Long Live the Useful Pawns!

Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy's training grounds.

A small, thin figure staggered across the field, running ever more slowly as his strength began to fail him. Even so, he persisted.

Beside the field, a delicate little girl propped her chin on her hand and watched him with bored eyes, utterly unable to understand why he was working so desperately. She had kicked off her shoes, her fair little feet resting on a bamboo broom as she pushed it away and pulled it back. Her translucent, petal-like toes curled playfully, relaxed, curled again, then relaxed...

Nearby, an ordinary-looking boy held a bamboo broom and diligently swept the field. He did not resent the girl for slacking off. On the contrary, he happily took on her share of the work.

They had already been enrolled for two months.

Over those two months, Cheng Xiao had never relaxed. He trained every day, almost always pushing himself to complete exhaustion before heading to the infirmary for treatment.

The doctor was nearly driven mad by him. Cheng Xiao came every day to fleece him.

But the doctor's healing skill could only restore sixty percent of his condition; it could not fully recover him. The doctor had tried to persuade him, but Cheng Xiao continued doing things his own way and ignored the advice.

Until one day, when the doctor could endure no more and snapped, "You can't train like this. Without enough rest, you'll collapse from exhaustion sooner or later. You're draining your potential. Have you thought about your future?"

Yet a single sentence from Cheng Xiao left the doctor speechless.

"If I can't become stronger, what future would I even have? With my Innate Soul Power, at most I'll become a Soul Master. What potential do I have to drain?"

In the end, the doctor could only let him be.

Still, this extreme training was not without results. Cheng Xiao's body had visibly grown stronger. Now, after finishing his training, he would no longer be too exhausted to move as he had been before.

Cheng Xiao came to a stop, walked slowly for over ten meters, and adjusted his breathing rhythm, ending the day's long-distance run.

After completing a series of exercises for his arms, wrists, abs, legs, waist, back, and endurance, Cheng Xiao did not immediately rest. Instead, he began practicing Tai Chi Fist.

In his previous life, this martial arts routine had been included in his university physical education exam. But it had only been the most basic flashy routine, practiced all soft and limp, nothing more than empty form. He had never taken it seriously; as long as he could pass the exam, that was enough. Could anyone really expect to beat someone with that soft, flowery routine?

But now, he had to give it more thought. Back then, he had not believed in things like inner force. This life was different, though. There was Soul Power. Could he perhaps integrate Soul Power into martial arts routines and truly achieve the effect of overcoming hardness with softness? Could it become a Self-Created Soul Skill? The odds were slim, but not nonexistent.

Unfortunately, Cheng Xiao had not practiced it well in his previous life. Now, every stance and movement came out misshapen, let alone any Self-Created Soul Skill.

Cheng Xiao did not give up. He practiced it ten or twenty times every day. After two months, no miracle had occurred, but his form was becoming increasingly proper.

Gradually, Cheng Xiao seemed to grasp some vague feeling. His flawed Tai Chi Fist slowly corrected itself, taking on a strange, graceful beauty.

And once his Tai Chi Fist movements gradually became correct, Cheng Xiao discovered that it could actually ease some of his fatigue. After each training session, performing two sets of Tai Chi Fist could almost restore twenty percent of his energy, relieving the stiffness and exhaustion throughout his body.

This discovery delighted Cheng Xiao. If he practiced two sets of Tai Chi Fist after training each day, then went to the infirmary for Soul Skill treatment, wouldn't he recover eighty percent of his stamina? After sleeping through the night, he could wake up full of energy the next day and keep training!

Tch, truly worthy of being the number one martial art for health preservation!

Although he had not developed a Self-Created Soul Skill, Cheng Xiao was still satisfied with Tai Chi Fist's effects. At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that he had not failed his PE exam in his previous life.

After finishing his Tai Chi Fist, Cheng Xiao finally withdrew his stance and exhaled the stale air in his lungs.

"Little Cheng, over here! Hurry up!" Seeing that Cheng Xiao had finished training, Xiao Wu quickly waved at him.

Cheng Xiao walked over, and Xiao Wu handed him a cup of water. Tang San also came over and sat beside Xiao Wu.

Cheng Xiao rinsed his mouth with the water, then spat out most of it, swallowing only a small sip. He poured the rest over his head to cool down. He knew enough common sense not to drink a large amount of water immediately after intense exercise.

"Little Cheng, why do you work so hard?" Xiao Wu wrinkled her delicate little nose. "Are you afraid someone will bully you? I'm already the academy boss now. If anyone dares bully you, I'll have Xiao San beat him up!"

"..." Tang San.

"Heh." Cheng Xiao glanced at Tang San.

Tang San smiled politely.

Over the past two months, Cheng Xiao and Tang San had gotten to know one another. Because of Xiao Wu, they could be considered neither close nor distant friends. But both their souls belonged to adults, and only they themselves knew what ghosts lurked in their hearts. In any case, neither was especially innocent.

Tang San had vaguely sensed that familiar feeling upon their first meeting. They were the same kind of person. Cheng Xiao did not speak like a child, and he was no simple character.

Tang San guessed that this fellow was probably dark-hearted and needed to be watched carefully. Even if he racked his brains, he would never have imagined that Cheng Xiao was also a transmigrator.

"Training doesn't need any special reason. I just want to become stronger." Cheng Xiao shrugged. "Look, my results over these past two months have been obvious. My Soul Power is already at level three."

Other than Tang San and Xiao Wu, that was already quite fast compared to everyone else.

The graduation requirement for a Soul Master Academy was to reach level ten and become a Soul Master within six years.

This showed that many people were much slower than him. Not everyone was willing to torture themselves half to death.

"My body has gotten stronger too." Cheng Xiao lifted his shirt, revealing faintly defined abdominal muscles. Though they were only beginning to take shape, all six abs were gradually becoming visible.

"Go away. You get sweaty all over every time you train. You stink." Xiao Wu pretended to be disgusted and gently kicked Cheng Xiao in the stomach, making him move away from her. Yet she did not mind her fair little foot getting covered in sticky sweat, and her motion was quite gentle. Though she called it a "kick," she was really only lightly pushing him away. It was obvious that she was not truly disgusted.

Tang San raised his eyelids slightly, his expression unchanged as though he did not care.

Cheng Xiao smiled, wondering whether he had been labeled as someone who had earned the right to die.

Probably not. It had only been two months, and he had "unintentionally" placed a tiny obstacle in their way. Their relationship should not have progressed that quickly.

At this moment, Xiao Wu's scales were tipping toward him. Cheng Xiao had the advantage.

But it would be hard to say later on. Tang San and Xiao Wu were in the same dormitory, after all, and spent more time together than she did with him. There was no guarantee the scales would not tip toward Tang San.

Cheng Xiao had considered pulling a few tricks, but none were good options. It would be easy for someone to catch evidence against him, and the loss would outweigh the gain. It was not worth it, so Cheng Xiao gave up on the idea.

Whatever. When rain falls, it falls; when a woman wants to marry, she marries. He would take it one step at a time. He was not demanding anything anyway. It had merely been a casual move on the board; he did not expect it to suddenly become a brilliant move that captured the dragon.

A rabbit would be nice to have, but it was fine without one. If he could not get the rabbit, there was still the Soul Ring. Failing that, there were Soul Bones.

If he could not have her body and heart, he could just take her bones. That was not a bad deal.

He was far more conscientious than capitalists. At least he would not grind up her bones for medicine.

"By the way, how are your studies with Grandmaster going, Xiao San? How does it feel?" Cheng Xiao asked.

"Teacher is the most learned person I have ever met. I've gained a great deal from studying under him." Tang San's expression turned solemn as he offered the praise with utmost sincerity.

"Sigh, you two have teachers to help you obtain Soul Rings, but I'm miserable. When the time comes, I don't even know where I'll get mine. Though by then, you'll probably both be Soul Grand Masters." Cheng Xiao sighed, then suddenly said, "Eh? By then, you should be able to defeat hundred-year Soul Beasts, right? Why don't you help me when the time comes?"

Free muscle—there was no reason not to use it.

Cheng Xiao did not have any moral hang-ups that required him to make things difficult for himself.

Whether he could obtain Soul Bones in the future was another matter. For now, he would make use of them first and squeeze out every drop of value. Not wasting resources was a principle every adult should follow.

"Um..." Xiao Wu frowned, somewhat hesitant. She herself was a Soul Beast in human form, so she still felt some resistance toward hunting Soul Beasts.

As for Tang San, he said nothing. He was highly wary of Cheng Xiao, afraid that Cheng Xiao might pull some trick during the process.

"I probably won't choose anything too ferocious. Plant-type Soul Beasts would be pretty good." Cheng Xiao understood Xiao Wu's concerns, so he made it clear that he would only hunt plant-type Soul Beasts.

Soft Bone Rabbits ate Blue Silver Grass. Surely she would not feel pity for plants?

Sure enough, once he said that, Xiao Wu's resistance lessened greatly. She nodded and readily agreed. "Okay, okay! When the time comes, Xiao San and I will help you. It's a deal, though—you can only hunt plant-type Soul Beasts."

Tang San: ???

I haven't agreed yet!

But Tang San looked at Xiao Wu's soft, tender little cheeks and could not bring himself to refuse.

"Then it's settled. No problem, Xiao San?"

Tang San hesitated. Xiao Wu tilted her head and looked at him curiously.

Tang San could only say helplessly, "When the time comes, I'll see whether Teacher has anything for me to do. If not, I'll go with you."

"Alright, I'll call you then."

Cheng Xiao narrowed his eyes. Hehe, this was exactly the effect he wanted.

Long live the useful pawns!

PS: Don't blame me for adding the Tai Chi setup. It is meant to prepare for the Yin-Yang Balanced Twin Soul Core later on. The protagonist has neither an old master nor a system, so there can't be some sudden mechanical deus ex machina. He can only lay the groundwork by supplementing the setting.