The infirmary!
Headmaster Hans turned to the infirmary teacher. "Teacher Wang, sorry for the trouble with these two children."
Teacher Wang smiled. "It's my job!"
But when he looked at Qi Dao, surprise crossed his face.
"You again, kid?"
Qi Dao smiled, his face a little 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, do you two 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."
"Children spar from time to time. Besides, Qi Dao knew exactly when to stop. He only gave Xiao Chenyu a few scrapes."
"Huh? Isn't that Xiao Haijie?"
Teacher Wang had just noticed Xiao Haijie, and he let out a startled cry.
As the city lord's eldest son, Xiao Haijie was talented and had been a prominent figure at the academy since his first year. Nearly every teacher knew him.
"What happened to him?"
"Those injuries look serious!"
"Wait..."
Teacher Wang broke off mid-sentence and looked at Qi Dao in astonishment.
"Don't tell me you did that to him."
"Just how high is your Innate Soul Power, kid? I remember Xiao Haijie absorbed his First Soul Ring last semester."
At that, Xiao Haijie's face filled with resentment. Enduring the pain, he said, "He just got lucky..."
Before he could finish, Director Su cut him off sharply.
"Shut your mouth!"
"You don't get to speak!"
"A level-thirteen Soul Master couldn't beat a half-level Soul Scholar, and you still have the nerve to call it luck?"
Xiao Haijie's face flushed scarlet.
He knew that once word got out, he would be nailed to the pillar of shame.
"Half-level?" Teacher Wang, who had not known Qi Dao's exact Innate Soul Power, cried out. He stared at Qi Dao in disbelief.
He had assumed Qi Dao possessed at least seven or eight levels of Soul Power. Only with that, combined with his swordsmanship, would he have stood a chance against Xiao Haijie.
He had never imagined Qi Dao's Innate Soul Power was only half a level!
At the thought, pity and regret entered his gaze.
If Qi Dao's Innate Soul Power had been even a few levels higher, his future achievements would have known no bounds.
But Innate Half-Level Soul Power was far too poor a talent.
Just reaching level ten would probably take eight or nine years of grueling cultivation.
Headmaster Hans said, "All right, Teacher Wang. Treat these two children first."
Teacher Wang nodded and released his Martial Soul.
He was a level-twenty-two support-type Soul Grandmaster, and his Martial Soul was a blue flower.
As he released it, two Soul Rings rose, circling, from beneath his feet.
One white, one yellow!
Teacher Wang chanted an incantation and used his First Soul Skill on Xiao Haijie.
His First Soul Skill healed injuries, while his Second Soul Skill restored Soul Power.
Neither effect was especially powerful. Otherwise, he would not have been teaching at Notting Academy.
A beam of blue light shot from the flower and entered Xiao Haijie's body.
Then he used his Second Soul Skill on Qi Dao.
Qi Dao still felt mentally exhausted, but some color returned to his face.
Xiao Haijie's injuries had also improved somewhat. But like someone who forgot the pain as soon as the wound closed, he shot Qi Dao a dark sidelong glance. He did not dare show any more than that in front of the director and the headmaster.
He silently swore that, sooner or later, he would make Qi Dao pay for this humiliation.
Teacher Wang said, "There. I've stabilized Xiao Haijie's injuries, but they're fairly severe. He'll need several days of rest."
"As for Qi Dao, he's only exhausted his strength and Soul Power. A good dinner and a day or two of rest, and he'll be bouncing around again."
Only then did Headmaster Hans and Director Su relax.
But they soon turned back to Xiao Haijie, their expressions stern.
"Now that your injuries have been treated, it's time to discuss how you used your age and strength to bully a younger student."
Xiao Haijie's expression shifted. "Headmaster, Director Su, you saw what happened. I'm the victim here!"
Headmaster Hans's face hardened. "That doesn't excuse what you did. I know that if Qi Dao had been an ordinary first-year student, he would be the one lying injured now."
"I will tell your father exactly how his son has been using his strength to bully the weak at this academy."
Xiao Haijie's face changed at those words.
That was what he feared most.
His father did not care whether he bullied the weak, but he cared about his own reputation.
If his father learned that a good-for-nothing with Innate Half-Level Soul Power had defeated him, his standing in his father's eyes would plummet.
Xiao Haijie said urgently, "Headmaster, you can't do that!"
"Only regretting it now?"
"Too late!"
Hans gave him a flat glance. His words were final, leaving no room for argument.
Then he turned to Qi Dao, his expression softening. "Qi Dao, you did well. If your parents knew how you overcame a stronger opponent today, they would be proud of you."
"You may have only Innate Half-Level Soul Power, but I believe that if you train hard, you will one day become a powerful Soul Master renowned throughout the world."
Qi Dao said respectfully, "Thank you for your praise, Headmaster. I'll keep working hard."
The more Hans saw of Qi Dao's manners, the more he liked him. Inwardly, he sighed.
Xiaogang, Xiaogang, what a fool you've been!
A genius will still be a genius without you. Instead of searching endlessly for a genius disciple, why not carve a rough stone into precious jade? That would be far more impressive.
Hans was no fool; he had not become headmaster by accident.
After Yu Xiaogang left yesterday, Hans had figured it out.
Yu Xiaogang had not refused to take Qi Dao as a disciple because he was devoted to academic research.
He had simply looked down on Qi Dao's Innate Half-Level Soul Power.
But Yu Xiaogang seemed to have forgotten that he, too, had Innate Half-Level Soul Power!
And he was the one who always said, "There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters."
As Hans looked at the polite child before him, an inexplicable premonition rose in his heart.
One day, Xiaogang would bitterly regret not taking Qi Dao as his disciple.
With a sigh, he continued, "All right, Qi Dao. You need to recover. Go back to your dormitory and rest."
"Then I'll be going, Headmaster, Director Su!"
Qi Dao nodded to them both and returned to the dormitory.
As soon as he arrived, the other students gathered around him.
"Boss, are you all right?"
"Yeah! We heard you even beat Xiao Haijie from the sixth year. That's incredible."
Xiao Chenyu and the others were not among them; they were still in the director's office.
Qi Dao gave a few brief answers, then sent everyone away and sat on his bed. In his mind, he replayed the sword strike he had unleashed against Xiao Haijie.
That strike had been anything but ordinary.
Qi Dao clearly remembered entering a strange state. His essence, energy, and spirit had fused into one, as if twisted together into a single rope.
He called it the Heart Sword State.
In the Heart Sword State, his strength, speed, and reactions had all leaped to another level.
His body had been like a battered little car suddenly fitted with a top-of-the-line engine.
It placed an enormous strain on his body, but for a short time, it let him unleash combat power several times greater than his own.
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