Flender approached Ma Hongjun and examined his limbs. After the treatment from Su Ming and Oscar, his recovery was decent, and all he needed now was rest.
However, regarding the missing part of his body, Flender had no solution. Despite his years of traveling the continent, he had never heard of a healing-type soul master capable of regrowing something like that.
Flender patted Ma Hongjun on the shoulder and said, "Fatty, your limbs have been treated by Su Ming and Oscar, and they should heal with proper rest. I know a healing-type soul master in the city who can help you with the final touches."
Before Flender could finish, Ma Hongjun eagerly asked, "Teacher, do you think... can that part of me be restored?"
Seeing the hopeful look on Ma Hongjun's face, Flender sighed heavily and said, "Fatty, if it hadn't completely disappeared, there might be a chance. But now... I can only promise to do my best to find someone who can help."
Hearing this, Ma Hongjun felt as though he had been struck by lightning. Even though he had prepared himself for this possibility, hearing it from his teacher made it even harder to accept.
Flender, seeing how devastated Ma Hongjun was, tried to comfort him, "Fatty, don't be too upset. In a way, losing that part might be a blessing. Without the evil fire affecting you, you can focus solely on training. Look at everyone else—your strength is the weakest among them."
Ma Hongjun:
"Teacher, if you don't know how to comfort me, then please don't. My weakness isn't just because of the evil fire! Now that it's gone, my happiness as a man is also gone. How am I supposed to live with that?"
After saying this, Flender returned to his place. He sympathized with Ma Hongjun's situation, but there was nothing more he could do. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time behind Zao Wuji had led to this. As Ma Hongjun's teacher, the best Flender could do was to find a healing-type soul master for him and hope for the best.
In fact, Flender believed this might be a blessing in disguise. He had taken Ma Hongjun as his disciple because of his top-tier beast martial soul, the Evil Fire Phoenix. Now, without the evil fire distracting him, Ma Hongjun would have no choice but to focus on his cultivation.
Flender then introduced Yu Xiaogang to the group, "This is our academy's new theory teacher and my brother, the Wisdom of the Golden Iron Triangle. He is also Tang San's teacher, and you can call him Grandmaster."
Yu Xiaogang stepped forward confidently, "Flender has told me that you are all rare talents. I will be your theory teacher, and with my guidance, your future progress will be even faster!"
Su Ming:
Su Ming silently ridiculed, You're really giving yourself too much credit. They're already geniuses, and even without your guidance, as long as they have a good environment and proper spirit rings, their progress will still be rapid. You might help them a bit in theory, but beyond that, you're not contributing much. Otherwise, Tang San wouldn't have been stuck at level 30 for so long. The main issue is your own lack of power, isn't it?
Yu Xiaogang, on the other hand, felt it was important to establish his authority and demonstrate his abilities during this first meeting. He believed a group combat session would be the best way to assess their abilities and offer constructive criticism.
He spoke firmly, "Since I'm now your theory teacher, I need to understand your current strength to guide you properly. Today's task will be group combat!"
Group combat?
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately glanced at Su Ming. None of them wanted to end up in the same group as him. Su Ming was too strong, and Xiao Wu was the second person they wanted to avoid. Her combat style was too violent.
Ma Hongjun, in particular, felt a chill. His injuries had just begun to heal, and if Xiao Wu kicked him a few more times, his recovery might take a turn for the worse.
Seeing the tension among the students, Yu Xiaogang nodded in satisfaction. This was the effect he wanted.
Turning to Ma Hongjun, Yu Xiaogang asked, "Fatty, can your body handle group combat? Don't worry, we'll stop before anyone gets hurt. Your teacher will be watching."
Ma Hongjun had wanted to refuse, but Yu Xiaogang didn't give him the chance. With Flender's name brought up, he had no choice but to agree.
Reluctantly, Ma Hongjun nodded.
Yu Xiaogang smiled, pleased with Ma Hongjun's attitude. Good, he has a strong spirit.
Ma Hongjun: Do you think I dared refuse?
Since Ma Hongjun had no objections, Yu Xiaogang continued, "Let's start with the first match: Dai Mubai will face Ma Hongjun and Oscar as a team!"
He then turned to Dai Mubai and asked, "Any problems with that? Ma Hongjun is lower level than you and still recovering, so he'll be paired with Oscar. Or do you want to fight Xiao Wu or Su Ming?"
Upon hearing this, Dai Mubai quickly glanced at Xiao Wu and Su Ming, then immediately shook his head. Who would want to face them? Fighting Xiao Wu would leave him half-dead, and if he faced Su Ming, he'd likely be drained dry. It was much safer to fight Fatty and Oscar.
Resigned, Dai Mubai glanced at Ma Hongjun and Oscar and said, "Alright, Fatty, I'll go easy on you!"
Ma Hongjun scoffed, "Hmph, Boss Dai, if it were just the two of us, I'd admit defeat. But..."
As he spoke, Ma Hongjun signaled Oscar, who immediately understood and produced his large sausage and mushroom sausage. Oscar then wrapped himself around Ma Hongjun, and Ma Hongjun quickly consumed the mushroom sausage.
Dai Mubai cursed inwardly, realizing he had underestimated them. With the mushroom sausage, Ma Hongjun would now have aerial mobility, which greatly restricted his attacks.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up when he saw the mushroom sausage in action. Although Zao Wuji had explained that it was only useful in the early stages, it was still an excellent support tool, especially for aiding his disciple, Tang San.
Yu Xiaogang watched the fight closely as Ma Hongjun, now airborne thanks to the mushroom sausage, used his Phoenix Fireline to keep Dai Mubai at bay. Dai Mubai could only respond with his White Tiger Light Wave, but it was easily dodged by the flying Ma Hongjun.
Seeing that the fight was going nowhere, Yu Xiaogang called for a stop. There was no point in continuing; Dai Mubai had clearly lost.