An Unusual Fire Phoenix

Sunset Forest was very close to Heaven Dou City.

More than half an hour later, the carriage Lin Rong rode in returned to the gates of the Duke Mansion.

As Lin Rong stepped out of the carriage, a guard at the entrance came forward to report:

"Lord Duke, the child named Ma Hongjun—the one who awakened the Fire Phoenix Martial Soul—arrived at the manor a day ago and has settled in safely."

Lin Rong showed little change in expression as he listened to the guard's report, merely giving a casual order:

"Bring him over. This Duke will see him in the main residence's reception hall."

"Yes, sir!"

In the center of the manor, inside the main residence's reception hall.

Ma Hongjun curiously sized up the boy about his own age before him, thinking:

"Is this the Lord Duke that uncle mentioned? Why is he just a little brat like me?"

"Could it be that Lord Duke is actually the old grandpa beside him, while this kid around my age is his grandson?"

Seated in the place of honor, Lin Rong was likewise curiously studying the slightly plump little boy before him, musing inwardly:

"He isn't as fat as he was described in the novel. After all, he's only six, and he hasn't been exposed to such things yet. His gaze is still utterly innocent; he isn't the Prostitute Phoenix from the novel."

"Not bad. He's good raw material. As long as he is carefully polished, he can be forged into an unparalleled weapon for my use. My efforts will not have been in vain."

Seeing that Ma Hongjun remained silent for a long while, Lin Rong asked first:

"How is it? You awakened Innate Soul Power along with your Martial Soul. Are you happy?"

"Mm-hm!" Ma Hongjun nodded frantically upon hearing that.

"Grandpa Village Chief said that if you awaken soul power, you can become a great person like a Soul Master and live a wealthy, comfortable life."

"And it was only because I awakened soul power that uncle treated me well and let me eat all those delicious things I'd never even seen before."

"The uncle you mentioned is a captain of the guard in my household. You like him very much?" Lin Rong's eyes gleamed sharply at those words.

"Mm! Uncle treats me really well!" Ma Hongjun answered without hesitation.

Lin Rong was very satisfied with that answer.

A six-year-old child who had left his hometown was easily able to develop a dependence on those around him day and night.

Sure enough, in just over two months together, Ma Hongjun had become deeply dependent on the guard from his household.

"Since you like Captain Xu so much, he will be your personal guard from now on."

Since Ma Hongjun depended so heavily on that guard, Lin Rong did not mind going along with the flow.

"Captain Xu is a Soul King. Until you have fully grown, he will protect your safety."

The guard was loyal to Lin Rong. And the more dependent Ma Hongjun became on the guard, the easier it would be to cultivate Ma Hongjun's loyalty to Lin Rong through the guard's words and example.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lin Rong sensed, through Life Sense, that the few soul beasts he had prepared for Ma Hongjun had already been delivered to the courtyard.

Ma Hongjun's Fire Phoenix Martial Soul had arisen through mutation. His phoenix flames were impure, which was why they had produced Evil Fire.

However, the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, which could greatly purify phoenix flames, was still growing within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.

But outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye was the poisonous array laid down by Dugu Bo. Although the special effect of Lin Rong's Vine Dragon Domain, "Life Dragon Soul," could transform poison into life force, he only possessed the cultivation of one ring.

A poison array set by a Titled Douluo was not something the current Lin Rong could contend against.

What was more, every Immortal Grade Medicinal Herb required specialized harvesting and preservation methods. Aside from Tang San, only the Breaking Clan and Ju Hua Guan likely knew the records concerning such matters.

As for telling Dugu Bo how to cure his poison in exchange for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye, that would be no different from placing his life in the hands of an old monster who was neither wholly righteous nor evil and killed without blinking.

Lin Rong would have to be tired of living to do something like that. He did not believe that being a Transmigrator automatically made him the protagonist, nor that he would therefore possess plot armor and recklessly court death at every turn.

Relying on others was worse than relying on himself. The matter of obtaining the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye would have to proceed slowly.

Since the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower could not be obtained anytime soon, he could only have Ma Hongjun absorb the soul rings of soul beasts with Phoenix bloodline, using that Phoenix bloodline to purify his phoenix flames.

As early as two years ago, Lin Rong had ordered Old Butler to send people to capture alive avian soul beasts around four hundred years old that possessed Phoenix bloodline.

Over two years, they had captured a total of five avian soul beasts that met his requirements.

It had to be said that avian soul beasts with Phoenix bloodline were truly beautiful in appearance. Keeping them in the garden was quite pleasing to the eye.

The five avian soul beasts with Phoenix bloodline were:

Red-tailed Kite, four hundred and twelve years old.

Green Feather Sparrow, four hundred and fifteen years old.

White-browed Falcon, four hundred and seventeen years old.

Five-Colored Pheasant, four hundred and twenty-one years old.

Ice Flame Eagle, four hundred and twenty-three years old.

Of them, the Five-Colored Pheasant possessed the richest Phoenix bloodline, and its age was also nearing the so-called maximum age limit for the First Soul Ring—four hundred and twenty-three years.

A pheasant was, in other words, a wild chicken.

Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul had originally mutated from a domestic chicken Martial Soul, so among these five avian soul beasts, the Five-Colored Pheasant was the most suitable one to serve as Ma Hongjun's First Soul Ring.

Naturally, the other four would not go to waste. Lin Rong would have the cooks turn these four soul beasts, along with the Five-Colored Pheasant Ma Hongjun was about to kill, into delicious dishes for Ma Hongjun to eat.

Though it was not as direct as absorbing a soul ring, it could still more or less help purify the Fire Phoenix flames.

This way, all five soul beasts would be put to good use.

Lin Rong had someone hand Ma Hongjun a sharp blade and said to him:

"Go on. That Five-Colored Pheasant has already been knocked unconscious. Kill it and absorb its soul ring, and you'll become a true Soul Master."

Ma Hongjun's Innate Soul Power was rank nine, and more than two months had passed since he awakened his Martial Soul.

As early as a month ago, Ma Hongjun had broken through to rank ten Soul Power by practicing the meditation method taught to him by the Guard. He had long been itching to obtain a soul ring.

Thus, Ma Hongjun obediently accepted the blade and, under the guidance of those around him, struck the Five-Colored Pheasant's vital point in a single blow.

As Ma Hongjun looked at the dark yellow soul ring forming above the Five-Colored Pheasant, an instinctive longing suddenly rose within him, as though urging him to absorb it at once.

"Release your Martial Soul and use it to draw in that soul ring. Then sit cross-legged, focus your mind on your Martial Soul, and absorb and refine the soul ring's power through meditation."

Hearing the voice at his ear, Ma Hongjun no longer hesitated and followed the instructions.

The Five-Colored Pheasant was fully four hundred and twenty-one years old.

In the original story, Tang San had possessed the Mysterious Heaven Skill, yet even absorbing a Datura Serpent soul ring that was nearly four hundred years old had taken him quite some effort.

Ma Hongjun did not have the Mysterious Heaven Skill, and the soul ring he was absorbing was over twenty years older. Naturally, the process of absorbing it was even more difficult.

However, Lin Rong was not worried that Ma Hongjun would explode and die. After all, the Five-Colored Pheasant was exceptionally compatible with Ma Hongjun's Fire Phoenix Martial Soul.

Furthermore, after more than two months of nutritional supplements, Ma Hongjun's physical strength was enough to withstand the impact of the soul ring's power.

At most, the process of absorbing the soul ring would be a little more painful, but it would also temper Ma Hongjun's character.

Watching the pained expression on Ma Hongjun's face as he absorbed the soul ring, Lin Rong thought:

"Only after enduring hardship can one become a qualified blade. Ma Hongjun, don't you dare disappoint me!"