Master, You Are Not Qualified to Be My Teacher

After Ma Xiunuo gave his shoulder a heavy pat, Yang Ming swayed, and a trace of pallor flashed across his face. But he quickly forced down the abnormality and kept it from showing.

Though Yang Ming's defeat of Cao Mengyun had looked easy, every second had truly been a dance on the edge of a blade. One careless mistake, and Cao Mengyun's wolf claws would have struck him, with unimaginable consequences.

The expenditure of mental energy was one issue; the other was his insufficient soul power.

After using the Green Lotus Earth-Core Flame just once, Yang Ming felt completely drained. Not a trace of soul power remained in his body. It truly deserved to be the first strange flame obtained by the Flame Emperor—it was indeed formidable.

Unaware of the circumstances, Ma Xiunuo even gave Yang Ming a thumbs-up and praised him.

"I've seen plenty of talented young men, but young people like you—clearly blessed with outstanding talent, clearly wronged, yet still able to exercise restraint and leave room for others—are exceedingly rare."

Yang Ming secretly rolled his eyes. If my soul power hadn't been exhausted and I weren't too tired to move, and if you staff members weren't here, I would have gone over and killed Cao Mengyun long ago, cutting the weeds and pulling out the roots.

Seeing that Yang Ming did not reply, Ma Xiunuo also understood that Spirit Hall and its staff had behaved improperly earlier and had likely already offended him. He hurriedly put on a kind and amiable expression, utterly different from his previous cold demeanor.

Why?

Wasn't it because Yang Ming had already demonstrated his value?

Dual Martial Souls, Innate Full Soul Power, and first-rate combat talent!

All of this was enough for Ma Xiunuo to abandon Cao Mengyun and make every effort to win Yang Ming over. Even if he failed to recruit him, he still had to dispel the resentment in Yang Ming's heart.

If Yang Ming had merely been an ordinary person, who would have cared about him?

Rules were made by the strong, and rules obeyed the strong as well!

Ma Xiunuo returned to his desk and quickly approved a brand-new Spirit Hall certificate. He solemnly handed it to Yang Ming, then bowed slightly in apology.

"On behalf of the Notting City Spirit Hall branch, I apologize to you for the matter involving Cao Mengyun. Cao Mengyun neglected his duties, abused his authority for personal gain, and used public affairs to settle private grudges. Our Notting City Spirit Hall branch will investigate this matter thoroughly and impose a major demerit on him."

As for dismissing Cao Mengyun?

That was not something their branch could decide. It had to be reported to a higher-level organization for a ruling.

As he spoke, Ma Xiunuo took out a pouch of Golden Soul Coins from his clothes. These were all bribes Cao Mengyun had previously given him, and they now felt like a hot potato in his hands. He might as well do Yang Ming a favor and hand them over.

"I also know that you come from the impoverished Holy Soul Village and are about to attend the Junior Soul Master Academy. To show our sincerity, here are 100 Golden Soul Coins. Consider them tuition sponsorship from Spirit Hall."

"Also, Holy Soul Village only has one school enrollment slot each year. I've already written an introduction on the certificate. Once you hand it to the academic affairs office later, they won't make things difficult for you out of respect for Spirit Hall."

It had to be said that Ma Xiunuo was quite skilled at handling people, and his service was thorough.

1 Golden Soul Coin = 10 Silver Soul Coins = 100 Copper Soul Coins.

For an ordinary family, even 1 Golden Soul Coin could cover several months of expenses, let alone 100 Golden Soul Coins.

Not to mention that Ma Xiunuo had also resolved the enrollment slot that had given Old Jack such a headache.

Even the resentment Yang Ming had felt toward Ma Xiunuo's inaction earlier vanished in the face of such a large sum of money.

"However..." Yang Ming raised one finger. "I have one more request."

Ma Xiunuo frowned, thinking Yang Ming was being greedy. The favorable impression Yang Ming had just made on him immediately faded considerably.

Unexpectedly, Yang Ming continued.

"My request is simple. After you heal Cao Mengyun, you must make him apologize to Auntie Wang from Holy Soul Village! He had ridden his horse recklessly through the village before and nearly ran into Auntie Wang, causing her and the child in her belly to nearly lose their lives."

To Yang Ming,

Spirit Hall's compensation was not important, nor was resolving the school enrollment slot.

What mattered most was seeking justice for that pregnant woman from back then!

Never forget one's original intention!

Ma Xiunuo had already prepared himself for Yang Ming to make an exorbitant demand, but he had not expected such a request.

"That's all?"

Hearing Ma Xiunuo's question, Yang Ming shot him an unhappy glance.

"What, can't even Spirit Hall handle something this small?"

"No, that's not what I meant."

Ma Xiunuo scratched his head, his face burning with embarrassment. He had judged a gentleman's heart with a petty man's mind, making himself seem narrow-minded. He had not expected his own magnanimity to be inferior to that of a child. It felt as though he had lived these past decades like a dog.

Ma Xiunuo immediately thumped his chest and promised heartily.

"Don't worry. Once Cao Mengyun wakes up, even if he refuses, I'll drag him to your village and make him apologize properly!"

With the matter settled, Old Jack nodded repeatedly, his face filled with relief.

Supported by Tang San, Old Jack limped over to Yang Ming and gave him a big hug. He was both thankful that his grandson had survived the ordeal and proud of him.

Old Jack rubbed Yang Ming's head and sighed.

"Yang Ming, you did well!"

Even Tang San, who had always been proud and dissatisfied with Yang Ming, and who had wanted to find another chance to spar with him, had no choice but to concede to Yang Ming at this moment.

Just then, the Master, who had remained in the background without saying a word, suddenly approached.

Yang Ming felt a trace of gratitude toward this Master. If the Master had not led the way, they might not even have been able to enter Spirit Hall's gates.

"Master, we have you to thank for earlier."

The Master waved his hands repeatedly, indicating that Yang Ming did not need to be so polite.

Then, the Master stared at Yang Ming with blazing eyes, making Yang Ming's scalp tingle. He had seen that gaze somewhere before. It seemed like the look his biology teacher had worn during the lesson on dissecting frogs.

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

How could Yang Ming, who had once read the original novel, not know of the Master's reputation?

It could be said that without the Master, even with the Mysterious Heaven Skill at his side, Tang San would have taken many detours and wasted a great deal of time.

Moreover, no one could compare to the Master in theoretical knowledge. He knew what others knew, and he knew what others did not. Though his strength was not impressive, his knowledge and insight allowed him to point out the right path, letting students avoid many detours and even take shortcuts toward becoming stronger.

Seeing Yang Ming remain silent, Tang San became anxious and urged him.

"Yang Ming, just agree to become the Master's disciple. I've already taken the Master as my teacher as well. That way, we can all study under him together."

Yang Ming considered it carefully but still felt that it was not quite appropriate.

Shaking his head, Yang Ming cupped his fists toward the Master and said apologetically.

"Master, I'm afraid you are not qualified to be my teacher."

(Note: Some middle schools in Guangdong Province have practical classes involving frog dissection. You can look it up online if you don't believe it.)

(Thanks to Jiu for the 200 book coin reward! Thanks to Ye for the 888 book coin reward! Thanks to Wen for the 300 book coin reward! Thanks to Jin for the 1,000 book coin reward!)