Tang San felt his temples throb.
Something felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on what!
Yu Xiaogang was panting like an ox, his eyes bloodshot!
Seeing this, Su Chen continued, "Hey, Master of Theory, getting worked up already?
"Don't rush. I haven't finished yet."
Yu Xiaogang had no idea what he meant, but it certainly didn't sound like anything good!
This was no place to linger!
If he let this wicked little brat keep spouting nonsense, the genius disciple he'd finally managed to hoodwink would be slipping through his fingers!
He took a deep breath and forced himself to adopt the air of an otherworldly master.
"Whelp, you're not worth reasoning with."
"It's fine if you don't agree with my theories."
"As my personal disciple, Little San will prove everything to the world in time."
With that, he flicked his sleeves and said to Tang San, "Little San, let's go!"
"Yes, teacher!"
Tang San glared viciously at Su Chen and clenched his fists in secret.
"Once I get my First Soul Ring, I'll come back and reclaim the humiliation I suffered today."
After throwing out that threat, master and disciple slunk out of Dorm Seven with their tails between their legs.
Su Chen didn't stop them.
Leeks needed to be harvested in batches. You couldn't cut them all down at once.
As soon as the two left, the dorm burst into cheers!
"Long live the boss!"
"The boss is awesome!"
Wang Sheng led the shouts, his voice cracking.
Yu Xiaogang usually coasted through the academy, doing no work while relying on his connection with the headmaster.
He looked at work-study students with even more disdain than he'd show stray dogs by the roadside.
Seeing him silenced by the new boss and fleeing today was so satisfying!
Su Chen accepted the flattery with perfect composure!
With a thought, he spent one Abstract Value and exchanged for a set of royal-grade Ice Silkworm Silk Bedding from the system shop.
He handed it to Xiao Wu and said, "Little rabbit, go make the boss's bed."
Xiao Wu clutched the soft bedding, her rabbit teeth grinding.
"My name isn't Little Rabbit! It's Xiao Wu, Wu as in dance!"
She protested, but still ran off to make the bed, puffing with anger.
A smart rabbit didn't eat the carrot right in front of it. Making a bed was no big deal.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast knew when to bend; when it was time to lower its head, it didn't stubbornly fight back!
Wang Sheng and the others stared wide-eyed as Su Chen conjured something out of thin air.
"Boss... is that the legendary Storage Soul Tool?"
Su Chen neither confirmed nor denied it.
The System Space counted as a Storage Soul Tool, too.
Wang Sheng cautiously approached Su Chen and asked, "Boss, are you some young master from a great noble family?"
Su Chen rubbed his chin and casually made something up.
"The old man at home keeps too tight a leash on me, so I snuck out to experience life."
He'd invented an imaginary family so he could casually pull system items out in the future.
Xiao Wu's ears twitched, and her face turned a little pale.
Thinking of how Su Chen had called her Little Rabbit just now, had he seen through her true form?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
How could a little kid see through the disguise of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?
Xiao Wu patted her flat chest and quickly shook off the terrifying thought.
Meanwhile!
In a tree outside Notting Academy.
A burly man in a tattered black robe, reeking of cheap, acrid ale, stood on a treetop.
A gust of wind blew his hood back, revealing a weather-beaten face covered in stubble.
He held a wine gourd in one hand, his gaze piercing through Dorm Seven as it locked onto Su Chen.
"That sword... that strange Soul Skill..." Tang Hao took a swig of cheap ale, a frightening glint flashing in his eyes.
Everything that had happened in Dorm Seven was within his perception.
The opportunity presented by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast would be perfect for Little San.
But that strange kid who'd appeared from nowhere was downright uncanny!
Even he, the mighty Clear Sky Douluo, couldn't see through the kid's methods!
No powerful Soul Power suppressing him, no mental attack?
What was it, then?
"Could he be a monster secretly raised by Spirit Hall?" Tang Hao crushed the wooden stopper of his wine gourd.
"To make my son suffer such a humiliating disgrace..."
A dark-red killing intent spread from beneath his feet, and the surrounding leaves withered and fell in an instant.
The phantom of a gigantic black hammer flickered behind him.
Soon, the hammer's phantom vanished!
That kid's methods were too bizarre, and the old injuries inside him had yet to heal.
Spirit Hall's mad dogs were everywhere. For Little San's safety, he'd put up with this for now.
"I'll spare your life for now..." Tang Hao gave Dorm Seven a long look, then his figure slowly disappeared.
Elsewhere!
After Tang San and Yu Xiaogang fled Dorm Seven.
Yu Xiaogang led Tang San back to his cluttered office, where dust-coated, battered manuscripts were piled everywhere.
After shutting the doors and windows, Yu Xiaogang stood with his hands behind his back, his back to Tang San.
"Little San, are you willing to trust your teacher?"
Tang San stood ramrod straight and answered firmly, "Once my teacher, forever my father. If I don't trust you, teacher, whom can I trust?"
"Good! Good! Good!"
Yu Xiaogang spun around and excitedly pulled Tang San into his arms.
So what if he hadn't taken Su Chen as his disciple!
With Tang San, who had Innate Full Soul Power, he could still prove his Invincible Theory to the world!
Once Little San became a Titled Douluo, that brat Su Chen would surely kneel on the ground, wailing and regretting everything he'd done today.
Feeling an embrace as warm as a father's, Tang San's eyes grew hot.
"Little San, you have Innate Full Soul Power, so you meet the requirements to absorb your First Soul Ring." Yu Xiaogang patted Tang San's shoulder hard. "Rest well today. Tomorrow, I'll take you to get your First Soul Ring."
Tang San nodded.
Then!
Yu Xiaogang lowered his voice. "Little San, bring out your Second Martial Soul and let your teacher have a look."
Tang San hesitated for half a second. His father had warned him not to reveal it.
But facing the teacher he'd just taken, he pushed that concern aside.
He held out his right hand and channeled his inner strength.
Dark light gathered, and a small, dark iron hammer engraved with intricate patterns appeared in his palm.
Yu Xiaogang sucked in a sharp breath, staring fixedly at the hammer.
"This... this is!"
The surname Tang, and a Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul!
There was no doubt: he had to be that man's son.
Tang San asked curiously, "Teacher, do you recognize my Martial Soul?"
"Put it away!" Yu Xiaogang grabbed Tang San's wrist and lowered his voice.
"Remember what I'm telling you. From now on, no matter what danger you face, never reveal this Martial Soul in front of anyone! And don't attach any Soul Rings to it!"
Tang San was shaken to the core!
Wasn't that exactly what his father had told him?
His teacher had seen through the secret his father had guarded so fiercely with just one glance, and had even given him precisely the same advice.
Such knowledge and insight were beyond ordinary people.
Recalling the things Su Chen had said in the dorm, belittling his teacher, Tang San sneered inwardly.
That brat was nothing but a frog in a well, with eyes as low as a dog's.
"Rest assured, teacher. Your disciple will remember!"
Tang San cupped his hands solemnly.
Yu Xiaogang nodded in satisfaction, the frustration Su Chen had stirred in him swept away.
With this hammer, why should he put up with anyone's insults?
Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Tang San obliquely brought up Su Chen's uncontrollable kneeling Soul Skill.
Yu Xiaogang was taken aback at first. Su Chen already had a Hundred-Year Soul Ring?
Then hadn't he made a complete fool of himself earlier with all that grandstanding?
Wait?
A Sword Martial Soul, and its First Soul Skill made people kneel?
Yu Xiaogang immediately placed a hand on Tang San's head and burst out laughing.
Tang San didn't understand, so Yu Xiaogang explained, "Little San, do you know what the core advantage of a Sword Martial Soul is?"
Tang San wasn't stupid. He answered at once, "Its attack power?"
"Exactly!"
Yu Xiaogang nodded approvingly. "The sword is the weapon of slaughter. Sword Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is the best example."
With his hands behind his back, Yu Xiaogang spoke with the lofty pity of someone looking down from above.
"This is what happens when someone absorbs Soul Rings blindly! According to my core theory, not only is his First Soul Skill useless, he's also thrown away the attack potential of his Sword Martial Soul. Little San, I'll personally oversee your Soul Ring choices from now on and ensure you reach the pinnacle!"
To strengthen his standing in Tang San's heart, Yu Xiaogang continued.
"As for that lowly control skill, it relies entirely on suppressing others with a higher Soul Power Level."
"Once you get your First Soul Ring and your Soul Power undergoes a qualitative transformation, that little trick will naturally fall apart."
A brilliant light flared in Tang San's eyes, and the gloom in his heart vanished.
So Su Chen had already ruined his own future.
Once I get my First Soul Ring, I'll make Su Chen repay me a hundredfold for the humiliation of being forced to kneel in public and the insult to my teacher!