead stepped forward one after another and placed their hands on the Awakening Stone. Their Martial Souls appeared—hoes, sickles, kitchen knives... all useless farming-tool Martial Souls.

Flender's expression shifted from calm to disappointment, then from disappointment to numbness.

He was clearly used to it.

What good Martial Soul could possibly emerge from a small village?

"Next."

"Next."

"Next."

One child after another returned with their heads lowered. Some even began to cry.

Ma Hongjun stood there, his gaze fixed on Flender the entire time.

Soon.

He would be next.