Evil Fire Eruption, Unyielding Will, Turning Evil Fire into a Cultivation Cheat!

"Buzz—"

After the Explosive Flame Falcon died, a yellow Soul Ring slowly appeared before Ji Bai.

Ji Bai studied the Soul Ring with a serious expression. His brows furrowed as he cautiously released his Soul Power, guiding the Soul Ring somewhere away from Ma Hongjun before beginning to absorb it.

These people only possessed strength and no knowledge. He could not be like that; he had to change the situation.

Seeing Ji Bai successfully guide the Soul Ring away on his first attempt, Flender nodded slightly.

After a long while, Ma Hongjun, who had begun absorbing his Soul Ring first, was the first to awaken.

However, something completely beyond Flender's expectations happened in an instant. Purple-red flames suddenly ignited all over Ma Hongjun's body.

"Ah!!!"

Ma Hongjun threw back his head and howled, then collapsed onto the ground with a face full of agony. He immediately began shouting, "Teacher, I feel awful...!"

Flender's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly examined Ma Hongjun's condition.

"Hong Jun, what's wrong with you?!"

The moment he touched Ma Hongjun, Flender was burned by the purple-red flames.

"Hiss!"

He sucked in a sharp breath. Looking at Ma Hongjun engulfed in flames, he was at a complete loss for what to do.

Ma Hongjun's breathing grew more and more ragged. He was drenched in sweat and began writhing across the ground.

"Teacher, I'm in so much pain!"

"Help me!"

Flender frowned deeply as he stared at Ma Hongjun for a long time. Finally, he gritted his teeth. "Hong Jun, bear with it. I'll help you!"

He struck the back of Ma Hongjun's neck with the edge of his hand.

Ma Hongjun instantly passed out, and the purple-red flames on his body visibly weakened.

Seeing this, Flender was overjoyed.

"It worked!"

"But... what is going on?!"

Flender's brows remained tightly furrowed. Only after the purple-red flames on Ma Hongjun's body had completely vanished did he lean closer and examine him from every angle.

"Boom—"

At that moment, Ji Bai also finished absorbing the Explosive Flame Falcon's Soul Ring and broke through his bottleneck. Yet in the next second, even fiercer purple-red flames blazed across his body.

Ji Bai abruptly opened his eyes, and flames seemed to burn within them.

"Crack, crack, crack—"

He pressed one hand to his chest and fell to his hands and knees. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans evaporated in the flames before they could hit the ground.

"Again?!"

Flender was horrified at the sight.

Ma Hongjun had been like this, and now Ji Bai was too. What exactly was happening?!

"Argh!!!"

Ji Bai's eyes turned blood-red as he roared toward the sky, purple-red flames surging upward.

"Buzz!"

A yellow Soul Ring appeared beside him and suddenly flashed.

"Boom!"

The purple-red flames on Ji Bai's body began to gather over his skin, as if his body were once again enveloped in a ball of fire like when the Explosive Flame Falcon had attacked.

In an instant, a fiery tornado burst from his hands and spiraled into the sky.

After releasing his first Soul Skill, a considerable amount of Soul Power was immediately drained from his body, and the purple-red flames weakened significantly as well.

"Whew—"

Feeling the heat in his heart and his body's instinctive urges, Ji Bai sat cross-legged and took deep breaths again and again, doing everything he could to calm himself.

"Hm?"

Flender, who had been observing from the side, was greatly surprised.

Ma Hongjun had completely lost his reason earlier and only knew how to scream. If Flender had not knocked him unconscious, he would likely have continued crying out in agony. Yet Ji Bai had thought of a way to keep himself awake.

After a long while.

Not a trace of purple-red flame remained on Ji Bai's body. He slowly opened his eyes. Within his ruby-like pupils, blazing flames seemed to burn.

"Xiaobai, how are you?"

Flender stepped forward and examined Ji Bai at close range, wanting to find some clue.

"Not very well. It feels like there's a ball of fire in my heart. It's so hot! Right now, I just want to soak in ice!"

Ji Bai kept taking deep breaths. With every breath, the air around him grew scorching hot.

"It seems that your and Hong Jun's Martial Souls... have undergone some unexpected mutation!" Flender said gravely. Seeing that Ji Bai was in far better condition than Ma Hongjun, he felt somewhat relieved.

"Hong Jun had the same thing happen to him just now. He directly fell into a frenzy, and I had to knock him out. I'll carry him. Follow me—we need to get back quickly." As Flender finished speaking, he had already slung Ma Hongjun onto his back.

Ji Bai circulated his Soul Power into his legs and closely followed behind Flender.

One day later, outside Shrek Academy.

Flender rushed straight inside with Ma Hongjun on his back. Ji Bai bent over at the entrance, gasping violently. His Soul Power had been completely exhausted, and fatigue swept through every inch of his muscles.

"Once all my Soul Power is used up and my body is exhausted to the point of collapse, the Evil Fire no longer has the energy to burn. That scorching feeling inside me has disappeared too."

Ji Bai let out a long sigh of relief. At least for now, there was a way to deal with the Evil Fire.

After resting for a while, he finally entered the academy. The first thing he did upon returning to the dormitory was draw himself a bucket of cold water in case he needed it.

However, just as he recovered a bit of strength, Ji Bai felt the Evil Fire showing signs of reigniting.

He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and meditated, carefully sensing the flow of Evil Fire within his body.

Before long, Ji Bai discovered that once he entered a cultivation state, the Evil Fire began accumulating rapidly. When it reached a certain level, it began burning his meridians, accompanied by an immensely powerful desire.

But he also discovered that although the Evil Fire burned his meridians, it also made them tougher and continuously widened them.

As long as he could endure an eruption of Evil Fire and suppress that intense desire, the Evil Fire could completely become a cultivation cheat for him.

Internally tempering his meridians, externally tempering his muscles and bones.

Besides strengthening his body, it could also temper his willpower and enhance his spiritual power.

Restrain desire!

Those four words surfaced in Ji Bai's mind. If he could not even restrain this bit of desire, he would never truly control the Evil Fire, much less become strong!

"I absolutely cannot become a slave to desire!"

Ji Bai suddenly opened his eyes, his expression resolute.

Just then, the dormitory door suddenly opened from outside. Ji Bai looked over and saw Flender standing in the doorway, supporting Ma Hongjun.

"Xiaobai, how are you doing?"

As Flender asked, he also looked Ji Bai over. He found that aside from Ji Bai's somewhat reddened skin, there was nothing unusual about him. He looked nothing like Ma Hongjun in his current bedraggled state.

"I'm still alright." Ji Bai glanced at Ma Hongjun and frowned. "Has he not returned to normal yet?"

Flender said in a deep voice, "After careful study by several of us teachers, we determined that the reason you and Hong Jun lost control after absorbing your Soul Rings was entirely because your Martial Souls underwent some kind of malignant mutation."

"Whenever your Soul Power increases, when you meditate and cultivate, or even when you do nothing at all, that Evil Fire from before will accumulate inside your bodies."

"Once the Evil Fire accumulates to a certain extent, it will burn your bodies and trigger intense desire, making it difficult for you to cultivate with a calm mind. If it becomes serious, you may even self-immolate and die."

"Since your condition is still alright, I can rest easy. I'll first take Hong Jun to deal with the Evil Fire in his body. If what happened before occurs again, or if the heat in your heart becomes unbearable, go find Zhao Wuji and have him take you to deal with the Evil Fire."

With that, Flender turned and left with Ma Hongjun on his back.

Ma Hongjun continued writhing on his back, driven by his body's instincts.

If not for the fact that Ma Hongjun was his personal disciple, Flender would have kicked him away long ago.