An Underling's Thoughts

"Boss Yan, how did you predict Teacher Lu Song's movements? That was incredible."

Under the shade of a tree on the academy grounds, Yan was holding a book and flipping through it. Tuo Ba Hong had followed him over, his face full of flattery and admiration.

"A person's habits are difficult to change. From the few times he acted, you can roughly predict his personality and the choices he would make in different situations. Also, when standing in the same position, the pressure exerted by one foot differs from that of two feet. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Yan looked up and gave a brief explanation. Sure enough, the little fatty's round face was utterly bewildered. He shrugged, somewhat lacking in interest, then stared at the boy before him and said in a low voice, "You said before that you wanted to team up with me to pass the practical combat test. Now that we've passed it, tell me. What exactly are you after, being so attentive toward me? I want the truth, and you'd better tell the truth."

Yan had been smiling as he spoke. A few little girls watching him from afar reacted strongly to that smiling face, each of them blushing as they quickly turned away, too embarrassed to keep looking. Yet Tuo Ba Hong, standing before him, had an entirely different feeling. His legs began to tremble uncontrollably, cold sweat ran down his back, and he felt as though some savage beast had fixed its gaze on him.

"Tell me the truth."

Yan spoke again, his eyes cold as they assessed him. "You know I'm not easy to fool, and I dislike being deceived even more. I don't think you'd want to try my methods. Let me tell you, I've killed people before. Do you know what it feels like to kill someone?"

"Boss Yan, y-you're joking, right?"

Tuo Ba Hong forced out a smile. Yan's gaze swept over him again, and he jolted before hurriedly saying, "Boss, I'll talk, I'll talk... I'll come clean. The reason I approached you and wanted to be your friend was partly because I sensed how powerful your martial soul was, so I got curious. Of course, the most important reason was that I wanted to ask where you got the food you brought every day. Could you tell me? I'm just someone who loves good food."

"Food?"

Yan could not help but freeze at that answer. With the feedback from Dawn, he could basically determine that the little fatty was telling the truth, and that this latter reason was the key reason he had approached him.

He did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had thought this little fatty had some scheme or ulterior motive. Who would have thought it was for a bite to eat? He was willing to become someone's underling just for that?

Yan examined Tuo Ba Hong again. He had a very round build, with fat practically all over his body, and at the mention of food, his saliva nearly sprayed out. Fine, he was definitely a foodie. Yan had met several people like that in his previous life. Becoming someone's underling for a bite of good food? Nothing wrong with that.

"I bring it from home. You can't buy it outside."

Yan found the boy much more pleasing to the eye now. He patted the grass beside him. "Come on, sit down. Let's talk!"

"I knew it. I've basically gone all around Spirit City, but I never found any food with such a distinctive smell."

Having told the truth, Tuo Ba Hong relaxed as well. After sitting beside Yan, he let out a long breath. He had truly been frightened just now.

"Your Soul Power is progressing well. In a few more months, probably around the end of the year, you should be able to break through to level ten. Have you considered what kind of soul ring you want to obtain?"

Yan patted Tuo Ba Hong's shoulder with one hand, a faint gleam flashing through his eyes. Without the fatty beside him noticing at all, he had already gained a rough grasp of his circumstances, even making an approximate estimate of his Soul Power Level progress.

Tuo Ba Hong scratched his head. "Well, I haven't decided yet. But our White Armor Earth Dragon Clan has been around for a long time, so when it comes to choosing soul rings, we basically listen to the elders."

"The best choice should be an earth-element soul beast with dragon blood. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan does the same. Every soul ring they choose is related to dragons, continuously stimulating the dragon blood within their bodies to undergo dragonification, eventually transforming into the form of a true dragon."

Yan glanced at Tuo Ba Hong and spoke calmly. The latter opened his mouth, then fell silent, presumably a little embarrassed at having been seen through. In truth, for martial souls with dragon bloodlines, the choice of soul rings was basically the same. The ultimate goal was to evolve into a true dragon.

Yan opened his book and pointed at an illustration. "Personally, I recommend the Earth Dragon Lizard. This soul beast is a subspecies of earth dragons, and the dragon blood in its body is quite dense. There's a chance of obtaining a Soul Bone from it. In addition, it can strengthen your control over the earth element. Your physique is decent, so you can withstand a soul ring below four hundred and thirty years. Earth Dragon Lizards between four hundred and five hundred years have some obvious characteristics..."

"You remembered all that, right? When you get home, you can discuss it with your elders and gather some information. A few months is enough time for you to prepare."

Yan rattled off a whole lot, while Tuo Ba Hong listened blankly at his side. Only after Yan finished did the little fatty finally snap back to his senses.

"G-got it, Boss."

Tuo Ba Hong replied dazedly. At that moment, he admired Yan beyond measure. I didn't lose out by recognizing him as my boss. He's actually putting so much thought into things for an underling like me.

"It's good that you understand. After school, come to my house. I have something to discuss with you. And didn't you want something to eat? I'll let you try something good today."

Yan patted Tuo Ba Hong's shoulder again. He's still just a child, after all. Naturally, Yan had his own reasons for planning Tuo Ba Hong's path. Innate level-six Soul Power was not low. What an excellent meat shield. It would be a shame not to take him in as an underling.

Yan chatted with Tuo Ba Hong for a while longer. As they talked, the practical combat assessment continued. However, three groups in a row suffered miserable defeats. Forget forcing Lu Song to save himself as Yan had done—none of those three groups lasted even five minutes.

Lu Song had probably suffered a silent loss at Yan's hands and felt frustrated. In the following practical combat tests, he went almost all out. A serious Soul Elder facing a group of Spirit Scholars between levels four and nine was simply not a battle on the same level.

"Gather up."

After the final temporary group failed its assessment, Lu Song called everyone together on the training ground. Yan and Tuo Ba Hong naturally went over as well.

Lu Song calmly swept his gaze across the crowd standing before him and said indifferently, "This afternoon's practical combat test is over. I don't know what you all think, but I'm not satisfied with most of your performances. You had seven teams in total, yet only one team passed the test. Are you satisfied with that result?"

"From today onward, the afternoon practical combat classes will include physical training. Of course, you can choose not to participate, as long as you can form a team and pass my test."

As he spoke, he could not help glancing at Yan. Seeing no reaction from him, he continued, "If no one has any objections, then you're dismissed."