What Trash Teaches Is Nothing but Trash

The morning sunlight had just fallen upon Nuoding City's walls when a few pedestrians appeared on the streets.

Jiang Ming, dressed in a set of black cloth clothes, returned from the mountains outside the city.

He had sat before his parents' graves for an entire night.

He had neither spoken nor shed a tear...

He had simply sat there, from nightfall until dawn.

The wild grass of the Qingming season had already grown in. He cleared the grass from the graves.

He rebuilt the stone borders around them, then lit a stick of incense.

He watched the green smoke slowly rise and dissipate in the wind.

As dawn approached, Jiang Ming deeply bowed to the two low graves.

"I'm leaving."

There was nothing more to say.

Everything that needed to be said had long since been said.

Besides, some things needed to be proven through actions.

By the time Jiang Ming entered the city, the streets had already become lively.

White steam billowed from the bun vendors' steamers, while the blacksmith shops rang with the clanging of hammers.

Jiang Ming walked through the crowd, and no one gave him a second glance.

A half-grown child dressed entirely in black was no different from the ordinary children of Nuoding City.

But if anyone had looked closely into his eyes, they would have found something that did not belong to someone his age.

They were too heavy.

Too steady.

Like a blade tempered in fire.

Jiang Ming had no intention of staying in Nuoding City any longer. He planned to go to Suotuo City.

Money was an utterly useless thing.

But without it, many things could not be done.

Participating in Soul Fighting Tournaments was the fastest way to make money, as well as a shortcut to gaining combat experience.

Suotuo City was relatively developed, and not so many major forces were entrenched there.

Heaven Dou City, on the other hand, was far more dangerous.

The Clear Sky Sect, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Strength Clan, Tiandou Imperial Family...

With even slightly bad luck, one could toss a stone at random and hit someone they could not afford to offend.

Just as Jiang Ming reached the city center, he heard a familiar voice.

"Stop."

The voice was not loud, yet it carried a condescending air, as though speaking to a student who had made a mistake.

Jiang Ming paused and turned his head toward it.

Two people sat at a tea stall by the street.

Two familiar faces.

Yu Xiaogang and Tang San.

Jiang Ming's gaze swept over them. Without any extra expression on his face, he turned and continued walking.

"I told you to stop."

Yu Xiaogang raised his voice slightly.

Jiang Ming turned back to face Yu Xiaogang.

He said nothing, merely looked at him.

Yu Xiaogang sized Jiang Ming up a few times, and that habitual expression returned to his face.

A master of theory!

A critic of all beneath the heavens!

It was as though Jiang Ming was not a person, but a failing test paper.

"It seems we haven't seen each other for half a year."

"Life after leaving the academy doesn't seem to have treated you well?"

"Judging by the Soul Power fluctuations on your body, you're still at the Soul Master stage?"

Yu Xiaogang spoke slowly, his tone carrying a smug sense of superiority.

Before Jiang Ming could respond, he sighed to himself.

His sigh was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for the guests at the nearby tea tables to hear.

"You children simply don't know how to work hard."

"You lack talent, yet refuse to put in effort. You loaf around all day, wandering here and there."

"How many times have I said it? Cultivation requires perseverance. If you fish for three days and dry your nets for two, what can you possibly achieve?"

Jiang Ming watched Yu Xiaogang expressionlessly.

As if he were looking at a clown in a circus.

Seeing that Jiang Ming remained silent, Yu Xiaogang assumed he had been left too ashamed to speak. His tone instead became even more "gentle."

That gentleness was more unpleasant than cold mockery, like a little pity bestowed by an elder upon an unpromising junior.

"Some things may annoy you if I say them too often, but I can't just leave them unsaid."

"You can't plaster mud onto a wall. That saying is meant for people like you."

Yu Xiaogang spoke with utter confidence, as if the matter had already been settled.

People at the tea stall turned to look.

Some were curious, some delighted in his misfortune.

A few older people felt it was inappropriate, but no one spoke up.

Tang San stood beside Yu Xiaogang without saying anything.

His gaze lingered on Jiang Ming for a moment, then his pupils narrowed slightly.

"Teacher."

"I can sense his Soul Power fluctuations. He is no longer at the Soul Master stage."

Tang San's voice was quiet but clear.

Yu Xiaogang's expression froze outright.

The tea stall fell silent for a moment.

Everyone saw the change in Yu Xiaogang's face.

That fairly pale face turned flushed red in less than a breath!

"What?"

Yu Xiaogang's voice cracked, as though he had been slapped across the face.

"His Soul Power should be at level twelve!"

"He can graduate from Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy."

Tang San looked at Jiang Ming with his Purple Demon Eye, his gaze more focused than before.

Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth, wanting to say something to salvage his image, only to find himself unable to speak.

"What trash teaches is nothing but trash."

Jiang Ming finally spoke.

"What did you say?"

Yu Xiaogang's eyes immediately reddened!

His body even trembled slightly.

Not from fear, but rage.

Tang San's expression changed as well.

What trash teaches is nothing but trash?

On the surface, Jiang Ming was insulting Yu Xiaogang, but Tang San was the one Yu Xiaogang had taught.

Was he trash?

No.

"Can't you even understand words?"

"I said you're trash. The student you taught is trash too. Do I need to repeat myself?"

Jiang Ming glanced at Yu Xiaogang.

There was nothing extra in that gaze—only pure, undisguised contempt.

"I have rarely seen someone as arrogant as you."

Tang San's right hand hung naturally at his side, but his five fingers had already spread slightly.

A faint wave of Soul Power spread from his body.

Yu Xiaogang's chest heaved violently, and it seemed fire would burst from his eyes.

But beneath that fury lay something even more complicated.

His exposed self-esteem, his crushed dignity, and an emotion he knew well but refused to acknowledge.

Fear.

What was he afraid of?

He was afraid Jiang Ming was right.

"Tang San, step back."

"Someone like him isn't worth you making a move. Let your teacher teach him what is called—rules."

Yu Xiaogang's Soul Power suddenly erupted as he released his Martial Soul.

A grayish-white light surged from his body, transforming into a fairly large animal.

That animal could hardly be called imposing.

It could be summed up in one sentence.

A pig that weighed one hundred and fifty pounds and stood one hundred and fifty centimeters tall!

Two yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath Yu Xiaogang's feet and slowly revolved around his body.

"Thunderous Fart!"

"Heaven-Shattering Earth-Splitting Luo Sanpao!"

Yu Xiaogang struck a dashing pose, and the Soul Rings around him suddenly lit up.

That Piglet Beast abruptly leaped into the air and twisted its body around.

It aimed its plump rear at Jiang Ming.

"Pfft!"

It was not the kind of discreet fart one would be embarrassed to let others hear, but a deliberately amplified, long blast filled with provocation.

Immediately afterward, a visible cloud of yellow gas sprayed toward Jiang Ming.