Grandmaster, Twin Martial Souls

Hearing the voice from behind him, Lin Ye could not help turning around to look.

A man with a crew cut, dressed in a black academic robe with white trim, was slowly walking toward them.

At the sight of the man, the gatekeeper, whose face was still bruised and swollen and filled with resentment, immediately put on a fawning expression and hurried over. "Grandmaster, you're back!"

"Grandmaster? Is he a teacher at Nuoding Academy?"

Hearing the gatekeeper's words, Lin Ye frowned, inwardly becoming wary.

He wondered what kind of personality this teacher had. If he was the type to protect his own and wanted to side with the gatekeeper, Lin Ye would have to prepare to make a move.

The man known as Grandmaster merely gave a faint acknowledgment to the gatekeeper's flattery, then asked with a frown, "What happened? How did you get beaten into this state?"

"Grandmaster, you have to stand up for me!"

It was as though Grandmaster's question had struck a sore spot. The gatekeeper's eyes immediately brimmed with tears as he began to cry injustice.

"Today, I was guarding the gate properly when these country bumpkins came over, saying they wanted to enroll. But because they didn't know any better, they insisted that I take them inside to register. But I'm the gatekeeper—I can't just abandon my post—so I refused them! But who would have thought they'd threaten me and even beat me? Since they're an old man and children, I didn't dare fight back, so I ended up like this."

"Grandmaster, you have to stand up for me! How can people like this be admitted to Nuoding Academy?"

While putting on a show of crying, the gatekeeper secretly shot Lin Ye a venomous, vengeful glare.

"You... you're spouting nonsense!"

Beside him, Old Jack trembled all over as he listened to the gatekeeper twist the facts and turn right into wrong. Even his beard shook as he angrily said, "You were clearly the one discriminating against us country folk! You said our martial soul certificates were forged and refused to let us in. You were the one who tried to shove me, and that was why Xiao Ye hit you. How can you talk such nonsense and distort the truth like that?!"

"I'm not talking nonsense. You clearly beat me up. If I hadn't refused to fight back, could the three of you really have beaten me into this state?"

The gatekeeper still stubbornly clung to his story, forcibly distorting the facts.

"Grandmaster, you absolutely must not be deceived by certain villains!"

Having said that, he continued to look at Grandmaster with the expression of a pitiful victim.

"Are you finished?"

After hearing the gatekeeper out, Grandmaster suddenly asked indifferently.

"I'm finished..."

The gatekeeper froze slightly, suddenly feeling that something was wrong.

"You're quite clever. I almost believed the story you made up, but there are far too many holes in it."

Grandmaster spoke calmly as he raised his right hand and slowly extended one finger.

"First, you said you were devoted to your duties and kindhearted, yet you called this old gentleman a country bumpkin. Those are not words a kind person would say."

"Second, if you were truly devoted to your duties, then when faced with a beating, you should have fought back. You should not have let yourself be beaten into this state. Otherwise, wouldn't you be unable to continue performing your duties?"

"Third, if you were a kind person, shouldn't you have let this matter go? Why did you insist at the end that they must not be admitted to Nuoding Academy? Therefore, you are lying to me!"

By the end, Grandmaster's face had darkened.

"G-Grandmaster, I... I didn't..."

The gatekeeper was drenched in sweat from fright after hearing Grandmaster's words, yet he still stubbornly denied it.

"You're still lying..."

Seeing that the gatekeeper still refused to repent, Grandmaster shook his head in disappointment.

"A person like you remaining at Nuoding Academy is simply a stain on the academy's reputation. It seems I should have a proper talk with the academy and suggest that they replace the gatekeeper..."

Thud!

Upon hearing Grandmaster's words, the gatekeeper dropped to his knees.

"Grandmaster, I... I was wrong! Please don't tell the academy. I can't lose this job!"

Kneeling on the ground, the gatekeeper wept bitterly and begged.

"It's too late..."

Grandmaster shook his head faintly and walked toward Old Jack.

"Old sir, may I take a look at your martial soul certificates?"

He spoke to Old Jack politely.

"Here, Grandmaster. These are our martial soul certificates."

From the gatekeeper's earlier fawning attitude toward Grandmaster to Grandmaster's suggestion that the academy replace him, Old Jack, as the village chief and someone highly skilled at reading people, had immediately guessed that this Grandmaster held no lowly status at the academy.

Moreover, Grandmaster had handled the matter impartially just now, leaving Old Jack deeply grateful. He eagerly handed Lin Ye and Tang San's martial soul certificates to Grandmaster.

Taking the certificates, Grandmaster began to examine them carefully. As he read, his gaze occasionally drifted toward Lin Ye and Tang San, as if lost in thought.

"Old sir, your martial soul certificates are genuine. What happened just now was entirely the gatekeeper's personal conduct. I will have the academy punish him. I hope you will not develop any prejudice against the academy because of this."

Setting down the certificates, Grandmaster said with a faint smile.

"Of course not! Of course not!"

Old Jack quickly replied.

"Then thank you, old sir. If you don't mind, I'll take these two children you brought inside to register."

Grandmaster smiled faintly, gave a slight bow, and continued.

"Then thank you, Grandmaster!"

Old Jack was deeply grateful upon hearing this.

"Xiao Ye, Xiao San, remember to listen to your teachers at the academy from now on. Grandpa still has matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving first. When the term ends, Grandpa will come pick you up."

Turning to Lin Ye and Tang San, Old Jack sighed and spoke reluctantly.

But after speaking, he still turned and left Nuoding Academy.

"Come in with me."

After Old Jack had left, Lin Ye and Tang San followed Grandmaster into Nuoding Academy.

Inside Nuoding Academy, the roads were broad, with lush trees lining both sides.

Because Grandpa Old Jack had left, Lin Ye was somewhat silent.

Then, beside him, Tang San's curious voice suddenly rang out.

"Grandmaster, are you a teacher at the academy?"

"Why do you ask?"

Hearing Tang San's question, Grandmaster, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Because that gatekeeper was so afraid of you. You must be a teacher at the academy, and one with a very high position and status at that!"

Tang San spoke very seriously.

"Heh, you put it well, but you guessed wrong. I'm merely a passerby here, not a teacher."

Grandmaster tugged at the corner of his mouth and replied indifferently.

"Hmm... then even if you aren't a teacher here, you must still be a very famous person!"

After thinking for a moment, Tang San continued.

"Why?"

Grandmaster asked in return.

"Because the title Grandmaster isn't something an ordinary teacher can deserve. A Grandmaster can certainly become a teacher, but a teacher might not necessarily become a Grandmaster!"

Tang San remained utterly serious.

"Grandmaster... Heh, your name is Tang San, right? You truly are a clever child."

Hearing Tang San's unusual compliment, Grandmaster's lips twitched, and a somewhat stiff smile appeared on his face.

The continent's third Twin Martial Souls... it seems I'll have to take the initiative as well...

"Twin Martial Souls?!"

Hearing Grandmaster's words, Lin Ye immediately raised his head and looked at Tang San.

Tang San's entire body instantly tensed, and his pupils contracted.