A Senior Brother of the Soul Tool Department?

"Dean Qian—"

"I, Jiang Yang, have arrived!!"

Behind Jiang Yang, a golden-maned lion king seemed to materialize, its jaws thrown wide. His strike fused spiritual power with Soul Power, and already carried the force of a lion's roar echoing through the land.

In an instant.

The three people standing before Jiang Yang were blasted away by the sound waves before they could even activate their defensive Soul Tools. The Level 3 Soul Engineer who had led the provocation slammed straight into He Caitou.

Fortunately.

He Caitou reacted quickly, and he was some distance from Jiang Yang. As the Level 3 Soul Engineer sent him flying, he managed to activate his Soul Tool before his back could crash into the wall.

But the Level 1 and Level 2 Soul Engineers watching from the sidelines weren't so lucky.

They—and the Soul Tools caught in the sound waves—were all sent flying.

Not only that.

A dozen or so sharp cracks rang out as bones splintered.

Soul Tool parts scattered through the air.

Dust billowed everywhere!

The next moment, a flash of light suddenly flared.

Fan Yu stood before the crowd and thrust out a palm. His immense Soul Power instantly stopped Jiang Yang's roar in its tracks.

"Heh, hahahaha..."

By then.

With the dust settled, Dean Qian Duoduo came strolling out, laughing.

He even remembered to toy with the flying Gold Soul Coin in his hand.

"You still didn't use your Martial Soul. If I'm not mistaken, this must be your Self-Created Soul Skill, right?"

"Mm."

"Would you mind telling us a little about it?"

Qian Duoduo asked politely.

He'd chosen his words carefully.

He'd asked for a little explanation, not demanded that Jiang Yang reveal everything.

Of course.

If Jiang Yang wanted to tell him everything, he wouldn't mind.

Jiang Yang had naturally caught the unspoken meaning.

He'd been waiting for someone with the authority to make decisions to show up. Now that Qian Duoduo was here, it was time to flex a little muscle.

It could win him greater privileges and even give him direct access to the most advanced Soul Tool research. It would also keep the flies buzzing around him to a minimum.

Why not?

"There's nothing much to tell."

"I simply fused my spiritual power and Soul Power together and let the attack fly. I named it Mad Lion Roar."

"As for its power, it can only intimidate newly ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts, that's all."

Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts?

And he said "that's all"?

Was this guy ridiculously arrogant or what?

As Jiang Yang finished speaking, the crowd couldn't help murmuring to themselves.

After all, for most of them, a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was terrifying enough.

"You're a spiritual-type Soul Master?!"

Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu were both stunned. The words slipped out before they could stop themselves.

That left everyone else puzzled.

Shouldn't they be focused on the Self-Created Soul Skill and the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

They couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"Teacher, Dean Qian, why are you both so surprised?"

The dark, stocky boy, He Caitou, was just as baffled.

Like everyone else, his attention was fixed on Jiang Yang's Self-Created Soul Skill and Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

"You... Forget it. I'll deal with you when we get back!"

Fan Yu pointed at He Caitou, looking as though he could hardly bear to see him so clueless, but in the end, he didn't scold him.

In front of everyone, he still wanted to save his direct disciple some face.

"Oh! Extrem—"

"Hm?!"

"Mm—I remember now, Teacher!"

He Caitou's mind had gone blank, and he'd nearly blurted it out. Fan Yu glared him into silence.

"Student Jiang Yang, welcome to the Soul Tool Department of Shrek Academy's Outer Court. Would you be willing to become my personal disciple?"

Fan Yu turned away from He Caitou and smiled at Jiang Yang.

His expression was so openly delighted, like he'd just discovered a piece of fine jade, that there was no mistaking it.

"Fan Yu, what are you doing?"

Before Jiang Yang could answer, Dean Qian Duoduo spoke up first. "Have you forgotten that I already said I'd take Jiang Yang as my personal disciple? Are you trying to make me break my word in front of everyone?"

"Hiss—"

At Qian Duoduo's words, quite a few people sucked in a sharp breath.

What kind of new student became the dean's personal disciple the moment he enrolled?

Even becoming a core student of the Soul Tool Institute in your fourth year would be a tremendous honor.

But this new student had skipped right past being a core student and become the dean's personal disciple!

Was he even human?

"Jiang Yang, would you be willing to become my eldest personal disciple, the Senior Brother of the Soul Tool Department, and a core student of the Soul Tool Department?"

There was no denying that Qian Duoduo was the best negotiator at Shrek Academy.

To make sure Jiang Yang understood how important it was to become his personal disciple, he spelled out the privileges in detail.

In just one short sentence.

He'd laid out practically every benefit of becoming his disciple.

Anyone who wasn't a fool could understand what he meant.

"Hahahaha—"

Before Jiang Yang could answer.

A hearty laugh suddenly sounded from outside.

The crowd turned toward the sound and saw an old man approaching from the doorway, a wine gourd at his waist and a chicken leg in his hand.

"Elder Xuan?!"

Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu immediately bowed to him.

But.

He waved them off.

"Old Qian, you can't take this disciple."

"Why, Elder Xuan? Are you going to take him yourself?"

Qian Duoduo froze.

Surely this promising student he'd just found wasn't going to be snatched away right under his nose?

Elder Xuan shook his head, then turned and walked back outside.

Before he left, he tossed out one last remark.

"But you can keep the person in your Soul Tool Department."

That cryptic comment left everyone completely bewildered.

Only Jiang Yang smiled faintly.

It seemed his polite greeting on the first day of school, along with everything he'd done lately, had paid off.

That worked out well.

He'd never planned to take anyone as his teacher. He'd only been looking for a chance to get into the Soul Tool Academy and build a solid foundation in Soul Tools. To make absolutely sure, he'd even kept Zhou Yi as a backup option.

And yet.

He'd never imagined the chance to enter the Soul Tool Academy would come so soon.

Or that it would work out so perfectly.

"Hahahahaha—"

"Good! Very good!"

After a long moment.

Qian Duoduo suddenly laughed.

He was laughing with unrestrained delight.

He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd felt this happy.

"Who was that Elder Xuan? Why does even the dean respect him so much? Could he be a Super Douluo?"

"What's wrong with the dean? Elder Xuan wouldn't even let him take Jiang Yang as his personal disciple, and he's still laughing so happily. Has he gone mad from disappointment?"

"You don't get it, do you? The dean's happy that Jiang Yang can stay in our Soul Tool Department!"

"Oh, right! Even without him as a personal disciple, we've still got our Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother?"

"I remember the new students haven't even started their first class yet, right?"

"That's right! They've only just started enrolling!"

"I'm done for. Comparing myself to him is enough to make anyone furious."

"What's there to compare? Can you really measure yourself against Jiang Yang? Maybe you're older than him?"

"Hahahahaha..."

Though almost all of them had been knocked flat by Jiang Yang's Self-Created Soul Skill, they didn't resent him, since Dean Qian had prepared for the possibility in advance. If anything, they felt proud to have such a figure in the Soul Tool Department.

They were its elite students, after all. It reflected well on them, too.

"Quick!"

"Get them treated!"

Before long.

The medical team, which had been waiting on standby, arrived.

After exchanging a look with the teacher in charge, Dean Qian Duoduo patted Fan Yu on the shoulder. "Go help take care of things here."

"Yes, Dean."

"Jiang Yang, come with me."

Though Fan Yu was reluctant to let him go, there was no helping it. A higher rank crushed a lower one.

He could only go deal with the wreckage Jiang Yang had just left behind.

Jiang Yang followed Dean Qian Duoduo farther inside.

And right then.

A brilliant idea came to him.