Reality is Too Cruel, What's Wrong with Illusions?

The carriage wheels crunched against the gravel, emitting a rhythmic creaking sound.

Principal Fuqi, who had just sprinted to the school gate, was panting heavily. Seeing the carriage nearing the entrance, he hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief before turning back to glare at the teachers trailing behind him.

Under the Principal's gaze, the teachers, despite their inner resentment, forced smiles onto their faces.

A bunch of bumpkins!

Principal Fuqi cursed inwardly and shook his head.

These local soul masters, with innate soul power of only level two or three, how could they possibly fathom the prestige of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect? Was the Master's 0.5 level of innate soul power something they were qualified to mock?

That was bad enough, but their loose tongues had caused the Master to hold a grudge against him, leaving him to suffer the consequences for no reason.

To smooth things over, Principal Fuqi had specifically dragged this group out to welcome them, putting on a full display of sincerity. As for how much effect it would have, he had no idea.

Just as he was thinking this, the carriage came to a halt before the gate.

Principal Fuqi set his thoughts aside and cupped his hands, preparing to deliver the flattery he had rehearsed, only to see that the Master was nowhere to be seen at the front of the carriage—only Tang San was there.

"Tang San? Where is the Master?"

Seeing the Principal's anxious expression, Tang San did not answer, instead turning back to return to the carriage cabin. A few seconds later, the door swung wide, and the Master, deathly pale and supported by Tang San, appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Master, what happened to you?"

Principal Fuqi was startled. As he stepped forward to help Tang San support the man, he shouted to the crowd gathered behind him.

"Where is Teacher Liu! Why aren't you coming up to heal him yet?"

With lives at stake, the entire school gate descended into chaos. The radiance of various soul rings flickered, drawing the attention of passing pedestrians and even students from within the school who gathered to watch.

"Xiaogang... is hurt..."

On the outermost edge of the crowd, Jiang Naruto stood on a high vantage point, gazing into the distance. Yu Xiaogang, surrounded in the center, had not a shred of color left in his face.

Hearing the doubt in Bibi Dong's voice, Jiang Naruto said faintly.

"Isn't that to be expected?"

"A four-hundred-year-old Datura Snake is not a ten-year-old Lone Bamboo. How could Yu Xiaogang possibly be a match for it? It's a miracle he made it back alive."

As he spoke, Naruto shook his head.

The Master was truly confident, wasn't he? His actual strength was barely above that of a hundred-year soul beast, so where did he get the courage to take Tang San to the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt for a soul ring?

Were there not enough people dying in the Soul Hunting Forest every year?

Was he truly not afraid that both he and Tang San would die in there?

"He wouldn't!" Bibi Dong's voice rose sharply, clearly refusing to believe it. "There are many powerful hidden weapons within the Tang Sect! How could Xiaogang not have any in his possession? He must have... just been careless!"

"That's right... that must be it!"

It seemed Bibi Dong had convinced herself with this reasoning, becoming more confident as she spoke.

"Xiaogang just lacks combat experience and was injured by accident; there's nothing strange about that!"

Naruto returned a complex look.

Bibi Dong's brows furrowed, but before she could coldly demand to know what Naruto meant, there was a stir in the crowd.

"Master! How are you feeling?"

Principal Fuqi grabbed the Master's hand, asking anxiously.

Yu Xiaogang had fallen into a coma after being poisoned by the Datura Snake. Though Tang San had neutralized most of the toxin, he remained deathly weak inside. Now, under the influence of a healing soul skill, he finally regained a bit of color.

Regaining some strength, Yu Xiaogang waved his hand, refusing the help of others, and slowly stood up from the ground.

"I... I am fine..."

Laughter seemed to echo faintly in his ears. Yu Xiaogang kept his head buried, not daring to confirm it, fearing he would meet the mocking gazes of those around him. He did not even dare to look up at his "friend" standing before him.

The expression on his face—as if to say, "If only you had called for me, it wouldn't have come to this"—made one's heart ache like a needle prick.

"Master, what happened?"

Hearing this question, Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth, but his throat felt so dry he couldn't speak.

Just as Yu Xiaogang was thinking of fainting to end it all, Tang San, who was standing beside him, suddenly stepped forward, blocking the space between Yu Xiaogang and the crowd.

"Principal! The teacher took me to hunt for a soul ring. Although there were some accidents on the way, thanks to the teacher, I obtained this soul ring!"

As he finished speaking, the Blue Silver Grass appeared in Tang San's hand, and a thick, yellow soul ring rose from beneath his feet.

"A hundred-year soul ring!?"

It was unclear which teacher had shouted it, but Principal Fuqi's pupils constricted, followed by a face full of joy. "It's more than that! The age of this soul ring is four hundred years!! This is a four-hundred-year soul ring!"

In a small place like Nuoding City, having a hundred-year ring as a first ring was a rarity in itself.

The vast majority of soul masters had only ten-year-level first soul rings, and they could only attempt a hundred-year ring for their second. A four-hundred-year soul ring was the level one would expect for a third soul ring.

"As expected of innate full soul power!"

The crowd felt envious, and the way they looked at the Master changed.

"Xiaogang, you actually have this kind of strength? This is a four-hundred-year-old soul beast; even I, a Soul Ancestor, would have to put in some effort to deal with it!" Principal Fuqi was overjoyed and patted the Master on the shoulder.

Yu Xiaogang, however, looked down at Tang San, lost in thought.

The next second, Yu Xiaogang's eyes reddened, then he waved his hand with a sense of relief. "I don't have that kind of strength. This soul beast was killed by Tang San single-handedly."

"Eh?"

The surrounding teachers fell into a bewildered silence, and Tang San turned his head in a panic.

"Teacher!?"

"My soul skill only weakened this beast; it was Xiao San who truly killed it." Yu Xiaogang raised a hand to stop Tang San, smiling at the crowd on his own accord. "If it weren't for Xiao San unleashing his might and carrying me out of the Soul Hunting Forest, I fear I would have already lost my life."

"No! It was Teacher!"

"Without Teacher's help, there is no way I could have killed this soul beast!"

"..."

Under the puzzled gazes of the others, both of them tried to give the credit to the other.

As their almost comical display of modesty unfolded, the truth gradually became clear: this four-hundred-year-old soul beast had actually been killed by Tang San?

As this thought flashed through their minds, many of the people around looked at Yu Xiaogang with increasing disdain.

You actually needed your six-year-old student to save you?

How can you even face yourself as a teacher?

And beyond this disdain?

They were all teachers; who wouldn't secretly envy someone for having a disciple like Tang San? Seeing the two of them becoming increasingly agitated in their modesty, Principal Fuqi quickly stepped between them. "Alright! Alright! Who deserves more credit or less—how can such a thing be clearly defined?"

Ending the topic, Principal Fuqi looked at Tang San, then at the smiling Yu Xiaogang, and nodded slightly. "Xiaogang, you really have received a good disciple."

"Indeed," Yu Xiaogang nodded. His gaze swept calmly over the jealous and envious faces of those around him, and he smiled, hands clasped behind his back. "Since my martial soul awakened, I have never been as happy as I am today."

A joyous and congratulatory occasion.

If this had happened in the original story, it would have been worth writing about at length.

Tang San was modest, polite, and respectful to his teacher, and the Master had emerged from the shadows—if he could not reach the pinnacle of the continent himself, then he would teach a disciple to reach the summit.

Everyone was winning, so who had lost?

The Sealing Space was silent and empty, with only Bibi Dong standing alone on the stagnant water.

Perhaps it was Naruto's imagination, but the copper pipes on the surrounding walls seemed to have rusted a bit more, and the water pooled on the ground had deepened by a few inches.

Projecting his consciousness, Naruto also stood on the water. He turned his head to look at Bibi Dong, who stood beside him, dejected and unable to even stand steadily. Through Naruto's vision, the "modesty" that had just occurred in reality was fully laid bare.

"It... cannot... be..."

Bibi Dong muttered to herself, and Naruto shook his head, withdrawing his gaze.

This is reality.

Reality is too cruel.

It only makes the void within one's heart grow larger; sometimes it makes things go against one's wishes, and sometimes it leaves one unable to react in time...

But this is reality.