Xiao Wu? A Warning? Leave This Place! (First Update)

Nuoding Soul Master Academy, entrance

"What the hell are you to meddle in my business?!"

Lin Mo's retort shocked the students passing by and watching. They could not help but stop.

"What business is it of yours whether I can become a Soul Master or not?! On the other hand, you shamelessly tried to take me as your disciple, and after I refused, you immediately resorted to underhanded methods to smear my reputation." Lin Mo no longer remained silent and struck back decisively.

"I'll say it again: your Soul Master theory is nothing special. As for how much real substance it has, you know that best yourself!"

"You don't even have cultivation experience, yet you dare point fingers at other people's cultivation paths. Have you no shame?"

"To put it bluntly, you just want to prove something, but you're too incompetent to turn your life around, so you can only pin your hopes on others."

"As for a real genius? Heh, that really makes one jealous. I suggest you tie yourselves together for good!" Lin Mo looked at Tang San, his gaze icy.

"You—" Lin Mo's string of rebuttals made Yu Xiaogang's chest heave, his face flushing red with rage.

The people who had stopped nearby were stunned to hear Lin Mo repeatedly talk back without the slightest restraint.

"How dare he?"

"This guy's actually this arrogant?"

"Judging by the luggage he packed, is he planning not to stay at the academy?"

"Leave? At his age, where else could he go besides an academy?"

"He just said the master had offered to take him as a disciple, but he turned him down."

"This... tsk tsk, it's really hard to tell whether it's true or not."

The crowd continued whispering among themselves.

The scene was simply too explosive.

Tang San, who had only just entered the academy gates, was also shocked by Lin Mo's astonishing words.

This teacher had helped him out and brought him into the academy, so naturally he was a good man.

Yet this guy had come up and mocked and insulted him.

This man showed no respect for his teacher. He had earned his death!

Tang San stared coldly at Lin Mo.

"Enough. I can't be bothered wasting words on you." Lin Mo paid him no further attention and swept his gaze toward Tang San instead.

Tang San had been watching him with a venomous gaze. When he suddenly met the target's eyes, he could not help but startle and hurriedly lowered his head to avoid them.

A cold smile tugged at Lin Mo's lips as he turned and strode away.

"Stop! Get back here!" Yu Xiaogang ordered furiously.

Lin Mo did not give him the slightest attention.

For a moment, the freshmen at the gate were dumbfounded, the older students were shocked, and a flood of discussion instantly erupted.

"Fuck, he really left?"

"No, he's seriously leaving, bro?! This... this is way too bold, isn't it?"

"Is he really leaving the academy?"

"Is he crazy?! He just broke through Rank Ten. This is the critical time to find a teacher and hunt for a Soul Ring. Not only did he offend the master, he's leaving the academy too?!"

"Heh, the crying child gets candy. He's actually pretty cunning. Maybe he thinks that since his Soul Power is at Rank Ten and he's about to become a Soul Master, he can hole up somewhere outside for a few days and make the academy beg him to come back."

"Cunning? I think he's a complete idiot! The master personally offered to take him as a disciple, yet he didn't cherish it. He threw away a bright future just to venture out alone. Soul Beasts run rampant outside. He doesn't even have a Soul Ring—if he dares enter a Soul Beast Forest, he'll be courting death!"

"What a moron. Even if he wanted to leave, he should have followed the master to obtain his first and second Soul Rings, gained some ability to protect himself, and only then left! If he just walks away now, he won't even get near the gates of a higher Soul Master Academy in the future. He's destroying his own future!"

"A higher Soul Master Academy? You don't seriously think someone with Innate Soul Power Rank Three has any chance of reaching one, do you?"

"He doesn't know his own limits. Sooner or later, he'll come back crying with regret!"

Mockery, ridicule, and all manner of clamorous voices intertwined and rang clearly in Lin Mo's ears.

Yet he never looked back, and his steps remained steady.

A student who knew him caught up, anxiously grabbed his arm, and tried to persuade him out of kindness.

"Lin Mo, don't be impulsive. You're still young. If you leave the academy, you'll have no one to rely on. What can you even do? Come back with us and apologize to the master. It's not too late yet!"

Lin Mo stopped and looked at him with a hint of chill in his eyes.

"Apologize? To whom?"

With that, Lin Mo pulled free of the other person's grasp. Carrying his luggage, he faced the warm but not blinding sunlight and walked resolutely into the distance.

Sunlight spilled over his slender yet upright back, stretching his shadow long. It carried the resolve of someone staking everything on a single throw, while concealing the sharpness of one unwilling to remain ordinary, determined to defy fate and change his life.

--

On a slightly muddy dirt road far from the academy.

A girl in a pink dress with a scorpion braid approached him from ahead.

"Hello, may I ask if Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy is up ahead?"

Lin Mo raised his head slightly.

The girl in pink looked at the location written on a slip of paper as though checking it, then smiled and asked the plainly dressed boy carrying luggage before her.

Lin Mo gazed at the lively, agile girl before him. Her face was as delicate as a porcelain doll, and her eyes were large.

From her clothing and distinctive traits, it was easy to guess her identity.

Xiao Wu.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, a Soft Bone Charm Rabbit, a walking Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and soul bone.

"Mm." Lin Mo nodded.

Many thoughts surfaced in his mind.

A red first Soul Ring?

Which part would the soul bone come from?

Could I absorb it now?

Then he shook his head.

It was only a thought.

He was not cold-blooded enough to lure and kill such a little girl.

Besides, he might not even be able to defeat her.

Seeing him stare at her the entire time, Xiao Wu's delicate face showed a trace of suspicion.

"Hello, do I have flowers on my face?" Xiao Wu teased frivolously.

She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast rebuilding herself. She had experienced everything; her innocence was only outward appearance.

She had encountered quite a few perverts with strange proclivities, and she had dealt with quite a few as well.

The corner of Lin Mo's lips lifted slightly into a faint smile.

"Of course not. Are you planning to attend that Soul Master Academy? Have you thought it through?"

"The certificate issued by Spirit Hall says this is the place. Can I choose somewhere else?" Xiao Wu asked, confusion appearing on her face.

Lin Mo smiled and shook his head.

"It's right ahead."

After saying that, he prepared to leave.

He respected other people's fates. For now, he had no intention of touching the original storyline.

"Hey, wait a moment." Xiao Wu called out to him.

Lin Mo stopped and turned to look at her.

"Are you a student at that academy?" Xiao Wu asked.

"I used to be," Lin Mo replied.

"Then you're a senior. Hello, Senior. My name is Xiao Wu—Wu as in dancing."

"Then, Senior, could you tell me if there's anything I should avoid at that academy?" Xiao Wu blinked her big, watery eyes, wearing an imploring expression.

Lin Mo looked at her vivid, lively appearance. She was a living, breathing "person."

Only at that moment did he truly feel the reality of this world.

A warning?

"Leave this place. Go back the way you came." Lin Mo stared into her eyes.

The Star Dou Great Forest was the only place where she could protect herself.

The smile on Xiao Wu's face stiffened slightly.

I was only asking. Those words... are really hard to respond to.

Lin Mo turned and left without lingering in the slightest.

The same old words.

Respect other people's fates.