Questioning

After setting up the Mountain-Suppressing Maze Formation, Gu Hengzhi took a deep breath and pondered in silence. He carefully prepared some evidence and tightly gripped the deed to the academy's back mountain, which he had bought a year ago, as though it were his final bargaining chip. Just as he was about to head to the principal's office to report the matter, a student hurried over and told him that the principal wanted to see him in his office and had some questions for him.

Gu Hengzhi's heartbeat quickened uncontrollably. With heavy steps, he arrived outside the principal's office. "Ding dong." He pressed the doorbell, as though it were a gateway into the unknown.

"Come in!" A deep, commanding male voice came from inside the principal's office. Gu Hengzhi pushed open the door and entered. His gaze swiftly swept across the room, where he saw three people: Principal Wu of Nuoding Academy, Principal Wu's friend Yu Xiaogang, and Yu Xiaogang's disciple, Tang San.

The atmosphere in the office was somewhat tense. The few of them seemed to have just had a heated argument. Gu Hengzhi frowned slightly, sensing the oppressive air around him.

He walked up to Principal Wu, gave a simple salute, then looked at him with confusion and asked, "Hello, Principal Wu. I heard you wanted to see me? What is this about?"

An awkward look appeared on Principal Wu's face. He opened his mouth but seemed exceedingly embarrassed, as though he had had quite an argument with Yu Xiaogang. A trace of unease rose in Gu Hengzhi's heart as he silently guessed at Principal Wu's intentions.

In the end, Principal Wu still forced a smile and said, "Hello, student Gu Hengzhi. I asked you here because of my friend, Master. He has heard about and learned of your martial soul. He believes that your martial soul has undergone a certain degree of mutation and is worried that this mutation may be developing in a bad direction, so he asked me to question you about it."

Gu Hengzhi's expression instantly darkened, and a flash of displeasure passed through his eyes. He stared intently at Yu Xiaogang, his heart filled with doubt and dissatisfaction.

Yu Xiaogang's hypocritical smile surfaced once more on his unpleasant face, while his eyes revealed a hint of greed and desire. "Student Gu Hengzhi, I have painstakingly studied martial souls for decades and have deep research into martial soul mutations. I heard some things about your martial soul at the academy and wanted to understand and study it a little, while also helping you determine whether this mutation is a malignant one. So, could you show me your martial soul?"

Gu Hengzhi's fists clenched unconsciously, and anger surged within him. He felt as though he were being treated as an experiment, and Yu Xiaogang's words made him feel even more insulted. He struggled to restrain his emotions before coldly replying, "Master Yu Xiaogang! Although I am giving Principal Wu some respect by calling you Master, don't mistake courtesy for weakness! A martial soul is every Soul Master's core and secret. Wanting to study another person's martial soul is taboo in the Soul Master world!"

After hearing this, Principal Wu's expression also turned unpleasant. Casually proposing to study someone else's martial soul was an extremely impolite act, and it indeed involved personal privacy.

Yu Xiaogang naturally understood the rules of the Soul Master world. However, he had never expected that the still-young Gu Hengzhi would rebuke him so ruthlessly. Tang San, behind him, could no longer hold himself back. He stood up and said urgently, "Student Gu Hengzhi, my teacher is a renowned theory master recognized throughout the Soul Master world. His guidance would definitely benefit you without doing you any harm. And once this research achieves results, you will also make a tremendous contribution to the Soul Master world!"

A cold laugh rose in Gu Hengzhi's heart. Yu Xiaogang and Tang San—both of them acted like righteous gentlemen all day long, yet they stole from my herb garden behind my back. By their own logic, they should have been doomed long ago!

Even so, Gu Hengzhi slowly shook his head and said firmly, "My martial soul is my secret. I will never hand it over for others to study. Stop wasting your time!"

A trace of unwillingness appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face. He stared at Gu Hengzhi and pressed on, "Then, student Gu Hengzhi, can you tell me what several-hundred-year soul beast your first Soul Ring came from, and what exactly the effect of your first soul skill is?"

Gu Hengzhi's gaze was as calm as still water as he answered blandly, "The effects of my soul skills are also my secret, so it is difficult for me to say. When I was searching for my first Soul Ring, I was merely lucky enough to encounter a heavily wounded Earth Azure Bull in Spirit Hunting Forest. By my estimate, that Earth Azure Bull was around three hundred years old. As for anything else, it would be inconvenient for me to say more."

Tang San and Yu Xiaogang were secretly shocked. They exchanged glances, and a hint of doubt rose in their hearts. Just like us, he happened to find a severely injured soul beast through luck. Could this really be just a coincidence?

Principal Wu stepped in to smooth things over. "All right, Master. You have asked everything you needed to ask. Let student Gu Hengzhi return now."

"No! I still have something to discuss with you, Principal Wu!" Gu Hengzhi's voice carried a trace of determination as he tightly gripped the item in his pocket, as though it were his final hope.

Principal Wu looked surprised. "Go on. What is it?"

Gu Hengzhi took a deep breath and pulled out the deed from his pocket. His hand trembled slightly, as though the deed weighed a thousand pounds. He carefully placed it on the desk, fury gleaming in his eyes.

"I want to report Tang San for stealing from my herb garden! A year ago, Principal Wu, you and I went to Spirit Hall to sign a contract that sold Nuoding Academy's entire back mountain to me for seventy-five Gold Soul Coins." Gu Hengzhi's voice unconsciously rose several octaves. "In other words, the entire back mountain behind the academy belongs to me. No problem with that, right?"

"That is naturally true." Principal Wu's tone was somewhat helpless.

Gu Hengzhi's gaze grew increasingly sharp as he continued, "Then I turned a plot of land on the back mountain into an herb garden and put up signs explaining that the back mountain was my private property. But early this morning, when I went to inspect the herb garden, I discovered that every useful thing in it was gone. That included a hundred-year spirit ganoderma worth twenty-five Gold Soul Coins, as well as several ten-year spirit herbs and medicinal plants." His chest heaved violently as anger churned within him.

Yu Xiaogang slyly defended his disciple. "But the herbs missing from your herb garden cannot prove that Tang San stole them."

"Exactly, exactly!" Tang San nodded wildly behind him, a sly glint flickering in his eyes without the slightest remorse for what he had done.

"Tang San did not return to the dormitory at all last night and only came back this morning. Look at how dark the circles under his eyes are! Also, Wang Sheng, a member of our dormitory, can testify that when he went to the toilet, he saw Tang San sneaking toward the academy's back mountain. And I found several herb leaves beside Tang San's bed. They were all varieties from my herb garden." Gu Hengzhi's voice grew hoarse with rage. He pointed tightly at Tang San and Yu Xiaogang. "What else do you have to argue?" His eyes were filled with disappointment and fury, as though they might spit fire.

"Uh... this..." Principal Wu looked toward Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, seemingly waiting for an explanation from the master and disciple.