Seeing that Ma Hongjun couldn't unleash his flames, Yu Xiaogang's pupils constricted sharply, and his last glimmer of hope instantly shattered.
Unable to use flames at all... this meant Ma Hongjun clearly hadn't transformed into a true Fire Phoenix. In fact, he might have even regressed, his original flame abilities disappearing entirely.
If Ma Hongjun became useless from this point on, wouldn't all of Yu Xiaogang's efforts have been in vain?
Flender and the others were equally stunned. They thought Ma Hongjun had narrowly escaped death and would at least become stronger for the ordeal. They hadn't expected such a severe side effect.
Seeing Ma Hongjun in such a state, Oscar secretly felt much better about his own situation.
Although his third soul skill was somewhat... unconventional, at least it hadn't caused a fundamental defect in his martial soul. He was much luckier than Ma Hongjun.
A trace of regret flashed in Flender's eyes. After a moment of silence, he advised, "No matter what, at least you've saved your life. We can figure out a way to deal with the martial soul problem when we get back."
However, Ma Hongjun simply couldn't accept it. He had trusted his teacher's abilities, which was why he risked absorbing the Ice-attribute soul ring. How could he have imagined that he would lose his Phoenix Flames as a result?
Without the Phoenix Flames, his martial soul was utterly useless!
He stared intently at Yu Xiaogang, a hint of anger in his eyes, and demanded, "Teacher Yu, didn't you say that absorbing this spirit ring would help me get rid of the Evil Fire?"
"Of course, I wasn't wrong," Yu Xiaogang replied seriously, trying to maintain his composure. "Can you still sense the Evil Fire now?"
Hearing this, Ma Hongjun was slightly taken aback. What his teacher said seemed correct; he indeed couldn't sense the Evil Fire anymore.
But soon, he realized something was terribly wrong. Although the Evil Fire was gone, his Phoenix Flames had also disappeared!
If he had to choose, he would rather it be like before.
"Teacher, you clearly said that you would help me transform into a true Fire Phoenix Soul Master, but I don't even have Phoenix Flames anymore! What kind of Fire Phoenix Soul Master am I?!"
"Sigh... Hongjun, it's all because you weren't resolute enough!"
Yu Xiaogang sighed, feigning deep disappointment. He said with great seriousness, "If you could have maintained the balance between the two energies, you naturally would have removed the impurities and retained the true Phoenix Flame. But you didn't hold on, which is why the flame disappeared along with the impurities."
Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned. They hadn't expected Yu Xiaogang to spin the situation like this.
In the past, they might have believed him somewhat, but after witnessing the disaster, their image of the "Grandmaster" was completely shattered.
However, because he had been unconscious during the critical moment, Ma Hongjun was unaware of the details and was therefore susceptible to Yu Xiaogang's words.
"Teacher, what should I do now?"
"Don't panic. I will never give up on you. Although you lost the Phoenix Flame, your martial soul is clearly evolving toward a true Phoenix form."
Yu Xiaogang patted Ma Hongjun's shoulder, his face earnest.
Hearing this explanation, Ma Hongjun grasped at a straw and carefully examined his martial soul.
Indeed, some subtle changes had occurred; his tail feathers had grown much longer and turned a mix of red and blue, making him appear more noble at first glance.
Realizing he hadn't been completely fooled, Ma Hongjun finally felt relieved and regained some trust in Yu Xiaogang.
He looked up at his teacher again, his tone noticeably more respectful. "Teacher, but now that I've lost the Phoenix Flame, I can't use my first two soul skills properly."
"It's alright. You still have your third soul skill. Until you obtain your fourth soul ring, you can temporarily switch to an agility-based attack style."
As he spoke, a resolute glint flashed in Yu Xiaogang's eyes. To prove his martial soul theory, he would probably need to go to the Supreme Pontiff's Palace and meet Bibi Dong. Spirit Hall had stood on the continent for ten thousand years; surely they would have a solution.
For this, he was willing to temporarily abandon his pride.
"I'll listen to you, Teacher."
At this point, Ma Hongjun could only choose to believe Yu Xiaogang; after all, there was no better option.
Actually, absorbing the soul ring wasn't entirely without its benefits; at least it had allowed his Soul Power to break through to Level 32, which offered some psychological comfort.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Meanwhile, the Royal Fighting Team's training session had ended.
"Teacher Lin Mu, thanks to your gravity field, my brother and I were able to execute our Martial Soul Fusion Technique much more smoothly," Shi Mò said excitedly.
At this rate, they would be able to fully adapt to Lin Mu's gravity field in less than two months, thus successfully mastering their fusion under pressure.
"Your Martial Soul Fusion Technique is crucial to whether you can win the championship, so the more proficient you are, the better."
After a pause, Lin Mu's gaze shifted to Shi Mò, and he continued, "Shi Mò, you need to hurry up and cultivate to Level 40. Only when you both reach the Soul Ancestor level or above can you unleash a portion of the Black Turtle's true divine power."
The Spirit Hall Golden Generation team not only had all members at the Soul Ancestor level or above, but also three Soul Kings. Even their leaders, Xie Yue and Hu Liena, possessed a Martial Soul Fusion Technique.
Unless the Shi brothers' soul power also reached the Soul King level, or their spirits underwent a transformation to increase the power of their fusion, they would definitely not be a match for the "Demon Charm."
However, Lin Mu did not intend to place all his hopes on the two of them. In his opinion, the key to victory still lay with Tang San.
The reason he cultivated other core members was simply because he was worried they would hold Tang San back.
Of course, if he were to personally take the field, he could easily defeat the Spirit Hall team even without any teammates.
But for Tang San, fighting the Spirit Hall Golden Generation team one-on-one was still too difficult at this stage.
"Teacher Lin Mu, I will definitely work hard in my training."
Shi Mò patted his chest heavily, his eyes filled with gratitude and respect.
Without Teacher Lin Mu's guidance, the two brothers would not have been valued so highly, let alone mastered such a top-tier skill as the Martial Soul Fusion Technique under extreme conditions.
With just this technique, they could make a name for themselves in the future.
Besides the Shi brothers, the others also benefited greatly. The pressure environment did indeed make their training much faster.
As it was getting late, everyone left the training ground one after another.
Ye Lingling walked to Lin Mu's side, quickly hugged his arm, and said softly, "Brother Lin Mu, how about we go to the night market?"
Hearing this, Lin Mu thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
Just then, Qian Renxue walked over and leaned against Lin Mu's other side, smiling slightly. "I also want to go to the night market. Why don't we go together?"
Having already made up her mind to win over Lin Mu, even going so far as to change back into women's clothing, how could she possibly miss this opportunity?
Lin Mu, sandwiched between the two women, frowned slightly. He glanced at Qian Renxue and said, "Are you really that free?"
Qian Renxue was slightly taken aback, a surge of annoyance rising within her. 'This guy is definitely mentally unstable.'
Even if others wanted to curry favor with her, she might not give them a second glance. Now that she had taken the initiative to go shopping together, this guy was being so heartless.
Who knew? The next thing he'd probably say was that he'd make her clean his room again.
Thinking about it carefully, she had cleaned Lin Mu's room several times this month, along with performing other chores. Even after doing all that, she still hadn't won him over.
This made her feel like she had truly become a maid, meant to serve this guy, a double blow, both physically and mentally!
But the more this happened, the less she could give up. Otherwise, wouldn't all this effort have been for nothing? She'd wait until she completely won him over, then take it all back with interest, making him serve her for life.
Immediately, Qian Renxue suppressed her dissatisfaction and said gently, "As a teaching assistant, accompanying you shopping is also part of my job."