Evil Fire Backfires! The Academy Burns!

A cool energy surged into Ma Hongjun's body, attempting to suppress that violent Evil Fire.

The flames were suppressed slightly, but they quickly rebounded.

Ma Hongjun's flames were too fierce; Fu Wen was only level sixteen and could not suppress them at all.

"Damn it!"

Fu Wen gritted his teeth and increased his soul power output.

The two forces collided within Ma Hongjun's body, stirring up intense energy fluctuations.

Ma Hongjun let out a roar and struggled free from Fu Wen's hands with great force.

Flames erupted from his body, spreading in all directions!

Several spots on the playground began to burn.

"Xiao Wen! Watch out!"

Oscar rushed over, wanting to help, but as a food-system soul master, he could not intervene at all.

"Back off!"

Fu Wen roared.

He charged forward again, this time not to suppress, but to absorb!

He operated the Innate Divine Crocodile Art at full power, drawing the overflowing flame energy from Ma Hongjun into his own body.

This was not an easy process.

The energy of the Evil Fire was violent and carried a wicked nature, rampaging through Fu Wen's body once it entered.

Fu Wen's face turned pale, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

But he did not let go.

Gritting his teeth, he endured it by sheer force of will.

The flames were absorbed bit by bit, and the fire on Ma Hongjun's body slowly weakened.

But Fu Wen was also reaching his limit.

Just then!

A powerful aura descended from afar.

Flender dropped from the sky, the pressure of a seven-ring Soul Saint enveloping the entire field.

Seeing the mess on the playground, his expression changed drastically.

"What is going on?!"

Flender had no time to ask for details; he reached out with both hands, channeling his full Soul Saint soul power to forcibly suppress the flames on Ma Hongjun.

With Flender's intervention, the flames on Ma Hongjun were quickly quelled.

Ma Hongjun's body went limp, and he passed out directly.

Flender caught Ma Hongjun and laid him flat on the ground.

Then he turned his head to look at Fu Wen.

"Xiao Wen, are you alright?"

"I'm fine..."

Fu Wen panted heavily, his face pale, but his eyes remained clear.

"Xiao Pang suddenly lost control just now, and the flames on his body erupted uncontrollably."

"I tried to suppress it with the power of water, but I couldn't hold it back."

Flender's expression was grim.

He crouched down to examine Ma Hongjun's body, his brows furrowed tightly.

"Evil Fire backlash... has it come so soon?"

The commotion here drew Zhao Wuji, Shao Xin, Li Yusong, and Lu Qibin over.

Seeing the state of the playground, they were all stunned.

Half of the thatched shed was burnt, a large section of the teaching building's outer wall was scorched black, and the ground was covered in charred marks.

"What... what happened here?"

Zhao Wuji's eyes widened.

"Xiao Pang's Evil Fire backlashed."

Flender said in a deep voice.

"Backlash?"

Li Yusong pushed up his glasses: "Are you saying his Martial Soul's defect has flared up?"

"Correct."

Flender nodded: "Much faster than I imagined."

"I thought he could hold out for at least ten days or half a month, I didn't expect it to be only three days before..."

He did not continue.

Zhao Wuji squatted down, examined Ma Hongjun's condition, and frowned deeply.

"This child's flames truly have a problem."

"That aura just now was very volatile, very manic, and carried a sense of evil."

"If we don't find a way to solve it soon, it will be very troublesome in the future."

"I know."

Flender sighed: "This is also the place that has always given me a headache."

"The Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul is strong, but if this flaw isn't resolved, it's equivalent to a ticking time bomb."

"It might explode at any moment."

Everyone fell silent.

Ma Hongjun lay on the ground, still in a coma.

His round face still bore the remnants of the painful expression from just a moment ago.

Oscar stood to the side, wanting to speak but hesitating.

He had been frightened just now and had not yet fully recovered.

Fu Wen walked to Flender's side and said in a low voice:

"Dad, the problem with Xiao Pang's evil fire must be solved at the root."

"Relying solely on suppression is not a long-term plan."

"You are right."

Flender nodded: "We will hold a meeting tonight to discuss this issue."

"Everyone, let's think of a way together."

Night.

Shrek Academy, conference room.

Flender sat at the head of the table, while Zhao Wuji, Shao Xin, Li Yusong, and Lu Qibin sat on both sides.

Fu Wen and Oscar were also there, sitting in the corner to listen in.

"You all know the situation."

Flender got straight to the point: "Xiao Pang's Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix, a top-tier beast Martial Soul, but its flaws are also very obvious."

"The evil fire backlash; once it flares up, he loses his reason and cannot control his own flames."

"If Xiao Wen hadn't acted in time today, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Flender looked at Fu Wen, his eyes carrying a trace of lingering fear.

Zhao Wuji tapped the table and spoke up:

"When I was young and traveling across the continent, I saw similar Martial Souls."

"For flame-type Martial Souls, if the purity is insufficient, it is indeed easy for problems to arise."

"But this is the first time I've seen one as severe as Xiao Pang's."

"Is there any way to solve it?"

Flender asked.

"Hard to say."

Zhao Wuji shook his head: "With my current knowledge, I can't think of any good solutions."

"Old Li, what about you?"

Li Yusong pushed up his glasses and pondered for a moment.

"I have seen some records about flame-type Martial Souls in ancient texts."

"To solve the problem of impure flames, the most direct method is to find treasures of the same origin and purify the flames through external force."

"Or, suppress the evil fire by absorbing specific spirit rings."

"But these are all theoretical; they are very difficult to implement in practice."

"Treasures of the same origin? Specific spirit rings?"

Flender's eyes lit up: "What exactly are they?"

"This..."

Li Yusong gave a bitter smile: "The ancient texts don't say."

Flender's expression dimmed once more.

Shao Xin spoke up:

"I believe the most urgent matter isn't solving the Evil Fire problem, but controlling it."

"Xiao Pang is only six years old; he's still young, so the frequency of the Evil Fire's backlash shouldn't be too high."

"We can find a way to suppress it for now, and once we find a solution later, we can resolve it at the root."

"That makes sense."

Flender nodded: "Then how do we suppress it?"

Shao Xin thought for a moment and said:

"Didn't Xiao Wen use the power of water to suppress it today? The results were quite good."

"If Xiao Wen can assist Xiao Pang in his cultivation and use his water power to balance the flames within Xiao Pang's body, might that be effective?"

Flender looked toward Fu Wen.

"Xiao Wen, what do you think?"

Fu Wen was silent for a moment before speaking:

"I can try."

"But the power of water only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."

"To solve the problem fundamentally, we still have to start with Xiao Pang's Martial Soul."

"There are impurities in his flames; as long as we can refine those impurities away, the Evil Fire problem will naturally be solved."

"Easier said than done."

Zhao Wuji shook his head: "How do you refine it? That's something inherent to his Martial Soul."

"There must be a way."

Fu Wen didn't say much more, but his gaze was firm.

He already had a preliminary idea in his mind.

It just wasn't mature enough yet to be spoken aloud.

Flender glanced at Fu Wen and nodded.

"Alright, let's do that for now."

"I will be responsible for Xiao Pang's cultivation alongside Xiao Wen."

"The rest of you, keep an eye out, and if you come up with any ideas, bring them up at any time."

"Meeting adjourned."