Nuoding Academy, the cafeteria.
To draw closer to Tang San, Grandmaster ordered him plenty of delicious food, including spicy rabbit head, braised rabbit leg, sweet and sour crucian carp, stir-fried Blue Silver Grass heart, dry pot chicken aged two and a half years... more than a dozen dishes in all.
"Teacher... you really are too good to me. I, Tang San, have no way to repay you." Seeing the sumptuous dishes on the table, Tang San was astonished, so moved that he nearly cried.
Back in Holy Soul Village, Tang San had never even had enough to eat each day. Now that his teacher treated him so well, he came to accept Grandmaster even more deeply.
But how could Tang San have known that this was merely Grandmaster's ploy to buy his loyalty, so that he could someday put his martial soul theory into practice?
Grandmaster stroked Tang San's hair and said mildly, "Little San, go on and eat. Seeing you all skin and bones pains me, too. You're at the age when your body is growing. Poor meals simply won't do. Once you've eaten, I have something else to tell you."
Your body can't be too weak. In the future, I'll still need you to... prove my theory.
Grandmaster thought this to himself without saying it aloud.
Perhaps because life with his drunkard father had been so miserable, Tang San, who had not seen meat in six years, grabbed the food on the table and began wolfing it down.
Before long, Tang San had polished off the entire table of dishes.
Seeing that Tang San had eaten and drunk his fill, Grandmaster finally began guiding him gently, asking tentatively, "Little San, you have innate full soul power at level ten. Let me take you to obtain a soul ring tomorrow. Once you have a soul ring, you'll be able to become a soul master."
Hearing this, Tang San nodded and said, "Teacher, you're a grandmaster in martial soul research. Since you've studied dual-hand martial souls so thoroughly, I'll follow all your instructions for my martial soul cultivation from now on."
Grandmaster took a sip of water and accepted without ceremony. "Since that's the case, it's settled. If there's nothing else, head back before me. Tomorrow, I'll come find you at your dormitory, then take you to the Soul Beast Forest to obtain a soul ring."
"All right." Tang San nodded in agreement.
Even after leaving the cafeteria, Tang San's heart could not settle for a long time. His Mysterious Heaven Skill had been stuck at a bottleneck for ages, and he hoped that after obtaining a soul ring, he could continue cultivating the Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Meanwhile, on Xiao Yan's side.
After gaining a basic understanding of martial soul cultivation, Xiao Yan went straight to Nuoding Academy's Academic Affairs Office, intending to ask an academy teacher to take him to obtain a soul ring.
"Hello, Director Su," Xiao Yan greeted the elderly teacher after entering the Academic Affairs Office.
Because Xiao Yan had innate full soul power, and his martial soul was a peculiar flame, Director Su had a rather strong impression of this talented boy. His face wreathed in smiles, he asked:
"Little Xiao Yan, is there something you need at the Academic Affairs Office?"
Hearing this, Xiao Yan scratched his head and smiled. "There is, actually."
"Oh?" Director Su paused, then put down the documents in his hands and asked in puzzlement, "What is it? Go ahead."
Director Su took a gifted student with innate full soul power like Xiao Yan very seriously. Had it been any other work-study student, he would hardly have bothered with a five- or six-year-old child.
Xiao Yan said, "I want to obtain my first soul ring."
"What? You want to obtain your first soul ring? Do you know that you need to reach level ten soul power before..." Before finishing, Director Su remembered that Xiao Yan had innate full soul power and corrected himself. "You have innate full soul power, so you can indeed obtain your first soul ring right away, but..."
Director Su looked troubled as he explained, "The term has only just begun. All the academy's teachers are handling the new students' enrollment, so they certainly can't accompany you to the Soul Hunting Forest."
"Well..." Xiao Yan's brows furrowed slightly, and his expression fell.
Just then, Grandmaster happened to pass the Academic Affairs Office. Hearing their conversation, he walked straight in and said with considerable confidence:
"Xiao Yan wants to hunt a soul beast and obtain his first soul ring? Perfect. Tomorrow, I'm taking my disciple to hunt a soul beast for a soul ring as well. Let him come with us."
"What? That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?" Director Su looked at Grandmaster awkwardly and waved his hand in refusal. "Grandmaster, your soul power is only at the twenty-ninth level. Are you really certain you can defeat a hundred-year soul beast?"
At those words, Grandmaster's face darkened so much it looked ready to drip water.
Tang San, a boy with innate full soul power, had already been hoodwinked by Grandmaster. Director Su did not want to see another promising seedling ruined by Grandmaster's unrealistic theories.
Besides, he believed Grandmaster probably could not defeat a hundred-year soul beast.
Taking two children into the Soul Hunting Forest-wouldn't that mean one man going to his death and delivering two more along with him?
At that moment, another middle-aged man, roughly Grandmaster's age, walked in. He wore long black robes and looked somewhat more handsome than Grandmaster, with a slightly protruding chin and a warm smile on his face.
"I'll go to the Soul Hunting Forest with them tomorrow. That should settle any concerns about the children's safety," the middle-aged man said mildly.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Director Su hurriedly rose from his seat and bowed respectfully to him.
"Headmaster, what wind blew you our way?"
The middle-aged man smiled. "I heard that three geniuses with innate full soul power had enrolled in the academy, so I came to the Academic Affairs Office to look over their records."
After speaking, the middle-aged man patted Grandmaster's shoulder. "Xiao Gang, I hear you've taken on a disciple?"
"Yes, Headmaster." Grandmaster nodded.
"All right. I wish you success," the middle-aged man said soberly.
With Nuoding Academy's headmaster personally stepping in, Director Su could hardly make things difficult for Grandmaster any longer, so he allowed Xiao Yan to accompany the headmaster and Grandmaster to the Soul Hunting Forest the next day.
After asking around afterward, Xiao Yan learned that the headmaster's name was Mang Tianchi. Somehow, that name seemed familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before.
Early the next morning.
While most of Nuoding Academy's teachers and students were still asleep, two tall figures and two short ones had already left the academy gates.
Headmaster Mang Tianchi looked at Tang San and asked Grandmaster with a smile, "Grandmaster, is this your new disciple?"
"Yes." Grandmaster nodded smugly and boasted, "Although his martial soul is the trash martial soul Blue Silver Grass, I believe there are no worthless martial souls in this world, only worthless soul masters. With my guidance, he'll surely make his name known across the continent someday."
"Hahaha, let's hope so." Mang Tianchi laughed awkwardly.
Xiao Yan asked, "Headmaster, where are we going to hunt soul beasts?"
"To the Soul Hunting Forest four hundred li east of Nuoding City. That's where the Empire keeps soul beasts in captivity. Let's go and not waste any time," Mang Tianchi replied.
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He hasn't transmigrated. The author is just terrible at naming characters!
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