A cool energy surged into Ma Hongjun's body, trying to suppress the rampaging Evil Fire.
The flames were subdued a little, but soon surged back.
Ma Hongjun's flames were too fierce. Fu Wen was only at level sixteen and couldn't suppress them.
"Damn it!"
Fu Wen gritted his teeth and increased the flow of Soul Power.
The two forces collided inside Ma Hongjun, stirring up violent waves of energy.
Ma Hongjun let out a roar and wrenched himself free of Fu Wen's hands.
Flames burst from his body, spreading in every direction!
Several spots on the training ground caught fire.
"Xiao Wen! Look out!"
Oscar rushed over to help, but as a food-type Soul Master, there was nothing he could do.
"Back off!" Fu Wen shouted.
He charged forward again. This time, he wasn't trying to suppress the flames—he was going to absorb them!
The Innate Divine Crocodile Art surged into full operation, drawing the flames spilling from Ma Hongjun's body into Fu Wen's own.
It was no easy process.
The Evil Fire's energy was violent and tainted with an evil quality. Once inside Fu Wen, it rampaged through his body.
Fu Wen's face turned pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
But he didn't let go.
Through clenched teeth, he forced himself to endure it.
The flames were absorbed little by little, and the fire around Ma Hongjun gradually weakened.
But Fu Wen was nearing his limit too.
Just then!
A powerful presence swept in from afar.
Flender descended from the sky, and the pressure of a Seven-Ring Soul Sage blanketed the entire area.
Seeing the devastation across the training ground, his expression changed drastically.
"What happened?!"
Flender had no time to ask for details. He thrust out both hands and unleashed the full power of a Seven-Ring Soul Sage, forcibly suppressing the flames around Ma Hongjun.
With Flender's help, the flames around Ma Hongjun were quickly quelled.
Ma Hongjun's body went limp, and he fainted on the spot.
Flender caught him and laid him flat on the ground.
Then he turned to Fu Wen.
"Xiao Wen, are you all right?"
"I'm fine..."
Fu Wen panted heavily. His face was pale, but his eyes were still clear.
"Xiao Pang suddenly lost control. Flames burst from his body without warning."
"I tried to suppress them with Water Power, but it didn't work."
Flender's expression was grim.
He crouched down to examine Ma Hongjun, his brows knitting tightly.
"Evil Fire backlash... It came this soon?"
The commotion drew Zhao Wuji, Shao Xin, Li Yusong, and Lu Qibin over.
The four of them stared at the wreckage on the training ground, dumbfounded.
Half the thatched shed had burned down. A large section of the classroom building's outer wall was black with soot, and charred marks covered the ground.
"W-what happened here?"
Zhao Wuji's eyes widened.
"Xiao Pang suffered an Evil Fire backlash," Flender said gravely.
"Backlash?"
Li Yusong pushed up his glasses. "You mean the defect in his Martial Soul has flared up?"
"That's right."
Flender nodded. "Much sooner than I expected."
"I thought he could hold out for at least ten days or half a month. I didn't expect it to happen after only three days..."
He trailed off.
Zhao Wuji crouched down to check on Ma Hongjun, his brow furrowed deeply.
"There's definitely something wrong with this kid's flames."
"That energy just now was violent—wild, even—and tainted with an evil quality."
"If we don't find a solution soon, this will become a serious problem."
"I know."
Flender sighed. "It's been a constant headache for me too."
"The Evil Fire Phoenix is powerful, but if we can't fix this flaw, it's a ticking time bomb."
"Who knows when it'll go off."
Everyone fell silent.
Ma Hongjun lay unconscious on the ground.
His round face still bore the traces of pain.
Oscar stood nearby, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
He'd been badly shaken, and still hadn't quite recovered.
Fu Wen walked over to Flender and spoke quietly:
"Dad, we have to get to the root of Xiao Pang's Evil Fire problem."
"Just suppressing it won't work in the long run."
"You're right."
Flender nodded. "Let's hold a meeting tonight and discuss it."
"We'll all think of a solution together."
That night.
The meeting room at Shrek Academy.
Flender sat at the head of the table, with Zhao Wuji, Shao Xin, Li Yusong, and Lu Qibin seated on either side.
Fu Wen and Oscar were there too, listening from a corner.
"You all know what happened."
Flender got straight to the point. "Xiao Pang's Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix, a top-tier Beast Martial Soul, but its flaw is just as obvious."
"When the Evil Fire backlash strikes, he loses his reason and can't control his flames."
"If Xiao Wen hadn't stepped in in time today, the consequences would have been unthinkable."
Flender looked at Fu Wen, a hint of lingering fear in his eyes.
Zhao Wuji tapped the table and spoke up:
"When I was young, I traveled the continent and saw Martial Souls like this."
"Flame-type Martial Souls can indeed develop problems if their fire isn't pure enough."
"But this is the first time I've seen a case as severe as Xiao Pang's."
"Is there any way to solve it?" Flender asked.
"Hard to say."
Zhao Wuji shook his head. "With what I know, I can't think of a good solution."
"What about you, Li?"
Li Yusong pushed up his glasses and pondered for a moment.
"I've read some accounts of flame-type Martial Souls in ancient books."
"The most direct way to deal with impure flames is to find a heavenly treasure of the same origin and refine the flames with outside help."
"Another option is to absorb a specific Soul Ring to suppress the Evil Fire."
"But those are just theories. They'd be difficult to put into practice."
"A heavenly treasure of the same origin? A specific Soul Ring?"
Flender's eyes lit up. "What exactly?"
"Well..."
Li Yusong gave a wry smile. "The ancient books didn't say."
Flender's expression dimmed again.
Shao Xin spoke up:
"I don't think solving the Evil Fire problem is our most urgent task. We need to control it first."
"Xiao Pang is only six. He's still young, so the backlash probably won't happen too often."
"We can first find a way to suppress it. Once we find a solution, we can address the root of the problem."
"That makes sense."
Flender nodded. "Then how do we suppress it?"
Shao Xin thought for a moment before answering:
"Didn't Xiao Wen suppress it with Water Power today? It worked pretty well."
"If Xiao Wen could train alongside Xiao Pang and use his Water Power to balance the flames inside him, might that help?"
Flender looked at Fu Wen.
"Xiao Wen, what do you think?"
Fu Wen was silent for a moment before replying:
"I can try."
"But Water Power can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause."
"To solve this from the ground up, we still have to focus on Xiao Pang's Martial Soul."
"There are impurities in his flames. If we can refine them away, the Evil Fire problem will naturally be solved."
"Easier said than done."
Zhao Wuji shook his head. "How are you going to refine them? They're part of the Martial Soul itself."
"There has to be a way."
Fu Wen said no more, but his gaze was resolute.
He already had a rough idea in mind.
It just wasn't fully formed yet, so he couldn't share it.
Flender glanced at Fu Wen and nodded.
"All right. We'll do that for now."
"Xiao Pang's training will be my responsibility, along with Xiao Wen's."
"The rest of you, keep an eye out. If you think of anything, bring it up."
"Meeting adjourned."
Before you continue