Stirring Up Trouble! Does Your Teacher Have It In for You?!

The girl wore a black leather outfit that showed off her figure without detracting in the slightest from her cool, striking air.

She had long black hair and exquisitely delicate features, but her gaze was cold as frost, as though nothing around her mattered.

Only when she occasionally glanced at Dai Mubai did something complicated flicker in her eyes.

This was Zhu Zhuqing.

She was twelve years old, a level twenty-seven agility-type Battle Soul Master with the Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul.

The last was a girl with the ethereal beauty of a fairy.

She was Ning Rongrong, twelve years old, a level twenty-six support-type Tool Soul Master with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul.

The seven wore different expressions.

Dai Mubai stood with his arms crossed, looking unconcerned. He clearly thought little of today's lesson.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun, on the other hand, seemed uneasy.

Tang San was calm, his gaze quietly assessing.

Xiao Wu looked curious. Zhu Zhuqing was expressionless. Ning Rongrong frowned slightly, seemingly unused to taking lessons in such a shabby place.

Just then,

a figure in white walked in from the entrance at an unhurried pace.

Sunlight fell across him, edging his white clothes in faint gold.

He was young and handsome, his expression serene and his steps easy. He looked less like a man approaching a group of unruly young geniuses than one strolling through his own courtyard.

He exerted no overwhelming Soul Power pressure, projected no intimidating aura, and barely seemed to make his presence felt.

Yet when he entered the grounds and swept a mild gaze over the seven,

Xiao Wu, curious as she was, Zhu Zhuqing with her icy composure, proud Ning Rongrong, and even steady Tang San and carefree Dai Mubai all felt an involuntary chill.

His gaze was not sharp, yet it seemed to pierce through flesh and look straight into the soul.

It was calm, but held an indescribable depth, as though he saw through everything.

"Everyone here?"

Cao Kun stopped three meters from the seven, his voice even. "I'm Cao Kun, a disciple of Teacher Zhao. Since I enrolled before you, you can consider me your senior."

"For the next few days, I'll stand in for Teacher Zhao and the dean and guide your daily training."

His introduction was simple and direct, without a hint of pretension.

Dai Mubai raised an eyebrow and spoke first, a teasing edge to his voice. "Our senior, huh? How old are you, exactly? What's your Soul Power Level? Are you qualified to guide us?"

He considered himself the strongest of the group in Soul Power Level and was a prince of the Star Luo Empire. Proud by nature, he was hardly inclined to accept someone who looked so young.

Though he had joined the academy before Tang San and the others, this was still his first time meeting Cao Kun.

Tang San frowned almost imperceptibly. He thought Dai Mubai was being rash, but said nothing and merely watched.

Xiao Wu muttered, "He doesn't look much older than San..."

Doubt flashed through Ning Rongrong's eyes as well.

Cao Kun paid no attention to Dai Mubai's challenge. He did not even look at him. Instead, his gaze settled on Tang San, who stood at the front of the new students.

"Your name is Tang San?" Cao Kun asked.

"Yes." Tang San cupped his hands politely, neither servile nor arrogant.

Cao Kun nodded. He glanced at Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong beside Tang San, then at Dai Mubai and the other two behind them, before speaking slowly.

"Today's lesson is simple. I'll point out, one by one, the most glaring and most damaging flaws and mistakes in your current training."

His voice was as even as ever, but his words caught all seven off guard.

Flaws?

Mistakes?

And damaging ones at that?

What kind of joke was that?

Weren't they all prodigies?

The best of their generation?

Even if they had shortcomings, what right did a "senior" who looked barely older than them have to lecture them?

Dai Mubai scoffed and was about to object.

But Cao Kun had already fixed his gaze on Tang San again. What he said next made everyone's pupils contract, especially Tang San's, and sent a shock through them.

"Let's start with you, Tang San."

"Your Soul Power is solid, your foundation passable, and your combat techniques have their merits. But..."

Cao Kun shook his head slightly, a faint note of regret in his voice.

"You took your Martial Soul down the wrong path from the very beginning."

"To put it simply, you've ruined your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul."

Ruined it?!

Those words struck Tang San's chest like three heavy blows!

His expression changed instantly.

For the first time, shock, disbelief, and a flash of anger he could not hide broke through the stillness in his eyes. Cao Kun had touched a nerve!

His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul might be ordinary in quality, but through the nurturing of his Mysterious Heaven Skill, his use of Tang Sect Hidden Weapons techniques, and the unique training principles taught by his teacher Yu Xiaogang, it had long since surpassed ordinary Blue Silver Grass.

He had developed control abilities such as Entanglement, parasitism, and Spider Web Restraint. They were the heart of his strength, what let him take on opponents above his level!

And now someone was saying he had ruined his most important Martial Soul?!

It was the greatest insult to the cultivation and ingenuity he had built over two lifetimes!

Tang San was not the only one stunned. Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, and the others were too.

They had all seen Tang San's performance in Zhao Wuji's entrance test. His elusive, tenacious Blue Silver Grass control had left a deep impression on them.

How could a control-type Soul Master that formidable be using his Martial Soul the wrong way?

Let alone have "ruined" it?

"What do you mean by that, Senior?"

Tang San drew a deep breath and suppressed his turmoil. His voice remained calm, but his gaze had grown much sharper as he stared at Cao Kun.

Cao Kun seemed not to notice the doubt and veiled hostility in his eyes. He continued in a matter-of-fact tone, as though stating an objective truth.

"Blue Silver Grass is hardy and grows across the continent. Its defining traits are life and resilience, along with the innate potential of a Plant-type Martial Soul to sense and commune with nature."

"But you pursue only its superficial ability to control and bind. You force it to grow, harden, and mimic spiderwebs and vines with Soul Power. It may seem more useful in battle, but you've sacrificed its essence for immediate gains and stifled its true potential to evolve."

"You took a seed with boundless life potential, one that might commune with natural energy or even evolve into a higher Plant-type Martial Soul, such as the Blue Silver Emperor, and forced it into a rigid tool used for nothing but control."

"That isn't cultivation. It's... strangulation."

With every sentence Cao Kun spoke, Tang San's face grew paler.

When Cao Kun casually uttered the words "Blue Silver Emperor," Tang San's breath caught. It felt as though an invisible hand had seized his heart!

Blue Silver Emperor?!

Tang San froze.

According to his teacher, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had probably come from his mother.

He had Twin Martial Souls. That was the greatest secret he held in his heart!

What this "senior" had just said... was completely different from what his teacher had told him.

Tang San shook his head.

He guessed Cao Kun might have said it offhand.

Or perhaps it was merely a theory Cao Kun had come up with based on the traits of Blue Silver Grass.

But Cao Kun's next words stunned him all over again.