A Scumbag's Self-Cultivation

"Two rings, purple, thousand-year!?"

The corner of Xie Xie's mouth twitched involuntarily, his previously composed expression completely shattering.

With his talent, he should never have been in Class Five. He had only been assigned here because he had taught Zhou Changxi, his dormmate, a lesson.

Donghai Academy's initial class assignments were broadly based on talent. Though not entirely precise, Class Five's overall strength was unquestionably the weakest.

Therefore, Xie Xie had assumed that coming here would be an absolute curb-stomp. Instead, he had run into a monster like Lin Xun.

Although they got along fairly well, this was the first time he had witnessed Lin Xun's martial soul and soul power.

What Xie Xie did not know was that Lin Xun should have been even less likely to end up in Class Five. It was precisely because of the dramatic incident involving Ouyang Zixin at the start of the school term, which had created an extremely bad impression at the academy, that he had been lectured harshly by Director Long and assigned here as well.

Two people who had both been demoted had ended up together.

The pink longsword in Lin Xun's hand rested slightly across his body, its blade raised faintly as a sharp aura burst forth around him, waiting only to strike.

Ex-Girlfriend Sword was the name of his martial soul.

Just as its name implied.

The true source of this sword's power was his ex-girlfriends. At the point where the hilt met the blade of the pink longsword was a similarly pink upgrader.

Naturally, it could not transform him into Ultraman.

However, it had a similar effect. For every soul ring he obtained at each ten-level interval, Lin Xun would receive Soul Master capsules from two ex-girlfriends. After merging with them, his martial soul would gain the corresponding power.

The power of ex-girlfriends!

Even Wu Changkong, watching from the side, stirred slightly upon seeing Lin Xun's soul rings. Two rings with two purple soul rings at such an age was not easy to achieve.

"Damn it, it's death either way. Fight!" Xie Xie decided to gamble. He stopped holding back and revealed both of his twin martial souls of the same origin.

The Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger appeared at the same time.

Against an opponent as powerful as Lin Xun, he could never win without going all out. There was not even the slightest possibility.

Xie Xie stamped down with his left foot and charged forward with explosive speed. His body blurred like a shadow as he pushed his speed to the limit. As an agility-attack-type battle soul master, this was his greatest advantage.

Lin Xun reacted just as swiftly. He stabbed his longsword into the ground and gave it a fierce twist. A wave of erupting soul power forced the approaching Xie Xie to halt abruptly.

Immediately afterward, Lin Xun thrust the pink longsword in his hand forward.

Xie Xie's body paused slightly, his offensive momentum completely gone. He was forced to retreat several more steps, opening up a safe distance.

Lin Xun had an abundance of combat experience. Seizing that instant, his first purple thousand-year soul ring lit up.

The soul ring instantly shattered, transforming into a stream of light that flowed into his palm. A capsule gradually formed.

A figure was engraved upon the capsule: purple clothes, a seductive figure, and cold, proud features. On its reverse side was a purple spirit cat.

This soul beast was called the Nether Spirit Cat.

And its owner was naturally obvious—Zhu Zhuqing.

The capsule was inserted into the longsword. The originally pink hilt was dyed a deep purple, with small cat carvings appearing around its grip. The blade itself remained primarily pink, but its outer edge was entirely enveloped in deep purple.

Lin Xun's speed surged dramatically, becoming several degrees faster than Xie Xie's. His longsword swept out a deep-purple sword light and slashed directly at Xie Xie.

Xie Xie had not expected Lin Xun's instantaneous burst of speed to be so terrifying. Startled, he could only hurriedly cross his twin daggers before his chest.

The Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger blocked the sword light together, though the force still drove him back several steps.

With Lin Xun's speed, the second sword strike had already arrived.

The strike was so fast that Xie Xie could not see it at all. He only felt a gust of wind sweep past him, causing him to twist aside instinctively.

He staggered away in a miserable dodge, but before he could steady himself, another rush of wind sounded behind him.

Xie Xie was, after all, an agility-attack-type battle soul master. This time, he finally reacted and swung the Shadow Dragon Dagger behind him to block.

But he blocked nothing.

Lin Xun had not attacked.

He simply stood a short distance behind him, one hand resting on his sword, a smile on his face.

Xie Xie gritted his teeth, pushed off the ground, and shot out like a shadow. The Light Dragon Dagger led the way, with the Shadow Dragon Dagger behind it—his fastest explosive thrust!

Lin Xun stood where he was. His figure seemed to become that spirit cat as well, or rather, merge with it.

The Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger swung at him!

Yet the daggers cut through empty air.

"This..."

Xie Xie froze. He had clearly seen Lin Xun standing there, yet the instant the daggers passed through him, he seemed to turn into air. The blades passed through a phantom, touching nothing.

Lin Xun appeared three steps away, his posture unchanged as he continued watching Xie Xie. He merely said calmly:

"A little faster."

Xie Xie gritted his teeth and stepped forward, sweeping the Shadow Dragon Dagger sideways.

It missed again.

Lin Xun took a step back. His movements looked unhurried, but as he retreated, his body seemed to leave behind a faint afterimage.

The Light and Shadow Dragon Daggers slashed through an afterimage, hitting nothing.

"Damn it!" Xie Xie roared, sending both daggers out at once to seal off the retreat paths from left and right. The Light Dragon Dagger stabbed left, while the Shadow Dragon Dagger struck right.

He had calculated the angles. No matter which way Lin Xun dodged, he was bound to be hit this time.

Both daggers passed through at the same time, yet they still struck only an afterimage.

Lin Xun always remained within three steps of Xie Xie's attack range, yet Xie Xie could never touch him.

"Coming again or not?"

Xie Xie was thoroughly unconvinced. Boys his age were at their most competitive.

Today, he simply refused to believe this nonsense!

The Light and Shadow Dragon Daggers took turns flashing out, wildly slashing forward.

Xie Xie unleashed the greatest speed he could possibly achieve at his current level.

Yet every slash still struck nothing but shadows.

Lin Xun was not merely retreating; he seemed to be circling around, his body leaving one afterimage after another. Xie Xie's daggers would land at the exact moment those afterimages dispersed. It felt incredibly strange, as if he were slashing at a cloud of smoke. No matter what, he could not land a solid hit.

One step, an afterimage.

One slash missed.

Then it happened again.

He had fallen into an endless loop.

Wu Changkong lightly pressed a hand to his forehead. From his perspective, Lin Xun seemed to be leading Xie Xie in circles. Lin Xun took one step back, and Xie Xie would slash at the spot where he had just been the next second.

Then the cycle repeated.

This was not merely teasing him—it was an absolute crushing advantage in speed. Whether it was sustained speed or short-burst acceleration, Lin Xun completely outclassed Xie Xie.

It was not that Xie Xie was too weak. Lin Xun was simply too strong.

Although Xie Xie's speed and talent were not considered top-tier among those his age, they were certainly quite good.

Lin Xun did not possess such speed through the Nether Spirit Cat alone. The Sword Martial Soul itself gave him extremely high base attributes, and combined with the Nether Spirit Cat's speed, it allowed him to utterly overwhelm Xie Xie.

Nor was it merely an advantage in speed. There was also an absolute gap in experience. Calling it an old master showing off before a child would not be an exaggeration.

His combat experience was far too rich, something a greenhorn like Xie Xie could never compare to.

"I'm not fighting anymore. I'm done."

Xie Xie lay face-down on the ground, his cheek pressed into the dirt, completely unwilling to move. He panted heavily, his chest rising and falling without pause.

"I yield. Completely."

He rolled over onto his back and stared at the sky. After breathing hard for a while with his eyes closed, he finally raised one hand and pointed at the sky.

"Brother Xun, this time, I don't just admit defeat to you in matters of love. I admit defeat in combat too. How can the gap between people be this huge?"

Poor Xie Xie had no idea that it was not because he was too weak, but because the person he faced was someone who could not be compared to others of the same generation.

Lin Xun crouched down before him and smiled. "You still have plenty of room to improve. The speed boost from the Light and Shadow Dragon Daggers is excellent, but your spiritual power is too low. Sometimes, you can't see through my feints."

"Alright, I'll give you the... secret manual I promised you!"

"Really?" Xie Xie immediately perked up, pushing himself upright with shining eyes.

"I want one too!" Zhou Changxi also tried to come over.

"Zhou Changxi, you're up next."

But Wu Changkong mercilessly called him over.

Zhou Changxi trudged off to fight with a mournful expression.

Lin Xun directly called out to the system in his mind.

"System, help me exchange for a copy of A Scumbag's Self-Cultivation..."