At the mention of Ao Yin, Tang San clenched his fists and muttered through gritted teeth, "Teacher, you don't know this, but Ao Yin is wild and unrestrained, and we don't get along. Sooner or later, I'll make him bite off more than he can chew!"
"Oh?"
Yu Xiaogang raised an eyebrow slightly. He hadn't expected Tang San to harbor such deep hatred for Ao Yin.
But on reflection, it made sense. On their first meeting, the boy had not only thrashed the gatekeeper, but also shown no respect whatsoever to him, the academy's Grandmaster, and embarrassed him in public.
Yet after witnessing firsthand that Ao Yin possessed not only innate full soul power but also the ability to activate the Coiling Dragon Staff's dragon patterns on his own, Yu Xiaogang had to admit that, unruly as he was, Ao Yin was a rare genius.
"San, whatever grievances you have with him, my advice is to value harmony."
"Huh?"
Tang San was taken aback. His teacher wasn't standing up for him, but was instead siding with Ao Yin, who had publicly humiliated him earlier?
Yu Xiaogang patted Tang San's shoulder and explained, "I have no reason to favor him. I simply think that, as you are now, you may not be a match for that boy!"
Tang San refused to accept this and muttered inwardly, I've trained hard for three months, and my soul power is now at rank ten. That's no different from his innate full soul power. With Mysterious Heaven Skill and the Tang Sect Secret Arts as well, I'll definitely beat him the next time we meet!
Last time, he had only suffered because his soul power was insufficient. Combined with his opponent's martial soul advantage, that had left him in such a sorry state.
But after three days apart, a man deserved to be seen with fresh eyes. Now, Tang San was confident he could handle Ao Yin.
Yu Xiaogang said frankly, "San, why won't you even listen to your teacher? That boy doesn't just have innate full soul power. His martial soul is fully activated, and he has monstrous strength."
Tang San waved a hand to interrupt him and said indignantly, "Teacher, I've never suffered such humiliation in my life. I don't want him to become a knot in my heart!"
Tang San slowly tightened his fists, his knuckles cracking.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang let out a long sigh. "San, you don't trust your teacher's judgment?"
"Fine, I won't stop you. Go spar with him today. If you lose, you must follow my instructions in your cultivation from now on. No more defying me!"
"Lose?"
Tang San gave a cold laugh. As the saying went, shame bred courage. After three months of arduous training, his strength had soared. There was no way he would lose!
"All right! If I, Tang San, lose, then from now on, if Teacher tells me to go east, I won't go west!"
Tang San agreed immediately, then took the bedding from Yu Xiaogang and headed straight for the academy's Dorm Seven.
Yu Xiaogang shook his head slightly and chuckled. "Confidence isn't always a good thing. Let this be a chance to temper your character!"
The Coiling Dragon Staff was a top-tier martial soul. How could someone who had fully activated it on his own, without guidance from an accomplished teacher, be ordinary?
He hadn't stopped Tang San for two reasons. First, he wanted Tang San, with his twin martial souls, to probe the depths of Ao Yin's innate full soul power again. Second, he had realized that although Tang San seemed obedient, he was just as headstrong. He needed to let the boy run into a wall once so that he would obey him afterward. After all, proving his martial soul theory required an obedient child.
Especially since he would be taking Tang San to hunt for a soul ring tomorrow.
A soul master's first soul ring was crucial, and its acquisition had to follow his wishes. The Grandmaster would not tolerate even a trace of defiance from Tang San.
Notting Academy, Dorm Seven.
"There! With the two beds pushed together, we can sleep together, right?"
Xiao Wu clapped her hands and looked proudly at Ao Yin.
Ao Yin inspected the beds again and murmured, "It still feels like something's missing."
"I know! We still need some bedding. But I didn't bring any!" Xiao Wu spotted the problem at once, then looked at Ao Yin.
Ao Yin slapped his thigh too and smiled ruefully. "I didn't bring any either!"
Seeing this, Wang Sheng and the others hurried over with their bedding in their arms, their faces full of ingratiating smiles. "Boss, Sister Xiao Wu, use mine! Use mine!"
Ao Yin smiled faintly. Wang Sheng didn't look very old, but he certainly understood how to get along with people.
However, he wasn't someone who casually took advantage of others. He felt the storage pouch at his waist. It held a great pile of copper soul coins earned through check-ins. He had money with nowhere to spend it, so he had no need to use theirs.
Just as he was about to tell Wang Sheng and the others to take their bedding back, footsteps suddenly sounded at the doorway.
Ao Yin turned toward the sound, and his pupils contracted. "Tang San?"
A young boy in blue walked through the doorway, carrying bedding in his arms.
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. She chose it at once, walked straight past Wang Sheng and the others, and went up to Tang San. Pointing at the bedding in his arms, she said, "I want his bedding!"
Tang San froze briefly. When he saw that the speaker was a lively young girl with a delicate, rosy complexion, his eyes brightened. Although she still looked young, he could tell she would grow into a rare beauty!
Hearing Sister Xiao Wu specify that bedding, Wang Sheng and the others gathered around as well and said loudly, "New here? You're handing that bedding over to our boss and Sister Xiao Wu!"
"Your boss? Sister Xiao Wu?"
Sister Xiao Wu obviously meant this little girl, but who was the boss?
A set of bedding could leave a good impression on a budding beauty, but who the hell was this boss?
"You don't have to hand it over, provided you can beat our boss!"
Wang Sheng could see Tang San's displeasure and pointed straight toward the far end of the room.
Tang San followed his finger and saw Ao Yin watching him with an amused expression.
Ao Yin walked over to Xiao Wu, and she promptly nestled against him, nuzzling him twice with practiced ease.
"San, you're really the third wheel this time!"
Ao Yin stroked Xiao Wu's head. Beside them, Tang San's breathing quickened. A budding beauty like her was actually so intimate with this brat?
Although they were still children at this stage, innocent and without so many twists and turns in their thoughts, Tang San was not. From his very first glimpse of Xiao Wu, he had already begun entertaining a little scheme—a budding beauty like this would be easiest to fool while she was still young and naive.
Although he wasn't sure whether Ao Yin had those intentions, someone had indeed beaten him to the punch, leaving him far fewer opportunities in the future.
"Ao Yin is the boss of Dorm Seven?" The more Tang San thought about it, the angrier he became.
Wang Sheng and the others nodded. "The rule in Dorm Seven is that whoever's strongest gets to be the boss!"
"Perfect! It's time to settle our old score from three months ago!"
"Ao Yin, this time I'll knock you flat!"
Tang San rolled his neck and challenged Ao Yin outright.
Ao Yin, however, was unbothered. He smiled faintly and said, "Xiao Wu, did you hear that? He says he'll knock me flat! Hahahahaha!"
Xiao Wu's brows drew together slightly. With her hands on her hips, she walked up to Tang San and said disdainfully, "Ao doesn't need to lift a finger to beat you. I'll take you on first!"
"You?"
Tang San froze briefly, while Ao Yin looked as though he was watching a show.
"What kind of man hides behind a girl?" he demanded through gritted teeth.
Ao Yin merely shrugged and smiled faintly. "And what kind of trash are you if you can't even handle a girl?"
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