The world fell silent!
Only the chirping of insects, frogs, and crickets, and the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard.
Ye Xingchen and his nine underlings held their breath. The devil had conceded defeat, and their drunkenness had sobered up.
"So powerful!"
"This is the power of a Soul Master!"
"That Blood Wolf is too strong. He almost wiped out all of us."
"That guy with the gun is also amazing. He held on until the very end."
"It's the devil!"
"The devil was actually defeated!"
...
Unbeknownst to them, the students in the dormitory building had already woken up and were watching the battle below through the windows. They were all on the windowsills and peeking through the cracks in the doors at Ma Hongjun and the others below, quietly discussing.
"I have a big loaf of bread!"
A shocking incantation broke the silence of the battlefield, and Ma Hongjun had already put away his Dragon Soul Spear.
Xiao Yuanyuan carefully handed her big loaf of bread to the devil.
"Teacher Chu, here, have some!"
Teacher Chu, her composure restored, took a deep breath, accepted Xiao Yuanyuan's bread, and devoured it in a few bites.
Xiao Yuanyuan's bread not only restored soul power but also healed injuries to some extent.
Teacher Chu had been stabbed in the abdomen by Ma Hongjun; the bread stopped the bleeding, but the effect was limited, and she needed to rest slowly.
"Training starts tomorrow morning, and you'll join too.
Ye Xingchen, remember to call him."
Teacher Chu pointed at Ma Hongjun, then turned and left.
"Yes!"
Ye Xingchen replied loudly. He didn't bother to ask about the words spoken before the devil's duel,
"If he's satisfied, there's no need for training tomorrow."
At this moment, Ye Xingchen and the others had only one thought in their minds: the devil had lost.
"Boss Ma, you're too strong!"
"Yeah, without you, we wouldn't stand a chance against the devil."
...
"Yuanyuan, quickly conjure up a few more loaves of bread, everyone's soul power is severely depleted."
"I have a big loaf of bread!"
"I have a big loaf of bread!"
...
After Ye Xingchen and the others added to the story, Ma Hongjun finally understood what kind of person the devil was.
The devil's real name was Chu Tianye. He used to be an instructor in the army of the Barak Kingdom, but because of his explosive temper, he offended someone and was transferred to the Musu Soul Master Academy.
He was a special existence in the academy. Unlike other teachers, he didn't attend classes regularly. Instead, he applied to establish a special training team at the school, and the academy approved his application.
He selected the special training team members himself; not just anyone could join. Ye Xingchen, Kunshan, and others were the first batch of special training team members.
Physical training was a fixed part of his daily routine. In addition, there was combat training, and most of the time, the opponent in the combat was him. Every time he fought the devil, although there was no danger, the pain was inevitable and unforgettable.
Although the training was brutal, even inhumane at times, the results were astonishing.
Before the Devil arrived at the academy, only Ye Xingchen, Yan Xing, and Benson had become Soul Masters and possessed century-old Soul Rings—the most students with century-old Soul Rings during the academy's nearly 100-year history.
After the Devil was formed and established as a special training team, the number of students with century-old Soul Rings increased from three to nine.
The special training team also took on the task of helping the academy's students hunt for suitable Soul Rings.
Starting with Su Dashan, the century-old Soul Rings of the next six were all obtained by members of the special training team; the Devil did not intervene.
The biggest reason why the six were able to obtain century-old Soul Rings and withstand their impact was the result of the Devil's special training. Their
numerous battles with Soul Beasts also contributed to their high level of combat ability and teamwork.
Now, the Devil's requirement for selecting official members is that their first Soul Ring must be a century-old Soul Ring.
Over the past five years, "Devil" has become a legend at Musu Academy. Students privately call him "Devil," but to his face, they respectfully address him as Teacher Chu.
They both fear and respect him. His special training team has become a coveted destination for all students, contributing to a positive and upward-looking training atmosphere throughout the academy and significantly improving the overall quality of students in recent years.
Ye Xingchen and his group's holiday mission was to improve their combat skills and learn teamwork. Upon their return, the nine of them would cooperate to fight "Devil" and see how long they could last.
However, they didn't expect Ma Hongjun's addition to the team, which directly defeated "Devil."
This surprised the nine of them. The reason they called Chu Tianye "Devil" was precisely because they believed he was abnormal and invincible.
What was "Devil" thinking at this moment?
This was what Ye Xingchen and his group most wanted to know, and were willing to use their imaginations to speculate.
After all, although the devil had brought them many changes, the torture they endured in training and actual combat was still deeply imprinted in their minds.
That night, lying in bed,
Ma Hongjun began to ponder the classification of Soul Masters, team battles, and other such issues.
Undoubtedly, there were counters between Soul Masters, just like Ye Xingchen's treatment of him. Therefore, sometimes even if an opponent's Soul Power level was low, victory wasn't guaranteed.
And then there were the various Martial Souls with different attributes; how many could one possibly handle?
Everything in the world has its counterparts, and Martial Souls are no exception. There can't be an invincible Martial Soul.
This must be why teams are so popular—to compensate for each other's weaknesses.
Considering all this, Ma Hongjun slowly came to understand his path. His two Martial Souls undoubtedly needed to follow a power-attack route. While not comprehensive, he couldn't afford to compensate for weaknesses by
focusing on strengths alone; that would be a waste of his talent. Therefore, he had to maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses, pushing his power to its limit. Then, all fancy techniques would be destroyed under absolute power.
Furthermore, recognizing the issues with martial souls and teamwork, Ma Hongjun also realized that his powerful attack, when combined with strong control and support, would have an effect far beyond simple addition.
This further solidified his decision to go to Shrek Academy.
For support, Ning Rongrong, with her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, was undoubtedly the best choice.
As for control, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, with its resilience, parasitism, and toxicity, completely overwhelmed Ye Xingchen's Beast Binding Rope.
Not to mention the other four; with these two combined with Ma Hongjun's Dragon Soul Spear, basically, controlling one meant certain death.
...
The next morning, Ye Xingchen arrived at Dormitory One to wake Ma Hongjun.
It wasn't time for class yet.
"Our special training doesn't interfere with classes at the academy. After training, we still have to rush to the classroom for class. So basically, there's no rest time while in the special training team."
The special training location is behind the academy, a newly built, large field. The field's construction style is very similar to a military training ground. Just by looking at the running track, obstacle course, mud pit, rope descent, weightlifting stones, etc., you can tell it's a place to hone one's physical strength.
In addition to the nine official team members, there are a dozen or so younger reserve team members; they are all students whose soul power has reached level nine or ten, and they participate in physical training every day.
Once their physique satisfies the Demon, he will take the special training team to the Soul Hunting Forest, where the special training team members will help students who need to advance to hunt for soul rings. When
Ma Hongjun arrived, Kunshan and the others took the initiative to come over and greet him, calling him "boss" affectionately.
The dozen or so younger ones, led by Su Dashan, also ran over eagerly to greet their new boss.
After waiting for a while, Teacher Chu, the Demon, dressed in a black training uniform, arrived at the training ground.
His injury seemed to have healed; there were no visible signs of injury. Ma Hongjun stood in a row with the others, waiting for him to speak.
"Today is the first day, so let's keep it simple. The smaller ones, Su Dashan will lead them, carrying three kilograms of weight, running five laps.
The larger ones, Ye Xingchen will lead them, carrying five kilograms of weight, ten laps. The other events will just be done three more times.
Let's begin!"