However, today their gazes kept drifting, seemingly at random, toward the center of the academy's final exams arena.
They had come for one reason and one reason only: to watch Grandmaster make a fool of himself.
"Heh, I heard Grandmaster took on a disciple. I wonder what kind of child would actually dare to take him as a teacher."
"I heard he's a prodigy with Innate Full Soul Power. He's supposed to have incredible talent!"
"Really?"
"Of course. It's just a shame his Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. He won't have much room to develop."
"His Martial Soul is that useless Blue Silver Grass?"
"By the way, you probably haven't heard yet. The child competing against Grandmaster's disciple today also has Innate Full Soul Power. I heard his Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, too!"
"Two Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls? Two people with Innate Full Soul Power?!"
"How bizarre!"
Before long, the news spread through the crowd and was confirmed by everyone.
"Who do you think will win?"
"Grandmaster, obviously. I heard he made an extremely strict study plan for his disciple."
"He trains his disciple day in and day out."
"Maybe his disciple really will win today," someone murmured.
Standing at the office window, the dean looked down at the arena.
Seeing that the noblemen and wealthy merchants who had bought tickets really had all shown up gave the dean of Notting Junior Soul Master Academy quite a headache.
"Dean, there are lots of people outside trying to climb over the walls. We can barely hold them back. What should we do?" Director Su came running from who knew where, drenched in sweat.
Notting Junior Soul Master Academy was only a small academy, after all.
Faced with the crowds from in and around Notting City who wanted to see Grandmaster humiliated, Director Su and the others simply couldn't stop them.
These people had heard that if Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's disciple lost, Grandmaster would announce in front of everyone that he didn't deserve the title.
So when the day finally arrived, they swarmed the gates of Notting Academy like locusts.
They were demanding that the academy let them in to watch the match.
They had already heard that Grandmaster's disciple, Tang San, and another child named Su Yun both had Innate Full Soul Power and Blue Silver Grass!
A showdown between two Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls with Innate Full Soul Power—something never seen before!
And on top of that, there was the wager Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had made himself!
Who would pass up a spectacle like that?
Hearing Director Su's report, the dean could only give a helpless look. He turned to his old friend beside him. "Xiaogang, what should we do?"
"I told you not to make such a big deal of this. And now look how many people have come."
"I even heard that Xiao Chenyu's father, City Lord Xiao, has come to our academy."
The dean shook his head slightly. "You really were too rash."
As a friend, the dean genuinely cared about Yu Xiaogang.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Yu Xiaogang stay at the academy all these years, eating and living there for free.
In the dean's eyes, both children were One-Ring Soul Masters, and both had the Trash Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass. Their battle could go either way.
If Tang San lost by some mishap, Grandmaster's already precarious reputation in the Soul Master World would be utterly ruined!
So he simply couldn't understand why Yu Xiaogang had publicized the match between his disciple Tang San and Su Yun so widely.
"It's fine. Just let them in." Yu Xiaogang wore a faint smile, brimming with confidence.
Let them in?
Director Su was the first to be shocked by Yu Xiaogang's suggestion, not the dean.
"Grandmaster, there are well over a thousand people outside!" Director Su was close to tears.
If they let them all in, the academy would be packed like sardines!
"Xiaogang, are you certain you'll win?" The dean's voice was grave as he stared at Yu Xiaogang.
He was genuinely worried for his friend.
Yu Xiaogang smiled as he replied, "Of course."
"Over the past year, I've given my disciple Tang San systematic instruction, and his physical abilities far surpass those of other children."
"Besides, in their usual sparring matches, even some older students with Beast Martial Souls haven't been able to defeat him."
"I don't think beating Su Yun will be difficult for him."
"Oh?"
Hearing that Tang San could defeat older students with his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, a glimmer of interest appeared in the dean's eyes.
He turned to Director Su and asked, "Is that true, Director Su?"
Director Su was also responsible for overseeing the students' sparring assessments. At the dean's question, he immediately nodded. "Yes, Dean. Tang San really is very strong. His agility and understanding of Martial Souls are both far beyond those of ordinary students."
"Sometimes, even students with higher Soul Power Levels are taken out in a single strike when he finds the right opportunity."
The dean nodded, then asked, "What about Su Yun?"
He wanted to know how strong Su Yun was.
"Su Yun's pretty good, too. He's won some of his sparring matches and lost others."
"But..."
Director Su paused, then continued, "He never uses Soul Skills in front of a crowd. He only uses weapons to spar with the others."
"He doesn't use Soul Skills?" The dean was taken aback. Then, as if he'd realized something, he turned to Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang smiled. "That's right. The child has been deliberately hiding his First Soul Skill because of my wager with him."
"But don't worry. His First Soul Skill is certainly far inferior to Tang San's."
"I personally chose Tang San's First Soul Ring for him: a four-hundred-year-old Datura Snake Soul Ring."
"Director Su has surely seen Tang San's Soul Skill, Bind. He should understand just how powerful it is."
Director Su nodded.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass could not only produce tough vines, but also carry the Datura Snake's venom.
Once Tang San's Blue Silver Grass bound them, other students with the same Soul Power Level could only beg for mercy.
"I remember Teacher Xiong was the one who took Su Yun to hunt for his Soul Ring last time, and his Martial Soul is a Beast Martial Soul."
Yu Xiaogang continued, "When it comes to studying the Trash Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass, I doubt you need me to explain."
"Not just at this academy—even across the entire continent, there's probably no one who's done more research than I have."
"I can assure you that the best First Soul Ring for Blue Silver Grass is a Datura Snake Soul Ring."
"I mentioned this in my Martial Soul Mimicry Theory as well: plant Martial Souls can be paired with Soul Rings from animals."
"Without my guidance, Su Yun probably only obtained an ordinary plant Soul Ring."
By the end, Yu Xiaogang's voice had grown more and more forceful. "So I can tell you this: there's no way Su Yun can defeat Tang San, no matter how you look at it!"
Seeing his old friend, who had been dejected at the academy for years, suddenly so confident—almost as if he'd returned to his former self—the dean's gloom finally lifted.
"Good. If you're that confident in Tang San, then I can relax."
The dean turned to Director Su and instructed, "Director Su, do as Grandmaster says and let them in."
With the dean's permission, Director Su didn't linger in the office. He immediately left the room.
"Come on, Xiaogang. Let's see just how outstanding your disciple really is."
Yu Xiaogang smiled, and the two of them left the office together, heading for the academy's arena.
Once Director Su let the crowd in, the arena, which had been relatively empty, quickly became packed.
Of course, Director Su hadn't let them in for free.
That would have been unfair to the nobles who had already bought tickets to enter the academy.
For every person who came in, Director Su charged twice the original ticket price, earning the academy a hefty sum.
It took a full half hour for everyone to find their seats, with Director Su and the others guiding them.
Once the crowd had settled down, the dean stepped forward and announced that this year's final exams were officially beginning!
Before you continue