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

Chapter 49 There is a golden house in the book

Dai Mubai raised his head and stared at Zhao Wuji expressionlessly.

"Don't give me any special treatment."

Zhao Wuji patted his shoulder with such force that he almost knelt on one knee.

"Don't worry, there's no special treatment."

Ma Hongjun and Oscar didn't leave; they stood by the training field watching Zhao Wuji and Dai Mubai.

Oscar put his hands in his school uniform pockets and tilted his head to look at Dai Mubai.

"How many rounds do you think he can last?"

Ma Hongjun thought for a moment and said two words: "Two days."

Oscar held up three fingers: "Three days. I bet three days."

Ma Hongjun didn't respond, watching as Dai Mubai was led by Zhao Wuji to start warming up with the simplest exercises.

People like Zhao Wuji might say "there's no special treatment," but his "no special treatment" is actually the most terrifying kind of treatment.

Ma Hongjun had seen many people collapse after Zhao Wuji's first round of training—Dai Mubai was able to persevere, which showed he had the willpower.

Zhao Wuji's voice could be heard from afar on the training field.

"Dai Mubai! Ten laps! Begin!"

Dai Mubai strode out.

His movements were precise, his steps were even, and his breathing rhythm was well controlled.

It's obvious they've practiced, and practiced a lot.

Ma Hongjun watched his running figure and silently added a sentence in his mind.

Dai Mubai can pull through.

Dai Mubai made it through the first day of training.

After running ten laps of weighted long-distance running, doing five hundred push-ups, three hundred sit-ups, and two hundred squats, he was dragged by Zhao Wuji to spar and was thrown into the ground no less than twenty times.

But every time he stood up, he continued fighting until Zhao Wuji said, "That's enough for today."

When Dai Mubai got back to the dormitory, he practically crawled in; he couldn't even lift a finger.

But he lay on the bed, looking at the neatly folded school uniform next to his pillow.

The school uniform wasn't his; Flander had brought it to Oscar that morning.

He hasn't received his school uniform yet; Flander said he'd give it to him after the tailor finishes it.

He looked at the school uniform that didn't belong to him and imagined what he would look like wearing it.

What he thought of before he closed his eyes was...

Ma Hongjun said he would wait for him, and both of them said they would wait for him.

We must break through this barrier within half a month.

Dai Mubai said to himself.

It was already dark when training ended.

Dai Mubai was helped back to the dormitory by Oscar. His legs felt like they were filled with lead, and every step felt like walking on cotton.

Zhao Wuji added three sets of squats to his routine today, calling it an "appetizer." Dai Mubai didn't have the strength to argue then, and he doesn't have the strength to recall it now.

Oscar tossed him onto the bed and clapped his hands: "We have to continue tomorrow, so you get some rest."

Dai Mubai didn't even have the strength to answer, so he nodded with his eyes closed.

Oscar walked out of Dai Mubai's room and passed by Ma Hongjun's door, where he saw a dim light shining through the crack in the door.

He knocked on the door and went inside without waiting for a response.

Ma Hongjun sat at the table with several thick books spread out in front of him and a stack of papers covered with writing on them beside him.

The flame of the oil lamp flickered gently in the breeze, casting his focused profile on the wall.

"Reading again?"

Oscar leaned over and glanced at the book on the table.

"A Comprehensive Guide to Soul Beast Herbs," "Advanced Pharmacology," and "The Evolution of Martial Souls"—each of these books is as thick as a brick, and the edges of the pages are already frayed from repeated use.

"Um."

Ma Hongjun didn't even look up; his pen flew across the paper, writing down a string of medicinal herb names and proportions.

Oscar sat down on his bed, crossed his legs, and watched him write.

He had known Ma Hongjun for almost a year. In that year, he had witnessed Ma Hongjun's fierce determination on the training field, his calm and almost ruthless judgment in battle, and his composure in spending lavishly at auctions.

But what he saw most often was Ma Hongjun sitting at the table reading a book.

Quiet and focused, like a dry sponge thrown into water, constantly absorbing, yet never quite getting enough.

"What's the use of reading these books?" Oscar asked. "Soul power cultivation doesn't rely on reading books."

Ma Hongjun paused for a moment, then looked up at Oscar.

"Then let me ask you, who formulated the medicinal bath?"

"Teacher Shao Xin."

"Where did Professor Shao Xin get his prescription from?"

Oscar paused for a moment, then asked, "You learned that from a book?"

Ma Hongjun lowered his head and continued writing, talking as he wrote, his lips moving rapidly while his pen never stopped.

"Teacher Shao Xin's prescription was passed down from the older generation, and the older generation passed it down from the even older generation. It has been passed down for so many years, and no one has changed it, nor has anyone thought about whether it could be changed. No one knows why each herb in the prescription is in this amount; they only know that it has always been put in this way."

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His tone was calm, but every word he uttered sounded like he was talking about something very important.

"But I don't believe it. The book explains the medicinal properties, meridians, and principles of combining each herb in the monarch-minister-assistant-guide system very clearly. If you understand it, you can formulate your own and improve it yourself."

He picked up the piece of paper covered in writing on the table and waved it around.

"For example, this one."

Oscar took it and glanced at it. The words on it were crooked, but the content was densely packed with something like, "Three qian of Bone-Tempering Grass, nourished for a thousand years, enters the kidney meridian, strengthens tendons and bones," "Five qian of Blood-Activating Vine, warm in nature, enters the pericardium meridian, helps the circulation of qi and blood," and "Two qian of Mind-Calming Flower, calms the soul and stabilizes the mind, can increase meditation efficiency by 20%."

He didn't quite understand it, but he thought it was amazing.

"What is this?" Oscar asked, pointing to the densely packed words.

"The prescription," Ma Hongjun said, "I prepared it myself."

Oscar stared at the page, remained silent for a few seconds, then stared at Ma Hongjun for a few more seconds.

"You composed this yourself? Really?"

Ma Hongjun ignored the surprise in his tone.

"I've been reading for almost a year. I've read the Complete Guide to Soul Beast Herbs three times, the Advanced Pharmacology twice, and copied the chapter on the connection between Martial Soul and Physical Body in The Theory of Martial Soul Evolution."

He put down his pen and looked at Oscar.

"I put in just as much effort as I did into cultivation. While you were playing, I was reading, but I don't regret it. Because with books, you won't waste your time reading them. Things you don't need now will come in handy later."

He picked up one of the books on the table. The book was thick, and the gold lettering on the spine had been worn away and blurred, a result of repeated reading.

"What's written in books is the experience and methods that our predecessors spent a lifetime, or even several lifetimes, summarizing. And those people who spent their whole lives summarizing these things are long gone. They wrote their life's work into books, and later generations only need to spend a few days reading them to take away their life's wisdom."

Ma Hongjun looked at Oscar, his eyes reflecting the light of the oil lamp.

"There is no better deal in this world than reading."