Playing Peacemaker

"Sigh..."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Principal Fuqi stood alone on the empty training grounds with his hands clasped behind his back, sighing deeply while occasionally patting his forehead.

Hearing familiar footsteps approaching from behind, Principal Fuqi didn't even turn his head as he spoke.

"How is it?"

The middle-aged teacher behind him adjusted the square-framed glasses perched on his hooked nose and shook his head helplessly. "Tang San was taken to the infirmary by Master Yu Xiaogang. Old Liu has already checked him over; his injuries aren't serious, and he'll be fine after a few days of rest. As for Naruto..."

At this, the hook-nosed teacher paused and gave a weary shrug. "He insisted he was fine, but he nearly tripped several times before slowly making his way home."

Principal Fuqi gave a slight nod.

The hook-nosed teacher waited for instructions, only to see the principal suddenly turn around, his face filled with a bewildered, existential confusion.

"Tell me... is there something wrong with the feng shui of this academy?"

"Huh?"

The hook-nosed teacher's jaw dropped in a daze; Principal Fuqi's train of thought jumped faster than a Phoenix-Tail Cockscomb Serpent.

"Look, we finally get a few geniuses in this academy, and what happens?"

Principal Fuqi furrowed his brows, explaining earnestly before clapping his hands together and spreading them in exasperation. "The two of them have only met a few times, yet they're already at each other's throats, wishing they could kill one another on the spot. I hear the other girl is a bit of a ringleader too—I suppose she won't get along with these two either?"

"Tell me, isn't this a matter of feng shui?"

Principal Fuqi sought validation from his subordinate, but the hook-nosed teacher only returned a complex look.

"Fine, I won't mention it again."

Seeing the man's rigidity, Principal Fuqi stopped pushing the issue and waved his hand to end the topic of feudal superstition.

"Principal, what should we do now? Expel them? Or?" the hook-nosed teacher asked with a frown.

Principal Fuqi composed his expression, having already prepared a plan in his mind. He shook his head. "It hasn't reached that point yet. Geniuses have privileges. You all need to put in more effort; someone must keep an eye on them at all times! They must not be allowed to fight again!"

"Principal, one can guard against a thief for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against a thief forever."

The hook-nosed teacher, feeling uneasy, instinctively stepped forward and lowered his voice. "They are already mortal enemies. How long can we keep watch? If that crossbow bolt hadn't missed, our academy would have had a death on its hands—the first in our history!"

"I've already decided. Once they both reach the Spirit Master level, we will hold a formal Spirit Fight to settle the score. After that, they will never be allowed to fight or harass each other within the academy again!"

"During the fight, I will invite a few of my friends. With four or five Spirit Ancestors and Spirit Kings watching them, nothing will go wrong."

Principal Fuqi's face was grim, but his speech remained steady; it was clear he had been mulling over this compromise for a long time.

He was no longer the proud prodigy who had graduated from a high-level Spirit Master academy; he was merely the pot-bellied principal of a primary academy. If he could smooth things over and muddle through, he would. Notting Academy had faced many such issues over the years, and this was how he had always handled them.

This method was truly in the principal's style.

While the hook-nosed teacher nodded, he still had a few questions.

"Will they agree to it?"

"Hmph, that's where you don't understand!" At this, Principal Fuqi burst into laughter and glanced sideways at the hook-nosed teacher. "You never attended a high-level Spirit Master academy; you don't understand the mindset of these people. They are extremely arrogant, extremely confident, and above all, extremely concerned with their reputation!"

"When the time comes, I'll use a few words to provoke them and make them swear an oath in front of everyone that they won't harass each other after the battle. It'll be easy."

Principal Fuqi spoke with great confidence.

In truth, this was a common tactic used by instructors at high-level Spirit Master academies to resolve conflicts between students.

Talented students were often nobles who cared deeply about their reputation in public; this trick rarely failed. As for what happened after they graduated...

"As for how they tear each other apart after graduation, that's no longer our academy's business. At least we'll have promotional material for six years from now, and the City Lord might even grant us more funding."

The hook-nosed teacher nodded secretly.

Seeming to remember something, he asked again, "Then why... wait until they both become Spirit Masters?"

"What's the rush? They're both just six-year-old children. How often do we see people become friends after a fight? If their relationship happens to thaw during this time, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?" Principal Fuqi said with a smile, patting his round belly. The hook-nosed teacher listened quietly, though he couldn't help but feel skeptical.

Given the looks of murderous intent they had exchanged, was reconciliation truly possible?

Infirmary, Notting Academy's infirmary was neither large nor particularly modern, containing only two or three beds with mold spots visible beneath the peeling wallpaper.

After finishing his tasks, Doctor Liu turned and left the room, leaving the space to the two of them.

Yu Xiaogang sat by the bedside, never leaving his side.

"Little San? How are you feeling?"

Lying on the bed with a bandage across the bridge of his nose, Tang San, who had just finished applying the herbal medicine, sat up straight. He looked up at the Master and shook his head with a smile. "Teacher, I'm fine. It's just some superficial wounds."

Seeing his disciple being so sensible, Yu Xiaogang felt even more heartache.

"You..."

The Master sighed softly before speaking with sudden solemnity. "You have a bright future ahead of you; you cannot continue to risk your life like that. Also! You used another spirit during the fight, didn't you?"

Tang San reached out to touch the back of his left hand. The power of his other spirit had left a deep impression on him; in an instant, it had turned his desperate situation around. Even though his Blue Silver Grass had already absorbed a four-hundred-year spirit ring, it was nowhere near as powerful as this mysterious spirit.

What exactly was this mysterious spirit of his?

Tang San was intensely curious, but since his father and his teacher had both repeatedly warned him never to reveal it, he had no choice but to suppress the thought.

"Teacher... I'm sorry..."

Tang San lowered his head and apologized softly.

Grandmaster, sitting beside the hospital bed, nodded with great satisfaction. Then, as if to put Tang San at ease, he spoke again to add, "Fortunately, you knew to hold back when you used it and didn't let many people see. Although the teachers here aren't very knowledgeable and few know about this so-called twin martial soul, one can never be too careful about accidents."

Tang San tentatively asked a few more times, but regarding his mysterious martial soul, his teacher remained tight-lipped.

Seeing this, Tang San had no choice but to give up in frustration, turning instead to ask about another matter, "Teacher, what kind of soul skill did that Naruto use? How come he didn't have any soul rings?"

At the mention of this, Yu Xiaogang did not answer immediately. Instead, he raised a hand to stroke the stubble on his chin, pondering for a long time before slowly replying.

"It should be a self-created soul skill."

"A self-created soul skill?"

Tang San furrowed his brows, subconsciously repeating the name.

Yu Xiaogang nodded repeatedly, stood up, and paced back and forth in the room. "Yes, similar to your family heritage. Through constant training and practice, one can unleash soul skills without the aid of soul rings. Such techniques are known as self-created soul skills."

"I observed carefully; he seems to possess three self-created soul skills: cloning, transformation, and substitution. This is the first time I have seen such self-created soul skills on the continent."

As he said this, a hint of confusion flickered in Yu Xiaogang's eyes.

Self-created soul skills were, after all, rare on the continent. The signature moves of the Upper Three Sects—such as the Clear Sky Sect's Ring Detonation and Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect's Dragon Transformation, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Seven Aperture Glazed Heart—were, at their core, self-created soul skills based on their sect's martial souls.

The Upper Three Sects had stood tall for thousands of years, and that had everything to do with these self-created soul skills.

Apart from these Upper Three Sects, there were no other famous self-created soul skills on the continent. In fact, most so-called self-created soul skills were merely gimmicks created by bored individuals who had tweaked their existing martial soul skills.

Looking at that shameless brat today, he actually held three self-created soul skills in his hands.

"They must have been passed down through his ancestors for generations, or perhaps obtained through some stroke of luck, but..."

"Teacher, but what?"

Seeing his teacher hesitate, Tang San pressed for an answer.

"They are hardly elegant. They are all insidious, auxiliary-type soul skills that don't do much to enhance the power of a martial soul."

Grandmaster narrowed his eyes, and the furrow between his brows, which had been twisted into a 'chuan' shape, suddenly relaxed. It was as if the clouds had parted to reveal the moon in his mind. After only a moment of thought, he had already identified the flaws in these soul skills. "I don't know what kind of people his ancestors were. Instead of thinking about how to improve their strength, they wasted decades, or even generations, researching these flashy but useless tricks."

"These self-created soul skills, let alone at the Titled Douluo level, would be considered chicken ribs even at the Soul Emperor level."

Tang San nodded secretly.

Guided by his teacher, he also realized the problems with these soul skills.

The transformation illusion was nothing but a clumsy display before his Purple Demon Eye, and the clones he split into were easily shattered by a casual strike. Only the final substitution had some utility, but it was merely a life-saving skill.

Next time, he would be able to take that person's life in twenty or thirty moves!

[Tang Sect Mysterious Heaven Record General Outline, Article 3: Once it is determined that the other party is an enemy, as long as it is confirmed they have a path to death, do not show mercy, otherwise it will only add trouble to yourself.]

Tang San gripped the bedsheets tightly and turned to look at the sunset outside the window. The humiliation of today would surely be repaid in the future!

Meanwhile, Under the same sunset, with a creak, Naruto pushed open his front door with trembling hands and walked in unsteadily.

Closing the door and windows, Naruto collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air while drenched in sweat. He winced in pain as he lifted his shirt; the skin underneath was bruised black and blue, with hardly a patch left intact.

One had to know, he had been chased and beaten by Tang San for half the day. Fortunately, he had retreated while fighting and maintained his rhythm, so he wasn't severely injured. He had even guarded his handsome face strictly, ensuring it didn't suffer a single scratch.

As for Tang San, Naruto had aimed his fists and legs specifically to beat him into a pig's head.

Thinking of this, Naruto's resentment dissipated slightly. Returning to the main issue, he cast his consciousness inward. The entire Sealing Space seemed to have experienced an earthquake; the dense copper pipes that had been crawling along the walls had snapped at some point and were now tilted, submerged in the stagnant water.

The water underfoot had deepened. Naruto frowned and scanned the area, finding Bibi Dong amidst the ruins.

"Are you satisfied?"