As for Tang San?
To be honest, Xiao Lin held no particular animosity toward this original protagonist. They were both transmigrators; as long as Tang San did not provoke him, he could not be bothered to meddle in Tang San's petty business.
Unfortunately, some people were destined not to let you live in peace.
That evening, just as Xiao Lin finished playing a tune on his Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute and was preparing to rest for a while, a flurry of footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the grove.
Someone was coming.
Xiao Lin's brows twitched slightly as he calmly slipped the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute into his sleeve. Xiao Wu also stopped dancing and turned her head in confusion toward the direction of the sound.
Beneath the moonlight, a little boy with black hair walked in from outside the grove.
Tang San.
He was dressed in a set of grey coarse-cloth short garments, the pant legs bearing a few scorched holes from flying sparks—he clearly had just returned from the blacksmith shop.
His complexion was not looking too good, and his blue eyes carried a hint of gloom. His gaze swept back and forth between Xiao Lin and Xiao Wu, finally coming to rest on Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, you don't sleep every night just to come here?" Tang San's voice sounded somewhat muffled, as though he were suppressing something.
Xiao Wu blinked her eyes and said as a matter of course, "That's right, I come to listen to Xiao Lin play the flute. It sounds so pretty! Do you want to sit down and listen too?"
"Play the flute?" Tang San's gaze shifted to Xiao Lin, giving him a thorough up-and-down look before the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, revealing a trace of disdainful expression. "What's so pretty about it? Blowing back and forth here in the middle of the night, isn't that just making noise? Do you know what disturbing the peace is?"
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere instantly grew cold.
The smile on Xiao Wu's face froze. She frowned and said with some displeasure, "Tang San, how are you talking? He's clearly playing very nicely!"
"Nicely?" Tang San let out a cold snort. "Isn't it just some broken pipe making oo-oo-oo noises there? Like wind blowing through a torn window paper, what's so nice about it? I see he's just deliberately showing off here to attract other people's attention."
The more he spoke, the more worked up he became, placing his hands on his hips and striking a righteous pose:
"Xiao Wu, don't be fooled by him. I've seen plenty of people like this, relying on knowing a few flashy tricks to go around swindling and bluffing. Instead of wasting time listening to him play the flute, you might as well come watch me smithing! I've been practicing casting lately, and it's so interesting—a hundred times better than listening to this useless junk of his!"
"Tang San," Xiao Lin slowly spoke up, his tone carrying a trace of teasing, "you say I'm disturbing the peace, so let me ask you, is anyone living around here?"
Tang San was taken aback, opened his mouth, and was unable to speak.
This small grove was located in the absolute corner of the academy. Within a radius of several hundred meters, let alone residents, there wasn't even a ghost in sight. Disturbing the peace? Disturbing whom? Disturbing the birds in the trees?
"Nobody lives here, right?" Xiao Lin smiled. "Then how is my flute playing disturbing the peace? Did it disturb you? If you find it noisy, you are welcome to walk further away; I didn't invite you to listen."
Tang San's face flushed red all at once.
"What's so interesting about smithing? Clanging away all night, working up a stinking sweat and getting covered in dust—I'm certainly not going to watch that!"
Xiao Wu chimed in as well.
Tang San was left speechless by the retort, his complexion turning from red to white, and from white to cyan, looking utterly magnificent.
He opened his mouth several times, wanting to refute, only to find that he couldn't even find a suitable reason.
This fellow already has a path leading to his own demise!
Tang San had already harbored a deep grudge against Xiao Lin in his heart.
In the end, he stamped his foot and turned to leave, walking at a brisk pace as if he were afraid that staying another second would cause him to die of anger.
Xiao Wu watched Tang San's receding figure and curled her lips. "What kind of person, simply inexplicable."
Xiao Lin shrugged, too lazy to take it to heart.
That fellow Tang San, to put it bluntly, simply had too strong a sense of possessiveness. Seeing that Xiao Wu was walking close to him and feeling uncomfortable inside, he had run over to pick a fight.
Yet he lacked any legitimate reason, leaving him to make unreasonable a fuss before stubbing his toe.
However, this also reminded Xiao Lin of one thing: although Tang San was still a child right now, his mind was after all that of an adult, and he did things with a purpose.
Since he had set his sights on Xiao Wu, he would probably come looking for trouble again in the future.
When soldiers come, block them; when water comes, earth covers it—that was all.
Just as Xiao Lin was about to continue practicing his tune, his expression suddenly shifted.
From deep within his body came a faint, crisp sound.
It was as though some tightly closed door had suddenly swung wide open in that exact moment.
His Soul Power had broken through.
Level ten!
Xiao Lin abruptly closed his eyes and looked inward at himself. He saw that the Soul Power within his body was like a surging river, breaking through an invisible barrier to become even more abundant and solid.
The sensation was just like a river channel that had originally been blocked suddenly dredging itself, the current rushing forward smoothly and bringing an unprecedented wave of comfort.
Can I finally acquire my first Soul Ring?
Xiao Lin was somewhat excited; possessing the first Soul Skill was the starting point of stepping onto the path of a Soul Master.
Early the next morning,
Xiao Lin sought out his head teacher and proposed going to hunt Soul Beasts to acquire his first Soul Ring. Hunting a first Soul Ring was best done with the accompaniment of teachers or elders.
The head teacher's surname was Liu, a middle-aged man in his forties with thirty-fifth-rank Soul Power. He had taught at Nuoding Academy for over a dozen years and had always been known as a pushover.
After hearing Xiao Lin's request, however, the expression on his face turned extremely subtle. He hemmed and hawed for a long time before squeezing out a sentence: "Well... Xiao Lin, about this matter, I've been a bit busy with my hands full lately and really can't spare the time. How about... you look for some other teachers?"
Xiao Lin didn't think much of it at the time, nodding and walking off to find another teacher.
As a result, the second teacher had the exact same reaction, either claiming to be feeling physically unwell or saying he had matters to attend to and couldn't get away—in short, it boiled down to three words: no time.
Xiao Lin consecutively sought out five teachers and received the exact same replies. At this point, even if he were dull-witted, he should have realized something was wrong.
He directly intercepted a young teacher who was usually quite decent to him and asked straight to the point, "Teacher Li, be honest with me. What is actually going on? Is someone making trouble behind the scenes?"
That Teacher Li looked left and right, and after confirming that there was no one around, lowered his voice and said:
"Xiao Lin, I won't hide it from you anymore. Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang has put the word out that throughout the entire Nuoding Academy, no one is permitted to accompany you to hunt Soul Beasts."
Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes. "What gives him the right?"
"Just the fact that he is the honored guest of the Dean." Teacher Li sighed.
"Even though Yu Xiaogang is only a twenty-ninth-rank Soul Master, he wears the title of 'Theory Grandmaster' and holds a certain influence throughout the entire Soul Master World. The Dean is on very close terms with him, and his words are basically imperial edicts in Nuoding Academy. Which of us minor teachers would dare to defy his wishes? Wouldn't that be smashing our own rice bowls?"
Xiao Lin was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
That smile was very cold.
Yu Xiaogang, oh Yu Xiaogang, you really are something. A dignified adult and a theory grandmaster, yet you actually resort to such despicable methods to retaliate against a six-year-old child.
Just because I refused to take you as my master and refused to walk the auxiliary route you arranged, you want to cut off my path forward and prevent me from even obtaining my first Soul Ring?
This narrow-mindedness was probably smaller than the tip of a needle.
"Xiao Lin, why don't you... go and soften up to Grandmaster?"
Teacher Li suggested cautiously, "Although Grandmaster has a stubborn temper, you're a child after all. As long as you're willing to bow your head and admit a mistake, he shouldn't hold it against you."
"Admit a mistake?" Xiao Lin raised a brow. "What did I do wrong?"
Teacher Li opened his mouth, but ultimately closed it again.
That's right, what did Xiao Lin do wrong? Didn't he just have his own ideas and unwillingness to walk the path arranged by others? What kind of mistake was that?
Before you continue