Faced with the gatekeeper's nose held high in the air.
Old Jack hurriedly put on a smile. "Young man, these two children are work-study students our village sent this year."
As he spoke, he handed over the two certificates issued by Spirit Hall.
The gatekeeper took the certificates and burst into laughter, sneering, "That's hilarious! A chicken coop thinks it can hatch a phoenix? Let me see. Blue Silver Grass with Innate Full Soul Power? What kind of scam is this? And a tadpole Martial Soul with Innate Full Soul Power—what use is that? Learn how to raise tadpoles to feed chickens and ducks? Ha ha! Could it get any more ridiculous?!"
The contempt in his voice made Ye Qiu's temper flare.
Old Jack's expression was ugly, too, but he still swallowed his anger and explained, "The Spirit Hall attendant himself issued these certificates. How could we dare forge them?!"
Hearing Old Jack invoke Spirit Hall's name to pressure him, the gatekeeper only grew more brazen.
"Hmph! You say it's true, so it must be? Innate Full Soul Power—do you think that's as common as cabbages in the countryside? And Holy Soul Village? You might as well call it Beggar Village!"
The gatekeeper's words struck Old Jack right where it hurt. His face flushed red in an instant.
The name Holy Soul Village was his pride and joy!
He immediately roared, "What did you say?!"
Thud!
The gatekeeper staggered back a step.
His face darkened, and a vicious glint appeared in his eyes.
"What? You don't like that?"
"Look at the rags you're wearing. Calling you beggars is doing you a favor! Now get the hell out of here!"
Before he had even finished speaking, the gatekeeper raised a hand and shoved at Old Jack's chest.
At that moment, black fibers instantly wrapped around Ye Qiu's right arm, swelling it slightly and making it look powerfully built.
In the blink of an eye—
Just as Ye Qiu was about to strike, Tang San had already stepped in front of Old Jack.
He was disgusted by the gatekeeper's insults!
Tang San quickly brought out his Mysterious Jade Hand. Because of the difference in their heights, the hand that should have struck the crook of the gatekeeper's arm instead seized his wrist.
Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon!
Tang San's hands could lift a forging hammer, so they were naturally strong. Pain flashed across the gatekeeper's eyes.
He immediately raised a leg to kick Tang San in the face.
Whoosh!
As Tang San watched in surprise,
Ye Qiu suddenly stepped forward. His leg shot out from beneath his trouser leg and swept into the crook of the gatekeeper's knee.
Thump!
With a cry of pain, the gatekeeper dropped to his knees.
Ye Qiu pressed his advantage. Raising his black-and-gold right hand, he clenched it into a fist and swiftly punched the gatekeeper in both eyes.
"Ahhh—!"
The gatekeeper clutched his eyes in pain and fell onto his backside.
"Xiao San, Xiao Qiu, you—you..."
Old Jack stared in shock at the two small figures standing in front of him.
"You're asking for death!"
In broad daylight,
two brats had knocked him down and blackened both his eyes.
Enraged, the gatekeeper roared, scrambled to his feet, and charged at Ye Qiu and Tang San.
Tang San's gaze turned icy.
[The Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, General Principles, Article Three: Once you've determined that your opponent is an enemy, and that he deserves to die, show no mercy. Otherwise, you'll only bring trouble upon yourself.]
Ye Qiu suddenly sensed something and glanced sideways.
He saw Tang San slightly raise his left hand and quietly disengage the safety on his Silent Sleeve Arrow.
"Enough!"
Just then,
a hoarse voice rang out.
Ye Qiu's arms and legs quietly returned to normal.
He remembered this classic scene, of course, and knew who had arrived.
A man with half a protagonist's template—
Ambitious as the heavens, yet his fate was as fragile as paper; the evasive Yu Xiaogang, Grandmaster!
Tang San's movement to activate his Hidden Weapon paused.
The gatekeeper froze, too. Then the anger on his face instantly turned to obsequiousness. He bowed and scraped, greeting the newcomer with a smile.
"Grandmaster, you're back."
Tang San and Ye Qiu turned to look.
Before them stood a man in his forties or fifties.
He had close-cropped black hair, a face full of stubble, and wore a shabby scholar's robe. He looked rather unkempt. An air of melancholy seemed to hang over him, the aura of a man whose talents had gone unrecognized, though he also seemed somewhat aloof.
Proud yet dejected, he seemed like a walking contradiction.
At heart, he was all bluster and no substance.
He had an innate confidence in his untested theories.
The Grandmaster the gatekeeper had mentioned walked with a stiff, rigid gait.
His air of looking down on everyone was even more pronounced than the gatekeeper's. He merely glanced at him and ignored him, then turned to Old Jack.
"Sir, may I see the children's Martial Soul certificates?"
Ye Qiu opened his mouth,
but gave up trying to stop him. Interfering like that would be too strange.
Still, he didn't want to get involved in what came next.
It seemed he'd have to make a timely escape to the outhouse.
Seeing the arrogant gatekeeper become so respectful, Old Jack understood at once that the Grandmaster before him held a higher status and could help him.
He hurriedly handed over the certificates.
Yu Xiaogang examined them, looking somewhat surprised at Ye Qiu and Tang San, though his attention was mostly on Tang San.
Tang San clenched his fists.
For some reason, he felt as if the man had seen straight through him.
Ye Qiu remained unmoved.
He let the wheels of fate turn slowly. He didn't have that much inexplicable hatred.
In this world, strength came first. He wasn't a saint or a good person.
As long as no one provoked him, that was fine.
Or rather, as long as they didn't clash with his interests or stand against him.
To climb higher, someone always had to lose something.
But Ye Qiu didn't want to lose anything.
A plain, mediocre life, day in and day out—he was truly sick of it.
"These certificates are genuine. Sir, on behalf of the academy, I apologize for what happened just now."
After only a moment,
Yu Xiaogang confirmed the certificates were authentic and took responsibility for the incident.
"Leave these two children to me!"
His casual apology was more than enough to satisfy Old Jack.
After all, the man was likely a prestigious Soul Master.
Old Jack hurriedly waved his hands.
"Grandmaster, you're too kind. We were at fault as well. I'll leave these two children in your care, then."
"Mm. Don't worry."
Yu Xiaogang nodded coolly.
Old Jack bent down and reminded the two boys, "Be sure to behave yourselves at the academy. Grandpa Jack will be on his way now."
Tang San nodded without a word.
"Goodbye, Grandpa Jack. Be careful on your way back."
Ye Qiu waved at Old Jack's departing figure and watched him leave.
The Grandmaster shot the gatekeeper a cold look.
In a frosty voice, he said, "This is the first time, and it will be the last. Understood?!"
"Understood, understood! Please, go right ahead, Grandmaster!"
Cold sweat ran down the gatekeeper's forehead as he bowed repeatedly and stepped aside.
Yu Xiaogang looked down at Tang San and Ye Qiu. His stiff face twisted into an awkward smile.
"Come on, let's go inside."
He reached out his rough hand to take theirs.
Ye Qiu quickly sidestepped.
Who knew what a single middle-aged bachelor with such a bad complexion used those hands to grab? He was far too young to take any chances.
Tang San, however, was caught by Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang smiled at Ye Qiu and didn't think anything of it. It was perfectly normal for a child to be shy around strangers.
As expected,
Yu Xiaogang took both Ye Qiu and Tang San with him.
As they walked through Notting Academy, Ye Qiu curiously looked around.
"Teacher, thank you."
Tang San seemed to sense that the Grandmaster was no ordinary man and thanked him.
"Teacher?"
Yu Xiaogang murmured, giving Tang San a long look. Then he stopped, shook his head with a laugh, and said, "I'm not a teacher at this academy."
"But didn't you just say you represented the academy?" Tang San asked, confused.
Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back and smiled. "Who says only a teacher at this academy can represent it?"
Hearing that,
Ye Qiu couldn't help marveling inwardly.
He'd thought Tang Hao's shamelessness was unmatched in the world, but Yu Xiaogang was even worse.
Tang San looked a little curious.
"Then who are you?"
Yu Xiaogang put on a knowing smile and said calmly, "I'm just a guest who mooches off the academy."
Ye Qiu's mouth twitched. He couldn't take it anymore and wanted to get away immediately.
He raised his little hand and shouted, "Teacher, where's the latrine? I need to take a big dump!"
"..."
The knowing smile on Yu Xiaogang's face stiffened slightly, but he helpfully pointed Ye Qiu in the right direction.
Ye Qiu nodded, clutched his butt, and said urgently, "Teacher, could you give me back that Martial Soul certificate first? I'll go register on my own later, so you won't have to wait around for me."
Yu Xiaogang smiled.
"There's no need to worry. Just come back quickly."
"Then, all right. Sorry for the trouble, teacher."
Ye Qiu turned and ran toward the latrine, his face dark as he cursed Yu Xiaogang for meddling.
What a complete idiot.
He just had to announce in front of everyone that Tang San had Twin Martial Souls.
Otherwise,
why would Ye Qiu have needed to make a crap-escape?
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