"Quick, look at Qi Dao's sword."
"There are cracks in his sword! Turns out it's just a broken sword. No wonder his innate soul power was so low."
"Hahaha, that sword of his probably isn't even as good as my hoe martial soul!"
The moment Qi Dao drew the Unrivaled Horizontal Sword and held it before him, everyone's eyes turned toward it.
Then the crowd erupted into laughter.
Even Xiao Chenyu couldn't help laughing. He sneered from a distance, "Qi Dao, you actually think you can fight me with a broken sword like that?"
"You really don't know your own limits. You'd better protect that broken sword of yours. Don't let it shatter halfway through the fight."
As Qi Dao listened to the laughter around him, not a ripple disturbed his expression.
He gazed at Peerless's blade and murmured to himself.
"Did you hear that? They all think you're a broken sword!"
Bzzzt!
Qi Dao clearly felt the tremor coming from the Peerless Sword's blade, and sensed its fierce soul seething with the urge to fight.
"Xiao Chenyu, you'll find out soon enough whether Peerless is a broken sword!"
"Hmph, putting on airs!"
"I already warned you!"
Xiao Chenyu snorted. As he spoke, a layer of blue-green light rose from his body.
His muscles began to swell, his eyes gradually turned pale green, and his nails sharpened.
"Is that Boss Xiao's wolf martial soul?"
"It looks so cool."
Hearing the admiring voices around him, Xiao Chenyu immediately broke into a smug smile.
"Qi Dao, let me show you the gap between us!"
With that, Xiao Chenyu charged toward Qi Dao in long strides, moving at tremendous speed.
Qi Dao didn't rush to act. He could tell that after martial soul possession, Xiao Chenyu's physique was absolutely beyond anything he could match head-on.
Only seven or eight meters separated them. At that distance, Xiao Chenyu's attack reached Qi Dao almost in the blink of an eye.
He clenched his wolf claw into a fist and threw a hook straight at the side of Qi Dao's face, intending to end the fight with one punch.
But his intent was far too obvious. Qi Dao saw through it the moment he struck.
The difference in physique between level four and half a level might seem enormous, but it was nowhere near enough to leave Qi Dao unable to react.
So the moment Xiao Chenyu attacked, Qi Dao twisted aside, making the punch miss.
At the same time, Xiao Chenyu had held nothing back in that punch. His center of gravity pitched forward with his fist, exposing a massive opening.
His entire back lay exposed before Qi Dao's eyes!
How could Qi Dao possibly let that opening slip by?
His eyes were frighteningly calm as he stepped forward and slashed downward.
Peerless's edge instantly cut from Xiao Chenyu's shoulder blade all the way down to his waist.
Rip!
Xiao Chenyu's school uniform split open, and blood seeped out.
A bloody sword cut lay exposed to the air.
"Aaaah!!"
Xiao Chenyu screamed like a pig being slaughtered.
This was how things stood in the soul master world.
Below level thirty, beast martial soul masters had physiques far superior to tool martial soul masters of the same level after martial soul possession. Against tool martial soul masters with less lethal martial souls, such as staffs, beast martial soul masters could easily suppress them.
But against highly lethal martial souls such as sabers, swords, and hammers, you had better pray those weapons never landed on you.
No matter how strong someone's body was below level thirty, it was nowhere near impervious to blades and spears.
Otherwise, the empire wouldn't need to maintain so many ordinary soldiers.
Qi Dao had already shown considerable restraint. Otherwise, Xiao Chenyu would have done far more than scream.
That slash had only broken his skin at most!
Meanwhile, everyone watching fell into chaos at the sight and scattered.
"Someone's been killed!"
"Quick, get a teacher!"
The moment those six-year-olds saw blood, they began shouting and screaming.
"All of you, quiet!"
Qi Dao bellowed.
His ferocity had already etched itself deep into everyone's minds. At his shout, they couldn't help recalling Xiao Chenyu's miserable state.
These children were only six. When had they ever experienced anything like this?
They were immediately cowed by Qi Dao's imposing presence.
The scene instantly fell into frightened silence.
Qi Dao swept his gaze around before turning unhurriedly toward Xiao Chenyu. "Stop howling. I only cut through your skin, and you're acting like I sliced off a chunk of flesh."
Still screaming, Xiao Chenyu suddenly heard Qi Dao's voice and came to his senses.
Huh, it really doesn't hurt that much!
His screams stopped abruptly, leaving a trace of embarrassment and annoyance on his face.
That reaction was far too humiliating.
But remembering the bone-chilling sensation when the sword's edge sliced through his clothes and touched his skin filled him with lingering fear now that he had regained his senses.
If Qi Dao had used just a little more force, I would've been badly injured, if not killed.
At that thought, Xiao Chenyu drew a deep breath and said, "I lost that round!"
Then he added, "But I'm still not convinced. If I'd been a little more careful, your sword never would've touched me."
"Not convinced?" A sharp glint flashed through Qi Dao's eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he said, "Then let's fight again!"
"But this time, I can't guarantee I'll be able to hold back like I just did!"
Xiao Chenyu had wanted another fight to regain some face, but the second half of Qi Dao's words made his hair stand on end, and fear crept into his heart.
"F-forget it. I'm not a sore loser. Since I lost that match, you're the boss of us first-years from today on."
Qi Dao nodded in satisfaction.
Then he turned toward the others, who were still stunned.
"What about you?"
"Does anyone want to challenge me?"
Everyone's eyes involuntarily flicked toward Xiao Chenyu's back. They shuddered and shook their heads like rattle drums.
"Good! Since no one objects, I'm the first-years' boss from today on!"
Qi Dao smiled calmly and accepted the role without hesitation.
He needed enough authority to establish order in the dormitory and create an environment suited to studying and cultivation.
After the match ended, Qi Dao took Xiao Chenyu to the academy's infirmary.
Nearly every academy had a teacher with a healing soul skill, which greatly reduced casualties among students.
After all, you couldn't expect a soul master academy to be completely free of fighting.
The infirmary teacher glanced at the injury on Xiao Chenyu's back and asked curiously, "Were you ambushed from behind?"
"No, that can't be right. If it were an ambush, the wound shouldn't be this shallow."
Then his gaze shifted toward the sword hanging at Qi Dao's waist, and surprise flashed across his face.
"You did this, didn't you? You showed quite a bit of restraint. Otherwise, this boy's injury definitely wouldn't be so minor."
Qi Dao replied, "It was a spar between classmates. Naturally, I stopped short of doing real harm."
The infirmary teacher paused.
"Stopped short of doing real harm, did you? You certainly don't seem like a child of only six."
"But leaving him with an injury like this takes more than simply saying you'll stop short."
"Have you practiced swordsmanship?"
Qi Dao grinned.
"I've practiced for a little over two months. Looks like the results are pretty decent!"
The infirmary teacher's mouth twitched.
"You call this... pretty decent?"
Before you continue