You Think You're Worthy of Telling Me What to Do?

On the way back to the dormitory, the atmosphere was somewhat strange.

Yu Xiaogang trailed behind the three of them like a shadow, neither too close nor too far away.

His back was slightly hunched, and his stiff face was woven with fervor, humility, and a trace of lingering bewilderment.

As he looked at Lin Xi's retreating figure, his gaze resembled that of a devout believer gazing upon a miracle, terrified of missing even the slightest detail.

"Um... Lin Xi."

Xiao Wu tugged at Lin Xi's sleeve and lowered her voice, whispering furtively as though she were plotting something.

"Did you really take him as your disciple? He looks like... there might be something wrong with his head."

As she spoke, she secretly glanced back at Yu Xiaogang.

That dazed yet fanatically obsessed expression sent a chill down her spine.

Tang San said nothing. His gaze swept over Yu Xiaogang, but a different scene played out in his heart.

He understood Yu Xiaogang's state of mind better than Xiao Wu did.

When a scholar who had devoted his entire life to theory discovered that the mountain he had spent his lifetime climbing was merely a sand dune, while beside it stood a divine mountain piercing the heavens and earth, what could he do besides fall to his knees in worship?

Lin Xi's actions appeared cruel, but in truth, she had given Yu Xiaogang a new path.

A path leading to true truth—the only path.

"Nothing more than a useful loudspeaker."

Lin Xi answered Xiao Wu's question indifferently. Her voice was not loud, yet it was just enough for Yu Xiaogang behind them to hear.

Yu Xiaogang's body jolted.

A loudspeaker?

Teacher... does she want to spread her theories across the entire continent through me?

The thought instantly made his face flush red with excitement, and even his breathing grew hurried.

So that's it! Teacher doesn't truly need a disciple. She needs a spokesperson who can speak for her and debate the entire old world on her behalf!

And I, Yu Xiaogang, have spent my life researching Spirit Theory and possess unparalleled prestige in the continent's Soul Master world.

I am precisely the best candidate for this loudspeaker!

Having figured this out, Yu Xiaogang not only felt no humiliation at being used, but instead felt the supreme honor of being entrusted with a heavy responsibility.

As he looked at Lin Xi's back, the fervor in his eyes nearly solidified into tangible flames.

"Teacher is truly far-sighted. This student... admires you beyond measure!"

He bowed again, his voice loud and full of vigor.

Xiao Wu jumped at his sudden shout. She pulled a face and muttered, "He's crazy. Completely crazy."

Lin Xi ignored his declaration of loyalty and kept walking until she reached the dormitory door.

She turned around, her cool gaze sweeping over the three of them.

"Rest well today and recover your energy."

Her eyes paused on Tang San for a second.

"Especially you, Tang San. Get yourself into peak condition."

Tang San's heart tightened, and he nodded solemnly. "I understand."

With that, Lin Xi pushed open the door and entered the dormitory.

Xiao Wu stuck out her tongue and scampered in after her.

Only Tang San and Yu Xiaogang remained outside.

"Tang San... classmate."

Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San with a complicated expression, and even his form of address had become more polite.

After all, Tang San was the person closest to Lin Xi. In a sense, he counted as Yu Xiaogang's "senior brother."

"Master, is there something you need?" Tang San replied calmly.

"No, no, I wouldn't dare!" Yu Xiaogang hurriedly waved his hands, bending even lower. "You can just call me Xiaogang from now on. Before Teacher, we are all students."

The corner of Tang San's mouth twitched, but he did not respond.

He did not have the nerve to let someone old enough to be his grandfather call him "senior brother."

Yu Xiaogang rubbed his hands together. With a flattering smile on his face, he cautiously asked, "Tang San, Teacher... is she really taking you to the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow?"

"Mm."

"It's for your First Soul Ring, right?" Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up. "Your martial soul is the Blue Silver Emperor. The choice of your First Soul Ring is of utmost importance! There absolutely cannot be the slightest carelessness!"

He seemed to return to the state of the "Master" who directed the world from above, launching into an endless analysis.

"According to Teacher's Martial Soul Quality Theory, the Blue Silver Emperor, as a top-tier plant-type martial soul, has extremely high requirements for soul ring compatibility! Ordinary beast-type martial souls possess mixed energy, and they would contaminate the Blue Silver Emperor's purity. Therefore, your First Soul Ring must come from a plant-type soul beast!"

"Furthermore, the age must be carefully considered! Although Teacher's Spirit Ring Energy Leap Theory has overturned conventional understanding, we cannot aim too high either! Given your current physical condition and Spiritual Power, I personally suggest a plant-type soul beast around eight hundred to nine hundred years old, one with binding or poison abilities. That would be the safest choice!"

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, as if he had already mapped out a perfect path to godhood for Tang San.

Tang San listened quietly, but his brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

What he said... seemed to make a great deal of sense.

Every analysis was based on Lin Xi's theories, logically rigorous and flawless.

Yesterday, Tang San might have considered this priceless guidance.

But now, only two words remained in his mind.

Too noisy.

"Are you finished?"

Tang San raised his eyes and interrupted Yu Xiaogang's impassioned speech.

"Huh?" Yu Xiaogang froze.

"If you're done, please leave." Tang San's tone was flat. "Teacher told me to adjust my condition. I need quiet."

The smile on Yu Xiaogang's face stiffened.

Only then did he realize that he had fallen into his old habits again.

Before the true "Teacher," what right did he have to instruct anyone?

"Y-yes, yes. I was too presumptuous." He hurriedly apologized, a hint of panic appearing on his face. "Teacher's arrangements are naturally the best. I merely... merely wanted to share Teacher's burdens."

"The best way for you to share her burdens is not to disturb her."

After saying that, Tang San turned, pushed open the door, and entered the dormitory.

The door slammed shut with a bang, leaving Yu Xiaogang standing there alone in awkward silence.

He stared at the tightly shut door, his face alternating between pale and flushed.

After a long while, he let out a long sigh. Yet there was not the slightest resentment in his eyes. Instead, a trace of understanding appeared.

Yes.

Before absolute truth, any clever conjecture was a form of blasphemy.

What he needed to do was not "think."

It was "watch," "listen," and "learn."

He turned around. Rather than returning to his infirmary room, he found a stone step beneath the dormitory building and sat cross-legged upon it.

He would wait here.

Until dawn tomorrow.

He wanted to witness with his own eyes how Teacher would once again create—no, overturn—a world-shaking miracle!

Inside the dormitory.

Tang San saw Lin Xi sitting cross-legged on her bed, seemingly meditating.

He did not disturb her. He walked to his own bed, sat down as well, and began circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

He would bring both his body and mind to an unprecedented peak.

Because he had a feeling.

Tomorrow's trip to the Soul Hunting Forest would completely change his life.

And the girl who had given him all this was sitting quietly nearby.

He looked at her profile. That coolness, that mystery—it was like a bottomless vortex, making him unable to resist wanting to explore it, to draw closer.

The feeling was unfamiliar.

Yet he did not dislike it.