"This Mu Xi really did want to improve."
"But..."
"What did it mean by increased intimidation toward seniors?"
Listening to the trait brought by this achievement, Jiang Yan was momentarily at a loss for words. Interesting. Was this telling him to conquer men and women alike, young and old alike?
"Yan'er is back."
"How did the certification at the Blacksmith Association go?"
In the living room, Jiang Luochuan had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Jiang Yan and the others return, he stood up and asked with a smile.
Na'er's eyes lit up. She jogged over and obediently sat beside Jiang Yan. Though she said nothing of missing him, she made no effort to hide it either.
"Of course, it went smoothly."
Jiang Yan glanced at the two of them, pointed at the blacksmith badge hanging from his chest, took it off, and said with a smile.
"President Mu said that if Yan'er has any questions about blacksmithing in the future, he can consult the Blacksmith Association at any time."
"This was, over the countless years of blacksmithing history..."
"Without question, the number one genius."
Jiang Lingli said with a smile.
"That's right. My Yan'er has the potential to become a god!"
The smile on Jiang Luochuan's face deepened, his tone impassioned.
"By the way, how is Yan'er doing at the academy? How talented are this year's students?"
As he spoke, Jiang Luochuan could not help asking.
"The students are all about the same. There are Innate Soul Power levels from four to nine. There are three at level nine, and they even insisted on recognizing me as their boss. They're rather interesting classmates."
Jiang Yan smiled faintly and spoke frankly.
"There are three with Innate Soul Power at level nine?"
"Since when did Eastsea City have so many geniuses?"
Jiang Luochuan was somewhat surprised and could not help speaking.
"More than that. The Xie family produced a genius with Innate Full Soul Power this year. His Martial Soul is two daggers carrying dragon bloodlines. But unlike ordinary Innate Full Soul Power, both Martial Souls must absorb Soul Rings together before he can break through."
"Rather than Twin Martial Souls, they are more like a dual-dagger Martial Soul wearing the name of Twin Martial Souls. His spiritual power is weak as well, so his future potential is probably limited."
At the mention of geniuses, Jiang Lingli recalled something and smilingly brought up another genius from Eastsea City.
If he had been born earlier, perhaps the young master of the Xie family would have possessed boundless talent even with the flaws in his Martial Souls. Unfortunately...
With only a few dozen points of spiritual power, and with both Martial Souls needing to absorb Soul Rings together, how could he possibly make any progress? Even after Jiang Lingli reported it to headquarters, it had caused no stir and received no attention.
"By the way."
"Has Yan'er not encountered him at the academy?"
At that moment, Jiang Lingli could not help asking in confusion.
"Not really. Other than those three with Innate Soul Power at level nine, I haven't met any other geniuses."
"I haven't seen this student either."
Jiang Yan shook his head. Eastsea Academy had quite a few junior Soul Master classes, but Class One had the best talents overall. Otherwise, Wei Xiaofeng and the other two would not have been there.
And yet Xie Xie, whose talent was clearly good, had not appeared. That meant he had not enrolled yet? Or perhaps...
Jiang Yan fell into deep thought. Remembering the man's cold, arrogant, and solitary personality from the original story, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Could it be that he...
Had not even gone to school at all during the early stages?
"..."
"Xie Xie, are you going to school or not?"
Elsewhere, at the Xie family residence.
A tall middle-aged man's face was filled with anger. Looking at his son, who had spent the entire day watching television at home, he frowned and asked.
"Hmph!"
"No."
The brown-haired boy snorted coldly. He did not even look at his father, rebellious to the extreme and as proud and aloof as a lion.
"No?"
"You neither cultivate nor study at home, and you refuse to attend a Soul Master Academy. Are you planning to waste your talent?"
Father Xie's expression darkened further as he could not help saying.
"Old man, let me tell you, I'm a genius with Innate Full Soul Power. The graduation requirement for a junior academy is becoming a Soul Master. I was already level eleven at six years old, and I have Twin Martial Souls."
"I'm already this talented, and you still want me to study?"
Xie Xie snorted, equally displeased.
He was already so talented, yet he still had to study?
In his view... his father simply did not take his once-in-a-century [Innate Full Soul Power] and [Twin Martial Souls] seriously.
Even if his Twin Martial Souls were inferior, he was still among the very best!
Studying at a junior academy was purely a waste of time.
"Geniuses don't need to study? Fine. Then don't ever dream of becoming a mecha master in this life. Just be a frog at the bottom of a well."
"Let me tell you, your second uncle contacted me. This year, Eastsea Academy has no fewer than four students whose Innate Soul Power exceeds level nine."
"The strongest among them is the nephew of the tower master Jiang. Not only does he have Innate Full Soul Power, his Martial Soul is also a Dragon King of an ultimate element. You, who think you're such a genius..."
"Can you beat him?"
Father Xie knew exactly what kind of temperament his son had. A sneer appeared on his face as he chuckled coldly.
"What kind of talent is Innate Soul Power level nine..."
"Wait, a Dragon King Martial Soul?"
When he heard Innate Soul Power level nine, Xie Xie did not think much of it. But when he heard Dragon King Martial Soul, his expression immediately stiffened.
There was an enormous gap between a Dragon King and an ordinary dragon.
And his Martial Souls were not even dragons, but dagger Martial Souls containing dragon blood. The difference between them was beyond question.
"Scared?"
Seeing Xie Xie's hesitation, Father Xie's face filled with even more disdain, and his mockery grew sharper.
"W-Who said I'm scared?"
"A top-tier Dragon King? You think I'd be afraid of him?"
"Then let's fight!"
Xie Xie snorted and spoke word by word.
"As long as I can defeat him after going to the academy, you'll agree to let me stop going to school. It's that simple."
"Then we'll fight."
"I, Xie Xie, have never believed myself inferior to anyone!"
"..."
Early the next morning, after the first class ended, homeroom teacher Cai Kun led Xie Xie into the classroom.
"Students, let me introduce everyone. This is our new classmate. He missed yesterday's freshman registration because he had something to attend to."
"I won't take up everyone's time. Since it's break, let's use this time to get to know our new classmate."
The homeroom teacher spoke in a gentle tone.
"My name is Xie Xie. My Martial Souls are the Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger."
"I'm a level-eleven agility-type battle Soul Master."
Xie Xie stood on the podium, his tone proud.
"What!"
"Another Soul Master!"
"How could this be—"
Hearing this, every student in the class was startled. Another genius with Innate Full Soul Power had arrived?
"Another Soul Master? Then isn't he like Boss, with Twin Martial Souls too?"
In the seat ahead of Jiang Yan, Zhang Yangzi was slightly stunned. Where had this brought him to? Was this still Eastsea City?
Two geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power had appeared in one year. If Eastsea City had always been like this, it would not have been rated as a city with nothing but its economy, languishing near the bottom of the Federation rankings.
"But what do Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger mean?"
"Two daggers? Little knives?"
Wei Xiaofeng had spotted a blind spot and grew suspicious. Could they be Twin Martial Souls? But how did two daggers count as Twin Martial Souls?
"So Xie Xie wasn't refusing to study after all."
Looking at Xie Xie's figure, Jiang Yan could not help thinking. It seemed he had wrongly blamed the other party.
At the same time, Xie Xie's information panel quietly appeared in his mind.
[Character Information Card: Xie Xie] [Martial Souls: Light Dragon Dagger, Shadow Dragon Dagger. The yet-to-awaken Space-Time Dragon. Innate Full Soul Power. Both Martial Souls possess the potential to merge into the Space-Time Dragon.] [Character Talents: Exceptionally Gifted (Black), Twin Martial Souls (Black), Family Has Mines (Purple), Blessed by Fortune (Black), Afraid of Wife (White), Lazy (White)]
As the second male lead, Xie Xie was also the [ordinary person] among Eastsea City's four little ones—neither outstanding in attributes nor lacking them. The effects of his traits were undoubtedly plain and unremarkable.
And while Jiang Yan was looking at him, Xie Xie was also paying attention to this special existence.
His gaze swept over everyone in the classroom before finally landing on Jiang Yan, his eyes carrying a peculiar emotion.
So... so handsome!
That was not important. What mattered was that he could sense that if anyone could put pressure on him, it would probably be this person alone.
He...
Was Jiang Yan, right?
Without the slightest hesitation, he strode over.
"Classmate, you're Jiang Yan, right?"
Xie Xie took several steps to Jiang Yan's desk. Looking at the exceptionally handsome boy, he did not know why, but his tone abruptly changed from cold and aloof to gentle, even well-behaved.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but in front of the person before him, he could not even bring himself to say the words, "I want to challenge you."
"Yeah, I'm Jiang Yan."
"What is it?"
Jiang Yan nodded. He was rather curious about this two-dagger youth as well, so he replied calmly.
"Do you have time at noon?"
"I want to... ask you out to talk about something."
Xie Xie took a deep breath. With his brain completely frozen, he barely managed to force out those words.
"Huh?"
As soon as he said that, Wei Xiaofeng, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi all stiffened, their bodies jolting in shock.
Even Jiang Yan frowned at that moment. He thought he had not misread the other party's panel.
You were Xie Xie, not someone holding Wang Dong's script.
Don't say something that sounds so gay!
"..."
P.S. Thanks for following along! Please vote, everyone, thank you!
Xie Xie: Everyone, do you think I can win with a sliding tackle?
Jiang Yan: ...That was kneeling, damn it.
Xie Xie: Why didn't you say so earlier!
Before you continue