Retesting Soul Power, Four Versions Argued into Chaos

"Innate level twenty?"

Xu Zhou stared at Yu Xiaogang.

"When did I gain another ten levels?"

"It's only a guess."

Yu Xiaogang's expression remained unchanged.

"Your Martial Soul can evade the crystal ball's detection, which means ordinary methods cannot determine your Soul Power limit. If level ten cannot be detected, then level twenty is naturally possible as well."

"Then why not level thirty?"

"That isn't impossible either."

"Please stop talking."

Xu Zhou hurriedly cut him off.

If Yu Xiaogang kept guessing, Xu Zhou would probably be Innate level ninety-nine before he even entered the meeting room.

The teacher urged them from ahead, so Xu Zhou had no choice but to follow.

Tang San also wanted to go over and take a look, but Yu Xiaogang stopped him.

"This is Xu Zhou's Martial Soul retest. It has nothing to do with you."

"I'm just worried about him."

"You should worry about yourself first."

Yu Xiaogang glanced toward the Seventh Dormitory.

"Seventeen impostors are still waiting for you to deal with them."

Tang San fell silent.

Compared with studying Xu Zhou's Martial Soul, proving that he was the real Tang San was clearly more important.

He did not want to have both his name and his little sister stolen on his first day of school.

The academy meeting room.

After Xu Zhou entered, the first thing he saw was four different testing tools laid out on the table.

A Spirit Hall crystal ball.

An academy testing stone.

A bronze mirror engraved with Soul Ring patterns.

And a metal disk with a gauge.

The last item was the strangest.

It even had two buttons.

One was labeled "Ten Pulls."

The other was labeled "Skip."

Xu Zhou stared at the disk for a while.

"This tests Soul Power?"

"Of course."

The middle-aged man seated on the right side of the table pushed up his glasses.

"I spent three years developing it based on the Soul Master detection function in the game interface."

"What does Ten Pulls do?"

"Tests ten times at once."

"And Skip?"

"Skips the testing process and gives the result directly."

Xu Zhou felt that something was off.

But the other man spoke so seriously that Xu Zhou did not know where to begin refuting him.

"Don't listen to him."

Ma Xiunuo sat on the other side, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

"Last month, that thing tested the cafeteria cook as a level ninety-seven Title Douluo."

"That was an accident."

The middle-aged man immediately explained.

"When the cook held the testing disk, his hands were greasy. It affected the Soul Power transmission."

"Grease can turn an ordinary person into level ninety-seven?"

"That just proves the cafeteria oil is extraordinary."

The dean's head began to ache from listening to them.

"Use the normal crystal ball first."

Ma Xiunuo nodded and pushed the crystal ball toward Xu Zhou.

"Put your hand on it."

Xu Zhou did as he was told.

One breath.

Two breaths.

The crystal ball remained utterly still, without the slightest trace of light.

The result was exactly the same as in Holy Soul Village.

"Zero Soul Power."

Ma Xiunuo was not surprised.

"I told you there was nothing wrong with Spirit Hall's test."

Yu Xiaogang frowned.

"It's only that an ordinary crystal ball cannot draw out his Soul Power."

"Where's your evidence?"

"His Martial Soul can turn its own pages."

"What does turning pages have to do with having Soul Power?"

"Can an ordinary book move by itself?"

"It can move if the wind blows."

"There's no wind in the room."

The two of them looked toward the window at the same time.

The window was open.

The wind blowing in from outside had lifted one corner of the registration form on the table.

Yu Xiaogang was silent for a moment before walking over and closing the window.

"Now there isn't any."

Ma Xiunuo did not want to argue with him.

The manga faction and the original novel faction had never been able to agree on Martial Soul settings.

In the novels Ma Xiunuo had read, book Martial Souls were not uncommon, and turning pages on their own proved nothing.

But Yu Xiaogang insisted that Xu Zhou's Black Ancient Book resembled the special Martial Souls in the manga and must contain other powers within it.

Both sides believed they were right.

Neither could convince the other.

"Try the academy testing stone."

The dean brought over the second tool.

Xu Zhou placed his hand on it again.

The result was still zero.

Next came the bronze mirror.

It still showed no reaction.

With three results laid out before them, Ma Xiunuo became even more certain of his judgment.

"This child truly has no Innate Soul Power."

The Black Ancient Book trembled slightly.

[Ma Xiunuo believed the host could not cultivate.]

[Judgment incorrect.]

[Cognitive Bias collected.]

A warm current flowed into his body.

Xu Zhou's gaze toward Ma Xiunuo immediately became much friendlier.

This old man truly deserved to be a master of Spirit Hall.

Everything he said was accurate.

At the very least, it was extremely helpful to his cultivation.

"One final test."

The game faction consultant moved the metal disk onto the table.

"The first three tools are products of this world. Their theory is outdated, so it is perfectly normal that they cannot detect it."

The dean glanced at him.

"Was your thing not made in this world?"

"The design philosophy is different."

"How is it different?"

"It can do Ten Pulls."

The dean stopped talking.

He suddenly regretted inviting this guy over.

Xu Zhou pressed his palm against the center of the disk.

The gauge twitched slightly and slowly moved to the right.

One mark.

Two marks.

Three marks.

Everyone in the meeting room straightened in their seats at the same time.

A flash of delight appeared in Yu Xiaogang's eyes.

"Just as I thought!"

He knew his judgment could not be wrong.

How could Xu Zhou, who had made the Black Ancient Book react, truly have no Soul Power?

The gauge continued turning, passing level ten, then level twenty, before finally stopping at ninety-nine.

The meeting room fell silent.

The game faction consultant abruptly stood up.

"Level ninety-nine!"

"A six-year-old Limit Douluo!"

Ma Xiunuo looked at Xu Zhou, then at the disk.

"You think that's possible?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"He could not even move a chair just now."

"He was hiding his strength."

"Then why would he expose it during the test?"

"The plot requires it."

Xu Zhou could no longer stand listening to this.

"Could it be that your device is broken again?"

"Impossible."

The consultant picked up the disk and slapped it twice.

The gauge fell from ninety-nine back to zero, then wildly swung back and forth between one and ninety-nine.

Finally, with a crack.

It fell off.

The consultant stared at the gauge on the table and said nothing for a long time.

"Now it's possible."

The dean waved for someone to carry the disk away.

They had retested four times.

Three showed zero Soul Power.

The other showed level ninety-nine.

Anyone with a functioning brain knew which result to believe.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the meeting room thought that way.

Yu Xiaogang still refused to give up.

"Perhaps the disk detected not Soul Power, but Martial Soul potential."

The Black Ancient Book immediately turned a page.

[Yu Xiaogang believed the host possessed the potential of a Limit Douluo.]

[Judgment incorrect.]

[Cognitive Bias collected.]

Soul Power increased again.

Xu Zhou had originally wanted to tell Yu Xiaogang to shut up, but swallowed the words before they left his mouth.

Forget it.

Let him guess if he wanted to.

Either way, Xu Zhou would be the one benefiting in the end.

"That's enough of this matter."

The dean made the decision.

"For now, Xu Zhou will be registered as an auditor with zero Soul Power, with Yu Xiaogang responsible for observing him. If any changes occur later, he will be tested again."

"The academy will allow you to attend classes and consult basic Martial Soul materials."

"But you cannot receive the Soul Master stipend."

Xu Zhou nodded.

These conditions were the same as what they had discussed before and had no effect on him.

What he truly needed were the transmigrators in the academy.

Fans of the original novel believed in crystal balls.

Fans of the manga believed in Martial Soul mutations.

Gamers believed in status panels.

Fanfiction readers believed that anything undetectable had to be the strongest.

The four groups each had their own judgment.

Whether they were right or wrong, they could all provide Xu Zhou with Cognitive Bias in the end.

Of course he had to stay in such a wonderful place.

"There's one more thing."

The gamer consultant suddenly spoke up.

"Since Xu Zhou will be staying in the Seventh Dormitory, I suggest arranging beginner protection for him."

"What do you mean?"

"The Seventh Dormitory will be sorting out Tang San and Xiao Wu again. It's a high-risk area."

The dean rubbed his brow.

"Speak plainly."

"They tend to fight."

This time, everyone understood.

"I'll be careful."

Xu Zhou got up, preparing to leave.

When he pushed open the meeting room door, an academy teacher was already waiting outside.

"You're Xu Zhou, right?"

"Come with me to the Seventh Dormitory."

"Where's Tang San?"

"He already went over."

The teacher's expression was somewhat strange.

"But there are three Tang Sans in the Seventh Dormitory right now."

Xu Zhou stopped.

"Two more showed up?"

"No."

The teacher shook his head.

"Just now, three impostors bought the same face to prove they were the real one."

"Now Xiao Wu can't tell them apart."

Xu Zhou looked toward the Seventh Dormitory.

At that moment, a scream came from that direction.

Immediately afterward, a Tang San carrying an iron hammer flew down from the second floor.

Bang!

He landed right in the flower bed.

The teacher sighed.

"Walk faster."

"If you're any later, there may only be two left."