Yu Xiaogang's Contempt

Ye Yang sneered inwardly, yet his face remained perfectly respectful as he bowed deeply to Emperor Xue Ye. "This son... thanks Father Emperor for your clear insight! My methods of discipline were indeed improper, and I request a three-month salary penalty to demonstrate my self-reflection."

[Ding! Retreating to advance, Acting +1, Mental Strength +1]

"Hmm." Emperor Xue Ye nodded, seemingly quite satisfied with the Crown Prince's "sensibility." "Let this matter end here."

"Does anyone else have anything to report?"

Meanwhile, in Nuoding City.

Qian Renxue, carrying a simple knapsack and clutching a "fortune" of fifty gold spirit coins, stood before the archaic gates of the Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy.

The academy entrance was not particularly bustling, with students in uniform occasionally coming and going.

"Brother Ye Yang?"

Qian Renxue's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

That form of address, that voice... She followed the sound and looked over.

She saw a youth wearing the academy's blue uniform looking at her.

The youth had a well-proportioned build and refined features, his gentle gaze carrying a composure that belied his age. Most striking of all was his clean, short black hair.

Beside him stood a girl also wearing the uniform; she was slightly taller than him, sporting a long scorpion braid. Her large, bright eyes were full of spirit, and she was currently looking Qian Renxue up and down with curiosity.

"It really is you, Brother Ye Yang!" A sincere smile appeared on Tang San's face as he walked over quickly. "Why did you come to Nuoding City? Did Grandpa Jack bring you here?"

Qian Renxue frowned slightly. It seemed this Tang San knew Ye Yang?

"Yes, Grandpa is... doing quite well."

Qian Renxue nodded, trying to make her tone sound as natural as possible while avoiding Tang San's gentle gaze, which seemed capable of peering into one's soul.

"Brother Ye Yang, why are you at the academy..." Tang San asked, somewhat puzzled. He knew Ye Yang had no martial soul; logically, he shouldn't be appearing at the gates of a spirit master academy.

"Oh, I... I was just passing by and heard you were studying here, so I came to take a look," Qian Renxue explained immediately.

"Pfft." Xiao Wu, standing beside them, couldn't help but laugh, her large eyes curving into crescents. "So you're the Brother Ye Yang from the same village that Little San is always talking about! You don't look like anything special."

She spoke directly, with the charming naivety of a young girl. "Take a look? What's there to see here? Every day is just classes, cultivation, and fighting."

She waved her small fist, looking full of vitality.

"Xiao Wu!" Tang San gave her a slightly reproachful look, signaling her to be more mindful of her words.

He turned back to Qian Renxue, his tone remaining gentle. "Brother Ye Yang, it's rare for you to come to the city. Would you like to come inside and sit for a while? There's a small garden in the academy with a nice environment."

Tang San extended the invitation out of hometown camaraderie.

Hearing this, Qian Renxue hesitated for a moment before nodding. It wouldn't hurt to take a look; besides, she had never seen what a school looked like.

Tang San led Qian Renxue and Xiao Wu through the slightly weathered courtyard of Nuoding Academy toward the small garden he had mentioned.

Sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves, casting a peaceful atmosphere.

"Brother Ye Yang, you..." Tang San weighed his words, wanting to ask about the recent life of this older brother from his village. After all, an ordinary person without a martial soul leaving Holy Soul Village to come to Nuoding City alone was inherently unusual.

However, before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a steady voice with a hint of deliberate affectation.

"Little San."

The three of them looked toward the sound and saw a middle-aged man in a gray robe, with a stern face and meticulously groomed hair, standing at the other end of the garden path. He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze landing first on Tang San with a hint of imperceptible satisfaction, then sweeping over Xiao Wu, and finally fixing on Qian Renxue, who was dressed in coarse cloth and carrying a tattered bundle.

It was the Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang.

"Teacher!" Tang San bowed respectfully.

"Hello, Grandmaster." Xiao Wu also greeted him casually; her attitude toward this "master of theory" had always been rather indifferent.

Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly and looked at Qian Renxue. "And this is?"

Tang San quickly introduced him. "Teacher, this is my fellow villager from Holy Soul Village, Brother Ye Yang. He happened to be passing through Nuoding City today, so I brought him in to have a look."

"Oh? A fellow villager from Holy Soul Village?" Yu Xiaogang's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, as if this information had triggered some association.

He looked Qian Renxue up and down. The shabby clothing that looked so out of place in the academy and that silent, reticent expression all led him to an instinctive judgment.

"Ye Yang?" Yu Xiaogang repeated the name, his tone carrying a condescending inquiry. "Are you... a spirit master?"

He was extremely sensitive to fluctuations in spirit power, but he felt no obvious aura of it from the youth before him—which was, of course, the result of Qian Renxue's deliberate concealment.

Qian Renxue shook her head calmly, her tone devoid of any ripples. "No. I have no martial soul."

These five words were like cold water hitting hot oil.

The interest in Yu Xiaogang's eyes extinguished instantly, replaced by a thinly veiled contempt.

"No martial soul..." Yu Xiaogang's voice dragged on.

He stopped looking at Qian Renxue, as if the person standing before him were merely an inconsequential background prop, and refocused his gaze on Tang San.

"Little San," Yu Xiaogang's voice slowed deliberately, sounding earnest and grave.

"You are gifted with innate full spirit power, and your future is limitless. You must always remember your identity and responsibilities, and devote every second to cultivation and self-improvement."

"Do not let some... unimportant people or matters distract your precious energy."

He paused, his gaze seemingly sweeping past the direction of Qian Renxue once more, "Though Nuoding Academy is small, it is, after all, the cradle of spirit masters, gathering those with potential and a future."

"The outside world, especially the world of spirit masters, is filled with even more opportunities and challenges, but those opportunities belong only to those with the strength and talent to seize them."

His words became increasingly pointed, no longer masking the sarcasm within:

"As for those ordinary people who cannot even awaken a martial soul... the trajectory of their lives has been defined by fate from the very moment the awakening ceremony ends at the age of six."

Yu Xiaogang's tone was inexplicable: "Staying safely and dutifully in the place that raised them, learning a trade, marrying, having children, and living out a mundane life is their wisest choice."

"Rashly intruding into the world of spirit masters, or harboring delusions of 'making a name for oneself' on the continent, is no different from a moth flying into a flame. Not only will they end up battered and bloodied, but it is also an act of irresponsibility toward themselves and others."

"Some people, for their entire lives, cannot even touch the threshold of a spirit master, so how can they speak of understanding the vastness and perils of the spirit master world?" Yu Xiaogang's final sentence was almost a naked call-out.

He looked at Tang San, his eyes carrying a warning, "You must take this as a lesson, Little San. Your path is completely different from theirs."

"Do not waste your talent, and even more so, do not let yourself be dragged down by those 'old acquaintances' destined to struggle at the bottom. Focusing on yourself and pursuing the pinnacle of power is what you should be doing."