Because It Was Interesting

Xie Xie was still immersed in the joy of victory when Wu Changkong looked at them and said, "You will be responsible for compensating Tang Wulin for his school uniform."

Then, ignoring Xie Xie as he began wallowing in self-pity, Wu Changkong swept his gaze across the class and said coldly, "The match is over. Do you know what impression you gave me? Rotten wood cannot be carved!"

"No wonder you were assigned to Class Five. You truly are all useless. But even if you are scraps of iron, I will forge you into steel through a hundred temperings."

"Starting tomorrow, our class will undergo special physical training. Physical training in the morning and theory lessons in the afternoon. This morning's class ends here. Think carefully about today's match after you return. This afternoon's theory class will cover meditation. Dismissed!"

"An Ping, Xie Xie, Tang Wulin, you three, come with me." With that, Wu Changkong headed toward the Teaching Building without looking back.

"An Ping, can we fight again once I have two Soul Rings?" Xie Xie moved up beside An Ping, clearly unconvinced by his defeat.

An Ping tilted his head at the eager Xie Xie. "Are you a Battle Maniac? What does it matter whether you win or lose? Is it really that important?"

Xie Xie looked at An Ping in astonishment. "Then what do you cultivate for? Isn't a Soul Master supposed to cultivate in order to fight? How else can you improve your strength without fighting?"

"What do I cultivate for?" Caught off guard by the question, An Ping's gaze became somewhat lost.

During the first lesson, An Ping had introduced himself by saying that he wanted to become a Seeker of Knowledge pursuing the truth. But when he honestly examined himself, he did not feel that he possessed such conviction. He had merely read too much of the Shaman's Handbook and felt that a Witch was probably supposed to be like that. It did not feel particularly real to him.

"What did I begin cultivating for?" An Ping murmured softly.

"Hey, seriously? You don't even know why you cultivate? Then how did you reach level twenty-three?" Xie Xie complained.

Ignoring Xie Xie, An Ping's thoughts wandered all the way there. It felt like this should be a very important question. For no apparent reason, he recalled a line he had read in the Guide to Choosing Shaman Spells: interest was the source of all motivation. Then he remembered the joy he had felt when he successfully cast a spell for the first time. He cultivated because it was interesting.

The confusion in An Ping's eyes vanished. "Interesting. Right, it's because it's interesting!"

"Interesting? What's interesting?" This time, Xie Xie was the confused one.

"Didn't you ask why I cultivate? It's because I find it interesting. Cultivation is interesting. The world is interesting." Then he silently added, Alchemy is interesting too. So is exploring the truth.

"What the hell kind of reason is that? If it weren't interesting, you just wouldn't cultivate?" Xie Xie wore an expression as if he had seen a ghost. In all the theories he had encountered since childhood, cultivation was for becoming stronger.

"Why would I cultivate if it weren't interesting?" An Ping looked at him as though he were an idiot.

Wu Changkong brought the three of them to his office, took his seat, and looked at the three Cadets before him.

He had naturally heard An Ping and Xie Xie's conversation. Looking at An Ping, he said coldly, "The useless people I mentioned just now include you three as well. First, An Ping. I thought you were a genius, but it turns out you are useless too. You do not even have a goal! You cultivate because it is interesting? And if it is not interesting, you will not cultivate? I truly have no idea how your brain works!"

An Ping did not care in the slightest about Wu Changkong's words. He knew Wu Changkong had come from Shrek Academy. This world worshipped the strong, and Shrek Academy did so even more. Their worldviews differed, so there was nothing to explain.

Seeing An Ping's indifference, Wu Changkong snorted and turned to Tang Wulin. "You performed fairly well today. However, you did not fully make use of your advantages. Your Blue Silver Grass has mutated, hasn't it? Its toughness is far beyond normal. But your Soul Power is too weak, and you cannot keep it up for long. You should know that yourself. You clearly could have controlled him while using those hammers to block his attacks, yet you only defended."

He paused. "What is the deal with those hammers of yours?"

Tang Wulin said helplessly, "I studied Forging."

Wu Changkong raised an eyebrow slightly. "Forging? You are a Soul Master, so why study Forging? Do you intend to become a blacksmith in the future? Your Martial Soul is already poor, yet instead of cultivating diligently, you waste time on meaningless things."

Tang Wulin lowered his head, clenching his fists with a helpless expression. "But my family has no money. If I had not learned Forging, we could not even afford my first Spirit Soul..."

Wu Changkong's expression stiffened. "Fine. That reason passes. In the future, you should devote more time to Soul Master cultivation. Even if you truly want to forge, that will benefit you too."

"Okay." Tang Wulin nodded.

Then Wu Changkong turned to Xie Xie. "From what you said to An Ping, wanting to become stronger is a good thing. At least you possess the heart of a strong person."

Hearing Wu Changkong's words, Xie Xie revealed a proud smile. But before he could enjoy it for long, Wu Changkong continued, "What are you smiling for? Do you think you are better than those two? It must be fun hiding your Twin Martial Souls. Your Soul Power is level eighteen, and that is mostly thanks to the innate advantages of Twin Martial Souls, isn't it? Innate Full Soul Power, right? Have you been rather proud of that?"

Xie Xie raised his head and stared at Wu Changkong in shock. How did he know all of that?

Then Wu Changkong pointed at An Ping. "Do you think Innate Full Soul Power is so impressive? He is level twenty-three now. Do you know how much Innate Soul Power he had?"

"If his level is that high, even if he did not have Innate Full Soul Power, he must have had level nine. Or maybe he consumed some Heavenly Treasures," Xie Xie muttered softly.

Wu Changkong snorted. "His Innate Soul Power was level six. I have read his records. He is an orphan, so where would he get Heavenly Treasures? I truly do not know where your usual arrogance comes from."

"Innate Soul Power level six, and he reached level twenty-three purely through cultivation? Is that real?"

Xie Xie tilted his head and saw Tang Wulin nodding, but he still looked utterly incredulous.

"And as an Agility Attack Type Battle Soul Master, you were forced to reveal your Twin Martial Souls by a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master whose level was lower than yours. You still have a long way to go."

"Teacher, what are Twin Martial Souls?" Seeing Wu Changkong stop, Tang Wulin asked curiously.

Wu Changkong frowned. "Was your Primary Academy teacher paid for nothing? Or did you simply never listen in class? You do not even know about Twin Martial Souls? Twin Martial Souls means having two Martial Souls. The benefits are obvious. Those with Twin Martial Souls usually have Innate Full Soul Power. Cultivation is much easier, and they can obtain more Soul Rings."

"However, with Soul Beasts nearly extinct, Martial Soul cultivation has entered the Spirit Soul Era. Spirit Souls place far greater demands on Spiritual Power than Original Soul Rings. Basically, no one has Spiritual Power powerful enough to sustain the Spirit Souls for eighteen Soul Rings."

"Unless they were like the First Spirit Pagoda Master from Ten Thousand Years ago, possessing a Martial Soul with a Spiritual Power attribute and immense Spiritual Power, while every Spirit Soul was exceptionally powerful and could provide multiple Soul Rings."

He then went on to belittle the limitations faced by Agile Attack System Soul Masters in the Mecha Era, saying that the Control System was more suitable for Mecha Masters. Xie Xie was left completely dumbfounded, inwardly crying that Wu Changkong was biased. In order to boost Tang Wulin's confidence, he was finding every possible way to put Xie Xie down.