Taunt

By evening, nearly all the work-study students had finished cultivating their soul power.

It was not that they did not want to continue cultivating, but that they simply could not go on.

On Douluo Continent, cultivating soul power was itself a mentally exhausting process. Therefore, most people had to stop and rest after cultivating for a while.

With soul power cultivation over, the dormitory naturally became lively.

Groups of two or three gathered together, excitedly discussing their martial souls.

Lin Wan's short silver-white hair and sea-blue eyes stood out sharply among the mostly black-haired, brown-eyed youths dressed in simple clothes.

Quite a few gazes swept over him intentionally or otherwise, but Lin Wan's appearance gave off an air of distance, so no one came over to speak with him.

Lin Wan did not care. He truly had no common ground with a group of children.

A chubby little boy with a round face, small eyes, and a clever-looking expression came over and greeted him with a grin.

"Hey, newcomer. I'm Wang Dazhuang. My martial soul is an Iron-Skin Potato, and my Innate Soul Power is level two. What about you?"

His voice was not soft, drawing the attention of several nearby children.

"Lin Wan. My martial soul is a Nine-Tailed Fox, and my Innate Soul Power is level one."

Lin Wan stated what was written on his martial soul certificate.

"Level one, huh." A confident smile flashed across Wang Dazhuang's face before he warmly continued, "It's fine, it's fine. Awakening soul power is already a good thing! What does your Nine-Tailed Fox look like?"

He was clearly curious about Lin Wan's martial soul. After all, Lin Wan was so good-looking, so his martial soul had to be pretty too.

Before Lin Wan could answer, a slightly mocking voice came from the side.

"Hmph, a fox martial soul? Innate level one? What use could that be? You probably couldn't even catch a rabbit."

The speaker was a lanky youth with prominent cheekbones named Li Ergou. His martial soul was an ordinary gray wolf, and his Innate Soul Power was level three, which was considered decent among the work-study students. He was currently glancing sideways at Lin Wan, his eyes carrying a trace of superiority.

The dormitory fell quiet for a moment, and Wang Dazhuang awkwardly scratched his head.

Qin Yi, who was sitting cross-legged nearby, frowned when he heard that.

The smile on Lin Wan's face did not change in the slightest. His sea-blue eyes turned toward Li Ergou, calm and unruffled.

"Oh? Then your Gray Wolf martial soul must be very good at catching rabbits, right? Teach me someday?"

Lin Wan's tone sounded perfectly natural, as though he were sincerely asking for hunting advice. This instead left Li Ergou speechless.

Li Ergou opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but felt as though his punch had landed on cotton. He could only snort and turn his head away.

"Who has the time to teach you!"

Lin Wan felt no ripples in his heart over this provocation. It was merely a child's jealousy.

Besides, he did not strive to improve himself and could only seek a sense of superiority among those weaker than him.

Someone without talent who refused to work hard was not worth Lin Wan's notice.

He turned to Wang Dazhuang and opened his right hand. A small white fox instantly appeared in his palm.

"It's so pretty! Unlike my martial soul, which is just a potato." Wang Dazhuang immediately played along, successfully changing the subject.

The atmosphere in the dormitory became lively once more, and Lin Wan soon learned the basic situation of the dormitory from Wang Dazhuang and several other talkative children.

Who came from which village, what their martial souls generally were, and what their personalities were like.

As the most talented and quietest person in the dormitory, Qin Yi naturally became the subject of private discussion and subtle awe.

Lin Wan had no desire to strike up a conversation.

Because he truly did not want to make friends with children of kindergarten age.

The Frost City Junior Soul Master Academy had a tightly packed curriculum.

The mornings consisted of theoretical classes, including Fundamentals of Martial Souls, Introduction to Soul Beast Identification, Outline of Soul Master History, and General Knowledge of Continental Geography. The afternoons were for physical training and introductory soul power guidance classes.

The large classroom for theoretical lessons could hold over a hundred people, and students from the same grade generally attended together.

When Lin Wan followed the crowd into the classroom, his silver hair and striking appearance immediately drew many gazes.

The lecturer was an elderly teacher surnamed Zhou, with graying hair and thick glasses. His voice was somewhat hoarse, but his lectures were clear and well organized, filled with references and examples.

"Soul power is the essence of heaven and earth's vital energy, existing among all living things. Only after a soul master awakens a martial soul can they sense and guide this power, making it their own..."

Professor Zhou adjusted his glasses and swept his gaze over the students below, some attentive and some confused. "The Basic Meditation Method is the first key that opens the door to soul power cultivation. Its core principle lies in calming the mind and focusing the spirit, using one's martial soul as a guide to communicate with the free soul power particles between heaven and earth."

He carefully explained the academy's standard Basic Meditation Method, supplementing it with diagrams showing the routes through which soul power circulated.

Most of the work-study students listened with rapt attention and immense eagerness, for this was the foundation of knowledge that could change their fate.

The noble students in the classroom appeared far more casual. After all, ever since awakening their martial souls, their families had taught them soul power meditation methods better suited to them.

Lin Wan sat in the back by the window, resting his cheek on one hand. His gaze seemed to be directed at the podium, but his mind had actually drifted elsewhere.

After listening to the teacher's explanation of the Basic Meditation Method, Lin Wan compared it with the method Queen Eva had taught him, which incorporated the Dark Magic Meditation Method.

Queen Eva truly deserved to be called a master of dark magic. The meditation method she had taught him was more than a level more efficient than the standard Basic Meditation Method.

"Student Lin Wan!" Teacher Zhou's voice suddenly rose, carrying a trace of displeasure. "You seem rather absent-minded. Do you have any insightful opinions about the Basic Meditation Method I just explained?"

Every gaze immediately focused on Lin Wan. The noble students in the front rows wore expressions of eager anticipation, while the work-study students were somewhat nervous on his behalf.

Lin Wan came back to himself without the slightest sign of panic. He stood up and looked Teacher Zhou directly in the eye.

"My apologies, Teacher Zhou. I was not distracted. I was merely considering the relationship between the affinity of soul power particles and martial soul attributes that you just mentioned."

"For example, you said that soul masters with fire-attributed martial souls have a higher affinity for fire-element soul power particles. Then, for soul masters with ice-attributed martial souls, would cultivating in an extremely cold region allow them to absorb ice-element soul power particles far more efficiently than in a warm area? Conversely, if they cultivated in a volcanic region, would they achieve half the result with twice the effort, perhaps even suffer soul power disorder due to attribute conflicts?"

As soon as Lin Wan posed the question, the classroom fell silent for a moment.

A hint of surprise flashed through Teacher Zhou's eyes. The question seemed basic, but it involved the deeper effects of compatibility between one's environment and martial soul. It had already exceeded the scope of an elementary theory class and required a certain degree of insight and thought about the nature of soul power.

"Hmm..." Teacher Zhou pondered for a moment. The displeasure in his eyes faded, replaced by a trace of approval.