Royal Invitation?

Flender looked at his disciple like this, his face livid, his fists clenched until they crackled.

"Karma Fire Phoenix... Good. Very good..."

He drew a deep breath and was about to say something when Ma Hongjun suddenly sat up from the table.

"Teacher..."

Ma Hongjun's voice was hoarse. "What... what am I supposed to do from now on?"

Flender froze.

Ma Hongjun lowered his head to look at the charred black patch around his crotch, his voice trembling. "You said... this Evil Fire, now that the root is gone, will it... will it still flare up?"

Flender opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.

He suddenly realized an even more serious problem.

Ma Hongjun had used to deal with his Evil Fire by going to brothels.

Now that even his root was gone, once the Evil Fire acted up, what could he use to vent it?

Soul Power would build up in his body and burn his internal organs.

That would be even worse than death.

Ma Hongjun had clearly thought of that too. The color drained from his chubby face at a visible rate. His lips trembled, and tears welled in his eyes.

"Teacher... will being alive... be worse than dying?"

Flender fell silent.

He did not know how to answer that question either.

Just then, heavy footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard.

"What's going on? Why are you making such a racket in the middle of the night? Are you going to let anyone sleep or not?"

A burly figure strode into the courtyard. Under the moonlight, a square, rugged face was revealed.

It was Shrek Academy's other teacher, Zhao Wuji, the Immovable Bright King.

The moment he reached the center of the courtyard, he saw Ma Hongjun curled into a ball atop the wooden table, along with the horrifyingly charred black patch around his crotch.

Zhao Wuji halted, his brows knotting together. "What happened to Fatty?"

Flender kept a grim face and said nothing.

Dai Mubai quietly recounted what had happened.

The more Zhao Wuji listened, the uglier his expression became. By the end, he slammed his palm onto the broken wooden table beside him.

"Fuck! What brat was that? How could he be so ruthless?!"

Zhao Wuji's tiger-like eyes widened as Soul Power surged uncontrollably around him, making the ground faintly tremble.

"Old Flender, tell me where that Karma Fire Phoenix is. I'll go twist his head off right now!"

Flender raised a hand to stop him. "What's the rush? Even if you go now, you don't know where he is."

"Then what do you suggest? We're just letting this go?!"

Zhao Wuji pointed at Ma Hongjun, curled up on the wooden table. "Look at the state Fatty's in! That little bastard meant to cripple him! Can you swallow this insult?"

Flender was silent for two seconds, his gaze sinister. "I can't swallow it, but we still have to find him first."

He paused and looked at Dai Mubai. "Mubai, are you sure that Karma Fire Phoenix used a Phoenix martial soul?"

Dai Mubai nodded. "I'm sure. His flames were reddish-gold, more than a level stronger than Fatty's Evil Fire."

"Reddish-gold..."

Flender narrowed his eyes and paced around the courtyard twice. Then he suddenly stopped, a flicker of alarm and suspicion flashing through his eyes.

But he immediately shook his head with a self-mocking smile.

He was overthinking it. That person had died long ago. How could he possibly be that Karma Fire Phoenix?

Besides, the color of their martial soul flames and their hair colors did not match. It was absolutely impossible.

Seeing Flender brood for so long without reacting, Zhao Wuji grew anxious. "Old Flender, say something already! Are we doing him or not?"

"It's always been us bullying others. When has anyone ever had the right to bully us?"

"Do my ass!"

Flender abruptly stopped and glared at him. "Do you know where that Karma Fire Phoenix came from? A Soul Ancestor with two purple and two black Soul Rings, whose flames can suppress the Evil Fire Phoenix—do you believe someone like that has no backing?"

Zhao Wuji was left speechless. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Ma Hongjun lay on the wooden table, looking at Flender with tear-filled eyes. "Teacher... are we not avenging me?"

"We will. Of course we will."

Flender drew a deep breath, his expression dark. "But not now. That Karma Fire Phoenix is at the height of his fame right now. The strong people around him will definitely be watching him closely at all times."

"If we want to make a move, we have to wait until this wave of attention dies down."

As he spoke, he turned to Ma Hongjun, his tone softening. "Hongjun, focus on recovering these next few days. Teacher Shao Xin may not be able to cure the root of the problem, but at least he can get you back on your feet."

Ma Hongjun nodded miserably, then looked down at the charred black patch around his crotch again. Tears immediately began to fall once more.

"Teacher, how am I supposed to go to the toilet from now on?"

Flender said, "If you can't do it standing, squat."

Ma Hongjun said, "Wuwuwu..."

Dai Mubai stood to the side, watching Ma Hongjun in this state. The corner of his mouth twitched, but he ultimately could not hold it in. "Fatty, stop crying. When we get the chance, I'll beat that kid up for you."

"What good would beating him up do?!"

Ma Hongjun cried even harder. "Mine is gone! Can beating him up make it grow back?!"

Dai Mubai said, "Fair point."

Zhao Wuji scratched his head, looked at Flender, then at Ma Hongjun, and after holding it in for a long time, finally managed to say:

"Fatty, look on the bright side. When your Evil Fire flares up in the future, at least you won't have to spend money at brothels anymore."

Ma Hongjun: "???"

Flender: "...Zhao Wuji, shut the fuck up."

The next day, at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Ye Feng sat cross-legged beside the spring, reddish-gold flames roiling around him as his fourth Soul Ring slowly revolved beneath him.

His eyes were closed, his spiritual power sunk into his sea of consciousness as he consolidated the remnant soul of the Blazing Flame Phoenix he had just absorbed.

Suddenly, his brow rose and he opened his eyes.

A dark green figure silently appeared behind him, standing with his hands behind his back. It was none other than Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo.

"Young Master, you're certainly in the mood." Dugu Bo stroked his beard, his tone carrying a hint of teasing. "The rumors outside have gone mad. They say you knocked down that kid from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family with one punch, then castrated Shrek's fat chicken. Now all of Heaven Dou City is asking about your name."

Without turning his head, Ye Feng withdrew the flames in his palm and casually said, "They brought it on themselves."

"Hehe, that much is true."

Dugu Bo walked to his side, took out a gilded invitation from his sleeve, and casually handed it over. "But someone has come knocking."

Ye Feng took the invitation and opened it. His brows rose slightly.

"A palace banquet?"

"Yes, an invitation from the Heaven Dou Empire royal family."

Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back, his tone calm. "They specifically invited Young Master, and they also want to invite Yanyan and Miss Bing'er."

Ye Feng closed the invitation and tapped its cover with his fingers, a trace of amusement appearing on his face.

"The royal family? How do they know about my relationship with you?"

The corner of Dugu Bo's mouth twitched as he gave a dry laugh. "Young Master, you go in and out of the spirit fighting arena with that girl Yanyan every day. The Heaven Dou City royal family's spies could still make a guess."

Ye Feng paused, then understood.

He had indeed often entered and left with Dugu Yan during this period, and Dugu Yan was the Poison Douluo's granddaughter.

Following that thread, it was hardly surprising that the royal family could guess he was connected to Dugu Bo.