Chapter 4: Learning
Oscar had thought that in the original story, Ma Hongjun was too indulged. Even his teacher, Flender, didn't properly discipline him. After all, letting a twelve-year-old frequent brothels was just baffling.
And based on the original description, Ma Hongjun probably already visited brothels before he was twelve. Although people in the Douluo Continent mature early, this was just too soon.
Oscar felt that this kind of indulgent education was simply a waste of Ma Hongjun's talent. Although Ma Hongjun's martial soul had a flaw, it wasn't irreparable.
Besides, Ma Hongjun's soul power rank was still relatively low, so the negative effects of the邪 fire (Evil Fire) hadn't manifested at all. Even if it did, it could be suppressed in the early stages by training his body or cultivating directly in the river.
This could also temper his willpower. If used properly, it could definitely become a cultivation aid.
And in the later stages, if he could find a soul master with an ice attribute to cooperate with, the Evil Fire wouldn't be a problem at all. But the issue was that Flender and the others didn't seem to think of any solutions, leaving Ma Hongjun to solve it himself.
In this life, Oscar naturally couldn't let Ma Hongjun remain a waste. After all, Ma Hongjun's talent wasn't low at all. As long as the Evil Fire problem was solved, he was still a promising talent.
Moreover, there was a legendary-grade medicinal herb at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye that could solve Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire problem. Even if Oscar couldn't get it himself, staying at Shrek Academy, that kid Tang San would eventually show up.
Thinking this, Oscar felt it necessary to give Ma Hongjun a proper lesson, but not now, since he had just arrived at the academy. He'd wait a few more days.
After tidying up Ma Hongjun's room, Oscar went to find Zhao Wuji for training. Training under gravity suppression every day had become an essential part of Oscar's cultivation. After all, becoming stronger wasn't something that could happen overnight; it required daily accumulation.
And Oscar knew the importance of physical fitness for a soul master. Before absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring, the limit of a soul master's absorption was basically determined by their physical fitness.
When Oscar transmigrated, it was during his martial soul awakening. At that time, his physical fitness couldn't be improved in a short period, so his first soul ring was only 430 years.
But things were different now. In the two years since, Oscar had never missed a day of training, and he had been meticulous in honing his physical fitness, all for the purpose of being able to absorb soul rings beyond his level.
This way, when he obtained his second soul ring, he could absorb one with a higher年限 (years), infinitely amplifying his talent and potential.
When he finished training with Zhao Wuji, it was already afternoon. Ma Hongjun had also familiarized himself with the academy and was now following Flender to the cafeteria for a meal.
"Little Oscar, your perseverance is the best I've seen among all the students. Hongjun, you should learn from him." Seeing Oscar arrive at the cafeteria, Flender said to Ma Hongjun.
"I love hearing that, Principal. Leave this kid to me from now on. I guarantee I'll make him into something great." Oscar chimed in.
"Teacher Shao, a bowl of braised pork!" After speaking with Flender, Oscar called out to the busy Shao Xin.
"You got it, I've already prepared it for you." Shao Xin cheerfully brought over a bowl of fragrant braised pork, his plump, round face looking very approachable.
"Thank you, Teacher Shao." Oscar took the braised pork and said.
Ma Hongjun looked at Oscar's large bowl of braised pork, his mouth watering, but he felt too embarrassed to ask for any.
Seeing Ma Hongjun's expression, Oscar smiled and gave him a portion. "This is the treatment a good student gets. Teacher Shao likes diligent students the most. As long as you study seriously, he'll make whatever delicious food you want."
Flender stifled a laugh nearby, thinking to himself that this kid really knew how to pull the wool over people's eyes, and it was for the benefit of his new disciple.
But it was true. Oscar's meals were now specially customized by Shao Xin, and he would even get extra meals occasionally.
Moreover, because of Oscar's extraordinary talent, every week Flender, Zhao Wuji, and the others would catch a soul beast of at least a hundred years for him to eat, greatly laying a better foundation for Oscar.
"Really?" Ma Hongjun asked, while eating the meat.
After the meal, Oscar took a walk alone around the academy. The two hours in the afternoon were his only leisure time, after all, cultivation required a balance of work and rest.
At night, Oscar could already use cultivation in place of sleep, which was one of the reasons his soul power was increasing so rapidly.
The next day, Oscar got up early for his workout. First was a ten-kilometer负重越野 (loaded cross-country run), followed by practicing several sets of the Dragon纹棍法 (Dragon-Pattern Stick Technique).
This stick technique was taught by Li Yusong. Although it wasn't a powerful skill, it was enough for dealing with enemies and self-defense now.
Ma Hongjun, on the other hand, slept until the sun was high in the sky. After all, he had been too excited to fall asleep the previous night, and once he did, he was hard to wake up.
By the time Ma Hongjun woke up naturally, Oscar was already reading in the classroom. The classroom was simple, but it was filled with the atmosphere of books.
Lu Qibin was responsible for teaching theoretical and cultural knowledge. Lu Qibin was quite an intellectual, understanding many theories thoroughly and solving quite a few difficult problems for Oscar.
But after two years, Oscar had already learned almost everything he needed to. Now, the books he read here were ones he had bought himself in the past two years.
Ma Hongjun arrived at the classroom and saw Oscar reading seriously, so he went over. Oscar noticed Ma Hongjun approaching and looked up. "You're up?"
"Heh, I was too excited last night and couldn't sleep, so I overslept." Ma Hongjin grinned sheepishly.
"It's fine. It's only the first day. I'll take you to a combat class this afternoon." Saying this, Oscar lowered his head and continued reading.
"There's a combat class too? Aren't you an auxiliary-type soul master? Do you still need to fight?" Ma Hongjun said in surprise.
"Who said auxiliary-type soul masters can't fight? Let you see what I can do this afternoon." Oscar said while reading.
In the afternoon, Oscar carried his iron staff and led Ma Hongjun to Zhao Wuji's place to begin training.
"Teacher Zhao, spar with me. Let the new student see our Shrek style of education." Oscar proposed.
Zhao Wuji didn't refuse, laughing loudly as he said, "Hahaha, alright, Little Oscar, let me see if you've regressed lately."