The Stubborn Old Man

[PS: Old Jack was a genuinely kindhearted man. Chu Chen wouldn't really bow his head to Little Scumbag. The story would develop in keeping with the original characters.]

"Grandpa, what are you doing here?"

Chu Chen turned at the sound of his voice and saw Old Jack walking toward him.

The old man was clearly in a bad mood... No, he was angry. He even had a stick clenched in his hand.

Chu Chen put off choosing his reward, sprang up from the ground, and slowly backed away.

"Grandpa, calm down. We can talk this out. Besides, your hits don't hurt anyway, so could you put the stick down?"

"You little brat! I'll show you whether it hurts!"

Old Jack quickened his pace and raised the stick as if to strike.

Chu Chen instinctively moved to dodge, but Old Jack seemed to have put too much force into the swing. As the old man lost his balance and nearly fell, Chu Chen forgot about the stick coming at him and stepped forward to catch him.

"Grandpa, don't get worked up. As long as you don't fall, I'll take the blame for everything, all right?"

"It was your fault!"

Old Jack shot Chu Chen a look, tossed the stick aside, and grumbled.

"I heard you beat Xiao San until his face was covered in blood. I didn't believe it at first, but when I got to Spirit Hall... Good grief, there were several teeth on the ground!"

"We're all neighbors here. How could you hit him that hard?"

"Xiao San's had a hard life. He lost his mother when he was little, and his father might as well not be there... He'd be better off without him!"

"The poor boy's been through enough. How could you..."

"Grandpa, that wasn't my fault!"

Chu Chen bristled. What the hell did Little Scumbag's hard life have to do with him? He hadn't started it!

"He insulted me first and insisted on fighting. He even threw the first punch. I was just defending myself!"

"Defending yourself?"

Old Jack gave an incredulous laugh.

"What kind of self-defense knocks out several of someone's teeth?"

"And I heard that after the fight was over, you pinned him down and slapped him several more times. Wasn't that you?"

"That was because he kept insulting me after the fight!"

Chu Chen stuck out his neck, defiance written all over his face.

"I was teaching him some manners. Grandpa, you can't take his side over mine!"

"Take his side?"

Old Jack's anger flared, though helplessness showed on his face too.

"Little Chen, I was planning to send you to the Soul Master Academy. But our village... only has one work-study place!"

"You know how this year's Martial Soul awakenings turned out. Both you and Xiao San have what it takes to become Soul Masters. I'd already decided to give you the place, and I was trying to think of how to make it up to the Tang family. But then you..."

Old Jack fell silent for a long moment before letting out a heavy sigh.

"After all this, the neighbors are bound to talk!"

"That's what this is about?"

Chu Chen sounded baffled.

As far as Chu Chen was concerned, he had no reason to attend the Soul Master Academy. What would he gain by going?

A teacher who accompanied students to obtain Soul Rings, only for even the city lord's son to end up with a white Soul Ring as his first?

Gangzi, who thought himself an expert despite knowing so little, recommending a ten-year Lone Bamboo as the first Soul Ring for a genius with Innate Full Soul Power?

Or a work-study dormitory where boys, girls, humans, and beasts all lived together, while he had to get up early and stay up late cleaning the school?

Chu Chen had no time for a school game that felt like children playing house. He'd be better off spending that time cultivating!

Three-Stage Dou Qi alone was equivalent to Innate Full Soul Power. Once he broke through to Dou Zhe, reaching three-ring Soul Elder might be uncertain, but becoming a two-ring Soul Grandmaster would be a breeze, wouldn't it?

And how long would reaching Dou Zhe take?

With the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid's help, Chu Chen was completely confident he could break through within a year!

At Dou Zhe strength, hunting Soul Beasts on his own shouldn't be difficult.

By then, Chu Chen would be a seven-year-old Soul Grandmaster. Did a low-level academy in a remote little city deserve a student like that?

A trace of disdain crossed Chu Chen's face.

"Come on, Grandpa, don't worry about it. Worst case, I just won't go to that stupid school. Besides, I—"

"Nonsense! How can you not go?"

Chu Chen had only been saying what he really thought, but Old Jack flew into a rage.

"Do you have any idea how precious this opportunity is?"

"Even though our Holy Soul Village once produced a Soul Sage, we still get only one place a year! Other villages have to share one place between two or three villages. Do you understand?"

"Little Chen, this is your chance to truly become a Soul Master. Your chance to get out of this poor backwater!"

"But I..."

Chu Chen tried to argue, but Old Jack gave him no chance. He grabbed Chu Chen and pulled him toward the village.

"I don't care what you say. Today, you're going to listen to your grandpa!"

"Come with me to the Tang house. You'll apologize to Xiao San, and I'll discuss the place with Tang Hao. Even if this old man has to swallow every last bit of pride he has, I'll make sure you get that place!"

For fuck's sake, what kind of mess is this...?

Chu Chen grumbled inwardly as Old Jack dragged him along.

With Chu Chen's strength, the aging Old Jack couldn't have held on if he put up even a little resistance.

But Chu Chen couldn't bring himself to resist.

He knew that after all these years, Old Jack's hope of seeing another Soul Master come out of Holy Soul Village had become something of an obsession.

He also knew that, setting that ambition aside, Old Jack genuinely cared about his future.

This old man had raised him from infancy through years of hardship. Chu Chen couldn't bear to disappoint him.

Even if... the old man was dragging him off to apologize to Little Scumbag!

Fine, I'll apologize. Making the old man happy matters more than anything...

Chu Chen made up his mind, but the prospect of meeting Tang Hao still left him deeply uneasy.

It wasn't just his own safety he had to worry about. He also had to protect Old Jack.

What a mess. Looks like I'll have to change which reward I pick...

"Grandpa, wait!"

As he made his decision, Chu Chen spoke up and stopped Old Jack.

"I can apologize to the Tang family, and I can go to the Soul Master Academy. But can I go by myself?"

"How could I let a child handle something this important alone?"

Old Jack shot Chu Chen a look.

"Just do as you're told. I'll talk to Tang Hao about the place. That's settled!"

Ugh... stubborn old man...

Chu Chen shook his head and sighed inwardly.

"Then let me go home and get something first. I can't show up to apologize empty-handed, can I?"

"Hmm... That's true..."

Thinking Chu Chen had come around, Old Jack finally smiled. But he soon grew wary again.

"You little brat, you're not planning to run away, are you?"

"Of course not! Grandpa, what kind of person do you take me for?"

Chu Chen looked wounded.

"I'll be right back. I promise I won't run. Trust me, Grandpa!"