Ma Hongjun opened his eyes, and all images vanished.
Not far away, Bai Baoshan stood watching Ma Hongjun, with the enormous Heavenly Star Furnace standing beside him.
Beneath the Heavenly Star Furnace lay Shi Nian, already crushed.
The loud bang that had just entered Ma Hongjun's mind was due to Bai Baoshan's attack.
Shi Nian was beyond dead. As a control-type Soul Master, Shi Nian's close combat ability was extremely weak. With the immense power of the Heavenly Star Furnace, a single press was enough to crush him into mincemeat.
Ma Hongjun was still somewhat dazed. Although he now understood that everything just now was a dream, a nightmare triggered by Shi Nian's Martial Soul,
everything just now seemed so real.
The last bolt of lightning hadn't struck; he wondered if Ma Hongjun would have truly died if it had.
"Old Bai, why did you only come out now? Did you want to watch me die?"
Ma Hongjun said irritably to Bai Baoshan. He didn't actually know how much time had passed in reality; it felt like countless years had passed in the dream.
Bai Baoshan hesitated to look at Ma Hongjun, because he had actually arrived long ago. However, like Shi Nian, he hadn't noticed that Ma Hongjun initially seemed to be enjoying himself, showing no signs of pain.
Bai Baoshan had assumed Ma Hongjun had some means to resist Shi Nian's nightmare, which was why he hadn't acted.
It wasn't until Ma Hongjun's face turned pale that Bai Baoshan realized the danger and intervened, nearly causing a car accident.
"I wanted to see how long you could last against Shi Nian. Shi Nian's martial soul is also a test of willpower.
It seems your willpower is decent, but there's still a lot of room for improvement," Bai Baoshan explained seriously.
Ma Hongjun didn't dwell on it, only inwardly thinking,
"That old geezer, so cunning."
This was all a setup. Ma Hongjun already knew Shi Nian would eventually attack them, so he was prepared.
However, Shi Nian was a ticking time bomb; it was impossible to know when he would strike or who he would target.
To deal with this threat promptly, Ma Hongjun used the lure of his own abilities to entice Shi Nian to act.
Ma Hongjun had communicated the design with Bai Baoshan beforehand. Bai Baoshan had been secretly following Ma Hongjun all this time. With his Soul Douluo-level cultivation, Shi Nian was nothing more than a clown in his eyes.
Although he had resolved Shi Nian's crisis, Ma Hongjun, despite his strong attack and the external Soul Bone Flood Dragon Scale Armor which gave him superior defense compared to most Soul Masters
, had always been weak in terms of mental strength.
From facing Soul Masters with Tombstone Martial Souls in the past to now facing Shi Nian, Ma Hongjun had practically no means of dealing with them.
This was a fatal flaw.
It seemed he needed to find a way to improve his mental abilities in the future.
"Quickly put your furnace away,"
Ma Hongjun said resentfully.
Bai Baoshan put away the Heavenly Star Furnace, while the originally thin Shi Nian was now crushed into a pulp.
Something was protruding from his head, faintly emitting light.
Ma Hongjun, suppressing his nausea, pulled him out, then summoned his Martial Soul, activated his third Soul Ring, and used a water gun to clean the bone.
It was a round bone, about three inches in diameter, shimmering with a faint seven-colored light, looking like a miniature skull.
"A soul bone!"
Bai Baoshan exclaimed in surprise.
It was true; before, when he helped Ma Hongjun search for soul bones, it was always Qian Renxue who pulled strings to find one.
Now, in such a short time, Ma Hongjun had obtained one when he got his fifth soul ring, and now he had another.
This was a skull radiating seven-colored light; based on Ma Hongjun's experience observing so many soul bones, this one was at least from a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast.
"Take a look and see if it suits you!"
Ma Hongjun handed the soul bone to Bai Baoshan, saying calmly.
Bai Baoshan was somewhat surprised, but still accepted it. The preciousness of soul bones was self-evident; he didn't have one yet, so if he could get one suitable, that would be ideal.
Ma Hongjun then squatted down and searched through Shi Nian's corpse. After all, he was a Soul Saint; if he could even possess a soul bone, he must have other treasures on him.
It's important to know that very few people possess soul bones; even among Title Douluos, some don't.
It's not a matter of whether you can obtain one, but rather whether it's suitable for you.
"Found it!"
A ring was found on Shi Nian's hand—a storage soul tool.
Ma Hongjun glanced at it; there weren't any rare treasures inside, just some everyday items and a gold card.
"Sigh, better than nothing."
Although there wasn't much of value, this spatial soul tool was quite good; it had a large capacity and could be given to the Shuang'er sisters.
Spatial soul tools are extremely rare now, practically priceless, and they're especially needed for business. Leaving it to the Fairy Clothing Pavilion would be most suitable.
Bai Baoshan looked at it for a while, then could only sigh.
"What's wrong?"
"It's a pity, this soul bone isn't suitable for me. It should be a gem-type soul bone, best suited for support-type and illusion-type soul masters, which would be a good match for Shi Nian.
Neither you nor I need it. Although fusing with this soul bone would provide some boost, its effect wouldn't be significant; it's somewhat of a waste, a waste of skull space,"
Bai Baoshan explained somewhat disappointedly.
As a member of the teaching committee who had been at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy for so many years, his knowledge was extensive, and he could roughly discern the soul bone's attributes with a quick observation.
"Seven-colored skull, gem-type, support-type," Ma Hongjun repeated these keywords.
"So, this skull is very suitable for Rongrong."
"Indeed!"
After disposing of Shi Nian's body, the two returned. They
had finally received their package without incident.
In the following days, Shrek Academy faced relatively weak opponents, none exceeding level 40, easily crushing them all. The team members took turns playing, each getting a chance to shine, except for Ma Hongjun and Ning Rongrong, who remained on the bench.
Ning Rongrong has fused with the seven-colored skull, which suits her perfectly, further enhancing her strength and granting her new skills, making it one of her trump cards.
Today, Shrek Academy's opponent is Blazing Fire Academy.
All the members of Blazing Fire Academy possess fire-attribute martial souls. They have two Soul Masters:
Chang Huo Wushuang, level 42, whose martial soul is a one-horned fire tyrannosaur; and
the vice-captain, Huo Wu, level 43, whose martial soul is a shadow of herself, Fire Shadow.
The other team members are all Soul Venerables, with martial souls of one Fire Leopard, two Fire Stars, and two Fire Cranes.
While their apparent strength may not seem as high as Elephant Armor Academy, their true strength is far greater, and Blazing Fire Academy even won against Elephant Armor.
The most important person among them is Huo Wu.
"What a familiar name."
In the preparation area, Ma Hongjun looked at Huo Wu, dressed in a gold-red outfit, with long, dark red hair somewhat similar to his own, a well-proportioned figure, and extremely beautiful features, and licked his lips.
Huo Wu always wore a faint smile, and a faint red light subtly emanated from her body.
She was currently in her team, also observing the Shrek team members.
Finally, her gaze settled on Ma Hongjun.
The match was nearing its halfway point, and Shrek Academy's captain hadn't yet taken the field. To these teams, Ma Hongjun's strength remained shrouded in mystery.
Ma Hongjun had been participating in the matches with Shrek Academy the entire time, and although he hadn't played, his identity was no secret within the teams.
Huo Wu, of course, recognized him.
Their eyes met in mid-air. Huo Wu didn't look away, but instead met Ma Hongjun's gaze directly, smiling as she approached.
"If you don't play this match, your winning streak will come to an end,"
Huo Wu said, looking at Ma Hongjun with a slightly provocative tone.
There weren't many teams still maintaining a winning streak; Shrek and Blazing Fire were two of them.
"It's alright, Xiao San and the others are enough. If I go up, I'll crush you,"
Ma Hongjun said with a smile, his eyes brazenly surveying Huo Wu.
In his previous life, he had played this hero quite often.