Teacher, Are You All Right?

Yu Xiaogang reached out and took it.

The instant the hammer landed in his hand, a heavy downward force yanked it down. Completely unprepared, Yu Xiaogang felt his wrist drop and stumbled a step forward, his shoulders tilting with him.

Yu Xiaogang instinctively tried to tighten his grip, but the hammer was far heavier than he had imagined. A lump of iron weighing fifty or sixty jin was naturally nothing in the hands of a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster, provided Yu Xiaogang was prepared.

But now, Yu Xiaogang's fingers had not even had time to close around it.

Clang!

The hammer slipped from his hand and smashed hard onto Yu Xiaogang's toes.

"Sss!!!"

Yu Xiaogang sucked in a sharp breath and jumped as if he had been electrocuted. His facial muscles twisted instantly, his teeth bared in a grimace, veins throbbed on his forehead, and his eyes turned red.

Bending over and clutching his injured foot with both hands, Yu Xiaogang hopped on one leg several times, hissing through his teeth. It took quite a while before he recovered. The hem of his robe was smeared with dirt and dust, leaving him a sorry sight.

"T-teacher, I'm sorry!" Tang San hurried forward, apologizing with a guilty look as he scrambled to help Yu Xiaogang up. "It's all because this hammer is too heavy. I forgot to warn you..."

Tang San's tone was utterly sincere, his expression full of self-reproach. Tears even welled up in his eyes, and his little face flushed red. He looked every bit like a child who had made an innocent mistake and was afraid of being scolded.

Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure the intense pain in his toes. He waved a hand. "I'm... I'm fine..."

Yu Xiaogang glanced down at the hammer on the ground, his pupils shrinking slightly. This hammer... weighs at least fifty or sixty jin.

A six-year-old child carried fifty or sixty jin for dozens of li without changing expression or faltering in his stride? How much strength must he have when swinging that hammer?

Could he have been born with divine strength?

Yu Xiaogang's gaze fell on Tang San, and he looked his newly accepted disciple over again, temporarily forgetting even the pain in his toes.

Tang San stood there, a guilty expression still on his face, his little hands nervously clutching the hem of his clothes. He looked utterly pitiful.

But inside, he was thrilled.

I've been swallowing this anger for six whole years. Six years! Do you know how I've lived these past six years?!

You wanted to disgust me, huh? Then let's see how you like a little pain.

Of course, Tang San knew what he was doing. No matter how much of a good-for-nothing Yu Xiaogang was, he was still a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster, far stronger physically than an ordinary person. At most, that blow would leave him swollen for two days and break a toe; nothing serious would happen. There were plenty of days ahead.

"Teacher, are you all right?" Tang San came close again and reached out to support him, his little face full of concern.

"I'm fine... Let's go." Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth and bent down to pick up the hammer. He could barely lift it even with both hands. He limped forward, the corners of his mouth twitching with every step.

Tang San obediently followed behind him, his head lowered. The corners of his mouth rose slightly, only for him to quickly press them down again.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled light and shadows across the bluestone path. Tang San stepped on the patches of light, his steps as light as those of a cat that had stolen a taste of fish.

The academic affairs office was on the first floor of the main teaching building. The room was small and simply furnished.

The teacher responsible for receiving the new students looked to be in his sixties, and two younger teachers under thirty were there to assist him.

Yu Xiaogang limped over, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly each time his foot touched the ground.

Yu Xiaogang placed the certificate from Spirit Hall on the desk and said to the older teacher, "Director Su, this is the work-study student Holy Soul Village sent this year. Sorry for the trouble, but please help him register."

Director Su saw who had come and said with a broad smile, "Grandmaster, what happened to your foot?"

Yu Xiaogang's expression did not change, though the corners of his mouth twitched. He replied awkwardly, "It's nothing. I accidentally dropped something on it."

"Are you sure you're all right? Would you like one of the academy's healing Soul Masters to take a look?" Director Su stood, brought over a chair from nearby, and eagerly pushed it toward him.

Yu Xiaogang waved a hand in refusal, his tone somewhat cool as he maintained his dignity. "There's no need. It'll be fine in a little while. Please register my disciple first."

With that, Yu Xiaogang turned to Tang San, his voice softening somewhat. "Little San, register here yourself. These teachers will tell you what to do. I'll leave first; I'll come find you later."

Having said that, Yu Xiaogang handed the Vajra Hammer back to Tang San. His gaze lingered on it for a moment, as if he were weighing something.

"All right, Teacher!" Tang San took the hammer, held it in both hands, and slung it onto his back again.

A smile appeared on the Grandmaster's face. Full of satisfaction, he turned and limped out of the academic affairs office.

Hearing how Tang San had addressed the Grandmaster, Director Su seemed very interested. With a somewhat odd expression, he asked, "Young man, have you taken the Grandmaster as your teacher?"

His tone held a subtle note of surprise, as if he were saying, "Someone actually took him as a teacher?"

Tang San nodded and said helplessly, "Yes, sir."

Director Su shook his head repeatedly and said with a rueful smile, "I never thought the Grandmaster would take a disciple. But you're still a student of this academy, and you must follow its rules and regulations just like everyone else. Do you understand?"

Tang San nodded and said nothing more.

Director Su picked up the certificate from Spirit Hall and looked it over. "Tang San, right? Oh, you have Innate Full Soul Power. What a pity your Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass."

Tang San's expression remained unchanged as he nodded. "Yes, it's a great pity."

Director Su glanced at Tang San and said nothing more. He lowered his head and began processing the paperwork.

Filling out forms, registering, collecting a uniform, assigning a dormitory... The whole process took only a moment.

Director Su pushed the uniform in front of Tang San and said, "All right, that's it. These are your things, provided free of charge by the academy. You'll be staying in room seven of the dormitory building. The teacher in charge there will arrange your work-study duties. Off you go."

"Thank you." Tang San gathered his things, turned, and walked out of the academic affairs office.

There was only one dormitory building, so it was easy to find. The academy's students and teachers all lived there.

Tang San walked down the corridor, where a red "seven" had been painted on the wall.

He pushed the door open, and a smell of sweat and dampness rushed at him.

Tang San swept his gaze across the room. It was fairly spacious, with fifty beds arranged in two rows. But there were only beds, bare wooden boards, and just eleven had bedding.

An older child noticed the movement at the door, rose from his bed, and walked over.

Tang San thought that this person should be Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng stopped in front of Tang San and lifted his chin slightly, looking down at him somewhat as he asked, "A new work-study student?"

His tone was not particularly fierce, but the message that "I call the shots here" was already quite clear.

Tang San smiled slightly, neither servile nor overbearing. "You're Wang Sheng, right? Hello!"

"My name is... uh... How do you know me?" Wang Sheng had just been about to introduce himself, but he swallowed his words. He had not expected Tang San to play by a different set of rules.

Tang San's smile remained unchanged, and his tone held a note of admiration. "You're the boss of Dorm Seven. Everyone knows you!"

"Huh? Am I that famous?" Wang Sheng scratched the back of his head, his expression changing from condescension to confusion.