Grandmaster's Scheme

"Teacher... gently..."

"Ah!!!!!"

Tang San bit down on a scrap of cloth, veins bulging across his forehead.

Yu Xiaogang was drenched in sweat, gripping Tang San's twisted forearm and gesturing left and right, unable to bring himself to act.

The most hands-on experience he had ever had in his life was bathing and scrubbing Luo Sanpao. As for setting bones, he had only ever read about it in books.

"Don't rush. Let your teacher think... Page eight of the Soul Master First Aid Manual, the method for resetting fractures is..."

Yu Xiaogang's head was full of theory. Gritting his teeth, he finally pushed and twisted hard with both hands.

Crack!

The bone was set back in place!

But it was set crooked.

Tang San curled up like a shrimp from the pain, his eyes wide as bells.

He clenched the rag between his teeth so tightly that he barely stopped himself from howling in the middle of the night.

Yu Xiaogang examined it for a moment and wiped away his sweat. "It seems... I set it the wrong way around."

Thud!

Tang San slid straight off the chair, nearly passing out on the spot!

After another frantic bout of taking it apart and resetting it,

it was finally set properly this time. Yu Xiaogang used two Wooden Sticks as splints and tore strips from a bedsheet to wrap around them haphazardly.

By the time his left leg had been dealt with, Tang San was soaked through with sweat, his face deathly pale and his lips trembling violently.

"Done," Yu Xiaogang said, panting heavily as he forced a hint of relief onto his face. "Good thing your teacher was here."

Tang San forced out a smile uglier than crying. He said, "Thank you, Teacher," while silently cursing Yu Xiaogang's ancestors for eighteen generations.

Useless trash!

Fartmaster!

You can't even set a bone properly, and you still have the nerve to call yourself a Grandmaster?

Ye Hua's mocking words involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

A Grandmaster who collapses after letting out a fart and can only make a move three times a day~

Back then, he had thought Ye Hua was going too far. Now, he only felt that Ye Hua had been far too polite!

What kind of Grandmaster was this?

He was clearly a talking pig!

But Tang San did not dare say it.

He did not dare say a single word.

No matter how useless Yu Xiaogang was, he was still Tang San's only support for now.

Without Yu Xiaogang, he would not even have a way to obtain Soul Rings, much less the cultivation resources he would need afterward.

Endure!

He had to keep enduring!

Once he had grown strong, he would collect every bit of today's humiliation!

But for now...

"Teacher," Tang San said, gathering himself. His eyes reddened, and his voice took on a sobbing tone. "That Ye Hua has gone too far!"

Yu Xiaogang frowned.

"You don't know this, but back in Holy Soul Village, he was a useless nobody. A Wooden Stick Martial Soul, three levels of Soul Power—the whole village knew it."

"But somehow, he used some shameful trick to disguise himself as having Innate Full Soul Power, and he even produced a Coiling Dragon Staff Martial Soul!"

"Think about it, Teacher. How could someone's Martial Soul change just like that? How could Soul Power suddenly rise like that? There must be some unspeakable secret behind this!"

Yu Xiaogang's expression changed slightly.

He thought of one possibility: an Evil Soul Master!

Those three words were taboo anywhere!

"Your disciple only wanted to expose his true face and restore peace to the academy. Who knew he would twist his words and frame your disciple into this state instead!"

Tang San raised his splinted right arm and pointed at his dangling left leg, tears streaming down his face. "Look, Teacher, how viciously he struck! He wanted to cripple your disciple!"

"What he crippled was not your disciple's limbs, but your painstaking efforts!"

Yu Xiaogang's cheek twitched violently.

I seem to have only been your teacher for one day...

But he had to admit that Tang San's words had struck precisely at his weak spot.

Tang San had Innate Full Soul Power, something seen only once in a century. By Yu Xiaogang's estimation, he might even possess Twin Martial Souls!

He was the best possible specimen for verifying the Ten Core Competencies Theory, Yu Xiaogang's only hope of returning to the Soul Master world and proving himself.

Crippling Tang San meant crippling Yu Xiaogang's path to turning his life around.

If he waited for another specimen, he would probably have to wait until his bones had turned to ash!

No. He had to properly suppress Ye Hua's arrogance!

"Don't worry, Xiao San." Yu Xiaogang rose to his feet and walked to the window with his hands behind his back. "Your teacher will help you vent this anger."

Tang San's eyes lit up.

"Have you forgotten? Once all students reach the level of Quasi-Soul Master, they can apply to the academy for assistance in hunting a Soul Ring."

Tang San froze for a moment, then was overjoyed.

How had he forgotten that!

Yu Xiaogang might be useless in a fight, but he held the title of guest advisor at Notting Academy. Blocking Ye Hua's approval to hunt a Soul Ring would be effortless!

"The day after tomorrow, your teacher will take you to the Soul Hunting Forest." Yu Xiaogang stroked his chin. "For your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, the most suitable first Soul Ring would come from a plant-type Soul Beast."

"When we get to the Soul Hunting Forest, we'll find the most suitable one."

"As for that Ye Hua..." A cold glint flashed through Yu Xiaogang's eyes. "His Soul Hunting application will remain under review forever."

"Without support from an academy teacher, could a child barely over ten years old go to the Soul Hunting Forest alone? And even if he did, could he deal with a hundred-year Soul Beast by himself?"

The more Tang San listened, the more excited he became, until he even forgot the pain from his broken bones.

Brilliant!

Absolutely brilliant!

Ye Hua, weren't you arrogant? Weren't you strong?

Without a Soul Ring, you'll be a useless piece of trash forever stuck at level ten!

No matter how high your Soul Power is, without Soul Skills, what will you use to fight me, Tang San?

And once I, Tang San, fuse with a Soul Ring, my strength will surely become overwhelmingly powerful.

When that time comes, I'll repay the humiliation Ye Hua inflicted on me tenfold!

I'll break his limbs and make him kneel before me, kowtowing until his forehead bleeds!

As long as Ye Hua suffers, Xiao Wu surely won't keep hovering around him and ignoring me!

At that moment, Tang San still did not know that Xiao Wu had begun living with Ye Hua that very night. Otherwise, he would have coughed up blood from rage!

"Teacher!" Tang San struggled to kneel on one knee. "Your disciple will never forget your great kindness! Once your disciple achieves success and fame, I will repay you a thousandfold!"

Yu Xiaogang reached out to help Tang San up, a pleased expression on his face.

"Good disciple, your teacher believes in you!"

"Your teacher will lay a solid foundation for your first Soul Ring!"

The next morning.

Notting Junior Soul Master Academy, first-year classroom.

Ye Hua sat by the window, with Xiao Wu seated beside him.

Wang Sheng and several other Work-Study Students sat around them, vaguely forming a small circle centered on Ye Hua.

Tang San had come as well.

His right arm hung in a sling, his left leg was splinted, and he hobbled into the classroom on a wooden crutch.

His face was still pale, but the gloom from yesterday had vanished from his eyes, replaced by an indescribable calm.

He even smiled at Ye Hua, then quietly went to the last row and opened his textbook, looking every bit like a diligent student listening attentively in class.

Ye Hua raised an eyebrow.

Something was wrong. Not just wrong—twelve out of ten wrong!

With Tang San's temperament, after suffering such a huge loss, there was no way he would not retaliate!

He did not cause trouble in class, did not pick a fight during breaks, and even deliberately avoided eye contact. This was completely unlike Tang San!

When something was abnormal, there had to be a reason!

"Brother Ye Hua." While the teacher turned to write on the blackboard, Wang Sheng crouched and leaned close to Ye Hua. "I passed by Grandmaster's office this morning and heard him talking to Director Su."

"Grandmaster said Tang San's Soul Hunting application would be approved the day after tomorrow, and Grandmaster himself would lead the team."

"But when it came to you, he specifically said your identity was questionable and your documents were incomplete, so you needed to provide more materials. You temporarily don't meet the requirements for a Soul Hunting application. Director Su rejected everything he said."

"Brother Ye Hua, could Tang San be planning to join forces with Grandmaster—playing submissive first, then looking to get even?"