Leader Struggle

In the Cafeteria, after wolfing down several big steamed buns and two bowls of rice porridge like yesterday, Shi Quan finally ate his fill and walked out, still holding the two books he had borrowed the day before.

There were only two classes that morning: one on Cultural Knowledge and one on Spirit Souls. Each class lasted no more than two hours.

There was still some time before class began. Based on yesterday's cultivation and his current condition, Shi Quan began making plans.

Naturally, he could not waste the time between morning and class.

"I'll use the morning to practice Muscle and Marrow Cleansing."

Muscle and Marrow Cleansing was an Internal Refinement Method. It was relatively simple to practice and seemed far more ordinary compared to the other four.

With his books in hand, Shi Quan came to a quiet corner of the Sports Field. He stepped sideways with his left foot, bent his knees, and lowered himself into a Horse Stance. His upper body stood straight, his hands rested on his waist, and he bent his elbows, turned his palms upward, and held his forearms level as though supporting a heavy object. After a brief pause, he turned his palms downward, straightened and relaxed his forearms, as though setting down the weight.

As he moved, the Inner Force within Shi Quan began to circulate.

Besides its internal circulation route, Muscle and Marrow Cleansing also required several special movements.

Though these movements were unusual, ordinary people would not see anything strange about them. At most, they would think Shi Quan was doing morning exercises.

That was also why Shi Quan had chosen it.

As more people gathered on the Sports Field, Shi Quan stopped at the appropriate time. Carrying his books, he entered the Classroom and found an inconspicuous seat.

Shi Quan had originally thought Soul Master Academy had no textbooks. Only after class began did he discover that they were distributed on the first day of class.

Looking through the Cultural Course Textbook in his hands, Shi Quan found that, just as he had expected, the first-year material was merely basic literacy. He had learned it all long ago and had no need to study it again. Fortunately, he had had the foresight to borrow books in advance.

The teacher lectured at the front while Shi Quan read his books below.

The second Spirit Soul Class covered basic cultivation knowledge, which was equally useless to Shi Quan. After listening for a few minutes, he lost interest and began reading the book in his hands.

After studying on his own through both classes, he went to the Cafeteria for lunch, returned his books to the Dormitory, and then, just as he had yesterday, headed alone to the Small Hill by the academy's Back Gate to begin the day's cultivation.

Having learned from the previous two days, Shi Quan paid special attention to the time while cultivating today. When it was about time, he returned to the academy for dinner before rushing back to the hill to continue cultivating. Whenever no one was around on the way there or back, he used Nine Shadows Shift to travel, treating it as both practice and cultivation.

Shi Quan's Dormitory was a large one with nearly thirty people. Everyone had their own circles, and although the others rarely saw Shi Quan, they had heard from the three nobles that he came from a commoner family. Upon learning that his Spirit Soul was a worthless one and that he possessed only level-one Innate Soul Power, no one in the entire Dormitory paid him any more attention.

Shi Quan was perfectly happy with that. He cultivated and studied every day, living a particularly fulfilling life.

Remembering that he had yet to extract the original Douluo novel, Shi Quan finally did so after returning to the Dormitory from another day of cultivation.

The sensation was like receiving the True Scripture inheritance last time, but unlike before, although the original Douluo novel contained a great deal of content, it was not complicated to receive and was much easier to bear.

During class the next day, Shi Quan did not read for once. Instead, he repeatedly reviewed the novel's plot in his mind. Only then did he realize that the Small Hill where he cultivated was the place where Xiao Wu, Tang San, and Xiao Chenyu fought over the position of Notting Academy's leader. According to the original plot, their conflict should take place three days later.

After learning this, Shi Quan did not stop. He continued browsing through the original plot, intending to go through it first so he could better formulate his future plans.

"Hmm? Spirit Souls are the Twins of our bodies?"

Shi Quan had merely been skimming through the plot, but when he reached the part where Tang San absorbed the spirit rings of three Thousand Jun Ant Emperors, he noticed a passage in the original work.

It was a flashback describing a past discussion between Tang San and Grandmaster.

The discussion was about what Spirit Souls were.

One passage read as follows.

"The body and the Spirit Soul are inherently a pair of Twins.

A Spirit Soul also has its own soul. It is simply something we cannot sense. If you want it to truly become strong, then first, you must understand it.

One day, when you discover the true heart of your Twin and use your actions to prove yourself to it, allowing it to fully accept you, only then can you gain its true recognition. Only then will there no longer be any distinction between you brothers, and only then can you truly unleash its power."

This passage reminded Shi Quan of Shi Jian's Spirit Soul control. The two seemed somewhat similar.

"If that's the case, then the reason Dad could control his Spirit Soul so freely was that he had gained its recognition?"

Shi Quan murmured to himself, "That explanation makes sense."

According to the original work, Tang San had mastered the Blue Silver Emperor because his mother's 100,000 Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone and his mother herself had directly shown him the true heart of the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline. As for the Clear Sky Hammer, its Spirit Soul Heart had been stirred awake and had recognized him because he had domineeringly absorbed three spirit rings close to 100,000 years old at once.

All of those had been fortunate coincidences. Even Tang San, the protagonist, had found it so difficult to comprehend the Spirit Soul Heart. Yet Shi Jian, an ordinary man, had fortuitously comprehended the Spirit Enlightenment State and used it to grasp the Spirit Soul Heart.

The essence of Spirit Soul control was mastering the Spirit Soul Heart. The methods of mastering it differed from one Spirit Soul to another, but if used properly, the Spirit Enlightenment State could help any Spirit Soul comprehend its Spirit Soul Heart. Moreover, it also provided benefits in various aspects of cultivation.

For an ordinary person to research and discover such a unique and powerful cultivation method showed just how exceptional Shi Jian's talent for Comprehension was.

Rubbing his throbbing head, Shi Quan felt the burden on his mind. Sorting through the million-word main plot of the original work in such a short time was no small feat. After resting for a while, class was over.

After putting away his things and eating lunch, everything else proceeded as usual.

On the way to the Back Mountain, Shi Quan vaguely heard Xiao Wu's voice. He glanced back and saw Xiao Wu leading a group of Work-Study Students as they argued with Xiao Chenyu.

Shi Quan had no interest in their conflict, so he naturally paid it no mind. His steps did not pause in the slightest.

Over the next two days, the friction between the Work-Study Students led by Xiao Wu and the group led by Xiao Chenyu grew increasingly intense. Under Xiao Chenyu's repeated provocations and taunts, the Work-Study Students led by Xiao Wu took the initiative to challenge them to a fight.

The time was set for after class ended the following day, and the location was the Back Mountain where Shi Quan cultivated.

"By now, Tang San should have already left the Soul Beast Forest with Grandmaster, right?"

So far, the time and place of the struggle for Notting Academy's leadership between Xiao Wu and Xiao Chenyu matched the original work. Without Shi Quan's interference, Tang San's side should likewise be proceeding according to the original plot.

The following day.

Xiao Wu, who normally could not sit still during class, was even more restless today. Her eyes were filled with excitement and confidence for the coming battle.

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Xiao Wu shot out of the Classroom like a startled rabbit. Before long, a large group of Work-Study Students, led by Xiao Wu, rushed toward the academy's Back Mountain.

Seeing this, Shi Quan leisurely followed the crowd of spectators toward the Back Mountain. He was not curious about their fight; he merely wanted to see whether Tang San's Spirit Ability was indeed Bind, just as it had been in the original work, to make sure events had not diverged too greatly from the original plot.

Upon reaching the Back Mountain, both sides marched up the hill in great numbers, heading straight for a patch of woods on one side. There were plenty of woods on the hill, and the one where Shi Quan usually cultivated was on the other side.

Xiao Chenyu's people had clearly scouted the place ahead of time. Leading the Work-Study Students, they quickly arrived at an open area in the woods. The clearing was enormous; even with fifty or sixty people standing there, it still seemed very spacious.

Shi Quan stood some distance away with the spectators. The two sides faced one another, and the atmosphere was tense, like drawn swords and bent bows.

Before the battle began, they naturally exchanged harsh words and established the rules.

Whatever else could be said, Xiao Chenyu, as the city lord's son, was no fool. He was quite clever, as could be seen from his choice to have ten people fight.

The confident Xiao Wu agreed immediately without a second thought.

"By now, Tang San should be arriving soon, right?" Shi Quan looked toward the Work-Study Students. Sure enough, a small figure silently joined their ranks.

Wang Sheng and Liu Long had already begun fighting at the front. Liu Long, who possessed a long staff Spirit Soul, clearly held the advantage.

Just as Liu Long was about to win, Shi Quan saw three small stones fly out and strike Liu Long directly on the hands. Liu Long's hands paused, causing him to lose his opportunity. Wang Sheng instead closed in and turned defeat into victory in one move.

Shi Quan curled his lips, thinking, They're fighting head-on, yet he's pulling dirty tricks from the shadows. What a Tang Sect move. He really can't stand losing.

The following events were no different from the original work. Tang San had Xiao Wu replace Wang Sheng, then took the field himself. He first faced Ling Feng, who possessed a swallow Spirit Soul, and easily won. Xiao Chenyu could no longer sit still and stepped forward to spar with Tang San.

When everyone saw the yellow spirit ring rise beneath Tang San's feet, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

Shi Quan frowned at the sight as well, but not because of Tang San's spirit ring. It was because of Tang San's Spirit Soul.

When Shi Quan saw Tang San's Spirit Soul, he could feel the pressure of a bloodline. That pressure originated from his Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul.

"The Blue Silver Emperor can suppress Blue Silver Grass even without awakening?"

Before the Blue Silver Emperor awakened, the original work had never mentioned it suppressing other plant-type Spirit Souls.

"Or is Tang San's Blue Silver Grass currently only able to intimidate and suppress me because I also possess a Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul?"

Shi Quan's expression darkened. He was fortunate that he had chosen to come watch; otherwise, he would never have noticed.

"In other words, although Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor has not awakened, it still possesses some of the Blue Silver Emperor's traits. No wonder Blue Silver Grass's control effects were not weak in the early stages."

While reading the original work, Shi Quan had always had a doubt. An ordinary Blue Silver Grass was already so powerful after being given a Hundred Year Spirit Ring. Even accounting for amplification, that should not have been so exaggerated.

After all, even a child could easily pull apart ordinary Blue Silver Grass. But if it were Vines, ropes, or similar Spirit Souls, ordinary people would be unable to tear them apart even in their normal state. Once those Spirit Souls were given Hundred Year Spirit Rings, would their control effects not become even more outrageous?

Blue Silver Grass carrying the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline might not have awakened that bloodline, but how could it possibly be ordinary Blue Silver Grass?

"An unawakened Blue Silver Emperor isn't a true Blue Silver Emperor. Who will be emperor in the future is still uncertain." A dark glint flickered in Shi Quan's eyes. His Inner Force circulated, suppressing the trembling Blue Silver Grass within him.

The battle on the field had already begun.

Xiao Chenyu collided with Tang San. With a muffled bang, blue and white light flared at the same time.

Looking at Tang San's hands, white as jade,

"So this is the Mysterious Jade Hand? Isn't it just a weakened version of the Indestructible Divine Skill?" Shi Quan smiled faintly. The next moment, he saw Tang San rely on the Mysterious Jade Hand's defensive power to withstand Xiao Chenyu's pounce. With a backward pull and a thrust of his body, he used a basic Iron Mountain Lean and sent Xiao Chenyu flying.

Then came Tang San's show-off moment.

"I have things to do. I don't have time to play with you anymore. Let's end this here. Blue Silver Grass, Bind."

As his voice fell, more than ten thick stalks of Blue Silver Grass suddenly burst from beneath Xiao Chenyu's feet without warning, tightly binding his legs.

"So it really is the Mandala Snake and Bind." Shi Quan curled his lips. Having learned what he wanted to know, he lost interest in what followed and turned toward the foot of the mountain.

He had not eaten lunch yet. He planned to return and eat first before coming back to cultivate. By then, the people on the Back Mountain would probably have dispersed, and no one would disturb him.

After Tang San finished his battle, he still had to go to Spirit Hall for certification and buy lunch for Grandmaster. After briefly speaking with Xiao Wu, he hurried down the mountain as well.

"Was that Shi Quan?" Tang San looked at the figure walking toward the academy at the Foot of the Mountain. After taking another uncertain look, he did not think much of it and turned to walk outside the academy.

Before long, the news that the Work-Study Students had won the match and that first-year Work-Study Student Xiao Wu had become the academy's new leader spread through students of every grade like thunder.

However, when everyone learned that the two first-year Work-Study Students were level-eleven and level-twelve Soul Masters, respectively, and both possessed Hundred Year Spirit Rings, they were shocked but also understood why.

At the same time, a wave of discussion arose. After all, Xiao Chenyu, the city lord's son, only possessed a ten-year white spirit ring. What sort of background did two Work-Study Students have to obtain Hundred Year Spirit Rings?

Shi Quan, who was cultivating on the Back Mountain, knew nothing of this. He continued cultivating as usual until evening, then used Nine Shadows Shift to hurry back to the Dormitory.

What surprised Shi Quan, however, was that his roommates, who normally spent nearly all their time cultivating, were not cultivating today. Each of them was discussing something with frustrated, unpleasant expressions. When they saw Shi Quan return, most of the Dormitory turned their eyes toward him at once, as though they had been waiting for him...