Trouble

"...I heard the Pope's new disciple is coming to our class."

It was a girl's voice, carrying the specific excitement of gossip.

"I heard that too, apparently he's only six," another girl's voice replied. "Six years old in a high-level Soul Master Academy? You've got to be kidding."

"What's so strange about that? He's the Pope's personal disciple; he can go to whichever academy he wants," a boy's voice chimed in, his tone dripping with obvious bitterness. "Pulling strings isn't anything to be ashamed of."

"How strong can a six-year-old be? Ten levels at most. Isn't he just going to be dead weight in our class?"

"He doesn't need to be strong. Having a good teacher is enough."

"If you ask me, a privileged kid who pulls strings like this should be taught what a real Soul Master Academy is all about."

The classroom erupted in jeers and agreement, occasionally punctuated by sounds of disdainful laughter.

Gu Qingshan stood outside the door, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

Just a bunch of half-grown brats.

Back in his past life, when he played games, there were plenty of people in his guild who cursed far worse than this, and he had never cared.

It was a game, after all; strength did the talking. If you could beat them, they would naturally shut up.

Of course, this wasn't a game anymore, but the principle remained the same.

Alice glanced at Gu Qingshan, noticing that the six-year-old's face showed not a hint of displeasure or nervousness.

This child... he was far too composed.

Alice pushed the door open, led Gu Qingshan onto the podium, and clapped her hands to signal for silence.

"Students, we have a new classmate today. His name is Gu Qingshan. He is six years old, has Innate Full Soul Power, and is a level fifteen Soul Master."

The classroom went quiet for a moment.

Then, a wave of hushed discussion broke out.

"Innate Full Soul Power?"

"Level fifteen? At six years old?"

"Is that for real..."

"He's the Pope's personal disciple, isn't he? They can say whatever they want."

Alice's brow furrowed slightly, and just as she was about to speak, Gu Qingshan stepped in first.

"Teacher, where is my seat?"

Before Alice could answer, a cold snort came from the back of the classroom.

"Six years old, level fifteen, the Pope's personal disciple—sounds pretty intimidating, but I wonder how his actual combat ability holds up."

Everyone's gaze shifted to the back of the room.

A youth stood up from his seat.

He was about fourteen or fifteen, half a head taller than his peers, with a sturdy build, broad shoulders, and short, black hair that stood on end.

"Linghu Chong," Alice said, her tone carrying a hint of warning.

Linghu Chong.

When Gu Qingshan heard the name, the corner of his mouth twitched.

Linghu Chong walked out from behind his desk, saying as he moved, "I just think that since His Holiness the Pope personally took him as a disciple, he must have some extraordinary talent. Since I'm a combat-oriented student myself, why don't we spar? It would be a chance for me to broaden my horizons."

A low murmur of agreement rippled through the classroom.

"Yeah, Teacher, let them spar."

"Just keep it light, nothing will happen."

"Let's see how strong the Pope's disciple really is."

Alice's expression was troubled.

She knew that Gu Qingshan's martial soul was the Thorn Shield, but in her understanding, shield-type martial souls were defensive in nature. Their defense might be decent, but their offensive power should be limited.

Linghu Chong, however, was the fourth-ranked student in the class, a level thirty-one Soul Elder whose martial soul was the Berserk Ape. He was a pure power-type attacker with immense offensive capability.

A six-year-old defense-type Soul Master against a thirteen-year-old attack-type Soul Elder—how was this supposed to be a fair fight?

"Student Linghu Chong, this matter..." Alice began to refuse.

"Teacher, it's fine."

Gu Qingshan's voice came from beside the podium.

Everyone's eyes turned back to him.

Gu Qingshan looked up at Linghu Chong with a faint smile on his face.

"Since Student Linghu Chong wants to spar, then let's spar."

Linghu Chong raised an eyebrow, surprised that the kid had agreed so readily.

"But I have one small request. Student Linghu Chong, please use your full strength, otherwise, you won't have a chance at all."

The entire classroom erupted.

"This kid is way too arrogant!"

"Linghu Chong, show him what you're made of!"

"A six-year-old kid, but he sure talks big!"

Linghu Chong's face turned livid, his fists clenching until they creaked.

Born a commoner, Linghu Chong had relied on his own hard work to reach where he was today, and he hated nothing more than those privileged scions who threw their weight around because of their backgrounds.

"Fine, then I'll show you what it means to go all out."

Alice stomped her feet in anxiety, her high heels clicking as she walked up to Gu Qingshan. She leaned down and whispered, "Student Gu Qingshan, Linghu Chong is a level 31 Soul Elder, and his Berserk Ape martial soul is a top-tier choice among power-attack types. Are you sure you want to fight him?"

Gu Qingshan looked at Alice's face, which was inches away, and caught a faint scent of lilies.

"Teacher, please call a healing soul master over."

Alice was stunned for a moment, then sighed and sent someone to fetch a healer from the infirmary.

In the classroom, Hu Liena and the other two sat by the window, not saying a word from start to finish.

When Linghu Chong stood up to provoke him, Hu Liena was resting her chin on her hand, looking at the scenery outside the window. When she heard Gu Qingshan's remark, "Please use your full strength," she turned her head, glanced at Gu Qingshan, rolled her eyes, and went back to watching the scenery.

Xie Yue sat with his hands crossed on the table, watching everything with a blank expression, though the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Yan clicked his tongue and turned his head away.

He remembered yesterday on the training grounds when the three of them had attacked Gu Qingshan together, only to be sent flying and severely injured in a single exchange.

The healing soul master arrived quickly; it was the same high-level healer who had saved them at the training grounds last time.

When she walked into the classroom and saw Gu Qingshan, the expression on her face was quite colorful.

"Again?"

Gu Qingshan smiled at her: "Sorry for the trouble."

The healing soul master shook her head, walked to the corner of the classroom, and stood ready to act at any moment.

Seeing this, Alice felt even more uneasy. Why did even the healing soul master look like she had been prepared for this all along?

Alice took a deep breath: "Then let us begin. Student Linghu Chong, please control your strength."

Linghu Chong instantly released his martial soul. His body suddenly grew half a foot taller, his muscles knotted, his skin turned dark gray, the hair on his arms became thick and coarse, and his eyes turned scarlet, filled with a aura of madness and brutality.

"Third soul skill, Berserk Punch!"

Linghu Chong opened with his strongest soul skill, having no intention of testing the waters; he wanted to knock this arrogant brat down with a single punch.

As for Gu Qingshan, he remained standing where he was, his left hand in his pocket, his right hand still holding half a piece of unchewed Blue Silver Leaf.

He didn't even release his martial soul, merely adjusting his damage reflection ratio to 20%.

Seeing this, Linghu Chong's rage flared even higher.

This wasn't just looking down on him; he wasn't even being taken seriously.

"You're courting death!"

The Berserk Punch carried a whistling gale as it smashed straight toward Gu Qingshan's chest.

The students in the classroom held their breath.

Some of the timid girls even covered their eyes.

Hu Liena rested her chin on her hand and yawned.

Then.

"Hiss! Ah!"

Linghu Chong's body was sent flying backward at a speed much faster than he had charged, as if he had been struck head-on by a stampeding rhinoceros.