"Sigh..."
As the sun sank in the west, Principal Fuqi stood alone in the empty Training Ground with his hands behind his back, occasionally tapping his forehead as he let out a long, weary sigh.
Hearing familiar footsteps behind him, Principal Fuqi didn't turn around. He simply asked, "How did it go?"
The middle-aged teacher behind him adjusted his square-framed glasses on his hooked nose and shook his head helplessly. "Tang San was taken to the school infirmary by Grandmaster. Old Liu already examined him. His injuries aren't serious; a few days' rest will do. As for Naruto..."
The teacher with the hooked nose paused, then shrugged helplessly. "He said he was fine, but nearly fell over several times. Even so, he took his time walking home."
Principal Fuqi gave a slight nod.
The teacher with the hooked nose waited quietly for the principal's instructions, only to see him suddenly turn around, his face clouded with bewilderment, as if questioning his entire life.
"Tell me... is there something wrong with the feng shui at my academy?"
"Huh?"
The teacher with the hooked nose gaped, looking utterly dumbfounded. Principal Fuqi's train of thought changed faster than a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.
"Look, it took us ages to get a few geniuses to come to our academy, and what happens?"
Principal Fuqi furrowed his brow and explained earnestly, then smacked his hands together and spread them helplessly. "The two of them have only met a few times, and already they're fighting to the death, practically wanting to kill each other on the spot. I hear the other girl is a little ringleader, too. She probably won't get along with those two either, will she?"
"Tell me, isn't this a feng shui problem?"
Principal Fuqi tried to find some agreement from his subordinate, but the teacher with the hooked nose only gave him a complicated look.
"Fine, I won't bring it up."
Seeing how stubborn the other man was, Principal Fuqi didn't press the matter. He waved a hand, ending the topic steeped in feudal superstition.
"Principal, what should we do now? Expel them, or...?" The teacher with the hooked nose asked again, frowning.
Principal Fuqi's expression sobered. He had already worked out a plan, but still shook his head. "It hasn't come to that. Geniuses get special privileges. Put in a little more effort and make sure someone keeps an eye on the two of them. They absolutely cannot be allowed to fight again!"
"Principal, you can guard against thieves for a thousand days, but who can guard against them forever?"
The teacher with the hooked nose didn't understand. He instinctively stepped closer and lowered his voice to warn him. "They're already sworn enemies. How many days can we keep an eye on them? If he hadn't dodged that crossbow bolt, someone would've died at our academy—the first death since it was founded!"
"I've already made up my mind. Once they're both Spirit Masters, they'll have a Soul Fighting match to settle things once and for all. After that, they won't be allowed to Soul Fight at the academy or bring this matter up again!"
"When they fight, I'll call in a few friends of mine, too. Four or five Spirit Ancestors and Spirit Kings can keep an eye on them at the same time. Nothing will happen."
Principal Fuqi's face was gloomy, but he spoke without slowing down. It was clear he had spent a long time thinking over this halfhearted solution.
He was no longer the heaven's favored genius who had graduated from an advanced Soul Master academy. Now he was merely a potbellied principal at a junior academy. If he could smooth things over and muddle through, he would. The Notting Academy had run into plenty of trouble over the years, and this was how they had muddled through every time.
This solution was very much in keeping with the principal's style.
The teacher with the hooked nose nodded, but still had a few questions.
"Will they agree?"
"Hmph, you don't understand!" At that, Principal Fuqi burst out laughing and glanced back at the teacher with the hooked nose. "You've never been to an advanced Soul Master academy, so you don't understand how people like them think. They're arrogant, supremely confident, and just as concerned with saving face!"
"Before the match, I'll provoke them a little. Then I'll have them swear in front of everyone that after this fight, they'll leave each other alone. It'll be a piece of cake."
Principal Fuqi spoke with great confidence.
In fact, instructors at advanced Soul Master academies often used this method to resolve conflicts between students.
Talented students were mostly nobles. They cared most about their reputation in public, so this trick worked time and again. As for what happened after they graduated...
"As for how they kill each other after graduation, that has nothing to do with our academy. Besides, we'll have promotional material for the academy six years from now, and the city lord might even give us more funding."
The teacher with the hooked nose nodded quietly.
Then, as if something had occurred to him, he asked again, "Then why... wait until they're both Spirit Masters?"
"What's the rush? They're both only six-year-old children. How many times have people started out as enemies and ended up becoming friends? If they patch things up during this time, won't everyone be happy?" Principal Fuqi said with a laugh, patting his round belly. The teacher with the hooked nose listened in silence, unable to help wondering:
With the way those two looked at each other, as if they wanted to kill each other, was there really any chance of reconciliation?
The school infirmary,
Notting Academy's infirmary wasn't very large, and it was rather run-down. It had only two or three beds, and mold stains showed beneath the peeling paint.
After finishing his work, Doctor Liu turned and left the room, giving the two of them some privacy.
Yu Xiaogang sat beside the bed, not leaving Tang San's side for a moment.
"Xiao San? How are you feeling?"
Lying on the bed with a bandage still wrapped around his nose, Tang San sat up after having his medicine applied. He looked up at Grandmaster and smiled, shaking his head. "I'm fine, teacher. They're only superficial wounds."
Seeing how sensible his disciple was, Yu Xiaogang felt all the more distressed.
"You..."
Grandmaster sighed softly, then hurriedly continued in a serious tone. "You have a bright future ahead of you. You can't go all out like that again. And another thing! You used your other Martial Soul during the Soul Fighting match, didn't you?"
Tang San reached up and touched the back of his left hand. The power of his other Martial Soul had left a deep impression on him. It had turned the tables on his desperate situation in an instant. Even after Blue Silver Grass had gained a four-hundred-year Spirit Ring, it was still nowhere near as powerful as that mysterious Martial Soul.
Just what was this mysterious Martial Soul of his?
Tang San was intensely curious, but his father and teacher had both repeatedly warned him never to reveal it. All he could do was suppress his curiosity.
"Teacher... I'm sorry..."
Tang San lowered his head and apologized softly.
Grandmaster, seated beside the bed, nodded with satisfaction. Then, as if to put Tang San at ease, he continued.
"Fortunately, you knew to keep it hidden while using it. Not many people saw it. The teachers here aren't very knowledgeable, and hardly anyone knows about these so-called Twin Martial Souls, but you can never be sure nothing will go wrong."
Tang San tried asking a few more times, but his teacher kept his mouth shut about the mysterious Martial Soul.
Seeing that, Tang San could only give up. Instead, he asked about something else. "Teacher, what Soul Skill did Naruto use? Why didn't it have a Spirit Ring?"
At that, Yu Xiaogang didn't answer immediately. He rubbed the stubble on his chin and pondered for a long time before finally replying.
"It should be a Self-Created Soul Skill."
"A Self-Created Soul Skill?"
Tang San furrowed his brow and muttered the name under his breath.
Yu Xiaogang nodded repeatedly and stood up, pacing back and forth around the room. "That's right. It's similar to your family's teachings. Through constant training and practice, a Soul Skill can be used without relying on a Spirit Ring. Such a skill is called a Self-Created Soul Skill."
"I watched closely. He seems to have three Self-Created Soul Skills: Clone, Transformation, and Substitution. These are the first Self-Created Soul Skills I've ever seen on the continent."
At this, Yu Xiaogang's eyes concealed a hint of confusion.
Self-Created Soul Skills were rare on the continent. The signature techniques of the Upper Three Sects—the Clear Sky Sect's Ring Detonation and Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect's Dragon Transformation, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Seven Aperture Glazed Heart—were all, when you got down to it, Self-Created Soul Skills based on their sects' Martial Souls.
The Upper Three Sects' ability to stand tall for thousands of years was inseparable from these Self-Created Soul Skills.
Outside those Upper Three Sects, there were no famous Self-Created Soul Skills on the continent. Most were just Martial Soul skills that people with too much time on their hands had tinkered with and dressed up to make a spectacle.
But today, that shameless brat had three Self-Created Soul Skills at his disposal.
"They may have been passed down through his family for generations, or perhaps he found them by chance. But..."
"Teacher, but what?"
Seeing his teacher hesitate, Tang San pressed him.
"They're not fit for the grand stage. They're all underhanded support skills, and they don't do much to increase the power of a Martial Soul."
Grandmaster narrowed his eyes. The furrow between his brows suddenly relaxed, as though the clouds had parted and the moon had emerged. After pondering for only a moment, he had already spotted the flaws in those Self-Created Soul Skills. "I wonder what sort of people his ancestors were. Instead of thinking about how to improve their strength, they wasted decades—or even generations—of their lives studying these odd tricks."
"Those Self-Created Soul Skills would be useless even at the Titled Douluo level, let alone at the Soul Emperor level."
Tang San nodded to himself.
With his teacher's guidance, he had also noticed the problems with these Self-Created Soul Skills.
The Transformation illusion was child's play before his Purple Demon Eye, and he had casually shattered the clones. Only the final Substitution skill had been a little useful, but it was merely a life-saving skill.
Next time, he would need no more than twenty or thirty moves to take this man's life!
[General Guidelines of the Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, Article Three: Once you've determined that someone is an enemy, and that they deserve to die, show no mercy. Otherwise, you'll only bring trouble upon yourself.]
Tang San clenched the bedsheet in his hand and turned to look out at the setting sun. Today's humiliation would be repaid one day!
Meanwhile,
Beneath the same setting sun, the door creaked as Naruto pushed it open with a trembling hand and staggered inside.
After closing the doors and windows, Naruto collapsed to the floor. He panted heavily, drenched in sweat and grimacing in pain. He lifted his shirt, revealing skin mottled with blue and purple bruises. There wasn't a single spot left unmarked.
He had been chased and beaten by Tang San for ages. Luckily, he'd kept his footing and retreated as he fought, controlling the pace. His injuries weren't too bad, and he'd guarded his handsome face so carefully that it hadn't been hurt at all.
As for Tang San, Naruto had aimed his fists and legs at his face. He'd beaten him into a pig's head.
Just thinking about it eased some of Naruto's resentment. Returning to the matter at hand, he focused his consciousness. The entire Sealing Space looked as if it had been hit by an earthquake. The dense copper pipes that had crawled over the walls had somehow snapped and were now jutting at an angle into the accumulated water.
The water around his feet had grown deeper, too. Naruto frowned and scanned the place, finding Bibi Dong among the ruins.
"Are you satisfied?"
Before you continue