"Come in."
Tang San's arrival didn't surprise Ye Xuan in the slightest.
He'd run into a problem with his cultivation and had begun to doubt himself.
Hearing Ye Xuan's words, Tang San pushed the door open and entered.
Once inside, Tang San said respectfully, "Young Master Ye, I hope I'm not disturbing you. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you about."
"Go ahead," Ye Xuan said.
"You're already so powerful, Young Master Ye. Why are you still studying Martial Souls? Is there something special about them?" Tang San asked.
What he really wanted to ask was how Ye Xuan cultivated martial arts techniques without being assimilated by this world's Martial Souls.
But he was worried that asking so directly would expose his own secret.
So he changed the way he phrased the question.
"What's special about Martial Souls? What's special is that they're the foundation of this world," Ye Xuan replied.
"The foundation of this world?" Tang San furrowed his brow. He'd heard similar words from plenty of people.
Teachers at Nuoding City Academy had said much the same thing, and Yu Xiaogang had told him something similar.
But he'd never thought about what those words meant.
Now that Ye Xuan had brought them up again, Tang San felt as if he'd suddenly seen the light.
The foundation.
That was right!
They were the foundation, so the people of this world could only use them as the basis for becoming stronger.
Anyone who wanted to topple the towering edifice of Martial Souls would need to understand that foundation first, wouldn't they?
"Thank you for your guidance, Young Master Ye. I'm grateful," Tang San said, then bowed and took his leave.
After closing the door, Ye Xuan watched Tang San leave from the window.
"So this is what a protagonist is like? I wonder what he actually figured out. Still, it doesn't matter. As long as he doesn't go looking for trouble and make an enemy of me, I couldn't care less." With that, Ye Xuan turned back to his book.
Over the next while, Shrek Academy often went into town for training.
Ye Xuan had also finished reading the books he'd borrowed. He planned to wait until Yu Xiaogang came to Shrek Academy, talk with him about Martial Souls, and then decide whether it was time to leave.
Before they knew it, Oscar had reached level thirty. It was time to hunt a Soul Beast and obtain a Soul Ring.
Zhao Wuji was still assigned to lead the group.
However, Flender asked Ye Xuan to come along as well.
Although Ye Xuan had been at the academy for a while, Oscar wasn't close to him.
The reason was obvious to Ye Xuan at once.
Ning Rongrong.
Ning Rongrong loved coming to chat with Ye Xuan, while he remained rather cool toward her.
That left Oscar feeling miserable.
But he couldn't compete with Ye Xuan, so all he could do was suffer in silence.
The only thing he could do was avoid Ye Xuan as much as possible.
After all, seeing Ye Xuan made him feel awful. Comparing yourself to others could drive you to despair.
This trip to find a Soul Ring for Oscar was also meant to give them all some training, so everyone went together.
Just like in the original timeline, they all went to the outskirts of Star Dou Great Forest. After lodging at a restaurant, they ran into students from Canghui Academy.
In the end, the sexually frustrated fatty started lusting after the students from Canghui Academy.
"Boss Dai, that girl's pretty cute! She's a student from Canghui Academy, right?"
The students from Canghui Academy were older than the others. Compared to Xiao Wu and the girls, they were already grown.
Ma Hongjun had always been burning with lust, and he usually went to brothels to vent it. Seeing these girls, who were fairly attractive by comparison, his eyes naturally lit up.
Dai Mubai chimed in from the side, "Want her? Then go take her!"
The original Dai Mubai should have reined himself in after Zhu Zhuqing arrived.
But now, Dai Mubai had chosen to give up on himself. Zhu Zhuqing had already broken off their engagement, so why should he care about anything else?
Meanwhile, Oscar walked over to Tang San and said, "There's a good show coming."
"What show?" Tang San asked.
"This is part of our training. The dean said that a Soul Master who doesn't dare cause trouble isn't a good Soul Master; anyone who doesn't dare cause trouble is a coward. Besides, picking a fight with students from another academy just means a little brawl," Oscar replied.
"Another one of the dean's monster mottos?" Tang San said with a laugh.
At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing, standing beside Ye Xuan, asked quietly, "Brother Ye, what do you think?"
"I'm watching with my eyes. If they want to cause trouble, they can clean up their own mess," Ye Xuan said indifferently.
That was also why Ye Xuan thought people in the Douluo World shouldn't talk about principles.
Here, you might as well let your values follow your looks.
Otherwise, whether it was Flender's words or the way Ma Hongjun and the others behaved, none of it was normal.
A normal person didn't go looking for trouble, but didn't fear it either.
They didn't fear trouble, but they loved starting it.
By their logic, if an Evil Soul Master blocked your path, provoked you, and killed you, then you'd deserve to die. You'd have no right to complain.
Of course, Ye Xuan had no interest in advising other academies on their teaching methods. He was content to watch the show.
Ning Rongrong, standing beside Zhu Zhuqing, muttered, "Those guys are so crude."
People couldn't help making comparisons.
If Ye Xuan hadn't been there, Ning Rongrong might have gradually gotten used to Ma Hongjun and the others' sleazy ways over time.
But Ye Xuan was here.
With someone more handsome, powerful, and graceful around, who would pay attention to men who went to brothels to vent their lust, talked sleazily, and weren't even as strong as Ye Xuan?
Xiao Wu was standing beside Ning Rongrong. She said, "I hope Third Brother doesn't let them lead him astray."
Xiao Wu used to call Tang San "Little San," but she'd somehow changed what she called him recently.
Sure enough, after the students from Canghui Academy overheard Ma Hongjun and the others talking, they sprang into action. When a waiter came over with the dishes, one of them deliberately bumped into him, and the food was about to spill all over Dai Mubai.
Tang San intervened just in time, steadying the plate. He said to the waiter, "Don't waste food."
A student from Canghui Academy came over and said slyly, "I'm terribly sorry."
Then he resorted to a dirty trick.
But the student was too clumsy. Dai Mubai and the others saw right through his little move.
When he tried to kick Dai Mubai's chair out from under him, Dai Mubai struck.
In an instant, he became like a raging tiger, savagely beating the student.
It was as if he were unleashing all the grievances he'd suffered at Shrek Academy lately.
When the other students from Canghui Academy saw what was happening, they hurried over to help.
But Dai Mubai thrashed them all in just a few moves.
At that point, the Canghui Academy teacher finally couldn't sit still.
The middle-aged teacher turned to all the students behind him and said, "Teach that arrogant brat a lesson."
"Yes, teacher."
Even without being told, the students couldn't have held back at this point.
After all, their faces were the ones being slapped.
As soon as the students started fighting, Xiao Wu's lively nature kicked in. She said to Ning Rongrong and the others, "Let's go help them too!"
"They can handle it themselves. I'm staying out of it," Zhu Zhuqing said.
"I'll pass too." Ning Rongrong shook her head as well.
Before you continue