On the other side, at the edge of the forest near Shrek.
Flender wore a grim expression as he hurried through the bushes with Ma Hongjun, searching for a suitable fire-attributed Soul Beast.
Thinking of Su Ming's stubbornly aloof expression before they left, Flender felt a surge of frustration at seeing a promising student go astray.
He stopped and said earnestly to Ma Hongjun, "Hongjun, you saw it today too. Su Ming is far too full of himself!"
"The Martial Soul Theory that has been passed down through the Soul Master World for ten thousand years—how could a six-year-old child who's only just awakened his Martial Soul possibly comprehend it?"
"He refuses to follow the proper path and insists on pursuing some evil attribute. In a few years, after absorbing that Soul Ring, the Evil Fire in his body will completely spiral out of control and ruin him! You mustn't follow his example. Understand?"
Ma Hongjun immediately thumped his chest and promised loudly, "Don't worry, teacher! I'm not as foolish as he is!"
"If he won't listen to your guidance, he won't even know what killed him when the time comes!"
"I'll listen to you and focus on fire attributes! Once I get a powerful fire Soul Ring, I'll become a true Golden Phoenix. That arrogant fool will be green with envy!"
"Haha, good! That's my fine disciple!"
Hearing Ma Hongjun's declaration, Flender's gloomy face finally broke into a satisfied smile.
"Come on. Today, I'll hunt down the most suitable fire-attributed Soul Ring for you!"
Three days later.
Ma Hongjun finished hunting for a Soul Ring and returned to the dormitory.
The moment he got back, Ma Hongjun hurried over to Su Ming to show off his accomplishment, without even brushing the dust off himself.
"Su Ming, come look at my First Soul Ring!"
Ma Hongjun shouted. His body shuddered, and a burst of reddish-yellow flames suddenly erupted from within him.
Although, after Martial Soul Possession, he still looked like a fat grass chicken, the flames were undeniably hot.
Right after, a bright yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet.
Ma Hongjun lifted his chin, his face brimming with pride. "My First Soul Skill is called Phoenix Fire Line! It's pure, explosive flame. It can char a whole tree in an instant! Teacher says I'm an absolute genius in the Power Attack System!"
At that moment, Su Ming was sitting on a wooden chair in the dormitory, flipping through a book.
Hearing Ma Hongjun's boast, he didn't even raise his eyes. His response was cool and perfunctory. "Oh. That's nice."
When Ma Hongjun saw Su Ming's reaction, his excited expression immediately stiffened.
He'd expected Su Ming to look envious or shocked. After all, his Soul Skill was incredible, and he was following the most proper fire-attribute path.
But Su Ming acted as if he'd heard about something trivial, which left Ma Hongjun feeling irritated.
Still, Ma Hongjun could keep his temper.
Suppressing his annoyance, he put on a deliberately concerned expression. "Su Ming, what does your evil-attribute First Soul Skill do? Tell me about it."
At that question, Su Ming finally lifted his head and looked at Ma Hongjun.
He made no effort to hide it and answered in an even tone. "My First Soul Skill is called Evil Fire Chaos Origin."
"Evil Fire Chaos Origin? What does it do?" Ma Hongjun asked.
Su Ming explained, "It's simple. When my evil flames touch an enemy, they instantly ignite the energy inside their body, throwing their Soul Power into disarray and disrupting their ability to gather it for a short time."
Su Ming continued, "At the same time, the Evil Fire clings to the opponent like a parasite, constantly devouring and plundering their Soul Power, then feeding it back to me."
Ma Hongjun only understood part of what he heard.
For a six-year-old like him, talk of chaotic energy and reversed meridians sounded too mysterious. It wasn't at all easy to picture.
So Ma Hongjun frowned and asked what he thought was the most important question. "What about its attack power? Can it smash a tree as thick as a bowl with one punch, like mine can?"
Su Ming knew what kind of answer the chubby boy wanted to hear.
He smiled faintly and said two words. "It can't."
At that answer, Ma Hongjun immediately puffed up with pride.
He stuck out his belly, put his hands on his hips, and burst into laughter. "I knew it! It can only devour and throw things into disarray, with no direct attack power. That's just not good enough! In a Soul Master battle, explosive power is what counts!"
Ma Hongjun walked over to Su Ming, patted him on the shoulder, and said smugly, "Su Ming, take it from a friend: it's not too late to turn back now."
"Give up that evil attribute early and focus on training with fire under Teacher Flender. That's the right path."
"But don't worry. If anyone picks on you in the future, just tell them you're Ma Hongjun's friend. I'll have your back!"
Seeing him like this, Su Ming couldn't be bothered to say more.
Time would reveal who was right and who was wrong.
The days at the academy flew by.
During the day, Su Ming followed his routine: attending lessons, eating on time, and taking part in physical training.
There was nothing to fault in his daily conduct.
Flender saw all of this and assumed Su Ming had repented, which pleased him greatly.
"It's just a shame he wasted his First Soul Ring."
But it didn't matter. As long as Su Ming absorbed a fire-attributed Soul Ring for his second one, he could still be brought back to the proper path.
What Flender didn't know was that Su Ming was a well-behaved boy by day and a rebellious youth by night.
Every night.
When Ma Hongjun's thunderous snores rang through the dormitory, Su Ming would sit cross-legged on his bed alone, madly circulating Evil Devour through his body in the darkness.
Night after night, the evil-attribute power tirelessly gnawed away at the vast fire-attribute source within him.
As the devouring continued, the disturbances caused by the Evil Fire had almost disappeared. His Martial Soul had grown colder, purer, and more steeped in evil.
In the blink of an eye, two years and eight months passed.
At last, on this day, the meridians inside Su Ming's body trembled violently.
His Soul Power quietly broke through its old bottleneck and reached level twenty!
On the very day he broke through to level twenty, Flender summoned Su Ming to the dean's office.
When Su Ming pushed open the office door, Flender was seated behind his desk.
Seeing Su Ming walk in, Flender set down what he was holding and swept his gaze over him like a hawk.
"Su Ming, congratulations on reaching level twenty."
"Thank you, Dean," Su Ming replied calmly.
Flender nodded and continued, "You and Ma Hongjun both had innate Soul Power of level nine, and you both have the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul. Yet Ma Hongjun is still stuck at level eighteen, while you've already reached level twenty. I've seen how hard you've worked over the past two years."
"Thank you, Dean." Su Ming's expression didn't change. He knew Flender must have called him in for something else.
Sure enough, Flender's expression gradually darkened.
He stared hard at Su Ming, his eyes sharp as blades. "Tell me honestly. Are you still secretly cultivating that evil attribute?"