Ma Hongjun Becomes a Disciple! His First Cultivation and the First Backlash of Evil Fire!

Ma Hongjun raised his head, tears still clinging to his face.

"Really?"

"I, Flender, always keep my word."

Flender thumped his chest.

"Okay!"

Ma Hongjun nodded vigorously. "I'm willing! Master!"

"Good!"

Flender grinned until his eyes narrowed to slits.

He'd found another promising talent, and a personal disciple at that. This trip hadn't been in vain.

Oscar leaned close to Fu Wen and whispered in his ear, "Dad took on another disciple. Aren't you jealous, his own son?"

"What would I be jealous of?"

Fu Wen rolled his eyes. "It'll be livelier with one more person around."

That was what he said, but inside, he was ranting furiously.

A way to deal with the backlash of evil fire?

Go to a brothel and find a woman to let it out?

That was Flender's brilliant solution?

Fu Wen's mouth twitched. He looked utterly helpless.

In the original story, Ma Hongjun had spent plenty of time in places like that from childhood onward. Not only did he spend money like water, he also wound up with all kinds of ailments.

Most importantly, this didn't solve the problem at all. It was just indulging himself!

The evil fire was still there; it had only been vented temporarily.

It treated the symptoms, not the root cause.

Now that Fu Wen was here, things couldn't be handled that way.

Ma Hongjun was only six. His values hadn't yet taken shape, so there was still time to set him on the right path.

He had to steer him straight from the start.

Fu Wen looked at Ma Hongjun's round little face and silently mulled it over.

What was the essence of the evil fire?

The flames weren't pure. They contained impurities.

So the answer wasn't to vent the fire, but to purify it.

Refine away the evil energy within the flames and make them pure.

That was the proper path.

As for how to do it exactly...

Fu Wen thought it over and came up with a few possibilities.

He'd take it slowly once they got back.

In any case, Ma Hongjun could forget about going to a brothel for the rest of his life.

"Xiao Pang, come on. Follow your master back to the academy!"

Flender rose to his feet and swept his hand through the air.

"Okay!"

Ma Hongjun wiped his tears and grinned.

Fu Wen watched them, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

This chubby kid was pretty adorable.

They'd be fellow disciples from now on.

He'd have to take good care of him.

By the time Flender returned to Shrek Academy with Ma Hongjun, it was already afternoon.

"Come on, come on, everyone over here!"

Flender stood in the middle of the training ground and hollered at the top of his lungs.

Zhao Wuji, Shao Xin, Li Yusong, and Lu Qibin came over from different directions.

"Dean, what's got you so happy?"

Seeing the smile on Flender's face, Zhao Wuji asked curiously.

"Let me introduce someone to you."

Flender pushed Ma Hongjun forward. "This is Ma Hongjun, my personal disciple. Starting today, he's a student of Shrek Academy!"

"Your personal disciple?"

Zhao Wuji looked Ma Hongjun up and down, raising an eyebrow.

This chubby little kid looked about five or six. What could he possibly be capable of?

"Don't let his age fool you. His Martial Soul is a phoenix!"

Flender looked smug.

"A phoenix?!"

The others' expressions changed at once.

"That's right. An Evil Fire Phoenix, a top-tier Beast Martial Soul!"

Flender's tail was practically sticking up to the sky again.

"What's his Innate Soul Power?"

Li Yusong pushed up his glasses and asked the most important question.

"Rank nine and a half."

A trace of regret crept into Flender's voice. "If his Martial Soul didn't have a flaw, he'd definitely have Innate Full Soul Power."

"Rank nine and a half..."

Li Yusong nodded. "That's still impressive."

Zhao Wuji crouched down and squeezed Ma Hongjun's arm.

"Not bad, little chubby. You've got a solid build."

"Train hard from now on. Don't let your master down."

"Mm!"

Ma Hongjun nodded vigorously.

Shao Xin came over and patted Ma Hongjun on the head.

"Little chubby, just tell Uncle what you want to eat from now on. I'll cook it for you."

"Really?"

Ma Hongjun's eyes lit up.

"Of course."

Shao Xin chuckled.

Lu Qibin stood to one side without a word. He merely nodded to greet Ma Hongjun.

Flender looked around and cleared his throat.

"All right, I hereby officially announce!"

"Shrek Academy currently has three students!"

"Oscar, Fu Wen, and Ma Hongjun!"

"Better few than worthless! I won't take in anyone who isn't a monster!"

"Our academy's reputation will grow greater and greater from here on!"

Zhao Wuji and the others exchanged glances and smiled.

This shabby academy was finally starting to look like something.

After getting Ma Hongjun settled in, Flender called him into the office.

"Xiao Pang, from now on, you're my personal disciple."

Flender sat in his chair, his expression serious.

"I'm going to teach you how to cultivate through meditation. You need to pay attention and learn."

"As long as you work hard, it won't be long before you break through level ten and hunt for your First Soul Ring."

"Then you'll be a true Soul Master."

Ma Hongjun was fired up. He clenched his fists.

"Master, I'll do my best!"

"Good."

Flender nodded in satisfaction and began teaching him the method of meditation.

Over the next two days, Ma Hongjun worked hard at cultivation.

Flender hadn't assigned him much training. For now, the focus was on getting used to meditation.

After all, Ma Hongjun had only just awakened his Martial Soul. There was no need to rush.

Oscar was also making the most of his time, pushing toward the bottleneck at level twenty.

He felt he was just one thin layer away and could break through at any moment.

Fu Wen trained as usual: practical combat during the day, then medicinal baths and meditation at night.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

The third day.

Evening.

Oscar was practicing his punches on the training ground while Fu Wen coached him.

Ma Hongjun sat cross-legged in the shade of a tree, meditating with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, Ma Hongjun's body began to tremble.

His face turned red, as if he'd been roasted over a fire.

"Why is it so hot..."

Ma Hongjun opened his eyes and gasped for breath.

A wave of heat surged up from inside him. He couldn't suppress it no matter what he did.

"Hot... So hot..."

Ma Hongjun's skin began to redden, and his hair turned red as well.

Flames burst from his body.

They weren't the controlled flames from when he'd awakened his Martial Soul. These were wild, frenzied flames, completely out of control.

"Xiao Pang?"

Oscar sensed something was wrong. He stopped and looked at Ma Hongjun.

Ma Hongjun didn't answer.

His eyes turned scarlet, flames burning in his pupils.

That wasn't a normal expression. He'd lost his reason.

"Not good!"

Fu Wen's expression changed.

The backlash of evil fire!

Ma Hongjun's evil fire had erupted for the first time!

"Xiao Pang! Wake up!"

Oscar rushed over, trying to rouse Ma Hongjun.

But Ma Hongjun couldn't hear a thing anymore.

He got to his feet and flung out both arms!

Boom!

Two balls of flame burst from his palms and shot in every direction!

One fireball slammed into the nearby thatched shelter, setting it ablaze in an instant.

The other flew toward the teaching building, nearly setting a window on fire.

"Fire!"

Oscar shouted.

"I'm on it!"

Fu Wen had no time to think. He immediately released his Martial Soul.

"Divine Crocodile Possession!"

His golden, slit-pupil eyes lit up, and bronze markings appeared on his skin.

Fu Wen rushed up to Ma Hongjun and reached out with both hands, grabbing him by the wrists.

Driven by the Innate Divine Crocodile Art, the Water Power within Fu Wen's body became a cool energy that flowed into Ma Hongjun.

This was the most basic ability of Fu Wen's Divine Crocodile.

When he awakened his Martial Soul, a water vortex had even appeared behind him.

After all, it was a crocodile. Water was one of its home turfs.

Of course, that didn't mean it only had water attributes.

It had other attributes as well.