Brotherhood

Xiao Chenyu returned to Nuoding Academy covered in dust from the road. The moment he arrived, he heard explosive news—his long-held position as the "academy boss" had actually been challenged by a New Student!

A New Student who had just enrolled dared to crush twenty Self-Funded Students alone? This was practically treating an old-school Soul Master like him as nothing.

Xiao Chenyu had just hunted a ten-year Soul Beast, successfully condensed his First Soul Ring, and advanced to Soul Master. He was brimming with confidence, so how could he swallow this insult?

After finding out where Lin Xuan was, he immediately set off in grand fashion with a group of Self-Funded Students. He was not there to gang up on anyone—now that he was a Soul Master, he disdained such lowly behavior. He had only come to issue a challenge, and he brought so many people merely to put on a show and display his authority.

Meanwhile, Lin Xuan was immersed in a breakthrough in his Martial Soul training. After Two Months of repeated experiments, he had finally figured out a way to strengthen Blue Silver Grass. He compressed what had originally been ordinary Blue Silver Grass three meters long and two fingers thick into a Blue Silver Whip half a finger thick.

Drawing on his knowledge of biology, he knew that a plant's toughness lay in its cellulose. So, he forcibly used Soul Power to guide the Blue Silver Grass into growing woody fibers, then compressed it layer by layer until its resilience rivaled that of an ordinary rope.

However, this enhancement was not permanent and could not change Blue Silver Grass's nature as a Waste Spirit. It was more like a Self-Created Soul Skill—at his level-three Soul Power, he could at most condense a three-meter Blue Silver Whip. It would completely drain his Soul Power and could only be maintained for three minutes.

What was even more troublesome was that transforming Blue Silver Grass into a Blue Silver Whip required a full ten minutes of preparation. In actual combat, that was undoubtedly a fatal flaw.

Lin Xuan understood this well. He could only improve his proficiency through repeated practice and strive to shorten the compression and transformation time—he could hardly ask an enemy to wait while he leisurely condensed a long whip during a fight, could he?

Just as he had condensed the Blue Silver Whip and was preparing to dismiss it, restore his Soul Power, and try again to shorten the transformation time, a burst of noisy footsteps approached from afar.

Lin Xuan opened his eyes, and the sight before him made the corner of his mouth twitch.

Xiao Wu was actually mixed in with the people he had slapped before, chatting enthusiastically with an unfamiliar boy.

Although Xiao Wu was a Work-Study Student, she was sweet and adorable, with nothing about her appearance distinguishing her from a Self-Funded Student.

She did not carry the shabby air typical of a Work-Study Student either.

That led all the Self-Funded Students to assume that Xiao Wu was also a newly enrolled Self-Funded Student.

Though he had never seen this boy before, the sight of Liu Long and Ling Feng standing beside him made Lin Xuan understand at once—this had to be Xiao Chenyu, the boss of the Self-Funded Students who had just returned from hunting a Soul Beast.

He simply had not expected Xiao Wu to mingle with people who had come to cause him trouble.

"Boss! This is Xiao Chenyu, Boss Xiao, the head of the Self-Funded Students. He wants to challenge you, so I brought him here!"

The moment Xiao Wu spotted Lin Xuan, she immediately bounced in front of him as though claiming credit, her eyes sparkling.

Before meeting Xiao Chenyu, Xiao Wu had already used a Soul Beast's sharp hearing to clearly overhear their conversation about coming to trouble Lin Xuan. She also knew that Xiao Chenyu had just absorbed a ten-year Soul Ring and advanced to Soul Master.

In her eyes, strength at that level was nothing more than weakling territory. She could beat ten of them one-handed, while Lin Xuan could deal with them in a single slap. But when she thought of finding some "fun" for Lin Xuan, she immediately joined Xiao Chenyu's group and proudly became their guide.

Lin Xuan was utterly speechless. He shot Xiao Wu a look, then slowly rose to his feet.

"Xiao Wu, why do you call him Boss? He's a Work-Study Student!"

Xiao Chenyu frowned, his face full of confusion. He had assumed Xiao Wu was a Self-Funded Student, never expecting her to be Lin Xuan's underling.

"Because I'm a Work-Study Student to begin with!"

Xiao Wu turned and flashed Xiao Chenyu a mischievous grin, then turned back toward Lin Xuan and fanned the flames.

"Boss, they dare to cause you trouble! Go beat them up! I love watching people fight!"

Lin Xuan answered her with a crisp knock on the head.

"Ah—"

Xiao Wu immediately clutched her head and squatted down in pain, tears welling in her eye sockets as though her head were about to explode.

"When people come looking for trouble with your boss, it's one thing if you don't deal with them for him. But you even brought them here to disturb my training?"

Lin Xuan's tone was stern. He lightly flicked the Blue Silver Whip in his hand, and with a sharp crack, the sound echoed through the air. Everyone present subconsciously took a step back, afraid of being struck by the seemingly supple whip.

"What if interrupting me caused something to go wrong in my training? Could you bear that responsibility?"

Lin Xuan looked at Xiao Wu squatting on the ground, his tone brooking no argument.

"This is your lesson. If there's a next time, I'll hang you up and whip you."

What he practiced was not the straightforward Meditation Method of Douluo Dalu 1, but an advanced method involving the circulation of meridians. If he were interrupted, he would not suffer a cultivation deviation, but he would still sustain some backlash.

Usually, it was fine if Xiao Wu was mischievous and troublesome, but matters concerning the safety of cultivation had to be dealt with seriously.

Xiao Wu looked up at Lin Xuan's cold eyes, and panic instantly rose in her heart.

She had only wanted to make a joke, but she had not expected Lin Xuan to get so angry. Her eye sockets instantly reddened, and she said softly through tears.

"I-I understand..."

Seeing her aggrieved expression, Lin Xuan sighed and reached out to rub the spot he had struck.

The last trace of Soul Power in his body turned into a wisp of energy carrying Life Aura and flowed into it—because he did not need to rely on Soul Power for cultivation, he had plenty of time to study derivative uses of Soul Power. This faint healing effect was one of the results.

As for how he would deal with Xiao Chenyu after exhausting his Soul Power?

He had never been some delicate Soul Master who could only fight with Soul Power. His Brute Strength and combat skills were his true confidence.

When Lin Xuan's hand touched her, Xiao Wu felt warmth spread across the top of her head, and the pain vanished instantly.

She stood up, pouting with tears still in her eyes as she sincerely apologized.

"I know I was wrong. I won't dare do it again."

"Good. As long as you understand."

Lin Xuan's tone softened somewhat. He had indeed been startled by the near interruption to his training just now, which was why he had spoken so harshly.

If this knock on the head could make Xiao Wu more vigilant in the future, then it had been worth it.

After dealing with Xiao Wu, Lin Xuan turned to Liu Long and the others, his gaze instantly turning icy.

"You again. Was the lesson last time not enough? Do you want another round?"

When Liu Long and the others met Lin Xuan's gaze, they all took a step back, their faces full of apprehension.

They had specifically asked a Teacher and learned that people who could eat a lot were often incredibly strong, because the greater the consumption, the stronger the physique.

But even the Teacher at the academy with the biggest appetite could only eat five Steamed Buns in one meal, while Lin Xuan could wolf down twenty. They were truly afraid of the strength hidden behind that appetite.

But Xiao Chenyu was their Boss. Since their Boss had come to trouble Lin Xuan, no matter how scared they were, they could only grit their teeth and follow—don't ask why. If you did, the answer was supposedly brotherhood.