Your Barking Dogs Hurt My Ears

Li Xinggang smiled and said to Xu Huxiao, "Oh, right, right, right. Look at me, I even forgot that Innate Full Soul Power could still produce trash."

"But our Young Master Xu doesn't look like trash to me, does he?"

"Hmph. Even if he isn't trash, relying on nothing but a mutated low-grade Twin Arms Martial Soul means he can only become an ordinary low-level Soul Master in the future."

"Isn't that right, Young Master Xu?"

As Li Langkuan spoke, he provocatively poked Xu Huxiao in the chest with his finger.

Xu Huxiao frowned and glanced at him, but before he could speak—

Li Xinggang continued, "Young Master Xu, don't blame my brother. He just speaks too bluntly, but he's actually a pretty decent guy."

"Hmph, it's simply the truth. Unlike our Young Master Xu Luo, who inherited Elder Demon Bear's top-tier Martial Soul, the Blood Demon Berserker Bear. With Innate Soul Power at rank nine, he's destined to earn a Title in the future."

"Young Master Xu Luo is naturally extraordinary, and besides..."

Xu Huxiao did not want to listen to their nonsense any longer and cut him off directly.

"Hey, move aside. Good dogs don't block the road."

With that, he pushed the two aside and headed toward the dormitory. He did not know whether this had been ordered by his cousin Xu Luo or not.

But Xu Huxiao truly had no interest in this kind of provocation. Even saying one extra word felt like a waste of time.

"Don't leave! Make yourself clear! Who are you calling a dog?!"

Having been forcibly shoved aside by a first-year student, Li Langkuan flew into a rage.

Xu Huxiao stopped, glanced sideways at him, and looked at him as though he were an idiot. The meaning in his eyes was clear: there was no one else around, so who else could he mean?

Li Xinggang, who had been speaking in veiled mockery all this time, could no longer keep up the act either. He said:

"Don't get too arrogant. We can stand wherever we want and say whatever we want. Our mouths and legs belong to us—can you control them?"

After saying that, Li Xinggang crossed his arms and provocatively blocked Xu Huxiao's path.

Xu Huxiao looked entirely unconcerned and spread his hands.

"You're right. Of course I can't control you. But your barking dogs hurt my ears, and I'm not in a very good mood right now."

As he spoke, Xu Huxiao rolled his wrists and twisted his neck. After a dense series of crackles from his joints, like beans popping in a pan, his gaze gradually brightened.

"Oho, you're in a bad mood? Then hit me, if you dare—Aah!" Li Xinggang, standing before him, was still provoking him.

Until a straight punch landed solidly on the bridge of his nose, cutting off the rest of his words.

"So, since you went looking for a beating, I can only oblige you."

Li Langkuan shouted from the side, "You little brat! You're only a rank thirteen rookie, and you dare lay hands on us brothers? Brother, summon your Martial Soul and teach him a lesson!"

Li Xinggang had taken the punch to the nose so hard that tears nearly welled up from the pain. He wiped beneath his nose, and a streak of red liquid appeared on his hand.

"Blood? Fuck, you really mean it, brat. Then we won't hold back either. Don't think we're idiots like Xue Long. You should know that I'm a Control-Type Soul Master who specifically counters power-type fighters!"

"Little brother, summon your Martial Soul. With Young Master Xu Luo backing us, there's nothing to fear. Star-Marked Meteor Hammer... You—wait!"

Li Xinggang shrieked. Before he could summon his Martial Soul, a right hook struck his cheek again from a tricky angle.

At the same time, Xu Huxiao's left hand extended two fingers and tapped a point three inches below the center of Li Xinggang's chest, interrupting the gathering of Soul Power within him.

"What's happening to my Martial Soul? Why can't I summon it?!" Li Xinggang cried in alarm.

Awoo!

Li Langkuan let out a roar and prepared to activate his Frost Wolf Martial Soul Possession, intending to show this first-year brat what he was made of.

But before his Martial Soul Possession could be completed, Xu Huxiao delivered a sharp, precise side kick that struck an acupoint on his right shoulder.

The powerful kick knocked Li Langkuan several steps off balance. Just as he angrily tried to activate his Martial Soul again, a swelling pain surged from the spot on his right shoulder that had been kicked.

Hm?

His Martial Soul was not responding?!

"What's going on? Why can't my Martial Soul possess me either?" He stared at Xu Huxiao in horror.

"What did you do to us brothers?!"

The brothers Li Langkuan and Li Xinggang looked at each other, and both saw panic in the other's eyes.

One was a fifth-year student and the other a sixth-year student, yet they had never heard of a Martial Soul being unable to activate!

This...

Xu Huxiao lowered his leg. Seeing their reactions, he knew his guess had been correct.

Soul Power drove a Martial Soul. If he accurately interrupted the gathering of Soul Power at their specific acupoints before they activated their Martial Souls, they would be unable to summon them for a short period.

Xu Huxiao's martial arts had already reached the Perfect Essence Intent Realm. His mental power had greatly increased, granting him inner vision. Although he could only see his own vitality and blood, he was extremely sensitive to Soul Power. Even without activating the Eye of Omniscience, he knew the Soul Power Levels of the two men before him.

The elder brother was rank twenty-one, while the younger one was rank eighteen.

"Don't worry. In half an hour, you'll be able to summon your Martial Souls again."

"Now, it's time for you to pay for your barking."

Li Langkuan watched Xu Huxiao approach and put on a fierce front. "What are you trying to do? Even without our Martial Souls, us brothers can still deal with a first-year rookie like you!"

"Oh, really?"

Soon afterward, a succession of miserable screams rang out along the covered walkway. Passing students covered their faces and took detours.

"Fuck! I'm really pissed now! Langkuan, hold him! I'll hit him with Crow Sitting on a Plane!"

"I've got him! Brother, hurry up and hit him!!"

"Brutal Charge, huh? Crow Sitting on a Plane, huh? Well?"

"Wuwu... Stop hitting me, stop hitting me..."

"We were wrong, we were wrong! Brother Huxiao, Brother Huxiao, ow!"

"Don't hit my face!"

Xu Huxiao had been training perfectly well today, only to run into two groups of flies that disgusted him one after another. He had been holding in a lot of anger for quite some time. Unfortunately, that Xiao Ji had been too cowardly to make a move.

Then, after dinner, he encountered these two idiots taking turns making snide remarks.

This time, naturally, he had to teach these little brats a profound lesson so they would not delay his training again in the future.

Just as Xu Huxiao half-lifted the still-arrogant Li Langkuan with one hand and prepared to give him a few more slaps—

A hand landed on his shoulder from behind, accompanied by a voice trying to dissuade him.

"Brother Huxiao, stop. If word gets to Third Uncle that you're fighting so fiercely in the academy, it won't be good."

Xu Huxiao turned and glanced at the person behind him. It was Xu Luo!

"Who the hell do you think you are? Take your hand off me. I'm not done beating them yet."

The moment he spoke, pale golden Yang Origin Soul Power surged through Xu Huxiao's body. He shook his right shoulder and sent Xu Luo's hand flying away.

Huh?

That single shake forced Xu Luo back a step. Xu Luo was shocked. Was this innate divine power?

And... what was with that look in his eyes?!

With only one glance, that sharp and tyrannical feeling made Xu Luo feel as though he were facing a Berserk Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Xu Luo's feeling was not wrong.

Xu Huxiao had faced an eight-hundred-year Black-Patterned Dread Lizard head-on and beaten it to death.

Moreover, he possessed the "presence" of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms at the Essence Intent Realm. That presence not only amplified his physical attributes, but also invisibly affected Xu Huxiao's temperament.

The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms were incomparably fierce and forceful. In Xu Huxiao's hands, they also carried a tyrannical true intent of supreme dominance.

Therefore, it was not strange that the brief leak of his aura had intimidated Xu Luo.

A while later.

Xu Huxiao clapped his hands, kicked aside the two groaning men before him, and spoke in a calm, casual tone.

"My fists are attached to me, so you can't control them either. Remember this: from now on, whenever you see me in the academy, take a detour. Otherwise, if I'm in a bad mood, I'll beat you every time I see you."

"Yes, yes..."

After saying that, Xu Huxiao ignored Xu Luo at the side and left directly for his dormitory.

His cousin Xu Luo was young, yet already had the look of someone deeply calculating. He also bore hostility toward him, so Xu Huxiao had nothing to say to him.

As Xu Luo looked at the two men groaning on the ground, his expression darkened.

He had originally intended to use their provocation as an excuse to step in and stage a heroic rescue of his younger cousin, establishing himself as someone talented and magnanimous.

That way, he could enter the sight of his Third Uncle.

But now, his plan had failed.

Xu Luo wanted to prove the strength of the Blood Demon Berserker Bear Martial Soul and revitalize his father's branch of the family.

Because of the mistake his mother had made, his father no longer held any authority in the Xu Family's affairs. He also rarely had the chance to meet his Third Uncle, Demon Bear Douluo, so he had planned to start with his younger cousin.

After all, his older female cousin possessed the mutated Golden-Eyed Demon Bear Martial Soul.

His younger cousin Xu Huxiao possessed an even more mutated low-grade Twin Arms Martial Soul.

And his elder brother possessed the filthy Flash Mongoose Martial Soul.

Among the Xu Family's second generation, he was now the only one who had inherited the orthodox Blood Demon Berserker Bear Martial Soul. In the world of Soul Masters, that meant Xu Luo held the most legitimate inheritance rights within the Xu Family.

Without any surprises, the Xu Family's vast estate should belong to him in the future!

But because of what his mother Lin Yanli had done, his Third Uncle Xu Bayan seemed not to value him much. He even appeared faintly distant toward him.

At that thought—

Xu Luo clenched his fists. It was all because of the foolish things his parents had done, yet he was the one who had to bear the consequences.

If he had found a suitable opportunity, he might even have wanted his cowardly father to adopt him into Xu Bayan's branch.

Only then could he secure his future.

"It seems this little brother has quite a bad temper. Since winning him over won't work, then I'll crush him with strength."

"I will prove to everyone that I, the one who inherited the orthodox Blood Demon Berserker Bear Martial Soul, am the Xu Family's only hope for the future."

Xu Luo looked toward the night sky and secretly swore an oath.

Returning to Room 603 of the boys' dormitory, it was the same four-person room.

Xu Huxiao began his Soul Power cultivation for the night.

The condensed Yang Origin Soul Power surged through his meridians. With every completed major circulation, the total amount of Soul Power in his body increased by a trace.

Furthermore, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians in his body had all been opened and had undergone innate nurturing. His Soul Power flowed without the slightest obstruction or stagnation, making cultivation exceptionally smooth and efficient.

In truth, the Soul Power within his body circulated on its own every day as well, but the efficiency of that autonomous circulation was very low. That was why he set aside time every morning, noon, and night for focused cultivation.

To increase the speed at which he accumulated Soul Power.

Two hours passed quickly.

Xu Huxiao exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, stretched, and finished his cultivation.

"Huxiao, you cultivate so diligently every day. Don't you ever get tired?" his roommate Ao Li'ao asked, looking at him as though he were a monster.