The Resolve to Let Go, Part Two

"Make up your mind. Steady yourself," Jodio said, standing and summoning Gold Experience.

After a moment's silence, Flender went to shut the door, plunging the room into complete darkness. Ma Hongjun stood nervously in the middle of the room. A long while later, he felt Jodio press a hand to the top of his head, then slip earplugs into both his ears. Unease gripped him. He didn't know what this so-called fall into corruption would be like, but he knew it was about to begin.

Something whistled through the darkness. Ma Hongjun instinctively raised a hand to strike back, but only felt it slide through something slick. He was about to light a flame to see what it was when he felt someone punch him from behind. Suddenly, everything around him blurred—and seemed to grow brighter.

Flames flared to life, and Ma Hongjun began to shake violently. The figure impaled on his arm was none other than Flender! Impossible! Headmaster Flender was a Soul Sage! How could a mere Soul Elder like him have wounded him?!

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Ma Hongjun immediately assumed it was one of Jodio's tricks. He tried to rein in his emotions, only to find he couldn't suppress his agitation at all. Outside the window, he dimly made out something enormous moving. It looked like the shadow of a savage beast. Had a Spirit Beast done this? Was the academy under attack?

His agitation quickly gave way to delight. In his daze, he felt something bite his leg, but he found no wound. His moods shifted at breakneck speed as the world before his eyes expanded and spun. Then Wildfire erupted. Something was surging out of his back!

The shadow of a pitch-black phoenix rose behind Ma Hongjun. It was like a creature reborn from the ashes, like King Ghidorah breaking free of the ice, like Nidhogg biting through the World Tree's roots and soaring skyward—or like a student who had waited desperately at home finally receiving his acceptance letter. The phoenix struggled out of Ma Hongjun's back, only to shatter with a crash and collapse into black flames once more!

"Crazy Diamond!"

A diamond-patterned humanoid figure, predominantly pink, sprang out from behind Jodio and drove a fist into Ma Hongjun's chest. Ma Hongjun coughed up dark-purple blood in agony. His pupils began to lose focus. He was plainly dying.

"Power! I command you to come out!" Jodio growled. At his command, Crazy Diamond wrenched its arm and fist free. Restorative power surged from both Crazy Diamond and Ma Hongjun's wounds, and then—

Flames engulfed Ma Hongjun, forcing him to bend his legs and curl into a ball. They burned brighter and brighter until they lit the entire room. At first they were black, then black-purple, purple, reddish-purple. Red!

A clear cry rang through the room, and the shadow of Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul appeared behind him again. This time, it was no longer an Evil Fire Phoenix. It was a better, stronger Fire Phoenix!

Ma Hongjun slowly unfolded himself and rose. He stood there in the room, stark naked and utterly cleansed. At that moment, his Dominion Drive felt nobler than ever. He had never felt so clean, so light. It was as refreshing as putting on fresh underwear for the new year, as a pig being blasted clean with a pressure washer after rolling in mud for a week—though pigs didn't actually like that—or as a southerner returning home after half a year in the north, too afraid to use a public bathhouse!

"I can feel how noble my Dominion Drive is. I can feel my Martial Soul's joy," Ma Hongjun declared, clenching his fist proudly.

"Hah! Soul Power at 3,300 horsepower!"

Bright, searing flames lit up Ma Hongjun's arm. They were no longer purplish-red, but a clear, brilliant orange-red. That faint, restless energy no longer clung to them. They had become pure—both violent and gentle!

"Ho ho. Looks like the surgery was a success." Jodio sat down, produced a glass of juice from who knew where, and took a sip.

"Boss!" Ma Hongjun was so happy he almost wanted to cry. It was over. Everything had been resolved, and nothing held him back anymore! Free of distracting thoughts, all he had to do was grow stronger! Of course, Jodio, who had to plan his future development, had rather more to consider.

"Little Ma, yours isn't as big as mine," Jodio said calmly.

"Huh?" Ma Hongjun's brain seemed to freeze. What did that mean? His boss was making no sense again! What was he about to say now? Surely the problem wasn't that Ma Hongjun had failed to grasp his point. This had to be some world-shaking wisdom with a deeper meaning!

"I said yours isn't as big as mine." Jodio gave a smug little chuckle, then got up and opened the door. Sunlight streamed in, revealing the same teasing smiles on all three teachers' faces.

"Too dark," Zhao Wuji judged.

"Too thick," Flender judged.

"That doesn't sound like the descriptions in the erotic novels I've read..." Teacher Shao Xin sounded puzzled. He remembered them being described as monstrously fierce-looking.

"Gah! Little Ao! The boss and the others are possessed! You wretched fiends, I command you to get out of them! Otherwise, I'm ninety—no, a hundred percent sure I'll burn you to cinders!" Ma Hongjun shouted as he rushed out the door. Then a chill swept over him, and he realized something was wrong. Wait—where were his clothes?

"Go put some clothes on. Shrek doesn't take clowns." Jodio came out and kicked Ma Hongjun in the backside.

"Boss! It's entirely that underwear shop's fault! They swore the clothes they sold were fire-resistant! They said they were made from Fire Silkworm silk!" Ma Hongjun hurriedly explained, covering his privates.

"You fool. They said it, and you believed them? Get lost." Jodio no longer had the energy to complain about how ridiculous his brothers had become. They'd been fine at first, but now they were getting more absurd by the day. Sigh. It's all my fault for telling them stories—anime—at night back then. What a headache. Could I ask DeepSeek what to do when you've led the kids astray? Should I start over with a new account or keep going?

"I never imagined the Martial Soul problem could be solved so easily."

Zhao Wuji still looked incredulous. A problem that had plagued Soul Masters for over a hundred thousand years had been solved just like that? With a single punch—

"Crazy Diamond... It sounds like a formidable Spirit Skill, but who would've thought it would be so gentle?" Flender said, stroking his chin.

"How was my acting?"

"Too good, Teacher Flender. The acting world needs you. I was against your decision to retire." Jodio and Flender slapped palms, then exuberantly launched into a goofy Guozhuang dance. Watching the two of them sway their hips and shake their backsides, Zhao Wuji finally lost his composure. Then he...

Joined in! Zhao Wuji actually joined in! Was this the decision his left brain had reached after attacking his right brain and leaving his pointy head in charge of thinking?!

"So you'd actually tested it already?" Zhao Wuji asked in surprise while enthusiastically swaying his hips.

"What else did you think, Teacher? Why do you think we were gone for so many days? We were testing it!" Jodio swung his arms wide and turned, his expression solemn.

"But while it's true we ran the tests without telling Little Ma, it's also true that I wanted to see his resolve. However!"

"No matter what, I was going to solve this before Little Ma reached level thirty-five. That was my bottom line!"

...To be continued.

Gao Weis—JoJo! (Coin drops.) (Part Five JoJo transition music.)

Information currently available:

Martial Soul: Phoenix Legend / Fire Phoenix (level 33)

Holder: Ma Hongjun

Spirit Rings: Yellow, yellow, purple (1,300-year-old Blazing Shadow Tiger)

Destructive power: B+; speed: B; range: D; stamina: D+; precision: D; growth potential: A

Martial Soul ability: Summons roaring flames and the shadow of a phoenix to envelop the user, enhancing attack power and speed. However, this Martial Soul cannot sustain its power for long; it is better suited to hit-and-run combat.

Flame Scorching Guard halves the impact of attacks against the user and increases the range of the flames. The second Spirit Skill, Phoenix Burst Charge, doubles the user's speed for a short time and leaves lingering trails of fire in their wake. The latest third Spirit Skill, Phoenix Nebula Split, boasts outstanding speed and offensive power. It is currently this Martial Soul's most damaging skill.

Now that the Martial Soul has been repaired, its former drawbacks have vanished completely, and its growth potential has risen further. In theory, every Spirit Skill should become more powerful and effective, perhaps proving capable of even more.