Douluo Dalu 1: The Tang Family Rebel

Xiao Wu snorted, "What's going on? Ask him. This fat guy was bullying a girl in broad daylight. We couldn't just stand by and decided to teach him a lesson."

Dai Mubai suddenly couldn't help but chuckle. "Xiao Wu, I think you misunderstood. Miss Cuihua, you can't stand him anymore either?"

Cuihua's face flushed red. She nodded and turned around to run away.

This time, Ma Hongjun didn't try to stop her. He just stood there with a look of dejection.

Tang San walked up to Dai Mubai with a puzzled expression. "What exactly is going on here?"

Dai Mubai glanced at Ma Hongjun. "Do you want to explain, or should I do it for you?"

Ma Hongjun shot a glance at Dai Mubai, lowered his head, and muttered, "You do it."

Dai Mubai burst into laughter. "What's this? The fat guy actually knows how to feel embarrassed? Alright, I'll explain."

Turning to Tang San and Xiao Wu, he said, "Remember when I told you that, including myself, the academy only has three students?"

Tang San immediately understood. "You mean, he is…"

Dai Mubai nodded. "Yes, this fat guy is the third student, the latest one to join the academy before you two. I didn't see what happened just now, but I can pretty much guess. Actually, you can't really blame him—it's all because of his mutant martial soul."

"Bullshit! Your martial soul is a useless chicken! My martial soul is a phoenix. Even if my ancestors' martial souls were all chickens, mine is still a phoenix. Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'even a straw nest can produce a golden phoenix'?" Ma Hongjun grumbled.

Dai Mubai kept smiling. "Alright, alright, let's call it a phoenix. Tang San, this fat guy's martial soul is very unusual. The headmaster says it's a mutated martial soul."

"A mutated martial soul? Which martial souls combined to cause the mutation?" Tang San asked. He had learned a lot about martial soul mutations from his teacher. Once a martial soul mutated, there were only two possible outcomes: either it became extremely powerful, or it was weakened. His teacher himself had suffered due to martial soul mutation.

But as for Ma Hongjun's martial soul, it was clearly one of the stronger mutations.

Dai Mubai explained, "Even he himself probably doesn't know for sure. In his village, almost everyone's martial soul is a non-combat type of poultry. But for some reason, his martial soul mutated when it manifested in him, and he was born with the ability to control fire. He wasn't the one who applied to join the academy. Three years ago, the headmaster discovered him in his village and brought him here. He's about the same age as you two."

"Because of the mutation, he gained a strong fire-related ability. His flames are extremely high-temperature and have a strong adhesion effect, making them difficult to extinguish. The headmaster says that after his martial soul mutated, it truly might have become a phoenix."

"But his martial soul also has a huge flaw. Although the mutation granted him powerful soul energy, it also caused an abnormality in his body—his desires and impulses are ten times stronger than normal. If he doesn't find a way to release them, the accumulated energy could overwhelm him and make him explode."

Ma Hongjun hurriedly added, "The evil fire builds up, and I can't suppress it!"

Tang San and Xiao Wu were stunned, their expressions turning strange. Although Tang San had studied martial soul mutations, this was the first time he had heard of something like this. If Ma Hongjun was around their age, then he was only twelve. A twelve-year-old boy who needed to be with women to prevent his martial soul from harming him—this was beyond shocking.

Dai Mubai continued, "So, this guy frequently experiences surges of lust. If he doesn't release it, he'd be dead by now. Even though his martial soul is powerful, cultivating it isn't exactly easy."

Xiao Wu frowned. "Still, that doesn't mean he should go around harassing girls. That's just being a pervert."

Ma Hongjun retorted angrily, "What do you mean, 'harassing'? It's always been mutual. I may have strong desires, but I've never forced anyone. It's always consensual—I'm no scoundrel."

Tang San looked at Dai Mubai.

Dai Mubai nodded and confirmed, "That's true. He's never forced anyone. That girl just now was actually his girlfriend."

Xiao Wu snorted. "Not forcing anyone? Then why did she break up with him?"

Ma Hongjun's face turned red. Dai Mubai's expression also became a little awkward. He coughed lightly and said, "Because this guy's evil fire flares up too often. Expecting someone to keep up with his three to four times a day is too much for most girls. Since he joined the academy a year ago, he's already had several girlfriends. But in the end, they all broke up with him for the same reason. If he weren't a soul master, he'd probably have trouble finding a girlfriend at all. To be honest, when it comes to that… I don't think anyone can match him. That's how he got the nickname 'Evil Fire Chicken.'"

Ma Hongjun corrected him angrily, "It's 'Evil Fire Phoenix'!"

Tang San was dumbfounded. "No wonder this is called the Monster Academy. Even a martial soul mutation like his is considered normal here."

Xiao Wu's face turned red as well, and she scoffed, "This place really has all sorts of weirdos."

Ma Hongjun glared at Dai Mubai. "If I had a pretty-boy face like you or Oscar, I could have multiple girlfriends at once too. Then I wouldn't be in this situation. Don't act all smug—you think I don't know about you juggling three dates in one day?"

Dai Mubai's evil eyes flickered, and he quickly glanced behind him. He lowered his voice and warned, "Fatty, be careful what you say. If you ruin my reputation, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Ma Hongjun grinned. "Oh? I thought you weren't ashamed of it. What's wrong today? Feeling guilty?"

Dai Mubai shot him a glare. "Shut up. Some things are best left unsaid. Don't go ruining my reputation, or I'll make you regret it."

Tang San couldn't help but ask, "Ma Hongjun, now that you're single again, what are you going to do? Stop cultivating?"

Ma Hongjun shrugged. "What else can I do? My life is more important. I'll ask the headmaster later if he has any solutions."

Xiao Wu changed the subject. "Where do we eat? I'm starving."

Dai Mubai said, "Come with me."

The four of them returned to the Shrek Academy grounds and arrived at the academy's dining hall.

The so-called dining hall was actually a collaboration between the academy and the village, where a few villagers were hired to prepare meals. Breakfast was simple but plentiful, enough to fill their stomachs.

By the time they arrived, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were already there. Perhaps because of their teamwork yesterday, when the two girls saw Tang San and Xiao Wu, they nodded in greeting.

Zhu Zhuqing was still distant, but Ning Rongrong's expression was much friendlier, and her dimples made her look especially charming.

Ma Hongjun's eyes widened as he openly stared at the two girls, swallowing hard.

Dai Mubai elbowed him and muttered, "Control yourself. Keep that evil fire in check."

Ma Hongjun grumbled, "Why? Are you after them too? Come on, boss, at least leave some for the rest of us."

Just then, someone walked in through the door.

Yawning as he entered, he moved gracefully yet leisurely. He wore white robes, had long black hair, and though his face was unremarkable, his deep, pitch-black eyes were strikingly beautiful, elevating his appearance considerably.

"Oh, you're all here."

Yunchuan greeted them with a smile.

"Teacher Tang."

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up, and even Zhu Zhuqing's gaze sparkled with curiosity.

"Teacher Tang."

Dai Mubai and Tang San exchanged looks before respectfully addressing him as "Teacher."

Yunchuan smiled and nodded, then sat beside Ning Rongrong and started eating without any fuss.

Ma Hongjun nudged Dai Mubai and whispered, "That's the new teacher? Is he strong enough to teach us?"

Dai Mubai shot him a warning look and whispered back, "He's a seventy-first level Soul Saint at just twenty-five. He's practically guaranteed to become a Title Douluo. Challenge him if you want to die."

Ma Hongjun froze, his mouth agape.

"Wh—" Ma Hongjun opened his mouth in shock, just about to exclaim, when Dai Mubai swiftly covered it.

"Do you understand now?" Dai Mubai glared at him.

"..." Unable to speak, Ma Hongjun nodded obediently, and only then was his mouth released.

With the arrival of Teacher Yunchuan, the atmosphere in the dining hall suddenly became quiet. No one spoke further, and everyone simply focused on eating their breakfast in silence.