Xiao Wu gave a snort. "What's going on? Ask him. That fat guy was bullying a girl in broad daylight. We couldn't just watch, so we decided to teach him a lesson."
Dai Mubai couldn't help but chuckle. "Xiao Wu, I think you misunderstood. Miss Cuihua, even you can't stand him anymore?"
Cuihua's face flushed red. She gave a small nod, then turned and ran off.
This time, Ma Hongjun didn't chase her. His face just sank into a look of defeat.
Tang San stepped up beside Dai Mubai. "What's actually going on here?" he asked curiously.
Dai Mubai glanced at Ma Hongjun. "You want to tell it yourself, or shall I?"
Ma Hongjun shot him a look, dropped his gaze, and muttered, "You say it."
Dai laughed. "What's this? The dead fatty knows how to get embarrassed? Fine, I'll explain." He turned to Tang San and Xiao Wu. "Remember I told you before? Including me, the academy only has three students total."
Tang San immediately put it together. "You mean he's…"
Dai Mubai nodded. "That's right. The fatty here is number three — the last one to join before you two. I didn't see what happened just now, but I can guess. Honestly, you can't entirely blame him. The root of the problem is his lousy chicken martial spirit."
"Bullshit! Your martial spirit's the lousy chicken! Mine is a phoenix! And even if all my elders' spirits were chickens, mine would still be a phoenix. Ever heard the saying, 'Even a grass nest can produce a golden phoenix'?" Ma Hongjun snapped.
Dai's smile didn't fade. "Alright, phoenix it is. Tang San, fatty's martial spirit is… unusual. The principal says it's a mutation."
"A mutant martial spirit?" Tang San's interest sharpened. "Mutated from what?" His teacher had told him a lot about martial spirit variation — it usually went one of two ways: turn exceedingly powerful, or be severely weakened. His own teacher had suffered from the latter.
This fat one clearly belonged to the fortunate category.
"Not even I know," Dai Mubai said. "My guess is he doesn't either. In his village, everyone basically has the spirit of some harmless poultry. No attack power at all. But when it came to him, something shifted — born with fire. He didn't enroll on his own; the principal found him three years ago and brought him back. He's about your age."
"Thanks to the mutation, he got a strong flame ability — very odd flames too. High temperature and extremely sticky, hard to put out. The principal says it's possible the mutation really turned it into a phoenix."
"But…" Dai's face turned a little awkward. "It's also got a big flaw. The mutation boosted his soul power… but also impacted his body, giving him an abnormally heightened sex drive — ten times that of normal people. If he doesn't vent it regularly, the 'evil fire' will boil over and literally burn him up from the inside."
Ma Hongjun quickly added, "Evil fire's impossible to suppress!"
Tang San and Xiao Wu were both stunned, giving him strange looks. Tang San had heard of spirit mutations, but never one like this. At twelve years old — same age as them — and needing women just to keep his own spirit from attacking him? That was… insane.
"So," Dai went on, "our fatty's life often turns into fighting lust-filled fevers. If he doesn't… cool off, he'd already be dead by now. And training this 'evil fire' isn't simple either."
Xiao Wu frowned. "That's still no excuse to go pick on girls. That's just being a creep."
"What do you mean pick on?" Ma Hongjun said hotly. "It's always been mutual. I might be overly energetic, but I've never forced anyone! It's always consensual — I'm no thug."
Tang San looked to Dai for confirmation.
Dai nodded. "That's true enough. Fatty's never forced anyone. Miss Cuihua really was his girlfriend."
"Not forcing people? Then why'd she dump you?" Xiao Wu pressed.
Fatty's cheeks reddened. Dai's too, a bit, as he coughed. "Because his 'evil fire' flares up too often. Most girls can't handle three or four times a day. Since he enrolled, he's had several girlfriends — all of them ended up dumping him. If he wasn't a Soul Master, finding a girlfriend would be a nightmare. Honestly, when it comes to… ability, there aren't many who can match him. That's why we call him the Evilfire Chicken."
"Evilfire Phoenix," Ma Hongjun corrected sourly.
Tang San could only marvel. "Monster Academy indeed… even with a mutation like this, you've got one enrolled."
Xiao Wu's face flushed pink and she muttered, "There really is all kinds here."
Ma Hongjun glared at Dai. "If I had a face like you or that Oscar, dating three girls in one day wouldn't be a problem. Don't think I don't know about your triple dates!"
The light in Dai Mubai's eyes flickered and he glanced behind him, lowering his voice. "Fatty… meals can be swallowed any which way, but words can't be spat out carelessly. Keep it down."
Ma Hongjun smirked. "Aren't you usually proud of it? What's with the sudden modesty — bad breakfast?"
A cold glare. "Less nonsense. Say the wrong thing again, and don't blame me for being rough."
Tang San couldn't help asking, "No girlfriend now — what'll you do? Stop cultivating?"
Fatty shrugged. "What else? Staying alive comes first. I'll ask the principal for ideas."
"I'm starving," Xiao Wu cut in. "Where does the academy eat?"
"Follow me," Dai said.
They returned within Shrek's grounds, and he led them to the cafeteria — really just a group of villagers hired under agreement to cook for the staff and students. Breakfast was simple but plentiful.
Inside, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing had already arrived. Maybe due to yesterday's team-up, the girls both nodded politely to Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Zhu Zhuqing was still cool as ever, but Ning Rongrong's smile warmed, dimpling her cheeks.
Ma Hongjun stared openly at the two, gulping down saliva until Dai elbowed him. "Behave. Keep that evil fire in check."
"Why? Planning to hoard them for yourself? Not even a sip for your brothers?" Fatty shot back.
Another jab of the elbow — and a quick glance in Zhu Zhuqing's direction. She didn't seem to notice, eating slowly with her usual icy expression.
Xiao Wu took a seat beside Ning Rongrong, speaking softly and laughing with her. Whatever she said made Ning Rongrong glance at Ma Hongjun in surprise — enough for him to slump down and attack his food with a sigh.
Dai cleared his throat. "Oscar's still sleeping in. Apart from him, we're all here. Since we'll be living and studying together from now on, let's introduce ourselves. This fatty's Ma Hongjun — martial spirit: chicken— no, phoenix."
At the word "phoenix," Zhu Zhuqing glanced up, but only spared Ma Hongjun a glance before her eyes slid on — picking up more frost when they passed Dai Mubai.
The cafeteria door opened again.
A white-clad figure strolled in, yawning lazily. Black hair framed an otherwise ordinary face — except for eyes so deep and dark they made him look far more striking than he had any right to.
"Well, everyone's here," Yun Chuan said with a friendly smile.
"Teacher Tang," Ning Rongrong called brightly, eyes lighting up. Even Zhu Zhuqing's gaze sparkled with curiosity. A Soul Sage at his age — he was mysterious and intriguing.
"Teacher Tang," Dai Mubai and Tang San echoed after trading glances, their voices respectful.
Yun Chuan nodded and took a seat beside Ning Rongrong, accepting the breakfast prepared for him without fuss.
"Hey, boss," Fatty leaned over to whisper to Dai Mubai, "is that the new teacher? How strong is he? Can he handle teaching us little monsters?"
"What the hell are you saying?!" Dai almost jumped, checking quickly to see Yun Chuan was still calmly eating. At Soul Sage level, a master could sense a leaf falling within a hundred meters — Fatty's whispering was no different from speaking right in his ear. It was a miracle Yun Chuan hadn't taken offense.
"Fatty, watch yourself," Dai hissed, twisting his ear. "Teacher Tang is a rank seventy-one Soul Sage — and only twenty-five this year. Becoming a Titled Douluo someday will be easy. If you want to die, go provoke him."
Ma Hongjun's mouth dropped open — and Dai immediately clamped a hand over it.
"Heard me?" Dai demanded.
Ma Hongjun could only nod mutely until he was released.
With Yun Chuan's arrival, the atmosphere quieted. No one dared chatter — breakfast was eaten in peace.
(End of Chapter)