Work-Study Students

At five in the morning the next day, the sky had yet to fully brighten.

Zhu Shen climbed out of bed, washed up briefly, and pushed the door open. Passing Tang San's room, he saw the door was already ajar; the bedding was folded neatly, and the boy had long since headed out.

This kid, he's even more impatient than I am.

When he reached the open space behind the dormitory, Tang San was already there warming up. He went through a set of punches that whistled with force; despite his young age, his movements were clean and decisive.

"Teacher." Seeing Zhu Shen approach, Tang San dropped his stance.

"Up so early?"

"I'm used to it," Tang San said. "Back home, I had to get up at this time every day to forge iron."

Zhu Shen nodded. Although Tang Hao was a degenerate, he hadn't neglected Tang San's foundational training in the slightest. Forging iron built physique and endurance, while hidden weapons trained precision and control—the foundation was laid solid.

"Run ten laps first to warm up." Zhu Shen pointed to the edge of the clearing. "One lap is about two hundred meters; ten laps make two kilometers."

Without a word, Tang San turned and started running.

Watching his retreating back, Zhu Shen calculated how he might trick him today. The rewards from the system were too tempting; it would be a waste not to exploit him.

Tang San had run two laps when Wang Sheng finally jogged over, panting, followed by seven or eight other children.

"Te... Teacher..." Wang Sheng braced his hands on his knees, gasping for air. "Sorry, we're late."

"Not late, it's just six o'clock." Zhu Shen looked at the sky. "Go warm up, run ten laps."

"Ten laps?" Wang Sheng's eyes widened.

"Is there a problem?"

"No... no problem!" Wang Sheng gritted his teeth and signaled to the children behind him. "Let's go, let's run!"

A group of children followed behind Tang San. A few of the younger ones were already breathless after two laps, but seeing Tang San still running, they felt too embarrassed to stop and gritted their teeth to continue.

Zhu Shen stood at the edge of the clearing, watching the group.

There were seven work-study students brought by Wang Sheng, plus himself and Tang San, making nine in total. The youngest was only six, the same age as Tang San, and the oldest was only ten. Their martial souls were a mixed bag—some beast, some tool—but all were common goods.

These children had average talent and poor foundations, but they were willing to endure hardship. Not one of them slacked off during the laps, and even though they were exhausted like dogs by the end, no one asked to stop.

Once everyone finished, Zhu Shen had them line up.

"My name is Yu Xiaogang, and from today on, I will teach you how to cultivate." Zhu Shen swept his gaze over them. "Those who want to learn, stay; those who don't, you may leave. But I'll say this upfront: my training is brutal. If you can't take it, leave sooner rather than later."

The seven children looked at each other, but no one moved.

"Fine, then let's begin." Zhu Shen walked up to the first child. "What is your name? What is your martial soul?"

"Te... Teacher, my name is Li Erniu, and my martial soul is a shovel." The little boy was timid, his voice barely a whisper.

"A shovel?" Zhu Shen chuckled. "A good martial soul. It'll be convenient for digging holes to bury people later."

Li Erniu looked blank, having no idea what the teacher was talking about.

Zhu Shen asked them one by one, noting down each child's martial soul and characteristics. Most were common souls: hoes, sickles, wooden sticks, and there was even one whose martial soul was a rock.

When he reached the last child, Zhu Shen paused.

It was a little girl with two pigtails and a dirty face, but her eyes were bright. She took a half-step back and whispered, "Teacher, my name is Xiao Lian, and my martial soul is... is a dandelion."

"A dandelion?" Zhu Shen's eyes lit up. "Release it and let me see."

The little girl hesitated, then extended her hands. A cluster of white fluff drifted from her palms, swaying aimlessly, scattering at the slightest breeze.

"Hahahaha—" Several of the boys burst into laughter.

Xiao Lian blushed, lowering her head, her eyes welling up with tears.

Zhu Shen turned his head, looking at the laughing boys with a smile. "What are you laughing at? Do you think your own martial souls are so impressive?"

Li Erniu raised his hand. "Teacher, my shovel can dig the ground!"

"Digging the ground is useless." Zhu Shen rolled his eyes. "Dandelions can fly, scout, and spread poison powder. What can your shovel do? Nothing but dig holes."

Li Erniu froze.

Zhu Shen squatted down and looked at Xiao Lian. "Do you know what a dandelion is good for?"

Xiao Lian shook her head.

"Dandelion seeds can fly; a gust of wind can carry them very far. Think about it: when you're fighting in the future, you scatter a handful of seeds, and your opponent won't even be able to open their eyes. Add some poison to the seeds, and the enemy will be wiped out in one go." The more Zhu Shen spoke, the more excited he became. "Plus, the seeds can act as scouts, drifting over to the enemy side to check the situation. Isn't that better than a shovel?"

Xiao Lian looked up, her eyes brightening. "Really?"

"Of course it's true." Zhu Shen patted her head. "But the prerequisite is that you must train hard. If you slack off, a dandelion is just a weed. If you train well, a dandelion can take a life."

Xiao Lian nodded vigorously.

The boys who had been laughing earlier went silent.

Zhu Shen stood up and clapped his hands. "Alright, introductions are over. Now, let's begin the formal training."

He walked to the center of the clearing and had the nine children form a circle.

"I don't care what you learned before. From now on, forget it all and start over." Zhu Shen said. "The first step in soul master cultivation is building a foundation. If the foundation isn't solid, you'll be nothing in the future."

"Step one: Soul Power Circulation."

Zhu Shen explained the circulation path for soul power through the meridians. This was a foundational cultivation technique he had exchanged from the system, far superior to the common ones found across the continent.

The children listened intently, though a few clearly did not understand.

Zhu Shen was not in a rush; he taught them one by one, hand in hand. He channeled his soul power into their bodies, guiding it along the path so they could memorize the sensation.

When he reached Xiao Lian, Zhu Shen discovered that her meridians were significantly narrower than the others, making it strenuous for her soul power to circulate. Yet, her soul power was remarkably pure—light and airy like a dandelion seed, carrying a fresh, crisp aura.

"How have you been cultivating until now?" Zhu Shen asked.

"I... I don't know how," Xiao Lian whispered. "No one ever taught me. I only knew how to release my soul power, and then it was gone."

Zhu Shen sighed. This was the reality for work-study students: no money, no resources, and not even the most basic cultivation methods taught to them. It was a miracle they had awakened their martial souls at all, let alone learned how to circulate soul power.

"It's alright, Teacher will teach you." Zhu Shen patiently guided her soul power, moving it through her meridians bit by bit. Xiao Lian winced in pain, her brows furrowed, but she gritted her teeth and remained silent.

After one full cycle, Xiao Lian was drenched in sweat, but the expression on her face was noticeably more relaxed.

"Did you memorize it?"

"I did," Xiao Lian nodded. "Thank you, Teacher."

"No need for thanks, just practice hard."

The teaching lasted the entire morning.

At noon, Zhu Shen had Wang Sheng fetch food from the cafeteria, and the group ate in the open clearing. The meal was poor—just white rice and pickled vegetables—but the children ate with great appetite, and no one complained.

While eating, Wang Sheng leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Teacher, do you really think a dandelion can fight?"

"What? You don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you..." Wang Sheng scratched his head. "It just feels a bit far-fetched."

Zhu Shen smiled. "Do you know what Tang San's martial soul is?"

"I don't."

"Blue Silver Grass."

Wang Sheng was stunned. "The kind of Blue Silver Grass that's everywhere on the street?"

"Correct." Zhu Shen pointed at Tang San. "His first soul ring is a ten-year Lone Bamboo, and his soul skill is Pole Vault. How powerful do you think Blue Silver Grass combined with Lone Bamboo can be?"

Wang Sheng shook his head.

"Then let him demonstrate for you."

Tang San set down his bowl and flicked his right hand, causing a two-meter-long Lone Bamboo to appear out of thin air. He leaped, gripped the bamboo with both hands, and bent it into an astonishing arc before launching himself forward with a whoosh.

Wang Sheng felt a blur before his eyes, and Tang San had already appeared thirty meters away.

"Holy crap!" Wang Sheng was so shocked he dropped his chopsticks.

The other children were also left dumbfounded.

Tang San walked back, his expression calm. "And that was only with a ten-year soul ring."

Wang Sheng gulped and turned to look at Zhu Shen. "Teacher, I want to learn that too!"

"Build your foundation first." Zhu Shen tapped him on the head. "You can't even circulate your soul power properly, and you want to learn pole vaulting?"

Wang Sheng rubbed his head and chuckled sheepishly.

The afternoon training focused on physical fitness.

Zhu Shen had Wang Sheng gather a pile of stones of various sizes. He instructed the children to pick up stones according to their own strength and walk laps around the clearing. If they couldn't go any further, they were to set them down, rest, and then continue.

It was the clumsiest method, but also the most effective.

By the end of the afternoon, all nine children were exhausted and swaying on their feet. Li Erniu collapsed onto the ground, refusing to move, until Zhu Shen kicked him back up. "Walk two laps to loosen up, or your legs will ache like hell tomorrow."

Li Erniu grumbled as he climbed up and began to limp along.

Xiao Lian held up surprisingly well; although she was exhausted to the point of turning pale, she never asked to stop. Zhu Shen watched her, nodding to himself. The girl looked frail, but she had a stubborn streak in her bones.

At dusk, Zhu Shen told them to go back and rest, promising to continue tomorrow.

After the children left, only Zhu Shen and Tang San remained in the clearing.

"Teacher," Tang San suddenly spoke up. "Is there something wrong with the Dean?"

Zhu Shen glanced at him. "Why do you ask?"

"When we went to the teaching building this morning, I saw the Dean talking to a man in dark red robes. The aura on that man was very similar to the three Evil Soul Masters in the Soul Hunting Forest."

Zhu Shen frowned. "Are you certain?"

Tang San nodded. "The effects of the Wangchuan Autumn Dew were still active; I saw it very clearly. Embroidered on the man's cuff was a dark red emblem that looked like an eye."

Zhu Shen fell silent for a moment.

It seemed the connection between Su Nuo and the Evil God Temple was deeper than he had imagined. Furthermore, the man Tang San described was likely the "Blood Shadow" that Snake Undying had mentioned before he died.

"Little San, don't get involved in this for now," Zhu Shen said. "Your task is to cultivate and increase your strength as quickly as possible."

"But..."

"No buts." Zhu Shen interrupted him. "You are only at the first ring; facing those people now would be suicide. Once you are strong enough, Teacher will take you to fight them together."

Tang San fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Right," Zhu Shen said, pulling a jade-green spirit bone from his robes and handing it to Tang San. "This was a system reward from yesterday, a Ten-Year Lone Bamboo Right Leg Bone. Including the previous three, you now have four."

Tang San took the spirit bone, hesitating slightly. "Teacher, I just absorbed one yesterday..."

"You can never have too many." Zhu Shen shoved the spirit bone into his hand. "Absorb it. I'll keep watch for you."

Tang San sat cross-legged and pressed the spirit bone against his right leg. A jade-green light flared, quickly merging into his body.

This absorption was even faster than the previous times, finishing in less than a quarter of an hour.

Tang San stood up and stretched his legs. "The strength and resilience of my right leg have both improved, and my ability to control plants has also been enhanced."

With a thought, he tapped his right foot lightly against the ground. Several blades of grass beside his feet grew wildly in an instant, wrapping around a nearby stone. The grass pulled taut, leaving several white indentations on the rock.

"Not bad," Zhu Shen nodded. "Once you collect all seven, the effects will be even more terrifying."

"Teacher," Tang San deactivated his spirit skill and hesitated. "There is something I am not sure if I should say."

"Speak."

"During training this afternoon, I noticed someone watching us from a distance." Tang San pointed toward the direction of the teaching building. "Behind a window on the fourth floor. They watched for a long time."

Zhu Shen narrowed his eyes.

The fourth floor—that was where the Dean's office was located.

"I understand," Zhu Shen patted his shoulder. "You did well. If there is anything unusual in the future, tell me immediately."

"Yes."