touchnovel Chapter 1: Rebirth of Ma Hongjun! Six Years of Training!
Chapter 1: Rebirth of Ma Hongjun! Six Years of Training!
The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the paper window and fell on Ma Hongjun's face.
He opened his eyes, his amber pupils slightly contracting in the morning light.
Another day has begun.
Six years.
Ma Hongjun sat up abruptly, his movements so nimble that they didn't seem like those of a six-year-old.
He looked down at his thin but strong arms.
These six years of training have not been in vain.
He gets up before dawn every day to run, do push-ups, sit-ups, and horse stance; he doesn't miss any of the physical training exercises he can do.
In those online novels from my past life, the characters who were reborn and didn't train were all fools, but Ma Hongjun is not one of them.
He walked to the window and looked at himself in the reflection in the basin of water.
Thin, strong, and good-looking.
This is his most satisfied assessment of this body.
In the original novel, Ma Hongjun was a chubby boy, and he became even more overweight after growing up.
But under his deliberate training and control, the six-year-old body has smooth lines and distinct contours, and already has some of the delicate features of a young boy.
"Hongjun! Are you up yet? It's your Martial Soul Awakening day, don't be late!" His mother's voice came from the outer room.
"They're here."
Ma Hongjun responded, got dressed, and walked out of the room.
Grass Chicken Village is an ordinary small village outside Soto City.
Six years ago, when he woke up in this body, it took him three whole days to accept reality.
He transmigrated, becoming Ma Hongjun from Douluo Continent, the Evil Fire Phoenix Ma Hongjun.
It would be a lie to say I'm not worried.
In his previous life, he was a big fan of Douluo Continent. He read the novel over and over again and watched the entire anime series.
He knew all too well what Ma Hongjun's fate would be—he was consumed by evil spirits, forced to work in a brothel, and ridiculed by the Shrek Academy students. Although he eventually became a god, the process was far from glorious.
The pain of the backlash from the evil fire was particularly intense. Although it wasn't described in detail in the original story, as a transmigrator, just imagining it made his scalp tingle.
So he did two things.
First, start exercising as soon as you can walk.
In the original novel, Ma Hongjun was quite talented, but he was lazy and gluttonous, thus wasting the potential of the Evil Fire Phoenix.
He's different; he wants to put this body on the right track from the very beginning.
Second, consider solutions.
The Phoenix of Evil Fire is strong because of its flames, but weak because of its evil nature.
In the original story, Riverland's solution was to send him to brothels to vent his frustrations, which was only a temporary fix.
I was finally relieved after eating the Phoenix Sunflower.
The problem can only be completely solved by becoming a god, but that's too far away.
His solution was—Soul Rings.
The "evil" in "evil fire" is essentially an impurity in the attributes of a martial soul.
If a pure light-attribute soul ring can be used to neutralize and cleanse it, theoretically the evil nature can be gradually removed, eventually allowing the evil fire phoenix to transform into a true light phoenix.
This idea had been discussed online in my previous life, but no one tried it in the original work.
The reason is simple—light-type spirit beasts are rare, and few people would think of using spirit rings to change the attributes of a martial spirit.
But he was a time traveler, and he knew this direction was worth trying.
"Hongjun, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry up!" his mother urged from ahead.
Ma Hongjun snapped out of his daze and followed.
Caoji Village is small; it only takes about fifteen minutes to walk from one end of the village to the other.
The Awakening Square is located in the center of the village. It is usually a grain drying ground, but today it has been cleared out, a few tables have been set up, and a strange array diagram has been drawn on it.
When Ma Hongjun arrived, a large number of people had already gathered in the square.
They were all six-year-old children from the village, a dozen or so scattered around. Some were excited, some were nervous, and a few timid ones were clinging to their parents' legs and refusing to let go.
Ma Hongjun stood silently at the edge of the crowd, not moving forward.
He glanced at the center of the square; the array diagram had been drawn, but the person in charge of the awakening had not yet arrived.
"I heard that this year a big shot from the city is presiding over the awakening, which is different from previous years," some villagers whispered.
"A big shot? What big shot?"
"I think it's called... Shrek Academy? Anyway, I heard it's run by a Soul Saint, that's incredible!"
Ma Hongjun's ears twitched slightly.
Shrek Academy? Soul Saint?
He already had a guess in his mind, but he didn't show it.
For the past six years, he deliberately avoided seeking out any information about the original plot, firstly because the village was isolated from news, and secondly because he did not want to cause a butterfly effect prematurely.
But today, what's meant to happen will happen.
The sun rose a little higher.
Just as the villagers' patience was about to run out, a figure walked from the direction of the village entrance.
Ma Hongjun raised his head and his gaze fell on that person.
The man was middle-aged, around forty years old, thin, with a stern face, and wearing a gray-blue robe.
He walked slowly, but each step had a peculiar rhythm, as if in harmony with some kind of melody in the world.
Ma Hongjun's pupils contracted slightly.
He recognized him.
Although I had only seen him on screen in my previous life, his temperament and his eyes were exactly the same as those described in the original work.
Flanders.
The dean of Shrek Academy, a Soul Saint-level expert, and also Ma Hongjun's teacher in the original work.
"They're here!" The villagers quickly made way for them.
Flanders walked to the center of the square expressionlessly, glanced at the villagers and children present, his eyes flat and revealing no emotion.
He clearly didn't have high expectations for this kind of awakening ceremony in a small village—over the years he had traveled all over the country and seen too many scenes of geniuses' dreams being shattered.
"Stand still, don't move."
His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
Ma Hongjun felt a chill run down his spine.
This exquisite control over soul power is truly worthy of a Soul Saint.
Flander crouched down and began setting up the awakening array.
His movements were very practiced, clearly indicating that he had done it countless times.
They meticulously drew lines on the ground and placed the soul guides, paying attention to every step.
Ma Hongjun watched quietly, but his heart was not as calm as it appeared.
He had been waiting for this day for six years.
In the original story, Ma Hongjun's awakening result was the Evil Fire Phoenix, with innate soul power at level nine.
But that was the result of Ma Hongjun being lazy in the original work.
Will his six years of relentless training, combined with the soul and will of a transmigrator, result in a different outcome of his awakening?
Innate full soul power?
He couldn't guarantee it, but it was worth looking forward to.
More importantly, he needs to gain Flander's approval at this juncture.
Flander may appear cold and hard, but he is actually a man of deep affection and loyalty.
In the original work, he treated his disciple Ma Hongjun with utmost sincerity, but he took a wrong turn in his approach.
In this life, Ma Hongjun's task is not only to become his disciple, but also to make him believe that he is on a different path.
"The awakening ceremony will begin immediately." Flander stood up, dusted off his hands, and said, "Those whose names are called, please step forward. The rest of you, please remain silent."
The villagers quieted down.
A dozen or so children were called forward one by one.
Ma Hongjun was last in line.
He watched as the children in front of him walked forward one by one, placed their hands on the Awakening Stone, and their martial spirits manifested—hoes, sickles, kitchen knives... all useless martial spirits of the farming tool type.
Flander's expression changed from indifference to disappointment, and then from disappointment to numbness.
He was clearly used to it all along.
What kind of good martial spirit can come from a small village?
"Next."
"Next."
"Next."
One by one, the children returned dejectedly, some even crying.
Ma Hongjun stood there, his gaze fixed on Flander.
almost.
He's next.
.....