"Teacher Zhao, watch out!" Oscar warned softly as he twirled the iron cudgel in his hands, forming a flourish.
Zhao Wuji smiled casually at Oscar, not reacting further. Oscar lunged forward, body low, dragging the cudgel with overwhelming momentum.
Zhao Wuji gave him a rare glance of attention but that was it. He didn't believe Oscar could pose a real threat.
"Whoosh!"
The iron cudgel swept through the air with a gust of wind, aiming straight for Zhao Wuji's ironhard head.
Zhao Wuji raised his right hand and effortlessly grabbed the cudgel. With a heavy tug, Oscar's body pitched forward, losing his balance.
But Oscar remained calm he had expected Zhao Wuji to rely on brute strength and had already planned for it.
With explosive force from his legs, Oscar launched himself upward. The cudgel spun in his hands, slipping out of Zhao Wuji's grip. He flipped 180 degrees midair and landed lightly.
As he descended, Oscar swung the cudgel down at Zhao Wuji's head again, using the momentum to cushion his fall.
"Hah, you little brat you really have it out for my head, don't you?" Zhao Wuji chuckled.
Zhao Wuji raised both arms to shield his head. The attack landed, but he only crouched slightly, completely neutralizing Oscar's blow.
Oscar withdrew his cudgel and stepped back quickly to avoid Zhao Wuji's counterpunch. But Zhao Wuji pressed forward, giving Oscar no chance to recover.
Oscar quickly raised the cudgel across his chest to block, but Zhao Wuji's terrifying strength sent him flying backward.
Still, Oscar responded quickly. He grabbed one end of the cudgel, used the other end to dig into the ground, leveraged himself back into the air, and lunged forward again with explosive leg force.
Against a high defense, high strength opponent like Zhao Wuji, defense was pointless. Offense was the only viable defense.
On the sidelines, Ma Hongjun watched in stunned silence.
Was this really a support type soul master?
He was fighting more fiercely than an assault type soul master!
At this moment, Oscar's close quarters combat prowess even surpassed some assault type soul masters at the same level, without using soul skills.
But even so, Oscar still fell short against Zhao Wuji. Techniques meant little against someone like Zhao Wuji; brute force was more effective.
Zhao Wuji's defense was simply too high. Even in the original story, Tang San needed powerful hidden weapons and the mighty Hao Tian Hammer to injure him.
Oscar had no such tricks. Though he did start thinking about visiting Flender's little shop perhaps he could find some useful gadgets there., Sparring concluded.
Oscar was exhausted but uninjured. Although he hadn't harmed Zhao Wuji, he had defended against his blows impressively.
After eating one of his stored sausages, his stamina recovered significantly. His soul power had only slightly depleted a single super recovery sausage restored him completely.
On the other side, Ma Hongjun came over, praising Oscar in disbelief.
He vowed to train harder and one day spar with Zhao Wuji too after all, he was an assault type soul master!
Ma Hongjun knew Zhao Wuji was a Soul Saint .
Yet Oscar, a support type soul master, had held his own against him.
Once he reached level 10 and obtained his first soul ring, wouldn't he be even stronger?
Of course, this was just his wishful thinking. He didn't dare say it aloud because even now, Oscar could easily put him in his place.
Oscar began training Ma Hongjun. At this stage, Ma' Hongjuns Evil Fire (Phoenix Flame) was still weak, and posed no danger of losing control.
With Oscar as a role model, Ma trained earnestly.
But once he truly started training under Oscar, he realized how terrifyingly disciplined Oscar was.
Even when he wanted to rest or give up, he couldn't. Flender had high hopes for him and yet his performance didn't even match a support type?
Two Months Later
Ma Hongjun reached level 10. With a soul ring, he would become a true soul master.
He had started at innate level 9, just one step away. Two months of relentless training with Oscar bore great results.
Even his round belly shrank visibly perhaps with six more months, he might fully slim down.
Ma Hongjun wasn't actually ugly he had a masculine, heroic look.
In the original novel, once he lost weight, he became quite handsome.
So in a sense, Oscar had helped accelerate his transformation into a future heart throb.
Not only was he stronger, but also better looking.
Ma Hongjun truly owed Oscar thanks.
As Ma Hongjun's martial spirit was bird, it was Flender who led him to obtain his soul ring.
Half a month later, Flender returned to Shrek Academy with Ma Hongjun now a level11 soul master with a decent soul ring.
As in the original, Ma's first soul skill was Phoenix Fire Linea ranged attack up to 10 meters, continuously active until soul power runs dry.
Its power was strong, and thanks to the Evil Fire trait, it had persistent burning damage and was hard to extinguish.
Freshly empowered, Ma Hongjun got cocky.
Despite Oscar being level 18, Ma Hongjun figured his new ranged abilities could win.
Oscar's cudgel skills were slick, sure but Ma had range advantage.
So Ma directly challenged him to a spar.
Oscar, seeing Ma's smug face, just chuckled internally. He was already planning to teach the chubby kid a lesson.
In Shrek Academy's courtyard, Zhao Wuji served as referee.
Oscar and Ma faced each other.
Ma wore a cocky grin:
"Brother Oscar, don't expect mercy. If you can't take it, you'd better surrender early!"
Oscar remained expressionless, already plotting how to beat this overconfident brat.
"Both sides, release your martial spirits. The match begins in one minute," Zhao Wuji announced the standard rules.
Oscar took out his iron cudgel and held it across his chest, watching Ma release his martial spirit.
"Ma Hongjun, Martial Spirit: Evil Fire Phoenix. Level 11 assault type battle soul master."
A single yellow soul ring rose from beneath him. Flames enveloped his body.
His red hair stood up in a mohawk like crest, resembling a crowing rooster completely lacking phoenix majesty.
Even though he'd slimmed down a bit over the past two months, he was still chubby it would take more work.
"Start!" Zhao Wuji called out.
Ma grinned and activated his first soul ring.
He opened his mouth wide, spewing a stream of fire at Oscar.
Oscar didn't underestimate it. He quickly moved, dodging the scorching flames.
He wasn't foolish enough to try and take it headon.
Against Zhao Wuji, Oscar had fought directly because techniques were useless.
But against a ranged mage type like Ma, he needed a different approach.
Even though Oscar had higher soul power, Ma's fire was still dangerous.
Oscar had no defensive soul skills. A direct hit could be catastrophicso he opted for a war of attrition.
Ma tracked Oscar's movements, constantly adjusting his flame's aim.
But no matter what, he was always just a step too slow.
Zhao Wuji shook his head on the side.
"This kid is clueless. Doesn't know how to conserve soul power…"
Just as Zhao expected, Oscar stayed within range while dodging carefully sometimes pretending to almost get hit baiting Ma into burning through more power.
Within five minutes, Ma's flame weakened… then sputtered and died.
He coughed, sweat on his forehead, breathing heavily.
Then Oscar charged in swinging the cudgel.
Wham!
Ma screamed in pain, instantly surrendered, and begged Oscar for mercy.
Oscar withdrew his cudgel and grinned:
"You've still got a lot to learn, kid. Don't think getting a soul ring makes you invincible, got it?"
Ma Hongjun nodded frantically.
Zhao Wuji just smiled he realized Oscar was more than capable of mentoring Ma Hongjun . He didn't need to intervene at all.
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