How the Academic Master Was Forged

The arranged fight in the Small Forest was known only to Xiao Laoda's little clique and Zhang Yang. After all, the battle had come far too suddenly.

Zhang Yang ate rather quickly. By the time he finished and stood up, Xiao Laoda's group was still eating with gusto.

Zhang Yang had no patience to wait around like an idiot. He walked up beside Xiao Laoda and shoved him while he was drinking soup, shouting, "Why are you eating so slowly? Are you even a man? Haven't eaten in days or something?"

Xiao Laoda, who had been drinking soup, nearly plunged face-first into his bowl.

Xiao Laoda's father was the city lord, so when had he ever suffered such humiliation growing up? He stopped eating, slammed a hand on the table, and rose to his feet. "You little brat, just you wait. If I don't beat you to death today, then I'm not Xiao Laoda."

With that, Xiao Laoda called for his lackeys and headed toward the Small Forest.

Xiao Laoda and the others led the way, while Zhang Yang followed alone with his hands in his pockets. They left the school cafeteria, crossed the Back Training Ground, passed through the School Back Gate, and finally arrived at the Small Forest where they had agreed to fight.

In the Small Forest, the two sides faced each other. On one side were six or seven upperclassmen, all around eleven or twelve years old. On the other was only a six-year-old Little Bean.

This was a battle between Soul Masters. There was no such thing as fairness.

Xiao Laoda said contemptuously, "Kid, I don't know whether you've been possessed by a ghost or eaten bear guts, but you actually dared to lay hands on me? Of course, I don't care about any of that. I only want to know how you want to die later."

"Enough nonsense. Why are you dragging your feet over a fight? Show your Martial Souls," Zhang Yang said with a disdainful curl of his lips.

"You! Fine!" Xiao Laoda laughed in anger. "Xiao Chenyu, sixth-year student. Martial Soul: Wolf. Level eleven, one-ring Battle Soul Master."

With that, Xiao Chenyu merged with his Martial Soul. Pale gray fur sprouted across his body, his eyes turned green, and his nails grew long and sharp. At the same time, a white Soul Ring appeared beneath his feet.

"Zhang Yang, first-year student. Martial Soul: Borsalino. Level thirteen, one-ring Battle Soul Master."

Having removed his School Uniform, Zhang Yang also began merging with his Martial Soul.

By now, Zhang Yang no longer needed to summon Borsalino before merging with it. Merging directly produced the same result.

The six-year-old Little Bean, standing one meter thirty tall, instantly transformed into a Sturdy Youth standing one meter sixty tall. At the same time, a yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring appeared beneath Zhang Yang's feet.

"Level thirteen Soul Power? A Hundred-Year Soul Ring? And he's a First-Year Student?"

The upperclassmen were all stunned, then looked at one another.

This guy was a little too much of a genius, wasn't he?

Looking at Zhang Yang, Xiao Chenyu could not help but feel uneasy. Such a gifted youth, and his First Soul Ring was a Hundred-Year Soul Ring too—just how powerful was his background?

Xiao Chenyu's father, the city lord of Nuoding City, had repeatedly warned him that certain great clans in this world absolutely could not be offended. They were even more terrifying than the Imperial Family. The Imperial Family still had to care about appearances, but those great clans had no such concerns. Angering them would bring utter ruin.

Unconsciously, Xiao Chenyu's tone became more polite. "This battle is merely a spar. What do you think, Zhang Yang?"

"Cut it out. Who has nothing better to do than spar with you?" Zhang Yang said bluntly. "Whoever wins becomes the boss of the entire academy."

"Fine," Xiao Chenyu agreed readily.

Whoever had the bigger fist was the boss. The world of Soul Masters was that simple and brutal.

"Let's begin."

Before the words had even faded, Xiao Chenyu crossed the distance between them in two strides and lunged forward viciously.

Xiao Chenyu's Martial Soul was a wolf, and wolves were certainly skilled at pouncing. Whether it was the Sharpness of Wolf Claws or the tearing bite of Wolf Fangs, both were attack methods wolves excelled at.

Seeing Zhang Yang's Hundred-Year Soul Ring flash beneath his feet while he was in midair, Xiao Chenyu knew that Zhang Yang had already unleashed his First Soul Skill, and he immediately became twelve times more cautious.

As he thought this, Xiao Chenyu had already pounced in front of Zhang Yang. His pair of sharp Wolf Claws slashed viciously toward him. A one-ring Beast Martial Soul Master possessed immense strength, and Xiao Chenyu's Wolf Claws had once easily crushed stone blocks.

But unfortunately for him, he had encountered Zhang Yang with his First Soul Skill activated.

Xiao Chenyu's pounce seemed to land directly in empty air. His claws struck Zhang Yang's body without any solid sensation, yet it looked as though the Wolf Claws had pierced straight through Zhang Yang's chest.

The upperclassmen stared at the scene in shock. None of them had expected this arrogant first-year student to offer no decent resistance at all before Xiao Laoda's Wolf Claws pierced directly through his chest.

It seemed that blood would gush from Zhang Yang's chest the very next second, and some of the more timid students could not bear to watch what came next.

Yet to everyone's surprise, Zhang Yang, whose chest had been pierced by both claws, still wore a relaxed smile at the corner of his lips. He shifted slightly, raised his right foot and kicked away Xiao Laoda's right leg, the one supporting his balance. Then he raised his right hand, grabbed the back of Xiao Laoda's head, and exerted force sharply.

With a dull bang, Xiao Laoda was slammed to the ground by Zhang Yang.

The opening suppression was not the end of it. Zhang Yang pressed his advantage, leaping up to kick Xiao Laoda in the ribs and sending him flying with a single kick.

Bang. Xiao Laoda flew three meters like a football before landing flat on his back.

Then, before Xiao Laoda could even react, Zhang Yang straddled him and gave him a vicious pounding.

Just like that, Xiao Chenyu, his face swollen a full size larger, lost the duel.

The sixth-year students could only obediently bow and call out, "Boss Zhang."

"Mm." Zhang Yang nodded in satisfaction and patted Xiao Chenyu's shoulder, which looked as though it had been possessed by a Fat Pig Martial Soul. "From now on, I'm your boss. I'll make sure you can swagger around the academy."

Xiao Chenyu covered his face, utterly speechless. Who needs you? My dad's the city lord. Even before you came along, I could swagger around the academy.

But after thinking it over, Xiao Chenyu still moved closer to Zhang Yang and said, "Boss, the Work-Study Students are going to fight us tomorrow. What do you think...?"

"Hm?" Zhang Yang was taken aback when he heard that. "Fight the Work-Study Students? Why?"

"The Big Sister of the Work-Study Students, Xiao Wu, came right to our door to provoke us. We're only responding passively," Xiao Chenyu said helplessly, spreading his hands.

"Ordinary students have always looked down on Work-Study Students, and there have always been private conflicts between the two sides. She came to provoke us as soon as she became Big Sister. Maybe she wants to use this method to establish her authority among the Work-Study Students."

"Is that so?" Zhang Yang scratched his head.

Zhang Yang had long since forgotten such minor plot details. After all, he had already been in this world for six years, and it had also been many years since he had read it in his original world.

"Yeah, Boss, you're a first-year student too. You should know Xiao Wu, right?" Xiao Chenyu asked.

"Yeah. We have class together every morning, of course I know her." Zhang Yang nodded, then thought for a moment. "It's fine. I'll go tomorrow too. After all, I'm your boss."

"Thank you, Boss." Xiao Chenyu and the upperclassmen bowed in thanks. Then he stepped forward ingratiatingly. "Boss, are you hungry? How about I take you to the best restaurant in Nuoding City for a feast?"

Zhang Yang looked at him as if to say, Are you a pig? You just ate and you want to eat again? Have you never had a proper meal in your life?

"We only got halfway through before you dragged us here," Xiao Chenyu said with an awkward laugh. "It's not just me. None of them are full either."

The lackeys laughed awkwardly as well.

Zhang Yang waved a hand. "Alright, alright. Go eat by yourselves. What kind of boss mooches meals off his lackeys?"

"Boss, we're your lackeys. Treating you to a meal is only right," one bootlicking lackey said fawningly.

"Didn't you hear me? Your boss is full." Zhang Yang waved them off. "Alright, back to the academy."

Thus, on the way back to the academy, many teachers and students witnessed the academy bully Xiao Chenyu and his close followers desperately currying favor with a little bean barely 1.3 meters tall.

By that afternoon, the news that a first-year student had defeated Xiao Chenyu and become the academy's new boss had spread throughout the school.

That evening, Tang San finished class with Master and parted ways with Zhang Yang at the Dormitory stairs, returning to Dormitory 7 with the notebook he used for class.

When he entered the dormitory, Tang San suddenly discovered that none of his roommates were cultivating today. Instead, they had gathered around Xiao Wu's bed, discussing something.

"Ah, Xiao San, you're back!" When Xiao Wu saw Tang San appear, she happily called him over.

"What's going on?" Tang San walked into the crowd with his notebook in his arms.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Xiao Wu patted Tang San's shoulder and asked, "Xiao San, if I remember correctly, the only first-year student who's your junior fellow disciple is Zhang Yang, right?"

Zhang Yang had been born two months before Tang San, so he had always called him Xiao San. However, Tang San had become Master's disciple five seconds before Zhang Yang, making him the senior fellow disciple.

"Of course. Xiao Wu, you've been attending class for so many days now. Don't tell me you still haven't remembered your classmates' names?" Tang San looked at her as though she were asking something she already knew.

Xiao Wu ignored that and continued, "Then do you know that he's now the boss of all the students in the academy?"

"Hm? What?" Tang San froze upon hearing that.

"At noon today, he defeated Xiao Laoda from the sixth year and became the boss of all the ordinary students in the academy." Wang Sheng explained, "Tang San, you might not know this, but Xiao Laoda from the sixth year is an eleventh-level Battle Soul Master."

Tang San nodded in understanding. "And then?"

"I heard from some sixth-years that Zhang Yang will also be going tomorrow to help Xiao Laoda," Xiao Wu added. "Xiao San, you're Zhang Yang's senior fellow disciple and know his strength best, so you'll be responsible for handling him in tomorrow's match."

Tang San knew about the showdown. After all, news of Xiao Wu going to provoke them had already spread across the academy.

"I'll handle Zhang Yang?" Tang San thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

Seeing Tang San agree, Wang Sheng still felt somewhat uneasy. After all, Zhang Yang had defeated Xiao Chenyu, so he asked again, "Tang San, are you really that sure you can defeat Zhang Yang? He even beat Xiao Laoda."

Tang San answered decisively with just two words: "I can't."