In the Soul Hunting Forest, Tang San stared at the empty pile of rocks, the last of his hopes turning to bubbles in his heart.
Yu Xiaogang searched the area over and over, but still couldn't find any trace of the Datura Snake. With no other choice, he sighed and turned to Tang San, whose face was dark with gloom. "What's done is done. We can only settle for an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Beast instead. Missing out on the best Soul Ring means your Blue Silver Grass is destined to have a weaker foundation."
Tang San clenched his teeth, his unwillingness almost spilling over. But reality was right in front of him, and he could only accept it. He wandered aimlessly around the forest's outskirts, and in the end, could only manage to subdue an unremarkable Hundred-Year Green Grass Snake with no special attributes.
After hastily absorbing the Soul Ring, Tang San's first Soul Skill was not only weak, but also lacked any venom. It was worlds apart from the exceptionally well-suited Datura Snake Soul Ring in the original story. He'd lost most of his innate advantage, and I'd already left him far behind at the starting line.
[The memory suddenly breaks off]
That was what happened when you couldn't seize an opportunity: half your potential was wasted right from the start. Without the Datura Snake's boost, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was reduced to a genuine Trash Martial Soul in the early stages. So what if he had the Mysterious Heaven Skill? Once the foundation was rotten, no amount of patching it up later could fix it. I'd made a killing with this one!
[Thoughts return to the present]
I took it all in without betraying a hint of emotion, though I already understood it perfectly. Fall behind by one step, and you fall behind at every step. This was only the beginning of Tang San's plunge to rock bottom.
After returning to Nuoding Academy, life settled back into its usual calm.
But from that day onward, I could always sense a cool gaze resting on me from time to time.
It was Zhu Zhuqing.
Ever since I'd stepped in to save her in the Soul Hunting Forest, the cold and solitary girl had quietly kept me in her heart. She wasn't lively and forward like Xiao Wu. Instead, she silently followed at a distance, using cultivation or walking as an excuse to engineer one "chance" encounter after another.
Sometimes, she would happen to be practicing nearby on the training grounds in the early morning. Other times, she would deliberately choose a seat not far from mine in the academy cafeteria.
The wariness in her cool eyes had long since faded, replaced by a touch of curiosity and fondness.
I noticed her deliberate efforts but never called her out. I kept up my calm, collected attitude, and when our eyes occasionally met, I would simply give her a slight nod. I kept the distance just right—not intentionally aloof, but not overly familiar either—slowly building the bonds of my own harem.
Days passed, and soon it was time for Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul Theory class again.
At the lectern, the "theoretical master" trotted out the same old arguments, loudly expounding on his theory riddled with holes. He went on and on about how Martial Souls had no difference in strength, extolling the growth potential of Trash Martial Souls. He even used Tang San's Blue Silver Grass as an example, hoping to prove his crooked logic.
The new students listened with rapt attention, treating every word as gospel. I alone sat in the back row, watching coldly and refuting his fallacies one by one in my mind.
Yu Xiaogang swept his gaze across the class. Seeing everyone absorbed in his theory, he couldn't help feeling pleased with himself. But when his eyes landed on me, his brows knitted slightly. I'd remained quiet this whole time, never agreeing or challenging him. Like a stone he couldn't read, I left him feeling vaguely uneasy.
When he got to his theories on cultivating Blue Silver Grass, Yu Xiaogang deliberately paused and looked at the class. "Though Blue Silver Grass is widely recognized as a Trash Martial Soul, it can still rise to prominence through cultivation. That is the best proof of my theory. Does anyone have any objections?"
The whole classroom fell silent. No one dared contradict the academy's guest instructor.
Just then, I slowly raised my head. My voice was calm and unhurried, carrying a faint Sichuan accent as I spoke softly. "Grandmaster, you can't put it like that, you know. A Martial Soul's innate foundation is already set. Cultivation can only add icing to the cake; it can't defy fate. Ordinary Blue Silver Grass lacks a unique attribute, and its Innate Soul Power limit is restricted. No matter how many resources you pour into it, it'll be hard to catch up with top-tier Martial Souls. Wouldn't that count as a flaw in the theory?"
My voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the classroom.
In an instant, the entire room fell silent.
Everyone stared at me in disbelief. No one had expected the usually quiet, reserved boy to dare challenge Yu Xiaogang's theory in public.
Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened at once. He had never imagined I would suddenly speak up and find fault. He hurried to defend himself, but after thinking it over, he realized he couldn't come up with a suitable rebuttal—what I'd said was simply an undeniable fact.
Tang San, sitting in the front row, whipped around and glared at me, fury in his eyes. He looked as though he wanted to rush over and stop me at once.
My expression remained calm. After speaking, I lowered my head again and said nothing more. I hadn't shown off in the slightest; I'd simply pointed out the flaw in the theory. I hadn't openly burned bridges, yet I'd quietly planted a seed of doubt in every student's heart.
Without anyone noticing, the supposedly "invincible theory" brand Yu Xiaogang had built had already begun to crack.
I knew that slowly boiling the frog was the way to go. Gradually undermining his authority and crushing Tang San's prospects step by step—that was the safest plan.
I would stay patient, conceal my strengths, and wait for the right moment. My era was slowly approaching.
Before you continue