"Useless" Xue Beng; Teacher and Student

"You'll need to be more careful from now on."

Ouyang Ling picked up a bowl of porridge mixed with Soul Beast meat, brought it to his lips, and slurped down a mouthful. "What do you mean?"

"His background is no small matter."

The black-haired young man deliberately offered him a warning.

"The Fourth Prince?" Ouyang Ling said casually.

The black-haired young man froze at those words, immediately becoming interested. "You knew? You knew, and you still dared to beat him up like that?"

This kid was clearly fearless. It looked like he had someone backing him too.

"How was I supposed to know?"

Ouyang Ling grinned, his smile carrying a hint of malice.

"He wanted to announce his name, but I didn't give him the chance. How was I supposed to know he was the Fourth Prince? It's not like I'd ever seen him before."

Leaning back with a meat bun in hand, the black-haired young man came to a realization.

"You did it on purpose."

Ouyang Ling said nothing, tacitly admitting it.

That was right. He had done it deliberately.

In truth, when that guy had brought people over to provoke him for no reason, Ouyang Ling had already made some guesses about his identity.

Ever since entering Heaven Dou City, aside from Prince Xue Xing at the Heaven Dou Auction, he had offended no one. Even then, he had completely concealed his identity.

And if he looked at things from the school's perspective...

There was even less to say. He had only been here for three days. Aside from the three Education Committee members and the teacher who had shown him around, he did not know anyone else. There was no way he could have offended these students.

Besides, that guy clearly recognized him. He had merely pretended to use Ouyang Ling's age as an excuse to pick a fight, yet he had not even acted convincingly.

So, taking all that into account, who else could it be?

It could only be someone connected to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

"You really have guts."

The black-haired young man leaned forward, admiration appearing in his eyes. "You knew he was the Fourth Prince and still dared to hit him—and hit him that hard."

"How did I know? Did he say so?"

Seeing the black-haired young man's I understand expression, Ouyang Ling finished the last mouthful of porridge and stressed the extent of his actions.

"And those were all superficial wounds. One healing Soul Skill would take care of them. Only that index finger might need two or three days to recover."

"Is that so?" The black-haired young man neither agreed nor disagreed.

Ouyang Ling did not care whether he believed him. Having finished breakfast, he stood up. "I'm going to find my teacher. Are you coming?"

"No, I'm waiting for someone."

"Then we'll meet again if fate allows."

Ouyang Ling turned and left without hesitation.

As for what had just happened...

A "fight" between students did not count as anything serious at all.

Never mind whether Xue Beng would report it to a teacher, whether the Education Committee would accept the report, or whether he would then "tell his parents"...

Heh—Xue'er was watching over him, and his martial soul cultivation talent was there for all to see. Xue Beng had been the one to provoke him and make the first move...

Considering all that, Xue Beng would be the one getting scolded.

Of course,

Perhaps that outcome was exactly what Xue Beng wanted.

Watching Ouyang Ling's departing back, the black-haired young man crossed his arms again, a fascinated expression appearing on his face.

"Interesting. I wonder which class he's in?"

Just then, "Tianheng!"

A bewitchingly alluring woman with green hair and green eyes approached the black-haired young man, leading a girl dressed in black beside her.

Seeing them, the black-haired young man turned to greet them.

"Yanzi."

He then looked at the girl beside her.

"Lingling, you came too."

"Mm." The girl in black nodded, then fell silent.

Now that she was close, the girl called "Yanzi" noticed the tray across from the black-haired young man and his own empty plate. Curiosity flashed in her eyes. "Who did you run into just now?"

"A fellow student who looked like a little kid."

The young man called Tianheng smiled faintly. "Yanzi, you came late. You missed quite a show."

"Oh?" The woman was immediately intrigued.

"What happened?"

"Xue Beng got beaten into a pig-headed mess."

"Ha—That useless fool!?"

Her words were filled with gloating.

Elsewhere at that moment,

Because there was a healing-type Soul Master in the group, though he only had one soul ring, his treatment was still quite effective.

At the very least, after one Soul Skill, half of Xue Beng's injuries had healed. He was no longer so badly hurt that he could barely speak clearly.

"Your Highness, are you all right?"

One student supporting Xue Beng asked cautiously.

"All right? Do I look all right to you?"

Xue Beng held up a mirror to his handsome face, which looked as though it had been disfigured. His injured index finger made him suck in sharp breaths every so often... Then, hearing the nonsense from the person beside him, his fury immediately flared!

Especially when he remembered what this bunch of cowards had done...

"You lot are utterly useless! You just stood there and watched me get beaten up!? And when I told you to attack afterward, every last one of you froze in place. What, don't you have legs!?"

"Get lost! All of you, get lost!"

Under Xue Beng's furious rebuke, the group of students scattered at once.

Seeing how useless those lackeys were, Xue Beng's anger did not lessen.

But once no one was around, the fury in Xue Beng's eyes, beneath his arrogant and spoiled demeanor, was replaced by shrewdness.

"My big brother really is lucky."

Thinking of Ouyang Ling's talent made Xue Beng's head throb.

A genius like that had been brought under his big brother's command.

What a headache!

"Ugh—"

After letting out a long sigh, he may have pulled at his wounds. A sudden stab of pain struck him, making Xue Beng suck in a breath.

"Hiss—That guy was really ruthless!"

Looking at his injuries, Xue Beng felt like crying without tears.

Staying alive was truly difficult for him!

"Right, what did Uncle say I should do next?"

Recalling Prince Xue Xing's warning, Xue Beng headed toward the Education Committee. Informing the committee would only be the first step. After that, he would have his uncle go make a scene before his father, the Emperor. Then he would add some embellishment of his own, wait for his big brother and the others to produce evidence refuting him, get severely scolded, and face his father's disappointed gaze...

Difficult!

For a moment, even Xue Beng's retreating figure looked desolate.

Heavenly Grade teachers' office.

Ouyang Ling stood before the door. After confirming that this was the place, he knocked.

After three knocks, a voice came from inside.

"Come in."

Ouyang Ling pushed the door open and entered.

In an instant, several gazes focused on him.

"Oh? Looks like he's only eight years old."

"At that age, shouldn't he still be attending a junior academy?"

"Hey, isn't that our academy's uniform?"

"That's right! He even has a Heavenly Grade badge."

"Wait, is there some mistake here?"

"..."

For a moment, all the teachers in the room spoke up.

In response,

Ouyang Ling's expression did not change. He maintained an indifferent look.

"I'm a newly enrolled student. I'm here to find the teacher of Class One."

The moment he spoke, everyone's gaze shifted toward a corner, though the shock in their eyes lingered for a long time.

He really was a newly enrolled student!

Following the teachers' gazes, Ouyang Ling looked over.

At that moment, a young man who appeared to be in his twenties stood up.

Though his features were ordinary and his clothes simple, he was the youngest among all the teachers. And judging by the others' looks, he was probably the strongest as well.

The young man smiled warmly. "Hello. I'm Qin Ming, the teacher of Heavenly Grade Class One."