Draw

Chen Xuan turned over, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the rusty iron spoon he had drawn during the day.

He casually tossed it into the aisle between the two beds.

"Clang."

The iron spoon struck the green brick floor with a crisp sound that seemed especially loud in the quiet dormitory seven.

Tang San turned his head, his gaze landing on the object on the floor.

Chen Xuan yawned and rolled onto his back, his voice muffled with heavy sleepiness.

"I got hungry in the middle of the night and went to the kitchen to look for leftovers. I accidentally knocked over the firewood beside the stove and got some ash on myself. What, are you going to wash my clothes for me?"

Tang San stared at the battered iron spoon.

Its handle was caked with mud, its edges rusted, and there was even a small dent in it.

It really did look like equipment for digging through leftover food.

A piece of worthless scrap like this could not possibly be used for anything dangerous, much less serve as a hidden weapon.

Tang San sniffed again. The burnt smell in the air had mostly faded, leaving only the musty odor that perpetually lingered in dormitory seven.

He did not question him further. Turning his head back, he closed his eyes again and resumed circulating the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

Chen Xuan kept his eyes shut, and his breathing gradually steadied.

He knew this kid was deeply suspicious. His experiences in the Tang Sect in his previous life had made him vigilant toward anything unusual.

But a broken iron spoon, coupled with a perfectly reasonable excuse, was enough to brush him off.

The next morning.

The sky had only just begun to brighten, and the fog outside had yet to disperse.

Dormitory seven was still filled with snoring. Wang Sheng had sprawled out like a starfish, taking up half the bed by himself.

Chen Xuan was already up. He had changed into a rough cloth outfit and tightly tied his shoelaces.

Soft footsteps sounded outside the door.

Yu Xiaogang had arrived.

Wearing a faded blue robe that had been washed until it was nearly white, he stood at the entrance to dormitory seven with his hands behind his back, not entering the room.

Tang San immediately opened his eyes and rolled out of bed with swift, efficient movements. Clearly, he had not slept soundly all night.

The two walked out one after the other, their footsteps extremely light.

Chen Xuan sat on the edge of his bed and wrapped the iron-sand weighted leg straps around his ankles, tightening the buckles.

After more than twenty years as an office drone in his previous life, he understood all too well what it meant when a leader wanted a private talk early in the morning.

It usually meant the distribution of core resources.

He did not rush after them. Only after the two had gone some distance did he leisurely push open the door and make his way along the wall.

The corridor behind the school building was empty.

Morning dew dampened the bluestone slabs, making them slippery underfoot.

Chen Xuan leaned behind a thick stone pillar, held his breath, and adjusted the rhythm of his heartbeat.

This body had average physical capabilities, but a six-year-old child was a small target. As long as he made no noise, he would be difficult to spot.

Not far ahead, Yu Xiaogang stopped with his hands clasped behind his back.

Tang San stood before him, his posture straight and upright.

"Master."

Yu Xiaogang turned around and looked at Tang San. His voice carried barely restrained excitement, and even his shoulders trembled slightly.

"Tang San, are you willing to take me as your master?"

Tang San did not answer, remaining silent.

Yu Xiaogang began his performance.

"You possess innate full soul power, yet your martial soul is Blue Silver Grass."

"Everyone says Blue Silver Grass is a worthless martial soul, but I do not think so."

Yu Xiaogang lifted his chin, clasped his hands behind his back, and delivered the quote he was most proud of.

"Remember this: there are no worthless martial souls, only worthless soul masters!"

Behind the stone pillar, Chen Xuan nearly failed to hold back a laugh when he heard that.

No worthless martial souls?

He really dared to say that.

Then Yu Xiaogang revealed his true trump card.

"Besides, if I am not mistaken, you should have another martial soul in your left hand, shouldn't you?"

Tang San's expression changed.

His left hand suddenly pulled back, and his entire body instantly assumed a defensive stance, every muscle taut.

That was the opening posture for deploying hidden weapons. If Yu Xiaogang made any suspicious move, the sleeve arrow would immediately nail itself into his throat.

Yu Xiaogang did not notice the danger. Still smugly pleased with himself, he remained immersed in his own deductions.

"Twin martial souls. The third person on the Douluo Continent in a hundred years to possess twin martial souls."

Tang San was silent for a long time.

He was assessing the man before him.

In the end, he lowered his guard, bent both knees, and knelt on the ground to kowtow.

"Teacher."

Yu Xiaogang quickly helped him up, smiling so broadly that the wrinkles on his face unfolded. He repeatedly praised him.

Chen Xuan leaned against the stone pillar and rubbed his aching knees.

This was the Grandmaster.

He shouted, "There are no worthless martial souls," but what was the truth?

What he valued was not Blue Silver Grass at all, but the supreme combination of innate full soul power and twin martial souls.

If Tang San had truly possessed ordinary Blue Silver Grass with only one level of soul power, Yu Xiaogang would not have spared him a second glance.

Using someone else's twin martial souls as his trump card to prove his theory that "worthless martial souls can rise against the odds" was truly amusing.

Chen Xuan could not be bothered to listen to their moving master-disciple reunion any longer. He turned and quietly left, heading straight for the training grounds.

The sun had fully risen.

Bare-chested, Chen Xuan carried a sandbag filled with stones on his back as he ran lap after lap around the edge of the training ground.

Sweat dripped from his chin, striking the dirt and quickly being absorbed by the dry ground.

Innate ninth-level soul power gave him decent recovery ability, but he had to squeeze every ounce of potential from this body.

He had tested the Flame Bow's power last night.

That single arrow had drained half his soul power.

Without a powerful physique to support him, he would not be able to use stronger weapons in the future even if he drew them.

The power of the Light-Shadow Stone was simply too overbearing. A mortal body could not withstand that kind of backlash.

After finishing the tenth lap, Chen Xuan stopped and leaned against the horizontal bar, gasping for breath.

His chest heaved violently, and every muscle screamed with soreness.

Not far away, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San were walking toward him.

The two were discussing something. Tang San listened intently and nodded from time to time.

As they passed the edge of the training ground, Tang San stopped and looked toward Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan was drenched in sweat. The sandbag on his back had left red marks, his breathing was rough, and his entire body was soaked.

Tang San turned to Yu Xiaogang.

"Teacher, Chen Xuan also has innate ninth-level soul power, and his martial soul is five stones."

"According to your theory that 'there are no worthless martial souls,' does his stone martial soul have any potential for development?"

Tang San asked in earnest.

He truly was curious.

Chen Xuan's performance in dormitory seven yesterday had been far too cowardly, but his innate ninth-level soul power was undeniable. Tang San did not believe that someone with ninth-level soul power would willingly become useless.

Yu Xiaogang stopped and followed the direction Tang San pointed.

Chen Xuan did not look at them. He simply untied the sandbag, rolled his shoulders, and flicked the sweat from his arms.

Yu Xiaogang frowned.

"A stone martial soul."

He shook his head, his tone certain and even somewhat disdainful.

"San, theories require a foundation to support them."

"I examined his martial soul yesterday. It is too scattered."

"Five ordinary stones. No core, no attribute, and no way to classify them within any known system."

Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back and delivered his final judgment.

"This mutation lies completely outside my theoretical framework."

"It is destined to be mediocre."

"You must focus all your energy on Blue Silver Grass. Do not waste your time on meaningless comparisons. He and you are not people walking the same path."

Tang San nodded thoughtfully.

"I understand, Teacher."

The two continued on their way, never looking toward the training ground again.

Beside the horizontal bar, Chen Xuan picked up the rough cloth towel draped over it and wiped his face.

He had heard every word clearly.

Outside his theoretical framework? Destined to be mediocre?

Chen Xuan draped the towel around his neck and watched Yu Xiaogang's retreating back as he spoke grandly.

This old man really thinks he is the truth.

What you cannot explain is mediocre.

What you can explain is genius.

This sort of trick—using the result to reverse-engineer the theory—might fool a kid like Tang San, who had only just left the beginner's village.

Rather than getting angry, Chen Xuan found it satisfying.

The feeling of seeing through everything without exposing it, of watching someone show off the limits of their intelligence from a god's-eye view, was far too entertaining.

He had originally thought that if Yu Xiaogang truly had some ability and could see something unusual about the Light-Shadow Stones, Chen Xuan might need to stay on guard to avoid exposing his trump card too early.

Now, it seemed completely unnecessary.

The Grandmaster's vision was limited to the self-consistent theory he had constructed for himself.

What Yu Xiaogang needed was a perfect template that completely fit his theory, a tool that could prove to the world that he was not useless.

Chen Xuan's five stones, however, were beyond the syllabus.

And anything beyond the syllabus was garbage in Yu Xiaogang's eyes, not even worth studying.

Chen Xuan put the sandbag back on and fastened the buckle.

Tang San could go seize his destiny. Chen Xuan had his own things to do.

Yu Xiaogang led Tang San farther away, heading toward the academy gates.

From what they had just been saying, they were going outside Notting City to hunt Tang San's first soul beast.

Tang San's first soul ring was coming—the Mandala Snake or whatever it was called.

Chen Xuan flexed his ankles and jumped twice in place.

He did not need Yu Xiaogang's approval, nor did he need any theoretical framework.

He had his own path.

A path Yu Xiaogang would never understand even if he racked his brains.

In the upper-right corner of his vision, the translucent countdown had just reached zero and flickered with a faint glow.

[Daily draw has refreshed. Draw now?]

Chen Xuan took a deep breath and stopped.

Yesterday, he had drawn the Flame Bow, directly lighting up the Fire Light-Shadow Stone and giving him his first trump card.

What would he get today?

A pebble? An iron spoon? Or some other surprise?

Chen Xuan wiped the sweat from his palm and silently uttered a single word in his heart.

"Draw."