Leaving Nuoding Academy

Xiao Wu had only recently taken human form, and her thoughts were still very innocent.

To her, Su Bai was a good friend who could fight well and was fun to talk to. Tang San was a little dull, but he just barely counted as a friend too.

Naturally, Xiao Wu did not want too much conflict between them.

Hearing this, Su Bai smiled and said, "It's nothing. Mainly, Yu Xiaogang thinks I made him lose face. There really isn't any conflict between Tang San and me right now."

He was telling the truth. As things stood, without Yu Xiaogang in the picture, Su Bai and Tang San probably would not even exchange a word. They were complete strangers.

Of course, that would be another story once Tang San found out his biological mother was gone.

Xiao Wu nodded, only half understanding, then cautiously ventured, "Then... after you leave, you won't be angry if I spend time with Tang San or the others, will you?"

She still had little notion of romance. She was simply closest to Su Bai and worried that he might stop talking to her over this.

Su Bai laughed when he heard that. "It's fine. Just how petty do you think I am?"

If he did not even have that much magnanimity, what business did he have being a transmigrator? He might as well find a block of tofu and bash himself to death against it.

Besides, letting Xiao Wu follow Tang San through the original plot early on was a good thing. Su Bai had not reached level twenty yet and could not form a contract with her for now. Bringing her along would be like parading around with a piece of ginseng that could run-far too conspicuous.

Only then did Xiao Wu smile happily and hold out her fair little pinkie, curling it toward him.

"All right, then. You can't lie to me!"

Su Bai smiled and linked pinkies with Xiao Wu, then turned and left.

Elsewhere outside the academy, the atmosphere was far more somber.

Yu Xiaogang was hiding in a corner, clutching his head with both hands and muttering incessantly, "This shouldn't have happened... My theories couldn't possibly be wrong. I could even deduce twin martial souls. How could I have misjudged things this time...?"

"My reputation... Who will recognize me as Grandmaster now?!"

Not far away, Tang San finally found him after searching for ages. He had been seething himself, but seeing Yu Xiaogang like this, his old feudal beliefs gained the upper hand again. He immediately approached to console him. "Grandmaster, don't be sad."

"I've heard a saying: only mediocrities escape envy. Your theories must be too far ahead of their time. Everyone else envies you, so they maliciously slander you!"

As the saying went, a teacher for a day was a father for life.

Once Tang San set his mind on something, he almost never changed it easily. Having acknowledged Yu Xiaogang as his master, he would not readily leave him, even if everyone called Yu Xiaogang useless.

Tang San's words moved Yu Xiaogang deeply. He sprang to his feet, his gaze resolute.

"You're right. I've been belittling myself too much."

"My judgment could never be wrong. That fellow Su Bai must have stumbled into some stroke of luck to become so unusual."

"San, as long as you cultivate under my guidance, you'll definitely surpass him. And you have twin martial souls too. When the time comes, we'll make Su Bai repay today's humiliation a hundredfold!"

Tang San immediately nodded at those words, murderous intent showing in his eyes.

That was right. He already held a grudge against Su Bai. To make him lose so much face-Su Bai had already given him a reason to kill him!

Not just one reason, either, but many!

"You're right, Grandmaster." Tang San took a deep breath. "The semester has only just begun. Give me a little more time, and I'll show Su Bai what true Blue Silver Entanglement is!"

"That bastard has rotten character, and he's ugly too. I'll definitely teach him a harsh lesson when the time comes!"

They went back and forth, their words brimming with lofty resolve, as though they could already see the wonderful days ahead when they would utterly crush Su Bai.

Little did they know that Su Bai had already left Nuoding Academy. It would probably be quite some time before they saw him again.

Not far away, Xiao Wu stood beneath a tree, hearing Tang San and Yu Xiaogang's voices clearly.

She had originally come to comfort Tang San. Whatever else, he still counted as her friend.

But Xiao Wu had never expected to hear such words the moment she arrived. She was deeply disappointed.

What Su Bai had said before leaving stood in stark contrast to Tang San's words. The difference in their breadth of mind spoke for itself.

"Ah..."

After sighing and thinking it over, Xiao Wu decided not to approach Tang San after all. Instead, she turned and left.

Inside the principal's office at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.

The principal raised his eyebrows, looking at Su Bai in surprise.

"You want to withdraw?"

Su Bai nodded. "That's right."

To avoid attracting too much attention, he had decided to apply for withdrawal. Plenty of students withdrew every year for all sorts of reasons, so this would draw less notice than simply leaving.

Hearing this, the principal took off his glasses. "May I ask why?"

"Is it because of Yu Xiaogang?"

"What you did earlier was a little excessive, but Yu Xiaogang is a teacher, after all. Our academy won't allow him to treat you unfairly."

"As long as you apologize to him, we can put this matter behind us. How does that sound?"

The incident between Su Bai and Yu Xiaogang had caused such a stir that the principal naturally knew about it. He had assumed that was why Su Bai wanted to withdraw.

Hearing those words, Su Bai felt like laughing.

Make me apologize to that useless Yu Xiaogang?

Absolutely not!

Su Bai shook his head. "This has nothing to do with Yu Xiaogang. He doesn't have the power to sway my decisions."

"My decision to withdraw is one I've considered carefully."

The principal sighed at that. "All right..."

"But you should know that once you withdraw, not only will you lose access to further education, you'll also have far fewer cultivation resources. That will greatly affect your cultivation as a Soul Master. Why not think it over again?"

He remembered that Su Bai's family circumstances seemed quite ordinary, and both his parents were dead. For a commoner Soul Master like him to get ahead on his own would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Su Bai shook his head firmly. "I've already thought it through."

Since Su Bai had gone that far, the principal could only open his drawer, take out a file, and hand it to him.

"If you insist, I won't keep you."

"Sign this withdrawal form, and you can leave. Just a reminder: if you want to return to our academy after leaving, you'll have to pay tuition."

As he spoke, regret appeared on his face. Su Bai's martial soul was nothing special, but he did have innate full soul power. At Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, he still counted as a promising seedling.

Otherwise, the principal would already have punished this troublesome student who defied his teacher.

"Thank you, Principal."

Su Bai took the withdrawal form, briskly signed his name, then turned and left.

He was in no mood to make grand declarations. The man was merely a passerby in his life; even a few extra words felt like wasted breath.

Now that he had transmigrated, his most pressing priority was, of course, to seize every moment he could to improve his strength.