Perfect Harmony as One, Heart Sword State

Infirmary!

Headmaster Hans looked at the infirmary teacher. "Teacher Wang, I'll leave these two children in your care."

Teacher Wang smiled. "It's my duty!"

But when he looked at Qi Dao, a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

"Why is it you again, kid?"

Qi Dao smiled weakly, his face slightly pale. "Teacher Wang, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon."

Headmaster Hans and Director Su listened to their exchange with curious expressions.

"Teacher Wang, you know each other?"

Teacher Wang shook his head with a smile. "Of course. This little fellow came to the infirmary with Xiao Chenyu just yesterday."

"Sparring between children happens from time to time, and Qi Dao was quite restrained. He only gave Xiao Chenyu a few superficial injuries."

"Huh, isn't this Xiao Haijie?"

At that moment, Teacher Wang noticed Xiao Haijie and let out a cry of surprise.

As the city lord's eldest son, Xiao Haijie had decent talent and had been a prominent figure at the academy ever since his first year. Nearly all the teachers knew him.

"What happened to him?"

"Those injuries don't look light at all!"

"Wait..."

Teacher Wang suddenly paused, then looked at Qi Dao in astonishment.

"Don't tell me you caused his injuries?"

"Just how high is your innate soul power, kid? I remember Xiao Haijie had already absorbed his first soul ring last semester."

As soon as he said this, Xiao Haijie wore an indignant expression as he endured the pain. "He was just lucky..."

Before he could finish, Director Su cut him off sharply.

"Shut up!"

"This isn't your place to speak!"

"You, a level-thirteen Soul Master, couldn't even defeat a half-level Soul Scholar, and you still have the nerve to call him lucky?"

Xiao Haijie's face flushed bright red after hearing that.

He knew that once word of this got out, he would be nailed to the pillar of shame.

"Half-level?" Teacher Wang, who did not know Qi Dao's exact innate soul power, cried out in shock as he stared at Qi Dao in utter disbelief.

He had thought Qi Dao possessed at least seven or eight levels of soul power, and that only with his swordsmanship would he have had a chance to defeat Xiao Haijie.

He had never imagined that Qi Dao's innate soul power was only half a level!

At that thought, Teacher Wang's gaze toward Qi Dao gained a few traces of regret and pity.

If Qi Dao's innate soul power had been even a few levels higher, his future achievements would have been limitless.

But with innate soul power of half a level, his talent was simply too poor.

Just breaking through to level ten would likely require eight or nine years of arduous cultivation.

Headmaster Hans said, "All right, Teacher Wang. Treat these two children first!"

Teacher Wang nodded, then released his martial soul.

He was a level-twenty-two auxiliary-system Grand Soul Master, and his martial soul was a blue flower.

As he released his martial soul, two soul rings rose from beneath his feet and began to circle around him.

One white, one yellow!

After releasing his martial soul, Teacher Wang chanted an incantation and used his first soul skill on Xiao Haijie.

His first soul skill could heal injuries, while his second soul skill could restore soul power.

Of course, the effects were not particularly strong. Otherwise, he would not have been a teacher at Notting Academy.

A beam of blue light immediately shot out from the flower and entered Xiao Haijie's body.

Then, he used his second soul skill on Qi Dao as well.

In an instant, although Qi Dao still felt mentally exhausted, his complexion improved somewhat.

Xiao Haijie's injuries also recovered a little, but no sooner had his wounds begun to heal than he forgot the pain. His eyes swept darkly toward Qi Dao, though he did not dare show it in front of the director and headmaster.

He secretly swore that he would one day find Qi Dao and wash away this humiliation.

Teacher Wang said, "All right, I've stopped Xiao Haijie's injuries from worsening, but his injuries are serious. He'll need to rest for several more days."

"As for Qi Dao, he only overexerted his physical strength and soul power. A good meal tonight and one or two days of rest, and he'll be lively again."

Only then did Headmaster Hans and Director Su finally set their minds at ease.

But then the two of them turned to look at Xiao Haijie again, their expressions stern.

"Now that your injuries have recovered, it's time to talk about how you used your strength to bully younger students."

Xiao Haijie's expression changed slightly as he said in a low voice, "Headmaster, Director Su, you should have seen it too. I'm the victim here!"

Headmaster Hans's expression turned cold as he reprimanded, "That is no excuse to absolve yourself. All I know is that if Qi Dao had merely been an ordinary first-year student, then he would be the one injured now."

"I will definitely tell your father about this, so he can see exactly how his son has been throwing his weight around and bullying others at the academy."

Xiao Haijie's face changed upon hearing this.

This was what he feared most.

His father did not care whether he bullied the weak, but he did care about his own reputation.

If his father learned that he had been defeated by a worthless boy with only half-rank innate soul power, his standing in his father's eyes would surely plummet.

Xiao Haijie said anxiously, "Headmaster, you can't do this!"

"Only now do you know regret?"

"Too late!"

Hans glanced at him indifferently, his words final and leaving no room for negotiation.

After saying that, he turned to Qi Dao with a kindly expression. "Qi Dao, you did very well. If your parents knew of your feat of defeating the strong while weak today, they would certainly be proud of you."

"Although you only have half-rank innate soul power, I believe that as long as you cultivate diligently, one day you will surely become a powerful Soul Master renowned throughout the world."

Qi Dao said respectfully, "Thank you for your praise, Headmaster. I will continue to work hard."

As Headmaster Hans looked at the polite Qi Dao, he became even more satisfied with him and sighed inwardly.

Xiaogang, Xiaogang, you really are foolish!

A genius remains a genius without you. Rather than painstakingly searching for a genius disciple, why not try carving a rough stone into unpolished jade? That would be far more moving.

As the headmaster of an academy, Hans was naturally no fool.

After Yu Xiaogang left yesterday, he had come to realize what was going on.

Yu Xiaogang had refused to take a disciple—how could it have been because he was obsessed with academic research?

He clearly just looked down on Qi Dao's half-rank innate soul power.

But Yu Xiaogang seemed to have forgotten that he himself had also possessed half-rank innate soul power!

And he was the one who always preached, "There are no useless martial souls, only useless Soul Masters."

Looking at the polite child before him, Hans inexplicably felt a premonition rise in his heart.

Sooner or later, Xiaogang would regret beyond measure not taking Qi Dao as his disciple.

With a sigh, he continued, "All right, Qi Dao. You need to rest now, so hurry back to your dormitory."

"Then I'll be leaving first, Headmaster, Director Su!"

Qi Dao nodded slightly to the two of them before returning to the dormitory.

As soon as he returned, the others in the dormitory immediately gathered around him.

"Boss, are you all right?"

"Yeah, we heard you even defeated Xiao Haijie from the sixth year. You're incredible!"

Xiao Chenyu and the others were nowhere to be seen among the crowd; they were still in the director's office.

Qi Dao casually answered a few questions, then dismissed everyone and sat on his bed, recalling the sword strike he had unleashed when facing Xiao Haijie.

That strike had been far from ordinary.

Qi Dao clearly remembered entering an extremely peculiar state. His essence, energy, and spirit had fused as one, as though twisted together into a single rope.

He called that state the Heart Sword State.

Within the Heart Sword State, his strength, speed, and reactions all underwent a qualitative leap.

His body was like a battered little cart that had suddenly been fitted with a top-tier engine.

Although it placed an enormous burden on his body, it allowed him to erupt with combat strength several times greater than his own in a short period of time.