Tang San's Test

"How did you know the technique I used just now was the Golden Bell Cover?"

After Tang San kicked him flying, Wang Sheng had promptly activated the Golden Bell Cover and was completely unhurt. After rolling several times, he quickly pushed himself up from the ground and stood again.

But because Tang San had cried out "Golden Bell Cover" in shock just now,

after getting to his feet, Wang Sheng turned to Tang San, his face filled with disbelief as well.

"It really is the Golden Bell Cover?"

Having received Wang Sheng's confirmation, Tang San staggered back several steps. While feeling utterly incredulous, his mind became a complete mess.

What exactly was going on in this world?

Ever since being reborn into this world, Tang San had constantly been gathering information about it.

Yet he had only heard of Soul Masters and Soul Beasts, never of martial arts.

He had always believed that martial arts did not exist in this world.

But just now, Wang Sheng had used a martial art similar to the Golden Bell Cover.

Perhaps there were Soul Skills in this world that resembled martial arts, but they could not possibly be called the Golden Bell Cover too!

Not only did its effects when used look the same, even its name was identical to the one from his past life.

This Golden Bell Cover was definitely the Golden Bell Cover that countless people had cultivated in the Jianghu of his past life!

But if that was the case, how did Wang Sheng know the Golden Bell Cover?

Could it be that, like him, the Wang Sheng before him had also been reborn into this world from the world of his past life?

Or was all of this merely a coincidence?

In any case, Tang San's thoughts were now a tangled mess. He did not know whether to feel happy or sad, and he had completely lost any desire to continue fighting Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng was equally bewildered.

Why did this guy named Tang San know about the Golden Bell Cover? Could he also be his teacher's disciple?

But that was impossible!

If his teacher had other disciples, there was no way he would not have told him!

"What's going on?"

"What is the Golden Bell Cover?"

"Why did they stop fighting?"

Nearby, seeing Wang Sheng and Tang San suddenly stop fighting over something called the "Golden Bell Cover," and noticing that both seemed to have something on their minds, the gathered Work-study Students began discussing it in confusion.

Just then, a series of footsteps sounded from outside the corridor.

Soon, a plain-looking middle-aged man with dark green hair arrived at the doorway. He wore a Notting Academy teacher's uniform and carried a set of bedding in his arms.

"Which one of you is Tang San?"

After arriving at the Seventh Dormitory, the teacher asked.

"I'm Tang San!"

Tang San finally gathered his chaotic thoughts. After taking several deep breaths and forcing himself to calm down, he raised his hand and called out.

Seeing Tang San, the teacher carrying the bedding walked over and said,

"You're Tang San? My name is Mo Hen. You can call me Teacher Mo. Tang San, Master gave you this bedding."

As he spoke, Mo Hen handed the bedding to Tang San.

Afterward, Mo Hen explained the Work-study Students' duties to Tang San. He told him to ask Wang Sheng if there was anything he did not understand, then turned and left.

After Mo Hen departed, Wang Sheng stopped letting his imagination run wild. Dusting himself off, he walked toward Tang San and asked in confusion,

"Why would Master give you bedding?"

"Master is my teacher."

Tang San answered calmly as he walked to an empty bed and prepared to lay out the bedding.

"You took Master as your teacher?"

Upon hearing Tang San's answer, not only Wang Sheng but the other Work-study Students as well cried out in disbelief, as though they found it utterly unimaginable.

"How did you become Master's disciple? And how did he... take a liking to you? As far as I know, Master's requirements are extremely strict."

Wang Sheng could not help wanting to ask why. But when he thought of his own teacher, Ke Zhen'e, the words he had initially intended to use to mock Master changed into a question about why Master had accepted Tang San as his disciple.

After all, according to the headmaster's publicity, Master was a renowned authority on martial soul theory in the Soul Master world.

Yet at Notting Academy, Master had never taught them anything. Not only had he never given a single lesson, but even students who wanted to take him as their teacher had been rejected.

Wang Sheng still remembered the rumors that, back then, the student who had sought to become Master's disciple had been rejected because, according to Master, that student's aptitude was too poor.

That alone had not been a problem.

After all, in taking a teacher, it was not only the disciple choosing the teacher; the teacher also chose the disciple.

But the key was that afterward, someone revealed that Master himself had only half-rank Innate Soul Power. His supposedly proud martial soul theories had also been completely refuted by Spirit Hall as absurd fallacies.

Thus, Master had become the longstanding joke of Notting Academy: a useless good-for-nothing who aimed high but lacked ability, yet was inexplicably arrogant.

Because Master's requirements for taking disciples were so high, Wang Sheng found it strange. It was one thing for Tang San to want Master as his teacher, but why would Master accept Tang San as his disciple?

"I have Innate Full Soul Power."

Tang San had not expected his teacher's requirements to be so strict. He was somewhat surprised, but he also felt deeply proud.

"You have Innate Full Soul Power? Didn't you say your martial soul was Blue Silver Grass? Were you lying to us?"

Wang Sheng could scarcely believe it.

"I didn't lie to you. I'm just different. My martial soul is Blue Silver Grass, but I really do have Innate Full Soul Power."

Tang San shook his head as he spread out his bedding.

"This... is truly unbelievable!"

Wang Sheng muttered.

But then he remembered that his teacher, Ke Zhen'e, was blind, yet after more than two months together, no one could tell at all.

Perhaps there really were things in this world that defied all common sense.

"Sorry, Tang San. I wasn't actually trying to provoke you just now..."

Because of the Golden Bell Cover, they could no longer fight. Instead, Wang Sheng very much wanted to ask why Tang San recognized the Golden Bell Cover martial art his teacher had taught him.

But this was not the place to talk. Wang Sheng could only first confess to Tang San that he had not deliberately meant to provoke him.

Tang San then learned that Wang Sheng had deliberately provoked him because the Work-study Students of the Seventh Dormitory had always suffered bullying from the Noble Students. They had to stick together and rely on a powerful leader in order to protect themselves.

Thus, the Work-study Students of the Seventh Dormitory had long established a rule.

They would choose the strongest person as their leader. Then, whenever a new student arrived, the current leader would deliberately provoke them to test their strength.

If the leader defeated the newcomer, they would make the newcomer submit.

If the leader was defeated, then they would simply replace him with a stronger leader.

Tang San was somewhat speechless about this, but he could understand it.

Having learned the truth, Tang San naturally no longer held any grudge.

However, as he laid out his bedding, Tang San still had countless doubts about Wang Sheng's Golden Bell Cover.

So, after making his bed,

Tang San left the Seventh Dormitory with Wang Sheng, who also wanted to know how Tang San had recognized his Golden Bell Cover. They went to the end of the corridor.

Once they were sure no one was around, Wang Sheng directly asked Tang San,

"Tang San, how did you recognize that the martial art I used just now was called the Golden Bell Cover?"

"Martial art?"

Hearing Wang Sheng call the Golden Bell Cover a martial art, Tang San's heart sank. He became even more convinced that Wang Sheng might have come from the same place as him, or at least had some connection to it.

Because on the Douluo Continent, he had only heard of Soul Masters and Soul Beasts. He knew Soul Masters seemed able to absorb Soul Rings from Soul Beasts and use Soul Skills, but he had never heard of martial arts.

But if that was the case, why hadn't he recognized the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon when I used them just now?

Tang San became uncertain again.

But perhaps Wang Sheng's status in his past life had simply been too low, and he had never encountered the Tang Clan's inner sect ultimate arts.

After all, the Golden Bell Cover was merely a third-rate martial art. Even if Wang Sheng truly came from the same place as him, he was most likely from nothing more than a third-rate sect.

After considering it, Tang San decided to test Wang Sheng again.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tang San, from the Shu Tang Clan. May I ask which sect you belong to?"

Tang San slowly backed away several steps. Then, he suddenly cupped his hands in a salute that did not exist on the Douluo Continent, but only in the Jianghu of his past life, and asked in a deep voice.

"Ah!"

Wang Sheng, however, froze, his face blank with confusion.