The series of actions just now left Yan in the room and Xie Yue behind him in silence, the two of them staring at each other as if contemplating what to say next.
Yan suddenly spoke, walking directly up to Hu Liena, a look of bashfulness written in his gaze.
"Um... Nana, you're close to the new junior brother, right? I... I was wondering about your lava route..."
"Get in line! That wasn't your attitude just now, the junior brother already promised me he'd help me first!"
At that moment Xie Yue also spoke up abruptly:
"Nana, actually I want to hear about the modifications for the twin blades right now, and... I can pay in gold soul coins!"
Hu Liena grew thoroughly anxious.
"Brother, why are you trying to poach people too? No way, he promised me! Right, junior brother?"
Gu Changsheng looked at the three people before him, suddenly finding a trace of amusement in his heart. The Golden Generation of Spirit Hall who were originally destined to walk toward regret in the future were now arguing furiously in the archives because of a single word of his. He knew this was only the beginning, and what he wanted to change was not just the fate of Hu Liena alone, but the fate of the entire Spirit Hall.
Yet right at that moment, a calm voice drifted in from outside the door.
"It seems you are getting along quite well!"
As the heavy doors slowly pushed open, Bibi Dong stood at the entrance of the archives, her gaze passing over Xie Yue and Yan to land finally on Gu Changsheng.
"Gu Changsheng, do you truly believe you can guide the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall?"
Letting him train the Golden Generation sounded somewhat unbelievable. After all, the child before her was only six years old and did not even have his first soul ring. Yet the scene that had just unfolded forced one to acknowledge that this junior brother was indeed different from ordinary people.
Gu Changsheng raised his head and looked at Bibi Dong before him.
"Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope. If it is merely pointing out problems, I believe I can do it, but if it comes to truly training them, I may require more data and opportunities for experimentation."
Bibi Dong's eyes flickered slightly.
"Experimentation opportunities?"
Gu Changsheng nodded and continued.
"A martial soul is not built on rank alone. If the direction is wrong, the higher the talent, the greater the waste."
Yet the moment he finished speaking, a light chuckle came from behind him.
"Ha, a six-year-old toddler, what bold words."
Everyone turned back to look, seeing an old man in black robes walking in from outside. He was lean and thin, with sharp eyes and an aura of long-standing, haughty sternness about him.
Hu Liena at the side widened her eyes and blurted out involuntarily:
"Vice Dean..."
The grey-robed elder bowed respectfully toward Bibi Dong at that moment.
"Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope!"
Finally, he cast his gaze immediately onto Gu Changsheng, his eyes growing deeply profound and his tone somewhat chilling.
"This old man heard that our Pope Palace has welcomed a six-year-old genius who can see through martial souls, and now he even wants to guide our Golden Generation. I really want to see what kind of ability he actually possesses."
Gu Changsheng said nothing, while Hu Liena beside him reminded him in a soft whisper:
"He is the vice dean of Spirit Academy, Yan Xiu."
At that moment he understood completely. The vice dean had clearly come to make trouble, evidently displeased that a newly awakened child had suddenly overshadowed the academy's training system of so many years.
While everyone remained silent, Yan Xiu continued speaking.
"Your Holiness the Pope, training soul masters is not child's play. The developmental paths of martial souls have long been summarized by past generations. It is certainly rare for a child to perceive a hint of martial soul aura."
"However, if the cultivation of the Golden Generation is disrupted by such matters, I fear it would be inappropriate, and the losses might outweigh the gains."
Yan stood to the side watching Gu Changsheng without speaking, and Xie Yue beside him also remained silent. Only Hu Liena furrowed her brow slightly.
"Dean Yan, the junior brother did indeed perceive our respective flaws just now, and he even allowed me to turn defeat into victory."
Yan Xiu cast a look of light disdain toward Hu Liena and said calmly:
"Nana, you have high talent, but your experience is still shallow. Some words sound fresh, but that does not mean they are useful."
Suddenly he turned his head once more toward Gu Changsheng, asking with the posture of one in a superior position:
"Gu Changsheng, this old man asks you: you claim that if the direction of a martial soul is wrong, it wastes talent, but what about ordinary martial souls? Those without top-tier quality, without powerful bloodlines, and without innate soul power!"
"Can you change those?"
These words struck toward Gu Changsheng one by one. Knowing he could not avoid this today, he raised his head and responded firmly:
"I can!"
That single word made the entire archives fall silent at once. Yan Xiu beside him laughed as well—not out of joy, but laughed with anger.
"Ha, completely ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth. Good, then this old man will give you a chance! Someone, go call Shi Shan in here."
Seeing this scene, Bibi Dong did not speak. Instead, she sat down in a nearby chair and gently rested her scepter to the side, seemingly waiting for something.
After about a few minutes, a youth of thirteen or fourteen walked in. The boy was somewhat thin, wearing a standard academy uniform, and clearly appeared nervous as he looked at the important figures before him.
"This is my student, named Shi Shan, martial soul short wooden stick, innate soul power rank three, having cultivated for seven years and currently at rank eight soul power."
"The academy has given him resources and teachers, but the upper limit of his martial soul stops right here. If you truly have ability, tell this old man how to change such a martial soul?"
Shi Shan's complexion turned somewhat pale. Being brought out publicly to prove one's mediocrity was not comfortable for anyone, yet he did not dare to refute it at all, because the Pope was here and because his reality was precisely this.
The next second, Gu Changsheng's gaze suddenly turned resolute. He stepped forward as the Myriad Heaven Book flipped open deep within his soul, and a brilliant light blossomed from his right hand.
[Target: Shi Shan Martial Soul: Short Wooden Stick Innate Soul Power: Rank Three Current Soul Power: Rank Eight Surface Judgment: Low-grade Tool Martial Soul Deep Analysis: Wood fibers possess high strong toughness with plant affinity. Long-term erroneous reinforcement of hardness has led to a decline in martial soul activity. Complementary Direction Available: Iron Vine Staff. Effect: Possesses binding, force-dispelling, and auxiliary armor-breaking skills. Do you wish to consume analysis points to generate a martial soul completion imprint?]
In a flash, Gu Changsheng's eyes shifted slightly. So this was the true analysis he needed, and the next second the corners of his mouth lifted slightly upward.
"This senior brother's martial soul is not a trash martial soul."
As soon as those words were spoken, Shi Shan snapped his head up. This was the first time he had ever heard anyone say such a thing.
Dean Yan at the side frowned.
"You brat really just run your mouth talking nonsense. Is this not a trash martial soul?"
"It was simply trained into trash by you all!"
The moment those words dropped, Dean Yan's expression sank instantly. Everyone else around them felt their hearts skip a beat, and Hu Liena could not help but look toward Gu Changsheng.
"Junior brother, some words cannot be said carelessly."
Yet Gu Changsheng still stood rooted in his spot, displaying absolute confidence as he continued.
"The short wooden stick is not a pure tool martial soul; it possesses plant-type attributes. You kept having him reinforce its hardness, pursuing the ability to strike people like an iron rod. But the strongest aspect of wood has never been hardness!"
"Then what is it?"
"It is toughness, growth, and force dispersion."
Yan Xiu shook his head slightly, replying coldly:
"It sounds nice, but a martial soul is whatever it awakens as. A short wooden stick is a short wooden stick; how can you turn it into a vine?"
Gu Changsheng glanced sideways, pressing both hands onto Shi Shan's shoulders.
"Why not?"
The next second the Myriad Heaven Book materialized, its dark golden pages flipping instantly as a wisp of faint golden patterns flew out from the book and landed directly into the center of Shi Shan's brow.
[Consumed Analysis Points: 10 Martial soul completion memory generated. Duration: A quarter of an hour.]
The next instant, Shi Shan's body trembled violently. He felt as though his martial soul had been awakened by something, and the short wooden stick that had lain dormant within his body for many years gave off a warm sensation for the very first time.
"Release your martial soul now!"
Shi Shan instinctively raised his hand, and an ordinary wooden stick appeared in his palm—dusty, entirely unremarkable, and completely identical to how it was before.
Seeing this, Yan Xiu sneered and opened his mouth to speak, but the next second his smile froze directly. He saw that the surface of the short wooden stick had actually sprouted delicate greenish patterns. Those patterns looked like vines, yet resembled fascia. In a flash, both ends of the short wooden stick extended slightly, and a layer of dark luster appeared on its surface. At that moment it was no longer a piece of wood, but resembled a living iron vine!
Shi Shan widened his eyes in disbelief.
"This... this is my martial soul?"
Gu Changsheng continued slowly:
"Try pouring your soul power into it. Don't think about striking people; think about how to bind the opponent."
Shi Shan hurried to obey. The next moment, the tip of the short wooden stick split open to project a slender vine shadow, which lunged fiercely toward a wooden rack at the side. With a smack, the vine shadow wrapped around a corner of the rack. Although it lasted only a single breath, that single breath was enough.
"The martial soul... really changed?"
Shock spread across Yan Xiu's face, freezing his expression completely. As the vice dean of the spirit cultivation academy, he understood better than anyone what this meant. A low-grade martial soul judged to have no future had actually manifested a second form in Gu Changsheng's hands. This was utterly explosive.
When Bibi Dong witnessed this scene, a distinct shift occurred in her gaze. She had seen countless geniuses and numerous mutated martial souls, but she had never laid eyes on anything like Gu Changsheng directly causing a low-grade martial soul to briefly achieve a completed path.
Yet Gu Changsheng seemed to have forgotten everyone's skepticism, still looking earnestly at Shi Shan.
"Remember the feeling you just had. In the future, don't practice treating it like a club; learn toughness and control instead. Your first soul ring should preferably be chosen from vine-type spirit beasts, and you must not choose strength-type soul beasts."
Shi Shan's gaze dazed for a moment, and then his eye sockets grew moist. Before the age of thirteen, everyone had told him that his martial soul was useless, his talent was lacking, and he had no hope. But today, a child even younger than him told him that it was not he who was useless, but that they had taught him wrongly—how could he not be stirred with emotion?
At that very instant, he abruptly lowered his head and bowed deeply from the waist.
"Thank you, junior brother!"
Before you continue