Tang San, Left Out

"I lost just like that?"

Tang San muttered to himself. The elation he had felt after absorbing his First Soul Ring had been shattered by two strokes of Qi Dao's sword.

He still could not understand why the gap between him and Qi Dao was so vast.

And Qi Dao's swordsmanship was fierce and tricky—nothing like something an eleven-year-old boy should have mastered.

"Next time you feel like sticking your neck out for no reason, weigh whether you're capable of it first."

Qi Dao ignored his muttering. After leaving him with those cool words, he turned and called to Xiao Chenyu and the others.

"Let's go!"

Xiao Chenyu and the others hurried after him.

Wang Sheng shook his head and said to Xiao Wu, "Sister Xiao Wu, you can go to the infirmary yourself."

With that, he led the rest of Dorm Seven away.

Yu Xiaogang had already driven a wedge between him and Tang San. Now he could not even be bothered with him.

In the blink of an eye, only Xiao Wu and Tang San remained in the vast grounds.

Tang San looked at Xiao Wu and gave a bitter smile. "Xiao Wu, I think they've left us out!"

Xiao Wu blinked, slow to catch on. "Left us out? Have they?"

"Wang Sheng even told me to go to the infirmary!"

Tang San's expression froze.

Fine. More accurately, he was the one they had left out!

Of course, having lived two lives, he had never cared about such things.

Fierce beasts always walked alone; cattle and sheep were the ones that moved in herds!

But when he looked toward the place where Qi Dao had disappeared, he gritted his teeth slightly, and a trace of unwillingness flashed through his eyes.

Qi Dao's strength had exceeded his expectations. His power, speed, and reflexes far outstripped Tang San's, and his swordsmanship was fiendishly tricky.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass stood no chance against that sword.

As for the slight paralytic poison carried by the Blue Silver Grass...

If it could not even touch the hem of Qi Dao's clothes, how was it supposed to poison him?

Even the Tang Sect Secret Arts Tang San took the greatest pride in had been useless against such an overwhelming gap.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track relied chiefly on its intricate footwork; it did little to increase his speed.

His Purple Demon Eye could see Qi Dao's movements clearly, but his body could not react in time.

Mysterious Jade Hand and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon had been almost useless in his exchange with Qi Dao.

As for the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons...

That was what troubled Tang San most.

No matter how deviously he launched a hidden weapon, Qi Dao cut it apart with a single stroke.

Tang San could not tell whether Qi Dao had seen through his technique in advance or was simply that quick to react.

If it was only his reflexes, that was manageable. As Tang San grew stronger, his hidden-weapon techniques would become more refined, and his throws faster.

But if Qi Dao had already seen through his hidden-weapon techniques...

An almost imperceptible flicker of killing intent crossed Tang San's eyes.

By the time Tang San left the infirmary, the bloody mark on his wrist had healed.

He went straight to Yu Xiaogang's room.

When he opened the door, Yu Xiaogang was sitting behind his desk, writing without pause.

He was recording the changes to Tang San's Blue Silver Grass after he absorbed his First Soul Ring.

Tang San's successful absorption of a Datura Snake Soul Ring was undoubtedly a vindication of the Martial Soul Mimicry Theory among his Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul.

The core of his Martial Soul Mimicry Theory was this: a plant Martial Soul did not necessarily have to absorb a Soul Ring from a plant Soul Beast, nor was a Beast Martial Soul unable to absorb a plant Soul Ring.

"Teacher!"

Tang San greeted him respectfully as he entered.

Yu Xiaogang stopped writing, his eyes lighting up when he saw Tang San.

His beloved disciple had come!

"Xiao San, what brings you here?"

"Come over here!"

Yu Xiaogang smiled as he spoke.

Tang San answered with his head lowered and walked over in silence.

Seeing his low spirits, Yu Xiaogang kept smiling. "Xiao San, what's wrong?"

"You've absorbed your First Soul Ring. You should be happy!"

Tang San hesitated for a moment before asking, "Teacher, could you tell me about Qi Dao?"

At the mention of Qi Dao, Yu Xiaogang's smile stiffened.

Qi Dao was a hurdle Yu Xiaogang could not get past, and a humiliation he had to wipe away.

Back then, he had kindly offered to take Qi Dao as a disciple in name. To his surprise, Qi Dao had refused him in public, leaving him utterly disgraced.

"Why bring up Qi Dao?"

"Did he say something to you?"

Yu Xiaogang quickly composed himself, though a trace of anxiety flashed in his eyes.

He feared that Qi Dao had turned Tang San, the disciple heaven had bestowed on him, against him and that the boy was about to betray his teacher.

Tang San shook his head. "Just now, I challenged Qi Dao for Xiao Wu's sake. I lost completely."

He looked at Yu Xiaogang earnestly. "That's why I want you to tell me about him. I also want to know exactly where I fell short."

"So that's why!"

Yu Xiaogang let out a breath of relief.

As long as Qi Dao had not led Tang San astray, all was well.

After a moment's thought, Yu Xiaogang assumed an air of profound wisdom. "Very well. Since you want to know, I'll tell you."

"I first met Qi Dao five years ago, when he had just entered Notting Academy."

"Back then, his Martial Soul was merely an iron sword with a harmful mutation, and his Innate Soul Power was only half a rank."

Tang San frowned slightly. "Teacher, if his Innate Soul Power was only half a rank, shouldn't his cultivation have been very slow? How could he be so strong?"

"Now you've hit upon the key." Yu Xiaogang gave a cold laugh. "If you truly believe his Innate Soul Power was only half a rank, you're sorely mistaken."

"According to one of my Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, Innate Soul Power is directly proportional to the quality of a Martial Soul."

"I'm certain his Martial Soul is far more than a Trash Martial Soul with a harmful mutation. And his Innate Soul Power was certainly not half a rank."

"What?!"

Tang San cried out, then frowned. "Teacher, could the crystal ball used to test Soul Power have been wrong?"

Yu Xiaogang replied evenly, "Why not? Spirit Hall helps countless Soul Masters awaken their Martial Souls every year. Mistakes in testing are inevitable."

"In my view, his Martial Soul wasn't a harmful Mutated Martial Soul at all. It was a beneficial one."

"The cracks in the blade simply led people to mistake it for a harmful mutation."

"Furthermore, his Innate Soul Power was certainly not half a rank. Based on my rigorous analysis and deductions, it should have been around rank five. That's why it took him only three years to reach rank ten."

"If I'm not mistaken, he should be around rank fifteen now."

After hearing Yu Xiaogang's analysis, realization dawned on Tang San's face.

So there was that much to it!

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang continued, "Besides having no respect for his elders, Qi Dao has other talents as well."

"Do you know why he's so famous at Notting Academy?"

Tang San asked, puzzled, "Isn't it because he's the strongest?"

Yu Xiaogang nodded, then immediately shook his head.

"Yes, but that's not the whole story!"

"He's so famous at Notting Academy because, when he first enrolled, he challenged the strongest student there at the time—a rank-thirteen Soul Master."

Tang San's pupils contracted slightly. "He won that match?"

According to his teacher, Qi Dao should have been only rank five at the time, shouldn't he?

A rank-five Soul Scholar had defeated a rank-thirteen Soul Master!

Without using hidden weapons or the Tang Sect Secret Arts, Tang San knew he could never have done it.

Yu Xiaogang nodded, then said something that shocked Tang San even more.

"He didn't just win. He won twice!"

"And..."

"Both times, he finished his opponent with a single stroke!"