Douluo Continent: Rebirth of Ma Hongjun, Phoenix of Ultimate Light

Chapter 41 Time flies! A year later!

The crowd burst into laughter.

Mark Hongjun stood at the back of the crowd, looking at the magnificent school gate, but his mind was already on the construction project ahead.

The walls and gates are just the surface; what truly differentiates a school is its substance. How the training grounds are laid out, how the dormitories are built, how the classrooms are arranged—these are the key factors determining the quality of the academy. The appearance is important, but the substance cannot be neglected.

The paving of the training ground and the leveling of the courtyard wall were carried out simultaneously.

The original rammed earth ground was completely excavated, covered with crushed stones and compacted, and then a thick layer of stone slabs was laid on top.

The stone slab surface has been coarsely ground to maintain sufficient friction without causing cuts or bruises if someone falls.

Following Ma Hongjun's suggestion, space was reserved around the training ground for planting trees. Zhao Wuji bought over a dozen saplings from outside the city and directed the craftsmen to plant them one by one. Once they sprouted next spring, they would provide shade in the summer.

"The climbing frames, balance beams, and obstacle course facilities—these custom-made items aren't finished yet," Zhao Wuji said to Ma Hongjun, who came to check on the progress, while supervising the workers planting trees. "The carpenters said it would take another half month to deliver them."

"No rush," Ma Hongjun said. "Let's get the basics right first, and then add the equipment gradually."

Zhao Wuji nodded, then suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Ma Hongjun: "Kid, when you said these things, did you already have them in mind?"

Ma Hongjun did not deny it.

"I've been thinking about this since the first day I came to the academy."

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Zhao Wuji was silent for a moment, then reached out and patted him on the head.

"That's good, keep thinking."

The renovation of dormitories and classrooms is also underway.

The original adobe house was not demolished, but reinforced and renovated. The exterior walls were repainted, the roof tiles were replaced, and the leaking problem was completely solved.

The room has new bed frames and new furniture. The bed frames are made of solid wood, thick and flat, and covered with a newly made mattress that is just the right firmness. The furniture is also newly made, sturdy and stable, no longer wobbling at the slightest touch like before.

Each dormitory room is also equipped with a small stove, which can be used to keep warm in winter.

Flander initially thought that having a stove was a bit extravagant, but Ma Hongjun convinced him with one sentence: "If the students catch a cold in winter, it will not only delay their training but also cost extra money to buy medicine. Buying a stove is actually saving money."

The cafeteria was the last building to be constructed.

Because it affected daily meals, the stove couldn't be shut down; construction had to be carried out while maintaining operation. Shao Xin had to coordinate with the workers extensively on when the stove could be used, when it couldn't, and when the flue needed modification—all of this had to be done one by one.

Docking.

Foreman Zhou was getting a little annoyed by these trivial matters, but for the sake of the money, he patiently arranged them one by one.

"Teacher Shao, you've really improved the cafeteria. Even the chefs at the restaurants outside can't compare to you," Foreman Zhou once said, half-jokingly.

Shao Xin replied with a smile, "It's all set. You can come to eat here from now on, and I won't charge you."

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the project is progressing fairly smoothly.

The main framework—including the school walls, gate, training ground foundation, and dormitory renovations—is largely complete. All that remains are some details and the installation of custom-made equipment.

Every day after training, Ma Hongjun would take a walk around the construction site to check on the progress and discuss things with Zhao Wuji and Foreman Zhou. Some problems he hadn't anticipated would surface during construction, requiring temporary adjustments to the plan. Although Foreman Zhou liked to complain, he was truly dedicated to his work, and he always managed to find ways to fulfill Ma Hongjun's requests.

One evening, Ma Hongjun was returning from the construction site when he passed by the newly built courtyard wall. The setting sun shone on the bluestone wall, turning the entire wall golden.

He stopped and looked at the golden wall, suddenly remembering when he first came to Shrek Academy three months ago.

Shrek back then was completely different from what he is now.

The earthen wall collapsed, and a new wall was erected.

The old has gone, and the new has arrived.

The academy is gradually becoming what he envisions. Not because of him alone, but because everyone is working towards the same goal.

Ma Hongjun withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the dormitory.

There's still a lot to do tomorrow.

Time is the fairest thing.

Whether you are rich or poor, whether your soul power is high or low, a day is a day, a year is a year, no more and no less.

But for Ma Hongjun and Oscar, this year went by faster than any previous year.

Every day, I get up before dawn, put on my weighted armor, and go for a morning run. After breakfast, it's practical training. The afternoon is for physical conditioning and various auxiliary training. In the evening, I soak in a medicinal bath, meditate, and read. Day after day, week after week, I almost never miss a day.

Flander would sometimes ask Oscar, "Aren't you tired?"

Oscar's answer is always just three words: "Still alive."

Ma Hongjun never answers such questions. It's not that he's not tired, but he feels that being tired isn't worth talking about. Cultivation is inherently a matter of enduring hardship; complaining solves nothing and only makes others think you're incompetent.

A year of hard work has yielded tangible results.

Ma Hongjun rose from level 26 to level 30. Oscar rose from level 27 to level 30. Both of them stood on the threshold of becoming Soul Masters, only one Soul Ring away from officially entering the ranks of level 30.

Flanders was both satisfied and dissatisfied with the speed.

To everyone's satisfaction, these two children truly lived up to their talents. With innate full soul power, top-tier cultivation resources, scientific training methods, and continuous medicinal bath conditioning—their progress this year was among the best on the entire continent.

What I'm not satisfied with is that the Soul Master is the real watershed moment.

Before level 30, the speed of cultivation depends mainly on talent and resources. People with innate full soul power can basically have a smooth journey before level 30, as long as they don't slack off, like a rolling stone on a downhill road, unstoppable.

But after level 30, the situation is completely different.

Regardless of one's martial soul or talent level, everyone's cultivation speed will be forcibly slowed down. This isn't anyone's fault; it's the limit of the human body. Before level 30, one is developing potential; after level 30, one is surpassing that limit.

Pushing the limits is never an easy thing.

Therefore, Flander must get his two children to level 30 as soon as possible. The earlier, the better. The younger they are, the more malleable their bodies are, and the higher their potential is. Once the optimal period is missed, the path ahead will become narrower and more difficult.

Now, Ma Hongjun and Oscar have not let him down.

Shrek Academy, which was struggling to make ends meet just a year ago, has completely changed.

The two-meter-high, straight, and neat bluestone wall completely encloses the entire college. At intervals along the wall, a dark blue flag with the college emblem embroidered on it is planted, fluttering in the wind.