Fire Resistance Takes Shape, the Fatty Gives Thanks

"Tang San, what happened to your hand?"

Xiao Wu helped him inside. The moment she looked down, she saw black light seeping from his left palm.

Tang San immediately clenched his fist and hid his hand behind his back.

"It's nothing. The heat caught me off guard just now."

Xiao Wu didn't believe him and reached for his hand.

"Let me see."

Tang San dodged her hand. His face looked even worse than before.

"Xiao Wu, I'm really fine."

Dai Mubai stood in the doorway, staring at Tang San's left hand with a frown.

"You used your left hand when you fought Zhao Wuji yesterday, too. What exactly is it?"

Ning Rongrong had already sat down by the bed, but she looked up at once.

"Another trump card? Tang San, you've been hiding quite a lot."

Tang San offered no explanation.

He couldn't tell them about the Clear Sky Hammer.

Hidden in the sole of Tang San's shoe, Ji Yuan didn't want it exposed either.

The Evil Fire had stirred the Clear Sky Hammer's source because Ji Yuan had used Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill Inner Force and the remnants of the hammer's source to suppress the flames, bringing the two powers briefly into contact.

If Dai Mubai kept pressing, the trouble would only grow.

Ji Yuan immediately drew away the Soul Power near Tang San's left hand, forcing the black light back into the depths of his palm.

Tang San swayed, then took the chance to sit on the bed.

Xiao Wu hurriedly steadied him.

"See? And you said you were fine!"

"I'm just exhausted," Tang San said quietly.

Dai Mubai watched him for a while, but finally asked no more.

"Fine. If you don't want to say, forget it. Everyone has secrets."

Ning Rongrong gave a soft snort.

"If you have too many secrets, how are your teammates supposed to trust you?"

Xiao Wu turned and glared at her.

"It's not like you've told us everything about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

Ning Rongrong rose to her feet.

"My Martial Soul is right there for anyone to see."

Xiao Wu shot back, "And your spoiled young-lady temper is written all over your face. Who's supposed to put up with that?"

Ning Rongrong's expression changed.

Dai Mubai quickly cut in.

"That's enough, both of you. Today's been chaotic enough."

Leaning against the doorframe, Zhu Zhuqing said coldly, "Resting would be better than arguing."

Only then did the room fall quiet.

Tang San sat cross-legged and tried to circulate the Mysterious Heaven Skill to calm his left hand.

Ji Yuan didn't drain him too fiercely. He intercepted only the lingering fiery energy Tang San circulated and sent it all back to the Demon Vine's main body.

Late that night, the others settled down to rest.

Tang San's breathing grew steady.

Only then did Ji Yuan unfurl his charred vines within the sole of the shoe.

He had pressed the Evil Fire's source beside his core. Around it, White Tiger blood essence had formed a hard membrane, while Seven Treasure Glazed Tile essence kept the energy balanced within, and the chill from the water source cooled it.

He began refining it.

The charred outer layers peeled away one by one. Fiery red patterns emerged beneath the new vine skin, and fibers that once curled at the slightest heat could now absorb a little warmth on their own.

Ji Yuan extended a slender vine toward the oil lamp on the table, its flame nearly spent.

The flame licked the vine's tip.

There was no smell of burning.

The tip merely turned red, then slowly drew the heat inside.

Ji Yuan spread his roots in silent satisfaction.

It worked.

He still couldn't withstand a powerful blaze, but ordinary flames could no longer hurt him.

Ma Hongjun, this walking supply of fire-attribute blood, had to be kept around for the long haul.

Whenever his Evil Fire flared up in the future, Ji Yuan could siphon off part of its Flame Origin.

Ma Hongjun got relief.

Ji Yuan evolved.

Tang San took the blame.

Perfect.

Sure enough, Ma Hongjun came early the next morning.

He carried a bag of steaming buns in one hand and several pieces of smoked meat in the other. When he reached Tang San's door, he wore an ingratiating smile.

"Tang San, are you awake?"

Xiao Wu opened the door and immediately blocked his way.

"What are you doing here?"

Ma Hongjun raised the bag.

"Making amends. Breakfast is on me."

Xiao Wu eyed him suspiciously.

"You didn't poison it with fire toxin, did you?"

Ma Hongjun pulled a miserable face.

"Please, have mercy. After all that happened to me, you're still taking shots?"

Oscar poked his head out from behind her.

"Fatty, where'd you get those buns? The cafeteria isn't serving them today."

Ma Hongjun glared at him.

"I bought them with my own money to help my big brother recover."

Oscar immediately clutched his chest.

"You call Tang San your big brother? What about me? After all these years together, you won't even give me a bun?"

Ma Hongjun stuffed a bun into his mouth.

"That'll shut you up."

Oscar was satisfied at once.

Tang San got out of bed. His color still hadn't fully returned.

"Ma Hongjun, you don't have to do this."

Ma Hongjun held out the buns and said earnestly, "If it weren't for you yesterday, I'd have caused trouble again. Maybe it's better that Cuihua left. At least I didn't hurt her any worse."

Tang San accepted a bun.

"Next time the Evil Fire rises, go to the headmaster or Dai Mubai first. Don't go to the village again."

Ma Hongjun nodded.

"I know, but the headmaster can't watch me every day. Tang San, could you teach me some of what you did?"

Tang San shook his head.

"That takes long practice. You can't learn it in a day or two."

Ma Hongjun looked disappointed, but he still smiled. "Then if it gets bad again, can I come to you for help? I won't ask for free. I'll buy you meals."

Xiao Wu cut in at once.

"Tang San isn't your fire extinguisher."

Ma Hongjun hurriedly waved his hands.

"No, no. I really didn't mean it like that."

Listening from the shadows, Ji Yuan reinforced the flame node through the water-source Spores inside Ma Hongjun.

The fatty's willingness to approach Tang San suited him perfectly.

It was a furnace delivering itself to his door.

Dai Mubai came over too and patted Ma Hongjun on the shoulder.

"Don't cling to him. Tang San was hurt badly yesterday too."

Ma Hongjun scratched his head.

"I know. That's why I bought breakfast."

Ning Rongrong emerged from the room. At the sight of the bag of buns, she raised an eyebrow. "You actually know how to apologize?"

Ma Hongjun glanced at her.

"Are you eating, my lady?"

Ning Rongrong meant to refuse, but the smell made her hesitate.

Xiao Wu picked one up and pushed it into her hand.

"Eat. Drop the airs, or you won't have the strength to train later."

Ning Rongrong took the bun with a soft snort.

"It's not that I lack strength. I just don't like plain fare."

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing. She took a bun and stood off to the side.

Ma Hongjun relaxed when he saw her eat it.

"Good, good. Even Zhu Qing's eating one. At least I didn't waste my money today."

Dai Mubai was about to speak when Zhu Zhuqing looked up.

"Don't act so familiar."

The words died on Dai Mubai's lips. He could only turn and look at the sky.

Oscar bit into his bun, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

The commotion had barely started when Flender's voice rang out from the training ground.

"Everyone out here! Assemble!"

When they reached the training ground, Zhao Wuji was there too.

The swelling around his eyes still hadn't gone down, and his sunglasses sat even more firmly in place.

Xiao Wu took one look and held back a laugh.

Zhao Wuji gave a cold snort.

"Rabbit girl, laugh again and you're running extra laps."

Xiao Wu immediately looked elsewhere.

Flender swept his gaze over the group, pausing briefly on Ma Hongjun.

"Fatty, we'll settle yesterday's score later. Class comes first today."

Ma Hongjun shrank back.

"Headmaster, I know I was wrong."

Flender ignored him and turned to Oscar.

"Oscar, step forward."

Oscar immediately puffed out his chest.

"Headmaster, is it finally my turn to show what I can do?"

Flender adjusted his glasses.

"Today's lesson is simple. Every one of you must eat a sausage Oscar makes."

Ning Rongrong's face fell at once.

"Didn't we eat them yesterday?"

Flender looked at her.

"Yesterday was to show you they were edible. Today is to get you used to them."

Xiao Wu looked miserable too.

"Headmaster, can we do a different lesson?"

Zhao Wuji sneered from the side.

"On a battlefield, do you get to be picky about the taste?"

Ma Hongjun didn't mind.

"I'll go first."

Oscar was deeply moved.

"Fatty, when it counts, you're the one who's got my back."

Ma Hongjun held out his hand.

"Less talk. Hurry up."

Oscar cleared his throat.

"I Have a Big Sausage!"

Ning Rongrong turned her face away.

Xiao Wu covered her ears.

Zhu Zhuqing's brow twitched, but she didn't step back.

Ma Hongjun took the sausage, ate it in a few bites, and patted his belly.

"Tastes good."

Oscar immediately looked at Ning Rongrong.

"Ning Rongrong, even Fatty says it's good."

Ning Rongrong's face turned cold.

"He'll eat anything."

Flender called out a name.

"Tang San."

Tang San stepped forward and took the sausage.

After eating one yesterday, he could suppress his aversion and bite into it without hesitation.

The sausage dissolved, and life energy entered his body.

Ji Yuan was already waiting.

His Spore network spread out, and he siphoned off most of the healing energy, sending it first to the places scorched by the Evil Fire the night before.

The fiery red patterns met the life energy, and the charred traces swiftly faded.

Ji Yuan's innate ability to heal pushed to a new level.

Tang San felt his injuries healing, but the effect fell noticeably short of what Oscar had claimed.

He frowned.

Oscar grew anxious.

"Tang San, don't tell me the effect's just so-so again. You'll make me question my whole life."

Tang San thought for a moment.

"Better than yesterday."

Only then did Oscar breathe a sigh of relief.

Ji Yuan coldly swallowed the life energy.

Of course it was better than yesterday.

Yesterday, he had been busy suppressing the fire and had left Tang San very little.

Today, to keep Oscar producing sausages, he had deliberately left him a few scraps.

Xiao Wu took a sausage and glared at Oscar as she ate.

"Could you chant a little more quietly next time?"

Oscar said earnestly, "I'll try."

Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth and finished hers, reluctance written all over her face.

Zhu Zhuqing ate last, wasting no time.

Through the nodes inside each of them, Ji Yuan extracted most of the sausage's energy. At the same time, he observed the fluctuations of Oscar's Martial Soul as he made the sausages.

Food-type Soul Power gathered in Oscar's palm. Unlike an ordinary Soul Skill, it transformed Soul Power into life-restoring energy the body could absorb directly.

This was no medicinal herb.

It was a renewable resource he could produce again and again.

Ji Yuan committed Oscar's fluctuations to memory.

If he could unravel the healing principle within them, his Demon Vine could recover even faster after being severed.

Flender nodded with satisfaction when everyone finished eating.

"Starting today, Oscar's sausages will be part of every training session. Anyone who refuses gets extra training."

Ning Rongrong clenched her teeth.

"Dean, this is torture."

Flender looked at her.

"You can think of it that way."

Ning Rongrong was too furious to speak.

Ma Hongjun sidled up to Tang San and whispered, "Big Brother, if you don't like them, I'll eat yours."

Xiao Wu stamped on the top of his foot.

"Who's your big brother?"

Ma Hongjun hopped in pain.

"Can't I call him that?"

Tang San watched them helplessly, feeling a rare moment of relief.

But he failed to notice that the Demon Vine deep beneath his shoe had already swallowed most of the healing energy he had just consumed.

Ji Yuan's fiery red patterns settled completely.

He extended a thin vine and quietly pressed it against a wooden post at the edge of the training ground, charred by Ma Hongjun's flames.

He drew the lingering heat into the vine without suffering a mark.

Ji Yuan was about to retract his root when Oscar raised his hand again to make another sausage.

This time, through the water-source Spores inside Oscar's body, Ji Yuan saw a Life Ripple deeper within.

The ripple was taking shape over and over in the core of Oscar's Martial Soul.

Ji Yuan's feeding pore opened without a sound.

Before the next sausage even left Oscar's hand, his face went pale. He looked down at his palm and muttered, "Strange. Why does it feel like this sausage is missing something?"