Rights, Obligations, and Life

"Ah, it was finally over!"

After finishing a day of doubled training, Tang Wulin collapsed onto the bed like a puddle of mud.

Every bone in his body felt as if it had come apart, every muscle screamed in aching protest, and he did not even have the strength to lift a hand.

The transformation brought by the Hidden Dragon Formula was real, and so was the pain. Today's doubled training nearly cost him half his life.

He did not even have the strength to change clothes. The moment his head touched the pillow, his eyelids became as heavy as lead.

Within seconds, the sound of steady breathing filled the tiny room as he fell directly into a deep sleep.

Who knew how long he slept before Tang Wulin groggily opened his eyes.

What entered his view was not the familiar white ceiling, but a boundless starry sky.

Countless warm golden stars flowed slowly around him like fine grains of quicksand. Beneath his feet was not a bedsheet, but soft clouds of starlight. They felt light and airy beneath him, like stepping on cotton candy.

Not far ahead of him, eighteen enormous golden patterns floated quietly in the void.

The rings were formed entirely from pure holy light, covered in intricate ancient runes. As the rings slowly turned, the runes continuously flickered with faint golden radiance, giving off an aura that felt both incomparably familiar and deeply awe-inspiring.

"This is..."

Tang Wulin blinked, looking around in confusion. Only after a long while did he suddenly realize where he was. This was his Spirit Sea!

It was the place where he had first seen Jin Qiu after fainting on the day his martial soul awakened.

Before, he could only vaguely sense the existence of these eighteen golden seals while cultivating. He had never seen their full forms so clearly as he did now.

"Oh, little Wulin, you finally came. I've been waiting for you for a long time."

A smiling voice rang out behind him.

Tang Wulin abruptly turned around and, sure enough, saw Jin Qiu floating amid the starlight not far away.

He was still wearing that golden hooded sweatshirt, the dark golden dragon-scale patterns along the hood's edge gleaming softly under the starlight. His hands were tucked into his pockets, his dangling legs swung idly in the air, and a somewhat ill-intentioned smile hung on his lips.

For some reason, the instant Tang Wulin saw that smile, a powerful sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

"Big Brother Jin..."

He instinctively shrank back, looking pitifully at Jin Qiu.

"I need to sleep. You can't possibly be calling me up to keep cultivating, can you?"

The mere thought of the bone-piercing pain of the Hidden Dragon Formula made Tang Wulin tremble all over.

Even moving a finger hurt right now. If he kept training, he really would fall apart.

Seeing Tang Wulin's expression of "If I train any more, I'll die on the spot," Jin Qiu could not help laughing. He waved a hand and said with the expression of someone proclaiming himself very kind.

"How could that be? Do I look like the kind of dragon who grabs someone and trains them to death? I care very much about my student."

Hearing that, Tang Wulin let out a long sigh of relief, and his hanging heart finally settled.

He patted his little chest and said with a relieved expression.

"That's good, that's good. I really can't train anymore. I still have to report to Red Mountain Academy tomorrow."

Because he had suddenly fainted during his martial soul awakening, his reporting date had been specifically postponed until tomorrow.

Just thinking about how he would be attending Soul Master Academy tomorrow and learning real Soul Master knowledge filled Tang Wulin with anticipation.

"So, we're not cultivating now." Jin Qiu smiled and snapped his fingers.

A flash of golden light appeared before him, and a huge virtual blackboard materialized in the void.

The blackboard was pure gold, with exquisite dragon-shaped patterns carved along its edges. A piece of chalk formed from golden light automatically flew into Jin Qiu's hand.

"After all, no matter how strong your body is, it's useless if your brain doesn't work."

Jin Qiu tapped the blackboard with the chalk, producing two crisp knocks. The smile on his face became even brighter. "So now—class is in session!"

Tang Wulin froze for a moment, then his eyes immediately lit up like two little stars.

Class!

He had never attended school before. In the past, he could only crouch outside Red Mountain Academy's walls and secretly watch the children inside attend class.

He had always envied those children who could sit in a classroom and listen to a teacher.

Now that Jin Qiu said he would teach him, Tang Wulin was so happy he could hardly contain himself. His fatigue and drowsiness instantly vanished without a trace.

He immediately climbed up from the starlight clouds, sat cross-legged, straightened his little waist, placed his small hands properly on his knees, and tilted up his little face to look at Jin Qiu expectantly. He looked exactly like a model student.

Seeing how earnest he was, a hint of warmth welled up in Jin Qiu's heart.

The hand holding the chalk tightened slightly, and a trace of barely noticeable nostalgia flashed through his eyes.

In truth, he had wanted to do this for a long time.

Before transmigrating, his greatest dream had been to become a teacher.

That dream had come from the homeroom teacher he had in both elementary and middle school.

Back then, he had been far worse than Tang Wulin was now.

Growing up in that home filled with violence and indifference had twisted his personality long ago. It would not even be wrong to say that he had been twisted from birth.

He held an inexplicable hostility toward all humans, was extremely selfish, flew into a rage at the slightest provocation, and treated fighting and skipping class as everyday occurrences. Stealing and bullying classmates were even more common.

Everyone regarded him as a hopeless bad child. Even his parents had given up on him, believing he would end up in prison sooner or later.

Only that homeroom teacher had not given up on him.

She never scolded him or hit him. She simply guided him patiently, little by little.

She stepped forward to protect him when others bullied him, took him to the hospital when he was sick, and bought him his first birthday cake on his birthday.

She spent six whole years warming the heart that had been frozen since his birth, forcibly straightening the little tree that had grown crooked and guiding it back onto the right path bit by bit.

It could be said that all the kindness he had now, all his bottom lines, and nearly every aspect of his personality had been shaped by that beloved teacher's own hands.

From then on, he had resolved that he would become a teacher like her someday and help children who, like him, had once walked in darkness.

Unfortunately, reality was always cruel.

His grades had been far too poor. Since he had never been very smart as a child, he had not even managed to get into the worst high school during the entrance exams, much less a teachers' college.

In the end, he could only drop out and work. That dream was buried deep in his heart, becoming something distant and unattainable.

He had never expected that after "transmigrating" back to Douluo Continent, he would actually have another chance to fulfill that dream.

And his first student was Tang Wulin.

He had to teach Tang Wulin well.

He would not only teach him how to become strong, but also how to be a person.

Although Tang Wulin's values in the original story had been fairly sound, education in this area still needed attention in order to prevent butterfly effects caused by him.

Jin Qiu cleared his throat, picked up the chalk, and neatly wrote three large golden words on the blackboard:

Rights

Responsibility

Life

"Alright, in our first class today, we'll discuss these three words."

Jin Qiu turned around to face Tang Wulin. For the first time, his tone became incomparably serious, without the slightest trace of joking or teasing.

"Before you become a true Soul Master, you must first understand the meaning of these three words.

Many Soul Masters spend their entire lives failing to understand them. In the end, they either walk an evil path or ruin their own reputations."

Tang Wulin nodded hard and listened with utmost focus. He could feel that every word Jin Qiu said now was extremely important.

"I plan to teach you everything you need to know before you enter an intermediate Soul Master Academy."

Jin Qiu continued.

"It will mainly be divided into three parts. The first part is character and values.

I will teach you what is right, what is wrong, what can be done, and what must absolutely never be done.

I will make you understand that strength is never meant to bully the weak. It is meant to protect the people you want to protect."

He paused, and his gaze became stern.

"I know you are kind by nature, but this world is too complicated. There are too many temptations and too much darkness.

I have to vaccinate you in advance, so you won't be misled in the future and grow crooked.

If you grow crooked, I'll kill you."

"The second part is information analysis."

Jin Qiu wrote the four words "Information Analysis" on the blackboard with his chalk.

"This is what I believe is the most important, and also what you lack the most."

"In the future, you will encounter many people and many situations. Often, what your eyes see may not be the truth, and what your ears hear may not be honest.

You must learn to observe inconspicuous details: changes in a person's eyes, pauses in their tone when speaking, the aura they unconsciously give off, and even the slightest abnormalities in the surrounding environment.

Gather those scattered fragments and piece them together, and you will be able to see the truth of the matter."

At this point, Jin Qiu gave Tang Wulin a meaningful look.

Tang Wulin in the original story had completely failed to notice certain details in life and had been utterly unaware of the abnormalities around him.

There had clearly been so many clues right in front of him, and Gu Yue's identity had clearly contained so many flaws, yet he had not noticed any of them. He only learned the truth at the very end. Jin Qiu had to help Tang Wulin correct that.

"Many times, what defeats you is not a powerful enemy, but one small detail you overlooked."

Jin Qiu said seriously.

"Learning to analyze information will help you take many fewer detours in the future and avoid many unnecessary dangers."

"As for the third part, it is all the knowledge related to the path of a Soul Master's growth."

Jin Qiu spread his hands. "This part is more miscellaneous. It includes everything.

From the rank classifications of Soul Masters, to choosing Soul Spirits, to combining soul skills, and even the habits of various soul beasts, identifying natural treasures, as well as the basic knowledge of forging, mechas, and Battle Armor—I will teach you all of it.

Many things may not be useful right now, but one day, they might save your life.

There is never any harm in learning more."

Tang Wulin listened without even blinking. His hands unconsciously gestured along as if he were committing every word Jin Qiu said to heart.

He had never known that becoming a Soul Master required learning so many things.

So there were so many important matters beyond cultivating and becoming stronger.