Human Nature

Although the thirty-four students present, excluding the expelled Lu Renjia and the class monitor Zhu Xiyan, were all somewhat surprised, none dared make a sound out of fear of Hals.

Beneath her thick bangs, Zhu Xiyan's eyes narrowed slightly. A faint, disdainful smile tugged at her lips as she slowly took two steps back and stood behind Hals, saying nothing.

Surveying the students, Hals said calmly, "I'm curious. Aside from Zhu Xiyan, how did the other thirty-four of you form groups according to my instructions: one Agility Attack, one Power Attack, and one Control? As far as I know, our class has only seven Control types, thirteen Agility Attack types, and fourteen Power Attack types."

At Hals's words, anger appeared on many students' faces. There was no other reason: in the Soul Master world, strength determined status. The only five Soul Ancestors were all Power Attack types, so naturally they got to choose first. That left only two Control types for everyone else to choose from.

Hals quietly studied their expressions, thinking to himself that this was interesting.

His familiar, hoarse, low voice rang out, and what he said made the students—except the Soul Ancestors—light up with excitement.

"Let's play a game. The Control types are the prize, and you..." Hals swept his gaze over the group and continued, "I don't care what means or methods you use. In the melee that follows, win the final victory. I only want seven people. The victors can discuss it—or fight it out—to decide how the seven Control types are divided."

The crowd erupted, noisy voices filling the entrance to the Simulation Field.

Everything descended into chaos. The students were no longer on friendly terms. They quietly put distance between themselves and those around them, their eyes filled with caution. Only the seven Control types looked bewildered, standing still and unsure what to do.

Seeing this, Hals's lips curled upward. A hint of excitement was repressed in his voice. "You have five minutes to enter the Forest Mimicry Field. No fighting within those five minutes. Once they're up, the fighting begins. When only seven people are left, I'll send a signal into the sky. The battle will be over."

Hals lowered his head slightly, hiding his expression in shadow.

"Now, let the battle begin!"

At the signal, the students warily looked at one another, then without hesitation chose their destinations and scattered.

Watching the students disappear, Hals seemed to reflect on something. Only after a moment did he turn around.

"Now." Hals turned to the seven remaining Control types and said indifferently, "Don't think you can wait here in safety while they fight. As the prize, you need to prove your worth."

He flicked the hem of his robe and walked into the Simulation Field. "Zhu Xiyan and I will go keep an eye on the melee. You'll have a battle of your own here, to determine your ranking among yourselves..."

At his words, the atmosphere among the seven Control types, which had been fairly amicable, grew tense. The young men each refused to yield to the others, and their eyes gradually burned with intensity.

Ignoring them, Hals led Zhu Xiyan into the Forest Mimicry Field.

Zhu Xiyan followed silently behind Hals, more or less confused. She opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing.

As though he had eyes in the back of his head, Hals said calmly, "Are you wondering why I'm doing this?"

Zhu Xiyan hesitated, then replied respectfully, "No. Teacher, you must have your reasons for everything you do."

They walked quickly, rows of trees flashing past on either side.

"No need to hide it. I want to hear what you really think."

Zhu Xiyan fell silent. After a moment, she nodded. "Yes, I am a little confused."

At Zhu Xiyan's answer, Hals looked into the distance. Flames flickered in his eyes, their eerie green glow throwing shifting shadows across his face and lending him an air of mystery. He parted his lips and said,

"Soul Masters are born to kill. They are products of violence, and every Soul Master is destined for the battlefield. Killing is a task. What you need isn't companionship or trust, but the ability to abandon your companions without hesitation when the time comes, and complete the mission. To do that, they must become cold-blooded. And internal conflict is undoubtedly the quickest way."

"Friendship, family ties—those are all bonds that keep them from completing their missions efficiently and without mercy. I need them to cast all that aside."

Hearing the chilling words, Zhu Xiyan didn't feel any less confused. If anything, she was even more lost. But when she had been at her most confused and helpless, Hals had appeared before her. Without realizing it, she had come to regard everything he said as sacred truth.

She quietly clenched her delicate fists, strengthening her resolve. The path her teacher walked was the right one.

Turning his attention back to what lay ahead, Hals's lips curled into a playful smile.

"Human nature is the most interesting thing of all, isn't it?"

Coming back to herself, Zhu Xiyan looked at the figure before her and asked, confused, "Teacher, what did you say?"

Hals shook his head, his expression returning to its usual cold rigidity. "Nothing. Let's go."

"Oh." Zhu Xiyan nodded, a little bashfully, and said nothing more as she followed quietly behind Hals.

"Damn it."

Xu Ning's face was pale. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as he pressed a hand against the enormous gaping wound beneath his left ribs, cursing furiously in his heart.

Who could have imagined that twenty minutes ago, he had still been lording it over the lackeys who usually scrambled to follow him around?

A fierce pain shot through the wound. Xu Ning lost his footing and fell, tripped by a huge tree root jutting from the ground.

"Hah... hah..."

Xu Ning struggled to open his mouth and suck in air, like a fish pulled from the water and left gasping on shore.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The sound of something cutting through the air rang out, and three figures appeared before Xu Ning.

Xu Ning managed to open his eyes. He looked at the figure in green robes before him, twirling a pale-green curved dagger in his hand, and felt the cold sting of betrayal settle in his heart.

"Zeng Gong..."

His voice was cold, cold enough to freeze a person solid.

Zeng Gong crouched down, tapping Xu Ning's face again and again with the dagger in his hand.

Zeng Gong sneered. "Xu Ning, look at you now. I've been sick of you for ages. At last, I got my chance."

Xu Ning didn't respond. He simply glared at him with icy eyes.

Xu Ning's stare made Zeng Gong feel uneasy, and anger surged through him. He raised a hand and slapped Xu Ning across the face.

"Still staring? I can't stand that look of yours. To be honest, I'm pretty grateful to this teacher for giving me the chance. I can't kill you, but I can sure beat the crap out of you."

Smack!

Another slap.

"I told you to stop looking at me like that. You make me seem like some villain. This isn't betrayal. It's revenge, got it, idiot?"

As though something had struck a nerve, the two identical-looking youths who had been standing behind Zeng Gong exchanged a glance. Soul Power surged. The slightly older one's right hand turned into a bear's paw, while the younger one's left hand became a turtle shell covered in dark-green spikes. Then they slowly approached Zeng Gong, who was crouching there and getting carried away with his taunts. Xu Ning, watching it all, said nothing.

With an arrogant, annoyed look, Zeng Gong gave Xu Ning one last hard slap, then stood up and stomped on the huge wound in Xu Ning's ribs.

"Ugh."

Xu Ning's eyes bulged. He felt he was on the verge of passing out, but he kept holding on, waiting for something.

After venting his anger, Zeng Gong felt wonderfully relieved. Smiling, he turned around with a laugh, wanting to say something.

"Fanzi, I feel damn good. This..."

His words stopped abruptly. Disbelief filled Zeng Gong's face.

He lowered his head with difficulty and saw a bear's paw gripping his abdomen and a turtle shell with spikes embedded in it. A chill swept through him. It felt as if his veins were packed with ice.

Zeng Gong parted his lips, a hoarse voice emerging from his throat. "Why?"

"Pfft."

The spikes were pulled free. The owner of the turtle shell scratched his head with his shell-covered left hand and gave a sheepish smile. His voice, however, held a sly note. "Hehe, Brother Zeng, don't blame me. There are only seven spots, and we brothers aren't as strong as you. What if you end up fighting us for one? So..."

Fanzi spread his hands and put on an innocent smile. "So we had to strike first. Look, you're not alone. Brother Ning can keep you company."

Zeng Gong said nothing. His body stiffened and toppled backward, his vision gradually fading into darkness.

"Damn..."

A moment later, two figures, one tall and one short, emerged from the shadows. They looked at the two brothers, who had long since disappeared, and at the two men lying together on the ground.

Zhu Xiyan stepped forward and pressed a hand to the two men's necks. After a moment, she looked up at Hals. "They're still alive, Teacher."

Hals nodded. Zhu Xiyan counted up the fallen and said, "Teacher, this makes the eighth-to-last person. Should we send the signal?"

"The signal?"

There was a playful note in Hals's voice.

"From the beginning, I never intended to send a signal. I only said that to give them a goal, something to spur them on. Now, let's quietly wait for this performance to reach its end."

Without questioning or hesitation, Zhu Xiyan rose and stood behind Hals, silent.

A faint curve appeared at Hals's lips, then disappeared into the shadows as he turned and walked away...